XENOPHOBIA: GOV MBAH WELCOMES 112 ENUGU RETURNEES FROM SOUTH AFRICA

…Doles out ₦77m to 77 families, urges returnees: “Don’t be afraid to start again”

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…Returnees: “We feel at home”

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, on Thursday welcomed 112 indigenes of the state who returned from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks, assuring them that Enugu remained their home and that the state would stand with them as they rebuild their lives.

The returnees, comprising 77 families, were received at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, where the state government announced a ₦1 million seed support for each family,  a total of ₦77 million, to help them begin the process of rebuilding.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, Governor Mbah said the government understood that returning home under circumstances beyond their control could bring not only relief, but also the pain of leaving behind businesses, investments, possessions and years of hard work.

He condemned the renewed hostility against black African migrants in parts of South Africa, but urged the returnees to look beyond what had been lost and embrace the opportunity to begin again in their home state.

“Do not be afraid to start again,” Mbah said, stressing that the government’s intervention was intended not as compensation for all they might have lost, but as a tangible expression of solidarity and a starting point for their reintegration.

“The question before us is not simply, ‘How do we receive our people back?’ The bigger question is: ‘How do we help them begin again?’ That is why today’s reception must go beyond photographs and handshakes. It must mark the beginning of reintegration. It must mark the beginning of rebuilding,” he said.

According to the Governor, the ₦1 million support approved for each family was deliberately conceived as a “seed fund” to help the returnees move from merely coming home to rebuilding their lives at home.

“A seed is not the harvest. It is the beginning of the harvest,” Mbah said, adding that the state government would continue to explore opportunities, programmes and institutions capable of supporting the returnees in their journey towards economic reintegration.

He also disclosed that the state was working with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, to profile about 42 additional returnee families.

Mbah urged the returnees to bring home the skills, experience, ideas and entrepreneurial knowledge they acquired in South Africa, saying those experiences could become valuable assets in their new chapter in Enugu.

“Bring it home. Bring the discipline. Bring the ideas. Bring the networks. Bring the entrepreneurial experiences. Bring the knowledge of markets and technologies. Bring the things that worked. And even bring the lessons from the things that did not work,” he said.

The Governor said Enugu was undergoing significant changes, with his administration focusing on infrastructure, connectivity, healthcare, education and human capital, as well as opportunities in agriculture, tourism, technology, enterprise and industry.

For the returnees, however, the most immediate message was one of belonging.

Responding on behalf of the returnees, Chidimma Ogbonna thanked Governor Mbah for receiving them and providing support at a difficult moment.

“Your kindness gave hope and this opportunity. Thank you for welcoming us home and for believing in us,” she said.

Another returnee, Cosmas Okwor, said the reception had restored their sense of acceptance and hope.

“We feel at home,” he said, adding, “We are hopeful again.”

The returnees also expressed optimism about settling back into the state, citing improvements in infrastructure and security as factors that could support their reintegration.

Chairman of the Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Igwe Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu, urged them to pick up the pieces and face the future with determination.

“Put yourself in a position to win. New opportunities beckon,” he told them.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Diaspora, Barr. Olangwa Ezekwu, welcomed the returnees and commended the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, led by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, for their efforts towards facilitating the safe return of Nigerians affected by the situation.

She also thanked Governor Mbah for what she described as his fatherly concern for the returnees.

For the 112 Enugu indigenes who arrived home carrying memories of a difficult experience, Thursday’s reception was therefore more than a ceremonial welcome. It was a promise of support — and, in the words of Governor Mbah, an invitation not merely to return, but to rebuild.