[b] When you kick your calabash carelessly in the presence of neighbours, in your absence they will break it without a blink, Which way Nigeria? Months back I read the story of a Nigerian that was abused by the American Embassy after she had won the the so-called visa lottery, apart from the nitty gritty of the entire episode, the short of it was how the young lady and her husband were subjected to the most inhuman treatment all in the name of getting a visa. The woman was asked the position on which she made love with her husband, the husband was asked the color of his wife's undies. Again recently a Professor friend of mine was insulted when the Visa attendant at the American as I call them asked the ole man if he wrote JAMB and if he passed, Shaking my head.
The British embassy is not left out in the inhuman treatment that Nigerians receive in the hands of these colonial terrorists, it is a case that over the years has taken steps into the next level. A lot has been written and a lot more would be written but what better time to add ones voice to the problem other than now that elections are around the corner. None of the Presidential candidates has outlined any concrete foreign policy. Well it may be too early in the morning but then the fact is that we have a serious migration problem in our hands. We placed an unenviable second in the list of applicants in the last US Diversity Lottery Whatever it is called and we are all quiet like it is nothing.
I would in this essay drive home some things I consider home truths and sad as they may be, they are issues that to a large extent would determine the success or otherwise of our corporate existence.
Nigerians are living Nigeria, for education, for the better life, for sports, for healthcare, for every reason available, Nigerians are seeking education in places such as the Ukraine, Bahrain,Dubai,Russia,Malaysia,Cuba,and Cyprus to mention a few, Nigerian footballers now go as far as Brazil, I mean the mighty footballing Brazil, not to talk of Iran, Kuwait and Madagascar. The labour market in places as remote as Auckland, Sydney, New Zealand are full of Nigerian academics. The Vice President just came back from his vacation in the US, while Dim Ojukwu also just arrived from his medical in yankee, and we say that there is hope? What hope do we have, many Nigerians in Diaspora, every year count and say this is the last year for me but as December reaches, it is obvious that one year more is in the horizon, the situation at home is nothing to write about. The so-called conducive environment is illusionary. Nigerians in diaspora go through a lot just to eek out a living and yet have to cater for family at home. Through winter, summer, the struggle continues both legit and the shady ones.
Back home, families sell landed properties,mortgage valuables and values to make sure that siblings, off springs get that paper that gets them out of the nation, on any excuse available. The number of churches and special prophets that line up the popular Embassy Street in Lagos is testimony to the fact that all is not well. Nigerians despite their status line up in their thousands all just for an opportunity to get out of the mess we got ourselves into. Our citizens go to Libya, Saudi, and even Iran to be Pastors in desperation. The question is If we all leave, who will repair the mess, the other day in a discuss with well informed friends I had asked has anyone bothered to check out how much money embassies such as the British, American, Dutch, French, South African all make in a year from Nigerians? How many Nigerians, legitimate ones, that apply are given these Visas, how many are denied? are these nations responsible to us or the other way round. You want to see the most humble Nigerians go to the embassy, abuse a man's father and he will put up a smile and still be of his best behaviour, he has no choice, this is probably the sixth time he is having a go at the process. Nigerians with no relations in the host countries are ready to go the limit to get that green pasture, fight the cold wether, the sun, the foreign police, get involved in 'arrange' wedding with 'whitie' have Tokunboh kids with the woman, allow her custody of his green, red and yellow cards. It is sad! But how sad when in truth the nation denied and has continued to deny most of its citizenry the right to a life, the right to dignity, to earning and much more.
Why is that most of the people that were regarded failures here get outside the nation and excel and do much more better. Often than not, the the Tokunboh phenomenon as I term it exposes our deficiencies, when out there you are either good at what you know or you are not, you either fit in, or you do the cabs even the cabs is not for misfits. Many times we have seen cases where bank Managers can barely hold down a job as front desk persons outside the nation and in other cases we have seen school rejects, with fourth and fifth class go abroad and go a record breaking because someone gave them the chance that Mother Nigeria refused them.
Each time I am opportune to reflect on matters of the brain, stomach and all kinds of drains in the nation I shake my head, because it is one of the many ills of our society. The question we cannot reach agreement on is how did we get to this level of decadence in the system? We have had the wonderful messages of reforms, Nigerians in Diaspora are being asked to come back home and invest, the fact is that would the Naira ever tackle the Dollar kobo for cent again. Would the British Pound respect the Naira like it was in the past. There are parts in Lagos Nigeria were transactions are done in foreign currencies, while beneficiaries of the popular Western Union Money Transfer prefer their money in foreign denominated currencies. What reform when the people are not reformed.
Where went the self belief, on my last visit to the Bauchi Yankari Park I went through the statistics of inflow of foreign tourists and it was a sad decline with each passing year as the figures dropped. Many Nigerians would rather a holiday in Dubai than Obudu Cattle Ranch. Nigerians are the bane of Nigeria, we have a long time lost belief in ourselves. Why do we have to leave our country for other people's nation because the system there works, they have energy, their railroads are fantastic, their planes do not fall like birds shot down by a local hunter, despite the racism, and cultural problems we still prefer them,and in preferring them we for once forget that these people built their systems and they paid the price and in cases are using us to build our system.
It is rather ironic that a player that plays his football for Eyimba is unknown until he leaves for Barcelona and we wonder why, obviously the environment, the facilities, the remuneration, the professionalism all play a part, as he eats, sleeps and wakes football, then we say he is fantastic, give him the same environment here at home and see if we would not be contending with a genius. But alas we care less, we are masters at the act of double speak, one moment we seem to be getting it right, the next moment it is back to square one. The best we achieve are often on paper, our ideas remain what they are ideas that never leave the head, they are never put into practice. We have Nigerians that are more British than Tony Blair and without as much as a blink of the eye talk about Nigerian in the third person a narrative, "Use to know a lot about Nigeria but not anymore, don't know much of what's happening there now" and to imagine that is a Nigerian that left the nation in 2003, one can only nod. I will leave out intentionally the issue of trafficking, prostitution, drugs and international crime that is also a product of all these Tokunboh movements. I have argued that with the rising number of Nigerians who are naturalized foreigners, where do they pledge allegiance, do we blame them. If my young boy is born in the US, schools there, serves in the Marines, even if he came home once in a while which flag will he fly, which anthems would hold meaning to him.
The American embassy has on occasions seized Nigerian kids from their parents on flimsy excuses simply because the kids are 'American'. I have an acquaintance called Johnny, he took his wife to Dubai recently to have a baby, hear him "at least the boy go be Dubai-Nigerian" and for full appraisal he named the boy Azeez, Johnny happens to be an Igbo man. Who cares, really who cares, everything has to be done abroad, every equipment must come from abroad, our leaders must have the message in beauty palours in Paris, their headaches treated in Germany. Every good thing is outside the shores of this nation, indeed something good is in Nigeria but the will to make the nation work is lacking. If today there was to be a slave trade, young Nigerians would hand themselves over of their own accord.
Maybe me inclusive, This is not meant to throw criticism or just a repetition of what we know but a wake up call. as I end I ask is it possible that Nigerians can say like Muhammad Ali I am America (Nigerian). I am the part you won't recognise. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me. Would the World get used to a strong Nigeria on our own terms, May the Almighty Allah bless us with our own Federated States Of Nigeria FSN.
Yours In The Service Of Nation, For the Good Of All And In High Regards, I Remain Prince Charles Dickson
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