October 30, 2015
TO: General Muhammadu Buhari [GCFR]
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Aso Rock Villa, Asokoro District, Abuja
CC: Rt. Hon. Olubukola Saraki
Senate President, National Assembly Complex Three Arms Zone P.M.B 141 Abuja
CC: Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara
Speaker, House of Representatives, National Assembly Complex, P.M.B 141 Abuja
Your Excellency,
The level of interaction among nations in our interconnected world provides solid ground for establishing embassies and consulates. Located in capital cities are embassies which are the nerve centers for countries’ diplomatic affairs. Consulates, created to assist embassies, are established in larger countries with significant economic and political importance. They assist embassies by providing vital services in the following areas: issuing visas, promoting trade relationships, assisting migrants, tourists and expatriates. They also interact with local governments and businesses, and work with nongovernmental organizations, media, educational institutions and private citizens.
Mr. President, consulates are strategically located in cities where the above diplomatic roles can be performed optimally. It is obvious that Houston is such a city in the United States. In fact, if truth be told, it is surprising that Houston was not the first choice when Nigerian government established two Consulates in the United States, given the strategic, geopolitical and economic importance of Houston in the world. This is the time to do it right, and we strongly believe Your Excellency understands:
I. Mr. President, it is clear that your administration determined from the first day in office to make Nigeria an active player in international community again. Indeed, your visit to the White House on July 20, 2015, described by President Obama as a meeting “to underscore the United States’ longstanding friendship with Nigeria, strengthen and expand the US partnership with Nigeria’s new government,” clearly demonstrates this determination, and further makes a compelling case for establishing a consular office of Nigeria in the heavily populated city of Houston, Texas.
II. Your Excellency, it is a common knowledge that the city of Houston is known worldwide as the host of the annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) – a powerful economic conference that attracts more Nigerian professionals, business executives and government officials than ever before. As the most populous country in Africa and a key player within OPEC countries, Nigeria deserves an elaborate and a robust diplomatic representation in the “energy capital of the world” – Houston, Texas and the United States writ large.
III. Your administration is also aware of the special business partnership of Houston and Nigeria. In fact, growth in trade and commerce, and the volume of tourism between Nigeria and Houston, are testimonies to the synergy and symbiotic relationship between Nigeria and Houston. An active and far-sighted consular office of Nigeria is desperately needed in Houston to represent Nigeria and Nigerians here and at home.
And, to further support our petition, we specifically submit the following:
1. “Nigerian community of Houston is the largest in the United States [with] over ninety languages spoken in the city” (http://www.houstontx.gov/budget/13budadopt/I_EO.pdf).
2. Houston is the biggest oil and gas metropolitan city in the world – hence, the energy capital of the world.
3. Houston holds the annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) “where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters” (http://2015.otcnet.org).
4. Houston boarders three other big cities with huge population of Nigerians in Texas, namely, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin – the capital of Texas.
5. Texas shares boundaries with big States with sizable numbers of Nigerians, namely New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
6. Nigerian consular office in Houston will assuage the inconvenience thousands of Nigerians in Texas and nearby States (e.g., New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana) encounter as they travel to Washington DC, New York or Atlanta to obtain Nigerian passport or visa.
7. “Nigerian immigrants have the highest levels of education in Houston and the United States” (http://www.chron.com/news/article/Data-show-Nigerians-the-most-educated-in-the-U-S-1600808.php).
8. A Nigerian Consular Office in Houston will be cost efficient – financially self-maintained and economically lucrative to Nigerian government.
9. Indeed, a Nigerian Consular Office in Houston is a strategic step in the right direction of our country’s foreign policy calculus.
Accordingly, we, the signatories, speaking for thousands of Nigerians in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and nearby States, call upon Your Excellency to use your good offices to establish a full-fledged Nigerian Consulate in Houston, Texas.
May God bless Nigeria and be with you in your efforts to improve the lives of our people.
Respectfully Signed…………
HOW TO SIGN: To sign this Petition, click here, and scroll to the bottom of the page. Or, click on this link,http://thenigerian.foundation/petition-for-consulate-office-in-houston.php.
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Thanks.
Prof. Bedford N. Umez, President, Nigerian Foundation