The return of a large contingent of Nigerian from Libya where they had been subjected to different degrading forms of treatment, has brought with it many different stories; some heartwrenching, others warm but tinged with sadness.
One of the said returnees has said that the plan by the Edo government to pay them a stipend of N20,000 is not what he needs.
He claimed that working in Libya was great until he was arrested.
The returnee, 27-year-old Obehi Diamond said he ended up in this sad state after he was tricked to Libya by a lady he gave N520,000 to take him to Europe in 2011 by flight but the woman abandoned him in Libya.
Speaking to national daily, The Nation, he said; “In Libya, I was earning 2000 dinars. From there I was sending money to my parents in Nigeria to take care of themselves. In 2014, I was going to take measurement for a job, policemen stop the vehicle I was in.
I was the only black inside. After interrogation, they tore my papers. I spent 8 months in four different prisons. In Libya, there is no lawyer to bail you. A policeman helped me out and I paid him 120,000 dinars.
I started working again in Tripoli until 2016 when fight started. When I was arrested in Tripoli, I spent 15 months in prison before I was deported. I was not planning to go to Europe.
In Libya, there is work. Libya is the best country in terms of money and work. There is no country to compare to Libya. The problem is the lack of government.
There is money in Libya if you are a good workman. There is future in Libya for those that are not lazy. Since 2015, there was no means to send money home. Libyans know that we blacks do keep money at home.
When they caught me, they went to my house to collect my money and property. I lost everything. If I had come home with that money, I won’t depend on government to help me, I will just open my shop immediately.
If the state government help me to open my shop, I will not think of travelling again. There is nobody that goes to Libya that does not have skills except the Benin boys. The Benin boys are lazy.
The training from Obaseki is out of point. If I have my money, I will go to Lagos and start working immediately. I cannot collect N20k monthly from Obaseki. That is no money.
That is what I make in two days in Libya. What I need is money to start off.”