What we saw in Amsterdam

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What we saw in Amsterdam

Written by Billy Adedamola and Mas’ud Adebimpe Sunday, 24 July 2011

For many Nigerians seeking greener pastures in abroad,especially Europe and America,the grass is certainly not all green in the white man's land. This is the reality that usually dawned on them as the illusion of Oyinbo's land flowing with milk and honey gradually evaporated.

Challenges of survival at home had driven them to seek refuge in the abundance offered by Europe,ironically,this comes at a price which left many of them wondering whether it was worth it after all.

In Holland,the Royal Dutch Nation,Nigerian visitors and immigrants face many problems ranging from immigration discourtesy and maltreatment to draconian application of law against offenders and a killing tax regime on business operators. It is a situation that is causing many Nigerian residents and visitors to Netherlands so much grief and worry.

Sola Adeyemi runs an eatery in Amsterdam. He has been living in the dutch capital city for over a decade,selling Nigerian foods. He described the attitude of the dutch authorities towards Nigerians as hostile. "They don’t see anything good in us. They are very mean when dealing with Nigerians,especially crime suspects. Nobody is saying they should not take steps to reduce crimes in their country,but they should not spread the blanket on every one. They dont have to treat everyone of us as criminals. That is not fair. We have told them that not all of us are criminals. Those engaging in crime are very few. Those of us engaging in legitimate business should be spared of this brutality. We need to be encouraged.

They imposed a killing tax on us,rendering our business barely profitable," he lamented.

Other Nigerians,like Clive Anderson who runs a barbing saloon had similar tale of woes to tell on the imposition of cripling taxes by the dutch authorities.

However,things appeared to be changing for better for Nigerians in Netherlands since the arrival of Dr Nimota Niniola Akanbi as the Nigerian ambassador to the Netherlands. Many Nigerians, who spoke to these writers in Amsterdam, commended the ambassador for embarking on measures which have alleviated the problems Nigerians in Netherlands are facing.

Dr Akanbi,it was gathered,had been working hard to ensure that Nigerians are accorded the rightful dignity that goes along with their status. She is said to visit Nigerians in dutch prisons regularly to ensure that they are treated within the ambit of the law. Provisions are also made by the embassy to give Nigerian prisoners and detainees succour. Most Nigerians spoke about the ambassador with affection,reffering to her as "our Mama."

'Yes,she has done well. She is our mama. She is arguably the best ambassador to be posted here. Unlike before when Nigerian embassy here was a no go area for those of us living here in Holland because of the hostility of the embassy officials,things have changed. If you go to the embassy now for whatever reason,you are sure of having a listening hear and assistance is provided without fuss. The ambassador has also taken up the plight of Nigerian prisoners and detainees whom she visit regularly and ensure that they receive the best treatment in the hands of the authorities,"Adeyemi said.

Adeyemi's position was shared by no other person than the former Nigerian President,Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was in Holland recently.Obasanjo was so impressed by Dr Akanbi's diplomatic conduct that he wrote a personally signed commedation letter to her. In the letter,Obasanjo said, inter alia,"I was particularly appreciative of the special efforts you deployed to ensure that I was given a VIP treatment at Amsterdam Airport,even though the information to you was very short. I know of the good works you and your staff in the embassy at the Hague are doing. Please,keep up the good works."

Dr Akanbi accepted the encomium showered on her by Nigerians with modesty. She acknowledged that Nigerians in Holland are not gettng a fair deal from the dutch authorities. The task of improving the lot of Nigerians in Holland,she disclosed,is enormous,but thanked God for her posting to Holland and for helping her to surmount the challenges she faced in her very first diplomatic calling.

According to her,she chose to adopt the citizen diplomacy doctrine in her battle to get Nigerians in Netherlands accorded their rights as citizens of the world. "I adopted the citizen diplomacy approach,that every one has the right to travel to anywhere. Whether Nigerians are here legally or not, they must be treated decently on arrival,"she asserted.

Dr Akanbi has recorded a huge success in this aspect,which many Nigerians passing through immigration in recent times, especially at the Schipol Airport would readily attest to.

Another area she has recorded success is ensuring that Nigerians facing deportation are no longer maltreated or sent back empty handed as the dutch authorities are fond of.

"Before now,any Nigerian caught for any offence will be deported without being allowed to pick any of his belonging. This is very cruel and unacceptable. I fought fiercely against this injustice and cruelty. Nigerian deportees should not be sent back home empty handed. They should be taken to thier homes and be allowed to pack their legitimate belongings,"she said.

Dr Akanbi described Nigerians residents in Netherlands as wonderful,industrious and hard working,although there are bad eggs whose nefarious pursuits seek to soil the nation's image. Notwithstanding,she said she considers all Nigerians living in Netherlands as her children and that she is duty bound to cater for their needs.

"They are all my children.I have to take care of them all." She wondered why Nigerians will prefer to go abroad and suffer when there are ample opportunities at home for those who are determined to build an honest nest of livelihood for themselves. "As far as I am concerned,Nigeria is even better than this country{Holland},because with little amount of money you can start a trade,but in Holland here,nobody is his brother's keeper. Yet Nigerians want to stay here and suffer. I tried to encourage them to go back home,but they said there is no job at home, but you cant achieve anything here in Netherlands. Nigeria has a lot of potentials. Its going to be one of the best nations in the world very soon. I have been telling them to go home and help in developing the country".

Asked to measure the success of her diplomatic crusade,especially the citizen diplomacy and the impact on Nigerians in Netherlands, Ambassador Akanbi described her efforts as encouraging. "80 percent of them are responding positively. Issue of Nigerians dying of cocaine, pick pocketing and petty theft has stopped. Prostitution has also reduced drastically. I talked to Nigerian ladies engaging in prostitution here to quit the trade. They can start a small trade and make a decent living. I have been encouraging them and they are responding well. We take care of nigerians here, even those in detention. Right now,we are working with relevant authorities here to come up with a programme on skill aquisition for Nigerian detainees,so that when they leave detention they would have got skills.

An MOU is in place to address this and all the neccessary agreements will soon be concluded" she said.

On the bilateral trade between Nigeria and Netherlands, Dr Akanbi said she had attracted a lot of Dutch investors to Nigeria. This modest effort to strenghten the bilateral trade between the two countries was further boosted by the Governors' Forum business visit about two years ago. Also, President Goodluck Jonathan has been very supportive.," she said, noting that most of the business programmes she initiated have not been jamboree as they have been yielding results on the Nigerian economy.

Dr Akanbi observed that major problem facing Nigerians in Netherlands is tax deduction.

Adedamola and Adebimpe are Ilorin based journalists

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