There is trouble for Nigerians seeking asylum in Germany as the German government is set to deport close to thirty thousand of them.

According to Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Germany said it has about twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand Nigerians seeking asylum and cannot guarantee they would get it.

Dabiri-Erewa who made this known at a programme; “Developing a mixed migration strategy for UNHCR Nigeria”, said there was every possibility that the Nigerians would be returned to Nigeria.

She said the reasons for asylum by the Nigerians were not genuine as some who were from the East and West were saying they were running away from Boko Haram while some others said they were gays and were having challenges expressing themselves in Nigeria.

She said a date had not yet been set for the deportation of the asylum seeking Nigerians, saying Germany had set up a team working with the ministry of foreign affairs to see how the whole process could be made easier.

While noting that Germany was offering more scholarships and easier process of regular migration for Nigerians, she appealed to young Nigerians to watch out for those opportunities and take advantage of them.

Dabiri Erewa said options of reverse migration were being looked into, also where one could actually stay in their country and enjoy everything they were migrating abroad to get.

She said irregular migration was no longer working as the foreign countries were also having their own challenges now, saying government was already doing much to tackle the issues that were encouraging irregular migration, which include fighting corruption, insecurity and trying to revive the economy.

Earlier, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Antonio Canhandula told the stakeholders to suggest better ways of tackling irregular migration, adding that European countries were already closing their doors against migrants.

On her part, the South West Zonal Director of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Margret Ukegbu lamented that Nigerians have started migrating to unpopular countries like Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Mali.

She noted that importance should be placed on education, stressing that the Nigerian society has been encouraging irregular migration.