Controller Muhammed Garba Ubah with JIFORM Members. |
Journalists
International Forum For Migration (JIFORM), an international media advocacy
group on migration on Monday paid a courtesy call on the Nigeria Customs
Service, Seme Boarder Command in Lagos.
The
association, led by its President, Ajibola Abayomi and Deputy Secretary General,
Kelving Kagabare said the visit became imperative in order to collaborate with
agencies and stakeholders to further deepen the knowledge of public and add
value to government policy on migration matters, regretting that over the
years, many Nigerians had been lured to human and product trafficking across
several borders leading to increase in the rate of smuggling, prostitution and
other crimes.
Pained
by the development, Ajibola said that with the current challenges poised especially
by irregular migration to economies of nations, time has come to double efforts
at correcting the erroneous impression that there are free monies and luxuries
in the developed world and noted that several Nigerians and other Africans were
being held hostage either in jail, refugee camps, and slavery stations at
different countries due to unplanned journeys.
“It
is very painful that many of our youths are being made to go through horrible
experiences in the desert, across the Mediterranean Sea and other dangerous
routes with the intention of crossing to Europe, painfully in the process, many
lives are lost on daily basis, so, we are working with series of organizations
like the Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Serve, Nigeria Police
Force, anti-human and kidnapping agencies, National Emergency agency, Nigerian
Disposal Commission, International Organisation for Migration and several
others to reverse the tide through responsible journalism” he said.
Responding,
Controller Mohammed Garba Ubah noted that migration was specific and direct
response to global economic crisis fueled especially by economic imbalance and
corrupt institutions in many African states and that a lot still needs to be
done to address the growing concerns on migration, charging the media to assist
in drawing attention to the needs of border towns across Africa.
He
Says: “No industries in the border communities, no schools and other facilities
and thus prompting rural urban migration, thereby forcing the residents to
prostitution, trafficking, smuggling and other crimes and I advise that instead
of Nigerians to take to illegal migration they could take advantage of
government free taxation on export products to earn both local and foreign
currencies to elevate living conditions.
The
Controller regretted that capital flight had compounded the rate of poverty on
the continent and urged institutions to halt the process, explaining that despite
Nigerian government’s ban on 43 items, there was free taxation on all locally
produced products for exportation especially agricultural produce like cassava
and yam with additional 30% financial incentives paid by government to
encourage local production.
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