The month of February 2017 was a most unusual one for the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other statutory bodies charged with the responsibility of handling the intake and processing of Nigerians deported from countries in various parts of the world.
While deportations, the act of forcibly removing and transporting foreign nationals to their countries of origin by host countries is a routine activity carried out by virtually all countries of the world, the frequency of its occurrence in February alone generated a worrisome growing trend.
During this month, 43 Nigerian immigrants were deported from Germany, Belgium and Italy. The United Kingdom brought back two batches of deportees numbering 41 and 83 respectively, while South Africa, whose indigenes have been implicated in the xenophobic attacks on foreigners (especially Nigerians) deported 97 of our nationals just before the month ended.
Needless to say, the victims were alleged to have been involved in various allegded unlawful acts, like misdemeanours, expired residency documentation issues, expired prison terms, and outright criminal acts such as human trafficking, drug offences and prostitution.
Those deported are sometimes the lucky ones who came back with their lives intact, but usually deprived of their possessions. In more unfortunate cases, Nigerians in foreign lands (especially Asian countries) are often executed for involvement in drug-related offences. Nigeria bears one of the highest death burdens in the drowning of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Some die in the Sahara Desert, while many are summarily killed by local mobs and law-enforcement agencies in many countries.
Apart from the few unsuspecting victims of human trafficking, most of the deportees voluntarily embarked on their adventures for (usually) the fabled “better life” in America, Europe and Asia and end up with regrets.
We must begin now to tackle the root causes of illegal emigration from our country which God has blessed with everything it requires to be a great nation. Nigeria must be made a land of opportunity for all its citizens and even legal foreign migrants to live and thrive. Good governance devoid of corruption is essential. This will bring out the best in our people and help in converting our potentials to life more abundant for all Nigerians.
We must do away with ethnicity, religious bigotry and sectional domination and give all Nigerians genuine freedom to live and thrive happily in any part of the country they choose. The amount of mutual hatred Nigerians harbour against one another must be addressed through good leadership.
When Nigerians have to travel to other parts of the world, they must learn to be law-abiding and eschew unruliness. Unless we do this, Nigerians will continue to be easy targets for the xenophobic instincts of indigenes and law enforcers of countries around the world.
