Travel Advisory: Nigeria – Level 3 – Reconsider Travel
I just received the following travel advisory from the US government;
Nigeria – Level 3: Reconsider travel C T O
Reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime,terrorism, and piracy.
Violent crime, such as armed robbery, assault, carjacking, kidnapping, and rape, is common throughout the country.
Terrorists continue plotting possible attacks in Nigeria. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting shopping centers, malls, markets, hotels, places of worship, restaurants, bars, and other places where crowds gather in and around the Federal Capital Territory and other urban areas. The northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, and Yobe – and especially Borno – have experienced numerous acts of terrorism.
Avoid travel to the Gulf of Guinea due to the threat of piracy.
The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens beyond Abuja and Lagos and their immediate surrounding areas, as U.S. government employees may be subject to constraints as security conditions warrant.
Read the Safety and Security section on the Country Information page.
If you decide to travel to Nigeria:
- Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas.
- Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.
- Be extra vigilant when visiting banks or ATMs.
- Monitor local media for breaking events and be prepared to adjust your plans.
- Be aware of your surroundings.
- Stay alert in locations frequented by Westerners.
- Review your personal security plans.
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
- Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
- Review the Crime and Safety Reportsfor Nigeria.
- U.S. citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations.Review the Traveler’s Checklist.
And this is a perfect example of when shit got real, real quick.
For those unfamiliar with what has been happening in Nigeria, four years ago on April 14th, 276 school girls were kidnapped in Borno state and we still have not recovered all of them nor recovered from the horror of the fact that such atrocity happened in our country.
Fast forward four years to now and about 111 school girls have gone missing in Dapchi, right after the military decided to stop keeping the people of the area safe from the constant reality of Boko Haram terrorizing them.
There are so many more atrocities happening in Nigeria that are not covered by the local news companies and these two are great examples of them. It required social media and international news outlets to prod heavily before it came a serious news story. President Buhari, what is going on?
As a Nigerian living in the metro center of Nigeria, Lagos, we are largely shielded from the realities of what is happening beyond our state. News of the 111 Dapchi girls that have been kidnapped is not getting the coverage it deserves from the local and international news outlets nor are people really talking about it. We need to talk about it. We need to get the government to take more action because the reality is, if we do not talk about it, they simply ignore the problem.
Yes, this is a bit heavy for what I usually talk about, but we need to talk about it. Get 111 Dapchi girls!
