Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama has said that
Nigeria and its image abroad cannot the defined by the actions of a very few
criminal elements such as Hushpuppi.
Onyeama, who was the special guest on News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) Forum, said despite the arrest a few Nigerians by Dubai Police over cyber
crimes, many more Nigerians are doing positive things abroad.
He claimed no country in the world has taken action against
Nigeria on the account of the bad deeds of few individuals.
“Another thing we do is also to highlight the positive
things that Nigerians are doing around the world”, Onyeama advised the Nigerian
media.
“We believe that more Nigerians, many more Nigerians are
doing very good things and positive things around the world than Nigerians
doing negative things.
“You the media, of course, we all know that no news is good
news, what sells and excites and interests people are sensational news, so
there is also that element.
“So, I think the challenge is for us to always be bringing
up the good things that Nigerians are doing.
“Like some few days ago, the Nigerian in Japan, who found a
huge amount of money, he returned it and he was entitled to ten per cent, but
he declined the 10 per cent reward.
“Nigerians are winning awards everywhere; Nigerians are
among the groups in the U.S that perform the best academically and the most
dynamic.
“The task for you and the media in general is to highlight
those facts so that the narratives could also change and should not just be
focusing on the negative.”
Onyeama said that Nigerians in the Diaspora were an
important component of the development of the nation, urging them to be the
huge part of the nation’s success.
He said that Nigeria would not support any of its citizens
who engaged in criminality but would surely cooperate with any country to root
out criminal elements from Nigeria.
On the issue of attacks on Nigerians abroad, the foreign
minister emphasised that all the recorded attacks had not been by State actors.
He noted that Nigeria was engaging, at the highest level,
with all the countries where it had its citizens to ensure that they and their
properties were protected.
While noting that there are a few Nigerians, who give the
country a bad image abroad, he urged Nigerians abroad to always be of good
conduct and obey the laws of their host countries.
“We keep reiterating to our people who are going abroad to
respect the laws of the countries in which they find themselves, but crimes
exists everywhere, it is not just Nigerians that are engaged in criminal
activities.
“We cannot defend, as government, criminal acts by Nigerians
and I think it would be wrong for us to do so; we cooperate with other
countries to address those problems.
“We also plead with Nigerians in those countries to comport
themselves in a manner that is respectful of the laws of the host countries –
not to engage in criminality because sometimes this can also breed resentment
by the nationals.
“In a lot of cases unfortunately, our nationals, in a lot of
these countries, though I would like to say is a minority, are really not
comporting themselves in manners that is respectful of the laws of the host
countries,” he said.
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