27 Jan 2007 |
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The Hanging Of Amara Tochi In Singapore Our compatriot, 21-year old Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi was hanged in Singapore on Friday, January 26, despite pleas from the Nigerian Government, the international human rights lobby and the media. The Singapore authorities simply behaved true to type, demonstrating once again zero tolerance for drug trafficking. Tochi's death has filled all Nigerians with a feeling of compassion, and in some instances outrage: first, there was the expressed concern that the young man did not get a fair trial, second, it was felt that the Nigerian government interceded on his behalf rather too late (where were they when the trial was still going on?); third, it is generally believed that the trial failed the ordinary man's test; the case against Tochi was not proven beyond reasonable doubt, the Singaporean authorities were too rigid in applying the law. In the eyes of the Nigerian public, the Singapore President, S. R. Nathan, the Prime Minister Lee Loong and the Chief Justice Yong Pung How, are too blood minded. Tochi was sentenced to death by hanging for being in possession of 727 grams of diamorphine. The trial court itself established that he was not aware that the capsules that had been given to him by a certain Mr Smith in Pakistan contained hard drugs; he was told that they contained African medical herbs. In 2004, when he was arrested at the Changi airport in Singapore, for staying there for more than 24 hours after arrival, he was 18. But the judge chose to apply the capital punishment as provided for by the laws of Singapore on the ground that although he appeared innocent, "he was not a simple sheltered boy fresh out of his village...he was rich in life experiences for someone of 18 years". Rich enough in the judge's estimation to know that someone who gave him a hand luggage to carry, with a promise that he would be given a sum of $2,000 upon delivery at the other end, must be sending an unusual package. Tochi's lawyers, Chandra Mohan and Patrick Chia, appealed the ruling but their appeal was summarily dismissed. The facts of the case are fairly well-known, what I intend to do is to draw attention to some lessons that can be learnt from the Tochi case. {mosgoogle right} There is so much outrage against Singapore: a country where the death penalty is used as if it were the only means of sanitizing the society. There are many persons on the death row in Singapore prisons, that country's love of the death penalty is beaten only by China. Its trial system is more of an inquisition in almost all instances. There are many Nigerians who love to go to Singapore, because they don't need a visa to enter the country, particularly if they are in transit. The trial of Tochi and his eventual execution ought to be a warning signal to those Nigerians who are trooping to Singapore for business, tourism, or whatever kind of purpose. It is axiomatic that when you are in a particular country, you are bound by the laws of that country, even if you are required to be treated fairly and justly as required by international protocols. In Tochi's case, and in similar cases in Singapore, the government of Singapore never fails to send the subtle message that it would not allow foreigners to pollute its country. We must note that this is a country where discipline is taken seriously; a country where truly in the words of Jean Jacques Rousseau, "man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains". The beauty and the efficiency of Singapore; its translation from the Third World to the First, is the product of a trade off, and it is this that we have witnessed once more in the Tochi case. It is the Lee Kuan Yew legacy. The Singapore authorities when confronted with an international lobby in cases of death penalty tend to follow their own mind. Lee Kuan Yew once defined this rigidity, this aversion to easy popularity as follows: "I am every determined. If I decide that something is worth doing, then I'll put my heart and soul to it. The whole ground can be against me, but if I know it is right, I'll do it. That's the business of a leader." Singapore definitely put its "heart and soul" to the killing of our compatriot. In 1965, Singapore was a poor country with a GDP of US$970 million, by the 1990s that figure stood at US$34.5 billion, the once agrarian community had become fully industrialized, its poor education system had been transformed, its dense population had been packed into beautiful high rise structures, the people had been energized and mobilized and turned into a disciplined and educated labour force, an island of 224 square miles had become the preferred destination for international capital and a model of free enterprise. But all that was at a cost. Lee Kuan Yew, the father of modern Singapore was a benevolent dictator; there was little emphasis during his reign and thereafter, on all that fancy talk about human rights and natural justice that is famous in the West. Those who travel to Singapore must know that this legacy is still alive. Besides, Asians generally hold black people in contempt, they think we are lazy, corrupt, unreliable and incorrigible, and that we are some sort of pollutants who may compromise their success which they are prepared to defend at the cost of human lives. Even when they set up businesses in Africa, they treat their local staff most unfairly, which is one problem that would still have to be sorted out in examining the growth, especially of Sino-African relations and China's rapid incursion into the African economic and political space. It seems to be that secondly, Tochi's case draws fresh attention to the dangers of illegal immigration. In 2004, I had edited a 237-page book under the auspices of the Lagos-based Society for Enlightenment of Youths on Dangers Abroad (SEYONDA) titled "Trapped: a compendium of issues on illegal migration and human trafficking" in which the contributors examined the risks of illegal migration, and tried to advise Nigerians that traveling abroad is not necessarily a passport to prosperity, for the most part, it could be a ticket to jail, the hangman's noose, an unmarked grave, a bullet in the temple, a life of misery and agony. Tochi's case will find a place in a revised version of the book. And the point is worth restating: that there are many young Nigerians who are tired of the scarcity of opportunities in their own country, talented and ambitious young men and women who want to express themselves and grow, they are left with no option but to opt for emigration; because it is so difficult to get a visa, they criss-cross from one country to the other, looking for a land that flows with milk and honey. Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi completed his secondary school education in Nigeria and started playing youth soccer. He later went to Senegal to play football. In 2004, he decided to go to Asia in search of a football club that would engage him. But he had little money. He didn't know anybody. He made it to Pakistan, where having run out of funds, he decided to go to a Catholic church in Karachi to seek for help. This was where he met the fabled "Mr Smith", a fellow country man who offered to help him. Help came in this form: Tochi would get to Singapore, if he, Tochi would carry a package for one Marshall who would travel from Indonesia, meet him at the airport, collect the package and give him $2, 000 which would enable him to enter Singapore. When Tochi was accosted by Singapore security after hanging around the transit area for more than 24 hours, his only explanation was that he had come to Singapore to "try his luck" with football clubs. He had no clubs in mind, no contacts, and to worsen his case, no money. He was a prototypical illegal immigrant with ringing bells all over his body. Young Nigerians need to study the Tochi story carefully; travelling abroad, jumping from Senegal to Pakistan to Singapore or to wherever can be risky; the world out there is not like Nigeria where every fly from any part of the world can perch as long as that fly can grease the slimy hands of corrupt officials. By the time Tochi learnt his lesson and realised his mistake, it was too late. He is yet another victim of the failure of the Nigerian system. There are too many young Nigerians who are running into misery and danger simply because their country is not working. If the Nigerian league were well organized, if Nigerians did not need to sell themselves into the slavery of football, with every one rooting for a club in England or Europe, Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi would have been happy to play football at home and if he needed to go abroad, he would have been negotiating with scouts not with "Mr Smith". How did Nwankwo Kanu, Okocha, Mikel, and Osaro Odemwingie do it? Luck, sheer luck; for them also, it could have been worse. The third point that I seek to make has to do with the carriage of luggage by Nigerian travellers. Amara Tochi did not know "Mr Smith". He had never met him before. And yet he collected a package from him to give to another stranger who failed to show up as arranged and he, Tochi was caught with the illegal substance that cost him his life. It may be said that Tochi was in a helpless situation and that he was powerless. But the fact is that many Nigerians would easily fall into the same trap. At virtual every airport in the world, you are advised not to leave your luggage unattended to, not to collect parcels from strangers and to make sure you packed your luggage yourself. In spite of this, Nigerians are terrible collectors and givers of extra load at airports. It is risky to tell neighbours that you are traveling abroad. They are bound to come with small parcels that they want you to take to their relations abroad. The thing would have been wrapped so tightly, you are not even expected to check the package. And curiously, they never send simple things, instead you would be required to help carry garri, yam flour, herbs, pepper and snails and all kinds of powdery and suspicious things. When you get abroad, after your holiday, you would be surprised that on your way back, so many people would be pestering you to help them take things to their relations back home. They could ask you to help take money, but why don't they use Western union? Or letters and you wonder why don't they use DHL? Or it could be a big box, if you resist you would be told that you are entitled to so many kilogrammes of luggage. Many of them also send powdery and suspicious things: tablets for his ageing mother-in-law, a certain cream or lotion for his own father who is suffering from arthritis. So much pressure would be plied upon you and you could be made to look like a difficult person. I was in ASDA living in London the other day and I ran into this guy who wanted me to take a letter and some money to Lagos for his wife. I could not remember having seen him before, but he insisted he had seen me on television. So? And to make the matter all the more interesting, he had the letter and the money waiting in his car outside. Ah, did he know he would meet me at Lakeside? Was he expecting me to show up there? He was quite a nice fellow, but if he was line up on an identification parade, I would not remember his face. Every Nigerian travelling abroad should learn to be careful. Beware of strangers who offer too much help and too much friendship.
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