EU seeks greater partnership with Nigeria on migration

During a celebration for “Europe Day 2018” in Abuja, the EU Ambassador and Head of Delegation to Nigeria, Ketil Karlsen, commented on the joint value to both the EU and Nigeria that could come from building on existing cooperation and collaborations on mutual areas of migration, security, trade and democracy.

Karlsen recognised the existence of a “truly multi-dimensional engagement between the EU and Nigeria in a partnership that has never been better, but more needed than ever before.”

On the issue of irregular migration to Europe, the head of the EU delegation lamented, “My heart sinks when I see the deplorable conditions of Nigerians exploited by unscrupulous traffickers, some dying in the desert, some being maltreated in detention camps in Libya, some drowning in the Mediterranean sea and some facing very difficult conditions arriving in Europe.”

He also noted that the EU has facilitated the safe return of about 8,140 Nigerians since 2017 and that the EU was engaging partners across Nigeria to seek solutions to address the challenges by ensuring that partners invest in the youth by building on the positive aspects of mobility, while discouraging trafficking and exploitation.

“We need to stand together to find solutions. We need to follow up on the call by President Buhari to European partners in finding solutions to the immediate crisis, while laying the cornerstones to ensure these matters are not repeated in the future,” he said.

On the issue of irregular migration, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama acknowledged the depth of the issue and said the Nigerian government was doing everything within its capability to inspire Nigerians to migrate legally to other countries.

Onyeama disclosed Nigeria’s expectations about working with the EU to create an agreement on regulation that would make it easier for migrants to travel legally to European countries while discouraging others from taking dangerous irregular routes.

The minister said the Nigerian government has plans to provide vocational training programmes and develop other options to help build skills that will encourage Nigerians to stay home and grow the economy.

The Nigerian Senate President Mr. Bukola Saraki noted that the Nigerian Senate was considering the use of legislation to further empower the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and strengthen the process of checking illegal migration at its source, rather than the point of entry in other countries.

Photo caption: Ketil Karlsen delivery his speech, while Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Wife, as well as Mrs Karlsen watch. Photo Credit: Premiumtimesng.com

TMP – 04/06/2018