ABSTRACT

This study examined the leading causes and consequences of international migration in Nigeria.
The findings revealed that the principal causes of international migration in Nigeria were job
opportunities, unemployment, wealth prospects, safety and security, better conditions of service,
low salaries and higher standards of living. These foremost causes of international migration in
Nigeria were mostly economic factors. Furthermore, the findings showed that the foremost
positive and negative effects of international migration in Nigeria were integrated development,
increase in remittances, cheap and surplus labour, urban services and social infrastructure
under stress, stricter immigration norms, multi-ethnic society and increased tolerance,
Xenophobia, close gaps in skills and cultural dilution. These effects were economic, social and
political. However, whatever the reason for migration is, language has remained a most crucial
factor in the integration of migrants in their destination countries. And so, Migration Linguistics
have taken the scientific study of language in the context of migration. Among others, the study,
thus, recommends that: the strategies of the government for stemming international migration
should address push factors of unemployment, safety and security and low salaries and pull
factors such as job opportunities, wealth prospects, better conditions of service and higher
standards of living since they are the root causes of international migration.
1.0 INTODUCTION

The inequality of the society gives credence to the fact that for many, migration is the window

through which they can improve their income, have educational opportunities and improve the

prospects of their future generation. As such people move both within the country and across

international borders to a place considered to be better or to have more opportunities.

The diasporic migration of Nigerian youth can be attributed to a mix of economic, social, and

political factors. Nigeria, despite being an oil-rich country, a significant portion of the population

lives in poverty. Many young Nigerians struggle to find employment opportunities that will

allow them to support themselves and their families. This lack of economic opportunity drives

many young Nigerians to seek better job opportunities abroad. More so, many young people in

Nigeria feel that their voices are not being heard and that they lack political representation. This

therefore, leads to a sense of disillusionment among Nigerian youth, and many feel that they

have no future in their home country. As a result, they look outside of Nigeria for better

opportunities. In addition, social factors also play a role in diasporic migration. For example,

many young Nigerians have family members and friends who live abroad. This creates a sense of

cultural familiarity and makes it easier for young Nigerians to move to a foreign country.

This paper therefore, aims to explore the causes, the positive and negative effects of diasporic

migration of Nigerian youth and its impacts both in Nigeria and abroad. In doing that, it shall

also investigate the effect of language on immigration.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

The causes and consequences of external migration have been investigated by various scholars

with different outcomes and abstractions. For instance, De Haas (2007) through a review of
existing literature, examined the effect of international migration on the social and economic

development of regions that send migrants to Morocco. Evidence from these empirical studies

indicates that “education, living conditions and income have improved significantly as a result of

migration and remittances.”1 Also, owing to agriculture, investment in businesses and real estate,

economic activity has been encouraged and it indirectly benefits non-migrants.

Similarly, Ratha, Mohapatra, and Scheja (2011) embarked on a literature survey of the impact of

migration on economic and social development on countries of origin and destinations in the

South. The review showed that International migration had critical development effects in

sending and receiving economies. Also, migration and the resultant remittances result in

increased incomes, reduction of poverty, improved health, and better educational outcomes and

boost economic development in sending economies.

In another related research, Adepoju (2011) considered the relationship between international

migration and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study revealed that “poverty, unstable

polity and fast growth of the population are the driving force of migration.” 2 In terms of the

development of Sub-Saharan African countries, rising remittances serve as a critical source of

income and lifeline for the payment of basic services, education fees, healthcare and

enhancement of production in agriculture.

Furthermore, in Nigeria, Ajaero and Onokala (2013) in related literature examined the

relationship between rural-urban migration and the rural communities of South-Eastern Nigeria.

Based on the size of the population and spatial equity, six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in

1
Caldwell, J.C. Africa Rural-Urban Migration. (Camberra: Australian National University Press.1969) P.
76.
2
Harzig, C., Hoerder, D., & Gabaccia, D. What is migration history?( Cambridge: Malden, Polity
Press,2009) P 126
the rural areas were chosen from two states of South-Eastern Nigeria. These states were Imo and

Abia States. Fifty households that send migrants were sampled from each of the six LGAs in the

rural areas. Employing multiple regression methodology, Chi-square, hierarchical cluster

analyses and a mixed-methods approach for the collection of data, the results revealed that rural-

urban migration adds meaningfully to the development of the rural communities in South-

Eastern Nigeria through remittances and the participation of these rural-urban migrants in the

development projects in the community.

Relying on public opinion and focus group data obtained in West Africa through a descriptive

research design, Kirwin and Anderson (2018) investigated the factors that cause West Africans

to migrate. Also, the study directed attention to Nigeria, the country of origin for twenty-five per

cent of all migrants from Africa travelling through the Central Mediterranean route. Respondents

were drawn from six West African countries of Burkina Faso, Cote d' Ivoire, Mali, Niger,

Nigeria and Senegal. Economic factors were identified as the rationale for migration. However,

“family and patriotism were observed as reasons for respondents to desire to remain in their own

countries.”3

Using data from a household survey on migration and remittance conducted by World Bank,

Bedasso, Weldesenbet, and Obikili (2018) in another similar study investigated the effect of

family migration on the attainment of education. The results showed that members belonging to

the household of migrants have a higher likelihood of finishing secondary education and going to

some post-secondary schools. Again, members of migrant households have a higher likelihood of

emigration. Furthermore, the attainment of education could be realized through the migration of

members of the migrants' families.

3
Golden, I., & Reinert, A. Globalization for development: Trade, finance, aid, migration, and policy,
( United States: World Bank Publications,2006).P97
Likewise, Anjofui (2018) examined the push and pull factors of international migration in South

Africa focusing on the Cameroonian and Congolese migrants in Cape Town. The Cameroonian

and Congolese migrants in Cape Town were selected through the snowball sampling technique.

Employing a descriptive research design through semi-structured interviews, the results revealed

that the main drivers of migration are economic factors. This is followed by the influence of

migrant networks and political factors respectively. Through most of the migrants, aspirations

and exposure factor was discovered to be among the factors influencing migration decisions.

However, they were not pinpointed in the literature as factors affecting migration. Furthermore,

the results showed that the migration expectations of most of the migrants were not met. This is

as a result of limited opportunities presented to them due to policies of migration. Also, the

current policy on migration has affected migrants negatively, reducing them to a miserable state.

However, since the goals of migration have not been met, most migrants chose not to return

home.

Scholars in the various disciplines that research on migration such as economics, law,

demography, history, geography, sociology, anthropology, political science, among others in an

attempt to unravel the causes, effects and dynamics of migration. Also evidence from the

prevailing literature on migration demonstrated that no studies have been done to the best of our

knowledge in the developed countries to fathom the causes and consequences of international

migration. However, the number of such studies is limited in Africa and specifically very scarce

in Nigeria. Few of the past studies dwelt on the economic, political and socio-cultural factors that

result in human trafficking, which is a form of migration.

3.0 EXPLICATION OF TERM

The migration of human beings is not a new event. Migration has been part of the existence of

man since the chronicle of man. Migration is the movement of people from one place to another

with intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location. It is crossing of the

boundary of a predefined spatial unit by one more persons.

The phenomenon of migration dates back to the mercantile era where roughly 1500 to 1800

European migrants through merchant capitalism travelled to Africa to acquire protectorates and

inhabit enormous pieces of land for more than 300 years.

4.0 THE CAUSES OF MIGRATION

4.1 Poor Economy as Cause of Youth Migration to Abroad

There are various causes for the youth migration to abroad. One of the grave causes is the

national poor economy. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse federation of 36

autonomous states. The nation is greatly blessed with different natural resources and mineral

accumulations such as the natural oil wells and natural chemical depositions in different parts of

the federation. The daily output of these natural deposits are enough to make Nigeria as great as

one of the foreign countries of the world, but our economy is in a state of comatose due to

certain factors, such as hostile investment environment, complete dilapidation of infrastructure,

insecurity and corruption to mention but a few. These plights have paralyzed the growth of

national income and opportunities which have adversely affected poverty reduction. Following

this is serious lack of job opportunities for the youth. In addition some greedy and notorious

politicians are hording the national fund meant for national investment and development for

political reasons thereby depriving youths chances of progress and opportunities. These

frustrating economic situations have made the youth hopeless in the things of this nation. Some
out of the same frustration are tempted to take up arms and fight for their natural rights and

privileges. Following the poor economy of this nation some families cannot afford to enrol their

children into University education nor can they afford to register in any handicraft work, the

most heart breaking situation is that some who made effort in the Universities and came out with

very good results have no work to sustain their lives. Thus, as a result of all these, the youth

become more eager to leave this frustrating nation.

4.2 Threat to Life

Every human being needs shelter and protection in his life so that he can settle down for

advancement in life. The condition of this nation does not ensure one of brighter tomorrow. In

this nation there is utterly no hope of national development instead we are falling from frying

pan into fire in daily bases. From tyrannical leaders to Boko Haram, from Boko Haram to Fulani

herdsmen exalted by bandits of all sorts, kidnappings, human traffickers, yahoo boys and

ritualists, Criminalities are on the increase in all forms of it. In Nigeria, everybody is living in

fear of death in various angles. The youth are threatened to death on daily bases, corpses of

human beings are being discovered in all corners of the nation, from North, South, East and West

nobody sleeps freely. People are hiding for their lives. This situation affects mostly the youth

who are aspiring and struggling to rise for better tomorrow.

In the North there are serious incidents of youth abductions by the Boko Haram groups,

terrorizing everywhere, abducting young school girls and initiating them into their notorious

gang. In all these national confusion the federal government is not making appropriate move

towards the rescue of this nation from the mouth of these beasts terrorizing the states. In the
South the citizens are attacked, raped and killed by the Fulani herdsmen, villages are burnt and

looted and the youth rendered homeless and frustrated to the point of death.

In 25th July 2020, the latest attack comes few days after 21 people were killed by bandits at

kukum daji village in neighbouring kaura local government area of the state.4

4.3 Eurocentric Effect

Eurocentrism has also played a significant role in this phenomenon. Eurocentrism is the

ideological belief that Europeans or Western cultures are inherently superior to other cultures,

especially those of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This perspective has long been reflected in

various forms of discrimination and oppression, including the legacy of colonialism and the

global division of labour.

One of the most significant impacts of Eurocentrism on the Nigerian youth diaspora is the way it

shapes the global job market. Eurocentric businesses and organizations prioritize credentials and

educational backgrounds that reflect Western standards, often overlooking the qualifications and

experiences of people from other parts of the world, including Nigeria. This has limited job

opportunities for Nigerian youth within their own country, forcing them to explore other options,

including migration.

Moreover, Eurocentrism influences the way Nigerian youth view their own culture and identity.

The dominant Eurocentric worldview often portrays African cultures as backward or primitive,

while Western cultures are viewed as advanced and superior. This has created a sense of self-

doubt and internalized racism among Nigerian youth, making them more likely to seek validation

and acceptance in Western societies. Eurocentrism has perpetuated the idea that the West is the

4
www.vanguardngr.com, news accessed on 4/04/2023
only place where one can achieve success, leading Nigerian youth to perceive migration as the

only pathway to upward mobility. The Western world is often glorified in popular media and

portrayed as the land of opportunity. This idea is particularly compelling for Nigerian youth, who

are seeking a way to escape poverty and lack of opportunities in their own country.

4.4 Poor Public Healthcare System

The poor public healthcare system in Nigeria contributes significantly to the diasporic migration

of Nigerian youth. The public healthcare system in Nigeria is inadequate, and many health

facilities lack equipment, drugs, and qualified medical personnel. This makes it challenging to

access basic health care services, leading many Nigerian youth to seek better healthcare abroad.

The bad conditions of the healthcare system in Nigeria have forced our medical graduates to seek

a favourable condition where they can practice their career. In Nigeria today many major

hospitals lack adequate equipment for a smooth running of the healthcare services. Most civil

servants in the healthcare are not being paid their salary in due time. More still, Nigeria

healthcare system to some extent lack the capacity of offering medical practitioners the avenue to

update themselves. This is much evident in the last pandemic we had. All these things have great

influence in the Nigerian youth decision to move abroad.

4.5 The Lack of Proper Investment in Public Educational Institutions

The poor quality of education in public educational institutions in Nigeria has made it difficult

for Nigerian youth to compete in the global job market. Many Nigerian students leave the

country because they believe that they will receive a better education and more job opportunities

abroad. The lack of investment in public educational institutions has led to limited opportunities

for skill acquisition among Nigerian youth. Students are not equipped with the skills and
knowledge needed to enter the job market, which limits their employment options within the

country. This in turn, makes it more appealing for young Nigerians to go abroad to develop these

abilities.

The inadequate funding and support for Nigerian public educational institutions has made them

less attractive to Nigerian students. In turn, foreign educational institutions use this as an

opportunity to recruit Nigerian students, providing them with scholarships and other incentives

to study abroad. This often leads to these students remaining abroad after graduation.

As Nigerian youth migrate abroad in search of better educational opportunities, it contributes to a

brain drain in Nigeria. The absence of skilled professionals in the country makes it even more

difficult to address the existing educational system's problems and to provide more opportunities

for Nigerian youth

5.0 THE EFFECTS OF MIGRATION

Migration has been happening across the world for hundreds, if not thousands of years. People

move from one place to another for various reasons (war, persecution, seeking better

opportunities, unemployment, etc.) This migration of people can have effects for both the place

they left behind and their new place of residence. These effects can be economic, social, political

and demographic. Let’s take a look at the many social effects of migration: Culture and

Diversity. “Culture is the shared beliefs, values and traditions of a demographic. This also

extends to food, music, religion, art, dress and language. There are many different cultures across

the world, and through migration, most prominently, international migration, these cultures can

be shared and brought to new places”5

5
Aremu A.O. Improving access and quality education at the sub-national level. Paper presented at the Third
Retreat of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Eko Hotel and Suites, 14 March.
Migration can increase the cultural diversity of a host country, as an introduction of a new

culture can bring a whole new market of products and services that were not available in the host

country prior to the arrival of migrants. Migration in this sense can have very positive effects on

the host nation. However there can be negative effects for the migrants themselves, for example,

there can be a significant loss of cultural norms, as they may be entering a host country that has a

completely different way of societal living than their country of origin.

However, migrants through assimilation- the integration of migrants into their host country, learn

new culture. This occurs naturally, at different rates, and over a long period of time. Assimilation

rates are affected by many different factors, such as the level of similarity between migrants and

local people or perhaps the existence of tensions between migrants and local groups.

Nevertheless, migrants may have entirely different cultural values or characteristics to those of a

host nation. When there are differences between the host and the origin country, tensions may

build up between them. This is often called a cultural clash or cultural conflict. International

migration may create spaces for discrimination. Migrants may have a different ethnicity,

religious practice, or cultural characteristics from their host nation, or there may be language

barriers, which can sometimes cause migrants to be discriminated against in every aspect of their

everyday lives, either directly or indirectly.

5.1 Weakening of Family Structure

“Migration can also create strains in family relationships, including through creating

dependencies within couples. This is especially the case where residence is contingent on

sustaining a relationship, which may make partners (typically women) unwilling to leave
exploitation or abusive relationship”6 Unlike the Western culture, Africans believe in a

traditional and value-based life which is reflected through the institution of families. The family

is an important factor giving rise to migration. Families exist in two forms- as nuclear and as an

extended family. Most migrants can be seen from extended family because of a number of

problems present in a large family. African families usually function through a patriarchal setup

where there is a male head under which the remaining family members function.

The decisions usually taken by the head and without even taking into consideration other

member’s opinions. This creates a rift between the families itself and might also lead to its

member’s unhappiness. Because everyone requires the liberty and space to exercise his thoughts,

it is the most fundamental right one could ask for. But lack of it makes the younger members too

often leave the family and settle independently. This weakens the family ties.

5.2 Loss of Young Workers

Young workers make up more than 10 percent of the overall 232 million international migrants,

and being the most mobile social group, young people constitute the bulk of annual migration

movements. While international migration represents an opportunity for youth to provide a better

life for themselves and their families, pursue educational aspirations, improve their professional

skills and prospects, or satisfy a desire for personal development through the adventures and

challenges that come with living abroad, the migration of young people takes place in the context

of high youth unemployment and the lack of decent work creation at home.

“The unemployment rate among youth in almost all countries is at least twice that of the general

unemployment rate. Unfortunately, many young people get trapped in exploitative and abusive

6
Migration and Youth: Challenges and Opportunities. International Labour Organization, 1996-2023.
jobs, including forced labour, and too often, they- like other migrants- become scapegoats for the

shortcomings of economic and social systems”7. When young workers migrate as a result of poor

economy of their countries of origin, this creates a lacuna and lack of adequate labour force in

their home country.

5.3 Exploitation of Migrants

Hundreds of thousands of migrants are employed throughout the garment and textile supply

chains around the world. They are subjected to many of the same abuses that local workers

encounter. However, these abuses are compounded by the specific contexts in which migrant

workers work.

Many migrants are desperate for better wages since they can barely make ends meet as and many

of them also have debts to pay off to family members, recruitment agencies, labour brokers, or

traffickers. Many cannot work legally due to strict asylum or immigration policies in the host

countries while legal workers often risk losing their legal status upon dismissal. Migrant workers

live in constant fear of arrest or deportation; many don’t even dare leave the factories or their

dormitories. Despite the repressive conditions, many migrant workers do manage to take action.

Burmese refugees working in garment factories on the Thai border have been involved in filing

legal cases and regularly go on strike against their employers. In Mauritius, migrants from China,

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have engaged in numerous industrial actions for better pay and

working conditions. They these action because they are being exploited without any equivalent

wages to the level of services they render.

7
De Haas, H. International Migration, national development and the role of the governments: The case of
Nigeria, in: International Migration and National Development in Sub-Sahara Africa. (A. Adepoju, T.V. Naerssen and
A. Zoomers, eds.), Africa- Studiecentrum Series, vol. 10:161-181.
5.4 Communication issues due to language barriers

Barriers to Effective Communication are obstacles or problems that breakdown the

communication process because they prevent the flow of information between a sender and a

receiver. There are numerous barriers to communication, and these may occur at any stage in the

communication process. They can be classified into the following categories: mechanical,

physical, psychological, social, noise, religious, cultural, and language barriers.

Language is the most powerful tool of communication. Its function includes the: communication

of ideas, thoughts, opinion and emotional expression, social interaction, using the power of

sound, recording facts, expression of identity. However, at the same time, a common barrier to

effective communication. Language or semantic barriers arise when many words have more than

one meaning, and a sender and a receiver try to communicate in a language, which themselves do

not understand properly. So, communication is not always successful. There may be some faults

or obstacles in the communication system, which may prevent the message from reaching the

intended receiver or its destination. Language barriers are generally arising in five areas: the way

a message is originated and sent by a sender, environmental interruptions, and the way it is

received and understood by a receiver. Language barriers are significant because they are often

an impediment to building relationships with others. They can cause misunderstandings that lead

to conflict, frustration, offense, violence, hurt feelings, and wasting time, effort, money, and lives

of the people.

Summary, language barriers are semantic problems that arise during the process of encoding or

decoding the message into words and ideas, respectively. They are one of the main barriers that

limit effective communication. They are the most common communication barriers which cause
misunderstandings and misinterpretations between people. They indicate difficulties that two

people, who do not share a common language, face when they are trying to communicate with

each other. They can also refer to the complete absence of communication between the two

people who speak different languages.

This language barrier has to a larger extent effected the livelihood of migrants in the country of

destination. This has go a long way to make their settling-down take a very long time. It has also

landed many of the migrants into hand of scammers because they are curious to travel abroad

couple with they lack the adequate knowledge of the language.

5.5 Gender imbalance

Around the world, more people are on the move than ever before. Many of them are seeking new

opportunities and a better life for themselves and their families. Others are forced to move due to

disaster or conflict. Gender is central to any discussion of the causes and consequences of

migration.

Gender influences reasons for migrating, who migrates and to where, how people migrate and

the networks they use, opportunities and resources available at destinations, and relations with

the country of origin. Risks, vulnerabilities and needs are also shaped in large part by one’s

gender, and often vary drastically for different groups. The roles, expectations, relationships and

power dynamics associated with being a man, woman, boy or girl, significantly affect all aspects

of the migration process, and can also be affected in new ways by migration.

It is therefore crucial to understand how gender interacts with migration and to respond

accordingly. It is recognised that a person’s sex, gender identity shape every stage of the

migration experience.
On the other angle, where most particular sex migrate to other country for better life and to

support their various families, there will definitely gender imbalance. For instance, when large

number of male leave a particular locality to another place. The number of males in their place of

origin will reduce and so will lead to want of male. And so will it be if female migration is on the

increase.

5.6 Less pressure on Natural Resources

Natural resources are the constant things required for the growth and development of mankind.

These natural resources include but are not limited to food, water, energy, land, vegetation

among others. Every human person depends on the above listed resources for survival. It is good

to note that these resources are limited considering the rising population of people. An increase

in population directly increases the need for the natural resources. Therefore, when we think of

migration as a way of creating less pressure on natural resources, it implies that migration

reduces the number of people who struggle for survival in dependence on these natural

resources. It reduces the level of demand and increases supply.

In a country like Nigeria where there is a very high demand of natural resources, migration to

other countries helps to reduce the population and create more opportunities for survival. When

we have less people, there will be more availability of the basic amenities or natural resources.

One major cause of over consumption of natural resources is over population and one of the

ways to handle it is through migration.

5.7 Less pressure on Services

Here the basic services referred are education and health. There are ways by which education and

health sectors suffer pressure; one of these ways is over population. When there are too many

students, there will be a higher level of pressure on both the students and the teachers. While the
students will be struggling to succeed, the teachers will have more work to do. When you attend

a lecture class where there are about ten students and also attend one with more than a hundred

students, you will understand the difference. A class with less students is always more serene and

quiet, students pay more rapt attention and the work of the teacher becomes less since she has

less number of students to attend to and even lesser scripts to mark after tests and exams. But a

class with a big number creates an unconducive study environment for both the teacher and the

students. In such class you see different kinds of people whose intentions or aims of coming to

school vary. Some come to school because their parents are forcing them, others come because

others are coming, while others are in the school to avoid being called illiterates. The approaches

of these different groups to studies differ and in most cases the unserious ones constitute

distractions to who are truly willing to study. All these distractions are pressure and are caused

by over population. Migration could help solve this problem, this is because it brings about

reduction in the population of students in schools.

Again, admission process is very stressful because of over population. One seeks admission for

more than three years because applicants are much. Our schools are full of students, some

schools even admit more than the required number yet there are many still seeking admission,

this is caused by over population, some students end up studying the courses they never applied

for because the choices no longer have vacancy. Migration will help in this situation, it will

reduce the number of students and create more enabling study environment.

Healthcare also has its own problems accruing from overpopulation. It appears that our hospitals

are not enough to take care of the sick citizens, this is because of over population. During the

Covid 19 period, many people died because of limited medical facilities. Hospitals have limited

wards and beds and so when those few are filled, patients are rejected. Many hospitals lack
equipment, the little they have are for a small number of patients and this causes a high rate of

death in our hospital. Migration helps to reduce this kind of death. This is because the population

that migrated to other countries helps reduce the number in their country and so make medical

care easily gotten by those still remaining.

6.0 MIGRATION LINGUISTIC

Migration, among the most important socio-cultural phenomena of contemporary global societies

is complex, dynamic and multifaceted. At the heart of migration is language, the indispensable

agent of migration. Migration linguistic is the interdisciplinary and multidimensional study of

various aspects of language within the dynamic process of human mobility. It is a systematic

study of migration which focuses on how language affects and is also affected by the whole

migration process. A migration linguistic theory postulates that: (1) language is an essential

element in the migration process, (2) an individual’s acquisition, learning and use of language

significantly changes as a result of migration. (3) Migrants must be understood in the languages

they can use, they should be taught the destination language and should be provided with basic

and essential services understandable to them.

6.1 How migration affects language

Migration leaves a huge impact on language as immigrants usually have to learn the vocabulary

of a new language from the scratch. They also teach the owners of the land the words, phrases

and sentences from their own mother tongue. Some countries even suffer extensive mutations of

their language by the arrival of immigrants from different countries. This implies that countries

that harbour many other countries are always faced with multilingual problems.
7.0 EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION

This study examined the leading causes and consequences of international migration among the

Nigerian youth. Through descriptive research design. It presented an overall picture of the push

and pulls factors responsible for international migration in Nigeria in relation to linguistic. The

result of the study revealed that the principal causes of international migration in Nigeria were

job opportunities, unemployment, wealth prospects, safety and security, better conditions of

service, low salaries and higher standards of living. These foremost causes of international

migration in Nigeria were mostly economic factors. However, safety and security was the only

socio-political factor that was among leading causes of international migration in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the findings showed that the foremost positive and negative effects of international

migration in Nigeria were integrated development, increase in remittances, cheap and surplus

labour, urban services and social infrastructure under stress, stricter immigration norms, multi-

ethnic society and increased tolerance, Xenophobia, close gaps in skills and cultural dilution.

These effects were economic, social and political.

The strategies of the government for stemming international migration should address push

factors of unemployment, safety and security and low salaries and pull factors such as job

opportunities, wealth prospects, better conditions of service and higher standards of living since

they are the root causes of international migration;

The Federal government, states and non-governmental organizations should target their

interventions on other push and pull factors that increase susceptibility to international migration,

including limited chances of self-advancement, poor conditions of service, poverty, food security

and conflicts;
Since international migration are caused by economic, socio-political and ecological factors and

also affects development at micro and macro levels, policies of migration should not be only

restrictive but ponder on how variations in the framework of migration governance affect

economic, socio-political and environmental matters;

Entrepreneurship centres and programmes should be developed by the government and non-

governmental organizations to present livelihood choices such as basic education, literacy and

skills training to groups that are customarily disadvantaged like women and more susceptible to

international migration;

Infrastructural development should be among the priority of the government in terms of

investment to serve as a stand for the cultivation of skills and acquisition; Migration, a long-

standing poverty reduction and strategy for human development needs to be mainstreamed into

policies of development in Nigeria at the Federal, State and Local Governments;

The government should invest heavily in projects that can generate employment for the teeming

unemployed youths in Nigeria to curtail the rate at which they are leaving the country.

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