By Iheanyi Enwerem
South African returnees of Imo State origin on Thursday staged a peaceful protest near the Imo State Government House, Owerri, demanding the fulfilment of the state government’s promise to give them ₦1 million each as settlement and reintegration support.
The protesters, numbering over 100, carried placards and appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma to intervene in their situation, saying they returned to the state after experiencing difficult circumstances in South Africa but had yet to access the financial assistance announced for returnees.
Led by Lambert Chidi Dike, the group said they returned to Nigeria in different batches and had visited several government offices in an effort to access the promised support, but their efforts had allegedly yielded no result.
Dike said the returnees were not protesting against the government but were appealing for the Governor’s intervention, stressing that many of them had lost their means of livelihood and needed the promised assistance to restart their lives.
Some of the placards displayed by the protesters read: “South Africans Returnees are stranded, help your people,” “Dear Governor, we are helpless,” and “Stranded Imo State Returnees seeks for the fulfilment of your promise to all the returnees, our dear Governor.”
The development comes months after Governor Uzodimma announced financial assistance for Imo indigenes evacuated from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant violence. In June, the state government said ₦300 million had been approved for Imo students at the Nigerian Law School and Nigerian returnees from South Africa, with 250 returnees expected to receive ₦1 million each for rehabilitation and integration.
The protesters therefore called on Governor Uzodimma to look into their complaints and ensure that eligible returnees who are yet to benefit from the announced intervention are considered, saying the assistance would help them rebuild their lives and become productive members of society.