Must Read: What foreign affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama said about Nigerians living other part of the country – Internet Fraud/Cyber Crime

Geoffrey Onyeama Foreign Affairs Minister

Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has said Nigeria and its image abroad should not be judged by the actions of a very few criminals. He claims that there was no country in the world which took action against Nigeria because of a person's misdeeds.

In spite of the involvement of several Nigerians in the recently exposed high profile scams, many more Nigerians were doing good and positive things abroad, Onyeama, which had been the special guest in the Nigerian News Agency's (NAN) Forum, said. He described as unfortunate the perception in the media that bad news made better news than good news.

The minister urged the Nigerian media to shine their lights on the Diaspora's good deeds of Nigerians. According to him, no country in the world has taken action against Nigeria on the account of the bad deeds of an individual.

“You, the media, of course, we all know that no news is good news. What sells and excites and interests people is sensational news. So, there is also that element. So, I think the challenge is for us to always bring up the good things that Nigerians are doing.

“Another thing we do is also to highlight the positive things that Nigerians are doing around the world. We believe that more Nigerians, many more Nigerians, are doing very good things and positive things around the world than Nigerians doing negative things,” he said.

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Also, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa said Nigerians in Diaspora should not be judged by the activities of some bad elements among them.

In a statement by Gabriel Odu of the agency’s Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said: “Nigerians all over the world are known to be hardworking, diligent and determined and succeeding tremendously in their chosen careers wherever they are. Bad news travels fast.”

The statement was made by a Nigerian, Mr Ikenna Nweke, who was commended for returning a lost pocket of large money and a credit card by the Japanese government and the police. It didn't make headlines, however.

Dr Chidube Obi, who has graduated with a 5.0 grade point average (GPA) grade, has been cleaning all records set at the University while the Hushpuppi 's news was trending.

The Chief of Nicom emphasized that Nigerians are unquestionably the most educated and hardworking immigrants in the U.S.A. Their careers and professions are determined and successful.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa stressed that the Law must be able to take up her cause in praising the Federal Bureau of Information (FBI) and the EFCC for tracking and tracing fraudsters.

She added: 'We focus more on Nigerians' positive work in the Diaspora than on the few negative stories which are supposed to give Nigeria a bad image.

"Some Nigerians work 3 to 4 jobs a day. However, negative acts are used to judge and stereotype those arrested for fraud.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa encouraged Nigerian youth to use their energies to achieve honesty and integrity and to maintain high moral values.