One of two Nigerian women deported from Ireland last week has described her anguish at leaving three of her four children behind. She broke down in tears during a telephone interview in Nigeria yesterday and described how she is now in hiding.
Elizabeth Odunsi (43) and her sister, Iyabo Nwanze (38) were among 35 Nigerians deported on March 14th. Between them, the two women left six children behind, aged between 8 and 18 years. These children are now reported to be in hiding in the Athlone area where the families had been living.
"I was only allowed to bring one child. The other three are still in Ireland," Ms Odunsi told The Irish Times. "I don't know who is looking after them."
Ms Odunsi brought her 14-year-old son with her to Nigeria. Ms Nwanze brought her nine-year-old son. "It's terrible being back in Lagos - I have no life here," Ms Odunsi said.
"I was in school doing a course in computer management. I would have finished in September and then we would have been able to work and integrate." She said she was now in hiding because her husband had "mistreated" her.
In a separate development, the 20-year-old Nigerian student whose deportation has been reversed by the Minister for Justice to allow him to sit his Leaving Cert has appealed for a review of the Government's immigration policy. He was also among the group deported last week.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday, Olukunle Elukanlo said: "I would like to have a word with the Minister, but I couldn't force him to change anything."
Mr Elukanlo described yesterday how after he arrived in Lagos the morning after his deportation, he was taken from the airport to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) HQ in Alagbon - a leafy and quiet area of Lagos, where he said he was locked up.
With help, he eventually managed to get himself out, he said. "I left the prison and had nowhere to go," he explained.
He said that while walking around he was attacked and his trousers and shirt were torn. After flagging down an approaching car, the driver allowed him to use his phone to call his friends and Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins. Mr Higgins put him in touch with Demeta Yaya of the Nigerian Democratic Socialist Movement, who then secured accommodation for him.
The NIS said there was no prison at Alagbon, and that deportees were kept for "30 minutes, maybe an hour," to check up on their background, before being returned to their families.
Mr Elukanlo thanked all those who had campaigned and helped him, and also raised the issue of the 34 other people deported with him. He was reluctant to talk about his Nigerian past, but hopes to return to Ireland, go to college and then "work full-time". He is uncertain about when he is to return to Ireland but hopes it will be next weekend.
If allowed to stay in Ireland, Mr Elukanlo has no plans to return to Nigeria.