A
correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the entourage of
the Senate President reported that Mark stated this at an interactive
forum with members of the Nigerian community in Beijing.
“Boko
Haram has become a real nuisance and the menace is unacceptable. They
have declared war on Nigeria and we will fight them with all the
resources at our disposal.
“We
will not allow it to go on for too long; government is very serious
about it. It is an avoidable distraction and it is something we do not
need at this point in our history, when we are trying everything
possible to bring development to Nigeria to attract foreign investors.
“So,
the message should go out loud and clear to anyone who is either a
sponsor or a member of Boko Haram that we will fight them with all
resources at our disposal,’’ Mark said.
The
Nigerian Charge d’affaires in Beijing, Mr Suleiman Tanko, who welcomed
the Senate President on behalf of the Nigerian community, said Nigeria
had a large community in China.
“We
have 12,000 Nigerians in China; out of this number, 10,000 live in
Guangzhou and are largely in trading, because it is a little bit
difficult to penetrate the real business system here,’’ Tanko said.
He,
however, lamented that it was not easy for Nigerians to establish
businesses in China, adding that this was an issue of serious concern to
them.
“If
any Nigerian tells you that he has a business here, then it means that
he is married to a Chinese lady; otherwise it is only merely petty
trading that Nigerains are engaged in here,’’ Tanko said.
He
appealed to the Senate president to intervene on behalf of Nigerians
willing to establish businesses in China, so they could have easier
access to facilities.
He
expressed regrets that a large majority of Nigerians were staying in
the country illegally due to strict visa regime of the country which, he
noted, resulted in many of them being jailed.
“We
have about 463 Nigerians in various jails. Ninety per cent of the
crimes they committed are drug-related, and 90 per cent of them are from
only one state in Nigeria,’’ Tanko said.
He
said that the Nigerian mission in China was engaging the government of
that state to find out how the embassy could intervene.
Tanko
also urged Nigerian law enforcement authorities to be more proactive
and responsive to ensuring proper screening of intending travellers.
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