Lagos: International Organization for Migration trains 27 Nigerian Journalists

the International Organization for Migration has trained twenty-seven Nigerian Journalists on migration reportage in Lagos state.

The three day Media training was facilitated by the Global Migration Media Academy (GMMA) in collaboration with the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, and the International Organization for Migration office in Nigeria

The training aimed at broadening journalists’ knowledge on understanding and reporting migration issues effectively, building the capacity of participants in providing ethical and well-informed migration-related reporting with a focus on data analysis and reporting, migration environment and climate change.

The IOM’s  Nigeria Awareness Raising Officer, Cyprine Cheptepkenyi, explained that the training was to work with Journalists to advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold human dignity and well-being of migrants.

“Since 2018, IOM has facilitated four series targeting Journalist, but this training is so unique because we brought both experiences interns of academia, but also interns of field experiences working together with PAN Atlantic University, but again through IOM’s Global initiative, which is Global Migration Media Academy that was  set up to focus on media issues, and the main objectives  of this academy is to strengthen and mainstream on how to we could respond and work alongside with the journalist, ensuring we are able to do accurate and ethical reportage on migration issues.” 

In a presentation on the topic ” Migration, Climate Change, and Dot Connections,“ Professor Ufuoma Akpojivi explained how climate change was a contributory factor to migration.

He, therefore, urged the journalists to highlight issues in their reportage with a view of playing their agenda-setting role so as to change the narrative around migration.

“The responsibility is not only for the state likewise not only for the media alone. But for both the media, public and the state to facilitate policies that will meet the needs of every Nigerian. And for us to build the Nigeria of our dreams, it is a collective effort, and all hands must be on deck for us to achieve that. Therefore the media has a role by playing that agenda setting portion.“

Dr Chike Mgbeadichie of the Pan Atlantic University, in his presentation on Culture and Migration, stressed the need to interrogate the culture so as to push forward the need for migrating the right way.

“There is a clear link between migration and culture, and the idea has been pushed around for a while but it’s not receiving much traction like the economy and other factors that make people move. Culture is critical to the choices people make when they want to move, why they want to move and where they want to move to. Every month different communities have different celebrations and fun fare happening and we can project this message about the need to interrogate our culture and push forward the need to migrate the right way. And the essence of this training is to recast our mind back to migration, look at it from a different spectrum, culture, ethics, economy and the likes, and how we can better report migration and discourage people from irregular migration.”

Another facilitator, Mr Charles Autheman, who presented on the topic “ Labour Migration Reporting,“ said that migrants are not dangerous to society, but that they contribute to the economic growth of their nations.

He maintained that every country should try and rectify the international labour standards, so as to promote the welfare of migrant workers

While IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits both migrants and society, since April 2017 the UN migration office has assisted over 21,000 stranded migrants in Libya, Niger, Mali, and other transit/destination countries with their voluntary return to Nigeria.

PIAK