By Lydia Legbo
Amid growing concerns over climate change’s role in driving rural-urban migration and the need to integrate scientific research into existing migration policies in Nigeria, the MIGRAWARE Research team has underscored the importance of collaboration between the government and stakeholders to ensure research outcomes provide a solid foundation for institutions.
This message was the focal point of a one-day hybrid validation workshop held on Thursday, October 10, 2024, at Stratton Hotel, Asokoro, Abuja. The event, detailed in a communiqué signed by Professor Apollonia Okhimamhe, the MIGRAWARE Research Team Lead and Director, WASCAL, aimed to present and validate the findings from research conducted by the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) and the Department of Geography both in the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA), in collaboration with Martin- Luther – University Halle – Wittenberg ( Germany), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Coknow ( Germany), PiSolutions (Germany), the University of Wurzburg (Germany), the University of Cape Coast ( Ghana), the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research ( Ghana), Hen Mpoano ( Ghana), and the University of Nazi Boni ( Burkina Faso).
The communiqué pointed to the challenges posed by the lack of up-to-date census data and limited access to migration and spatial data, which hinder research efforts. It emphasized the need for the government to commit to conducting a national census and invest in capacity-building programs that focus on migration drivers and methodologies.
Additionally, the workshop highlighted the importance of using the outcomes of the WASCAL CCHH-led MIGRAWARE project to inform national policy, particularly in line with the domestication of the Kampala Declaration. It urged authorities to validate and utilize migration research data for effective policy planning and implementation.