*jona:

Nigerians Account For 90% Of Crime By Africans In China – Ambassador

[b]The Nigerian Ambasador to China, Aminu Wali, disclosed in Beijing on Sunday that Nigerians account for about 90 per cent of the crimes committed by Africans in China.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the development is unfortunate, as it portrays Nigeria in bad light.

``Comparatively, of all the crimes committed by Africans in China, Nigerians occupy about 90 per cent. Currently, we have over 100 Nigerians in various jails across China, excluding those already sentenced to life imprisonment,’’ he lamented.

Nigerians are being jailed for drug-related offences, illegal immigration, and human trafficking, among others.

But Wali denied reports that 23 corpses awaiting cremation are of Nigerians who died in jail.

According to him, some of the corpses have been in the m[/b]orgue for more than three years and have not been claimed by relatives.

The embassy has applied for an extension of time to contact the relatives of the deceased back in Nigeria.

Wali noted that most Nigerian illegal immigrants came to China as nationals of other African countries, ``so when such people die, it becomes difficult to repatriate their bodies home because they do no not have Nigerian passports.’’

He said members of the Nigerian community are “being harassed constantly as offenders of the law, and are accused of robberies in the Guangdong Province where there is a large concentration of Nigerians.’’

The embassy is, nonetheless, sensitising the Nigerian community on how to adapt to the laws of the land, Wali added, and urged Abuja to do security checks on people wishing to visit China.

But China is not the only foreign country where there are concerns about Nigerians.

Daily Independent reported on 18 April that Nigerians illegally resident in Switzerland but willing to return home have been offered financial assistance of about $6,500 each.

The deal would implement a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Nigeria and Switzerland in 2004 on the voluntary repatriation of Nigerians illegally residing in that country.

``Under this agreement, the Swiss Government has provided nearly $6,500 as assistance to nearly 1,000 Nigerians who want to voluntarily leave Switzerland to start a new life after their sojourn,’’ Nigeria’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Martin Uhomoibhi, disclosed in Abuja.

He said both countries are collaborating to ensure the implementation conforms to international best practices.

There are more than 4,000 Nigerians resident in Switzerland, he added.

``They do not just throw this money at them; they ensure that they have a viable business model or viable initiative.

``The process of implementing these businesses is being monitored by the Swiss authority in Nigeria and the Ministry of External Affairs officials, and there are success stories.

``We are trying to encourage the Swiss Government to identify these success stories and see how we can popularise them, because that will do a great deal of confidence building for both countries.’’

Uhomoibhi expressed the hope that Nigerians would not misuse the gesture by migrating en masse illegally to Switzerland in order to get the grant.

``I hope this would not happen because this gesture has underscored the goodwill of the Swiss Government and the swiftness of Nigeria’s diplomacy in entering into such partnership.”

He argued that migration should not be seen as a negative thing because that would be counter-productive.

``Human beings have to move from time to time, and from one place to another. What is important is to ensure that such movements are legal, constructive, and foster bilateral relations.”

Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, had also on April 16 appealed to Switzerland to assist Nigeria in repatriating more looted funds from that country’s banks.

He made the plea in Abuja when he received a Swiss delegation, led by Foreign Minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, even as he commended the Swiss Government for having helped in the recovery of part of the of money.

Jonathan noted that trade between the two countries has been encouraging and said the government will provide infrastructure that will attract and ensure the security of investments, which will in turn create a boom in the economy as well as discourage migration.

According to him, improvement has been recorded in the power and road sectors as a result of privatisation.

Nigeria, being a major factor in African affairs, will continue to partner with Switzerland in trade and bilateral relations to improve its economy, Jonathan stressed.

He expressed hope that the Zurich 9 talks which commenced last year will be sustained and taken to a positive conclusion for the benefit of both countries.

Calmy-Rey pledged the full co-operation of Switzerland with the recovery of funds looted from Nigeria.


http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=4202

*jona:

igbos will be among them,we all know this.

Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, had also on April 16 appealed to Switzerland to assist Nigeria in repatriating more looted funds from that country’s banks.