Adewale Sanyaolu
A report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has revealed that Edo State alone accounts for 42 per cent of 18,079 stranded migrants received by IOM and the Nigerian Federal Government from April 2017 to October 2019
The report stated further that In 2015, it was reported that, except for internal trafficking within the EU, Nigerian nationals are the most common victims of human trafficking in the EU.
Another recent report by WAKA Well by IOM X an International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) working in Nigeria equally indicated that irregular migrants from Nigeria and other West African states faces various forms of violence, exploitation and other abuses along the Central Mediterranean route.
According to the report Irregular migration from Nigeria is mainly directed towards Europe through North Africa, with Nigerians almost exclusively using the Central Mediterranean route
The report which dealt with facts about migration context in Oredo and Okpoba Oka, Edo State, Nigeria noted that migration is often associated with poverty, but other factors also drive the phenomenon, including youth unemployment, climate change and urbanization.
The survey among residents of Oredo and Ikpoba Okha, respondents said that the top three opportunities to make money in these communities are farming, self-employment and manual labour (including construction, mechanics, etc.).
More than 58 per cent of survey respondents in Oredo and Ikpoba Okha said that they get their migration information primarily through friends and family.
The survey of 419 respondents in Oredo and Ikpoba Okha, showed that more than 80 per cent aspire to migrate to another state in Nigeria or to another country in the future.
It added that employment-seeking migration accounts for the biggest share of intraregional mobility as youth migrate from one country to another looking for better job opportunities.
In West Africa, it stated that some families rely heavily on remittances sent from children and spouses, and therefore the pressure to migrate on behalf of the entire family can be significant.
According to an IOM Nigeria report, the majority of these remittances come from friends or family living within Nigeria, either in the same community or another state.