Nigeria ended the evacuation programme last Thursday after a final flight departed Johannesburg carrying 305 returnees. In total, nearly 1 490 Nigerian nationals were repatriated from SA under the voluntary initiative.
However, Acting High Commissioner to South Africa (SA) Alexander Temitope Ajayi said many of those still seeking assistance were not captured during the original registration and screening process.
According to Ajayi, the Nigerian mission repeatedly extended the registration deadline and encouraged nationals wishing to return home to come forward. “Some of these people were not captured in the screening exercise that we did in the first instance. I think there were those people who made up their mind later and decided to go because we did advertise the screening, and we actually extended the screening three times before it eventually closed,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi said the voluntary repatriation process required individuals to register before arrangements could be made. “We made it clear to everybody that they have to come forward to register so that we can evacuate them,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi noted that a number of people only presented themselves after the screening process had closed and after the government had already announced the completion of five evacuation flights. “It was later after the screening had closed and we had announced the total evacuation of five flights that some of them started showing up,” Ajayi said.
Despite the conclusion of the formal programme, Ajayi said efforts are continuing to assist those who remain stranded. “We are still working to ensure that some who claim to be stranded are helped in one way or the other,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi described the repatriation exercise as a “whole of society approach”, saying government was exploring options with private individuals and organisations willing to help fund the return of the remaining nationals.
According to Ajayi, more than 90% of those who initially expressed a willingness to return to Nigeria were successfully repatriated.
Ajayi also questioned claims by some individuals that they had registered but were not evacuated. “If you find anybody who claims that he has registered and was not repatriated, I think that person has a lot of questions to answer,” Ajayi said.
“Where was he? What was he doing when he was called? Why did he not show up when he was supposed to show up to be evacuated?”
Addressing earlier reports of operational difficulties, Ajayi said those challenges had been resolved more than a month ago and did not affect the completion of the five-flight programme. “We had little operational challenges, which we eventually solved, and we resumed with the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi said discussions are continuing to identify alternative ways of assisting the remaining group. “We are working to see how we can help them, how we can get some other windows to get them repatriated,” Ajayi said.
According to Ajayi, authorities are awaiting firm commitments from potential sponsors before announcing any further arrangements for those still hoping to return to Nigeria.
–ChannelAfrica–
