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Nigeria is our country, but are we really in charge?

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OpinionNigeria airport struggle

In most cases, it is expected that when you treat a person well, the person returns the favour by treating you well. Over the years, Nigeria has served as a welcoming home to many foreigners, but the return treatment has never been favourable to Nigeria and Nigerians alike. The rate at which Nigerians are constantly been embarrassed through either the denial of visa or entry into a foreign country is alarming and disturbing.

In March this year, 125 Nigerians were deported from South Africa, the reason according to the South African authorities was there failure to provide the yellow fever vaccination documents.

In May this year, six Nigerians with valid travel documents where denied entry into Egypt. They where put in a room(more like a cell), without food, water or a bed to sleep on for one whole day. Some where asked to go back to Nigeria and get another visa even when the current visa they were holding was issued by the Egyptian Embassy in Nigeria.

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Few months ago, during the World Agricultural Expo in Orlando, USA, the US Embassy in Nigeria refused to grant visa request by an erstwhile Special Adviser to former Governor Ali Modu Sherriff of Borno state, on grounds that he has no business in the said expo.

Again, Sometimes last year, during the 5th FIFA Beach Soccer competition in Italy, Nigerian players where once again denied visa, and didn’t take participation in that competition. The list goes on and on, but the most recent and more disturbing one is the denial of visa to Nigerian athletes who has qualified and scheduled to take part in the ongoing International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Junior Athletics Championship.

Nigeria is a great country, even the international community knows this. A country with great people as well as great culture and future. In reality, Nigeria is where she is today because of the selfishness and greed of the people whom the affairs of this country has been committed in their hands ages past. When you less-value your people, other countries and nationals will learn from you and value them even much less. The people don’t and can’t fight for their government, it is the sole responsibility of the government to see that the people of Nigeria are treated with respect and regards within and outside the shores of this country.

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By now i expect that the government should have seen that something is fundamentally wrong with the system, else how would one perfectly explain the superiority of foreigners in there country as well as your own country. Lebanese construction companies in Nigeria treats Nigerian workers like crap; Chinese road construction companies in Nigeria treats Nigerians like crap; Same goes to other foreign establishments in the country. If Nigerians can go through this troubles in their own land then no place is safe for them.

Whether we want to hear it or not, Nigeria is standing on a shaky ground, both internally and internationally. The only way to straighten this tie is by building an impenetrable border, putting up strong law that checks the activities of foreigners as well as foreign establishment in Nigeria, making sure that the treaty signed by foreign countries are respected and followed…doing this, will mark the starting point of our journey to success.

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Jeff Okoroafor is a leading member of a new generation of civic advocates for government accountability and democratic change in Nigeria. The Citizen Affairs Initiative is a citizen-driven governance initiative that enhances public awareness on critical issues of service quality in Nigeria. It encourages citizens to proactively seek higher standards from governments and service providers and further establishes new discussions in communities about the standards that citizens should expect and deserve from those they have given their mandates. Jeff is the Managing Director of SetFron Limited, a multimedia development company that is focused on creative and results-driven web, mobile app, and ERP software solutions. He is the co-founder of the African Youths Advancement and Support Initiative (AfriYasi), a non-governmental not-for-profit organisation that provides tertiary education scholarship for young people from low-income homes in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the United Nations World Summit Awards. A Strategic Team member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, and a member of the National Technical Committee on the Establishment and Management of Missing Persons Database in Nigeria. Jeff holds a Bachelor and Postgraduate diploma degrees in Computer Science, and a Certificate in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, GIMPA.

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