Migration and Refugee crisis in Western Africa
Western Africa compasses of 17 countries namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, it covers the area of about 8 million square kilometers. Although migration in the region is nothing novel as Western Africa had high levels of mobility even during the colonial era but the attempt here is to understand the present migration and refugee crisis. Seeking to answer what led to the migration and refugee crisis in the first place?
Migrant & Refugee:
Migration is a voluntary process whereby a person moves from one place to another, the movement can occur within the country or moving from one country to another. Migrants usually move to other places in search of better opportunities. There is no international law to protect migrants as it is a voluntary measure.
“Refugees are people outside their country of origin because of fear of persecution, conflict, violence or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and who, as a result, require international protection”. They are protected under international law as article 14 of the universal declaration of human rights asserts the right of everyone to seek asylum. “The 1951 Geneva convention and the 1967 protocol as well as the Organisation of African Unity convention on governing the specific aspects of refugee problem in Africa defines and includes the basic rights and obligation of refugees”.
The biggest difference between the two terms is that migration is a voluntary process meaning the person who migrates chooses to do so, while taking refuge is an involuntary measure as the person is forced to move out of their country of origin out of fear for their life.
Migration Crisis:
Migrants in the West African region mostly shift from one country to another within the region for instance 2 out of 3 migrants live in another western African nation. The region hosts about 7.64 million international migrants in mid-2020 as per United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs report.
According to Afrobarometer 2019 survey, economic conditions including finding work, better business prospects were the most important reason for emigration by 70 to 90 percent of the respondents in the 14 west African countries surveyed. Majority of the migrant labourers work in the informal sector such as mining.
Migration levels are high in the region with low-income and landlocked countries contributing the most for example 97 percent of migrants from Burkina Faso live in another western African country. 90 percent of migrants from Niger, 75 percent from Benin, Mali, and Togo.
Migrants from prosperous coastal areas such as Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal migrate outside the region. For instance, percentage of west Africans living in Europe have increased from 12 percent in mid-1990 to 19 percent in mid-2020, while the share in North America has increased from 3 to 10 percent over the same period. So, people from economically poor states are moving to another country within the region while people in rich countries of the region are moving outside the region to Europe, North America.
Source:https://www.oecd.org/swac/publications/2018-wap-17-identifying-the-factors-driving-west-african-migration.pdf
The bar graph clearly states that jobs/better pay is the primary reason for migration, with remittances being the next biggest factor in case of Nigeria and Cote d’ Ivoire. For instance, 50 percent of the respondents from Nigeria said better pay was the motivating factor for shifting to another country, while only 23 percent cited sending money back home as a motivating factor. Similarly, in Cote d’ Ivoire, 47 percent of respondents cited better pay as the primary reason and 39 percent said sending money back home as the motivating factor.
The case of Mali and Senegal is riveting where sending money back home was the stronger factor among remittances and better pay. For instance, for 46 percent of respondents remittances mattered while 32 percent cited better pay as the reason to migrate. Likewise in Senegal, 52 percent said remittances was the reason to shift and for 35 percent of respondents better pay was the main factor.
Source:https://www.oecd.org/swac/publications/2018-wap-17-identifying-the-factors-driving-west-african-migration.pdf
The strongest factor with regards to migration push were satisfaction with democracy and trust in police in the case of Nigeria. The implication being that those who were unhappy with the state of democracy were more likely to migrate. The next strongest factor for migration was trust in police implying those who did not trust the police were more likely to shift to another country.
Refugee Crisis:
Western Africa is reeling from a refugee crisis for example 3.5 million people need assistance in Burkina Faso, 3.8 million people in Niger, 8.9 million people in Nigeria.
Taking the case of Nigeria, three reasons come to the fore. The first being exploitation of oil which did not lead to prosperity for all. In addition to that, there is the rise of Boko Haram which is responsible for instability. The main reason for the crisis is that American oil companies such as Texaco, Mobil, Chevron and Ashland benefits from the drilling and it did not lead to development for the average citizen.
Secondly, the oil exploitation led to environmental damage as fishing and farming which was the main occupation for people living along Niger delta have been destroyed. The oil spills have poisoned the water leading to the destruction of fisheries as well as the marine ecosystem. Gas fires have made farming difficult and with the economy drying up, corruption rose leading to further problems for the locals.
Third, the crisis of lake Chad which is shared by Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon. The water body has dried by 90 percent since 1960s due to overuse as well as climate change. The crisis has exacerbated food insecurity, heightened poverty leading many in the region to leave in search of water. People who relied on fishing and farming for their livelihood have suffered as a result and are vulnerable to recruitment by non-state actors such as Boko Haram.
The countries in the region are being affected by climate change leading to food insecurity. For instance, the global food security index ranks Burkina Faso 97, Niger 104 out of 113 countries surveyed indicating that these countries are food insecure. Agriculture which is done by 60 percent of the population on the continent is impacting famers negatively due to climate change. For example, variable rainfall has plummeted cereal production in Niger. The coastal areas are also being impacted due to rising sea levels, floods, soil erosion, increases salinity of the ocean, disappearance of certain species etc.
The refugee crisis in the region is not only taking place due to harsh effects of climate change but also because of poor governance as in the case of Nigeria wherein the utilization of oil did not lead to broad based prosperity. The refugee crisis is a symptom of state’s inability to govern, governance standards need to improve at the grassroot level to fully address the issue of refugees.
Final Viewpoint
Western Africa suffers from a migration as well as a refugee crisis. Both the issues stem from poor governance by the states as well as poor quality of life in the state. Taking migration patterns into account, the evidence displays that people in low-income states migrate to better economies within the region, while those in higher-income state within the region migrate to Europe and the North American continent.
Considering the case of Nigeria wherein poor governance, wide gap in prosperity standards has not only led to the rise of terrorism in the state but also forced people to leave the state due to loss of livelihood particularly fishing and farming. Refugee crisis in the state needs to be tackled not only by ensuring Boko Haram does not erode quality of life but also by addressing deep rooted issues such as poor governance, improving job prospects particularly in farming and fishing sector.
End Notes
1) https://eros.usgs.gov/westafrica/physical-geography
2) https://www.migrationdataportal.org/regional-data-overview/western-africa
3) https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/west-african-countries.html
4) https://pitt.libguides.com/c.php?g=12378&p=65818
5) https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/latest/2016/3/56e95c676/refugees-migrants-frequently-asked-questions-faqs.html
6) https://www.oecd.org/swac/publications/2018-wap-17-identifying-the-factors-driving-west-african-migration.pdf
7) https://gho.unocha.org/inter-agency-appeals/west-and-central-africa
8) https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2014/05/06/explaining-the-emergence-of-boko-haram/
9) https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups/boko_haram.html
10) https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2019-march-2020/drying-lake-chad-basin-gives-rise-crisis#:~:text=But%20the%20Lake%20Chad%20%E2%80%9CBasin,overuse%20and%20climate%20change%20effects.
11) https://impakter.com/another-boat-sinks-amidst-africas-refugee-crisis/
12) https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2019/09/20/africas-climate-crisis-conflict-and-migration-challenges/
Pic Courtesy-Daniel Omolewa at unsplash.com
(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)
