175 Stranded Nigerians Received By NEMA From Libya -READ DETAILS

According to the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, who was ably represented by the Acting Coordinator of the Lagos Territorial Office of the Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, the stranded Nigerians were received at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at about 11:58 p.m. They had arrived on a Boeing 737-800 AI Buraq Air with registration number 5A-DMG.

He also said the returnees were brought back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) through a voluntary repatriation programme, a programme meant for distressed Nigerians who had left the country to seek greener pastures in Various European countries but could not afford to return in event of things going sour.

Mr Farinloye said the returnees included 77 male adults, 64 female adults, 11 male and 12 female child, five female infants and six male infants.

He said that among those brought into the country, two females and two males had medical issues.

Mr Farinloye enjoined the returnees to turn a new leaf in looking for ample opportunities abound in the country that are enough for everyone to achieve their desired goals.

He, however, appealed to the returnees avoid vices that they must have been exposed to in the course of their sojourn to a different land.

ÔÇØWe admonished the returnees on the need to realise that there's no country better than Nigeria.

"Here you have all the freedom to achieve your potentials. Looking for greener pastures in foreign is no longer a reality. Those countries are not better off when you consider the challenges you encounter there and here.

ÔÇØYou are encouraged to be positive ambassadors toward advocacy and sensitisation against irregular migration that leave the youths vulnerable to all sorts of abuses and death in extreme cases.

ÔÇØThere are ample opportunities for all of us to thrive and live happily in virtuous and God fearing manners in Nigeria without unnecessarily exposing ourselves to undeserved dangers in foreign lands,ÔÇØ he said.

He said that the returnees were received by not just NEMA, but with other sister agencies like the: Immigration Service, Refugee Commission, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Police.