Elukanlo would like meeting with McDowell

Newly returned deportee Olukunle Elukanlo says he would like to have a face-to-face meeting with Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, who authorised his return from Nigeria last week.

Asked what he would say to the Minister, Mr Elukanlo said he would prefer not to state this in advance.

The 20-year-old Leaving Certificate student returns to school and a semblance of a normal life this morning, following a weekend of festivities and media appearances after his return to Dublin on Friday. He had been deported with other Nigerians last month, but his deportation was reversed by Mr McDowell to allow him to return to school here and sit his Leaving Certificate examinations.

Today, he he has to sort out the paperwork for the six-month student visa granted by Mr McDowell.

Later today, he is also due to resume his part-time job in the local SuperValu in Palmerstown, where he works 17 hours a week. "I need money. I don't get money for talking to you, or for being on the [ Late Late] show. Once I have a job, I don't need to rely on the Government," he told The Irish Times yesterday.

Mr Elukanlo said that before he was deported he received nothing from the State, not even the €19 weekly payment given to asylum seekers under the direct provision scheme. He paid for his flat in Palmerstown and his upkeep from his own resources, he said. "I'm young now, I say, and I can take care of myself."

With the Leaving Cert starting in under two months' time, Mr Elukanlo has little enough time to resume his studies. The results of his mock exams await him when he returns to school. "I'll be alright. I'd like to go to college eventually but I need some money. Maybe I'll go for plastering."

Over 200 people attended a party in his honour at a Lucan hotel on Saturday night. Many were classmates who had campaigned for his return, but teachers also attended, including the school principal, Mr Pádraic Gallagher.

Mr Elukanlo made a brief appearance at an anti-deportation rally in Dublin on Saturday, at which he again thanked the Minister for reversing his deportation. About 400 people attended the rally, which heard calls for the return of others deported on the same flight as Mr Elukanlo two weeks ago.

Rosanna Flynn of Residents Against Racism, which organised the protest, called for the asylum process to be "taken out of the hands of the politicians". "These are human rights issues, which should be given to the care of a body such as the Human Rights Commission. It's not good enough to have these cases processed by a bunch of faceless people and then have the Minister saying he can't even remember looking at the cases." Ms Flynn said her organisation intended to protest outside the Progressive Democrat offices on Thursday, where they planned "a bit of a surprise".

Anti-immigration campaigner Áine Ní Chonaill briefly attended the rally, but left after being abused by a number of protesters. "The attitude being lauded in the Palmerstown case is the same as 'yes, we're all against drink-driving but please don't charge my husband, boyfriend, son'," she told The Irish Times.