Sekinat Abiola, one of the 6 Nigerians that were recently refused entry into Egypt and were forced to return via the Ethiopian airline that airlifted them, said she was granted a valid 3-month-visa at the Egyptian embassy in Lagos, but intended to stay for two week since her business would only last that long.
"I was asked what I was here for and I said business, then the officer asked for my BTA (Basic Travel Allowance), which was $3000, and I showed him," she said. "Then he looked at my visa and said 'Lagos Nigeria, No, No, No', and asked me to go to the left were I met other Nigerians who were told the same thing.
We left Nigeria on Sunday and were kept in a room till today (Tuesday) without food, water, or bed to sleep. This is the second time they are doing this."
Another member of the team, who gave his name as Mr F. A. Babatunde, said: "They told me to go back and get another visa. I asked if the one I had now was fake because I got it from their embassy at Abuja. The official did not answer. All these countries are doing this because of the money they get from visas. If a senator was not in that South African plane, do you think Nigeria would have reacted? The Nigerian embassy in Egypt knows about this entire thing but they will not do anything, since we are ordinary Nigerians. My visa was signed and stamped by the consul."
Efforts to contact authorities at the Egyptian embassy as at the time of this report were unsuccessful.
Culled from Dailytimes
57 comments:
This is just crazy
Make oh na seat down for oh na country o.
Nigeria are to fight for all its citizens not some, we should copy the right things not the irrelevant once. Something has to be done. The United States won't take it likely if such happens to their citizen. Its insulting.
When we have ambassadors who care little about their responsibilities, save for what loophole to take advantage of and make money; this is what happens.
Later they'll say we should think of what we can do, when we r actually thinking of how to get out of the problems caused us by the same money guzzling politicians.
Ofcourse GEJ will come out with a bland statement telling us of a committee setup and that they r on top of the matter, just as they r on everything else that's threatning our survival.
I don't blame Egypt. I blame our Govt and ppl.
Ewo! This is a terrible thing and someone should do something abt it ASAP...
But I forgot...who will do it? Goodluck Jonathan? I laff in Greek.
I feel so sorry for the discomfort and money these pple have lost. I don't know if we should end up having a revolution in this country before we can experience the desired change.
Pele my pple, it is well with u all....This is the only reason why I am happy with my Blue Kpali...I flash it when the need arises and doors open no questions asked.
But still, I hurt for what others have to go thru due to bad government.
May God bless Nigeria.
Adaeze O.
Our government is weak,that's why we are treated this way.if the so called politicians does not take time,it will get to their turn,one day our president might be denied entry into GHANA.
THERE MUST BE A U TURN TO THINK TOWARDS THE RIGHT DIRECTION ASAP.
na wa o
I have said it time and time again. No country will respect Nigeria until Nigerian leaders show them that we are worthy of respect. No one will rub shit on your head if you do not allow them. My mother was in a queue at a European airport last week holding her green passport and she was moved aside and thoroughly searched.
Why? No one knows. Of all the people standing on the line, they saw a black woman with a green passport in her hands and picked on her.
No one will respect us until our leaders show we are worthy of respect.
Linda, take time and publish my comment.
I tire! Biko Linda, no dey post this kind message for here again! I came here to have a laugh not add to my woes! Abeg, limit the amount of bad news you dey post here ok! Thanks in advance babe! ;-)
~ Menakaya's Baby.
Sincerely as Nigerians, let us ask ourselves ds question,what are we looking for in other countries? Nigeria is not a bad country. Nigerians are virtually in all the countries of the world,WTH are we looking for up and down? Business??Egypt is in crisis and more also, it is not a manufacturing nation so what then is the problem?
South Africa has d largest crime rate, rape rate and HIV rate in the world yet you see Nigerians going there in droves. We have hundreds of Nigerians in foreign prisons like Thailand,Malaysia, China, Brazil,Uk. USA, Saudi Arabia,India,South Africa even Ghana. I have a cousin who leaves in Iceland, only God knows what he is doing there.
We need to set our priorities right and respect ourselves before any nation can.
I'm half Egyptian, and I go to Egypt often to visit my dad. Some of them are judgemental and suspicious of Nigerians.
They have had their share of dealing with some bad Nigerians and they want to make sure they are not allowed in the country as much. So, I'm not surprise.
so sad, when will our government start to take us seriously naw
They treat us badly because thats what we do to ourselves.
TOO BAD,OUR SO CALLED LEADERS DONT CARE ABOUT US.CANT SAY MUCH AM HEART BROKEN.GOD IS WATCHING THEM ON 3D.
Nigerians will continue to suffer these ordeals until our own government stops intimidating it people. FG does not have the right to question the maltreatment of Nigerians abroad. We are worse than Somalia. Theres no government in Nigeria. Nigeria has failed!
Shame on you big for nothing country!! Shame on GEJ!
na wa o!!..even Eqypt..if not for the Sphinx..which one be my own with Egypt..no be their fault..FG should hammer them too!!
Nigerians will continue to suffer these ordeals until our own government stops intimidating it people. FG does not have the right to question the maltreatment of Nigerians abroad. We are worse than Somalia. Theres no government in Nigeria. Nigeria has failed!
Shame on you big for nothing country!! Shame on GEJ!
Na today? This shit has been happening for long, I am also a victim 3yrs ago, i was deported without reason along with another 8 nigerians...something has to be done to put a stop to this shit.
This dusty Egypt wey dey our backyard so? Abeg make them go rest.
@linda,if de great old Egypt,will be able to say sorry to Nigeria,than that means de great kingdom of this world will come back to africa soon,,,becos obama will fall down like france president,,as he support same sex,
watch and see linda,,,all that has hands on GADAFI death,must fall down,,this is my predictions of 5,month 2012,
Wetin we even de find there. Who wan chop sand. As long as our govt and the pple keep acting low, na so e go de be
ONOME says.............
lollllllllllllllllllllll
sorry :( I shouldn't.Solidarity and patriotism and all that.lollllllllllll
Oya over to you Jona.Make I see wetin you go do.NONSENSE.
We cannot expect any country to treat us right as long as we ourselves are not treated right in our own country.I keep repeating the same old rhetorics over and over again.As long as your leaders and people in authority treat Nigerians as shit then we can only expect the worst from other citizens.Una don hear where monkey say im pikin no fine???If you spit on your child WTH do you expect from others?
Is it not that country where if common LG chairman is passing by the roads are cleared and pedestrians cannot walk freely?Where President's wife can block the road and commercial activities???Where a policeman can kill an unarmed citizen for less than 50 pence???Where it takes a foreign court to pass a judgement on a common rogue who has been cleared of all charges in Nigeria?Where a 2 time thief became a governor for 8years???Where basic amenities are lacking???Where a governor can sack over 700 doctors because of salary but spends so much on a birthday for an ex governor???Where your politicians will not be caught dead in the hospitals but refuse to upgrade the existing ones to at least average standards???Where their children go to school in Western countries but they refuse to repair the decay in the educational sector???Where the roads are a death trap???Where security is an issue but the "lords" have their own mobile policemen????Where corruption thrives unchecked???Where BK has consistently eliminated priests,students,bike riders,church worshipers,business men,market women etc etc???
Oh the list goes on and on and on and on.THE CORE IS ROTTEN.
Una doh.Those were brought back.Make una no too vex o,na so we see am.lollllllllllllll.Really I shouldn't
Even dogs and cats are better treated in England than human beings in my Father's land.#toobahd#
I dont blame them ooo. U need to see what most Nigerian guys are doing presently in the UK...Terrible!!!
Solution: Try get your blue. WIth that you fit enter any counrty whether na wowo country or correct and security for airport go dey call you sir/maam. Na so dem dey follow me shine teeth for airport. Idiots!!!
Nigerians have bad reputation outside of Nigeria. The whole Boko Haram, 419scam paints Naijas in a bad light. I wish naijas will stop getting angry over it and start building back a good reputation.
@segun! You are really stoopid and shallow minded! Look beyond ur nose, that's not d point they r addressing here
Um this one ain't government's fault. There are other countries with bad government and they don't get treated like this. No be everything be government government. Nigerians are the ones giving Nigerians a bad name. Nigerians go abroad and do criminal things, yes it's happening. I see it here in Atlanta, GA USA. It happens a lot. So why would they want Nigerians to come to their country when a lot of Nigerians go and commit crime up and down. We're known for fraud and all sorts of things. So please no be government government. Let Nigerians show themselves to be good citizens outside of Nigeria and this wouldn't happen.
Also Nigerians biko stop kissing the ass of foreigners. Every damn foreigner is worshipped and you you will treat your fellow Nigerian like trash. Respect yourself and you will be respected.
What's wrong with these African's countries? Well no be their fault, when Naija don rubbish her name and integrity through bad leadership.
This is very unethical and soo wrong!! If the nigerian citizens really had valid visas then they should have been passed without any troubles! Total insanity!
This issue has to be justified
I only wondered why they were not deported on the basis of religion. I.e, since Egypt is a predominantly Moslem country, the moslems amongst them ought to have been spared and the Christians deported. How come they were all lumped together in a room irrespective of tribe and religion. The moral is: to the world we are all regarded as Nigerians irrespective of tribe and religion, so therefore let's join our hands together and build this country.
i agree with segun.. we have alot of Nigerians here in South Africa!most are unemployed what are they doing here?why not stay at home and improve you country.. some even swear to never go home again.so why would people respect Nigeria if their own citizens would rather die in a foreign country!i mean really!
because Internationally Nigeria is seen as a country with criminals like it or not.. but that is the perception and the fact that most Nigerians would rather die in foreign countries than their own country!Nigerian Government is not helping either!with the state of affairs as they are...im not suprised!
Segun i bet if you have a chance to go for a holiday, to go and get a better education or even to go and work, you will be the first person on the queue out of Nigeria. It's not so bad yet so many people leave in droves.
hmmmmm........so sad and embarrassing.
Please stop going to all these "3rd world countries". What are you going to buy in Egypt - Date palms?
You are going to Egypt, South Africa, etc... What sort of business are you conducting in countries that are experiencing potitical turmoil, racial/sectarian marginalization, etc?
Do you not have enough at home?
What kind of technology transfer are you visiting to acquire?
Stay home and invest your 3000 USD locally and stop making news items of information that are not worth it.
am so sad abt dis.dis is degrading
Meanwhile, the passport office in Abuja cannot wait to give Green passports to Egyptians, Indians, Italians and the Lebanese as long as the price is right!!!
One (temporary) solution among others is: as dollars kept in your pocket or bank account won't earn you much, find other places where they'll gladly be accepted! Money is colourless for those with a little bit of brain, not for those myopic (and mostly ignorant) Egyptian immigration officers. What does Egypt have that you can't find elsewhere? For example, for some years now, a sizeable number of African businessmen and traders have avoided South Africa for quite some time both because of the high crime rate and risks therefrom, which is a loss to that country and a gain to others! Since you know you're on your own in this matter--diplomats can't lift the smallest fingers, neither can the FG--act responsibL: shun that forsaken country called Egypt. Period!
this is just a ripple of d corruption dat has being eating its way thru nigeria. oh well!!
im actually not surprised
they should sue!
D reason for Nigerians entry Egypt is bcos of the level of corruption in Nigeria. It is not their fault. how i wish they will be able to pursue all Nigerian residing outside dis country, it wud have been better. Why are we pursuing shadows.
All these arab nations are just interested in trouble, next thing now they call it jihad, just like their brothers here called boko haram.
Everyone blames the government. Its high time Nigerian citizens behaved right. Why won't Egypt turn them away when most of them don't live right when they visit these foreign counties?
where is hon abike dabiri? we must start deporting the egptians too, its tit for tat, one head is t beter than d other - egypt of all countries dont blame them now if not for our hopeless leaders thats stealing all d money and embarassing us everyday
all of you are talking 'of-point'. we are seen as terrorists/terrorist nation. These serious leaders don't want us to infiltrate their people with bad doctrines, short and simple
Its a pity, we could accuse these people of racial discrimination and there might be an element of that, but we also have to accept responsibility, Nigerians have given themselves a bad name internationally. Domestically we have archaic and often laughable policies. Internationally our policies hold no weight. Our people have become undignified, and we have no respect for ourselves, vis-a-vis there is no way any other country can respect us.
I wish that we could do some soul searching and get our priorities right. Our country is basically being dismissed (ignored like an uncool kid in playground) and what will happen next is. Inevitably us being bullied because we're seen as weak.
@sleame, calling somebody else names shows d kind of person u are. U've simply shown to me that u are irresponsible.
I've no problem with anybody traveling out of the country but I query the motives behind it.Nigeria is a great nation, we've achieved so much in every areas of life individually and as a nation. If u want to know how profitable Nigeria Is,ask Starcomms, MTN, Julius Berger,All the airlines coy, Multichoice, Nigeria Breweries and the Oil companies etc.
The problem we've at hand is identity problem, despite our achievements people tend not to reckon with us, why?? .Everybody knows how arrogant and dubious the Chinese and the Lebanese are, but people still want them in their countries simply bcos of their business acumen and innovative skills, we all know the crime rate in South Africa and USA but still want to go there.
We are suffering today coz people can't see our importance. Malaysia has over 100 Nigerians in their prisons, we still have hundreds in UK, USA, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Brazil etc. Mr Sleame, pls tell us, what value and respect that country is going to give to us?
We need to set our priorities right and have some form of dignity for ourselves before any other nation can. Sometimes our unusual globe trotting is uncalled for. Egypt has no president, it is not stable and it is not a manufacturing nation, so what is in Egypt? Likewise Greece??.
It is well
How many of the universities Nigerians go abroad are among the top 100. How many universities in Ghana, South Africa, India, Malaysia, Egypt etc are among the top 500 in the world...yet we pay millions to earn their certificates and condemn our own.
We are just sleeping giants!! If only we realize how big we are, and how much they need us then many of these countries will not be messing around with us...... Nonsense
Wow so Nigerians they angry like this...anyway sha me I don talk am since...God don reject this country make everybody find there way out before the rod of the lord will strike. Aluta Continua
Its quite simple only if the Nigerian government had a little self respect! Do the same thing to Egyptians and South Africans coming into the country!
I agree Nigeria is a country with so much potential and inherent greatness, but as it has been written before, the government has made a mockery of it. Nigerians abroad also don't represent the country in a positive way. I'm always slightly nervous when asked were I'm from originally!
Segun there are many Nigerians who have attended and are still attending some of these UNIs
LSE
KCL
City University
Oxford
Cambridge
SOAS
Imperial
Harvard
Stanford
UCL
UCLA
Yale
John Hopkins
George Washington and so on.
Maybe the kind of people you know go to quack universities!
Well said... Thanks. Him/Her that have ears let him/her hear.
pretty sad but errrhhmmm, #typo or #gbagaun, whichever, #edit "two weeks"
Well, Egypt still has a right to deny Nigerians entry to their country if they want to- it is their right whether or not Nigerians have a valid visa- in fact, possessing a visa does not automatically entitle you entry into the country if their immigration on arrival is not satisfied with your motives for coming into the country. Moreover, Nigerians have got up to all sorts in Egypt, so you really can't blame them. I think it is about time we stayed at home and kept our own house in order rather than going to all these Arab countries where the color of your skin is not welcomed
Is dis comment nt longer dan d write up itself? Jus wondering who'll read it.
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