. says untrue reports scaring Diasporans, oaths taken by illegal migrants affecting willingness to return

By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE Director General, Edo State Diaspora Agency Dr. (Mrs) Loretta Ogboro-Okor has vowed to harness the potential of Edo people in the Diaspora to develop the State.

She also said that untrue negative reports in social media were scaring them to come and invest at home

Ogboror-Okor stated this at her maiden press conference in Benin City as the pioneer DG of the newly established agency where she also revealed oaths usually taken by illegal migrants from Nigeria and particularly Edo State with fears of consequences if broken have been one of the reasons why many trafficked victims refuse to come back home even for free.

She said check this, the police in Europe and other countries now engage more counsellors for Nigerian illegal migrants including engaging pastors to convince them that such oaths could be neutralized.

She said “Many of them are still psychologically bound by that action (oath) so they will not even go even when you say help is here come and take help.

“What I have discussed with the police based on the findings of my report is that they are now thinking of how to modify the interventions for our people a bit differently, so they are putting in more psychological counsellors on our side as against the other side. A Nigerian now can see more counsellors, for instance, if you are supposed to see one counsellor, you will have two, they are now thinking of incorporating pastors into our study because they now understand that our faith-based approach to life means that these people believe that their pastors can break the yoke and oath they have taken.”

She said she would use the newly established Agency to ensure that the potential of Edo indigenes in the Diaspora is properly harnessed to the economic, social, and cultural development of the state and expressed the readiness of the agency to build Synergy with other sister bodies to address the menace of trafficking in persons.

She said “Standing from our strategic location in Nigeria, where one cannot navigate the North, South, East and West, without going through Edo State, we draw a parallel in today’s world too with our Diaspora population that have also become the anchor and rallying point of not just Nigerians but Africans across the world more so, blazing a trail of democracy and political consciousness as we can see from our political engagements in our gubernatorial and other elections.

“As Edo State People in the Diaspora, we contribute hugely in remittances to not just our State, but to our Country Nigeria, as a whole. We will be economical with the truth if we do not highlight the fact that our sojourns have been fraught with challenges, ranging from but not limited to stigmatisation, racism, marginalisation and stereotypes.

“However, through it all, we rise and hold onto the central theme of hope together, we explore our possibilities for the future, and we continue to maintain our shared solidarity pushing our positive narratives of Edo State Past, Present and Future with no limits.

The Diaspora Agency was established by Governor Monday Okpebholo to serve as a bridge between people in the diaspora and government at home, ensuring that the skills, resources, and experiences of our global citizens are harnessed for the development of our state.