₦airaland Forum

Chairperson of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has said that it is unfair to generalise and attribute a crime committed by a few Nigerians to the whole of the country.

Abike, who was responding to questions on the ‘Nigeria must go’ protest going on in Ghana, called on the host nation to punish individual offenders and not all Nigerians.

Her statement comes as a viral video on Tuesday showed a large number of Ghanaians protesting with placards suggesting the deportation of Nigerians.

Abike recalled an incident in Indonesia where 21 Nigerians were put on death row and among them, 20 were from one state in the South East.

“If a few Nigerians have committed crimes on foreign soil, they should be punished and publicly held accountable.

However, it is unfair to generalise and attribute that crime to all Nigerians in the region,” she said on Arise News.

“You see, again we are generalizing. Don’t forget that I’ve called people out. We have names.

“I really love calling names, and I’ve said that these so-called Nigerians, let us know them and let them be dealt with. They can’t be anonymous.

“So it’s the responsibility of the host country, which even the Inspector General of Police of Ghana said. Look, I don’t want to say one tribe. Let us know about them. We are not going to go there and beg for them. The Nigeria embassy in Ghana has been doing a lot actually.

“Look, I’ve gone to Ghana. I can’t remember how many times I’ve gone to Ghana. If you remember when we had cases of trafficking, we went to Ghana and brought back these girls.

“And we’ve been doing that on a regular basis, and it has gone down, and the people behind that have been arrested.

Many Nigerians and a few Ghanaians were involved in the trafficking.

“It’s still going on, but not as much as in the past. So we dealt with it headlong. If you say kidnapping, arrest them and jail them. Lock them up.

“When I mention these things, sometimes this tribe you’re kind of talking about, we say, Oh, is it because it’s us?

“No, like I said, crime as a federal character. In Indonesia, we had 21 Nigerians on death row. We went to the Indonesia prison and we spoke to them, and we begged them, and they said, our laws will stand.

“Four were executed, and they are still there and then one was saved through the intervention of Barrister Emmanuel, but they are still there. But you know what?

“When we went into that prison, I’ve said it before, and I said again, 21 of them, 20 were from one state in the southeast 20, the other one was one Edo state.

“But at the same time, that doesn’t mean you should generalize and say everybody in that state is a criminal, and the governor of that state has tackled the issue.

“However, there are some very good stories. And here’s the problem, it’s only the bad stories that trend.

What about those thousands of Nigerians that are developing those countries? What about those thousands of Nigerians that if they leave some countries today, it will affect them, that those are the stories we celebrate.

“However, the media is only interested in bad news that trends and is traffic driven. If that, in Ghana, you had 10,000 people come out and say Nigerians are the best. Nobody would talk about it.

“So I think that’s just the way it is. Bad news travels fast.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs,

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has appealed for calm over the matter, noting that there is “no cause for alarm.”

Earlier, the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador

Demola, said the protest is not against all Nigerians but against some persons with undesirable activities in Ghana.

“I think the focus is on the tertiary traders and people whom I would describe as probably undesirable to their system, to their economy,” he said in an interview on Arise News.

Recall that in 1983, there was a mass deportation of Ghanaians from Nigeria under former President Shehu Shagari.

agentNija:
Abike Dabir should rest. This her stale rhetorics won't sell again. She should give us update on drug traffickers to Saudi Arabia.

agentNija:
Abike Dabir should rest. This her stale rhetorics won't sell again. She should give us update on drug traffickers to Saudi Arabia.

DatNiggaDaz:


..imagine this type of character. See how she attacked our neigbours from the East.

The problem with this woman is she chooses what to spill & what not to the media.

What is the essence of saying "20" are from our neigbours region. If they have broken the law, let them face the music. You stated you can't help them anymore, then tribalizing the crime is quiet wicked. For what purpose Abike..?

I remember vividly when the names of those criminals who were on deathrow in Saudi Arabia was made public. Why not use thesame measure to say the region of those on deathrow in Saudi

This are the creatures who actually fuel the hatred against our neigbours.

Putindbutt:
I already knew you guys won't bother to read the article, you're only carried away by the headline and exactly what the media wanted to achieve and sell their papers. Her message was that Nigerians should not be generalized as criminals for the crimes of a few people. Even though she didn't mention the name of any tribe, una conscience already dey shook you. And if you think she hates you, there's nobody that has intervened and fought for your people more than Abike Dabiri.

agentNija:
Abike Dabir should rest. This her stale rhetorics won't sell again. She should give us update on drug traffickers to Saudi Arabia.

agentNija:
Abike Dabir should rest. This her stale rhetorics won't sell again. She should give us update on drug traffickers to Saudi Arabia.

agentNija:
Abike Dabir should rest. This her stale rhetorics won't sell again. She should give us update on drug traffickers to Saudi Arabia.

DatNiggaDaz:


..imagine this type of character. See how she attacked our neigbours from the East.

The problem with this woman is she chooses what to spill & what not to the media.

What is the essence of saying "20" are from our neigbours region. If they have broken the law, let them face the music. You stated you can't help them anymore, then tribalizing the crime is quiet wicked. For what purpose Abike..?

I remember vividly when the names of those criminals who were on deathrow in Saudi Arabia was made public. Why not use thesame measure to say the region of those on deathrow in Saudi

This are the creatures who actually fuel the hatred against our neigbours.

zero8zero:
You guys keep repeating Saudi Arabia, that was how long ago?, Lol. Between then and now, we have lost count how many of our blodas that have been arrested and locked up in India, Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Pakistan, Singapore, Kenya, Ghana, etc locked up and awaiting sentences for drugs related, armed robbery and human trafficking offenses.

jmoore:
How many D'tigress members are from southeast?

Putindbutt:
I already knew you guys won't bother to read the article, you're only carried away by the headline and exactly what the media wanted to achieve and sell their papers. Her message was that Nigerians should not be generalized as criminals for the crimes of a few people. Even though she didn't mention the name of any tribe, una conscience already dey shook you. And if you think she hates you, there's nobody that has intervened and fought for your people more than Abike Dabiri.

agentNija:
Abike Dabir should rest. This her stale rhetorics won't sell again. She should give us update on drug traffickers to Saudi Arabia.

agentNija:
Abike Dabir should rest. This her stale rhetorics won't sell again. She should give us update on drug traffickers to Saudi Arabia.