By Osigbesan Sultan Luqman, EDITOR
Nigerians who travel abroad on the country’s green passport often have to contend with subtle and brazen “special treatment” in one form or the other from immigrations officials, right from landing at the airport of the country they visit. What evidently started as a close scrutiny of some Nigerians has, it seems, been extended to all Nigerians, sometimes including our highly-placed officials travelling on diplomatic passports and world-famous Nigerians like Prof. Wole Soyinka, who South Africa’s immigrations officials infamously and impolitely stopped from entering that country on one occasion, which necessitated the intervention of then President Thabo Mbeki.
While the Nigerian authorities often recourse to diplomatic means to protest the apparent penchant of some country to deal high-handedly with Nigerian travellers, many Nigerians hold to their reservations about the frequency of these official interventions, and their effectiveness in guaranteeing smooth sailing for anyone flying out of our country on the Nigerian passport. Consequently, stories of needless, sometimes, manhandling of Nigerians abroad are not rare news items, as some countries continue to treat Nigerians abroad in less than desirable modus.
However, if these countries and others who joined them thought they could get away with renewed discrimination against Nigerian travellers in the wake of the epidemic outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in some West Africa countries, which a Liberian-American, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, criminally ‘imported’ into Nigeria, and which our country’s health officials robustly nipped in the bud, they were mistaken. Apparently, they did not, beforehand, figure out how the Federal Government would react, or reckon with the diplomatic steps Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Bashir Wali, would take to call them to order on this particular issue and another undiplomatic action, that is the increasing penchant for some senior foreign diplomats currently serving in Nigeria to crisscross the country, as a habit, to make “inflammatory and reckless statements against the government on matters of domestic policy.”
On Friday, October 31, though, Ambassador Wali summoned the diplomatic community in Nigeria to a briefing on these issues in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. In his terse address to the diplomats, Ambassador Wali, presented an overview of the EVD epidemics in Serra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, and how it made its way to Nigeria. He also briefed the gathering on Nigeria’s successful response to EVD, culminating in the declaration of the country as Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO), after the 21-day waiting period from the last day when secondary contacts and probable carriers of EVD were released from quarantine in Nigeria.
With reports of discrimination against Nigerians over Ebola pouring in after the WHO gave Nigeria a clean bill of health on EVD, Ambassador Wali expressed the Federal Government’s concern over “deliberate policies of stigmatisation and discrimination against Nigerians” in relation to Ebola.
He listed the countries “targeting and discriminating against our nationals” as Bahrain, Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroun, Cuba, Gabon, China, Egypt, Hong-Kong, Kuwait, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Zambia, Mauritania, Sao Tome & Principe, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Namibia, Seychelles and South Sudan.
Ambassador Wali stressed that Nigeria was not out to accuse any country of discrimination against its nationals, but stated that closing borders and stigmatisation would not help any country against Ebola. Instead, he advised that like Nigeria, other countries should only increase surveillance for Ebola at their borders in line with the WHO guideline.
The minister added that Nigeria and other countries with no current case of Ebola are not truly free of the virus until the whole world is free of it.
He disclosed that as part of its assistance to others in the sub-region against Ebola, Nigeria has donated $300 million to ECOWAS and had set up a centre where other West African countries can send their personnel to be trained on how to fight the virus.
‘Inflammatory, Reckless’ Statements By Diplomats
Still in his address, Ambassador Wali noted with “deep concern” that some senior foreign diplomats currently serving in Nigeria “are in the habit of crisscrossing the country and making inflammatory and reckless statements against the government on matters of domestic policy.”
He stressed that stressing that “this is unacceptable interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs” and advised all envoys “to respect the sensitivity of Nigerians and the mood of the times.”
…And the 2015 General Elections Too
And, Ambassador Wali assured the diplomats that the Federal Government was making appropriate preparations to hold a “credible, free and fair” election in 2015. He urged the diplomats to assist the country, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security agencies and local media practitioners towards making the 2015 General Elections a success.
He also asked the envoys to task the media in their home countries to be fair in their reportage of the upcoming elections and other reports about Nigeria.
Diplomats Respond
During the interactive session that followed the minister’s address, some of the country he mentioned took turn to offer explanations on the development. The South Sudan envoy said his country took the measures, including closing its borders, as a matter of precaution prompted by the fear that the country could not contain EVD if it struck there. South Sudan assured that the precautionary measures have since been scaled back to the barest minimum after WHO had certified Nigeria free of Ebola.
The Namibian envoy noted that because most countries of the world were not ready for EVD at the time it appear on the scene, “many mistakes” were made by “all country” in their reaction to keep the virus out of their areas. He observed that since the claim was that EVD was first discovered in monkey population in African forests, African scientists should work together and find a cure for it from “our forests.”
Envoy of Trinidad and Tobago said while EVD had presented a “huge challenge” to the international community, the discriminatory measures in his country were not just against Nigeria but all West Africa, stressing that his countrymen and women take West Africa to be a whole country, and not a sub-region with many nations.
He urged Nigeria “to take proactive approach” to counter the propaganda against Nigerians over Ebola.
All envoys who spoke at the session assured the minister that the stigmatisation and discrimination measures have now be dropped in their home countries for WHO-recommended preventive and treatment measures.
‘Nigeria Must Take Credit For EVD Success”
The Indian envoy to Nigeria thanked Wali for the briefing but observed that Nigeria appeared reluctant to demand and receive due credit for being the first country to become Ebola free, wondering why this is so.
He urged the Federal Government to produce a monogram, radio and television documentaries to explain how it successfully tackled EVD and make these educational materials available to the rest of the World to fight Ebola.
Similarly, other diplomats at the well-attended briefing commended Nigeria’s successful efforts on Ebola and urged the country to share its experience and expertise with other nations, especially those still under the scourge of Ebola.
Ambassador Wali stressed that Nigeria was not out to accuse any country of discrimination against its nationals, but stressed that closing borders and stigmatisation would not help any country against Ebola. Instead, he advised that like Nigeria, other countries should only increase surveillance for Ebola at their borders in line with the WHO guideline.
The minister added that Nigeria and other countries with no current case of Ebola are not truly free of the virus until the whole world is free of it.
He disclosed that as part of its assistance to others in the sub-region against Ebola, Nigeria has donated $300 million to ECOWAS and had set up a centre where other West African countries can send their personnel to be trained on how to fight the virus.
Boko Haram, Chibok Girls Abduction On Diplomats’ Mind
A diplomat from the European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria asked the minister to provide an update on the Federal Government’s negotiation with Boko Haram insurgents and the release of over 200 girls abducted by the terrorists from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State.
In reply, Ambassador Wali assured that the negotiation with Boko Haram was ongoing, stressing that it would be “pre-emptive” of him to say that the Chibok girls will be released “today or tomorrow.”
The Nigerian foreign minister added that the attacks being carried out despite the ceasefire announcement were likely being done by factions of Boko Haram who want to keep on fighting despite their leadership’s involvement in on-going peace negotiation.
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