By Chima Onyekachi
August 26,2016
The plagues befalling Nigeria seems to be getting worst as two of its closest allies (US and UK), sends a strong warning to its citizens residing and working in Nigeria on their safety. The United States Government has asked its citizens living in Nigeria to stay away from twenty of the country’s 36 states which it describes as unsafe. The US Government, in an advisory published online recently, cited Borno, Adamawa and Yobe as a complete no-go area. Also in the list are Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
The statement particularly urged vigilance around government security facilities, churches, mosques, and other places of worship; locations where large crowds may gather such as hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, markets, shopping malls, and other areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. It noted that kidnappings, robberies, and other armed attacks remained a security concern throughout Nigeria. The US mission noted the displacement of thousands of Nigerians as a result of violence in the north, demonstrations by separatist groups and the destruction of oil production infrastructure by militant groups in the eastern region.
Also, the UK High Commission in Nigeria has warned its citizens against travelling to 16 states in the country for security reasons. The United Kingdom Mission advised its citizens against travel to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Kano. Other locations include the riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River and within 20km of the border with Niger in Zamfara state. The Foreign Commonwealth Office cautioned against all but essential travel to Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi and within 20km of the border with Niger in Sokoto and Kebbi states. Other places include Plateau and Abia states.
An exposed ‘secret memo’ from the Headquarters Nigerian Army, Ministry of Defence in Abuja, further corroborated the warnings from the foreign missions. The memo revealed plans by Boko Haram terrorist group to attack locations in most parts of the country; the targeted areas include but not limited to Police stations, prison facilities, schools and market places. The memo from the Army Headquarters also states that the terrorists have deployed foot soldiers to carry out attacks on markets in Bauchi, Katsina and Imo States. Schools were strongly warned of re-opening in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, in the light of the wide-ranging plot by the group to cause full-scale destruction.
Meanwhile, in a report obtained by Chima Onyekachi from Reputation Institute, in its annual Rep Trak index has ranked Nigeria as the 5th country with the worst reputation in the world. The rankings are based on some fundamental drivers, including tolerance, safety, standard of living and attractiveness to tourists. The overall marks are given out of 100. Nigeria is ranked as the fifth worst country in the world because of its lack of religious tolerance, which has led to the rise of the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. An Ebola outbreak further harmed Nigeria's reputation.
Consequently, no fewer than 14 airlines have withdrawn their services from Nigeria due to low patronage on account of the economic recession. Foreign airlines operating in the country are estimated to have lost about N64 billion in the wake of the new forex policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Bankole Bernard, said that the new forex policy and economic crunch came with enormous negative effect on travel agencies, the reason for which they exited the country. He said that some of his members are beginning to relocate to Ghana, where “their policies are consistent”. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, introduced a fiscal policy through the CBN, restricting access to foreign exchange and funds transfer out of the country.
“Foreign airlines remain a major stakeholder in the aviation industry, and they account for about 90 percent of the air passenger traffic in the country. Even if the foreign airlines continued to leave, it would still not be to the advantage of local carriers like Arik and Medview, since their fleet capacity is insufficient to accommodate traffic,” stated ART President, Gbenga Olowo.
With the security concern and economic downturn bedevilling the country, Somalia will inevitably become a paradise when compared with Nigeria
Mr.Chima Onyekachi writes for BiafraPost
Editor/Publisher: EmmaNnaji
For Biafra Reporters
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