Security tips for travellers. When you land in a country overseas, your first duty should be to register your arrival with your Embassy where you Embassy or High Commission is present. Wherever your embassy is absent, adequate care must be taken by you to avoid trouble.

SECURITY TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS

When you land in a country overseas, your first duty should be to register your arrival with your Embassy where you Embassy or High Commission is present. Wherever your embassy is absent, adequate care must be taken by you to avoid trouble.
Taking photographs of government buildings and military installations can lead to detention. Always get permission to take pictures of people before you switch on your recording apparatus.
There is a barn on exportation of African art, particularly antiques from Nigeria. It is termed illegal to attempt exporting antiquities from Nigeria without written permission from the department of antiquities.
Be aware that it is mandatory for you to apply for the combined expatriate permit and alien’s card (CERPAC) from the Nigerian Immigration Authorities if you do not belong to the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS). This is applicable to both adults and children of secondary school age.
Follow local news reports regularly.
Foreigners are advised to avoid non essential journeys outside their locations.
Foreigners are also encouraged to vary timing and route they ply to and from work. Also to be varied is the frequency of visits to recreation centres.
I have seen Nigerians in Diaspora whose home visit is punctuated by eating uncovered food or food sold by the road side. They were used to these types of foods before travelling abroad; body system had changed since they last consume such inedible foods. Eating such foods might make you end up in the hospital, thereby turning your trip into an experience of sorrow, grief and pain.
Watch what you eat and drink.
Pepper could be something you have to avoid if your system has adapted to food without or little pepper during the period you have stayed abroad.
Abroad to many people is France, U.S.A, Europe etc. Abroad simply means staying away from your country. Here you are exposed to another culture, another food, another government and all another you might think about.
Do not disclose personal information on your financial instruments such as bank account number, ATM details, Personal Information Number (PIN), or other details about your financial status to unknown parties or individuals.
Passports and travelling document such as International passport is a valuable document and could attract the attention of criminals who may want to use your identity to commit crimes, it should be kept well.
Make two photocopies of your travelling documents such as your international passport, tickets, visas and travellers’ cheques. Keep one copy at home while you carry the other with you but it must be kept in separate place from the original.
Report lost or stolen passport first to, the local authorities, and your embassy immediately.
Some embassies have an online link where lost and stolen passport can be reported, access the web link of your embassy for possibility of your online report and report quickly, then follow it up by personally going there.
A certificate of citizenship of your home country is not a travel document.
Your international passport is what you need in a country away from your home country.
Exceptionally, certificate of citizenship may be required by your embassy, confirm this from your embassy before embarking on your trip.
The only universally acceptable travel and identification documents in an international trip are a valid passport, a valid visa and your return ticket.
It is a serious crime when you are caught selling your international passport.
Altering the imputed data on an international passport is a serious offence.
Also to be avoided is the use of your own international passport by another person regardless of the relationship that exists between both of you.
CAUTION FOR HEALTHY LIVING IN NIGERIA
To stay healthy during your stay in Nigeria, you are encouraged to consider vaccinations.
Take prophylaxis and use insect repellent.
Malaria is an epidemic and it is a common tropical disease in West African countries.
Avoid contacting malaria through exposure to mosquitoes.
As you have been told earlier, avoid eating uncooked food and food that are not well prepared.
Environment could constitute health hazard. Keep watch of irritations, pollutions and avoid complaining about them, this could cause resentment with the nationals who already are living with it.
Avoid drinking water anyhow. Watch what you eat and drink religiously.
As you may have already known, the case of HIV/AIDS does not exclude Nigeria, you are therefore warned against illicit sexual practices that may expose you to the risk of infection.
Water-borne, food-borne and other infectious diseases including Cholera, Yellow-Fever, Hepatitis, Typhoid, Tuberculosis, Meningitis, Bilharzias and Measles are prevalent in various part of Nigeria.
More serious outbreaks occur from time to time. You are advised to boil your water or better drink bottled water.
Avoid eating raw food, ice cubes or undercooked food.
Don’t delay in seeking medical advice in case you suffer from Diarrhoea or Fever.
If you have a routing medical medication that you have being placed on, ensure that your regular medications are observed at prescribed intervals.
You are also reminded that your routine immunization such as polio, tetanus, measles etc, are kept up to date.
When coming to Nigeria with a prescribed medication, make sure that your medicines are kept in their original containers and are packed in your hand luggage.
For emphasis sake, avoid eating raw food, unwatched fruits or drinking water that is not boiled. Drink bottled water instead.
A health related crisis is not always a pleasant experience.
Avoid contact with mosquitoes as much as necessary.
In any occasion of accidental contact with mosquitoes, seek medical advice without delay.
November to February in Nigeria is the season when harmattan wind rent the air, travellers with asthma and persons with breathing problems should take note of this period when planning their journey.
TRANSPORTATION IN NIGERIA
On transportation, travellers should avoid driving at night because of poor vehicle maintenance and road conditions in Nigeria. Though this has improved in few places, but there are still death traps that could soil night trips.
Avoid struggling with local drivers in traffic jams.
Public transportation throughout Nigeria can pose danger at any time, if this can be avoided, you will be saving yourself from trouble. Get a rental service or a Tour Guide to arrange for you ahead of time.
Taxis often pose another dimension of risk; there is the possibility of fraudulent and criminal operators among the taxi drivers. Tour Guide will be of assistance.
When driving, avoid driving rough and do not drive following police entourage or bullion van carrying money. If you do this and anything goes wrong, you might be the first target.
Lagos state has a number of registered transport companies that your Travel Guide could arrange for your safety trips around.
Road networks are generally in bad shape and not near international standard as you may be used to, but they still provide a passage from one location to the other when extreme caution is applied while on using them.
Road users, including you must consider personal safety first and drive within the limit of the standard of the road. Keep an eye on your Driver always.
Various types of schemes are used in halting travelling at night on the roads.
Nails could be scattered on the road, car realms could be thrown and sometimes drivers are targeted. Other schemes are when pregnant women and people appearing to be injured in an accident beg for assistance.
Be extremely careful while travelling on unfamiliar roads.
Municipal clean-up (locally referred to as environmental sanitation) takes place every last Saturday of the month in Lagos and Ogun states. Movement is generally restricted and the local authorities vigilantly enforce the restriction of movement.
Ensure compliance and don’t be fooled by vague promises that nothing will happen. Consider safety first in all your approach.
CRIME
Some criminals specialise in fraudulent activities against foreigners and they scheme up purposely against Nigerians in the Diaspora, be watchful. It could be dangerous to start making friends without caution.
This criminal schemes range from internet scam to various other baits they brandish at people visiting this nation, networking them into dubious business activities that never exist.
Their dubious enterprise against the unsuspecting visitors to is wild and may pose intimidating because of the richness of the package.
If you have to deal, deal safely. Don’t jump at every new friendship. Always consider safety first.
While in abroad, don’t flaunt wealth or exhibit too much cash.
Expensive jewellery, watches, mobile phones and cameras may be tempting to thieves, do not display them openly in public.
Local police authority may be incapacitated in many ways to help you in scam related cases. Confirm the possibility of police assistance first before embarking on a trip to pursue a crime case.
In my candid opinion, choose to keep off from further trouble when you fall prey of any form of scam.
Nigeria is still a fertile ground for business, you only need to make necessary research prior to committing finance.
Internet scams are rampant in Nigeria. You can do yourself a favour by avoiding internet scams. You can involve Journalists to help investigate privately, what you pay to do this will produce confirmed result rather than falling prey.
Whenever you use a public internet service or café, make sure that all links to your websites are deleted, temporary files are deleted and ‘my recent documents’ are also deleted.
Log out your mail boxes and be double sure before you finally leave.
When on phone, keep your discussions personal and try not to discuss vital information that people listening to you may use to plan crime against you or someone else through your telephone conversation.
Also tell your friends in clear words, how you want them to handle information concerning you, your trip and so on.
People on phone with people on tour should also be security conscious, minding the way and manner they speak with them in public using telephone.
For your own safety, avoid spiritual consultations, fetishism and cultism.
People appearing to be spiritual may turn out being worse criminals.
LOCAL LAWS AND CUSTOMS
Respect custom and local laws of Nigeria and other countries you may be visiting.
While abroad, local laws and penalties of that country apply to you.
Don’t try to change anything in the custom of the people but learn to leave by them. Respect local traditions and religion of the people to avoid unnecessary problem.
Nigeria is rich in custom and tradition and they vary from tribe to tribe. Acquaint yourself with those ones you interact with as much as necessary as long as you stay in Nigeria.
If caught up in crime or convicted of any charge as a foreigner, little can your embassy do to help you.
They obviously cannot get you out of trouble or get you out of jail.
Prison conditions anywhere in the world could be pretty unpleasant, that perceptibly may not be the reason you travel abroad. If you desire comfort, keep your head out of trouble.
When arrested by any law enforcement agent as a foreigner, the officials are responsible to assist you to contact your embassy or consulate.
Request that this is done for you if they are not doing it at their own discretion.
If you need a lawyer for any reason, your embassy can provide you the list of local lawyers upon request.
All these may sound copious and difficult to remember, it is not intended to frighten you either. They are nuggets to keep you free from trouble.
Precaution may help you remain happy. Your safety is your sole responsibility, don’t toy with it.

Boat trip with travellers port online magazine

TRAVEL TIPS

FOCUSING ON SECURITY IN NIGERIA FOR BOTH FOREIGNERS AND NIGERIANS ABROAD

This report is written for foreigners and Nigerians in the Diaspora all around the world. We try in our little ways to connect with you to network potential opportunities within your reach.

I have a slogan for my television programme which I want to borrow to carry you along: ‘I am your faithful Pilot; I am ready to fly you to a great altitude’. If you believe so, please let’s go now.

Preambles
We want to holistically examine the global phenomena, little and insignificant in the home front but it has a wild, cumulative and multiplier negative effects in the global terrain.

Issues relating to security of people moving across the globe are challenging not to one, not to two, not even to three nations of the world and Nigeria is trapped in this mess also, America is trapped, UK and other great nations are also unavoidably trapped. This is an indication that the world is unsecure generally. Security is a natural phenomenon which must be fought individually as one takes a step after the other.

Though, this article is cantered on Nigeria, the fact is that the tips can be used elsewhere in the world. If there are criminals in Nigeria, there are lots of them elsewhere in the world. Criminality is not a Nigerian blight but world’s. Most of the present disfiguration of character found in Nigerians today is as a result of the unchecked imported films and video programmes that became part of our entertainment culture in the 20th century to date which is preaching negatives, wars, resentments, criminality and the likes of ungodliness.

If you check through our home made films and videos also, the traces of this negative fabric in human character is ruling and yet not a check is placed on this modern tendencies. Nigerians are now using guns to fight on the streets in our films, every little problem a man faces is now subject to herbal remedies where consultation with herbalists and cultists are fundamentally untrue but our film writers are dragging the world to ungodliness with the modesty of entertainment.

We all know that ungodliness is characterised by many crisis and that is what the world is struggling to fight with mechanical, human and electronic ammunitions.

Our individual experiences with foreigners visiting or residing in Nigeria varies. If report is collated from individuals who visit or reside in this nation, many surprises will be unfolded. Talking about security, the question is who is actually safe? Our focus is on the security of people visiting Nigeria on a temporary visit or for tourism.

From the view point of the government of other nations, Nigeria is perceived to be one of the highly corrupt nations of the world and living in Nigeria is thought to be quite difficult, tough on one side and unsafe on the other.

Among security factors requiring redress to attract Nigerians in Diaspora and foreigners into Nigeria are:
Increase in kidnapping scenarios,
Robbery,
Armed attacks,
Crime,
Power shortage,
General strikes,
Student and political demonstrations and thugery.
Potential for violent outbreaks and social unrest due to unstable policy on fuel pricing and salary payment to public servants.

In addition:

Bad road,
Labour disputes,
Political fracases,
Hostage taking,
Armed muggings,
Assaults,
Burglary,
The presence of hoodlums, touts and their unchecked disruption of social order in places where only government has absolute control to expunge them,
Extortion, often involving violence.
Carjacking,
Road block robberies,
Armed break-ins,
Many other social disorders that could erupt quickly and without warning.
Unappealing environmental condition. Dirty and unkempt, this contributes to the high rate of malaria parasite which is an epidemic endangering lives a great deal.

The issue of insecurity is posing a considerable risk to international travellers. Ask from anyone who has travelled to another country to share his or her experiences of the kind of treatment that was given him or her at the airport of the country visited. It’s quite unfortunate that with the wealth of this nation in natural endowment, to be a Nigerian is internationally reprehensible.
We read from one of the numerous reports on the internet that violent crime committed by ordinary criminals, as well as by persons in police and military uniforms can occur throughout the country and tends to peak between November and January, during the holiday periods. This is not limited to Nigeria alone it happens everywhere; it is an indication that one has to be extra careful during this period of the year.
We have read about Nigerian travellers whose purses and personal belongings are snatched at airports and that alone is insufficient to defame such countries and it is happening in civilised communities on daily basis.

Whilst insecurity is a common phenomenon in human race, there is therefore no country of the world that is totally free from it.

It is defamatory to circulate that Nigeria is corrupt as if that is the only place where corruption is known. This alone is acting against the mechanism that is driving the responses to recovery.

Nigeria is one of the best places to live in the world. Ask the expatriates why they are still here doing business. If there is a stern reception on all sides, none of them will stay. The negative noise about Nigeria is only orchestrated to discourage the timid and those who have not seen the good of the land ever and lack courage to disregard the worthless noise.

PATRIOTISM AND HEROISM
To be a patriot is to be loyal and show love and affection to ones nationality regardless of creed, position, status, social differences, complexion and language.

The word patriotism is what makes up a good ambassador. Ambassadorial post is dutiful. The patriot is obligated to show kindness, sense of respect, faith and obedience to his country or the nation of his naturalisation. Nigeria's national slogan or motto reads, “Unity, peace and faith.” We as Nigerians therefore require a sense of unity, peace and a sense of faith with one another to truly be patriotic.

The act of violence is contrary to the spirit of patriotism. To exhibit patriotism, laws and regulations must be obeyed to the letter. The general well-being of the country is paramount to a patriotic person. There are made in Nigeria goods which must be patronised, promoted and preferred above foreign items where they stand in competition. This is one area where we can be judged if truely we are patriotic in deed.

The abuse of national symbols such as the naira notes, national flag and the anthem, the pledge and the others like the National identity card, international passport, the Coat of Arms and the properties belonging to ministries and public utilities can only be perpetrated by saboteurs and someone whose interest for the nation dwindles and is unstable. Judge yourselves, are you a patriotic Nigerian or a saboteur from the few lists above?

The image of the nation is another thing that we need to protect individually and collectively to truly show our kind of people and generation. A patriot does not desert his or her nation but strives to regain her dignity in the times of trouble. A patriot does not engage in scam and other fraudulent activities that generate global disrespect to Nigeria. Judge yourselves again, are you a patriotic Nigerian or a saboteur from the few lists above?

The people of a nation are its defence. No place like home, any other form of adoption is an absorption into second class status which often portends limitations. The struggle for the greener pasture must be ordered by the desire to utilise the dividend for national development in any little or massive way. What we see today is egoistic and power intoxication from the advantaged travellers who come home to create little slave prison yards where they over utilise the under-privileged and pay them salaries that cannot pay for house rent, food, transport and other numerous fixed expenses and yet they expect same exploited workers not to be corrupt. This is how corrupt citizens are bred from one factory to another.

Let us beam a candle light on the pay package of the executives; they feed fat on salary, fatter from other allowances. Patriotism to them is when they lack nothing and want more. To pay the meagre minimum salary the downtrodden is entitled to which is far below an hour pay for a whole month is a fashion in the system. This is not patriotic. The bible will put it, ‘by their fruit, you will know them’

A patriot will always keep brotherhood surveillance on his fellow citizen wherever they may be. He stands to save souls where and when necessary. The attitude of our brothers in Europe to one another does not portray patriotism. A friend in need is a friend in deed. African culture is our heritage and it is our pride. Let us chart patriotism into our individual life style and see a world that emits peace and love.

One who is patriotic with his nation will not deceive friends and neighbours to believing that all is well in his tour while the opposite is the case. The result of such is inordinate luring of innocent people to expensive hardship which ordinarily they would have avoided if you were not involved. Under this pretence, many female citizens had lost their pride to commercial sexual businesses when they had nowhere to turn to in the land of no mercy.

The act of killing fellow brothers and sisters living among other tribes and religious groups is another unpatriotic height and must be stopped. Have you heard about men who killed their wives in times of religious outburst? It so happened to neighbours and friends. The act of discrimination and tribal dichotomy is another jinx that will slow down the projection into economic independence of a nation and widen the scope of patriotism among citizens.
Selfish and greediness in any practical form is a plaque that will never allow a nation to achieve much amidst plenty.

To be a hero or heroine you have to live an exemplary and dutiful life of obedience to your nation birth wherever you may find yourself. Either in the west or in the east, north or south home remains home and one day you will find yourself back home. Time may vary, some at an early age when corrective measures could be worked out to correct any error done to nature and others at the eleventh hour when there will be no grace for amends. Be ready to fly the flag of patriotism as a Nigerian anywhere you are and in any position you may occupy.