EDITORIAL: Redeeming Nigeria’s image crisis globally

Anti-Nigerian protests erupted in Ghana last week over alleged criminal misconducts, which its citizens claim have become pervasive and toxic to their security and moral well-being. The alleged vices include kidnapping, aspects of cybercrime known as ‘yahoo-yahoo’, ritual killing and prostitution.

Placards on display at Obro Spot, a popular rendezvous in Accra, by these disenchanted Ghanaians on 29 July, encapsulated the grievances in bold relief. “Armed robbery and violent attacks must stop.” “Nigerians are kidnapping and using people for rituals.” “Nigerians must go because you can’t be in someone’s country and be doing anyhow,” were seen in a viral video clip.

PREMIUM TIMES condemns such criminal behaviour and indeed all forms of malfeasance by Nigerians living not just in Ghana, but in other parts of the world. The severity of the protest was so disturbing that the authorities in Abuja swiftly dispatched the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, to Ghana, to engage with the people and authorities. She met not just President John Mahama, but Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, and community leaders.

She returned with the cheery news from President Mahama to President Bola Tinubu, not to lose any sleep over the incident. He highlighted the bonds of friendship and brotherhood that existed between both countries, which stretched to the colonial era. Minister Ojukwu met with the Nigerian community in Ghana and urged them to always live within the bounds of the law of their host country.

There are many Nigerians living in Ghana who have taken advantage of the ECOWAS protocol on the free movement of people, goods and services, to go there, pursue their university education, and establish businesses, among other endeavours. However, some with criminal tendencies have equally exploited the same protocol to live there and perpetrate heinous acts as their stock in trade.

Certainly, they are few in number, whether in Ghana, South Africa or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where similar protests have occurred. In some instances, Nigerians view these protests only through xenophobic lenses. This is wrong. There are real concerns in some of these host societies. Disturbingly, this is a situation that is growing globally. As often said, when one finger touches oil, it soils the others. As citizens carrying Nigeria’s passport, these people engaging in unfortunate conduct tarnish the country’s image. And the consequences are evident in the policy responses of a number of host countries in the wake of bad behaviour involving our nationals. Quite sadly, Nigerians at home and abroad are tarred with the same brush of a general perception and reaction.

For instance, the United Arab Emirates imposed a visa ban on Nigerians in 2019, which, though later lifted, now has very stringent conditions attached to the application for and granting of visas, which retain the more subtle features of a ban still. This has been the consequence of the flagrant breaches of their laws by some Nigerians. That same year, eight Nigerians were sentenced to death for armed robbery, following their December 2016 heist in Dubai and other parts of the United Arab Emirates.

Again, in April of the same year, five of our nationals were arrested for armed robbery that involved Dh2.3 million in a Bureau de change in Sharjah. Also, there have been violent clashes involving rival Eiye and Black Axe cult groups, the destruction of properties, and yelling at apartment parking lots in July 2022. This was the situation that alarmed the UAE authorities to the danger of their liberal immigration policy towards Nigeria.

The upshot has been quite telling. Presently, there is no visa for Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 45 to the UAE, unless the travel is on a family basis. And, to grant such a visa, a six-month bank statement of account with a minimum of $10,000 in it, a return flight ticket, evidence of secured accommodation, and a verifiable residential address at home must accompany all visa applications. This restriction affects not just tourists but business visas as well, which is an outcome that affects our economy negatively.

In April, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) began the investigation of 24 Nigerian youths apprehended in Ghana over internet fraud. They had been nabbed on 17 April at Kumsark Estate in Oyarifa, downtown Accra, by the Ghanaian Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), which swiftly transferred them to Nigeria.

But at the core of this evil trend is the lack of opportunities at home, especially jobs for school leavers at all levels, the broken moral fabric of the society, predilection for the acquisition of wealth without any evidence of livelihood and the failure of our society to reject this. Things are made worse by the brazen looting of the public treasury by public office holders, which has rendered Nigeria prostrate and systemically dysfunctional.

Therefore, Nigerian youths have embraced illicit paths as the routes to survival. Those who can export these vices to other countries are doing so. Rahmon Abbas, alias Hushpuppi, did so and was, in fact, the most notorious kingpin and perverse role model in this regard. But in 2022, he was convicted of fraud and money laundering, in a case that involved over $300 million, for which he bagged a 20-year jail term in the United States.

On 7 May this year, the police arrested two fugitives, Felix Omoregie and Okwudiri Ezeje, wanted in Belgium and Dubai respectively. Omoregie had been on the radar of Interpol since 19 December, 2023, over human trafficking in Brussels, France and Italy. A search in his hideout apartment in Lagos revealed a new passport with Canada as the country he had planned to relocate to. Ezeje is a member of a robbery syndicate in Dubai.

When the criminalities are not cybercrime, robbery, or human trafficking, these shady figures are implicated in the abuse of the immigration laws of their host country, through overstays. This is rampant in the United States and the United Kingdom and has compelled these and other countries to tighten their immigration laws against Nigerians.

In May, the Times of London reported that the UK authorities were mulling stricter measures for Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Pakistan citizens in obtaining their visa, due to the high rate of illegal extension of their permits. Canada, once known for its liberal visa policy, has joined the stricture bandwagon. A bank statement with a proof of N17 million is now required for any visa application to the country.

However, the interesting thing is that these malevolent hordes are not the true face of Nigeria. Across the world, Nigeria’s true ambassadors bestride billions of dollar businesses, entrepreneurship, academia, sports and technology.

Nigeria has many citizens who are hugely successful. One of them, Adebayo Ogunlesi’s company, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), owns significant stakes in the Gatwick and Edinburgh Airports in the UK. Also, Chinedu Echeruo, a tech innovator, sold his HotStop App for $1 billion in 2017, while Anthony Joshua is a World Heavy Weight boxing champion and Tobi Amusan, a world record holder in women’s 100 meters hurdle. They add to an endless roll call of the true faces of Nigeria.

We advise countries where Nigerians pose criminal threats to make the suspects face the full wrath of the law without hesitation. Back home, the EFCC should redouble its efforts in fighting the scourge of criminality, having already admitted that it is a disturbing and growing trend. Cybercrime now has training academies in Lagos, Abuja, Delta and Anambra states to underscore this point. States must move beyond rhetoric and give bite to their existing anti-crime laws to show that such nefarious activities do not pay.

Truly, our national image has been dented very badly; hence, only an equally aggressive law enforcement and values reorientation pushback will do, in redeeming Nigeria’s standing, both locally and within the global community.