NIGERIANS IN MALI ASKING FOR THE INTERVENTION OF HON MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AMBASSADOR OLUGBENGA ASHIRU ON THE INTIMITATION OF NIGERIANS IN MALI BY THE NIGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO MALI MR I.A.D NUHU.

It is a known fact that 70% of Nigerians resident in Mali are genuine business men and women dominating in the motor and motorcycle spare- parts and food stuffs businesses in Bamako Mali.

Some of them are importers of these above mentioned items from Nigeria and from different parts of the world.

Nigerian State communities comprising of Hausa Community, Youruba Community, Edo Community, Anambra Community, Abia Community Delta/Anioma State Community,Enugu Community ,Ebonyi Community and Imo Community flourish until the arrival of Ambassador Nuhu who saw the Nigerians in Mali as fraudsters and took a bold stand to destroy the Nigerian Communities as a whole. Nigerian Communities have used various platforms like the above mentioned Community Chairmen to make several attempts to ask Ambassador Nuhu to desist from his reckless and no patriotic attitude against Nigerians to enable them go about their daily businesses in Mali but all these pleas fell to a deaf ear as Ambassador Nuhu has already build an unrepentant grudges against his subjects in general.

The honorable Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru has promised to handle the welfare of Nigerians in foreign countries but the reverse is the case here in Mali.

Ambassador Nuhu's patriotism is in question as he only collaborates with few chosen individuals based on his personal interest.

Ambassador Nuhu has a big hatred to Nigerians living in Mali stating that every Nigerian man or woman is fraudulent in nature and the state communities are made up of fraudsters and drug peddlers.

It is unbelievable to hear that Ambassador Nuhu himself chased out NIDO President in Mali from the red carpet while waiting to receive President Goodluck Jonathan also the chairman of Nigerian supporters club in Mali was also driven out from the red carpet, these are Nigerian who strongly believes that it is their right to welcome their President on this official visit, to drive his message home, Ambassador Nuhu instructed Nigerian community leaders to inform their people not to come to the airport to exercise their right and tradition of giving a warm welcome to their own President Goodluck Jonathan like other countries did.

The Senegalese at the airport on that faithful day were more than five thousand men and women with uniforms carrying the picture of their President and their national flags , the Ivorian were more than ten thousand with the same excitement and jubilation likewise other countries like Burkina Faso, Chad , Niger etc.

Nigerian Ambassador Mr Nuhu mobilized only fifteen of his loyalist to go to the airport to welcome our President.

The reason is not farfetched, prior to this visit President Goodluck Jonathan visited Mali on October 2013 and all State Communities were mobilized and came out with cultural dances and performances giving a befitting warm and colorful welcome which drew the attention of President Goodluck Jonathan.

After this incident Ambassador Nuhu declared a battle against the Nigeria State Communities with the excuse that President Goodluck Jonathan paid more attention to the Nigerians cheering and jubilations.

Since then Nigerians are being molested, abused and incarcerated without the Nigerian Embassy's intervention as usual.

Nigeria is normally a big brother country to Mali and great giant of Africa but due to lack of diplomatic know - how and professionalism of Ambassador Nuhu our President was misguided and shabbily treated.

As a matter of fact our dignity, value and unity as the giant of Africa should be considered before giving anybody the responsibility to represent Nigeria in any part of the world.

Nigerians must be treated with equal opportunities based on merit to continue improving on our image which we have already built than relegating professionalism to mediocrity.

This may be the first time in history that any Incumbent Nigerian President has been maltreated by his Nigerian Community in any West African Country while millions of Nigerians resident looked on.

Only an unpatriotic, incompetent Nigerian who has a hidden agenda as a can treat or repeat the treatment President Goodluck Jonathan received in Mali in the hands of nonentities in this 21st century.

Obama once said of his opponent during his Presidential campaign, no amount of lipstick will disguise a pig from its natural look.

Leaders are the ones that envision bright horizon and create alliance and unity of all his people in other to carrying everybody along and with their power of persuasion, they make things happen. In a sense, leaders breathe life into their people not suffocate and frustrate them out of greed and myopic self interest.

Leaders challenge the status quo. They think for the welfare of their people in any given environment; Good leaders encourage creative actions by his people that lead to the integration development and prosperity of his people in any given environment.

A real leader understands that at the core of sustainability of success of his people is mutual respect. a leader exudes trust, and respect, among his people and engenders an environment that makes all citizens irrespective of tribe or religion to feel a sense of belonging.

Ambassador Nuhu has failed Nigerians living in Mali by not exhibiting all these qualities as a leader.

He has sworn not to trust any Nigerian resident in Mali, by stopping to give Nigerians resident in Mali the Nigerian Embassy Consular ID card which is a means of identification that is needed in Mali to move about freely without molestation as their laws requires.

Ambassador Nuhu has stopped the issuance of Certificate of Non Condemnation which is needed in Mali to register a business as a Nigerian or to open a bank account, these actions he is using to target and frustrate Nigerians living in Mali.

His reason for this actions are that Nigerians resident in Mali men and women are ex jail birds in Nigeria and must go back to Nigeria to obtain these documents if they needed it, but the irony part of this is that even if you can go to Nigeria and get these documents which will be written in English language it will not be accepted by the Malian Ministry of Commerce for company registration or the Mali Banks for opening an account because it is in English language and not recognized by them.

We strongly denounce and reject this era of putting Nigerian masses in Mali in sorrow and agony situation by Ambassador Nuhu.

We also understand that President Goodluck Jonathan is not a desperate president. And would have loved to see Nigerians cheering and jubilating on his arrival to Mali like other countries did,

Therefore, we request our honorable Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru to intervene and heed to the cry of Nigerians living in Mali to avert a calamity in the near future.