The Nigerian government has advised Nigerians planning to leave the country for greener pastures abroad to stay back and help develop the country.
The Federal Commissioner of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Sadiya Umar Faruoq stated this while speaking after a road show in commemoration of 2017 Migrant Day celebration.
While lamenting the inhuman treatments Nigerians are exposed to while trying to migrate irregularly, the NCFRMI boss stressed that; “your lives are more valuable and there are options for you at home.
“Even if you choose to travel, there are safer and more humane channels of doing so.”
She said the road show was to sensitize the public on the dangers of irregular migration.
Speaking also, the representative of International Organisation For Migration (IOM)’s Chief of Mission, Frantz Celestin advised the government to provide the enabling environment for Nigerians to stay back home.
Celestin, who noted that irregular migration had resulted in preventable deaths, charged the government of Nigeria to encourage regular migration.
He disclosed that IOM has helped more than 4000 Nigerians to return from Libya, adding that the agency had also assisted the returnees to reintegrate into the society.
The Migration Adviser to the Swiss Embassy, Jolanda Pfister Herreh who called for more efforts by stakeholders to discourage irregular migration, assured of Switzerland’s continued support to help end the ugly trend.
