As the world marks International Migration Day today, the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), has called for renewed national commitment to addressing Nigeria’s complex migration realities, urging policies that place human dignity, opportunity, and shared responsibility at their core.

Nigeria is reminded that migration is not a distant or abstract phenomenon, but a lived reality shaping its cities, communities, and national trajectory.

From millions of internally displaced persons forced from their homes by conflict and climate shocks, to young Nigerians seeking opportunity abroad, and diaspora communities sustaining families and local economies through remittances, migration sits at the heart of Nigeria’s social and economic story.

Across the country, internal migration continues to redefine urban life, as rural-to-urban movement accelerates in search of livelihoods, education, and basic services.

At the same time, prolonged insecurity in parts of the country has produced one of Africa’s largest populations of internally displaced persons, placing enormous pressure on host communities already grappling with poverty and limited infrastructure.

Beyond Nigeria’s borders, the steady outflow of skilled professionals has intensified national conversations around brain drain, even as the Nigerian diaspora remains a critical source of resilience, sending substantial remittance home annually and contributing skills, networks, and innovation to national development.