Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government has raised the alarm over incessant migration of Nigerian professionals to other countries in search of greener pastures and stressed that they are developing those countries against theirs.
The government added that the migrants consistently fail to project the country’s rich heritage to their host communities.
National Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Basheer Garba Mohammed, stated this recently in Abuja.
“Each year we lose our young professionals through irregular and regular migration to other countries, where life has been sold as more prosperous than home. Ironically, several migrants upon exiting Nigeria had never stepped into their states of international departure before traveling to their destinations abroad
“We have realized that our problem is not with migration to foreign countries but with ourselves not taking the lead to sell the richness of every region of our country as a first priority. We are rich in oil, in agriculture, and most importantly, we are blessed with an extremely skilled workforce of young professionals,” he said.
Garba, also disabused the minds of Nigerians who want to embark on irregular migration, stating that they could be kidnapped or killed in the Mediterranean sea, adding the government was advocating safe, regular and dignified migration.