News Investigators/ The Head of the Lagos Sub-Office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Ali Ali Ibrahim, has urged journalists to adopt a human-centred approach in reporting migration issues.
Mr Ibrahim made the call while welcoming journalists to a three-day migration reporting workshop held on Monday in Lagos.
He said that reports by journalists should focus on the experiences and statistics of migrants as they move around the world
According to him, migration meant different things to different people, including money, movement, numbers, crises, and controversies.
The IOM official, however, said that at its core, migration was about people.
Mr Ibrahim said that migration involved real people with real stories whose experiences deserved to be reported with dignity, accuracy, and empathy.
He said the workshop would move beyond classroom presentations and provide participants with practical exposure to migration realities through field visits and direct engagement with migrants.
Mr Ibrahim said participants would witness the arrival of a charter flight conveying returning migrants and visit transit facilities where migrants receive support upon arrival.
He added that the journalists would have opportunities to interact with migrants and listen to stories of hope, resilience, challenges, loss, and, in some cases, violations of their rights.
The IOM official expressed optimism that the workshop would deepen participants’ understanding of migration issues and improve the quality of migration-related reports produced in the future.
“We want to tell these stories in a way that humanises migrants, dignifies their experiences, and reflects the realities they face every day,” he said.
Mr Ibrahim said that the knowledge gained during the workshop should shape migration reporting in the coming weeks, months, and years, adding that migration remained fundamentally a story about people.
Speaking on the overview of IOM Nigeria mission, IOM Project Assistant on Awareness Raising, Fatima Adeyemi, highlighted the IOM’s efforts to promote safe migration and support returnees
Ms Adeyemi said that the organisation was expanding operations to strengthen migration management and support vulnerable migrants across Nigeria.
She noted that the IOM Lagos Sub-Office coordinates activities across the South-West and South-South regions, including Lagos, Benin, Ogun, Oyo, Enugu, Abia, Rivers and Bayelsa and in some Northern states.
NAN