For the Greater Good: The Economic and Social Impacts of Irregular Migration on Families in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

This chapter examines irregular migrants’ motivation for leaving Nigeria and the subsequent impact of their migration to Europe on the family left behind in Benin City, a migration hub. This chapter argues that young African migrants embody the family’s hopes for upward social mobility amidst extreme poverty; family members often prompt the migratory project and contribute their financial, spiritual and material resources to make the migration journey possible. In this way, despite the dangers related to irregular migration, particularly during the journey to Europe, families risk sacrificing some of their members in search of a better future. This chapter considers the following two questions: How do Nigerian irregular migrants in Europe contribute to the economic security of the families left behind? And what is the social impact of their absence? This qualitative study was carried out in Benin City and is based on 30 interviews with family members left behind by irregular migrants in Europe. The chapter reveals that while families reap benefits from the irregular migration of their kith and kin in the form of upward social mobility, migration inevitably results in strained family ties.