Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Blacks Ancestral Native Communities (BANC) Foundation to tackle irregular migration by equipping Nigerian youth with practical, in-demand skills. The collaboration, sealed through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the university’s campus, targets the training of up to 10,000 young people—including students, artisans, school dropouts, and other interested participants—in trades such as motor mechanics, plumbing, electronics, ICT, culinary arts, tailoring, and tiling.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Chibuzor Onyema, Founder and President of the BANC Foundation, described the initiative as a “genuine platform for labour exchange between Africa and Western countries aimed at curbing the scourge of irregular migration in Nigeria.” Onyema, who addressed participants virtually from Geneva, stressed the importance of hands-on training that prepares beneficiaries not only for opportunities in Nigeria but also for legitimate international engagements. He added that the foundation is building global partnerships to provide credibility and access for participants in overseas labour markets.

Babcock University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tayo Ademola, said the MoU would enhance the institution’s entrepreneurial drive and create a launchpad for underserved youth to achieve self-sufficiency and prosperity. Similarly, Dr. Ayodeji Ajibade, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Development at the university, said the institution’s infrastructure would serve as a hub for empowering participants “with skills and all they need to survive, whether within Nigeria or outside the country.”

The partnership builds on the BANC Foundation’s Anti-Irregular Migration Summit held in Abuja last year, which introduced the Irregular Migration Skills Acquisition and Resource Centre and the STARCARE model—Sensitisation, Training, Advocacy, Rehabilitation, Campaigns, Advisory, Reintegration, and Empowerment. Beyond Babcock, BANC is also collaborating with Abiola Ajimobi Technical University (Tech-U) on vocational programmes in automobile technology, woodwork, and the built environment. Meanwhile, Babcock continues to expand its skills-driven collaborations, commissioning a 160-seat, fully digitalized “Bankers Hall” in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on the same day the BANC MoU was signed.