Thirty-nine
of the reported 172 Nigerians who were deported from Libya on Friday
11th March 2016 were received by Pastor T.B. Joshua of The Synagogue,
Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) during his church service on Sunday 13th
March.
The deportees were each given the sum of N100,000 by Joshua, who is well known for his charitable gestures. Fidelis
Onos, who spoke on behalf of the group, said most of them had been
imprisoned for up to one year in Libya after they were suddenly
arrested.
The majority were working as bricklayers in the North African country where they had sought ‘greener pastures’.
“We
are not here to blame Libya,” Fidelis is quoted as saying. “If Nigeria
was okay, we would never have left in the first place. It’s the war in
Libya that turned it to what it is today – in a place where there is no
government, what can you expect?”
He explained that United
Nations officials visited the Nigerians in the Libyan prison and were
touched at their plight, promising to arrange their repatriation back to
Nigeria.
They were finally able to travel under the voluntary
returnee programme organised by the International Organisation for
Migration (IOM).
Arriving in Lagos with only the clothes they
came with, the deportees were provided with a meagre N6,500, leading to
resentful outbursts from many at the airport.
“Frustrated, angry
and despondent, a group of them decided to seek refuge at The SCOAN,
having watched Emmanuel TV in Libya,” the church said.
“Upon
learning of their arrival in the church, Prophet T.B. Joshua immediately
sent evangelists to provide food, alongside medical aid to some of the
most malnourished in their midst,” it continued.
After giving the young men N3.9million ($20,000), many were emotionally moved and shed tears.
“If
not for a man like T.B. Joshua, most of us would have ended up going
into armed robbery, kidnapping or even joining a group like Boko Haram,”
said Godspower Chibuike as he appreciated Joshua for the gift.
“If
youths were encouraged like this, we wouldn’t even think of travelling
to places like Libya,” another deportee stated, adding that he had never
seen such an amount of money in his life.
The group were
subsequently provided with toiletries alongside brand new clothing, as
they had worn the same set of clothes since their arrival in Nigeria.
“Remember, what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you,” T.B. Joshua stated in conclusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment