The recently-releasedstatistics in respect of Nigerians serving jail terms in prisons abroad is worrisome. Nigeria's High Commissioner to India, Mr. Oyebola Kuku, while receiving members of the House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, led by Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, revealed that 500 Nigerians were in jails acrossIndia.According to the diplomat, theNigerians were convicted of offences ranging from 'drug trafficking, fraud, cybercrimes, job scams to forgery of travel documents, such as passport and visas.' Other criminal acts allegedly being perpetrated by scores of Nigerians in India, include human/ child trafficking, drug trafficking, sham marriages and armed robbery. In the same vein, about 1,000 Nigerians were reported to be in prisons in China. Offences committed by these Nigerians serving jail terms in China relate to 'drug offences'. A few weeks ago, a Nigerian was jailed in the United Kingdom for officiating sham marriages; while an air-hostess was convicted for narcotic offences.The situation calls for sober reflection in the country and relevant Federal Government agencies must step up on public enlightenment campaigns and advocacy to dissuade young people from engaging in crimesin foreign countries. Several countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabiaand China, apply capital punishment to persons convicted of drug trafficking. Indeed several Nigerians have been convicted and executed for engaging in drug trafficking. Convictions for fraud, robbery, etc fetch hefty sentences too. We would have expected that such stiff penalties wouldserve as deterrent to would-be offenders.Despite capital punishment and as the statistics bear out, Nigerians are still apprehended for committing crimes including drug trafficking in many foreign countries.We believe this reckless behaviour on the part of some Nigerians and the consequences must begin to serve as an eye-opener to sundry Nigerians to obey the laws in foreign lands; public awareness programmes especially targeted atthe youth, highlighting thedeathly consequences must be routinely put in the public domain through the media. Popular local edutainment television and radio channels must serve as tools for demystifying the false hopes that 'crime pays.'Stakeholders who care about preserving the dignity and image of Nigeria, such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA), parents, guardians, churches, mosques, traditional institutions, civil society groups, need to design communication strategies to counsel the young and adventurous who crave travelling overseasat all costs, to realise that the only way to achieve a good and fulfilling life and peace of mind is to be law abiding everywhere and in all circumstances.There is an urgent need for the country to institutionalisegood, responsible, visionary and values-based leadership at home, in order to discourage Nigerians from endlessly scheming to take these life- altering risks.Nigerian Immigration officials at all the Nigerian border posts also need to be more proactive in their constitutional responsibilities by ensuring that they continuously devise foolproof means of discovering travellers with illegal drugs on them from evading detection.To further prevent many from the illegal international drug dealing, there are suggestions in some quarters thatthe National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) commence new anti-narcotic strategies such as publishing names of convicted drug offenders and their families' details for public consumption, to serve as a bitter deterrent to discourage potential drug traffickers from engaging in the drug trade. General information should be routinely made available to visa applicants about the dangers of breaking the laws in the country of their destination.
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