Mr. President, the Ball is Now in Your Court!

This Day (Lagos)
COLUMN
2 July 2007
Posted to the web 3 July 2007

By Funke Aboyade
Lagos

To be a Nigerian abroad these days, or so it seems, is to be less than human or perhaps to have some sort of question mark dangling over your head, the assumption being that you are somehow guilty (of any out of a wide spectrum of possible crimes including, it almost seems, just existing) until you prove otherwise.

The tragic death on June 9 of 23 year old Osamuyia Aikpitanhi on board Spanish airline, Iberia whilst being deported and the worldwide protests which followed last Friday, June 29, bring once again to the fore, the ill treatment of Nigerians abroad and even right here in Nigeria within the precincts of foreign territories, i.e, the various Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates.

The young man died on board Iberia, having been bound hand and foot, gagged and a sack thrown over his head to boot, by Spanish authorities in an effort to deport him. Even an animal would get better treatment in some of these so-called civilised countries; indeed, many of them have rather aggressive and vocal animal rights activists who have devoted their entire lives to campaigning for the rights of animals. How much more a human being?

Even if Osamuyia had been tagged difficult - and we are not told he was - reasonable force and nothing more to restrain him could never have translated to gagging or binding him and treating him in such an inhumane fashion, in a manner that could and did in fact, ultimately lead to his death. The fact also is that Iberia had every right to refuse to transport a passenger bound and gagged in such a callous manner for a six hour-plus flight at high altitude, when it was clear that permanent disability or death could be the result. It is immaterial that he was a deportee, he still had rights.

No one who saw the television footage of his shattered parents on Channels Television news at 10.00pm last Friday could have failed to be moved to tears.

This of course, is not the first time this sort of appalling tragedy has befallen a deported Nigerian. Nor will it, unfortunately, be the last time. That is, unless the Federal Government takes up this particular fight and puts an end to this nonsense. Of course, charity begins at home and nothing so far has shown that our successive governments value the lives of their citizenry. They (Police, army, navy, air force, other federal law enforcement agencies, down to even state agencies like LASTMA) brutalise them and trample on their rights at will and the foreign Embassies are watching, taking their cue from this. But, that is not the point of my column today and I digress.

Over a decade ago, if I recall, a young Nigerian girl being deported from Belgium on Belgian airline, Sabena died in a similar manner. More recently, a few years ago, Nigerian illegal immigrants in Libya were hounded and killed in large numbers by Libyan authorities and I remember I was so outraged I commented on it as well as Government's indifference, in this column. For what it's worth and because this is a new government, it's worth rehashing my views in the hope that finally, government would sit up and do whatever it takes to ensure that Nigerians are treated with dignity and accorded respect whether home or abroad. The fact that yes, some Nigerians are illegal immigrants (again, another issue government should tackle full steam is making our country conducive enough for them to want to stay) and yes, some engage in criminal activities abroad does not mean an entire nation should be tagged potential criminals - as Colin Powell tagged us a few years ago - or potential illegal immigrants. It's rather irritating, not to mention, extremely offensive to be treated like that by immigration officials at the port of entry abroad. I was in Canada a couple of months ago and was delayed on arrival at Vancouver Airport, with the Immigration officer's hackles up when he saw my Nigerian passport. He marked my form boldly in green ink 'Nigerian' and I soon found myself waiting in a room full of other foreign nationals, mostly Asians. Luckily, and to my pleasant surprise, the officer whom I later appeared before was extremely courteous and civil, almost friendly in fact and within seconds literally, realised I was pretty harmless and was not seeking greener pastures. Even after she waved me off and wished me a pleasant stay, I felt compelled to ask her why I'd been singled out in the first place; the fact that I was practically the only black on board the 10-hour flight from London had not been entirely lost on me. She did her best to make me feel better and assuage my feelings and we ended up having a brief, friendly chat. But, it isn't always like that; every day around the world Nigerians are singled out unreasonably by not so friendly immigration officials, humiliated and harassed.

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by its General Assembly in 1948, recognises 'the inherent dignity' and 'equal and inalienable rights of the human family' and in fact regards this as 'the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, disregard and contempt for which have resulted in barbarous acts and have outraged the conscience of mankind'. The UN proclaimed this universal declaration as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations, in other words one could say, international best practices. Specifically, Articles 3 and 5 guarantee the right to life, liberty and security of person and to dignity. They also stipulate that no one shall be subject to torture or cruel or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Spain and Nigeria are bona fide members of the United Nations. It is unfortunate that it is usually the so-called Western countries who flaunt their democratic culture and credentials to the rest of the 'undemocratic' world that are usually the ones which violate these rights when dealing with non-nationals. Guantanamo Bay, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the rape of a 13 year old Iraqi girl and massacre of her entire family by US troops, to mention just a few.

The choice of Foreign Minister as well as that of Aviation by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is crucial. I had rather looked forward to the tenure of Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Foreign Minister during the last administration as she came out guns blazing and read the riot act to some of the foreign Embassies in Nigeria. And, irrespective of whether one disagreed with Femi Fani-Kayode's politics, he during his stint as Aviation helmsman at least regularly told the foreign airlines where to get off. I freely confess I derived perverse and intense pleasure from watching televised news footage of him yabbing ('scuse my English!) them.

From Sao Paulo to Ottawa, to major US cities, to London, to Budapest, Munich, Valencia, Vienna, Dublin, Stockholm and back home in Lagos, concerned Nigerians last Friday peacefully protested Osamuyia Aikpitanhi's death and delivered letters of protest to the Spanish Embassies in those cities. Ironically, even though their protests were peaceful and letters delivered without incident - in fact, the news reports indicated they were well received at those Embassies - the only glitch was reported when the protesters tried to deliver their protest at the Nigerian High Commission in London where blows and punches were reportedly almost traded between Nigerian High Commission officials and the protesters! See what I mean? Charity begins at home. Whether we like it or not, those other countries are watching to see how we treat out own country men and women.

Nothing can bring the young man back but the Nigerian Government must make an example of this and press for the highest punitive compensation possible from both the airline and the government of Spain. It must make it plain that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable and there will henceforth be zero tolerance for the ill treatment of its citizens anywhere in the world. Around the world, governments think twice before so much as harming the hair on the head of a US citizen no matter how guilty of any manner of offence he may be. The US government always rushes to his aid first, no matter what he may stand accused of. Why should ours be different?

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, over to you; the ball is now squarely in your court. Perhaps during your tenure Nigerians will once again be able to travel abroad with their heads held high. And perhaps too, the desperation with which some of our young men and women seek to escape the grinding poverty and sense of hopelessness at home will be addressed. Perhaps we, like Singapore did in a single generation, will under your watch make the leap from Third to First World. Perhaps the Federal Government and its agencies will begin to accord respect and dignity to Nigerians and not treat them as the enemy. Perhaps other countries will then take their cue from this.

Mr. President, you cannot afford to let us down.

Robot  Villager

# 1 No one who saw the television footage of his shattered parents on Channels Television news at 10....Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 03.07.2007 15:57

tatafo  Villager

# 2 Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! Gbammmmm! ooooohhhhhhhhhh! It's ga ju ni. my sister, please thanks a lot for this your article. I think it hit all the right notes in all the right places!!! Posted by tatafo| 03.07.2007 17:21

calist  Villager

# 3 Mme Funke Aboyade, many thanks to you. Your effort is highly appreciated. Louder! Posted by calist| 04.07.2007 05:40

Oghre  Villager

# 4 Yar-Adua is not recognised by many countries as a legitimate president, what influence will he have when foreign governments are still calling for re-elections to be held? A man who cannot stamp his authority on any government should not be expected to have any influence whatsoever on them, we are asking too much of him. And if even he did have legitimacy, Nigerian leaders are not interested in their citizens inside and outside Nigeria. This may very well be in the court of the ordinary citizen, and remain there for a very long time. Posted by Oghre| 04.07.2007 06:44

truthsayer33  Villager

# 5 this is an interesting article and it got me thinking: 1. How our forefathers fought and struggled against forcible removal from Africa for slavery in the West. 2. Now many Africans will risk their lives for the chance to live in the West 3. how do you deport an illegal immigrant who is determined not to be returned to the paradise that is Nigeria? 4. Is it not more sensible to counsel would be illegals to be cool and calm when arrested and to live to fly another day. 5. Is someone who would rather die than return to their homeland entitled to the protection of the Nigerian government? In fact has this person not renounced their citizenship? Posted by truthsayer33| 04.07.2007 07:25

Free Publius  Villager

# 6 This is indeed an excellent article. Notwithstanding, I dont believe we are going about this the right way. See, in order to be truly effective, you have to hit people where it gets their maximum attention. To wit: Iberia, as argued by Ms. Aboyade, is indisputably complicit in this young man's death. A lawsuit should be filed in Nigeria, against Iberia, before a Nigerian judge who would see humanity when he peers at the deceased's family. The remedy prayer should be for money damages. When Iberia is hit severely in their pockets, they will seriously reconsider the follishness of having a human being hog tied on their airplanes. Folks, Iberia is in Nigeria ONLY for profit purposes and hitting that profit bottom line is the ONLY way to get their attention. If the deceased's family gets a money award and Iberia fails to pay, we can always get a Nigerian Court order to seize their plane whenever it is within Nigerian sovereign territory. Trust me, this WILL get their attention far more effectively than the otherwise noble placard carrying exercises. Afterall, most of the former Nigerian National Shipping Line ships were lost to creditors, seized whenever they showed up in the ports where they allegedly owed money. Nigeria has a legal right to return the favor in enforcing money judgments. I will not for one second put my faith in the Nigerian government doing anythng useful about this. For one, the government itself doesnt treat its own citizens that much better. Two, the government, current and past, are made up of selfish ididots who cannot think past their own immediate pockets and are eminently susceptible to being bought off. They are useless. The family should pursue its own remedy and stop wasting time waiting for the Nigeiran government. Free Publius Posted by Free Publius| 04.07.2007 12:21

Big-K  Villager

# 7 Funmi, Thanks for a nice article and for again proving that you can fish out real stories while other journalists cant think beyond 'Yaradua this, OBJ that'. It would be recalled that Funmi flew from Nigeria last year to report on the Abubakar case. Free Publius, Today, a motion was tabled at the house of reps on this matter. At the same time, Falana and other leading lawyers are looking at how to sue Iberia and the Spanish Govt. Only problem is that none of the incidents happened in Nigeria's territory. At the end of the day too, a Boycott IBERIA campaign should also be initiated- the Europeans should be made to learn a valuable lesson from this. Posted by Big-K| 04.07.2007 15:15

Obi Mbonu  Villager

# 8 =Free Publius;189174> I will not for one second put my faith in the Nigerian government doing anythng useful about this. For one, the government itself doesnt treat its own citizens that much better. Two, the government, current and past, are made up of selfish ididots who cannot think past their own immediate pockets and are eminently susceptible to being bought off. They are useless. The family should pursue its own remedy and stop wasting time waiting for the Nigeiran government. Free Publius The truth is, we do not have the right to expect fair treatment from a foreign country, rights that our own country cannot accord to us. I think the court option against Iberia will have the most impact. Posted by Obi Mbonu| 05.07.2007 05:46

Son of the Delta  Villager

# 9 =Obi Mbonu;189320>The truth is, we do not have the right to expect fair treatment from a foreign country, rights that our own country cannot accord to us. I think the court option against Iberia will have the most impact. That statement is hard to swallow, but it shows why Nigerians continue to be manhandled and ruffled all over the world, it is unfortunate but God willing may justice be served, it is unfortunate. Posted by Son of the Delta| 05.07.2007 08:25

Nigerian  Villager

# 10 Excellent article, Funmi. Thank you! Glad to hear about the recent development at the House of Rep. Regardless, the ball is still in the president's court - has been there for several weeks now. Nigerians are waiting. The Spanish murderers are waiting. The entire world is watching. Posted by Nigerian| 05.07.2007 17:46