Frank Onyekwelu, President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, has disclosed that over 130 Nigerians are seeking voluntary repatriation due to increasing economic hardship, unemployment, and documentation problems, news.ng reports.
Onyekwelu disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday.
According to him, there has been an increasing number of Nigerians who have indicated interest in being repatriated. He noted that the reasons vary from personal struggles to an inability to cope with the country’s harsh economic conditions.
“As we speak now, the numbers have increased more than 130. As we have other Nigerian citizens that have also applied for such voluntary and free repatriation,” he stated.
“Some of them have issues with the economy, the hardship of the economy, they are struggling to survive,” Onyekwelu said. “Some of them have documentation issues in that they’ve applied for either to renew their existing residence permit or to get another kind of permit that will allow them to trade or do work or get employed in some companies.”
He further explained that there have been delays in processing permits and stringent documentation requirements.
Onyekwelu further noted that delays in processing permits and strict documentation demands have worsened the situation for many foreign nationals. He added that some Nigerians who previously worked in South Africa for years have now exhausted their savings and see returning home as a better option.
According to him, some Nigerians want to return home due to a lack of jobs, while the resources with which they started their businesses have been exhausted.
He added that some prefer to leave due to the high cost of medical care.
He stated, “Some have issues that maybe they came in, they’ve worked for two or three years, and currently there is no more job, or there are no more businesses, or the resources has finished, and they are now deciding that it’s better for them to go back home.
“In some hospitals, you are now meant to pay or consult a private hospital and some of them now having challenges in that. Consider that it will be easier and even much cheaper for them to attend a health clinic in Nigeria or attend the medical facilities in Nigeria where they might maybe afford the payment. So, these are one or some of the reports we receive from them, but as of the number of the people that have registered for this voluntary repatriation, the number has gone far above 130.”
