This write-up is a follw up to an article written by one Mr Malik Abdulahi,which was published by the Sahara Reporters on Sunday december,the 21st 2008 entitled ´SAVE NIGERIANS IN SPAIN FROM THE NIGERIAN POLICE AND NIGERIAN EMBASSY´.It was an article that chronicled one of the malfeasance conduct and discourteous services rendered by the Nigerian Embassy in Spain.The chap raised an issue and it bothered on the non aknowlegdement of Nigerian Embassy in collaboration with the Nigerian Police to fulfilled their obligations by refusing to issue out the Police Character Report Certificates to a large numbers of Nigerians who are in the range of 4500-5000 that validly thumbprinted and paid the sum of 160 Euros each and 5 months on,yet,the hope or chance for the collections of Police Report is dim and forlorn. If we engage in a simple arithmetic,we find that the amount in Euro is 720,000-800000 and if we proceed further by converting it to Naira,and the rate of exchange at the time of the exercise was 176 Naira to an Euro,it then amounted to 1.3-1.4 Billion Naira,Heavens,this amount is sorely gargantuan,that it is unimaginable that the Nigerian Embassy in concert with the Nigeria Police could extort such a huge amount from Nigerians that are helpless and could only resort in keeping mum,i strongly prescribe that the EFCC to wade in and investigate this monumental fraud and save Nigeria from embarrasment.
Candidly,I sympathise with the affected Nigerians by the senseless exploitative act embarked upon by the concert of Nigerian Embassy and Nigerian Police,because there is likelihood that they might not be issued one,why?there is no sign in sight and any attempt to reach the Ambassador or Consular through phone has always met a brick wall,as if the job of the Ambassador is always not to be on seat,and the refrain you get from the secretary is ´he is not on seat´,we then imagine,when he is going to be on seat?.
Immediately,the article was published by the chap,there was an outburst of rumour,that the Embassy has commenced the despatching of the Police Report Certificate to the affected Nigerians and in their thousands trooped to the Embassy with the hope to collect their Police Report Certificate,to their utter of dismay,they were told to meet their respective state Presidents Nigerian Association,but contact with them proved to be hocus pocus as the response they got was that their names are not among those despatched to them.The truth is that only one-tenth of the Police Report was despatched, it was a vice by the Nigerian Embassy to delude the Affected Nigerians,creating a false impression that they have despatched all the Police Reports.
We can then imagine the frustration and agony of the lad by describing Nigerian Embassy as´clueless,dimwitted,disorganised and professional extortionist´offering discouteous services and are quick to append their signature for the deportation of Nigerians.It seems that Nigerian officials derive satifactions in afflicting pains to Nigerians.
It might interests us,that this extortion and discourteous services rendered by the Nigerian Embassy are not peculiar only to Spain,but to Italy Canada,to mention few.Butteressing on the rendition of discourteous service,two examples will suffice because of the limited space,there was a case of a certain Spanish based Nigerian girl that applied for the renewal of British Visa at the Britsh Embassy in Spain,it happened that the British Consular requested for her passport that had the British Visa,and the girl responded that,it was stolen while on a visit to Nigeria .consequently,the British Consular demanded for a proof upon which the girl showed the Consular a sworn affidavit for the loss of her passport while in Nigeria,after perusal,the consular asked her to certify it at the Nigerian Embassy in Spain,she then headed to the Nigeria Embassy and explained herself to one of the officials of the Embassy,the official collected the sworn affidavit and asked her to come back on a fixed date,she then returned back on the appointed time to collect the certified sworn affidavit,the girl got the jolt of her life,when the Nigerian official says´i´m sorry,i lost your document with my jacket while having my lunch in a restaurant´,in effect the girl was unable to secure the British Visa.i can not agree less with Malik Abdulahi´s claim that Nigerian Embassy officials are dimwitted.
The issuance of Nigerian passport is another gory tale,which indicated the failure of Nigerian Embassy lacking organisational skill, they were unable to organise Nigerian passport applicants in an orderly manner,when they appeared at the Embassy for scanning,there were hundreds of applicants milling around the Embassy.It is noteworthy to mention here that there are many applicants that have scanned several months ago,that are yet to collect theirs,the lad was correct by saying that Nigerian Embassy officials are clueless as to organise things.
In the attempt not to do what is proper, fit and sane on the part of Nigerian Embassy in Spain,i am afraid,i will advice that the government should not embark on a wastage exercise by spending tax payers fund in the maintainance of an Embassy that is docile and only interested in extorting it´s citizen of their scarce fund,and enjoys inflicting untold hardship on Nigerians.
It is in view of the afformentioned,that i recommend the the closure of Nigerian Embassy in Spain,because its existence is not beneficial to any Nigerian,but only officials of Nigerian Embassy in Spain.For if the Government ignores this call to close the Nigerian Embassy in Spain and the Embassy does not issue the Police Report to the affected Nigerians and continues to engage in the tactics of deceit and hocus pocus,definitely,the affected Nigerians will not fold their arms,there might likely be a revolution,the manner i do not know,but it is indeed going to be disastrous and cause an incalculabe loss to every body,no one is going to be spare.A word is good for the wise
Godwin Ezeogwu
Legal Resident in Spain
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