A young returnee from Libya has pleaded with Nigerians not follow the same path he did, saying the grass is not greener as many thinks.

Mathew James, who is among those who recently voluntarily returned to Nigeria from Libya, went down on his knees at the Airport and gave thanks to God whilst begging fellow Nigerians not to tow the same path.

James was one of the Nigerians who tried to travel to Europe through Libya.

When he disembarked from the plane that brought him and 160 other Nigerian migrants at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on February 14th, James was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he knelt down and kissed the ground.

He also advised Nigerians not to embark on the dangerous journeys that have claimed thousands of lives.

“I left Nigeria for greener pastures”, said Mathew James who was among the 160 Nigerian migrants (79 Males, 68 females, 3 children, and 10 infants) that were voluntarily returned from Libya by IOM on 14 February 2019. Mathew was working as a carpenter in Nigeria before he travelled to Libya.

“I don see death face to face but thank God I am alive”.

“Please don’t follow this route, the land is not greener as you think”, he advised.

This is the 59th charter flight organised by IOM under the EU-IOM initiative on Migration Governance and Reintegration in Nigeria funded by the European Union since 2017.

The International Organization for Migration(IOM) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1951, is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all.

As shared on Twitter by @IOM Nigeria, he was quoted as saying that “…the grass is not greener as you think”

“Please don’t follow this route, the land is not greener as you think”, said Mathew James who was among the 160 #Nigerian #migrants that were voluntarily returned from Libya by #IOM on 14 February 2019. This is the 59th charter flight organised by IOM under the #EU-IOM initiative pic.twitter.com/uby0eTVwbW

— IOM Nigeria (@IOM_Nigeria) February 18, 2019