The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday received another batch of 148 stranded Nigerians from Niamey in Niger Republic.
The NEMA Coordinator in Kano Territorial Office, Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi, disclosed the figure while receiving the returnees who arrived at about 4:00 p.m. at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The returnees were from Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Kaduna among other states and comprised 94 males, 25 females and 29 children (13 males and 16 females).
The agency, between February and April, received 548 stranded Nigerians from Niamey, Niger Republic and Chad.
The coordinator explained that the returnees were brought back under the custody of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from Niamey (Niger Republic) through a voluntary repatriation programme.
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Abdullahi said that the programme was designed for the distressed who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries and could not afford to return.
“The returnees will undergo a three-day training on how to achieve self sustainability and will be provided with capital to enable them engage in productive ventures to be self reliant” he said.
The Coordinator advised Nigerian youths to avoid endangering their lives by travelling illegally to seek greener pastures in other countries, saying that no country was better than Nigeria.
He urged them to be determined to start a new slate by putting behind their experiences, adding that they should be ambassadors in sensitising Nigerians against irregular migration.
The returnees were received by NEMA together with SEMA, Nigeria Red Cross, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs and the Department of State Security.
