ABRAHAM OGBODO
US, Britain, Australia, Canada, Others Warn Citizens Against Visit
LATE last week, President Jonathan staged a good show with some visiting Saudi princes reportedly seeking investment opportunities in Nigeria.
Also yesterday, the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Alain Juppe, was in Abuja, to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan and other government officials.
The stream of foreign dignitaries and diplomats to Nigeria has been long, especially since the April 2011 elections, which were sanctioned by the international community as passing the test of fairness and credibility.
The Jonathan Administration has also been burnishing its image, with the President and top government officials leading delegations to other countries and international organisations, such as the United Nations General Assembly and the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGOM).
The President was at the last CHOGOM in Australia with a powerful delegation that included the business community.
In these travels, Nigeria does not only seek to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperations, but also strives for investments in the countrys economy.
Indeed, the government is presenting Nigeria as the best destination for investment.
Yet, efforts by the Federal Government to present a palatable picture of the security challenges in the country are not adding up to good results, as bombings and violent killings continue across the northern states of Yobe, Borno and Kaduna.
Now, the rest of the world, which has been heaping praises on Nigeria, is insisting on a verdict that is somewhat closer to the true picture.
Disturbingly reminiscent of the years gone by when Nigerias maximum ruler, the late General Sani Abacha, held sway, countries, including the U.S, Canada, Britain and Australia, citing security concerns, have issued separate statements, calling on their citizens to stay off Nigeria and in fact, the Gulf of Guinea if they do not have any serious business to transact in the country.
The statements are most damning, bereft of any sweet coatings. According to the US State Department, violent crime committed by individuals and gangs, as well as by some persons wearing police and military uniforms, is an ongoing problem throughout the country, especially at night.
Home invasions remain a serious threat, with armed robbers accessing even guarded compounds by scaling perimeter walls, following, or tailgating, residents or visitors arriving by car into the compound; and subduing guards and gaining entry into homes or apartments.
The statement added that in the face of these copious dangers, the Nigerian law enforcement authorities usually respond slowly or not at all, and provide little or no investigative support to victims.
The Australian Government made it even more frightening, saying the poor state of health facilities and infrastructure has complicated the security issues in Nigeria.
Driving in Nigeria can be dangerous, especially at night, due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles, poor local driving habits, unpredictable pedestrians and inadequate road lightening, it said.
In all, the countries have nothing pleasing to report on Nigeria, especially now that the activities of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, have attained a murderous crescendo.
They listed specific states of the country as most prone to the dangers they highlighted in their advisories. They are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Rivers in the Niger Delta; Abia and Imo in the Southeast and Plateau, Bauchi and Borno in the North as well as the Federal Capital and its adjoining cities.
The countries did more to catalogue the woes, which include killings, kidnapping for ransom, raping and advance fee fraud that foreign nationals had allegedly suffered in Nigeria in the last decade.
Coming barely short of branding Nigeria uninhabitable, the countries elaborately listed precautionary steps visitors must follow in order to experience a safe stay in Nigeria.
As it stands, the few gains that might have come with the dislodgement of the military from the political leadership of the country in 1999 are being seriously threatened, as Nigeria appears to slide back to a pariah status.
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