Tough times, tough criminals
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- Category: Philosofaith
- Written by Prof Brainy
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Robert Harold Schuller the author of “Tough Times Never Last” preached that “when the going gets tough, the tough” should “get going” until “inch by inch everything” becomes “a cinch.”
Now that suicide bombing has been included on our already impressive resume, this is certainly a tough time for Nigerians– especially those living abroad. Last weekend, AFP syndicated a news piece which started with: “Nigeria, a country long synonymous with graft and coups, now has …” Ouch! That hurts!
But the tenacious Nigerian criminal phishing at cyber cafes in Lagos and the one darting in the shadows of alleyways around the world are not deterred by the irritating furor of the past few days. To them bashing our image is their forte. And with the grit of a pit-bull, they’ve vowed to continue in their evil ways until they tear what’s left of our good name into smithereens – when everything is a cinch.
Here in Malaysia, the situation gets scarier by the day.
On Saturday October 24, 2009, The Star newspaper screamed “Nigerian escapes the gallows.” It followed the headline with a story of how a Malaysian lawyer (Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin) got a judge to amend a death sentence to five years jail term. And Justice Mohd Zaki ordered Samuel Chuks, 40, to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest on May 29, 2002. Thus, Chuks “walked out a free man as he had been in custody for the past seven years.”
Chuks was so happy with his good fortune that he laughed, hugged and lifted his lawyer – the man who performed the magic – off the floor. I don’t how Kamaruddin did it but possession of 573.8gm of cocaine that Chuks was charged with was enough to send him to his grave.
Two weeks after Chuks left death row; another Nigerian fought his way to replace him as he was arrested with his girl-friend, an Indian national, for drug possession. A few weeks after that, news broke that a Nigerian used a schizophrenic patient (a sick person!) as a drug mule to traffic drug to Germany. The Malaysian ruling party had to intervene to save the poor soul.
Yet, about one week after that sad event, a vernacular newspaper showed a front page headline and a picture of Nigerians who were caught with fake money, guns, butcher’s cutlasses and drugs.
I’ll continue with this tally another day. However, here’s the remaining part of the message from Nigerian professionals in Malaysia which I started last week:
Immigration and Conduct of Nigerians in Malaysia
Members observed with regrets that there is an increasing number of Nigerians who migrate to Malaysia without adequate knowledge of the workings of the Malaysian immigration system and the conditions for foreigners resident in Malaysia. Nigerians are unaware of the fact that there is a strong restriction on job opportunities in Malaysia for students during their academic stay in the country. Furthermore, successful completion of their studies in Malaysian universities does not guarantee for them a job.
Due to the misconceptions about migration to Malaysia, it was observed that Nigerians are on a daily basis falling victims to the antics of fraudsters that portray themselves as recruitment and travelling agents. The agents with offices spread around major cities in Nigeria operate with accomplices in Malaysian universities to deceive the unsuspecting Nigerians about non-existing job-opportunities in Malaysia.
Furthermore, members observed that a large fraction of Nigerians sojourning in Malaysia are students who are undergoing training in different universities in Malaysia. According to statistics made available by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, there are 6,722 Nigerian students studying at the undergraduate level here. However, there are some categories of universities that Nigerians attend in the country that can best be described as “Visa Schools”. They are so-called because normal academic venture is not undertaken in those universities but they only explore their legal status in Malaysia to secure visas for aspiring people to Malaysia, while these set of people upon entering into Malaysia engage in illegal activities in the country.
Members also observed that there are three categories of Nigerian students in Malaysia. The first are the post-graduate students with excellent moral and academic conducts. Secondly, there are the undergraduate students whose conducts in different universities in Malaysia is a source of concern to us. The last sets of Nigerian Students are those that are not real students but are sojourning in Malaysia through “Visa Schools.”
Lastly, members complained bitterly about the e-passport owing to the imposition of extra charges on each passport processed through the High Commission. Despite the explanation offered by the High Commission’s representatives, members objected by showing their dissatisfaction.
Against this backdrop, the following are the positions agreed upon;
i. that Nigerians in Malaysia should restrict the activities of the fraudulent agents and recruiters both in Nigeria and Malaysia by;
a. engaging in the investigation of their activities and forwarding their names and particulars to the security agencies in Nigeria and Malaysia ,
b. adequate enlightenment programme for Nigerians on the antics of the agents and also on the conditions of immigration in Malaysia ,
c. educating the intending students and their parents on the true condition of the Malaysian Universities and their standards,
d. educating the intending students and their parents on the processes of seeking admission to the Malaysian Universities.
ii. that in cases where victims of these agents are stranded in Malaysia, the Nigeria High Commission should facilitate their return back to Nigeria. However, the Commission will not be responsible for their return tickets but will assist them by contacting their immediate family members in Nigeria or elsewhere in the world to make necessary arrangements for their return
iii. regulation of the conduct of students at an individual level to give a good representation of Nigerians in Malaysia .
iv. that the Nigerian High Commission and NIDO-MY will not assist any Nigerian that commit any crime in Malaysia , most especially drug trafficking, financial fraud or internet scams.
Tough times, tough criminals
Category: Philosofaith Written by Prof Brainy Hits: 1325
Robert Harold Schuller the author of “Tough Times Never Last” preached that “when the going gets tough, the tough” should “get going” until “inch by inch everything” becomes “a cinch.”
Now that suicide bombing has been included on our already impressive resume, this is certainly a tough time for Nigerians– especially those living abroad. Last weekend, AFP syndicated a news piece which started with: “Nigeria, a country long synonymous with graft and coups, now has …” Ouch! That hurts!
But the tenacious Nigerian criminal phishing at cyber cafes in Lagos and the one darting in the shadows of alleyways around the world are not deterred by the irritating furor of the past few days. To them bashing our image is their forte. And with the grit of a pit-bull, they’ve vowed to continue in their evil ways until they tear what’s left of our good name into smithereens – when everything is a cinch.
Here in Malaysia, the situation gets scarier by the day.
On Saturday October 24, 2009, The Star newspaper screamed “Nigerian escapes the gallows.” It followed the headline with a story of how a Malaysian lawyer (Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin) got a judge to amend a death sentence to five years jail term. And Justice Mohd Zaki ordered Samuel Chuks, 40, to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest on May 29, 2002. Thus, Chuks “walked out a free man as he had been in custody for the past seven years.”
Chuks was so happy with his good fortune that he laughed, hugged and lifted his lawyer – the man who performed the magic – off the floor. I don’t how Kamaruddin did it but possession of 573.8gm of cocaine that Chuks was charged with was enough to send him to his grave.
Two weeks after Chuks left death row; another Nigerian fought his way to replace him as he was arrested with his girl-friend, an Indian national, for drug possession. A few weeks after that, news broke that a Nigerian used a schizophrenic patient (a sick person!) as a drug mule to traffic drug to Germany. The Malaysian ruling party had to intervene to save the poor soul.
Yet, about one week after that sad event, a vernacular newspaper showed a front page headline and a picture of Nigerians who were caught with fake money, guns, butcher’s cutlasses and drugs.
I’ll continue with this tally another day. However, here’s the remaining part of the message from Nigerian professionals in Malaysia which I started last week:
Immigration and Conduct of Nigerians in Malaysia
Members observed with regrets that there is an increasing number of Nigerians who migrate to Malaysia without adequate knowledge of the workings of the Malaysian immigration system and the conditions for foreigners resident in Malaysia. Nigerians are unaware of the fact that there is a strong restriction on job opportunities in Malaysia for students during their academic stay in the country. Furthermore, successful completion of their studies in Malaysian universities does not guarantee for them a job.
Due to the misconceptions about migration to Malaysia, it was observed that Nigerians are on a daily basis falling victims to the antics of fraudsters that portray themselves as recruitment and travelling agents. The agents with offices spread around major cities in Nigeria operate with accomplices in Malaysian universities to deceive the unsuspecting Nigerians about non-existing job-opportunities in Malaysia.
Furthermore, members observed that a large fraction of Nigerians sojourning in Malaysia are students who are undergoing training in different universities in Malaysia. According to statistics made available by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, there are 6,722 Nigerian students studying at the undergraduate level here. However, there are some categories of universities that Nigerians attend in the country that can best be described as “Visa Schools”. They are so-called because normal academic venture is not undertaken in those universities but they only explore their legal status in Malaysia to secure visas for aspiring people to Malaysia, while these set of people upon entering into Malaysia engage in illegal activities in the country.
Members also observed that there are three categories of Nigerian students in Malaysia. The first are the post-graduate students with excellent moral and academic conducts. Secondly, there are the undergraduate students whose conducts in different universities in Malaysia is a source of concern to us. The last sets of Nigerian Students are those that are not real students but are sojourning in Malaysia through “Visa Schools.”
Lastly, members complained bitterly about the e-passport owing to the imposition of extra charges on each passport processed through the High Commission. Despite the explanation offered by the High Commission’s representatives, members objected by showing their dissatisfaction.
Against this backdrop, the following are the positions agreed upon;
i. that Nigerians in Malaysia should restrict the activities of the fraudulent agents and recruiters both in Nigeria and Malaysia by;
a. engaging in the investigation of their activities and forwarding their names and particulars to the security agencies in Nigeria and Malaysia ,
b. adequate enlightenment programme for Nigerians on the antics of the agents and also on the conditions of immigration in Malaysia ,
c. educating the intending students and their parents on the true condition of the Malaysian Universities and their standards,
d. educating the intending students and their parents on the processes of seeking admission to the Malaysian Universities.
ii. that in cases where victims of these agents are stranded in Malaysia, the Nigeria High Commission should facilitate their return back to Nigeria. However, the Commission will not be responsible for their return tickets but will assist them by contacting their immediate family members in Nigeria or elsewhere in the world to make necessary arrangements for their return
iii. regulation of the conduct of students at an individual level to give a good representation of Nigerians in Malaysia .
iv. that the Nigerian High Commission and NIDO-MY will not assist any Nigerian that commit any crime in Malaysia , most especially drug trafficking, financial fraud or internet scams.