President Muhammadu Buhari in Abidjan has expressed his consternation at the manner Nigerians are being sold like goats for few dollars in the ongoing modern-day slavery in Libya.
He, however, declared that all Nigerians stranded in that country and other parts of the world will be brought home and rehabilitated.
He spoke on Tuesday night at in an interactive session with members of the Nigerian community in Cote D’ Ivoire on the margins of the 5th European Union-African Union (AU-EU) Summit.
Buhari 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.
Reacting to a recent footage on the sale of Africans in Libya, the president said it was appalling that “some Nigerians (in the footage) where being sold like goats for few dollars in Libya.
‘‘After 43 years of Gadhafi, why are they recruiting so many people from the Sahel, including Nigerians? All they learnt was how to shoot and kill. They didn’t learn to be electricians, plumbers or any other trade”.
A statement by his senior special assistant media, Garba Shehu, also quoted the president as saying all necessary steps will be taken to stem the tide of illegal migration by Nigerians.
He, however, noted that it is very difficult to know the origin of the people who died while attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean because of lack of documentation.
He said, “When it was announced that 26 Nigerians died recently in the Mediterranean before they proved that they were all Nigerians, they buried them.
“But the evidence I have from the Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, (Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa) is that only three of them were identified as Nigerians. But I’ll not be surprised if the majority of them were Nigerians.
“For people to cross the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean through shanty boats… we will try and keep them at home. But anybody who died in the desert and Mediterranean without documents to prove that he is a Nigerian, there is absolutely nothing we can do’’.
On domestic issues, President Buhari told Nigerians in the Diaspora that there is ‘‘good news from home’’ in the area of security, economy and anti-corruption.
He said, “We are not doing too badly in trying to secure the country, improve the economy and deal with corruption. We are doing our best at all levels including security.
“It is absolute madness for people to blow others up in markets, churches, and mosques. No religion advocates violence. Justice is the basic thing all religions demand and you can’t go wrong if you do it”.
On food security, the president said that his vision of repositioning Nigeria as a food-secured nation is on course, as the country is on the verge of attaining food security.
He attributed the development to positive agricultural reform programmes and bumper harvest occasioned by good weather.
According to the President, interventions through the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the CBN and the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, among others had been very successful in the agricultural reform initiative.
The president advised Nigerians in Cote D’ Ivoire to be good ambassadors in their host country, warning that the Embassy will not hesitate to repatriate those who tarnish the image of the country abroad.