On-africans-no-longer-need-visa-to-enter-nigeria-a-recipe-for-national-insecurity-disaster
September 7, 2020 | News
ON AFRICANS NO LONGER NEED VISA TO ENTER NIGERIA – A RECIPE FOR NATIONAL INSECURITY DISASTER
With recent reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that nationals of all African countries can now enter Nigeria without a visa, we could not help but first, wonder if this is true or not. But if it is true, then it is indeed a great danger that calls for national concern, and should be reversed. How come, when other powerful countries across the world like the US, UK, are tightening their boarders, changing their foreign and diplomatic policies to proactively prevent and address the global concerns on terrorism, our Nigerian President Buhari-led Federal Government are busy issuing an ‘Open Invitation’ to every dick and harry in Africa into Nigeria? What exactly is the rationale behind this, rather obnoxious and unreasonable move by the President?
It was noted that President Buhari said this in Egypt at the ongoing Aswan Forum, according to Ambassador Ahmed Awad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Awad, who was at the Aswan Forum, in a tweet said that starting from January 2020, all Africans will be able to arrive in Nigeria without visa. He said, “I wish to profoundly commend President @MBuhari of #Nigeria who just announced at the Aswan Forum complete visa exemption for all Africans. Starting January 2020, Africans will be able to arrive in Nigeria without visas. It’s such an exemplary decision. Thanks, your Excellency." Is this not going over board with ones Executive Powers? What exactly is President Buhari hoping to achieve with this pronouncement of an Open Invitation to all Africans?
To even think that just few months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari unexpectedly closed Nigeria's borders to goods trade, declaring the time had come to end rampant smuggling across the porous frontiers of Nigerian borders. To now think that the same President Buhari has issued an Open Invitation (without Visa) to human traffic of persons from the whole Africa into Nigeria, makes one to wonder. How do you close the Nigerian land borders to prevent smugglers from illegally bringing goods into the country on one hand, and then on the other hand, issue an Open Invitation to all Africans to come into the country as they please, without visa? How does that make sense?
This is also more disturbing when we consider the increased level of insecurity across the country by the terrorist activities of Boko Haram, killer Herdsmen and what have you. one would have expected that, with such evident insecurity situations in the country, which have claimed thousands of innocent Nigerian lives, any reasonable Government should be proactive in ensuring that its borders (both land, sea and air), are tightly secured to avoid neighboring countries from taking advantage of our porous borders to cause more harm to the citizenry. But instead of that, the President Buhari-led Federal Government prefer to do the opposite and complicate the insecurity situation in the country.
We also wonder if the President actually have Advisers around him to guide him on some of these issues in his decision-making. It is expected for any serious-minded Government to ensure that the influx of foreigners into its country are regulated by appropriate policies. If the movement of foreigners/and their access into Nigeria is not regulated, how then will the Government through its Security Agencies guarantee the Safety and protection of its citizens from external aggression? This is very unpatriotic if it is really true that President Buhari legalized “automatic free access” for all Africans into Nigeria. Why undermining the issue of Terrorism with such moves? If indeed the said pronouncement actually came from President Buhari, then he has seriously goofed, and urgently needs to reverse that decision.
Zik Gbemre.
December 13, 2019
Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
With recent reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that nationals of all African countries can now enter Nigeria without a visa, we could not help but first, wonder if this is true or not. But if it is true, then it is indeed a great danger that calls for national concern, and should be reversed. How come, when other powerful countries across the world like the US, UK, are tightening their boarders, changing their foreign and diplomatic policies to proactively prevent and address the global concerns on terrorism, our Nigerian President Buhari-led Federal Government are busy issuing an ‘Open Invitation’ to every dick and harry in Africa into Nigeria? What exactly is the rationale behind this, rather obnoxious and unreasonable move by the President?
It was noted that President Buhari said this in Egypt at the ongoing Aswan Forum, according to Ambassador Ahmed Awad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Awad, who was at the Aswan Forum, in a tweet said that starting from January 2020, all Africans will be able to arrive in Nigeria without visa. He said, “I wish to profoundly commend President @MBuhari of #Nigeria who just announced at the Aswan Forum complete visa exemption for all Africans. Starting January 2020, Africans will be able to arrive in Nigeria without visas. It’s such an exemplary decision. Thanks, your Excellency." Is this not going over board with ones Executive Powers? What exactly is President Buhari hoping to achieve with this pronouncement of an Open Invitation to all Africans?
To even think that just few months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari unexpectedly closed Nigeria's borders to goods trade, declaring the time had come to end rampant smuggling across the porous frontiers of Nigerian borders. To now think that the same President Buhari has issued an Open Invitation (without Visa) to human traffic of persons from the whole Africa into Nigeria, makes one to wonder. How do you close the Nigerian land borders to prevent smugglers from illegally bringing goods into the country on one hand, and then on the other hand, issue an Open Invitation to all Africans to come into the country as they please, without visa? How does that make sense?
This is also more disturbing when we consider the increased level of insecurity across the country by the terrorist activities of Boko Haram, killer Herdsmen and what have you. one would have expected that, with such evident insecurity situations in the country, which have claimed thousands of innocent Nigerian lives, any reasonable Government should be proactive in ensuring that its borders (both land, sea and air), are tightly secured to avoid neighboring countries from taking advantage of our porous borders to cause more harm to the citizenry. But instead of that, the President Buhari-led Federal Government prefer to do the opposite and complicate the insecurity situation in the country.
We also wonder if the President actually have Advisers around him to guide him on some of these issues in his decision-making. It is expected for any serious-minded Government to ensure that the influx of foreigners into its country are regulated by appropriate policies. If the movement of foreigners/and their access into Nigeria is not regulated, how then will the Government through its Security Agencies guarantee the Safety and protection of its citizens from external aggression? This is very unpatriotic if it is really true that President Buhari legalized “automatic free access” for all Africans into Nigeria. Why undermining the issue of Terrorism with such moves? If indeed the said pronouncement actually came from President Buhari, then he has seriously goofed, and urgently needs to reverse that decision.
Zik Gbemre.
December 13, 2019
Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes