Irregular migration surges as economic hardship spikes in Nigeria

“Many are the afflictions of Nigerians”, said a Lagos based migration expert, Osita Osemene, as he reacted to the Federal Government’s recent revelation that over 3000 Nigerians had been repatriated from Chad, Niger, Cameroon in the last six months.

DAILY POST reports that migration has been growing exponentially as Nigerians try to escape hunger, starvation and the unprecedented insecurity in the land.

Last week, the Federal Government reported that about 3,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Chad, Cameroon and Niger since the beginning of the year.

The Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Tijani Ahmed, stated this during the commemoration of World Refugee Day, recently in Abuja.

He added that NCFRMI had been instrumental in the reception and registration of asylum seekers from Cameroon living in Adamawa, Cross River, Benue, Taraba, Akwa Ibom and Nigeriens living in Borno and Yobe states.

“About 3,000 Nigerian refugees were voluntarily repatriated back to Nigeria in Borno State in January 2026. Efforts are in place to sign a tripartite agreement for the voluntary return of Nigerian refugees in Niger Republic,” he said.

Ahmed expressed worry over what he termed the ‘tragic images’ coming from Sudan, Syria, Cameroon, the Republic of Niger, Turkey, Eastern DRC and the Middle East, stressing that they depict global volatility and have the potential to add to the backlog of humanitarian demands on the country.

He noted that Nigeria, through the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), has strived to respect a key humanitarian obligation of upholding the principle of non-refoulement, ensuring that asylum seekers are granted free access into the territory of Nigeria.

Also, the UNHCR Representative to Nigeria, Arjun Jain, told global leaders that seeking safety was a non-negotiable human right.

Jain said that the treaty was established after the Second World War as a universal promise to protect anyone fleeing conflict or persecution.

Represented by the UNHCR Deputy Representative, Bernadette Muteshi, he said: “Today, that safety net is under immense pressure, but human rights are not negotiable.

“Safety should not be a privilege. No one is truly safe until the most vulnerable among us are safe.

“No one chooses to leave everything they love behind. The right to seek safety is a sacred promise of shared humanity.”

Just last year, there was a similar report that about 4000 Nigerians refugees were living in Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

However, the latest report had sparked outrage among Nigerians, who have attributed the development to poor and ineffective leadership, which had ostensibly brought the country to its knees.

In the last couple of months, the Nigeria economy had become so gloomy and dire such that hunger was spreading agony and sorrow across many households in the country. Insecurity has gone beyond the rooftop, with many schools across 10 local government areas in Oyo State, South West Nigeria, closing down because kidnappers are on rampage.

Food has become a luxury and serious existential threat to millions of Nigerians. Prices of staple foods like maize, rice, millet, guinea corn, garri and other food items, like beans, have all hit the roof top, making life miserable and nasty for many households.

To make matters worse, Boko Haram Islamists sect, Fulani herdsmen militia, bandits and kidnappers, have all made life a living hell for Nigerians across all the geopolitical zones.

Yet, presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga was confidently telling Nigerians that he does not see the hunger that people are complaining about.

The cumulative effect of hunger, starvation and insecurity coupled with other unfavourable situations in Nigeria, is seen in the increasing number of Nigerians migrating to different countries across the world.

While some are leaving the country due to economic hardship, others are leaving because the safety of citizens’ lives and properties is no longer guaranteed by the government. Nigeria is gradually drifting to the Hobbesian society where life has become poor, short, nasty and brutish.

Commenting on the migration spike, an educationist, Mallam Sabiu Ibrahim, said the situation would continue not because those African countries are better than Nigeria but because they want a place where the safety of their lives is guaranteed.

He noted that those who have embarked on migration couldn’t just fold their hands and watch some bandits kill them like fowls. Besides, some also left due to hunger and starvation.

“They needed a place to run to for survival and they felt those African countries could be better. Unfortunately, they got stranded as they discovered that things were not as they seemed.

“Imagine the situation before the All Progressives Congress (APC) came to power and the situation Today; it is an embarrassment. We are already sitting on a time bomb.

“Don’t forget that over time, the North has suffered from poverty, hunger, deprivation and a whole lot of other ills from our so-called leaders, who never, and probably may never look out for the welfare of their people as their paramount responsibilities.

“So, to that extent, what you see is little compared to what will happen if the situation continues like this. More people will still embark on such journeys.

“Many even prefer to suffer and die in foreign lands instead of staying to die of hunger and starvation in their fatherland,” he stated.

For the President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr Pogu Bitrus, the spike in migration of Nigerians is a true representation of the socio-economic realities in Nigeria.

According to him, hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, who can’t travel to Europe and America, would take to Niger Republic, Chad, Cameroon and other African countries.

“So, what you see is a true reflection of our current reality. There are a lot of Nigerians spread across African countries who were chased out of Nigeria because of insurgency and economic situation.

“That is just the reality, but as long as there is insecurity, people will migrate and move out of this country,” he said.

Also speaking, Abdullahi , an educationist based in Maiduwa Local Government Area of Katsina State, described the development as embarrassing.

Also speaking, Osemene, who is also the founder of Patriotic Citizens’ Initiative, PCI, believes that the government should do something to fix the country’s economy and improve the security situation.

He stated that fixing the economy and securing the lives and property of citizenry were the only way to halt Nigerians from moving in droves not only to Europe and America but to even smaller African countries in search of better life.

“This number is just a tip of the iceberg. There are more Nigerians who are in terrible situations in so many other African countries.

“I think our leaders should just help us. They should try to fix this country. Nigeria is blessed with abundant human and mineral resources and they should not be found in these kinds of situations.

“The only way to stop people from migrating in such a large number is to fix the country. If the Nigerian economy starts booming, with security of lives and property assured, some of these unnecessary migrations will stop,” he stated.

He revealed that many people who end up in African countries were actually on their way to Europe but decided to go through Libya or Algeria, from where they planned to escape to Europe through the sea.

“But, somehow, things don’t always work out as planned and you see many of them getting stranded in those transit countries like Libya and Algeria.

“As for those found in other African countries, you could say they were deceived to believe that things are greener over there. But, when they got there, it was a different situation entirely.

“The truth is that many Nigerians are deceived and lured into migration believing that life is greener out there. Although even when the reverse becomes the case, many still prefer to remain in those countries, no matter how hard things are because if not for any other thing, at least, they are sure of the safety of their lives.

“So, I think that our leaders should just fix this country and all this nonsense will stop naturally,” he stated.

Irregular migration surges as economic hardship spikes in Nigeria