BREAKING NEWS:
Nigerians in America Urgently Begs President BUHARI…Says: ‘We Need Nigeria Embassy in Texas, We’ve Highest Nigerian Community in USA’
*Laments Stress of Nigeria’s e-Passport Renewal in Washington DC, Atlanta and New York
* “Nigeria’s Presidency Needs to Situate Embassy of Nigeria in Texas, One in Every Three Blacks in Houston is a Nigerian”-Steve Franklin, President, Nigerian American Press Association
BY SAMSON SHOAGA/MANAGING EDITOR, HOUSTON IN TEXAS
NIGERIANS resident in ‘lone state’ of Texas, United States have made passionate appeal to incumbent President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to help them ensure a direct location of Nigeria Embassy in Texas so as to alleviate their regular suffering in renewal of Nigeria’s e-passports for the purpose of traveling to and from Nigeria with ease.
According to our correspondent undercover investigation, Houston serves as home to One million Nigerians who feel so comfortable with the weather, temperature, environment, food supplies and groceries. Lagos State is more synonymous to Houston in close index. 376, 000 Nigerian immigrants and their children (first and second generations) live in United States and Nigeria is the largest source of African immigration to the United States. The size of the Nigerian-born population in the United States has grown from a small base since 1980, when an estimated 25, 000 Nigerian immigrants were U.S. Residents.
Today, Nigerian immigrants account for about 0.6 percent of the United States’ overall foreign-born population, about half of whom arrived before 2000. A similar proportion of Nigerian immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens.
The largest numbers of Nigerian immigrants in the United States reside in Texas, Maryland and New York. By metropolitan area, Houston has the largest Nigerian immigrant population, followed by New York City and Washington DC. In no major metropolitan area do Nigerian immigrants make up more than 0.3 percent of the population except in Houston as explained above.
Sadly, almost every country have their Consulate General offices in Houston where experienced diplomats find it much easier to interact with the people in various communities. It is an irony that despite the fact that Nigeria possess highest number of Nigerians living in Houston, yet no physical representation of Nigeria Embassy anywhere in Texas-from Houston to Austin, Dallas to Arlington. Not even a Consulate General office for Nigeria is in Texas. Unfortunately, Nigerian community whose e-passports already expired or are about acquiring fresh traveling passports for the first time find it a Herculean task having to fly to Nigeria Embassy in Washington DC or Consulate General in Atlanta nor Consulate General in New York. These difficulties include: paying return flight tickets, booking hotel accommodation, paying various forms of money orders or cash to the tune of $256.000 for e-passports Renewal, aside having to pay for the airports taxi (to-and-fro).
There had been repeated agitations recently, even just yesterday, Nigerians lamented, complained and persistently reaching out to Aso Rock to come to their aid, as any e-passports Renewal embarked upon by Nigerian Embassy (DC) staff or diplomats in Consulate Generals of New York or Atlanta in Texas takes a minimum of over 16 hours daily, coupled with stress, queue under the scorching sun.
For instance, there was Nigeria’s e-passports Renewal yesterday, Saturday conducted by employees and diplomats of Nigeria Embassy from Washington DC in Texas, while the diplomats tried to ensure the events was peaceful, orderly, the long queues of Nigerian community under the sun, coupled with body dehydration, unprecedented heat led to tension which almost degenerated into fisticuffs.
From the sad look of parents on the long queue, to angry looks of the youths and famished look on faces of toddlers strapped on their parents’ back to the venue of the e-passports’ Renewal located at The Empowerment Center, 2300 E Park Row Dr, Unit A, Arlington, Texas, 76010 it was obviously clear these Nigerians living in various cities like Grand Prairie, Mesquite, Plano, Lewisville, Bedford, Garland, Arlington, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, Houston and others were already tired of the process.
In a chat with Kunle Johnson, an Undergraduate of University of Texas (UTA) at the venue yesterday, he lamented the stress occasioned always during Nigeria’s e-passports Renewal when he said: “Why must Nigerian always be suffering this way when we have a democratic leader in Nigeria who can easily order the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to locate Nigeria Embassy in Texas. We don’t care any city it is located withing Texas, all we want is Nigeria Embassy. We are suffering too much here. Please help us to inform President Muhammadu Buhari to come help us.”
Niyi Oderinde towed this same line by making us to realise that he is about to be ‘sacked’ where he is working due to the delay occasioned by his delayed process in conducting his Biometrics (Data Capturing) which follows Applicants’ Registration.
Following the same trend, Sandra Tochukwu, a Registered Nurse expressed her angst and disappointment in Nigeria’s present administration for not having the urge to ensure Texas possess physical presence of Nigeria Embassy. Her words: “God, it is very painful when you know you have a leader who can help you, but you hardly hear from him to offer Nigerian community an active Embassy of Nigeria in Texas.”
Dr Val Egbundine, a pastor in Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Chapel of Revival and Miracles corroborated this view by explaining that: “Texas is long overdue to have the presence of Nigeria Embassy to cater for immigration challenges of the people, His words: “Nigerians are begging President Buhari desperately to kindly locate Nigeria Embassy in Texas to meet the immigration needs of Nigerians Abroad. We Need Nigeria Embassy in Texas, We’ve Highest Nigerian Community in USA ”
Benjamin Beckley, servant leader of Empowerment Center, a multi-cultural denomination purpose assembly commended diplomats of Nigeria Embassy, DC and stand-by immigration agents led by one Korede, 6foot-high person to have done a good job, “I must commend members of Nigeria Embassy DC diplomatic community for their successful, peaceful coordination in the e-passports’ Renewal. Korede and his fellow Immigration agents tried to have seen to it that Nigerians from all walks of life in Texas finished their Biometrics in less than 24 hours.”
“Nigeria’s Presidency Needs to Situate Embassy of Nigeria in Texas, One in Every Three Blacks in Houston is a Nigerian”-Steve Franklin, President, Nigerian American Press Association
Steve Franklin, a European born American famous journalist, President, Nigerian American Press Association (NAPA) puts the situation more rightly by saying: “Nigeria’s Presidency needs to situate as a matter of urgency, Embassy of Nigeria into Texas. I can assure Nigeria’s President that in every three Blacks in Houston, one of them is a Nigerian. Nigerians are very hardworking people, widely traveled globally. We in NAPA have received sundry request by hundreds of Nigerians appealing us to help reach out and pressure the Government of Nigeria to accede to the demand of Nigerians in North America to have a physical Embassy of Nigeria present in any city here in Texas. If President Buhari does this, he would have scored a huge pass mark, gladdens the minds of Nigerian community as well as Nigerians in the Diaspora.”
