Unlike the United States of America, Nigeria has and is currently experiencing internal immigration and high rates of emigration. Nigerians are the highest groups of people making their way to Italy through the Mediterranean. One of the greatest reasons, Nigerians are migrating is because of the jihadist group known as Boko Haram. The insurgency of Boko Haram was at its peak in 2014 which led to an average of 25 attacks in a month. The Boko Haram attacks led to the death of 11, 743 individuals with an almost equal division among the terrorists and the civilians ( Thurston, 2016) . In 2015 the Nigerian Army acquired new military equipment and incorporation of highly trained Special Forces personnel and mobile strike force which increased the morale of the troops leading to loss of power of Boko Haram from much of its territory. Since the Boko Haram’s loss of power, Nigeria has been in a stalemate state. Though repeated announcements by the government that war is almost over and hundreds of rebels have been killed, conflict to date is on. Currently, approximately 3.3 million Nigerian citizens are displaced with some rural areas lacking authorities’ control. Besides, Boko Haram maintains its ability to attack, raid, ambush, bomb and kidnap.
Other factors that have led to high emigration rates in Nigeria include population size, porous borders, and economic climate. However, the International Organization of Migration in Nigeria is constantly assisting the efforts of the Nigerian government by aiding voluntary returns, advisory services, counter-trafficking among many others. The partnership is to facilitate border management, decrease irregular migration, countering the trafficking of persons and assisting Nigeria’s development plans.
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The Film Separated: Children at the border offer great insight into how immigrants from E-Salvador are separated from their children at the US border (pbs.org, 2019). The Zero Tolerance policy crosses the line of humanity; this is just an act of inhumanity from the United States government. Since we are all human beings some practices are just not acceptable. The film brings out a case of violation of human rights treaties which includes the Convention on the Rights of a Child though the United States is a non-signatory and the international law that binds all states (the US as well) to understand the rights of children. The United States should have at least minimal standards of decency and humanity. However, I am grateful for the humane global order that is positional in calling out unaccepted behavior while reminding us where moral clarity lies.
It is so obvious that thousands of families cannot flee their homes because they are happy to do so. As President Trump states “When you are weak you are pathetically weak and the country will be overrun by thousands of immigrants (pbs.org, 2019)”. I believe that the actions taken by Trump’s administration do not at all solve the root course of the problem thus leading to more migration and more people stranded at the border. Helping El-Salvador sort out their violence and gang issue would have been a great first step in reducing the high rate of migration and inhumane acts. Just like Former US President Obama stated it is of great importance to open your doors to people who need your help this shows acts of civilization and human values (pbs.org, 2019). The use of children as a factor of deterring irregular migration is not acceptable because children are first children regardless of their status.
Nigeria and the United States of America are quite different with regards to migration because Nigeria is experiencing a high rate of emigration while the United States is experiencing a high rate of immigration. One of the greatest assumptions that stand out in the film is that migrants are criminals and bad people. People who are born and raised in an era where violence has never prevailed have negative attitudes towards immigrants. From the film separated at the border, it is evident that the government is afraid of immigrants because they believe that immigrants are a threat to safety in the country as they are likely to engage in property and violent crimes. The mentality of the host nation towards undocumented immigrants is crime though they are not significantly associated with crime or violence. Such a mentality is contrary to what is happening on the ground especially for the Nigerian emigrants who are escaping violence and the economic climate. The mentality of crime and emigrants is slightly off because for Nigerians escaping the war in their country, they are less likely to participate in criminal offending behavior because they aim to earn money to sustain themselves and their families and not to draw attention to themselves. Nigerians who run from countries due to violence as they manage to access social services are not likely to engage in criminal activities, unlike other individuals.
Despite migrants being regarded as criminals and bad people by President Trump at times, the scenario is always different as many individuals migrating to host countries end up being victimized. Nigerian immigrants who are sorting a safe refuge end up being victims who suffer at the hands of traffickers who place them in warehouses, threaten them and also abuse them ( Thurston, 2016) . The same actions were evident in the film as many of the immigrants running to the US tend to even inject themselves with birth control over the fear of rape and unwanted pregnancies (pbs.org, 2019). Due to this fact, the immigrants are less likely to report due to the fears that they will experience negative effects in case they come into contact with the police. Due to this fact, many of the immigrants tend to avoid legal ways of resolving disputes. Concerning the film and the high rate of Nigerian emigration, host countries should put away their negative assumptions about immigrants because being an immigrant does not mean one automatically a criminal. Migrants should be taken care of as migrants. The United States and other host nations should stop misplacing their efforts during any global crisis by focusing on border security. Poverty and war are reasons why people flee their homes, therefore; addressing such issues during immigration law and policy enforcement is mandatory.
The Nigeria government through the Cooperation Agreement by the International Organization of Migration various efforts have been put in place to manage the rate of migration through countering trafficking, assisting voluntary returns to Nigerian citizens who want to get back home but lack the means and technical aid on migration issues ( Thurston, 2016) . Strong collaboration facilitates border management, reduces the number of trafficking incidences and reduced irregular migration that has negatively affect the development plans of Nigeria.
In conclusion, the central point from the films is that people are migrating from their home areas because of violence and constant threats. Violence and gangs are similar to what is happening in Nigeria as the gang group known as Boko Haram has maintained its ability to attack, raid, ambush, bomb and kidnap to date. Despite, repeated announcements by the government that war is almost over and hundreds of rebels have been killed, conflict to date is on. According to the 10-year quarterly trend of Boko Haram attacks, in 2017 there was a spike in attacks, while 2018 saw a reduction in the number of attacks and deaths. However, the attack and death in 2019 have increased significantly. Therefore, the Nigerian government has the duty of protecting its citizens by effectively dealing with the insurgents.
References
https://www.oasiscenter.eu/en/nigeria-boko-haram-jihadist-group-causes-migration
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/separated-children-at-the-border/
Thurston, A. (2016). ‘The disease is unbelief’: Boko Haram’s religious and political worldview .
