World Refugee Day 2023: Government Should Provide Solutions to Refugee Crisis in Nigeria, Ogunleye-Bello

World Refugee Day is organized every year on June 20, to celebrate and honor the strength and courage of refugees from around the world. World Refugee Day is an opportunity to foster empathy and understanding for their suffering, as well as to honor their dedication in restoring their lives.

This day holds immense importance across the world as it brings global attention to the plights and challenges faced by refugees. Today emphasizes the need for international cooperation and support in addressing the refugee crisis and empathetic values the world holds for refugees regardless of their nationality and background.

The theme for World Refugee Day 2023 is “Hope Away From Home.”
Speaking to the press, Ms. Aderonke Ogunleye-Bello, Executive Director of FAME Foundation, urges the government to provide solutions to refugee crisis.

“Over 90,000 officially registered refugees from approximately 34 countries are now residing in Nigeria.

“The refugee crisis is huge, and growing but it is also a human-caused issue. Solutions are possible.”

“We have a responsibility to play in ensuring that refugees feel safe and positive about their future. Today is the day we celebrate them and their courage to carry on regardless of the situation they found themselves in,” she added.

She continued by saying that, “Every displaced person should be allowed to live a normal life like everyone and they should not be discriminated, due to their race or the situation that made them flee, from where they were.”

She stated that people ought to be given the chance to resume their lives in a safe place where they may work, educate, and live healthy lives while receiving good medical treatment, and urged the government to increase the support and funding they provide to refugees and possibly work together with other wealthy countries to share the responsibility for protecting refugees.

Speaking further, she tasks the government to consider the special needs of those who are more likely to be subjected to abuse, discrimination, neglect, abandonment, exploitation, and exclusion. This includes addressing these needs through targeted services, such as health services.

“Today should be a day to promote compassion, understanding, and action in order to alleviate the difficulties experienced by refugees and other displaced persons,” she concludes