The endless throbbing and sorrowing of Nigerians may only be compared to the tribulation days of Job with open sores on a gummy and painful mat.The open wounds of Nigerian communities in Austria are stinky, the Nigerian communities in Vienna are boiling, they are weeping and wailing yet, their cries are like the lonely voice of John the Baptist in the wilderness without anybody to turn to. How long shall we continue to live in a state of uncertainty with the hope that one day it will be better' But when one deeply scrutinises the arena and goes extremely into the hope, one has doubts if there is really hope in this, as our leaders continually handle us and our issues like masters and slaves.The Nigerian Ambassador to Austria, Her Excellency, Maria Oyeyinka Laose, recently returned from Nigeria where she had led an Austrian high delegation and had signed a treaty that any black person whose identity in Austria is in doubt would be deported to Nigeria . This is ridiculous and sounds unreal but it is painfully a reality. As reported, this treaty was unfortunately supervised by the Foreign Affairs minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, prompting Nigerians in Austria to ask the question; whose table do they now lay their shameful and unbelievable complaint to, since the Ambassador and the Foreign Affairs minister whose portfolios lie the hope of redress in the case of any foreign molestation, have sold them out like slaves'Therefore, Nigerian communities in Austria are calling on the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and members of the National Assembly, to come to our aid.According to the treaty signed between the two countries as reported in the media 'About 1,000 Nigerian asylum seekers in Austria may be deported following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by Nigeria and Austria. The agreement was signed last week in Abuja by the Austrian Vice Chancellor and Foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, and Nigerian Foreign Affairs minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru.'The agreement exposes these persons who are without clear proof of Nigerian citizenship, most of them have been living in Austria for many years and well integrated (but not accepted as refugees according to the Geneva Convention),' the report states.The Nigerian people and government officials should go through the report again and envision in whose interest the treaty is trying to serve. What is the gain of the entity called Nigeria in this kind of treaty if not abuses, humiliations, pains and sorrows for her citizens' This kind of embarrassing bilateral agreement only tramples on the rights of Nigerians.The report went further to state that 'Spindelegger has been quoted by foreign news agencies, including the Austrian Press Agency and Austrian newspapers as saying that the Abuja agreement shall help to reduce the fear of readmission, because the Nigerian government, through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related matters (NAPTIP), has pledged to look after the deportees, while Austrian companies operating in Nigeria have shown their readiness to offer training (resettlement) programmes in this regard.' This is an insult to the collective sensibilities of the people. So NAPTIP can suddenly take care of about 1,000 Nigerians, when millions find it extremely difficult to feed three times a day, and Austrian companies in Nigeria have, also out of the moon, reserved training opportunities for these 1,000 expected deportees.One thing we must know is that most of the people planned to be deported have worked in Austria for years under hard conditions and risky environment.During winter periods, they are usually the people engaged in clearing snows on the streets at night under minus 10 to minus 30 degrees. They are usually the people who carry blocks and cements on their heads from the down floor up to the top floor of buildings, in some cases, the buildings could have 15 to 20 floors. But now that some of them are about to qualify for Austrian citizenship, this whole deportation agreement is coming up, the Nigerian government should, therefore, not be the stumbling block through which the Austrian government will deny these people the fruits of their labours.We should also think that when black people whose identities are in doubt are deported to Nigeria, is the country now a dumping ground for unwanted black people' It is, however, unfortunate that the ambassador does not care about the people she is in Austria to represent. On May 23, 2012, the father of a two and a half- year-old boy was arrested at his apartment in the morning, by night, he was on a plane back to Nigeria; the ambassador, nor any of her officers got in contact with the man to ascertain what he might have done.Nigerians in Austria, to say the least, are going through hell in this country, and the Nigerian authorities are also not helping matters, especially with this new bilateral agreement which makes it easier for the Austrian authorities to deport any black person to Nigeria. This is really humiliating.This agreement, which refuses to address the real issues of Nigerians living in Austria, only adds to their problems, and as a result of this, many of the people who fall into this category are into hiding and are restless.It is hoped that relevant authorities in Nigeria, especially the presidency and the National Assembly, will rise to the occasion and review the bilateral agreement that was signed between the two countries.It is also expected that the Nigerian embassy in Vienna, Austria, will do more to protect the rights of Nigerians whenever they find themselves in problems in this European nation.The embassy is meant to represent its citizen in their host environment, unfortunately, many staff of Nigeria's diplomatic mission abroad, not just in Austria, don't really know this.Uzoma, a Nigerian living in Vienna, Austria, can be reached via uzomaah@yahoo.com
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