- President Muhammadu Buhari has said that information available to him shows that only three of the 26 migrants who died in the Mediterranean
- He, however, expressed fear that majority of 26 dead migrants could be Nigerians
- The president noted that there is nothing we can do about anyone who dares desert, Mediterranean without document to prove he/she is a Nigerian
- He said his administration will ensure the country is more conducive in order to discourage youths from embarking on risky trips out of the country for greener pasture
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday night in Abidjan declared that all Nigerians stranded in Libya and other parts of the world will be brought home and rehabilitated.
The President while speaking when he addressed Nigerians in the Diaspora, vowed to reduce the number of Nigerians heading for Europe illegally through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea by providing basic social amenities such as education, healthcare, and food security at home.
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Punch reports that he, however, said he is afraid that a majority of the deceased could be Nigerians.
NAIJ.com gathered that Buhari said this during a meeting he had with members of the Nigerian community in Cote d’Ivoire on Tuesday, November 28 in Abidjan.
The President is in the country for the 5th European Union/African Union Summit.
He promised that his administration will do all within its powers to make the country more conducive in order to discourage youths from embarking on risky trips out of the country for greener pasture.
He said efforts would be made to ensure that there will be less Nigerians daring the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea and getting perished.
He said: “It was announced that 26 Nigerians died but before they could prove that they were all Nigerians, they were buried.
“But the evidence I got from my senior special assistant on Diaspora affairs now is that only three were identified as Nigerians. But I won’t be surprised if the majority of them were really Nigerians.
“For people to cross the Sahara Desert to go into shanty boats across the Mediterranean Sea, I think we will try and keep them at home.
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“But for anyone who dared the desert and the Mediterranean without document to prove that he/she is a Nigerian, there is nothing we can do, absolutely nothing."
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the Nigerian federal government condemned the burial of 26 girls found dead on the Mediterranean Sea by the Italian authorities ahead of the scheduled date.
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Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Wednesday, 29 November 2017