Naija Border Agency

Is the Nigerian immigration an organisation at all? I have not seen such a degree of negligence in such a supposedly sensitive occupation. Very recently, I went through immigration only for me to find out that they had stamped a wrong date on my passport; the date of the previous day. I would rather they use up all the space on the page before starting a fresh page so I open it & hand the passport to them (waste of time), but I always check after I get it back.

I looked at the passport & saw the date. At the time I wasn’t sure what that day’s date was so I stayed pondering over it & waiting for my turn at the metal detectors. Suddenly I hear the guys behind me complaining bitterly about the same thing & turned around to take it up with the guy that stamped it. After they returned successfully, I went back too to get the right date stamped on, which he did without a word of apology (not like I expected one anyway).

Fast forward days later, I return home to Nigeria & ofcourse, immigration again, this time I was in a rush to catch a domestic flight to Port Harcourt so I grabbed my passport back & off to catch my flight. After I got home, I went ahead to inspect my passport to know if the lady stamped on the current page or started a fresh one. It took me minutes to realise there was no stamp on my passport, but before I panicked, I went through my old passport (that so happened to be attached to the new Nigerian e-passport) & find a very faint stamp for my arrival date, all I could see was OCT 2010 *smh*. I cursed & cursed & cursed the immigration woman, & her entire family. How could you possibly stamp on a passport that has been Cancelled Without Prejudice by your office?

What is the meaning of that? If any visa issuing officer decides to go through my passport(s) to marry Seen On Departure dates to their respective Seen On Arrival dates, I wish him or her the best of luck.

There’s a reason why the pages on the passport are numbered, so that things can be done orderly. Haphazard equals chaos, and is not and will never be the way forward for Nigeria.

Hiss

Nigeria@50_Day Eleven_Arise O’Compatriots

Yesterday on Nigeria@50 Day 10 - Spesh'sWorld

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I am the star formerly known as the giant of Africa. Those days are long gone now. Used and abused, my glory has departed. I have survived a great deal of developmental regression. Is a renaissance possible after 5 long decades of deprivation & disease? Isn’t it just nonsensical that I am still battling with the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae?

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Age is nothing but a number, they say, but time is the factor that has happened to me & has taken a chance on me. Over the years, a good number of my people have left me in search of greener pastures; not all of them will find it greener but most will settle-in well with the ordinary lushness of foreign lands. I blame them not for I may not have given them hope enough to stay. I only pray I don’t lose the dear ones that are still abiding to the devices of hostage takers and explosives.

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I am now of the people by the people & for the people. I am my people. Mine has been quite a difficult life despite my priceless resources. I have been in the messiest relationships, going from one bad to another. My presidents have continually screwed me over, through & through.

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I’ve been there, done that & bought the tee shirt which is now stained with oil & with blood. Like an interminable rollercoaster, I relive the days spent. I have fought a war. I have hosted festivals. I have been stripped, raped & beaten. I have borrowed, & then borrowed again. I have been afflicted & impregnated. I have had children. I have had several abortions too, likewise miscarriages. I still had more children & I want to borrow some more. I have been frustrated & deep down in the depths of despair. I should have died but my people have been praying.

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Dear God consider our fervent supplication, we pray.

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I didn’t do these things to myself; some of you did it to me. Guilty as charged, it’s not up for debate. You know yourselves. My program got structurally adjusted and it became either upper class or economy. My poverty is not only of the mind, it is of the pockets of my people. My poor resilient folk; all they ask for is light. Please let there be light.

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My people let us take the bull by the horns. We shall all come out & we shall vote, & our votes must be counted. Our voices must be heard. We can make it work, whether they like it or not.

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My past & present leaders should be made to bear the repercussion of their actions. You can’t leave me in abject penury & walk free. There’s no free lunch in Freetown. Once beaten twice shy. I have had enough of the prejudice & the selective judgements. All perpetrators of wickedness must be brought to book. We must live right, & devoid of any more sorrow, tears or blood. I am fed-up of all your cocktail & bullshit tales of bygone years, it is still fresh on our minds. We want equal rights & justice.

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Arise o’compatriots. The time is now. Rise up. Save me, save you, save our country.

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Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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Tomorrow on Nigeria@50 Day 12 - Flygirl