Nigeria professionals living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have commenced a narrative campaign online to appeal the work permit restriction by the country.
President of the group, Professional Nigerians in UAE, Kayode Ogungbohun is leading the campaign.
He spoke on Monday during an interview that the campaign started after the problem was identified and it is aimed at projecting Nigerians living in UAE, positively.
“We saw the problem, although we don’t have any official reason why UAE took the decision. We speculated that some things were done by Nigerians in terms of not obeying the law of the host country. So, we came up with the solution to speak to ourselves to be law-abiding, to appeal and pacify to the UAE government to allow all categories of jobs to be given to Nigerians.
“Because these jobs that they are not giving to Nigerians is being given to people of other nationalities.
“The #iamNigerian campaign is aimed to project us positively. Nigerians are now aware that there is a problem in our hands. We have left the stage of denial and realised that there is a problem, and it is everyone’s responsibility to play a role,” Ogungbohun explained.
He added that the campaign which commenced 14 days ago is helping to project Nigerians and how Nigerian professionals contribute to UAE’s economy.
“We can’t fold our hands and do nothing,” he said.
Meanwhile, a resident of Fujerah in UAE, Esther Adedokun insists that the problem is not necessarily due to atrocities committed by Nigerians resident in UAE but a diplomatic row between both countries.
She also explained how the permit restriction has left her stranded.
“My situation is so critical that I have spent all my savings.
“I don’t want us to have the impression that because of the atrocities committed by some Nigerians, that is why we have this problem. Nigerians are not the only citizens in UAE that commit worse crimes and they are there are no restrictions on their work permits.
“I am against crime and criminality but the diplomatic issue if resolved will ease the problem of this restriction,” she said.
Over seven months, hundreds of Nigerians in UAE became jobless and homeless following a change in diplomatic policy which led to the restriction of work permits.
The policy has left many Nigerians in pathetic conditions and most of the victims have lost their jobs.
This has led to frustration with many rendered homeless. A work visa is the most common route to getting residency in the Middle East country, so all those caught in the web of the lingering work permit restrictions row have also lost their residency status.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
