The Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs has introduced a 50 per cent tuition scholarship for students enrolled in the Master of Diaspora and Migration Studies programme at Lagos State University. This initiative, for the 2025/2026 academic session, is a collaboration between the agency and LASU to develop expertise in migration, diaspora engagement, and related policy areas.
The scholarship initiative was announced by Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs, Jermaine Sanwo-Olu. He stated that the programme aims to strengthen Lagos' institutional capacity to manage its growing relationship with its diaspora and respond to emerging migration trends. Sanwo-Olu said the idea for the programme was developed in collaboration with LASU during his doctoral studies.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the initiative reflects Lagos State's commitment to building stronger institutional structures for engaging its diaspora and responding strategically to emerging migration realities. The programme and the Centre for Diaspora and Migration Studies are designed to provide a research, policy, and knowledge platform to harness the knowledge, skills, investments, networks, and global connections of Lagosians and Nigerians worldwide.
The 50 per cent tuition support is intended to widen access to specialised training in an area increasingly important to global development. Eligible candidates will be selected through a screening process, and the programme is open to graduates, academics, government officials, diplomats, development and humanitarian professionals, diaspora affairs officers, and migration practitioners.
Professionals working in related fields, including governance, maritime affairs, heritage, and the blue economy, are also eligible to apply. Applicants must possess at least a second-class lower degree, or its equivalent, in a relevant discipline, while relevant professional experience would be an advantage. The full-time master's programme will run for three semesters and require a minimum of 36 credit units.
The curriculum covers diaspora communities and identities, migration governance, refugee and displacement management, labour migration, human trafficking, urban mobility, and policy development, drawing on disciplines including history, sociology, law, and economics. Former LASU Vice-Chancellor, Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, said the initiative could help bridge the gap between academic research and policy in diaspora engagement, migration governance, and human mobility.
Olatunji-Bello noted that migration and diaspora relations increasingly influence economic growth, labour markets, investment, knowledge transfer, and international relations, making capacity development in the field particularly relevant to Lagos. The programme follows the approval of the proposal by the LASU Senate and the establishment of the Centre.
Key points
- The Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs offers a 50% tuition scholarship to students admitted into a new Master of Diaspora and Migration Studies programme at Lagos State University.
- The programme aims to strengthen Lagos' institutional capacity to manage its growing relationship with its diaspora and respond to emerging migration trends.
- The initiative reflects Lagos State's commitment to building stronger institutional structures for engaging its diaspora and responding strategically to emerging migration realities.
