By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
The Nigerian media has been charged to project the good things about the country to the world rather than its negativity.
This was the position of participants at a one-day National Migration Summit organised by the Journalists International Forum for Migration (JIFORM), held at the Olokun Hall, Airport Hotel, Ikeja Lagos.
Themed, “The Missing Links and the Remedy”, they emphasised that the media has a critical role to play at ensuring that Nigeria is portrayed in good light, pointing out that their reports have potential impact on migrants.
Speaking at the occasion, a lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), Professor Lai Oso, posited that the media is a vital tool in the way people view migrants as the kind of representation that we get in the media on irregular migration is always very negative.
According to him, the issue of migration has become a global issue because of the volume of people that are involved.
He affirmed that there is need to change the mindset of Nigerians to Nigeria if we want to reduce cases of irregular migration.
In his presentation, Dr. Jide Johnson, a lecturer at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, described migration as “a normal phenomenon.
Johnson maintained that the media has a critical role in ensuring that issues relating to migration are properly handled.
He advised that anybody intent on leaving Nigeria must do so in the proper way. He said that a lot of people have lost their dignity through irregular migration.
The Head of Media Unit of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM),Abdulrahman Balogunw, whorepresemted the Director General(DG) of the Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed that those who engage in criminal activities abroad are majorly those who are irregular migrants.
He cautioned parents to desist from pressurising their children to do irregular migration as such people end up going through series of unpalatable experiences that lead to their ejection from the country that they migrate to.
Balogun disclosed that an intergovernmental committee is being set up that will in due course collaborate and come up with a proposal to address many of the issues relating to the JAPA syndrome.
Also soeaking, Sandra Vermuijten, the Team Lead of the Nigeria -German Centre for Jobs and reintegration said that perception play a huge role in the way migrants are viewed, adding that the JAPA syndrome is pervasive.
Vermuijten advised that the returning migrants should not be stigmatised that rather their dignity should be respected.
She stressed that employment issues must be addressed to curb irregular migration.
The Director General National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Professor Fatimah Waziri Azi, stated that migration is a key factor in the development of any society.
Represented by Comfort Modupe Agboko, Lagos Zonal Commander of the agency, Azi counselled against giving false narratives about greener pastures outside the shores of the country.
She listed the plethora of empowerment programmes initiated by the agency to support returning migrants and also the legal actions it embarked on to deal with human traffickers who use the instrument of coercion and deceit to lure their victims into irregular migration.
In a good will message, the Assistant Commissioner of Police Area “F” Command ACP Ali Zango hinted that the Police has always been alive in its responsibility of protection genuine foreign investors and prevent criminals from wrecking havoc.
Zango, who represented the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Abiodun Alabi assured that all law abiding citizens would always be protected.
