Olunkunle Eluhanla was sent back to Lagos on a special chartered flight from Dublin along with 35 other Nigerians.

This morning, Mr McDowell said the decision had been wrong and he was sorry for it.

He said he had reflected on it overnight and had decided that the Irish Government will issue the Nigerian with a six-month student visa to allow him finish his studies.

He said this was a one-off decision and would not set a precedent.

Speaking to RTÉ News, Mr Eluhanla said he was grateful and happy with the minister's decision. He added that he has not yet decided what to do once his visa expires.

The Assistant Principal of Palmerstown Community School, where Olunkunle is a student, has also welcomed the news.

Anthony Wilkie said staff and students were delighted that Olunkunle was being given an opportunity to sit his Leaving Certificate.

He also paid tribute to the students who had campaigned for his return.

“My ordeal in Nigeria”

I have called this conference to thank my friends and school mates in Palmerstown Community School in Dublin who have been protesting and picketing over my unjust deportation to Nigeria by Irish government on March 15, 2005.

I also wish to use this medium to thank the Socialist Party members, especially Joe Higgins TD, for their solidarity and support since my unjust deportation. For instance, Joe had contacted members of Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), an affiliate of Committee for A Workers International (CWI) in Nigeria to secure me an accommodation and oversee my upkeep as all these efforts have contributed immensely to force Irish government to review this injustice and consequently, recall me.

I had got a date, March 31, 2005 for my deportation to Nigeria and had to go to immigration centre on March 15, 2005 to lodge an appeal. From there, I was arrested and detained at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin. In the night, I was taken to Airport in Dublin without allowing me see or speak to my lawyer. There was no accusation against me and I was not given any paper to sign.

Gentlemen of the Press, I, along with 25 other adults and 9 children were put on a charted flight to Lagos from where we were locked up at Alagbon Prison. I was lucky to bail myself out through the assistance of one of the inmates who sympathized with my condition. I left the prison and had nowhere to go. In the process of walking around, I ran into some gangsters who thought I had money on me. I was attacked and molested. After this, I flagged down an incoming vehicle. The man stopped and I explained my situation to him. He took me to his house. There was no electricity, my cloths were already torn and was starving with no medication for injuries I had sustained.

I am very happy to inform you that on Thursday, March 24, 2005, I have been recalled by Irish government. I have however called this conference to draw the attention of the public to the victims of similar injustice who are not privileged to be lucky like me.

We are made to believe that the world is a global village. But it seems this assertion is meant for the rich. The rich could move their capital and investment around the world. They could relocate to live anywhere around the world. But for the poor working people, it is another ball game entirely. How could I have justified my years of schooling in Dublin and only be deported when I am due to write my Leaving Certificate examination in June, 2005? Many people have been deported in this manner and could have likely committed suicide as they will not be allowed to take a pin. In most cases, they are not allowed to take their children along. This could be frustrating.

I therefore use this medium to appeal to Irish government in particular and other governments in all the continents of the world to review their immigration policies to be more humane.

Once again, I thank all my school mates in Dublin, the Irish Socialist Party and its sister organisation in Nigeria, Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) for their support and solidarity. Without these people, I would have been wasted.

Thank you all.
Olukunle Elukanlo

Socialist Youth say - Bring Kunle Home Now!

Olunkunle Elukanlo was due to sit his leaving Cert exams in a couple of months. Last week he was brutally deported by the Fianna Fail/PD government

Last Monday, Olunkunle was imprisoned and forced back on a plane to Nigeria. In Nigeria, he was thrown in jail because he had no papers, when he was allowed out of jail, he was beaten up by a gang who thought he was rich because he was wearing a school uniform - he didn't have a penny!

He was a Leaving Cert student here, who supported himself by working and paid tax. He had fled Nigeria, because his father was shot dead in front of him, and he was shot too. Yet Michael McDowell, the Minister directly responsible, has stated that he will not reconsider Kunle's case. He claims that if he reconsidered this case, he would be forced to reconsider others and wasn't prepared to be lenient at all.

What can we do next?

The mobilisation of school students against the deportation of Kunle is an indication of how we can fight back. By isolating asylum seekers, the government tries to divide and rule ordinary people. But where refugees become integrated into our society, it becomes clear to everyone that they are not "spongers" but are people seeking a better life.

The fact that McDowell has commented on this particular case is an indication that we are having an effect and he is feeling the pressure. But by ruling out Kunle’s return he has also raised the stakes and means we have to escalate our action. Public opinion is clearly behind us and this protest is a very important step of turning this outrage into action to force this government back. This must be followed by a serious escalation of our action, to respond to McDowell's statement and maximise pressure on the government. It must become clear to the government that we are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that Kunle comes home alive.

Why is the government so determined about Kunle?

The Fianna Fail / PD government is determined not to allow Kunle back, because deportation of asylum seekers is a central part of their policy. They whip up anti-asylum seeker feeling and deport them in the middle of the night. Just as they did with their Citizenship Referndum during the local elections, these parties try to scapegoat asylum seekers and immigrants to deflect anger of people away from themselves. They claim that asylum seekers are responsible for the crisis in our health and education system and paint them as "spongers".

This is a lie. The crisis in health and education is due to chronic underfunding over decades by successive Fianna Fail and Fine Gael governments. Those who know Kunle know he is no "sponger" and the same applies to most refugees. Just as McDowell is now lying about the circumstances of Kunle's deportation, the government and the right-wing media lie about asylum seekers generally.

Why capitalism is to blame

Capitalism is ultimately responsible for the scapegoating and deportation of refugees. Capitalism is the system where massive amounts of wealth are held by a tiny number of people, who then dominate the world (currently 1% of the world owns 90% of the world's wealth). The war and occupation of Iraq is a clear example of this domination, where 100,000 people have been killed for oil, profit and US domination of the Middle East.

It is the system responsible for the situation in Nigeria which forced these refugees to leave in the first place. Nigeria is a country with terrible poverty, tribal conflict and corruption. Yet Nigeria has massive oil wealth, which if used in the interests of the people, would allow the standard of living of ordinary people to be massively increased. Instead, multinationals like Shell control the oil and reap massive profit from it.

The corrupt undemocratic government is happy to allow them to continue to do this, because they provide them with a power base. That's why our sister party in Nigeria, the Democratic Socialist Movement, fights for a socialist Nigeria, where the oil wealth would be taken from the multinationals into public ownership and used to raise the living standards of all.

In Ireland, capitalism means that American multinationals
and local capitalists like Tony O'Reilly, Michael O'Leary and Michael Smurfit dominate. Their interests come first, which means that instead of investing to improve our public services, our government will sell them off to these fat cats, to allow them to make a profit off the backs of working class people. Then, when faced with the inevitable anger of people against the attacks on our living conditions, they try to blame asylum seekers like Kunle.

Fight to change the System!

Ultimately, we believe that we need to change the system, so that instead of profit dominating, people come first. We think that the fight against deportations and racism is tied to the struggle for a socialist society, where we would do away with the domination of profit, and instead working class people would democratically control the resources and the economy and prioritise people's needs. In that way, the "need" for the scapegoating would be eliminated.

If you agree, you should join us!

Elukanlo Olakunle, a 19 year old student in Dublin was deported and

* Dumped in Lagos by Gardai [Irish police] with no identity papers
* Dumped in Lagos with no money
* Dumped in Lagos with only school uniform
* Imprisoned and released
* Beaten up by thugs for money he did not have

The Minister for Justice has the most serious questions to answer about the deportation on Tuesday, 15 March of Palmerstown Community School student Elukanlo Olakunle.

Elukanlo was snatched when he went to sign on at the Garda National Immigration Bureau on Monday, 15 March. He was incarcerated in Cloverhill Prison and then deported. He was not allowed to speak to anybody.

He was dumped in Lagos, Nigeria where he has no family and no contacts He has no identity papers and had no money. He was in his school uniform, the only clothes he has.

On arrival he was taken to Alagbon Prison. On being released he was attacked by two thugs who, seeing his western clothes, assumed he had money to rob. Fortunately, a kind man gave him a place to stay for the night and also allowed him to use his phone to contact his friends in Dublin.

On hearing of Elukanlo’s plight from his fellow students at Palmerstown Community School, through the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) I contacted fellow socialists in the Democratic Socialist Movement of Nigeria (DSM) and asked them to help. They have met Elukanlo Olakunle and will assist him to find a safe place to stay for a period. I have this morning cabled some money to them to assist with accommodation and to buy food. It has to be understood that life in Lagos is extremely precarious for ordinary people, most of whom are very poor, including my socialist colleagues.

Members of the DSM got Elukanlo to write about what happened and emailed it to me.

What a cruel irony that the week that this young person was deported Irish Government Ministers were all around the world with Irish communities and the descendants of the millions who left Irish shores for a better life. Just like Elukanlo Olakunle. What monumental hypocrisy that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was in Washington asking the US Government to allow thousands of ‘undocumented, illegal’ Irish people to stay in the United States.

I am contacting key members of the Dail to call on the Minister for Justice to immediately provide for Elukanlo’s return to Ireland so that he can continue his studies and have a chance of a decent future.

-----

Transrcript of Joe Higgins' intervention to the Dail debate about the issue:

Adjournment Debate, Dáil Éireann, 22nd March 2005

Joe Higgins (Socialist Party): I first heard the name Olunkunle Eluhanla on Monday, 15 March when I saw descending on Leinster House 60 leaving certificate students from Palmerstown community school who were upset, worried and angry that their friend had been snatched from their company without even having time to say goodbye. He was dumped, a term I use advisedly, in Lagos without identity papers, money, family, a place to go or someone on whom to fall back. These circumstances in themselves constitute callous negligence by the State. Lagos is an extremely precarious place for working class and poor people generally and especially for a completely lost young man in the uniform of his school. We are fortunate today that we are not here to mourn Olunkunle as he was assaulted in an attack which could have been even worse.

It beggars belief that a leaving certificate student two months away from his final exams should be deported. I salute the students of Palmerstown community school for their solidarity and loyalty to their friend. They have come in large numbers with their teachers to the Public Gallery hoping the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will exercise compassion. They stand tall in contrast to comments in some media outlets that Irish youth is generally self-centred, cynical and callous. If the Minister will not listen to compassion, though I hope he will, he should at least listen to the voices of people in the community who ask him to set aside the general policy and exercise the discretion he absolutely has to allow the young man in question to return.

Supporters of Olunkunle are examining whether there are legal grounds to challenge his deportation. While they may go to the High Court, people power must be brought to bear on the Government to ensure he is allowed to continue his studies. The Minister must see the howling irony of this callous deportation in the context the Taoiseach's request to the President of the United States of America to allow thousands of undocumented Irish people to continue their American lives legally. I ask the Minister to end the agony of Olunkunle Eluhanla and the distress of his friends. I ask the Minister to allow Olunkunle to return to his studies and the bosom of the community which obviously loved him and took him to its heart.