As Vice President Goodluck Jonathan predicted on Sunday, travelling Nigerians have come up against restrictions in Europe and the United States, sequel to the attempted downing of an aircraft by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was trained in Yemen by Al-Qaida.
U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered a comprehensive review of visa policy, tightening regulations for Nigerians, especially students and those aged between 20 and 60.
For those travelling through Amsterdam, the government has approved the use of the controversial body scan imaging device, which sees through clothing, to detect explosive devices on any part of the body.
The Netherlands is to introduce body scanners on U.S. flights within weeks.
Dutch Interior Minister, Guusje Ter Horst, said Abdulmutallab did not raise any concerns as he passed through Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to board the flight.
She enthused that the airport would be able to use body scanners on all flights to the U.S. from the airport in three weeks, and they would be a permanent fixture.
The measures justify the fears of Nigerians that they will now be singled out for special security attention.
But the U.S. State Department assured that the policy is not to punish Nigerians with genuine business in America, or students, but to plug loopholes through which potential terrorists can get in.
"The new policy is evolving, but in line with Obama's directive, those whose visa applications have been turned down will not be reconsidered, and those with questions on their applications will be turned down," officials disclosed.
Security measures newly approved by the White House include a thorough body search of all Nigerian visitors to the U.S., a mandatory seating of all passengers one hour before arrival, a ban on pillows, carrying of bags or electronic devices on laps, and additional deployment of armed marshals on all flights into the country.
Any passenger who does not co-operate with flight personnel will be detained and taken off the plane at the nearest airport.
The new restrictions do not target any nation but are in the overall security interest of America, the White House explained.
However, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) cautioned Washington against treating all Nigerians as potential terrorists, based on complaints by citizens in the Diaspora of their "improper treatment" since the attempted blow up of the Detroit-bound flight by Abdulmutallab.
Lagos CLO Chairman, Eneruvie Enakoko, maintained in a statement that most Nigerians are peace-loving, and Abdulmutallab's action should be treated as an isolated case.
"While we once again condemn the aborted terror attack in its entirety, we are also worried by the avalanche of complaints from Nigerians home and abroad over the improper treatment being received these past few days.
"We fear innocent Nigerians are being subjected to humiliation and discrimination for no fault of theirs; Nigerians are being stigmatised unduly," Enakoko said.
He called on the international community, in particular the U.S., to exercise patience and control over the incident, and not give the blanket name of terrorist to Nigerians or regard Nigeria as a haven for terrorists.
"The average Nigerian born and raised up in this country is not willing to die, even in the midst of excruciating poverty, and unbearable hardship, much less taking to such extremism."
Enakoko reminded the international community, especially the U.S., that the suspect's father had lodged a complaint about his unusual behaviour with the U.S. embassy in Abuja before the botched attack.
He urged Aso Rock to tackle the menace of poverty, insecurity, and injustice in the country.
And as part of measures to improve security, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director General, Harold Demuren, disclosed on Wednesday that 3-D, full body scanners are to be installed in airports next year.
In Yemen, security forces stormed an al-Qaida hide-out in a principal militant stronghold in the country's west, setting off clashes, officials said, as a security chief vowed to fight the group's powerful local branch until it is eliminated.
"The (Interior) Ministry will continue tracking down al-Qaida terrorists and will continue its strikes against the group until it is totally eliminated," pledged Deputy Interior Minister, Brigadier General Saleh al-Zawari.
Abdulmutallab spent two periods in Yemen, from 2004 to 2005 and from August to December of this year, just before the attempted attack.
Details emerged on Wednesday that while in Yemen, he led a devout Islamic life, shunning television and music and avoiding women, said students and staff at an institute where he studied Arabic during both periods.
He showed little interest in study during his brief time at the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language this year, which coincided with Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting that began in late August.
"When I asked him why he wasn't studying, he would tell me he wanted to devote his time for worship during Ramadan," Ahmed Hassan, a 28-year-old Arabic language student from Singapore, told The Associated Press (AP).
Hassan said he was stunned when he heard reports that Abdulmutallab, 23, told U.S. officials after his arrest that he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.
He said he never suspected him of belonging to the terrorist network.
Staff and students at the institute narrated that Abdulmutallab spent at most one month at the school. That has raised questions about what he did during the rest of his stay, which continued into December.
Hassan said Abdulmutallab would start his day by going to the mosque for dawn prayers and then would spend hours in his room reading the Quran.
Ahmed Mohammed, one of the teachers at the institute, recalled that Abdulmutallab spent the last 10 days of Ramadan sequestered in a mosque.
However, U.S. intelligence was reportedly aware that "a Nigerian" in Yemen was being prepared for a terrorist attack, weeks before an attempted bombing.
Obama noted that a systemic failure allowed Abdulmutallab to fly to the U.S. despite family members warning officials in November that he had extremist views.
He said he wants to know why the warning weeks ago from Abdulmutallab's father did not lead to the accused being placed on a no-fly list.
"We need to learn from this episode and act quickly to fix flaws in the system."
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The fact of the matter is the north as a region consists of muslims,christians and those you may refer to as non-believers, and all of these constitute a a vast majority,even in states that first introduced sharia legal system like zamfara,you will find alot of christians who are indigines and churches. So,even among the muslims,majority are not in support of what happened recently,i think there should be caution in generalising the whole north as a terrorist ground because of the wider implication.
abdulkadirgusau wrote: "The fact of the matter is the north as a region consists of muslims,christians and those you may refer to as non-believers, and all of these constitute a vast majority ..."
This is a very interesting point. Lets look at the issues one by one.
1. The contribution you were responding to is not referring to the whole north. It is referring to the 12 Sharia states in the north. You should know better having insinuated in one of your contributions that other contributors are illiterates for ... you know what.
2. In your statement quoted above, you admit that Christians and non-Muslims constitute a vast majority in the north. This is an admission for which I respect you. It is a fact which everyone knows but one that Muslims have perpetually distorted with heavy propaganda. They even try to make the world believe that majority of Nigerians are Muslims and/or that Nigeria is a Muslim country. Yet they would not want "Religion" to be included in the identity options during the census for fear that the truth would be revealed. It is also due to this fallacy (i.e. that Muslims are in the majority in Nigeria) that Jihadist extremists such as the Snake (a.k.a. Ibrahim Babangida) have tried to impose Islamic rule on all Nigerians. For the same reason Muslim leaders disregard the rule of law and act with impunity. Take the lunatic heading the Central Bank of Nigeria for instance. He thinks that because he is a Muslim, he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. Nigerian Muslims behave like a dog in the manger. They lack the skill to run the affairs of state but they wouldn't let others. That is what they have done for over 40 out of nearly 50 years of independence. They steal and loot with impunity and use the loot to buy houses in exclusive, most expensive locations in Western cities while at the same time creating poverty around them in Nigeria. What bothers me most is how they have infested other parts of Nigeria with their culture of corruption and impunity.
You further wrote: "... even in states that first introduced sharia legal system like zamfara,you will find alot of christians who are indigines and churches."
Thank you again for this admission. At the beginning, the Shariarists said their law would not affect non-Muslims. Yet in those Sharia states, a man and his wife or a brother and his sister are not allowed to go to church in the same bus. Right? Also they closed businesses they deem un-Islamic even when owners are Christians or non-Muslims. Right? ... and they decide on dressing codes etc. Right? It is because they have killed or driven out non-Muslims in their midst that they are now turning the guns on themselves.
At the moment they are desperate to use non-Muslims to communicate with the West. But they are wasting their time. The West is not stupid as they think. There will be many positive dividends from the current policy of adding "Nigeria" to their Security watch-list. The blood spilt by Nigerian Muslims is crying out from the grave.
excisionist(at)gmx.com
This Visa ban could be the only good thing that would come from this terror act for ordinary Nigerians who do not have any alternative but to stay here in Nigeria and attend their school. If Obama can make good this student Visa ban, then it would probably ensure that our money meant for our schools are not stolen by these thieving politicians and so-called business men to send only their children to schools in America and Europe. These thieving bastards who have no shame will steal the money meant for schools, roads, water, electricity etc. They would use this stolen money to send their children to the best schools, buy choice houses in Europe and America while the rest of us suffers. Can you imagine how much of our money was wasted on this Terrorist at the various schools his father sent him to. Imagine as a foreign student in London on average he was paying nothing less than £8,000 in tuition fee. For 3 years that is £24,000 for tuition alone, excluding living expenses. Imagine how these idiots waste our money. Maybe a restriction on Visa for their children would make them have a rethink on the state of our schools. But recently we also learnt that some of them now send their children to schools in Dubai, Sudan, and other Arab countries. This is a sign of more terrorist breeding. This means denying them from getting Visa to study in Europe and America would create more terror in the future unless there is a law banning all Politicians and those who have held political positions from sending their children to study abroad. The Minister of Education we hear also have his children studying abroad. They are so shameless now that some of them even send their children to study in countries like Ghana. What a shame!!
My cousin who live in London said in a desperate attempt by the media houses especially the BBC to tag Nigeria with terrorism, they were reporting it as: "THE NIGERIAN", "A 23 YEAR OLD NIGERIAN", "THE 23 YEAR OLD NIGERIAN" etc. The way they were reporting it you would not know if the guy had a name, what you would hear is Nigerian. But when they want to compare him to their only terrorist they would report it as: "RICHARD REID THE SHOE BOMBER", they would not report it as the Englishman Peter Reid, or the Briton Peter Reid. This goes to show the hatred by the so-called Western world for Africans. Britain with its population of 60 million have produced more International Terrorist than Nigerian with a population of 150 million. Also American has produced more International Terrorist than Nigeria. When I listen to Western media I only hear the name Timothy McVeigh, you would not be told where he hails from. Annually now, the British remember their own 7/7 terror attack. All those involved were all British Citizens, born and bred in the UK. They slaughtered innocent women and children on trains and busess in London. This stupid and barbaric Umar Farouk Mutallab was radicalised in London. This is a lesson for those who send their children to Europe for school after they have left our schools at home broken, your children would not only become Internationa terrorist, they would become drugh addicts and homosexuals. Our goverment should bring our schools to the standard obtainable where they are all running to, so that our children can stay at home and learn good values, I mean our African Values of respect and the fear of God. Mr Mutallab snr is a wealthy man, he felt that his children must grow up the British way, see the shame he has brought upon himself and our country.
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