NIGERIA. Lagos State: Approximately 129 Nigerian nationals who fled the country in quest of greener pastures have returned home with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Speaking to reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, said the returnees landed around 2:09 a.m. and were escorted by the International Organization for Migration.
Ahmed, who was represented by the Agency’s Acting Coordinator for the Lagos Territorial Office, Ibrahim Farinloye, stated that the IOM believes it is necessary to assist in evacuating stranded Nigerians back home due to the situation in which the majority of them find themselves in, where they are unable to return.
Farinloye went on to say that the IOM’s repatriation effort is voluntary, allowing people who fled the nation in pursuit of greener pastures but were unable to return and are frustrated to return home with ease.
Statistics of the returnees
There are 27 male adults, 74 female adults, and seven male children among the returnees. “Others are, six female infants, and 11 male infants with three males with mental health problems,” Farinloye noted.
Farinloye, on the other hand, tells every Nigerian to constantly love their country since, given the problems they would face, no nation is greater than their own.
“Here is your country you have total freedom to do whatever you wish to do to explore your potential. Those foreign countries some of you travel to in search of greener pastures are not better than Nigeria looking at the challenges of work permits and other related issues, so seeking greener pastures in a foreign country is no longer obtainable.”
“I advised and urged every Nigerian who has a plan of leaving Nigeria for the same purposes to rethink and be positive about Nigeria and look for avenues to explore their potential to live a fulfilled life rather than leaving the country,” Farinloye.
Farinloye went on to say that Nigerian youngsters must stop illegal migration since it exposes them to a variety of abuses, death, and illness.
“Many are permanently disabled from traumatized torture resulting in serious mental health challenges,” Farinloye said.
“There are very lucrative avenues and resources for every Nigeria to explore and thrive well without undergoing any form of danger.”
NEMA, Nigeria Immigration Services, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigeria Police were among those there to welcome the returnees.
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