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Staff at Nigerian Embassy in London are so rude, they could frustrate anyone – Ayo Shonaiya

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Nigerian Embassy



A Nigerian lawyer and film producer, Ayo Shonaiya has described staff at the Nigerian High Commission in London as very rude and dismissive people who could frustrate anyone to go violent.

Shonaiya in a thread via his verified Twitter handle @AyoShonaiya said the staff act like they are being bothered when applicants visit the office to make inquiries.

He said any Nigerian living in London who have had reason to go to the NHC must have had his/her ‘inner madness’ tested by the attitudes of the staff.

His reaction was prompted by the report of a Nigerian man, Ewohime Apkovweta, who allegedly damaged diplomatic cars at the Embassy on Monday over failure to receive his passport.

Shonaiya, who condemned Akpovweta’s act, said a few weeks ago he was also frustrated by staff at the embassy and he also thought about smashing the cars the man vandalised on Monday.

He advised the Nigerian government to review the UK High Commission, offering to render free service if contacted to join hands with them in the review process.

He wrote:

“Just saw a trending video of Nigerian Diplomatic cars smashed up in front of the Nigeria High Commission in London. First of all, this is wrong. Smashing up their cars will not fix anything and definitely make things worse, including criminal charges…

“HOWEVER, before we start assuming & calling whoever did this “crazy”, this is definitely a case of let’s hear the other side of the story. If you’re a Nigerian living in London & you’ve ever had to go to the NHC for anything, chances are they have tested your inner madness.

“I didn’t want to write anything about that place before, but 3 weeks ago, I had experienced the frustration of the NHC first hand, and quite frankly, I walked by those same cars and I thought about smashing them up, or at some point smashing down the door.

“When you apply/pay for interview, & they give you a month away, then you go there, & computer prints out 2 weeks collection slip, then they use hand to cross it out & give you another MONTH to come back, naturally you will ask questions, their reaction is what kick things off.

“The Staff at the NHC are so rude and dismissive, like you are bothering them by asking questions. In my case, they told me to collect the passports earlier I will now have to pay £100 each extra (& I went with 4kids!). What if I didn’t have the money?

“Thank God I had already prayed that NOTHING will frustrate me on that day. I went & bought Money Orders and they said I should wait to collect the passports! Like, you mean it only take an hour to do this thing?! Then after the passports came, Place of birth on one was wrong.

“When we told them, they said since my daughter had signed it was NOT their fault. I said her “fault” was not noticing their fault & that kicked off another round of wahala! The Oga there even said I’m the one that filled a different place for where my own child was born.

“So what’s the solution? They said I have to start the whole process all over again. Fill form online, pay again, & if I’m “lucky” they might consider helping me after Ramadan holiday! Again I went off to do this and pay again & by the time I came back, they had closed!

“But I could here voices on the other side of the door and I started knocking & knocking that their strong door. Funny thing was someone was now knocking back but from inside the building. Like I would knock 3 times and they would answer with 3 knocks.

“This was when I had to step back, take a deep breath or else I was going to lose it! I actually leaned against the black Mercedes Benz that I saw smashed up today and I actually thought about breaking the side mirror. I went back to the door and started knocking and kicking.

“Then a voice from the other side of the door told me to go to main door & try. Which I did. And when I got in, one young Hausa guy attended to me & my daughter then told me to come after the Ramadan break. He was even trying to get my daughter’s number. Oga do your job jare!

“Moral of this long story is, although my ordeal may not seem frustrating enough to smash up their cars, but people respond to things differently. That day, I felt angry, frustrated, bitter & cheated by my own country. I took that collection date thing & £100 extra as a scam.

“I overcame my frustration. I guess this person didn’t, or just couldn’t. When I saw the smashed up cars I immediately felt at peace (I’m sorry) I felt like they should use the extra £417 I had to pay to fix it. But it’s wrong to think like that. I don’t support any violence.

“Lastly, the Nigerian govt need to review that UK High Commission. If they want they can call me & I’ll work for free! Processing passport applications & visas is not rocket science, & the staff need to improve on their attitudes, sadly that goes for the Applicants too. Thank you.”

 

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