Embassy’s website gives poor account of President’s visit

By Geoff Iyatse

If there is an institution in the United States where one expects to find records of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to the country, it is the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC.

Unfortunately, there is no much information on its website – its virtual office as it were – to showcase the much-publicised visit.

As of Monday, its photo gallery, a section visitors would expect to view photographs of Buhari’s activities in the US, was black.

There were also no traces of the President’s speeches. Remarks by host President Barack Obama and other dignitaries at different meetings organised for the visiting Nigerian team were also missing on the site.

But for two posts titled, ‘Buhari has integrity, clear agenda – Obama’ and ‘Nigeria committed to good governance, fighting corruption,’ there was nothing on the site to tell visitors that the President was, indeed, in the country last week.

The embassy culled the stories from Nigerian newspapers. One of the reports, which were placed under its announcement heading, was illustrated by a passport-size photograph of the President while the second was accompanied by a picture he took with Obama.

In this age of instant documentation, there was no video recording of the visit on the website hosted by Nigeria’s ‘home’ in the US. On the video gallery of the embassy’s site were two clips – one of them is a narrative of major socio-economic milestones of the country while the second was a 2009 fashion week.

Visitors are introduced to the digital office of the embassy by photographs depicting the country’s diverse cultures and tourist sites, such as the Zuma Rock in Suleja, Niger State.
Whereas modern websites are updated on an hourly basis to reflect changing trends, the portal prefers to give more attention to the history of the country. Hence, much of its space is devoted to telling the country’s history, geography and political system.

And even its narrative is full of obsolete information. For instance, the embassy still pegs the country’s population at 120 million.

“Much has been said and written about Nigeria, her people and culture, economy and politics, that sheds light on the tremendous potential of the giant of Africa. However, little is known to the outside world about the many exciting tourist attractions available in Nigeria: historic sites nestling amid rivers and rain forests. There are also museums, festivals, music and dance. These are just some of the spectacular sights and sensual delights awaiting travellers to Nigeria. Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa (about 120 million),” it said.

The portal, however, matches its contemporaries in terms of updates on commercial services. Its consular section contains details of charges and the number of days it takes to produce a visa.
According to the diplomatic office, a visa takes 10 working days. But applicants could request an “expedited service”, in which case, they are charged higher. For this service, a visa is delivered in three to four days, depending on the category.

For both the passport and visa, all an applicant needs is a visit to the site to get information in terms of charges, requirements, documentation process, document collection and visiting hours.
An applicant seeking replacement for lost passports pays a $350 penalty in addition to a $30 processing fee.

Fresh applicants and those renewing documents are charged $106 each while the underage and the elderly pay $77. In all cases, a $30 additional processing charge applies.

Information gleaned from the site on Monday says the consular has stopped the handling of passport correction in the US.
“Henceforth, applicants wishing to amend the details on their Nigerian passports are required to effect the changes in Nigeria. The embassy will no longer entertain request in that regard,” the site states.

www.punchng.com/i-punch/embassys-website-gives-poor-account-of-presidents-visit/

INTROVERT:
okay

papaejima1:
They didn't report anything because there was nothing to report nah.

What you want them to report is it that Rochas came to USA and was sleeping during the meetings?
or that during the meetings the Americans had someone taking notes while the Nigerian delegation were empty handed not even a phone to record the conversations?
Or is it that Oshiomhole brought his wife along with him to US just so Benin dudes will not play a fast one on him in his absence?
or that the big fish himself locked out nigeria's businessmen, sahara reporters and even a beauty queen from the meetings?

just tell me where you want the embassy to start from in reporting the epic embarrassment.

RichDad1:
I can see someone losing his/her job very soon.