StoryMi Collaborates to Train 35 Nigerian Journalists on Reporting Labour Migration

StoryMi Academy, an institution and movement committed to empowering storytellers, preserving cultural heritage, and promoting Nigerian and African stories globally, has partnered with Tell That Story, IRARA, and Diaspora Africa to train 35 journalists from various media platforms—online, radio, and print—on the complexities of reporting labour migration in Africa and beyond.

The training, conducted under the fellowship programme “Reporting Labour Migration” (RELAM), was supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit and the Nigerian-German Centre for Migration and Development. It took place over five days in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, where journalists from different media organisations gained insights into the realities and challenges of labour migration reporting.

During the workshop, StoryMi founder Sophie Bouillon highlighted the crucial role of balanced labour migration reporting, especially within the African context. She pointed out that migration-related topics in Nigeria have often been covered from one-sided perspectives, generating undue alarm and misunderstanding. “And this is because the majority of those who migrate do so irregularly,” said Dr Roland Nwoha.

Dr Nwoha, who currently serves as the regional director of IRARA, a global team of humanitarian and migration specialists working together to ensure Positive Futures for everyone, denounced the most popular insinuation that there are “illegal migrants”.  With Dr Emeka Obiezu, who taught the selected journalists on migration policies, clarifying that migration is lawful and is the right of every human, Dr Nwoha said, “This is why it is wrong to say ‘illegal migrants’ because a human cannot be illegal just as migration cannot be.”

He said the right terminology to use both in media and in day-to-day interactions, in place of “illegal”, is “irregular” and “legal” for “regular”. This is important because the term “illegal migrants” has gained undue fame across the world, overwhelming the status of migrants who decided to migrate regularly, following the provisions of both international and national laws.

This narrative was formerly supported by the Associated Press (AP) in its Stylebook in August 2015 when it published an article titled: ‘Illegal immigrant’ no more. The article advised that ‘illegal immigration’, which means entering or residing in a country in violation of civil or criminal law, except in direct quotes essential to the story, should be used only to refer to an action, not a person: illegal immigration, but not illegal immigrant. Despite this, Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, has repeatedly described migrants as “no-human, illegal aliens, animals, etc.”

Migrating from one country of origin to another country entirely is not illegal, Myriam Nouicer said. But this narrative is not as widespread as the wrong perspective popularly known as “illegal migration”. This is why there is a need for balanced media reportage, explaining that migration is not illegal, and it is rather irregular when any migrants jump through the provided regulations to migrate. “This is when it is regarded as irregular migration, not illegal migration,” Sandra Vermuijten-Alonge, the current head of programme at GIZ-Nigeria, added.

Meanwhile, Dr Paul Nwankwo, Business Development Manager and International Returns and Reintegration Assistance at IRARA, discussed the launch of a new report on labour migration titled Media Coverage of Migration in Nigeria: A Baseline Assessment during the workshop.

The report launched on the first day of the workshop is extensive research by Roland Nwoha, Emeka Obiezu, Paul Nwankwo, Precious Diagboya, Myriam Nouicer and Sophie Bouillon on how the Nigerian media covers migration stories.

According to Nwankwo, the report is the result of months of research on migration stories in Nigeria. Adding to its in-depth and significance, he said the report contains the required information, which will serve as the guide for media organisations and professionals on how they should further report on migration from now on.

StoryMi founder, Bouillon, also shared her experience as a former AFP Lagos Correspondent, where she reported on Nigerian migrants returning from Libya in 2016. Bouillon stressed the importance of empathy when reporting on migration, urging journalists not to judge the reasons behind migrants’ decisions. “Being empathetic to their situations and prioritising their stories over judgement would make a significant difference in how migration is reported,” she said.

The workshop also had in attendance experienced professionals from the National Commission for Migrants, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI)—Alex Amadi; the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)—Josiah Emerole; IOM—Dr Adebanke Adetutu; and Moise Gomis, Omoregie Osakpolor and Adejumo Kabir.

Isah Ismaila, one of the RELAM fellows who works with HumAngle media, a leading platform for reporting conflict, development, and humanitarian issues in the Sahel, described the training as “not just interactive but engaging and deeply insightful,” because each session “was led by seasoned experts across journalism, radio, documentary, migration, and photography, sparking meaningful conversations and challenging us to think critically about the narratives surrounding labour migration in West Africa.”

Ismaila, who has extensively written about migration in the past, said he now understood migration from the lens of “both push and pull factors”. The journalist pledged that he will be able to challenge the dominant narratives and drive policy change from now on through his reporting about migration.

Nnenna Okon, another fellow who works with the Nigerian Info FM, Lagos, said her selection to be part of the media professionals for the RELAM project was an exciting experience. Describing the quality of the facilitators as “people who know what they are talking about”, Okon said RELAM training was an eye-opener regarding topics about migration.

Enoch Oyedibu, an investigative journalist with African Angle and PIJAlance Magazine Lead, who had previously taken part in an IOM-sponsored Climate Migration workshop implemented by Diaspora Africa, emphasised how each session of the fellowship widened his perspectives and reporting lens on migration stories.

Oyedibu, who described the fellowship programme as the “best place to be in 2025”, said he is already looking forward to redefining migration stories through his reporting.

The fellowship is expected to continue, with 10 out of the selected 35 journalists granted N1,000,000 to produce stories around transboundary migration, demonstrating their fresh perspectives on how migration stories ought to be reported henceforth.

Worthy of note, Japa, a colloquial term originating from Nigeria’s Yoruba ethnic group, meaning “to leave”, has come to symbolise the fear and uncertainty surrounding migration. Due to Nigeria’s current economic and unemployment struggles, young Nigerians have increasingly migrated in search of better opportunities, and “Japa” has become synonymous with this exodus.  The popularity of the word made the editors of the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (OALD) in January 2025 include it in the dictionary to mean “the emigration of Nigerians to other countries (especially in Europe or North America) in search of better education, employment, or economic opportunities.”

The subject of migration is so significant in Nigerian history that in August 2025, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported approximately 2.1 million Nigerians live abroad, a number that has grown by over 244% since 2000. The same year, remittances from the Nigerian diaspora amounted to roughly $21 billion, making them a significant contributor to the Nigerian economy.

The total number of Nigerians living abroad, including second- and third-generation Nigerians, is estimated at 17 million—the largest diaspora in Sub-Saharan Africa. For years, the stories behind their migration have been told differently; however, the RELAM Fellowship, powered by StoryMi, is planning to redefine that.

Read Also: Diaspora Africa, IOM Train PIJAlance Journalist, 19 Others on Climate Migration Reporting