NEMA rescues 105 Nigerians trapped in Chad
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 105 Nigerians stranded in Chad at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano.
Dr. Nuradeen Abdullahi, NEMA Coordinator at the Kano Territorial Office, made this known while receiving the returnees in Kano.
He said that the stranded Nigerians arrived at the International Wing of the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport at about 10 p.m. with a Boeing 737-7K9 operated by ASKY Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines KP9401 with registration number ET-ANH.
"The returnees were brought back to Kano under the care of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) from N'djamena through a voluntary repatriation program.
"The program is meant for distressed Nigerians who left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries but couldn't afford to return when their journey became frustrated," he said.
Abdullahi said that the returnees were made up of 24 male adults, 23 female adults, and 58 children.
"The returnees are from Katsina, Kano, Adamawa, Maiduguri, Yobe, and Taraba, among other places."
"They will be undergoing a four-day vocational skills training and will be provided with capital to enable them to set up their businessesand become self-reliant," he said.
He advised the returnees to be advocates of the campaign against irregular migration.
The Coordinator also called on Nigerians to avoid endangering their lives by traveling to seek greener pastures in other countries, adding that no country is better than our country, Nigeria.
Abdullahi noted that the agency received 560 Nigerians stranded in Agadas, Niger Republic, and Khartoum, Sudan, between May and October 2022, and trained them on various skills acquisitions.
Recounting her ordeal, a returnee, Fanne Abba, a mother of two from Borno, said she traveled to Chad for three years to seek greener pastures with her two kids.
"There was no peace in my village, Gambarun Gana. Boko Haram did not let us stay because everyone was scared, so I traveled to Chad, thinking things would be better."
"I did dry cleaning service with other home service jobs. Things were no longer easy. "I decided to come back home," she said.
Another returnee, Aminu Musa, from Kano State, said he traveled to Libya to seek greener pastures because he was an orphan and his sick mother could not cater for the family.
"My father died three years ago, and things were bad for our family."
"During my stay in Libya for two years, my friend was kidnapped there."
Supreme also reports officials of SEMA, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, DSS and Nigeria Red Cross and DSS were at the airport to receive and clear the returnees.
