The refugees comprising women, children and men departed through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport by a commercial airline to Monrovia, Liberia.

The first batch comprising 50 refugees left through the same route Monday. The repatriation is coming weeks after the registration for those wishing to return home started. An official of the Nigerian National Commission for Refugee (NCFR) at the 18-year-old camp, Lawrence Yegwa, said even though the camp had been officially closed by the host government 30 June, 2008, refugees would still be allowed to stay till December..

He said “The closure will not affect the ongoing repatriation, because we also need to sort out other details like those that have chosen local integration. Others are just registering to go home. "By December, the cessation clause would be invoked - meaning no refugee will be allowed in the camp and that they will also lose their refugee status,” Yegwa told PANA.

The camp has been home to many African refugees who fled their homes as a result of one conflicts or the other since 1990 and most of them came from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Most of the Sierra Leoneans are opting for local integration.

Congolese, Rwande se, Sudanese and Ivorians constitute the minorities and some of them have equally opted for local integration. ”I came to the camp five years ago. To make ends meet I have to do some menial jobs to feed my children. It was not easy but many of the Nigerians assisted us a lot. But let me say many of us are not happy with the 50 kilogrammes of luggage w are allowed to carry. Some of us have spent over ten years here and have acquired some personal property. Now there is no way to take them along,” Rebecca Rairey said shortly before boarding the flight to Monrovia.

The situation forced many of them to sell off some of their belongings such as mattresses, beddings, electronic gadgets and other household materials in order to meet up with the stipulated luggage requirements. The adult refugees received US$ 100 and the children US$ 50 as personal allowances from the UNHCR.

“If I will classify the Nigerian society in terms of their hospitality I will rate them 98%. Nigeria is not the only African country that have been hosting refugees. But the experience of Nigeria is very unique,” another refugee, Reginald Kraty Gaye, said.

Gaye, who is also the Chairman of the Liberian refugees welfare council at the camp, said he hoped to return home before the camp closed. For some of the Liberian refugees, the years spent on the camp became a turning point in their lives. Some of them, like Gaye, have obtained university degrees. Gaye arrived at the camp when he was 18 years, started his secondary school. And later enrolled for his first and second Degrees at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, in south west Nigeria and got married with kids.

Another refugee who believed his stay in Nigeria had been beneficial is 40-year-old Roty Gboyea who was among the first batch of refugees to arrive. Gboyea said: ”For me my staying in Nigeria has been rewarding in the sense that I started and finished my Secondary school here and acquired additional qualification.

"Today I am a trained Forester, I was at the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Ibadan, where I got my Higher National Diploma (HND). "With this I will be able to contribute towards the development of my country. Life as a refugee has not been easy but all the same we have to thank God for his mercy.”

Panapress