The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the reintegration and rehabilitation of Nigerians returning from abroad following the arrival of another batch of 271 citizens from South Africa under its voluntary repatriation programme.
The returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 10:40 a.m. aboard an Air Peace flight from Johannesburg.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, said the government would continue to provide humanitarian support and create opportunities that would enable the returnees to rebuild their lives with dignity.
In a statement issued on his behalf by his Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Dr. Abimbola Fasanu, the minister commended the resilience and courage of the returnees, stressing that they had remained law-abiding despite the difficult circumstances that prompted their return.
“The most important thing is that you are home safely. You were not returned because you committed any crime. You conducted yourselves responsibly while striving to earn an honest living,” Doro said.
He assured the returnees that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would continue to protect the welfare and dignity of Nigerians wherever they may be.
According to him, the reintegration process extends beyond their reception at the airport and includes humanitarian assistance, profiling, referrals, skills development and livelihood opportunities designed to help them regain economic independence.
The minister also called on state governments, development partners, the private sector, philanthropic organisations, community leaders and families to support the reintegration process, describing successful rehabilitation as a collective responsibility.
Doro commended the efforts of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) for coordinating the exercise, as well as the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Port Health Services, Air Peace and other agencies for ensuring a safe and orderly return.
Also speaking, the Director of Migrants Affairs at NCFRMI, Ambassador Catherine Udida, said the commission remained committed to ensuring that every returnee received the necessary support for a smooth and dignified reintegration.
She disclosed that a total of 595 Nigerians had so far been repatriated from South Africa, adding that more batches were expected to return in the coming weeks.
Udida said the government would monitor the rehabilitation of the returnees and provide skills acquisition programmes and other interventions to enable them earn sustainable livelihoods. Some of the returnees recounted the hardships they experienced before returning home.
One of them, Adeyemo Place, said he returned to Nigeria with virtually no belongings after being forced to dispose of property acquired over more than a decade at giveaway prices.
“It was heartbreaking to sell off property acquired over many years for peanuts, while some of my belongings could not even be brought back home,” he said.
Another returnee, John Okeke, urged the Federal Government to address the recurring xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa through stronger diplomatic engagement.
He maintained that the returnees were law-abiding migrants who did not deserve the treatment meted out to them.
The latest repatriation exercise forms part of the Federal Government’s ongoing voluntary return programme for Nigerians affected by rising anti-immigration tensions in South Africa.
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