A pan-African organisation, the African Diaspora Union (AFRIDU), has urged African countries to unite in addressing the challenges of migration and Afrophobia across the continent.
The President of AFRIDU, Prof. Chidiebere Anelechi, made the call at a press conference in Abuja to announce the forthcoming High-Level Strategic Dialogue on Migration in Africa.
He said the conference, themed “Effect of Migration on the African Citizens,” would provide a platform for African countries to confront the challenges associated with migration and find solutions to issues affecting African migrants.
Anelechi said thousands of Africans continue to lose their lives while undertaking dangerous desert crossings and perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea in fragile and overcrowded boats.
He said the dialogue would go beyond discussions on migration to examine the human cost of the phenomenon and the factors exposing Africans to traffickers and other dangers.
“We are not gathering simply to discuss migration; rather, we will be gathering to confront one of the defining challenges of our generation.
“We will be gathering because behind every migration statistic is a human being; a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a student, a professional, a farmer, an entrepreneur or a young African carrying a dream, “ Anelechi said.
The AFRIDU President said African leaders must ask difficult questions about why citizens continue to risk their lives crossing deserts and the Mediterranean Sea in search of opportunities.
He also called for greater attention to Africans who become targets of attacks because of their nationality or perceived foreign status.
Anelechi said the conference would not be an occasion for “platitudes or recycled rhetoric”, but an opportunity to address the realities confronting African migrants.
He questioned who should protect Africans when they are attacked in other African countries, and who should be held responsible when African businesses are destroyed, people are intimidated or foreign nationals are attacked or killed.
Anelechi also raised the need to consider whether Afrophobia and attacks against African migrants should be treated solely as domestic matters, or whether the African Union should establish a continental monitoring and accountability mechanism to track serious incidents, government responses, prosecutions and progress across member states.
He said the dialogue would deliver a call to action for the continent and challenged African leaders to re-examine issues affecting migration.
Anelechi commended the leadership of the Nigerian Government and its foreign missions in South Africa, as well as the diplomatic efforts of Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the safe evacuation of their citizens from South Africa during the last xenophobic attacks.
He also appreciated state Governors, corporate donors and community organisations, including the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA), Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA), Christian Association of Nigeria South Africa (CANSAF) and the Igbo Lawyers Association, for providing legal aid, shelter and airlift support to stranded citizens.
He said migration in Africa could no longer be viewed only through the lens of law enforcement or border policy, but required a unified and human-centred approach focused on economic opportunities, continental accountability and protection of the rights and dignity of Africans.
Asked whether representatives of South Africa would attend the conference, Anelechi said; “an invitation had been extended to them, but he was unsure whether they would attend.”
Also speaking, the AFRIDU Special Envoy to Nigeria and Chairman of the AFRIDU Nigeria Governing Council, Prof. Abduljalil Tafawa Balewa, said African leaders needed to find lasting solutions to migration by creating employment opportunities for the continent’s youths.
He commended the Nigerian Government for ongoing reforms aimed at youth empowerment.
Tafawa Balewa said the forthcoming high-level meeting would provide countries with an opportunity to share ideas for the development of Africa.
The conference, themed “is scheduled for Monday, October 5, 2026, in Abuja
