THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Civil society organisations in Lagos State have renewed calls for closer coordination and stronger partnerships to address irregular migration and promote dignified, legal mobility. Members of the Civil Society Network on Migration and Development (CSOnetMADE) made the appeal when they held their first coordination meeting of 2026 in Lagos recently.
The meeting, held on 22 January at the Denny Social Welfare Hub (DSWHUB) office in the city, brought together 24 organisations working across migration governance, reintegration, gender-based violence prevention and community development.
Opening the session, Abosede Mary Otukpe, Lagos State Coordinator of CSOnetMADE, stressed that collaboration at state level is critical for effective migration governance and for aligning grassroots action with national priorities.
“No single organisation can address the complexities of migration alone,” Otukpe, who is also the director of DSWHUB, said. “Only through coordination, cooperation and consistent engagement can civil society meaningfully support national migration priorities and protect vulnerable people.”
Discussions were framed by Nigeria’s revised National Migration Policy (2025), with members examining the role of civil society in policy implementation, monitoring and public awareness. Speakers emphasised the need to take migration information beyond policy circles to communities, schools, faith groups and families, particularly those most at risk of irregular migration.
A key highlight of the meeting was the participation of Femi Awoniyi, Director of German-African Initiative for Development and Integration (GAIDI), who in a keynote speech shared insights from his organisation’s work with migrants and refugees in Germany.
Awoniyi, a prominent journalist and publisher of The African Courier magazine, outlined the benefits of stronger Africa–Europe civil society cooperation, particularly in the areas of prevention, information on legal migration pathways and dignified return and reintegration.
Awoniyi, a former President of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Germany, called for transnational collaboration to address the rising human costs of irregular migration, including deaths and the growing number of Africans stranded in transit or living in legal limbo in Europe, often in appalling situations. He reiterated that prevention efforts in countries of origin must go hand in hand with realistic information about legal options and opportunities for self actualisation at home.
The meeting also featured contributions from Rex Osa, founder of Refugees for Refugees, who underlined the importance of coordination among civil society actors as a foundation for effective migration governance.
Looking ahead, members of CSOnetMADE Lagos State agreed on concrete action steps for 2026, including advocacy visits to government ministries and international partners such as the International Organization for Migration, joint awareness programmes in schools and communities, online advocacy campaigns and enhanced counselling for returnees and their families.
Members also committed to strengthening the network’s visibility through coordinated communication and regular quarterly meetings, complemented by monthly virtual sessions.
Kola Tella
READ ALSO GAIDI Calls for Collaborative Action Against Irregular Migration
