Say govt paying lip service to issue
It also lamented that despite available evidence, the government had not taken any serious action.
Meanwhile, authorities in Guangdong Province, in acknowledgment of the complaints by foreigners, convened a meeting with business owners where they were warned against racism.
At the forum held in Guangzhou, which was also attended by representatives of foreign missions service providers in China were advised to stop all discriminations against blacks.
However, China-based Nigerians in a statement, demanded an urgent action from the federal government on their complaints, saying if the Chinese could acknowledge their plight, it was saddening that Nigerian government is not giving it the seriousness it demands.
They further accused Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Ambassador Baba Ahmad Jidda of not representing the interest of Nigerians in the country.
The statement reads:”We note that the outright denial of what the entire world saw, verified and unanimously condemned has made a complete mess of Nigeria’s image among African communities globally.
“Nigerians in China and around the world who before now looked up to the federal government of Nigeria for rescue when under attack in foreign land is now helpless in the face of what is clearly a compromised adhoc committee,
It is on record that the group of African Ambassadors in Beijing wrote a letter demanding cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans. The letter was sent to State Councilor, Wang Yi, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, copying the chairman of the African Union, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and all African foreign ministers.
This was not just Nigerians which our government claimed were staying illegally in China but the entire Africans.
To say that Ambassador Baba Ahmad Judda is a disgrace to Nigerian and Africans is an understatement. Listening to his rather puppetry interview where he described African scientist as incapable people who would just wait for the Chinese to produce vaccine even as he sheepishly pleads to Chinese to invite them to seminar was the hardest thing any patriotic Nigerian could do.
“It has become clear that the Nigerian Ambassador in Beijing China, Babab Ahmed Judda is not in China for the interest of Nigerians in China or Nigeria’s image. It is in light of this and many more that we Nigerians in China demand for immediate withdrawal Ambassador Baba Ahmed Judda from Beijing. He has proved that he does not deserve, therefore, is not in China to represent Nigerians nor share to their plights.
“Even when the Guangzhou government had acknowledged the rampant racially motivated discrimination by their own people against us, our own government puts economy first before the lives of her citizens by denying the obvious.
We implore our lawmakers to come to Guangzhou for full investigation, and meet Nigerian families who are legally living in Guangzhou with their families. Many African families now withdraw their children from school in their bid to protect them from racial abuse that has become part of our normal life in China.”
Meanwhile, another group, Union of Progressive Nigerians in China, in a statement, by its Secretary, Arobade Mkpucha, said it was saddening that despite all the complaints by Nigerians and other blacks in China, Nigerian and other African governments chose to pander to the sentiments of the Chinese instead of the concerns of its citizens.
In addition, the body said it was saddening that apart from condemnations by the Minster of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and Chairman, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri, government has not taken any step further in ensuring that the Chinese put an end to the victimisation of Nigerians.
“Over the past months, we have been living like outcasts in China because of the recent maltreatment of Nigerians by the Chinese authorities. We are legal residents in China, who have been contributing our quota to the growth of the Chinese economy through our enterprises. We found it surprising that the Chinese authorities authorised their people to start treating us as if we are not humans. Our people are often evicted from their residential apartments by Chinese landlords for no reason while renting apartment is difficult for blacks.
“Till date, some malls still do not allow Africans to come in and purchases. You may leave your house in the morning only to come back and will not be allowed entrance for no reason.
The situation had been existing minimally before COVID-19, but it became unbearable following the outbreak of the pandemic. Video evidence of some of the incidents involving Nigerians and Chinese officials enforcing the discriminatory policies abound. It is however surprising to know that Nigerian government isn’t taking our complaints seriously.
We want our government to act now so that the Chinese would desist from their actions. We have Chinese living in Nigerian cities without being maltreated by our government, even a few of them engage in criminal activities. Recently some Chinese illegal miners we’re caught in Zamfara and Osun States.
Some Chinese were also apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for attempting to offer bribe of N100 million. In Lagos, and other commercial cities, the Chinese have been severally nabbed for various petty and big offences. Yet our government didn’t profile all Chinese in Nigeria as bad, because they know that all Chinese are not bad. Why can’t China reciprocate the goodwill Nigeria extends to its citizens in our country?
“At this juncture, we urge all Nigerians to support the bill before the House of Representatives, seeking to address the plight of Nigerians in China among other issues. All members of the House should support the passage of the bill. ”
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