An Italian town has reportedly offered to pay Nigerians and other foreigners 700 pounds to stay in its villages.
Caltanissetta
The town of Caltanissetta in Sicily, Italy, have opened the doors of its vacant homes to asylum seekers, who have crossed the Mediterranean from Libya.
In another region in the south of Italy called Molise, new comers including Nigerian migrants will be given €700 to stay in one of its villages for three months, according to The GuardianUK.
These persons are, however, mandated to open a business and the population of each village is to be kept under 2,000.
“We wanted to do more; we wanted people to invest here. They can open any sort of activity: a bread shop, a stationery shop, a restaurant, anything.
“It’s a way to breathe life into our towns while also increasing the population.
“If we had offered funding, it would have been yet another charity gesture,” Donato Toma, President of Molise, said.
Toma said if a village can keep its population under 2,000, they will be given €10,000 per month to build infrastructure and hold cultural activities.
The International Organisation for Migration reports that in the second quarter of 2018, Nigerians made up 13 per cent of the migrant population in Italy, a spot it shared with fellow West African state, Guinea.
The offer by the President of Molise is appetising to Nigeria’s Igbo retailers and importers, who build dynasties as well as expand their footprint through informal apprenticeships.