NEMA Welcomes Back Home 144 Stranded Nigerians From Niger

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 144 stranded Nigerians from Niamey, Niger Republic.

The returnees arrived at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, and were brought back under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from Niamey through a voluntary repatriation programme.

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NEMA Coordinator, Kano Territorial Office, Dr. Nurudeen Abdullahi, represented by NEMA Kano Head of Human Resources, Mr. Suleiman Sa’ad-Abubakar, disclosed that the returnees were transported into Nigeria by SKY MALI Airlines, operated by Ethiopian airline B737-400 with registration number UR-CQX. Abdullahi added that the returnees were made up of 106 male adults, 16 female adults, and 22 children (10 females and 12 males) who were from different parts of the country, including Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Abia, Sokoto, Edo, and other states.

The returnees were reportedly individuals who had left the country to seek better economic opportunities in various European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.

They will be trained on various skills acquisition programs that will integrate them back into society and provide them with seed capital to enable them to be self-reliant.

According to Abdullahi, the repatriation program for stranded Nigerians is part of efforts to discourage citizens from traveling to other countries to seek greener pastures, which often leads to dire situations. He advised Nigerians to avoid endangering their lives by traveling abroad to seek greener pastures.

This is not the first batch of stranded Nigerians to be repatriated from Niger Republic in recent months. Between February and March, NEMA received 300 stranded Nigerians from Niamey.

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One of the returnees, Fatima Muhammad, a widow and mother of two, shared her ordeal, saying she traveled to Algeria to seek greener pastures with her children. She expressed regret over embarking on the journey and advised others not to follow in her footsteps.