Migration: ‘Nigeria’s citizenship policies should be reviewed’

The Dean Faculty of Arts, University of Abuja, Prof Effiok Uwatt, said government needs to review the citizenship policy of Nigeria as well as the indigenes/settlers equation to address the issue of migration in the country.

Prof Uwatt, who spoke yesterday at the Diaspora Conference organized by University of Abuja, in collaboration with University of Muenster, Germany, said the government must make policies that will make Nigerians irrespective of their affiliation feel free in any part of the country.

He said the conference with the theme “Where is Home: Nigeria in Diaspora/ Diaspora in Nigeria” was to educate Nigerians on the ills of migration.

“As a Nigerian you have the right to stay in any part of the country and be able to feel at home, accept one another and should be able to make a living irrespective of affiliation,” he said.

While noting that people are leaving the country because of hardship, he said without good governance they cannot stop the issue of migration.

Speaking, UniAbuja Vice Chancellor, Prof Michael Adikwu said the world is really fragmented mostly in Nigeria where there are issues of herdsmen and farmers, and also migrants.

Also speaking, a university lecturer and Author, Prof Bernadine Evaristo, who tells the story of African Diaspora in her books, said people want to leave for economic reasons, thinking they will get whatever the west will give them.

A Nigerian British born, Prof Evaristo said; “If you are under illusion that if you migrate to America, Germany, UK or other places you are going to become huge or successfully rich, you will be suffering for long time probably.”