By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The stage is set for the evacuation of 100,000 Nigerian refugees scattered across African countries, including Niger, Chad and Cameroun would soon begin, the Federal Government said at the weekend.
The Director-General of the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, said the government plans to empower such refugees in Nigeria instead of leaving them stranded in other countries.
He noted that announcement by United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump that undocumented immigrants be deported from the country has set things in motion.
Aliyu spoke of government preparedness to receive those to be deported into Nigeria.
The NCFRMI director-general, who unveiled the plan during a media briefing in Abuja, said the government was putting machinery in motion to absorb and resettle the prospective deportees that would be affected by what he called a mere policy statement by the Trump administration.
He said: “We are going to match this statement with action. The government would now leverage its position as the chair of the Rabat Process, a key Euro-African dialogue on migration and development, to push for softening some of the stringent international immigration laws mainly tilted against Nigeria and other African countries.
“He believes the position would help Nigeria advance more reasons for global action against climate-induced mobility, insecurity, education, and other factors that force Nigerians to become refugees or seek greener pastures in other countries.
“Nigeria’s accession to the leadership role was formalised at the senior officials’ meeting of the Rabat Process, held on January 29 and 30, 2025 in Porto, Portugal.
“The Rabat Process brings together 57 partner countries, the European Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and several international organisations.”
According to the NCFRMI boss, the Rabat Declaration also serves as a framework for cooperation on migration governance, focusing on different areas, such as regular pathways, irregular migration and development, which includes international protection.
The Nation