DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2020.v08i04.010

Pages: 232-238

Migration is a fundamental part of the people’s history. It has consistently continued shaping identity of people and therefore one of the most powerful defining forces of West Africa. Nigeria was a net recipient of migrants especially from Niger, Ghana, Benin, Mali and other West African countries. Immigrants flooding Nigeria were from different social and economic backgrounds and drawn to the country for the socio-economic opportunities. The changing trend in the economy of the region in the 1980s however, changed the whole situation. Most of the migrants began to use Nigeria as a transit destination towards Europe through North Africa. In spite of stricter immigration policies and global awareness of the dangers inherent in illegal routes to the destinations of the migrants, there seems to be increase in such migrations. Of all the routes, the most reported and most dangerous has been the Mediterranean route, which is popularly used by African migrants aiming to migrate to Europe for greener pastures. Since the 2000s, troubling number of deaths of African migrants aiming to cross to Europe is recorded on the journey, either on the Saharan Desert or the Mediterranean Sea. United Nations for instance reported that an estimated 33,761 died or were declared missing on the route between 2000 and 2017. The focus of this paper is to look at the inter-play of factors influencing labour movement across West Africa’s international borders and its implication on migration along Mediterranean routes. It would show that although states policies for the control of illegal migration in the region may have immediate impact on the internal dimension of labour movement, the special characteristics of African border areas always make such impact very limited.