THE NIGERIAN VOICE NEWSPAPER JUNE 2014 ISSUE 19 | Page 8
I see
The world is
waiting for you
Ifedayo Oshin
Nigerians are loud, some people
would say. They shout in loud
voices when happy and sad.
Some are loud with their
lifestyle, others with their
knowledge and wisdom and
even stupidity. But there was a
d i ff e r e n t l o u d n e s s i n t h e
Nigerian community some
weeks ago as twelve “loud and
living large” Nigerians were
arrested by a combined force of
South Africa intelligent police
and their US counterparts. The
twelve were arrested for various
nancial crimes.
Nigerians in South Africa in
their usual manner were loud
about this development and for
good reasons too. First,
Nigerians are tired of being
labeled with the generic or
generalized names of drug
dealers and fraudsters. Of
course, their tiredness is justied
with over 500,000 in Nigerians;
all of them cannot be criminals
as they are often scandalized.
Second, the arrest of the twelve
indicates that it is not all
Nigerians who are drugs dealers
or fraudsters. Also, an effective
law enforcement agency and
agents can and will always show
the difference between the bad
and good Nigerians.
Third, it is therefore a relief for
the Nigerian community in
South Africa that the bad eggs
are who lonely share country
name with them, are being shed
out one after the other. And now
the true and honest Nigerians
can walk with their heads high as
upstanding residents in South
Africa.
For these reasons, it will be safe
to conclude that any Nigerian
living in South Africa who does
not shout loud and celebrate
directly and indirectly the arrest
of the twelve bad Nigerians; is
most likely one of them. Their
t i m e i s n e a r, e n o u g h o f
destroying our collective image,
Nigerians in South Africa say no
to drugs and all forms of
f r a u d u l e n t p r a c t i c e s . We
denounce any Nigerian caught in
such act, those who are “loud
and living large” who have no
real or legal jobs and businesses
but are shiny and spending. Yes,
those are not Nigerians, they are
the fake ones. They number
among the arrested twelve. May
those who have refused to
change be exposed and
prosecuted suddenly. Do I hear
somebody shout…?