Saleh Bature: We Condemn Ukraine’s Appeal To Nigerians To Help Her Fight Russia

The call by the Ukrainian government to citizens of West African countries to help her fight Russia is an abuse on the collective consciousness of Africans and the black race.

I am perplexed why a country whose racist security personnel treated Nigerians with disdain and dehumanized them at its borders, because of the color of their skin, would now surreptitiously come cap in hand begging for help from us.

We are not oblivious of the sufferings and outcry of Nigerians and Nationals of other African countries, who were racially profiled and discriminated against by the Ukrainian security agents in their exodus in search of shelter in countries neighboring Ukraine, following the Russian invasion.

We can forgive but cannot forget the videos on social media showing officials in military combat uniforms threatening to shoot groups of African students, a traumatised woman shielding an infant from cold, and Ukrainian state officials chasing groups of black people in distress, whose only crime was fleeing from war zones to safety.

As events unfold, it is now clear that Ukraine is at the receiving end of aerial and ground bombardment from Russia and could not sustain the pressure and destruction to its key infrastructure, economy and loss of lives. So far, the US and its allies in the west have denied Ukraine’s request for troops to counter Russia’s aggression. In response, the Secretary-General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference that NATO has no troops inside Ukraine and has no plans to send any into the country.

Therefore, the easiest place on earth for Ukraine to get support is West Africa. Unfortunately, this invitation by Ukraine is getting a positive response from Nigeria and Senegal, the two African countries Ukraine is lobbying for support against Russia.

The BBC reported on Saturday March 5, 2023 that the Ukrainian embassy in Senegal has posted an announcement on its Facebook wall calling for Senegalese who are interested in “helping” Ukraine to defeat Russia to send their names, Phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Within minutes of the post, 36 Senegalese youths had responded to the call. In Nigeria, there was a report of youths gathering around the Ukrainian embassy in Abuja. Some Nigerians who spoke to the BBC said they were ready to pay the $1000 (equivalent to N577,000) for visa processing and air fare to Ukraine to fight Russia. I pity those adventurous and gullible youths who can not see beyond the tips of their noses.

This, has beyond any reasonable doubts confirm the folly and desperation of youths in Africa to leave their countries for Europe in search of the so-called greener pastures overseas. It also exposes European’s disrespect, insult and disregard to our cherished values and dignity as human beings and as sovereign nations.

The “Putin’s war” as it is coined and made popular by western media has nothing to do with Nigeria, Senegal or any other country in Africa. Despite the enmity between Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, the two countries are closer to each other, and have more things in common than they are to Nigeria and Senegal.

Just as the Senegalese government condemned the Ukrainian embassy post, and subsequently directed the embassy to delete the post and summoned the ambassador in Dakar, we also appealed to the Nigerian government to do the same.

To the best of my knowledge, Nigeria has no problem with Russia but it has issues with Ukraine because of the treatment received by our students in the country. For this reason, Nigeria cannot trust Ukraine or regard it as an ally.

We have enough problems at home: Nigerian university students are at home because of the lingering crisis between ASUU and the Federal Government. Vehicles on cue to buy fuel littered our roads and fuel stations are shut down due to lack of supply. The domino effect of inflation and the fall in the value of Naira, the nation’s currency is hitting hard on low-income earners, civil servants and the poor. More worrisome is the nagging and seemingly unending escalating wave of insecurity in the country. Ukraine’s problem has not been our problem, it is not and shall not be. Simply put, Ukraine is not our priority. Nigerians should not be foolish enough to die for the people who denied them the inalienable right to cross international borders during times of war.

Saleh Bature wrote in this piece from Limpopo Street, Maitama, Abuja. The author can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]