President Muhammadu Buhari has warned of the grave implications of migrating from Nigeria to Europe illegally, insisting that his administration will pay deaf ear whenever they run into troubled waters in such countries.

Buhari who was reacting to the migration policy of the German government under Chancellor Angela Merkel, who paid a two-day state visit to Nigeria as part of her tour of Africa, wondered why people would defy harsh desert conditions or the Mediterranean sea to go abroad in search of greener pastures.

“I am against people going to Europe in search of greener pastures, we may not be as advanced as other countries but going to other people’s country illegally, we do not support anything like that.

“You will recall that six weeks ago we repatriated 6000 Nigerians stocked in Libya, we do not support anything illegal, especially when people defy the desert, those doing so are doing it on their own risk,” he stated.

Both governments however sealed bilateral deals on agriculture, commerce, automobiles and security.

The first agreement was signed by the First Deputy National President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Hajia Saratu Iya Abubakar, on behalf of Nigeria and Dr. Stefan Liebing of German-Africa Business Association on behalf of Germany.

The second agreement was signed by the Managing Director of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Aliyu Abdulhameed and Peter Huser of the PETKUS Technologie GmbH.

Merkel described Nigeria’s economy as strategically relevant in Africa, saying partnership in food production, automobile manufacturing and energy would remain invaluable in cementing their relationship.

While commenting on illegal migration, where 30,000 migrants are believed to be seeking asylum in Europe, Merkel said her country will continue to tackle the problem using negotiations to bring about a win-win situation.

She said with the world becoming a global community, both countries would share ideas on education through exchange programmes.

The German Chancellor gave indications that crisis surrounding the Lake Chad, which has played significant roles in promoting terrorism would no doubt feature prominently in Berlin conference scheduled for next week.