Chadians make Nigeria their promised land: How they trek for months, live in bush to cross over to work here, and the racketeers that fleece them to make the journey
By Vincent Ukpong Kalu and Chioma Igbokwe

Saturday, March 20, 2010
Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians risk their lives to find their way into Europe and America every year. Indeed, many of them die in the process of staking their lives in bushes, waters and deserts to leave the nation for better habitations.




[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2010/mar/20/sun/idriss-deby[1].gif[/img]
Idriss Deby Itno, Chadian president



http://odili.net/news/source/2010/mar/20/512.html

But as they run away, because Nigeria has become a land that consumes the inhabitants, some others from neighbouring nations take equal risk to make sure they cross over into Nigeria to make a living either in begging or in menial jobs. A life of ironies, you would say, as you hear their accounts of the length they go to come to Nigeria in this moving story.

It has been discovered that some Nigerians from the northern part of the country are raking in huge incomes by bringing Chadian citizens into the country and giving them out as security guards (mai guard) or finding them motorcycles for commercial purposes and other sundry menial jobs. As they labour, they make returns to the bosses.

The reason the racketeers find good ‘slaves’ in these Chadian, according to sources, is that they are thought to be more reliable than their Nigerian counterparts. The calculations of the operators of the deal is that since their native country has worse biting economic conditions, their demands would not be so much and every little handout they get excites them. Moreover, before they could gain some boldness to challenge their masters as illegal aliens, the masters must have got some handsome deal using them.

Saturday Sun uncovers the operation mechanism of these people that run the illegal immigration racket. These Nigerians latch on to the economic crunch in Chad and devise ways of making fortunes from its citizens who are eager to escape their country for greener pastures. They are told that the streets of Nigeria are paved with gold and if they get there unparallel opportunities of making money abound. The youth would equally swallow such lies and decide to dare it not minding the work they would do to be in Nigeria. After recruiting them, they would be ferried into Gamboru Ngala, a town in Borno State that borders Chad and some others around there. After crossing over into Nigeria, the immigrants allege that Nigerian Immigration Services officials, at various posts, are bribed for easy passage.

Investigation revealed that when they come to Borno State, the head slave drivers would wait for trailers that haul goods to Borno from Lagos and would likely be returning Lagos empty for onward dispatch into the hinterland cities of Nigeria. They are brought into Lagos through this process almost at no cost. As they arrive Lagos, they are moved to the base of the recruitment agents in Apapa, Alaba Rago in Ojo, and Mile 12, Ketu and such other stronghold locations of northern Nigerians in Lagos.

Contrary to what they were told in Chad, on their arrival in Nigeria, they realize that life here is survival of the fittest and that there are no easy or quick ways of making money. Some of them, who could not return, get trapped and get involved in criminal activities.

One of the Chadian migrants in Lagos is Jubril Ramadan, who left Chad about two years ago to Nigeria. He was arrested, after being found in the custody of a stolen wristwatch and bangle. The items, as Saturday Sun found out, were stolen by a gang of robbers who attacked a family at Festac Town, Lagos. Ramadan was traced to a driving school at Ajegunle, Lagos through his phone, which was found at the scene of the crime. He admitted to buying the watch from his brother, Adam, who is currently at large while the bangle was a gift to him from Adam.

Narrating his journey to Nigeria, Jubril, who hails from Manjanen, Chad told Saturday Sun that life in his village had been hard; so when the Nigerian recruitment team came and told them how life was so easy in Nigeria he and others latched onto the opportunity to better their lives. “Sometime in 2007, one of my cousins, who was recruited by the same team came back with a lot of money. He told me that life was better in Nigeria than here. When I asked him what he does for a living, he told me that he is a beggar and that was the source of the money he made. Coming from a family of 15, the custom of our family is that once you get to the age of 15, you must be independent. So the Nigerians came for the recruitment coupled with what Ahmed told as a way out of the hard way of living in my village, I did not hesitate to take the offer.”

All of us get different promise land o. I didn't know some people still see Naija as promise land.

Nigeria is a promise land in Africa.We have been very unfortunate to have terrible and visionless leaders,

These are the same guys that have completely taken over the okada riding business in Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Obalende and are also operating in huge numbers in other parts of Lagos.

They are also the mercenaries that wreck havoc in in various Northern massacres.

desgiezd:

These are the same guys that have completely taken over the okada riding business in Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Obalende and are also operating in huge numbers in other parts of Lagos.

I know.

Okada in the daytime, armed robbery at night. Of course Naija is promised land cos there's so much to steal