The Federal Government has received at least 4,777 stranded Nigerians between February and October 2023.
This information was released by the International Organisation for Migration and the National Emergency Management Agency.
A breakdown of the figures indicated that 2,849 stranded Nigerians were evacuated from Sudan, 1,474 from Libya, 441 from Niger Republic, and 13 from Saudi Arabia in the last nine months.
Reports revealed that in October, 108 stranded Nigerians were evacuated from Libya; 155 were repatriated from Libya in September; in August, 459 Nigerians trapped in Libya were repatriated; in July, 205 stranded Nigerians were evacuated from Sudan; 340 stranded Nigerians from Sudan and Libya were received in June; while 2,678 were received in May from Sudan, Saudi-Arabia and Niger Republic.
Also, 403 stranded Nigerians were evacuated from Libya and Niger Republic in April, 279 stranded Nigerians were received in March from Libya and 150 were received in February from Niger Republic.
On July 19, 2023, the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, identified the need for Nigerians abroad to register on the agency’s Diaspora portal.
Dabiri-Erewa pointed out that the data derived from the portal would aid the Federal Government to quickly resolve any emergency confronting Nigerians in the diaspora.
A retired ambassador, Rasheed Akinkuolie, previously pointed out that insecurity and a high unemployment rate were making Nigerians leave the country by all possible means, adding that those who travelled and could not gain employment became a problem in a foreign land and were being evacuated back home by the Nigerian government.
He said, “The security situation in Nigeria is one of the reasons people are leaving the country, especially young people. There is hardly any state in Nigeria that is safe. People cannot travel by road or train without being kidnapped.
“Unemployment among young people is another major problem irrespective of qualification. Doctors, engineers, university graduates in several disciplines, etc. migrate for better job opportunities abroad.”
