Hello Friends!
I particularly enjoyed reading this story, hence my sharing it with you.
On October 18, 2011 when Israel swapped one Israeli, Gilad Shalit, with over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, it looked to some as if Israel was not thinking properly. Shalit was not the Prime Minister or a member of the Knesset. He was not a general in the Israeli army. He was a low-ranking soldier: a sergeant. So why should Israel consider him so important as to be worth the release of over 1,000 Palestinians?
The answer is simple: Because he is an Israeli. The life of an Israeli is regarded as priceless by his country. Even the corpse of an Israeli is priced highly. Israel had swapped living Palestinians with the corpse of an Israeli because they wanted to bury their kinsman themselves according to their rites. It is such premium the Israeli nation places on its citizens that makes them so patriotic and ready to defend their country any time.
On March 2, 2012, South Africa deported 125 Nigerians who had landed in their country in two flights. The Nigerian travelers were accused of possessing fake yellow fever inoculation certificates called the Yellow Card. A Yellow Card is one of the compulsory documents an applicant is required to present to the South African High Commission in Nigeria before it can issue a visa to such an applicant. The argument, therefore, was: If the Yellow Card was fake, why did the South African High Commission issue the travelers with visas?
Another point was that even if the certificates were fake as alleged by the South African immigration authorities, the standard practice has been that such people would be quarantined and inoculated. If after three hours they are found to be free of yellow fever, they are allowed to enter the country. Furthermore, if such people were to be deported, the Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa should be informed. That was not done. Nigerian authorities should also have been present to supervise the deportation of such immigrants. This was also not done.
Why did South Africa, which had been a friendly nation to Nigeria, act in such a bellicose manner to Nigeria? Incidentally, unlike in the past when Nigeria would start waiting for answers before taking any action, Abuja reciprocated swiftly by starting the deportation of South Africans. By Thursday morning, when the face-off was resolved following the apology tendered by South Africa, 136 South Africans had been deported for “improper documentation,” in the words of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
The South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley Mambolo, was invited by the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry for explanation to explain the rash deportation to the Nigerian authorities. The two chambers of the National Assembly also summoned the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, for questioning. His comments at both chambers showed the new thrust of Nigeria’s foreign policy as regards such matters.
Ashiru vowed that the Federal Government would henceforth take tough action against any country that takes delight “in ill-treating Nigerians”.
He added: “This is the first time in all my career in the foreign service where a supposedly friendly country would send 125 Nigerians back home on the flimsy excuse that they are carrying fake yellow cards. Nigeria will take reciprocal action. The Federal Government has summoned the South African envoy to demand an apology and to ensure that the officers involved in the deportation are punished.
“I find the action as totally unfriendly and un-African. You don’t treat fellow Africans that way, and we will not leave any stone un turned to get to the bottom of the matter. They should know that they do not have monopoly of deporting travelers and if we feel that the action against our nationals was discriminatory, we will take action to reciprocate and there are various ways of reciprocating.
“It will be measure for measure; we will not let it go un reciprocated. The signal must go out, not just to South Africa, but to the rest of the world, that when you treat Nigerians with disrespect, we also will find a way of treating your nationals with disrespect. No country has a monopoly of treating Nigerians with disrespect; we too can hit back.”
Nigerians have expressed solidarity for President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration’s response to the treatment from South Africa. The steps taken have earned him high praises. Nigerians have always been miffed at the shabby treatment other countries mete out to Nigerians despite the high level of hospitality shown other nationals in Nigeria.
But some have pointed out that there may be more of political vendetta in this recent deportation saga than the health issue raised. In August last year, when Libyan rebels took over Tripoli, Nigeria immediately recognized Libya’s Transitional National Council, calling it “the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people.” It further urged Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to cede power and give peace a chance. Apparently, that did not go down well with South Africa, which accused Nigeria of “jumping the gun” and taking a position different from that of the African Union. Eventually, the world recognized Libya’s TNC and it became obvious that it was Nigeria’s position that prevailed. Before Libya, a similar event had played out in Ivory Coast, where Nigeria swiftly recognized Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the election and urged the then incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, to hand over to Ouattara and ease the tension in the country. Gbagbo was eventually captured and Ouattara took over as the President of Ivory Coast. On the day of his inauguration as president, Ouattara paid special tribute to Nigeria for its role during the political cul-de-sac in his country.
Such actions of the Jonathan administration may not have gone down well with Pretoria. That could have been a remote reason to “cut Nigeria to size”, some analysts have noted.
But this was not the first time the Jonathan administration had responded swiftly to a country that treated Nigeria shabbily. In the first week of November 2011, Nigeria responded to an action of the United Kingdom in the aviation industry. UK’s Airport Coordination Limited had denied a Nigerian-owned aircraft the landing spots it requested, thereby technically forcing it to suspend flights to London Heathrow from Abuja.
In what was considered a retaliatory move, the Federal Government announced the slashing of British Airways’ flights to Lagos from seven times a week to three, with effect from Tuesday, November 8, 2011.
The Federal Government also went a step further by rescheduling British Airways’ landing and take-off times. Instead of landing at about 5.30pm and taking off at about 10.45pm, the airline was directed to start arriving Lagos at 6.00am and taking off at 10.00am. That was meant to adversely affect the airline’s passengers’ connectivity in Europe as they would have to wait for long hours at Heathrow before connecting to their final destinations.
The British authorities quickly rescinded their decision on the Nigerian aircraft and the matter was resolved.
It is obvious that Nigeria’s stance of playing the lamb in international relations has not yielded any fruits. Rather it has made other countries take advantage of it. It is also one of the reasons Nigerian citizens don’t feel as patriotic as necessary to the nation.
There has always been a feeling that their country is not passionate about the citizens’ safety and well-being in foreign lands. Jonathan seemed to have noticed that lacuna and is taking actions to fill it. And the result is that even those that have bitterly criticized his performance since his assumption of office have praised him for standing up for Nigeria in this face-off with South Africa.
The apology of South Africa to Nigeria has further worked in the President’s favour. But most importantly, Nigeria’s reaction to the treatment from South Africa’s will send a stern warning to other countries to be wary of treating Nigeria and Nigerians with levity in future.
Onwuka wrote in from August Consulting Limited, Ikeja, Lagos via azuka.brand@augustconsulting.biz 08033056481
xoxo
Simply Cheska
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