The Nigerian Ambassador to Austria Ambassador Suleiman Dauda Umar (S. D. Umar) unbelievably wrote a letter full of falsehood against Nigerians in Austria and submitted it to the Austrian Police. In the letter he listed some names of Nigerians claiming that they could plan to storm the Nigerian Embassy in Vienna and cause havoc in Austria.
It is so disappointing that an Ambassador of a country could unnecessarily raise alarm and blatantly heap lies of allegations against his own citizens and incite aggression and profiling of them from their host country in such odious manner – a clear defamation of his citizens’ character. If I personally had not seen that letter, honestly I would not have believed that Suleiman Dauda Umar expected to be very tactful as an ambassador could go to this extent. But how could any sane mind do? Because it is incredible to comprehend that a diplomat sent to another country as an ambassador to protect the interest of his country and nationals was the one that took the ugly approach of intentionally accusing his citizens falsely based on his imagination of their inner thoughts. This is a total failure. His conception of what they could plan to do is unfortunate and a regrettable development that should be condemned by all.
If his allegations against these Nigerians had been true, the concentration of critical view then would have been to determine whether the decision he took of portraying them so badly before the Austrian security agency was necessary, the right decision or an abuse of his privileged position. But that is not the situation. The fact is that there was no iota of truth in the letter he sent to the police. His accusations were lies that only existed in his own imagination solely for the purpose that he lied for. And if he could emphatically propagate such falsehood in a civilized working society to the well trained and respected Austrian police, capable of smoking-out any crime before it hatches without caring that they would easily find out whether his allegations were true or false, who knows where he may have submitted the names of these patriotic Nigerians he compiled and the lies he must have told the Nigerian security agents about them?
Retrospectively, one should not be surprised at Ambassador S. D. Umar’s letter to the police because his inconsiderate and vindictive style of leadership led to the Nigerian Government being taken to court and embarrassingly losing cases to formal embassy staff he frustrated out of the embassy. His conduct as an ambassador in Austria is nothing to write home about and his assemblage of some of the names of Nigerians that have not done anything wrong to him suggests he is afraid of his own shadow.
Consequently, let it be on record and for the good citizens of Nigeria to take note that wherever Ambassador S. D. Umar may have submitted the names he compiled and whatever story he may have told against the people were all parts of his games in attempts to bully them to silence. Explicitly, he wants to use his ambassadorial position to intimidate them because some of these Nigerians demanded either for explanations on why visa and passport applicants must pay extra money at the Nigerian Embassy in Vienna, Austria after paying the fees online as required or for the stoppage of the food vendor (Mama put) inside the waiting hall of the Nigerian Embassy. Furthermore, some of the names he compiled were former employees of the embassy who frustratedly resigned because of his actions and went to court to challenge his unfairness. So, his accusations are not baffling.
There was never any plan by me or by any person I know to cause any problem in Austria. Ambassador S. D. Umar does not know us better than the diligent and professionally working Austrian police. We are patriotic citizens making our own individual contributions towards a better Nigeria as our fatherland and enhancing Austria as our host or adopted country.
Details of how and the possible reasons Ambassador S. D. Umar came up with the names of Nigerians he reported to the Austrian Police
There was an article I wrote condemning the stationed “Mama put” seller – of rice, fried plantain and fish etc. – inside the waiting room of the Nigerian Embassy in Vienna, Austria, because it was not a good image. This article did not go down well with Ambassador S. D. Umar, thus every channel he could influence within the Nigerian community in Austria was activated against me. The argument of some of those who were acting like footsoldiers to him in supporting the continued selling of food inside the embassy hall was that it was helpful to Nigerians coming from afar and having no idea of the geographical area of Vienna on how to get food. But the same people were able to locate the Nigerian Embassy in Vienna from their respective locations. Another myopic minded group accused me of ethnic bigotry for reporting the discomforting activity because a “Hausa Fulani person” – as they put it – was the ambassador. They said my reportage was factual but for the fact that I had not reported the issue when Yoruba and Igbo persons were ambassadors I was a tribal bigot. But the fact was that I made my report when the ugly situation came to my knowledge.
It is imperative to state that shallow reasoning like above is exactly the problem in Nigeria that has hindered explosive growth of that potential country. When a thief who is an Igbo person is caught religious and ethnic sentiments are raised that he/she is being arrested because he/she is an Igbo person and a Christian. In the same vein, when a political Yoruba thief is caught emotions are equally raised on why the Hausa Muslim man that has been stealing before him was not arrested, and the trend continues like that with every tribe and clan within Nigerian communities. While it is true that justice should not be selective and that partiality kills patriotism and sows seed of discord, the reality is that a thief is a thief and what is bad is bad.
In another article, I condemned the temporary seizure of mobile phones by the embassy. People are bitter because this attitude that when one enters the embassy, one is not allowed to go beyond the reception with a mobile phone – one must drop it with the receptionist. Why? What is that thing that is so secret inside the embassy – if not how bad we are being treated – that they do not want to be exposed? Is this the only embassy in the world? If the embassy so desires, it should put signs informing people not to make calls or use their mobile phones inside the embassy, but to seize mobile phones from people are awkward and should be stopped.
In the same article, I equally questioned the rationale behind the demand of extra visa and passport fees by the Nigerian Embassy Vienna from applicants after having paid the required fees online on the website of the Nigerian Immigration Services. The question was inevitable because the Nigerian Immigration website explains what is required and how much one must pay online to get a visa/passport. And at no point does the website inform applicants that they will be required to pay another money at the embassy. Therefore, the demand of extra fees (€50/€30 or €100) by the embassy is surprisingly strange and seems shrouded. This is unfair and could be heartbreaking for a family of four or five persons who has not budgeted for these extra expenses and is only informed at the embassy when collecting the documents. Many Nigerians living outside Vienna have had the sad experience of being stranded at the embassy because of this reason of lack of information. It simply implies that the information on the website of the Nigerian Immigration Services is deceptive, which should be doubtful. Based on the above reasons, I curiously asked if the Nigerian Government was officially aware of the ongoing. And if yes, why it was not possible that one could also pay these extra monies online at the same time one pays for the other fees.
The two above articles became the catalyst that created the needed consciousness that woke Nigerians in Austria to collectively desire for solution. Sequel to that, a WhatsApp group “Concerned Nigerians Forum Austria” (CNFA) was created. While some Nigerians were added to the group some joined with the invitation link including those living in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In the group people freely expressed how they were abused and badly treated at the embassy. The experience people shared were unfortunately profound negligence, failure, intimidation and extortion. Perhaps, the complaints summed up why people are not allowed inside the embassy with mobile phones.
As a group, we started deliberation on the best possible ways of tackling the raised issues. There were diverse suggestions as people proffered solutions. One person suggested that we could organize a protest to register our pains and agony. Many people were of the opinion that protest was not a solution, we should rather write the Nigerian Government back home inquiring the true situation of things. But the majority of the members were of the view that it would be better for us to seek the audience of Ambassador S. D. Umar first and discuss on the issues. This suggestion was agreed and a Zoom meeting was fixed.
After critical deliberations in the Zoom meeting, it was conclusively agreed that the admin team would write a letter on behalf of the group requesting the audience of the ambassador for a meeting, which the admin team did. The letter was sent through email on 05.02.2023 and through registered post on 06.02.2023. See annex.
The names of Nigerians Ambassador S. D. Umar reported to the Austrian police in Vienna
On 01.02.2023 I got a call from the police informing me that they had come to my house but had not met me. And they inquired to know if I had written an article about selling of food inside the Nigerian Embassy in Vienna, which I answered in affirmative. They asked me when it would be possible for me to come to them to discuss on the issue because the Nigerian Embassy had laid a complaint against me. On the 06.02.2023 I was at the police. The shocking and inconsequential letter written by the embassy was shown to me. Immediately after my conversation with the police explaining the mission of CNFA the issue was closed.
Here are some of the names I could remember that were on that list: (1) Mrs. Laura Ikeobi – former staff of the Nigerian Embassy Vienna, Austria, (2) Ms. Corrina Schimak Damla, (3) Mr. Mike Olumba, (4) Mrs. Doris Ajaegbu, (5) Mag. Kazie Leonard Obiagwu, (6) Mr. Emmanuel Ekeigwe, (7) Engr. Ekuerhare Edgar – former staff of the Nigerian Embassy Vienna, Austria and (8) Uzoma Ahamefule.
One of the lies in Ambassador S. D. Umar’s letter to the police was that Engr. Edgar was a member of the “Concerned Nigerian Forum Austria” (CNFA). Engr. Edgar only participated in CNFA’s first zoom meeting like many patriotic Nigerians across the globe who were concerned did. But Ambassador S. D. Umar included his name as a member of the group because it seems he wanted to settle scores with him. How?
Engr. Edgar was one of the embassy workers Ambassador S. D. Umar treated unfairly. He reluctantly resigned embittered after more than 15 years of services with the embassy and took the embassy to court. So, by lying that he was a member of CNFA suggests that he may have had other ulterior motives of what he intended to do with the names on the list beyond the submission to the Austrian police. The name of Mrs. Laura Ikeobi on the list supports the above argument. Mrs. Ikeobi was also one of the long serving Nigerian Embassy staff Ambassador S. D. Umar frustrated to resignation, according to her. She is just a member of CNFA and not one of the executives. So, what was the reason why her name was on that list and some names of the executives of CNFA were not listed? If Ambassador S. D. Umar added her name because she was a member of the forum and not because he wanted to find room to execute whatever he intended to do against her, why were the names of other Nigerians in the forum also not on the list?
Conclusively, Ambassador Suleiman Dauda Umar disappointed many and failed on his primary duty of projecting the image of Nigeria positively and protecting Nigerians in foreign lands as an Ambassador. His attempt of false alarm with great efforts to implicate and tarnish the image of Nigerians he was supposed to protect was disappointing to say least. In all sincerity his fomentation were shocking,unpatriotic, embarrassing and unacceptable. Members of CNFA ought to be commended for their patriotic moves and not crucifixion. And they are not ready to yield to any intimidation as they are preparing to follow the issues of visa and passport extra fees charged by the Nigerian Embassy in Vienna, Austria to very logical conclusions.