While West Africa has become the focus of media and policy discussions on migration because of its high level of both labour migration and forced displacement, there is a general paucity of data on the dynamics of migration flows and their impacts on socio-economic development in the sub-region. As a way of helping to fill some of the existing knowledge gaps which make it difficult to integrate migration into development planning processes, this book has employed various theoretical perspectives to analyse the trends, patterns, drivers, and socio-economic impacts of both voluntary and involuntary migration in West Africa. The authors have also examined policy responses to intractable migration-related challenges, and outlined policy recommendations for improving migration governance, strengthening mechanisms for the protecting, and maximining the developmental impacts of migration for both countries of origin and destination of migrants.

The presentations have demonstrated that despite the popular narratives which suggest mass movement from West Africa to Europe and which have partly led to increased efforts by the EU to prevent irregular migration from West Africa through strict border control (Zanker et al., 2020), a majority of migrants from the West sub-region still migrate intra-regionally. Current intra-regional migration flows in West Africa have largely followed historical patterns, where labour migrants continue to move from Sahelian countries (e.g. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger) to the mineral-rich and plantation communities in coastal countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. Recent data supports historical patterns which indicate that circular migration is still very dominant in West Africa (Awumbila et al., 2014). The choice of destination of intra-regional migrants is largely determined by a combination of factors, such as proximity, colonial legacy and common official language. Migrants tend to move to nearby countries, with similar colonial history and common language. Consistent with the historical patterns, Côte d’Ivoire is still the most popular destination of intra-regional migrants, as labour migrants from many of the francophone countries, especially Burkina Faso and Mali are easily attracted to the Ivorian cocoa economy.

While intra-regional migration is greatly facilitated by the ECOWAS Free Movement protocol, a number of challenges, such as harassment of migrants at borders and contradistinctions between the protocol and national laws of some member states, militate against the realisation of the full potential benefits of free movement and regional integration. Many of these challenges are products of lack of commitment on the part of West African governments to fully implement the free movement protocol (Adepoju, 2005; Teye et al., 2015). Future intra-regional migration patterns will largely depend on the commitment of West African governments to support the implementation of the ‘right of residence’ and ‘right of establishment’ components of the protocol. Effective management of the tensions between citizens of member states and nationals in some ECOWAS countries ( e.g Ghana and Nigeria) as well as full implementation of ECOWAS new strategies, such as the social security portability and the proposal to remove the maximum 90 days ‘visa free’ stay in another country, will enhance regional integration in West Africa.

Although intra-regional migration is still the dominant type of migration, a number of changes have been observed in migration patterns in the West Africa region. First, Libya which used to be a popular destination for West Africans intending to enter Europe through the Mediterranean is no more a preferred destination for West African migrants, due to political crisis and insecurity. New migrants’ destinations have emerged, both within and outside Africa. The new destinations in Africa include emerging oil producing countries, such as Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. There has also been increasing labour migration towards South Africa. Strict visa regimes, in popular destination countries in Europe and increased opportunities in labour markets in the Gulf region, have also led to increased flow of West Africans to the Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Both intra-regional mobility and migration outside the region have been seriously affected by Covid-19 related border closures. Another feature of migration in West Africa that has withnessed changes is the gender composition of migrants. Historically, migration streams from and within West Africa were dominated by male labour migrants, who largely worked in mineral-rich and plantation communities in host countries within the sub-region. Many of the migrants who moved to Europe and destinations outside the region were also largely males. As a result of patriarchal norms, which construct men as ‘bread winners’ (i.e. providers) and women as ‘care givers’, females were expected to stay at home and take care of children. Migrant women mainly joined the migration trail as wives, sisters and daughters. However, within the last four decades, women have been increasingly moving independently for education, work, and other purposes (Awumbila & Torvikeh, 2018). This feminization of migration streams reflects changing norms and gender ideals. Such changes are also the result of the transformation of local and global structures, including changing labour markets and advanced telecommunication that facilitates transnational practices, such as long-distance parenting. Increasing number of women are also important aspects of the infrastructure of migration facilitation. As the paper on irregular migration from Senegal shows, while irregular migration is male dominated, women play a critical role in mobilising religious and financial support. Migration is also contributing to changes in traditional gender roles of migrant families. As a result of increasing feminization of migration, masculinity and femininity ideals are negotiated and changed, even if patriarchal norms continue to affect notions of female migration in some settings.

With particular reference to the factors that drive people from their usual areas of residence, the chapters presented in this volume demonstrate that while the drivers of migration in West Africa fall under all the four categories of drivers identified by Van Hear (2012), which entail predisposing/underlying factors, proximate drivers, precipitating factors and mediating drivers, the dominant policy narratives on the drivers of migration suggest that international migration from West Africa is driven by climate change, poverty, and political conflicts. The Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development (i.e. Rabat Process), for instance, primarily focuses on addressing these ‘root causes’ of irregular migration (EC, 2005; Knoll & de Weijer, 2016; ICMPD, 2019). The attribution of migration to climate change is supported by evidence, as both slow on-set climatic processes (e.g drought and rainfall variability) and rapid on-set events (floods) contribute to massive out-migration in West Africa (Schraven et al., 2020). However, contrary to media narratives which suggest that climate change is contributing to irregular migration towards Europe, many climate-induced migrants actually migrate over short distances to nearby rural communities where they can undertake their farming activities. Also, while poverty contributes to migration flows in West Africa, many poor migrants only migrate over short distances to nearby rural areas or urban areas because they do not have financial and social capital to undertake long-distance travel towards Europe. It is therefore concluded that while programmes being implemented in West African countries to alleviate poverty are good, they may not immediately significantly reduce irregular migration Europe because migration itself is an integral part of social transformation (de Haas, 2010; Haas & Frasen, 2018). Migration flows from West Africa towards Europe may only reduce in the long-run when there are more job opportunities within West African countries. The findings also clearly show that current policy approaches, which focus on limiting risky irregular migration through information campaigns (Carling, 2007; Fargues & Bonfanti, 2014), are not likely to achieve desirable results because they fail to recognise the role of religious beliefs in preparing for and interpreting the experiences of harrowing journeys with a high risk of harm and death. As the paper on irregular migration from Senegal shows, many of the people who embark on risky irregular migration are aware of the dangers associated with such journeys, but they believe that God will protect them during such journeys.

The findings in this volume also demonstrate that West African countries, in recent years, are making efforts to enhance the governance of migration. To this end, a number of policies and programmes have been implemented with the aim of strengthening mechanisms for the protection of current and return migrants. However, existing State-led frameworks for protecting vulnerable refugees and labour migrants are ineffective. Additionally, existing frameworks for protecting vulnerable return migrants are not comprehensive. West African governments, therefore, need to work with development partners to strengthen mechanisms for the protection of displaced populations and effective reintegration of vulnerable return migrants.

The last decade also witnessed increased efforts on the part of West African governments to harness the benefits of migration. As a result of the recent increase in the flow of migrants’ remittances and the inclusion of migration governance in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, a number of West African countries have mainstreamed migration issues into their national development policies and plans. Some of these policies have outlined strategies to ensure that return and current migrants contribute to socio-economic development. These policies have yielded moderate results, as some current and return migrants, for instance, have been contributing to socio-economic development through investments. As the analysis in Chap. 12 shows, some migrants also often sustain simultaneous connectivity to both ends of the migration cycle (host country and country of origin), not necessarily because they are unable or unwilling to integrate, but rather to use this connectivity to engage in productive economic activities. Additionlly, as the papers on remittances in Burkina Faso and diaspora investments in Nigeria have shown, diaspora remittances and investments in West African countries have the potential to contribute greatly to socio-economic development in West African countries. However, there is a general lack of programs to enhance the developmental impacts of financial remittances. As a way of leveraging remittances for development West Africa governments should work with financial institutions to develop more attractive remittances-linked investment products. Diaspora-led investments should also be promoted by improving the investment environment, organizing regular investment promotion campaigns among people in the diaspora, creating incentives for diaspora business development, and reducing the administrative cost of doing business in West Africa.