Exactly four years ago, four Nigerians were executed in Indonesia for illegal drug trafficking. That was in April 2015. The following year, three more Nigerians were also executed in July 2016 for drug offences in Indonesia. On both occasions, the executions generated emotional debate in the public sphere over the growing involvement of our citizens in illegal drug trade in Southeast Asia. Not only did the executions destroy the country’s image in the international community, they also raised worrying questions about the kind of people we are, the criminal activities of our people and, more forcefully, what the Federal Government and security agencies were doing to stop citizens from committing suicide in foreign countries.
In 2013, a Nigerian woman was arrested for concealing 84 wraps of hard drugs in her stomach and travelled all the way to Australia with that deadly consignment. In the 1990s, many Nigerians were either jailed or executed in Thailand for drug offences and other crimes. Why would anyone travel the long distance to a southeast Asian country carrying prohibited drugs with full knowledge that death penalty is the punishment for violating the country’s laws?
The recent execution in Saudi Arabia of a Nigerian woman for drug trafficking has brought to the front burner the debate over illegal drug trade by our people. Even more disquieting is the number of Nigerians on death row in Saudi Arabia.
Why do some citizens delude themselves that they can breach the laws of other countries and get away with it? If we have no regard for our own laws, we must not assume that other countries are as reckless in the way they apply their laws.
Far too many Nigerians are losing their lives carelessly every day, every week, every month, and every year through trade in illegal drugs. It is disturbing that some people would deliberately defy the laws of other countries for purposes of enriching themselves and enjoying a temporary life of fame and affluence, all of which will eventually end up like any bad, brief, and false dream. Unfortunately, the dreams never yield the glistering empire or kingdom they so desperately yearn for.
These dishonourable citizens are propelled by fantasies of a momentary lifestyle of ostentation and fame. They dream about a life in which they are surrounded by women and champagne. They visualise speciously how they transform overnight into superstars. What they do not entertain in their dreams is the defining moment when they are apprehended by law enforcement agents. In one moment, they live like kings. In another moment, they see their acquisitions confiscated by the state and their lives wasted through executions. Every fairy tale must come to an end. It is an idiotic way to live.
When people are arrested for drug trafficking, they invent fanciful stories to evade the law. They claim, for example, that poverty drove them into the illegal business. This hare-brained excuse has never been officially accepted or supported anywhere in the world. Those who push this weird defence forget there are millions of impoverished people walking the streets of many countries who have never been driven into drug trafficking as a remedy for poverty. No country accepts that crime is a legitimate way to deal with poverty.
Most recently, the criminal activities of some Nigerians in the Middle East have spawned further debate about their conduct in their host countries. This time around, the debate has taken on an ethnic dimension, no thanks to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who tried to insinuate that drug trafficking was more common among people of a particular ethnicity. How narrow-minded, appalling and mischievous. The ethnic element to the debate has blurred the real issue, which is the destructive impact of drug trafficking on the health of ordinary citizens and the couriers themselves.
The number of Nigerians awaiting execution in Saudi Arabia is an embarrassment. They know the death penalty exists in Saudi Arabia and some other Middle East countries. But that knowledge of the law has not deterred them from taking their illicit trade to that region. It is the same idiocy that continues to push the criminals to southeast Asian countries, where the death penalty is enforced. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand have the death penalty for people convicted of drug trafficking. Any person who takes illegal drugs into any of these countries on the false hope they would get away must be in a trance.
Why do our people drive their luck too far and imperil their lives? What factors impel our young and middle-aged men and women to undertake a deadly game that will eventually end their lives? Other than instant wealth, what do drug pushers find irresistibly attractive in dealing in illegal but lethal drugs, particularly in countries with the death penalty?
Nigeria is not the poorest country in the world. Poverty cannot serve as a legitimate excuse for the involvement of our people in drug trafficking. However, we must hold accountable political leaders who fritter and embezzle our commonwealth. It is outrageous that citizens are fleeing Nigeria, a leading oil-producing and exporting country that has enormous human, financial, and material resources with which to cater to the needs of its people.
I am concerned the country is doing little to stop the growing trade in illegal drugs. When four Nigerians were executed in Indonesia in April 2015 for drug-related offences, the Federal Government’s response was a tepid condemnation of Indonesia’s action. The government said it “received with deep disappointment, news of the execution of four Nigerians.”
That response was disappointing. It failed to admit that the executed Nigerians breached Indonesia’s laws. In southeast Asian countries, the punishment for pushing drugs is death. At various airports in the region, there are warnings posted to notify citizens and foreigners about the dangers of bringing illegal drugs into the countries.
The increasing involvement of Nigerians in illegal drug business in foreign countries should compel the Federal Government to seriously review the situation. Unfortunately, we live in a country in which government officials feel they have no duty of care to look after the welfare of their citizens in other countries. An urgent federal and state intervention programme is crucial to halt the vice.
Every time we read or hear news reports of the execution of Nigerian citizens in foreign countries for drug pushing, we think about two things. The first is that the government is not doing enough to stop these people from leaving the country with their dangerous merchandise. The second feeling is that our people have total disregard for other countries’ laws. Various countries enact laws and expect the laws to be respected by everyone, regardless of their social status. Foreigners who breach the laws of other countries must be ready to pay the price.
Unfortunately, some people are determined to carry illegal drugs into overseas countries, death penalty or no death penalty. How do we stop the criminals from undertaking their suicide mission? This is one question that should engage the attention of the Federal Government and the NDLEA.