Without doubt, the disclosure by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru that about 9,000 Nigerians are in various prisons abroad; some of them on death row, is not only heart-rending if not damning; it is indeed pathetic. Fundamentally, this is yet, another blight on the toga of the country’s battered international image and it speaks directly to the pervasive corruption and criminality, which is now being exported abroad. The minister must, however, be quickly reminded though that his job is not to state the problem but to fix it. Weeping over problems, either as a public relations gimmick or a genuine admission of cluelessness has become a nauseating but defining style of Nigerian leaders. It is as if the words of President Goodluck Jonathan at his inaugural, that the time for lamentation was over and it was time for transformation, were hardly audible to members of his cabinet.
Presenting his mid-term report in Abuja on Monday, the minister lamented that the major problem confronting Nigerian foreign policy was the predicament of Nigerians in detention abroad. To which end, he underscored the need to devise a strategy to proffer solutions to the alarming numbers of Nigerians in foreign prisons. “9,000 Nigerians are in various prisons all over the world, the highest number of 752 being recorded in the UK. One of the major challenges facing Nigeria’s foreign policy is the plight of Nigerians in prison abroad. Most of them are concentrated in the Asian-Pacific with many on them on death row. Given these alarming numbers, it is imperative to find creative solutions to the plight of these Nigerians,’’ Ashiru said, warning Nigerians to desist from drug trafficking, saying the sophisticated nature of airports around the world made it possible for them to succeed. “Please Nigerians don’t carry drugs again, it tarnishes the image of our country.” He also decried inadequate funding on foreign missions, which has reduced the number of staff in foreign missions.
That about 9,000 fellow Nigerians are languishing in foreign jails; some of them without even the knowledge of their friends and family members back home is a frightening dimension to the average Nigerian’s predilection to cut corners and move on the fast lane. Besides the drug traffickers that venture to transport cocaine into Europe, there have been anecdotal accounts of Nigerian con men in America championing of all kinds of fraudulent schemes – tax and social security scams; credit card, and Medicare/Medicaid fraud. Meanwhile, Nigerians back home have specialized in internet scams involving fake appeal letters from hacked e-mails of innocent victims; in a scam that’s a hallmark of the Internet era: advance-fee fraud, ironically known as “419” (for the fraud designation in the Nigerian criminal code) . The situation degenerated to the point where it attracted the attention of Nollywood actor and comedian; Nkem Owoh (Ukwa) whose satirical musical “I go chop your dollar” became an instant internet sensation.
Let this be noted: without the capacity to guarantee a measure of security or prosperity for tomorrow, governance loses its essence. The future of youths often called the “leaders of tomorrow” is one thing that any responsible government must work hard to guarantee. This is not the case in Nigeria where governments at all levels have failed to make appropriate investments in the future of youths who continue to vote with their feet by immigrating abroad in search of greener pastures. Once they find themselves abroad, these youths easily succumb to the temptations of crime and other get-rich quick schemes. Nigerians are the worse for this track record, as they suffer double jeopardy of reputational damage because of the sloppiness of a few bad apples.
All over the world, honest and renowned Nigerian academics and businessmen and other professionals have become the subject of hostility and intrusive searches at international airports; some of which have taken special dispositions to search only Nigerians. This is humiliating and unacceptable to say the least. It probably has not helped that Nigerian aviation officials, including airline personnel have been caught in the practices of drug trafficking. The monumental scale of the problem is one that will overwhelm any government but the excuses from Nigerian officials, especially those charged with “rebranding Nigeria” have sometimes been as unpardonably hare-brained as they are laughable.
Ambassador Ashiru’s pathetic lamentations did little credit to his office especially as he failed to even admit that corruption was central to the problem. Nigerians have become accustomed to seeing criminals walking their streets and tend to believe that you can buy anything with money. However, in countries where the rule of law is not just a slogan, as in most western countries, they end up in jail. Unfortunately, some Nigerians are jailed abroad for minor offences simply because of the prejudice against Nigerians who have all been compartmentalized as crooks and criminals by law enforcement agents in western countries. It is an open secret that Nigerians are treated with scorn and disdain by their embassy officials; who even go out of their way to blackmail their fellow citizens to foreign law enforcement agencies. Can the Minister cite one instance where any Nigerian embassy has defended a Nigerian who has been wrongly accused and faces deportation from some foreign country because locals there want to confiscate the business he owns?
The main reason for the mass immigration of Nigerians and the attendant consequences of criminality is mass unemployment, whose causes are to be sought in Nigeria. Nigeria has 156 universities; where are the jobs for the products of these schools? The severity of unemployment was illustrated recently when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) advertised 15,000 vacancies and received 800,000 applications. Unemployment has scaled alarming levels to compel the declaration of a national emergency. At the last count, about 42 million youths are reportedly unemployed. The consequent misfortune is unspeakable. In Kano alone, about two million Nigerian youths have turned into commercial motorbike riders. The figure varies from state to state, but it is the same story nationwide.
Job creation, of course, is not the responsibility of government alone. However, it is a cliché of development that government must provide the enabling environment, namely security, infrastructure and a package of incentives, for prosperity to find home in the society. To create jobs, countries build infrastructure, especially roads. This has a multiple job creation effect. In historic times, Egypt put people to work to build pyramids. In recent times, Brazil, China and India moved large percentage of their people from poverty through investment in infrastructure.
Nigeria’s peculiar type of politics is inimical to development. The government’s current approach of handing out cash, as is being done with SURE-P, tainted by its linkage to political patronage, is a waste of funds. The crisis of unemployment deserves a bold policy initiative by the President. It demands urgent action to abort a ticking time bomb with its ominous dire consequences. To the extent that, the minister did not bother to find out why Nigerians are fleeing their country in record numbers; nor what he intends to do to defend the interest of Nigerians abroad; some of whom are mere victims of prejudice and jealousy, his lamentations amounted to a serious self-indictment and failure in the discharge of his statutory responsibility. On this issue of Nigerians prisoners abroad, history will not judge kindly anyone who fails to do his duty to ensure that Nigerians abroad who run on the left side of the law are given a fair shake. Someone is either failing in his duty in this matter, or we are faced with general dereliction within the system.
