NAN
A non-governmental organisation, the Network of Civil Society Organisations Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), has urged the Federal Government to empower Nigerian returnees from Libya and European countries.
National President of the network, Mr. Adaramola Emmanuel, gave the advice in an interview, on Thursday, in Abuja.
Emmanuel said that this would prevent the returnees from falling into the hands of traffickers again.
He also urged the Federal Government to take into consideration the foundation and areas of interest of the returnees while empowering them on skills acquisition.
According to him, some of them may be into auto mechanic, hair dressing and selling of spare parts before they were trafficked to Europe.
“Before empowering them, their psychology must be worked on, give them psychosocial support and refresh their memories.
“Temporal accommodation should be provided for them to stay for at least a year.
“There are some government abandoned houses in some states that can be used for that,” he said.
Emmanuel also suggested that some of them could be used as translators in embassies or as tourist guide.
He commended the Oba of Benin for paying monthly stipends to some of the returnees, urging other traditional rulers and wealthy Nigerians to also assist them.
Emmanuel appealed to the banks and telecommunication companies to include the returnees in their Corporate Social Responsibility programmes in order to resettle them.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), with funding from the EU, has facilitated the return and reintegration of over 7, 000 Nigerian migrants from April 2017 to date.
According to IOM, crossing the Mediterranean to Europe is by far the deadliest route, with one death recorded for 35 arrivals.
“Many of the migrants were tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes for better opportunities abroad.
“They entered Libya through several illegal routes with the hope of crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
“But they were stranded, living in terrible conditions and seeking the opportunity to return home when they could no longer continue their journeys to their final destinations.’’