By Vera Chinonso Aliyu, YeyeNews.com, December 12, 2021
Nigerians in the Czech Republic have largely shunned an offer by the government to pay $10,000 per person for anyone that agrees to leave the country and never return. Though some Nigerians in the country are tempted to accept the offer because of the money but the condition that they must return to Nigeria after receiving it has been a great disincentive, sources in the European country told YeyeNews.com.
“$10,000 is a big money in Nigeria. Imagine those who have families? That will be $10,000 times the number of adult family members. I tell you many of us would have loved to collect the money and leave this country to set up in a better place in this Europe. But the problem is that once you collect the money you can only go back to Nigeria. But while Buhari is still there I assure you that no one will go even if they increase the money to $50,000. We will prefer to be cleaning toilets here than go back to Buhari’s Nigeria”, a source in the country said.
In a major twist in the story, citizens of some other African countries resident in the Czech Republic have begun an advocacy for the government to extend the offer to them. A Ghanaian Kofi Gyan who spoke with the YeyeNews.com European correspondence disclosed that many of his compatriots are willing to return home if they have the amount being offered to Nigerians. “The Nigerians are not interested in going back home. The ones that want to leave Czech only wants to go to western Europe. But those of us that are willing to leave are said not to be eligible for the compensation. They said the Czech government came up with this policy specifically to encourage Nigerians to leave their country because they fear that they are beginning to outnumber citizens in many neighborhoods”, Gyan said.
But the Nigerian community in the country has pleaded with the Czech government to extend the deadline for the offer beyond May 29, 2023 when President Buhari has left office. “After then they will be surprised how Nigerians will jump at the offer. They will hardly see anyone here. For now people will not accept even if the money is increased”, a leader of the Nigerian community told YeyeNews.com.
