Editorial: Nigerians deserve protection in foreign countries

Posted by admin Headlines Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

IT is time the Nigerian government adopted strict measures to stop the incessant harassment of Nigerians in different parts of the world. Intimidation, arrests, detention, torture and killing of Nigerians in foreign countries have gone on unchallenged for years and should no longer be tolerated. Our nonchalant attitude towards the treatment of Nigerians – especially whether they get proper legal representation when they find themselves in trouble beyond our borders – makes our citizens vulnerable everywhere.

Last week, a non-governmental organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, and two Nigerians condemned to death in The Gambia went to the Economic Community of West African States’ Court of Justice in Abuja, seeking to stop the execution of Nigerians on death row in that country. In the suit, the plaintiffs alleged that the two Nigerians were about to be executed without the right to appeal. This, they reportedly claimed, violated their rights to life, due process of law and fair hearing.

The world is witnessing a resurgence of xenophobia. In Russia, black people, mostly Nigerians, and natives of the Caucasus are attacked most frequently. Similarly, Nigerians living in Ukraine had cause to protest last month against the arrest and continued detention of a Nigerian student in that Eastern European country. The Nigerian was said to have defended himself against some Ukrainian youths who allegedly attacked him at the entrance to his apartment in November 2011. He reportedly used a broken bottle to fend off his assailants, numbering about six, and, as such, now risks life imprisonment if convicted. The Ukrainian Police have reportedly refused to take the matter to court on the excuse that they have not been able to get an interpreter for him. Early in the year, some officials clobbered a Nigerian to death for (alleged) indecent exposure in Malaysia. In the face of deep economic crisis, Greek authorities are failing to tackle a rising wave of xenophobic violence that has left migrants, including Nigerians, afraid to walk the streets.

Ordinarily, Nigerians have no reason to be harassed in any part of the world. Blessed with resourceful people, oil and other natural resources, Nigeria should have been the destination for nationals of other countries. Unfortunately, this is not so. Corruption, insecurity and mismanagement of resources have reduced the country to the 14th most failed state in the world. Many of our citizens live almost like refugees in other countries. Some of them had thriving businesses in Nigeria but one bad government policy or the other forced them out of the country in a desperate bid to survive. Many were unable to find employment at home.

Along the line, some of them are caught on the wrong side of the law. In many Western and Asian countries, many Nigerians are languishing in jails for real and imaginary offences. Some are jailed for drug peddling; some are reportedly framed up and jailed simply because they are Nigerians. Some have even been killed without anybody asking questions or attempting to come to their rescue.

It is particularly galling to discover that some African countries, most of which have benefited one way or the other from Nigeria’s so-called “big brother policy,” are also antagonistic to our citizens. For instance, Nigerians have come under xenophobic attacks in South Africa in the recent past. Some of these Nigerians are students who have gone to that country to acquire knowledge, owing to the near collapse of our own educational system. Earlier in the year, the same South Africa deported 125 Nigerians for allegedly entering the country with fake Yellow Fever vaccination certificates. This was in spite of the fact that the certificates were verified and certified correct by the South African High Commission in Nigeria before it issued visas to their bearers.

Also, it is common knowledge that Nigerian businessmen in Zimbabwe and some other African countries are frequently targets of harsh government policies. Last week, the Senate President, David Mark, implored the Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Thokozani Khupe, to help put a stop to the constant harassment of Nigerians in that country.

For decades, Africa was the centrepiece of our foreign policy. We contributed immensely to the liberation struggles in many African countries. But these countries now repay us with hatred and constantly hound our citizens residing in their midst. It is good that we are finally beginning to reciprocate the unfriendly gestures from other countries. In the heat of the deportation row between Nigeria and South Africa, Foreign Affairs Minister, Gbenga Ashiru, vowed that Nigeria would no longer tolerate unjust treatment of Nigerians in any country. The matter was resolved when Nigeria retaliated by deporting some South Africans. This is how it should be.

Our Foreign Affairs Ministry and embassies should monitor the fate of Nigerians in foreign countries and intervene where necessary. Americans are proud of their country because they are sure the country will come to their rescue if they are in trouble in any foreign land. This, inevitably, engenders enduring patriotism.

On their part, Nigerian travellers should learn to behave themselves in foreign countries. Why would anybody, for instance, peddle drugs in such countries as China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand or Singapore when it is clear that the death penalty awaits whoever is caught doing so. People should be abreast of the laws of the land of their sojourn and ensure they adhere strictly to them.

The best way to solve this problem is for the government at all levels to be alive to its responsibilities. If the electricity problem in the country is solved; if high standards are restored to our educational and health systems; if roads, railways and other infrastructural facilities are built and maintained; and if youths are gainfully employed, Nigerians will not have cause to emigrate and become second-class immigrants in foreign lands.wp_posts