Repatriation of 400,000 Nigerians across 3 African countries raises concerns

The cloud is gathering and becoming darker by the day. Danger lurks around as hunger and starvation bite harder. Nigerians are running out of patience with the government, and if urgent steps are not taken by the government to arrest the ugly trend, something disastrous might happen,” that was how a Katsina-based educationist, Mallam Sabiu Ibrahim, captured the current socio-economic realities in Nigeria.

The recent disclosure by the Federal Government that over 400,000 Nigerian refugees currently reside in Chad, Niger and Cameroon, is a sad reality of what Nigeria has become.

The report has sparked outrage among Nigerians who have attributed the development to poor and ineffective leadership.

The Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Tijani Ahmed, made the disturbing disclosure in Abuja last week during a technical working group meeting.

Ahmed explained that the meeting was summoned to ascertain what had been done earlier, what the committee intends to do, and to evaluate areas to seek government intervention.

He added that the committee would explore areas to involve other key stakeholders like international partners.

He said: “We are here to discuss the repatriation of Nigerians living in Cameroon and Chad, where we have a tripartite agreement signed by the government of Chad, Nigeria and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Last week, we were in Chad where repatriation has taken place and we are hoping that the repatriation will continue in Chad.

“We summoned the technical working group meeting, which is a sub-committee responsible for the repatriation of Nigerians back to the country, to discuss ways and means that we will use to ensure that Nigerian refugees return to Nigeria.

“As it is today, we have no less than 400,000 refugees across the zones of Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

“Three thousand were returned last week Sunday through the efforts of the Governor of Borno State. And the technical working group wants to take off from there because the tripartite agreement has already been signed between Nigeria and Chad.

“We have reviewed the processes to consider what is required of us before the continuation of this repatriation. We will also resume the repatriation of those in Cameroon soon. So, we hope that repatriation will come to stay in the next few weeks and we will continue the exercise.”

Speaking on the development, the Deputy Representative of the UNHCR in Nigeria, Bernadette Muteshi, said the agency was committed to ensuring that the agreement signed by both countries was adhered to.