The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Coordinator, Kano Territorial Office, Dr Nurudeen Abdullahi, has said that the agency has repatriated 975 stranded Nigerians from the Niger Republic in 2023.
According to him, the returnees comprised 561 males, 152 female adults, and 262 children from Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, and Bauchi states.
He disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking with the press, adding that the returnees were brought back under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from Niamey, the Niger capital, through a voluntary repatriation programme.
He added that the programme was for the distressed, who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.
The returnees were trained on various skills and provided seed capital to make them self-reliant.
He advised Nigerian youths to desist from endangering their lives by engaging in irregular migration in search of greener pastures in other countries, adding that no country was better than Nigeria.
“There are opportunities in Nigeria; you don’t need to say you must have a white-collar job to survive; all you need is the determination to survive.”
“If you must travel abroad, do so legally and through the right channels to avoid falling prey to human traffickers and other forms of exploitation.”
Alhaji Abdullahi then stressed the need for a massive campaign to sensitise the public on the dangers of travelling to foreign countries through illegal means.
“There is also the need for serious surveillance at our borders to prevent the returnees from going out through the borders.”
The returnees were handled by emergency officials from their states, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and IDPs, the Nigeria Red Cross, and security agencies.
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