REPORT ON THE CALL FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT AGAINST THE COLLABORATION OF THE NIGERIAN EMBASSY
"In January this year the official representative of the Nigerian Embassy at the Mobil Deportation hearing to Halberstadt (Saxony-Anhalt) did informed the coordinating activist of The VOICE Refugee Forum from Jena, that 2,500 victims which includes documented African Nationals suspected to be Nigerians are been planned for identification to facilitate their urgent deportation from Germany to Nigeria"...read more https://thevoiceforum.org/node/896
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Titled : A call for Nigerian-Africa Community
Theme : Deportation collaboration with the German state.
Date : Sunday, 13th of July,
Venue : Schillergäschen 5. Jena.
Time : 14hrs
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Guest: Rex Osa – A Nigerian activist of The Voice refugee forum and Author of "The Another face of Colonialism"..https://thevoiceforum.org/node/858
He will inform us about the on going Protest action against the German-Nigerian corruptive deportation policy and collaboration, the racism, the repression and the exploitations of the Nigerian – African as a colonial heritage.
He will also speak about the proposed "Nigerian - African Forum".
For information on the meeting contact:
Mr. "Chris Dimkpa", Acting President of Nigerian Association of Friends in Thueringen {NAFA}.
Email: c_dimkpa@yahoo.com
For information and solidarity in the protest against Deportation
collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy
Contact; The VOICE Refugee Forum, Germany.
Email: thevoiceforum@emdash.org
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Another face of Colonialism
The attitude of the Nigerian embassy over the years is alarming and rather than seeing situation as getting better, things gets worse from time to time in spite of the massive criticism against their operations over time.
From a normal point of view, the embassy of a country has the mandate to project its country`s interest, specifically in the protection of its Citizens rights in the host country. Our various experiences have proved that the Nigerian embassy stands in its determination of maintaining the so called friendly cooperation with the host countries to the detriment of its citizens.
More astonishing is their continuous alliance with the colonial monsters in the forceful and inhuman deportation of Africans through Lagos as transit point not withstanding its position as signatory to the Universal declaration of human right.
With great shame, we express disappointment in the ``I don’t care attitude`` that the diplomats have extended outside the Nigerian boarders. We mean the usual stigma of ignoring destructive accusations of corruption and mistrust against the Nigeria embassy notwithstanding the claims of its determination to cleansing the bad image of the Country.
Imagine such accusation that the Nigerian embassy has been selling itself for 500Euro per African that is been identified for deportation in its spontaneous mobile consulate around Germany (1) . Such critical issue has gone further to deepen the wounds between Nigerians and other African Nationals.
There was also a report that expressed the horrors meted on Africans by the German Authority at the deportation hearing in collaboration with the mobile Nigerian consulate at Ludwigsburg -Baden-Wurttemberg in March 2008 (2).
What a shame to see our Embassies portraying us as ``Objects of Pity`` in the eyes of these Colonial Monsters who did not only destroy our lands and culture but has consistently stood to deprive us from questioning the continuous draining of our endowment.
Why in this century should our Government and Politicians allow themselves to be fooled with political statements like ``maintaining cordial relationship`` in the usual colonial manner of giving 1 but taking 10 thus bringing us to the question; “When will all these legacy of Colonization and its core theory of oppression be overcome”?
As Nigerians, we cannot identify ourselves with our embassy because the attitude of the officials has been nothing short of what we face with the German departments as foreigners on one hand, Africans on the other hand and worse still as Nigerians. Many Nigerians have been forced to renounce their Nationality against their natural will and the Nigerian Embassy has refused to take cognizance of this.
Another big insult on the part of the Nigerian Government is that, even documents issued from our embassy here in Berlin which is within the German boarders has no value in the eyes of any of the German departments not to consider documents from far away Nigeria. Whereas, any German issued document takes priority in all the Nigerian departments both within and outside Nigeria. Is this what the Nigerian – German cordial relationship entails?
It is based on the above that we have to state as follows;
That Mr. Ambassador- His. Excellency ABDUL-KADIR BIN RIMDAP considers how his entire diplomatic Mission is seen here in Germany. You may not understand but those of us who happens to be practical victims knows the humiliation we face on submitting documents issued by your mission to any German Officer or department.
That Mr. Ambassador should also know that as Nigerians, just the thought of having to visit the Embassy in Berlin is trauma on its own. Part of what you are sure to face alongside the uncertainty in the Consular services includes gross humiliation from the supposed messengers and Clerks who portray themselves as top executives under camouflage of Suits purchased with the extracted bribes in rendering the supposed legitimate service to your Citizens. What an embarrassment especially in cases where we are accompanied by other Nationals.
That Mr. Ambassador should also know that many Nigerians do not come out of the embassy in good mood after having wasted the whole day with no hope of getting the required services that is supposed to be the obligation of the embassy to us as citizens.
That Mr. Ambassador should also note that we have been on the watch and have objective facts to prove our points but for humanity reasons, we shall keep these names silent for the now with expectations of attitude change for good as the officers involved should take note.
The senior officers cannot deny being unaware of such incidences and we cannot avoid seeing it partly as a strategy imposed by them because there had been circumstances of crises that prompted the intervention of senior officers. The result however is a defense of their junior colleagues which could be based either on ``Wash my back and I wash yours`` or the effect of political Godfatherism which places junior officer above the seniors in many cases.
Once again Mr. Ambassador, there is the urgent need for a reformation in your mission`s attitude to rendering its due services and it is based on this we ask that you put your eyes on your boys downstairs especially at the entrance to rescue your fellow citizens who are in dying need of your support .
On Government persistent Claims that Nigerians disgrace the country by living abroad illegally, the unanswered question is; what does the Nigerian Government have to offer its citizens? And how long can we continue to face the politics of exclusion both in our motherland and abroad?
As Nigerians, we are in the process of survivalism, be it for reasons of persecution or otherwise. It must be clear that the time has come for us to remind the Colonial Monster that whether they like it or not, their inflicted frustration and persecution through instruments of the Nigerian Political elite that has sustained their colonial manipulations justifies our emigration.
Recent report on the impact of money remittance of Africans living abroad to the economic stability of their respective countries for which Nigeria is a major evidence should be viewed as positive for the migration and repatriation of maybe a tiny fraction of our stolen wealth although with our sweat and blood.
The inevitable obligation that the western world must accept is the never ending Migration Phenomenon as long as our institutions through the use of the so called political elite continues to be part of the on-going project of neocolonialism where millions of Africans are denied access to their resources thereby encouraging criminal behaviors which becomes the only opportunity to survive at the least.
It must be clearly understood that deportation cannot be near the solution to discourage the influx.
Coming back to the position of the Nigerian embassy in Berlin, there has been continuous reports of gross human right abuses against Nigerians specifically in the process of forced eviction, all sorts of racial attacks by the Western society as well as known and unknown death but the embassy makes no attempt to respond to such protection of the rights of its citizens.
There are cases of Nigerian kids abandoned in deportation prisons deprived of their rights as Children 3, Kids traumatized by the German Police in collaboration with the office in charge of the protection of young people like the recent case of three Nigerian kids in the Isolated refugee jungle camp in Posseck (4), and various other circumstances of child abuse perpetrated by the German society yet not a response from the Nigerian Embassy in this regard.
Why should our embassy push us out as beggars and saboteurs in the eyes of the Western society rather than projecting the necessity of building our destroyed culture, our ruined economy and repositioning our rights as defined by the Universal declaration of human rights?
Our Politicians cannot preach the sermon of building our human capital while our embassies continue to support the deportation of our physically and psychologically drained citizens at the illegal cost of 500Euro, rendering them useless to the Nation on the long run.
We hereby call for an all Nigerian-African forum home and abroad to protest the position of the Nigerian embassy in Germany, asking for public response to all accusations and a real definition of their functions (5).
Deportation is human rights abuse!
Deportation is torture and colonial collaboration that we all must stand together to fight against and protest in the Diaspora for the dignity of all Africans.
Stop the deportations! Stop the colonial collaboration of repressions! Stop the exploitation!!!
We appeal for the support of community struggles of Nigerian – African community in Germany: Against the colonial heritage in the collaboration for deportation, to protest the racism, the repression and the exploitations.
Rex Osa
Refugee News Network
theVoice_bdw@yahoo.de
www.thevoiceforum.org
Links:
1.) Nigeria: Country Embassy As a Deportation Agency
http://allafrica.com/stories/200803280394.html
2.) RefugeeNews/RNN - Embassy Hearing on Deportation in Ludwisburg, Baden-Württemberg
http://www.thevoiceforum.org/node/737
PDF:
http://carava.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/report-nigeria-hearing-ludwigsburg.pdf
3.) Abschiebehaft am Frankfurter Flughafen
Allein im Niemandsland (ALONE IN NO MAN'S LAND)
Keine Eltern, keine Bekannten, kein Jugendamt - am Frankfurter Flughafen, Gebäude 587, werden sogar unter 14-Jährige kaserniert.
http://www.fr-online.de/in_und_ausland/
politik/aktuell/?em_cnt=1335565
4.) Germany - Brutal police intervention against refugee children from Nigeria in Treuen
https://thevoiceforum.org/node/822
5.)PROTEST - POSTCARD TO THE NIGERIAN EMBASSY
Protestpostkarten gegen Botschaft von Nigeria: Abschiebeanhörungen stoppen!
http://carava.net/2008/05/16/protestpostkarten-
gegen-botschaft-von-nigeria-abschiebeanhoerungen-stoppen/
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