???A Nigerian, who introduced himself to Sunday Tribune as Mallam Sanni Abdul Rahman may have unknowingly caused a stir at the Kings Cross train station in UK, when all intending passengers largely made up of whites, scampered for safety the moment he entered the train.
This incident occurred barely a week af-ter an attempt was made by a 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Mutallab, to blow up an America bound Delta airline.
Abdul Rahman, was dressed in a muslim attire and was therefore mistaken for a terrorist or a muslim fundamentalist.The people thought it would be suicidal to board the same train with Abdul Rahman.
The incident aptly captured the experience which innocent Nigerian residents in the UK are now going through as a result of the December 25 incident.
A week after the Mutallab attempt, the dust raised is yet to settle, even as Nigerian residents in the UK now live in apprehension over the effect which the action of the 23-year-old Nigerian would have on their continued stay in the UK.
Specifically, Nigerians believed to be living in the UK illegally, have now gone into hiding for fear of being swooped on by the Metropolitan Police, who are said to be keeping 24 hours surveillance over areas largely populated by Nigerians, with particular attention on Nigerians with any muslim name.
When Sunday Tribune visited Peckham, Hackneywick, East London, Stevelage and Watford, all outside London and other suburbs in the UK, which are known to be highly populated by blacks, an air of apprehension and fear of the unknown enveloped the area, with residents afraid of going out to engage in their normal daily routine.
It was also gathered that Nigerian students who are genuinely studying in the UK are now living in fear because of the belief that the application for the renewal of their visas to enable them continue with their studies would be rejected.
At the Heathrow and Gatwick airports, intending Nigerian travellers were made to go through serious and inhuman screening before being allowed to board any plane to any destination.
One of the passengers (names withheld), was ordered to remove his belt at the screening point and to the amusement of other Nigerians and travellers on the queue, his trousers fell off and he was almost naked, only for the security operatives to say “we are sorry.”
Another female Igbo traveller, who was visiting Nigeria for Christmas was ferried into the rest room by a female security operative at the airport; she returned complaining that she had been unduly insulted by the security officer.
Speaking with Sunday Tribune on her travail, the fair-looking Nigerian lady from Abia State who pleaded anonymity said, “I wonder why the uncivilised action of one person should be visited on all Nigerians, you needed to see the kind of insult I was subjected to in the toilet, my privacy was infringed upon.
“Nigerian authorities should at this point in time rise up in defence of Nigerians who are genuinely and legally living outside the shores of the country, to put a stop to this insult. If something is not urgently done, Nigerians should be prepared for terrible times.
“No Nigerian is in support of what Mutallab wanted to do, and that is why we are saying that the act of an individual should not be used as a parameter for dealing with others who are legally living and doing businesses outside the country.”
Speaking with Sunday Tribune at Kings Cross Train Station in London, Alhaja Kehinde Okanlawon said “Nigerians are never known to be terrorists, that word is novel to Nigeria and Nigerians. Despite the harsh economic situation in Nigeria, nobody wants to die. The action of Mutallab is already taking its toll on Nigerians here, specifically those with islamic names, we are now being branded as terrorists.
“Even our neighbours and co-workers are now treating us unfairly. It’s not funny at all. We are not free to move around, because wherever we go and whatever we do since last Christmas is now being monitored.
“We are no longer trusted and nobody knows what the authorities in the UK are planning to do under this unbearable situation. “At the train’s stations and airports, any black they see is believed to be a Nigerian, and such must be avoided, it is as bad as that.”
In the words of Muideen Akinola Alao, a student in the UK, “this is the end of the road for Nigeria students here. Even back home, it would now be very difficult for intending students to be granted admissions, not to talk of visas. We are no longer trusted, they have raised the security bars on any Nigerian resident and those planning to travel.
In the past, Nigerians were screened at the airports for illegal food importation, and now terrorism has been added. “We appreciate the proactive step so far taken by the Nigerian government, but they should go beyond that by ensuring that innocent and law-abiding Nigerians are not molested nor subjected to inhuman treatment in their countries of residence.”
Investigation by Sunday Tribune revealed that some Nigerian muslims living in the UK with their male children have ordered them to always be clean shaven in order not to draw an undue attention of security operatives to themselves.
According to Alhaji Usman Sodonki, “I have been living outside the shores of Nigeria for over twenty years, I’m an ardent muslim, Islam as a religion abhors violence, and that is why we vehemently condemn the act of Mutallab, it is un-islamic. Because of how the whites treat any act of terrorism, I have ordered my children to keep as from now on, very clean shave so that they will not be viewed as terrorists. Bin Laden, who is the figure behind terrorism has a long and unkempt beard as his trademark, so I wouldn’t want my children to be mistaken as members of the Al Qaeda.”
It is not only Alhaji Sodonki that had ordered his wards to keep a clean shave, others who did not want their names in print, confided in Sunday Tribune that the most decent thing to do at the moment is to keep a clean shave, because a stitch in time saves nine.
http://tribune.com.ng/03012010/news/news2.html
Topic: Abdulmutallab: Nigerians in UK live in panic (Read 263 times)
October 01, 2009, 12:29:09 AM
