At least 65 Nigerians were deported from London, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy Friday.
NigerianEYE gathered that some were deported because they overstayed while others had problems with immigration authorities of the countries from where they were deported.
Some of the deportees were seen at NAHCO section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
Some of the deportees said they have been in the UK for between six and 25 years. But others refused to talk to NigerianEYE about their ordeal.
An organisation called Migration Rehabilitation Awareness Initiative run by Vivian Otubanjo was on ground to assist the deportees.
Otubanjo said she has been assisting them to locate their families, offer them temporary shelters, legal advice among others. Meanwhile, Mr. Lawal Isah, the Head of Immigration at the Nigerian High Commission in London, confirmed this in an interview with the Western Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said that among those repatriated were people who had served jail terms in various prisons across the UK, and others arrested for illegal stay.
He said the repatriation was a monthly exercise through a chartered return flight jointly organised by the High Commission and the UK Government.
In December, 2012, 40 people were also deported.
Reacting to the development, Mr. Abba Moro, the Minister of Interior said the Immigration Service in Nigeria had been stopping those without proper documentation from travelling out of the country.
“In 2012, 1,687 Nigerians without proper documentation were prevented from travelling out of the country.
“However, some succeeded in escaping,” Moro said.
The minister is on a facility monitoring visit in London.
He said that Nigeria had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Austria, Slovakia and Germany to facilitate the return of those without legal rights to stay in those countries.
“The essence of the MOU is to add some level of dignity to the way returnees are sent home so that they are not forced into detention. These countries have further earmarked some funds for resettlement of repatriated Nigerians. On our own part, we have proposal to complement these funds, so that returnees can be properly integrated back to society,” Moro said.
NAN reports that a similar migration partnership is in place between Nigeria and Switzerland.
Home,sweet home.It is only Nigerians that always disobey the yoruba adage that says "A journey can never be enjoyable that the traveller will never go back home".Welcome back pals.We have issues on ground in Naija ooo e.g Boko haram,the missing #2.1 billion Naira in CBN Pocket.Just grab your daily tiring newspapers and blow grammars as you read the matters on ground and more to come.WELCOME HOME.
ReplyDeleteLet the leaders make the country lively and make it a real home, where to leave with a hope of sustenance, why I always weep reaing this kind of story. Look at the story OT that young boy, just at 21 and having left the shore of this country as early as age seven, still went ahead to take his own life. That really shows what a country we are living in, O Lord come to our rescue before it's too late.
ReplyDeleteso they sell ghana must go bag there also
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNigerian People in general, government of Nigeria and every politicians, our attitude at home, news of different kinds of terrible human behaviors in that country affect Nigerians in the country and around the world, the way we behave at home, fighting’s at house of assemblies, the kidnappings, boko haram, lootings of public treasuries, Journalist, lawyers, Georges, police, and other armed forces, churches (pastors), Mosque (Imam), doctors, nurses, teachers, lecturers even Nigerians on the streets, and all other categories of people in Nigeria, your actions are used to george our dear country around the globe. various sad stories from Nigeria, and Nigerians around the world, like the once recently was from South Africa, UK, US, China, in fact all over the world, Nigerians are seen as a cheat terrible people.
My people we need to amend our ways of thinking and behaving in that country, and outside the country. It pained me when I hear some Nigerians also go out and disgrace the name of my dear Nigeria, including politicians. In one way or the other, it affect all of us badly, either home or abroad, either rich or poor, South, West, South-South, East, North or Middle belt. In fact, the effect will not just be for now, for only God knows how long, we don’t think for our future generation, why do we want to destroy everything before there time, my children and your children remains Nigerian, either they are born in Nigeria or elsewhere around the world. There God and my God will not forgive anyone who has contributed to the destruction of Nigeria. Imagine the least country around the world mutilate Nigerian personality and disgust Nigerians, why? Because of these our ways, nothing is working, Most people now think with their foot as they step on their brain, thinking wealth is the only way to gain pride. Everyone is angry at one another, some are busy embezzling, some are busy kidnapping etc... Yet Nigerians still praise this kind of people as they have the effrontery to still come out and talk.
We just have to think and start to amend our ways generally, Nigeria is blessed with everything but we Nigerians don't appreciate it, neither do we even realize it. We all can make Nigeria heaven on earth if we amend our ways, every Nigerian will enjoy if only we can channel our resources right. It is painful that most people can even imagine what I am talking about still, as they only think of making the money, or loot and go lavish it in another man’s country, not realizing they are developing that country for the country’s future own generation, not that of Nigeria.
If we all have focus like Dubai, not which region is the next president comes from, then other countries will respect us, as our economy grows, schools are good, power is sufficient, no news of looting, no news of kidnapping, no news of boko haram, no news of ritual killings, no news of plane crash with evident development, no more long queue at various embassies in our country. Then all countries will see us as Africans who have brain, not looters.
When you tell anyone outside the country you are a Nigerian, they will treat you with dignity. That is how it works, before we can be respected as a Nigerian, we need to put our house in order, and no country can do it for us, it is all of us, without introducing tribalism, region and politics. We all need to see ourselves as an ambassador of the country anywhere we are either home or around the world, we must be trusted and straight forward.
Nigeria will be better than Dubai, even America if only all Nigerians are so serious and focused, as we all have responsibilities.