DIPLOMATIC ‘SACRILEGE’ IN INDONESIA

Assault on the Nigerian diplomat is unacceptable

In an obvious admission of guilt, the Indonesia government has apologised for the recent barbaric treatment of a Nigerian diplomat, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim, in Jakarta. In the leaked video of the incident, three Indonesian immigration officials were seen assaulting the diplomat on the back seat of a vehicle. One held the diplomat’s arm, and another punched his head as he screamed in pains. The evidence in the video that has since gone viral depicts a serious crime against the diplomat and the Nigerian state.

The unprovoked attack on a diplomat by the Indonesian officials breached articles 29 and 30 of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. Article 29 provides that the person of a diplomat is inviolable and shall be treated with due respect, while article 30 provides that the private residence of a diplomatic agent shall enjoy the same inviolability. However, we should not take this as an isolated incident as it raises fresh concerns about the fast-deteriorating state of Nigeria’s diplomatic image and indeed the despicable treatment and increasing violence targeted against our nationals abroad.

In recent years, Nigerians across the world are being subjected to all forms of indignities. According to the Indonesian authorities, the Nigerian diplomat was picked up by immigration officers after they received a tip about a group of foreign nationals whose residence permits had expired. There is no doubt that some Nigerians may be living illegally in Indonesia. But that still does not justify the brutal way the diplomat was treated. Even if he was suspected of an offence, he ought to have been arrested in a civilised manner.

However, we must also admit that the treatment many of our citizens get outside our shores reflects how Nigerians are treated at home. But many others exact brutal justice on Nigerians on the flimsiest of evidence. Last week, Etihad Airways released a list of countries whose travellers are landing at Abu Dhabi airport are eligible for visa-on-arrival in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Not only is Nigeria excluded, but visitors also who had been in our country in the preceding 14 days before travel will not be allowed to enter the UAE. Even within the continent, the so-called giant is treated with disdain. Only few days ago, some Nigerian diplomats in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, were reportedly harassed. The recent experience of many Nigerians in South Africa is still fresh in the memory.

Foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy. In the 60s and 70s, Nigeria’s voice was respected across the world. The economy was booming, and life was good. Many foreign countries’ nationals trooped into our country to do business. But Nigeria had since fallen into bad times and increasingly becoming irrelevant, condemned to the backwaters in global affairs. Nigerians abroad have continued to be subjected to dehumanising conditions because of the way the country is now perceived. The desperate economic situation at home has driven hundreds of thousands of Nigerians across the borders to seek the good life. Unfortunately, many of these people do not possess the requisite skills to fit into many of these societies and eventually end up as nuisance. The country’s image will only be enhanced if opportunities are created at home for many of our citizens.

We agree with Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffery Onyeama, that “there was absolutely no justification whatsoever for this kind of behaviour against a Nigerian diplomat, even any Nigerian at all,” and we urge him to move beyond rhetoric on this vexatious issue. Since the principle of reciprocity drives diplomacy, other countries must treat our citizens, especially those on diplomatic assignment, the same way we treat theirs. The Indonesian officials involved in the reprehensible conduct must be punished. On that, the federal government must insist!