On Wednesday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) received 146 stranded Nigerians from Niamey, Niger Republic.

Nuraddeen Abdullahi, NEMA co-coordinator, Kano Territorial Office, stated this while receiving the returnees at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

The returnees arrived at the airport at about 10:35 a.m. on board B737-400 SKY MALI Airline plane with registration number UR-CQX.

Mr Abdullahi said the Nigerians returned through a voluntary repatriation programme under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

“The returnees comprised 56 male adults, 39 female adults and 51 children ( 35 female and 16 male) from different states of Nigeria, particularly Katsina, Kano, Adamawa, Lagos, Imo, Enugu, Edo, among others.

“The returnees would undergo training for three days on how to achieve self-sustainability and would be provided with seed capital to enable them to become self-reliant,” he said.

Mr Abdullahi advised Nigerian youths to avoid embarking on a dangerous journey abroad in search of greener pastures available at home.

“There is no country better than Nigeria as there are ample opportunities for all of us to thrive and live happily.

“If they must travel abroad, they should do so legally and through the right channels to avoid falling prey to human traffickers and other forms of exploitation,” he said.

Recounting his ordeal, a returnee, Emeka Njoku from Imo, said he travelled to Tunisia four months ago to seek greener pastures.

“On reaching Tunisia, I really suffered. I will never advise anyone to think of travelling out of the country to seek greener pastures this way.

“Nigeria is a sweet country because you have the freedom to move about,” he said.

Mr Njoku called on the government to empower youths by providing job opportunities nationwide.

(NAN)