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Cameroon: Nigerians Warned to Stay Off Constitutional Wrangling
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The Post (Buea)
17 April 2008
Posted to the web 17 April 2008
Francis Tim Mbom
The well over 4 million Nigerians living in Cameroon have been warned to stay off the current political wrangling by Cameroonians on the issue of the constitution amendment.
Nigeria's Consul General to the Southwest and Northwest Provinces, Dr. Kenneth Nsor, made this fervent call to his compatriots in Limbe on Saturday, April 12."There are many problems in Cameroon today about the amendment of the constitution. It has already been passed in parliament.
I do beseech you to stay off when these things are going on. I do not want to hear that you meddled in the internal affairs of this country," he said.Dr. Nsor said his call was premised on the fact that during the last nationwide unrest, a few of his compatriots, either by omission or commission, happened to have fallen victims in Kumba.
"You do not have voting rights here," he added.Besides, Nsor called on his countrymen to be law abiding and to strive to contribute to the development of their host country.
On the recurrent problem of harassment of Nigerians by Cameroonian law enforcement officers as raised by the Nigerian Union President in Cameroon, Chief Andrew E. Essien, Nsor said Nigerians should instantly report same to the Consulate.
He, however, reiterated to his countrymen to first of all respect the laws in Cameroon. He stated firmly that the Nigerian government was now, more than ever before, ready to come to the protection of its citizens anywhere in the world.
NIDO Launched
The Consul General disclosed that President Yar Adua's government has launched a new policy geared towards according more care and concern to all Nigerians within and without christened, "Citizens' Diplomacy."
He said his government by this policy would come to the aid of any of its citizens resident out of their mainland. He, nevertheless, added that Nigerians would only benefit if they affiliate with a new outfit to be called, Nigerian In Diaspora Organisation, NIDO, which would be launched on July 1.
NIDO, Nsor said, would be under the Foreign Ministry in Abuja and would have international status. He called on all Nigerians to register with it through their various unions and said their names would be rooted into a national database back in Abuja.
The Consul General's explanations tended to hinge on the fact that Nigeria is an economic giant in Africa and can no longer afford to be insouciant to the cries of its citizens resident beyond its national borders.
Going by the country's economic statistics, Nsor said Nigeria boosts of about 60 billion US dollars in its foreign reserves; over 25 commercial banks with the least having a capital of not less than 7 billion US dollars and a host of telecommunication companies, among them, Globa COM, an indigenous company with well over 18 million subscribers.
With the above picture in mind, Nsor told his compatriots that, "when someone stands to harass you, you should know that the Nigerian government is strong enough to protect you."
He, however, said his government and that of Cameroon were still working hard on finding lasting solutions to their commons problems, for instance the fees for residence permit.
Completing Bakassi Hand Over
Nsor also disclosed that his government would on August 14 hand over the last vestiges of Nigeria's hold over the Bakassi Peninsula. But he said the Nigerian government would be keen on the wellbeing of its citizens living in the Bakassi area. He called on Nigerians to procure the new computerized consular cards at FCFA 3,000.
The Consul General warned that by July this year, the old cards would automatically lose their legality. On the problem of schools and scholarships, he said there were still scholarship opportunities available in Nigeria.
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He encouraged his countrymen to send their children to Nigerian universities because from available statistics, more Francophone candidates in Cameroon have been writing the JAM entrance exams into Nigerian universities far more than Nigerians living in Cameroon.
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