A National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, survey report showed that the socio economic problems in the country might push 51.6 percent males to migrate.
According to the 2023 survey report titled: “Awareness and perception of intending and returned migrants on the dangers of irregular migration” the tendency to migrate is less in females than in male as the former has a 48.6 percent preverlence to migrate.
The Bureau also noted that the survey took place in 10 states namely; Anambra, Edo, Lagos, Benue, Gombe, Kano, Delta, Yobe, Ogun and FCT, as against the six states covered in the 2022 survey.
The report stated: “Evidence from this year’s edition indicated that the tendency for migration in Nigeria continues to be high and frequent among males, and less among females across the ten states being investigated. Both the 2022 and 2023 survey showed similar patterns and trends as migration is less prevalent among females than males.
“In 2023, females had lower record of prevalence with 48.6 per cent and the males with higher record of 51.4 per cent. Even in terms of likelihood of non compliance to travel requirements, the 2023 edition indicated that males are mostly culpable with 51.9 per cent than females with 44.8 per cent.
“Social economic problems continue to be the dominant reason for embarking on migration and even in the choices of routes, both from the perspective of returned and the potential migrants. More than 30 per cent of all intended migrants in 2022 wanted to travel out in search of job, with a slightly larger share in 2023.
“To show how much economic factors drive migration, both the 2022 and 2023 survey drew parallels correlation of 51.8 per cent and 51 per cent of intending migrants are without means of livelihood in that order.
“The same economic reason largely informed the decision of parents to send their children/wards as House Help, while that of Almajirinci is largely informed by religion, and not necessarily based on economic factors.
“In other words, it is evident from the 2023 survey that 55 percent of the rural households send their children or wards for Almajirinci, out of which 83.2% were sent to acquire Quranic education/religious morals. Similarly, 28.1 percent of the households who gave out their members as House Help did so to earn a living.
“Evidently, findings from the 2022 survey showed that the United States of America was the most preferred destination for intending migrants among the six focused states in Nigeria with 19.6 per cent, followed by Canada with 12.8 per cent. In 2023, the survey revealed that out of 25 Intending Countries, Canada was the most preferred destination for intending migrants with 19.5 per cent, closely followed by Saudi Arabia with 17.2 per cent.”
The NBS study recommended wealth creation for job opportunities, continuous sensitization on inherent danger of migration among youths, especially irregular movement across borders, as well as social investment and improvement of security through appropriate funding and effective administration of security agencies as antidotes to migration malaise in Nigeria.
