The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has welcomed 146 Nigerians who have become stuck in Niamey, Niger Republic.
Nuraddeen Abdullahi, NEMA’s co-coordinator in Kano Territorial Office, confirmed this on Wednesday, July 12, when he met the returnees at Kano’s Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
According to Abdullahi, the Nigerians returned through a voluntary repatriation program overseen by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
He said: “The returnees comprised 56 male adults, 39 female adults and 51 children (35 female and 16 males) from different states of Nigeria, particularly Katsina, Kano, Adamawa, Lagos, Imo, Enugu, Edo, among others.
“The returnees would undergo training for three days on how to achieve self-sustainability and would be provided with seed capital to enable them to become self-reliant.”
The organizer advised Nigerian teenagers to shun risky excursions overseas in quest of greener pastures that are available at home.
His words:
“There is no country better than Nigeria as there are ample opportunities for all of us to thrive and live happily.
“If they must travel abroad, they should do so legally and through the proper channels to avoid falling prey to human traffickers and other forms of exploitation.
One of the returnees, Emeka Njoku from Imo, recounted his ordeal, saying he went to Tunisia four months ago in search of greener pastures.
Njoku narrated: “On reaching Tunisia, I really suffered. I will never advise anyone to think of travelling out of the country to seek greener pastures this way.
“Nigeria is a sweet country because you have the freedom to move about.”
