VNR  strengthened civil society relationship with government partners- Osita Osemene

Director of Patriotic Citizen Initiative and National Secretary cum Head of Programs at  Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour in Nigeria, Osita Osemene has thumbed up the just concluded Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) ahead of the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF).   

Osita said the engagement strengthened the civil society relationship with government partners.

The event which was held between February 17 and 21 at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos, had the International Organisation for Migration,  other international partners, members of the civil society, federal and state government agencies among others in attendance.

His words: “We (civil society) are playing a vital role here. You can see that we are complementing and supporting government efforts in the coordination of migration governance structure in Nigeria, and also in the coordination of anti-trafficking issues in all the states of Nigeria.For me, the meeting is very, very resourceful, and very, very timely and apt. Nigeria has come a long way in the fight against the smuggling of migrants and human trafficking.  From the angle of civil society, we are not actually happy with the way a lot of Nigerians have been forced and deported back to Nigeria and left to their fate without taking care of them. And they die emotionally and even psychosocially, they are not properly balanced. So we at the level of civil society are ensuring that we fight to ensure that Nigerians are brought back in dignified manner and taken care of.  So that is what this program has also made us to do as civil society contribution.

Commenting on how the event  is going to affect the workings of the civil society going forward Osita said: “One of the things I have seen here is that it has strengthened our relationship with the government partners. The relationship is going to help strengthen the service provision. When government and the civil society that are providing services, especially giving voice to the voiceless, partner,  it will  help to facilitate support. The support system has been activated because without the government structure, we will continue to make noise in Nigeria and nothing will happen.  Now that the civil society has been able to harmonize their differences and the relationship with government partners, it’s going to help us respond to the needs of these people who are the vulnerable groups.

“So our relationship with the government will help us to support them while they return back or even protect their rights over there in the countries of destination.”