As the world marks International Migrants Day, global citizenship and migration policy advocate Dr. Nduneche Ezurike has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently approve the revised 2025 National Migration Policy, describing it as a critical instrument for economic growth, wealth creation, and global integration.
Aligning with this year’s theme, “My Great Story: Cultures and Development,” Ezurike noted that migration has historically supported development across regions. From Asia’s industrial rise to today’s global digital economy, countries that treated migration as circulation rather than loss successfully converted human mobility into productivity, innovation, and stronger multicultural societies.
He stressed that Nigeria and Africa already derive measurable economic benefits from global migration. In 2023, African migrants remitted over US$95 billion to the continent, with Nigeria accounting for approximately US$20–21 billion, making it Africa’s largest remittance recipient. In many cases, these inflows outperformed foreign direct investment, official development assistance, and other external capital sources in terms of consistency and direct household impact. Globally, remittances to low- and middle-income countries are projected to reach US$685 billion, funding education, healthcare, housing, and small enterprises, and delivering more inclusive, grassroots-driven development outcomes than FDI.
According to Ezurike, the revised National Migration Policy provides Nigeria with a timely framework to better harness these gains—through improved migration governance, skills recognition, digital migration pathways, diaspora investment, and reduced remittance costs. He acknowledged the role of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) in strengthening diaspora engagement and protection, noting that policy approval would further institutionalise these efforts.
Addressing Africa’s youth, Ezurike stressed that migration must be intentional, legal, and ethical driven by skills and enterprise, not desperation. When managed well, he noted, migration boosts wealth creation, strengthens multicultural exchange, and elevates Africa’s global standing. Drawing from history, he pointed to Asia’s development experience, where countries such as India, China, and South Korea treated migration as circulation rather than loss, using skills mobility, remittances, return migration, and diaspora networks to drive growth and global influence.
He further called on the African Union to improve Africa’s global migration outcomes by mainstreaming migration into development and industrialisation strategies, reducing remittance costs through fintech and regional payment systems, institutionalising diaspora engagement, building digital migration frameworks, and strengthening migration data systems for evidence-based policymaking.
Ezurike concluded that migration is no longer a future consideration but a present economic force, urging governments to act with urgency and clarity to maximise its development impact.
