Editorials Opinion and Analysis
Registration or not…………..?
It is a natural reaction when receiving an overseas posting, not to think about registering with your Embassy or High Commission. Many of us have worked overseas in many countries that have been reasonably stable. So the question never really arose, although the option of registration was always there.
We are however in a country where the odds of trouble, be it local or national, come down from the infinitesimal to the possible.
Different Embassies have differing triggers and alert level procedures, though all follow the same principle, and one is never very far behind the others in alert status. The British Foreign Office operates a three-tier system from 1 to 3. It is sometimes forgotten that there is also ‘0’ – where there is no perceived threat above normal day to day risk of crossing the road or arguing with the wife. Though some may rate this latter threat as high or even life threatening!
Currently we are at level 2 on the British system where “ We advise that the security situation in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States makes them unsafe for British nationals. We therefore advise British nationals to leave”. This is reflected in the “FCO Travel Advice” which is regularly reviewed and updated.
This basically means that your safety can no means be assured and that you should use commercial means to get you and you family out. If you decide to stay, you are on your own cognizance. This is not to say that the BHC abrogate any duty of care, and they will always do their best to assist, but in a worsening situation this cannot always be guaranteed.
It is expected, and is normal that any increase in perceived threat will have a precursor in the form of indicators of trouble, such that the alert level can be proactively set, to give people adequate warning. Timing is critical – issue a warning too early and people will ignore it. Issue your warning too late and there could be no means of escape. This is a judgment call for companies and individuals to make. Few Embassies or High Commissions will order you to leave. Indeed if we have our eyes open, we will probably be aware of the situation and will be actively making our own appraisal, and making plans to suit.
The British level 2 assumes commercial means are available, and even a move to level three would initially hope that people could move summarily or independently to airports and leave the country. It would also be hoped that there would not be a complete break down of law & order such that we could still move to the airports. The upper end of level three would mean a complete break down of law & order whereby no street movement would be possible except at great risk. Movement to airports would not be possible except under armed convoy – if reliable armed guards are available. Even then, commercial airlines may have by now refused to land.
In an ideal world a worsening situation would incrementally move from level 1 (“keep your head down”) to level 2 (“leave unless you have an urgent need to stay”) to level 3 (“go now”), to finally to “go”. But it seldom works that way. If the expatriate community followed the advice at each stage, then only a few individuals would be left at level 3. But experience has shown that many choose not to leave at the appropriate time and have got trapped with no civilian means to leave. In these circumstances a civilian or military evacuation cannot be guaranteed. The importance of reducing numbers and leaving at the appropriate time in a crisis situation therefore cannot be over emphasised.
It has proved over the years that a move from level 1 or 2 to upper end level 3 within a very short space of time – a day or two - is unlikely, but not impossible. The crisis in the Lebanon in 2006 was a good example of how level 3 was implemented quickly without going through the other stages. Sierra Leone in 1997 was another example where the situation went from calm to a total breakdown in a matter of hours, requiring a civilian and military evacuation of the expatriate community (over 2,000).
In the event of such a quick catastrophic break down, the various Embassies & the British High Commission, in conjunction with the major companies, would bring into play the various contingency plans that exist.
Unlike companies who have known parameters and actual head counts to work with, Embassies and High Commission plans can only provide a broad framework to evacuate their nationals by civilian and/or military means. But given a total breakdown of law & order, having accurate numbers of nationals & contact details (given that some systems may not be available) becomes an essential tool for effective contingency planning. Contingency plans are made with estimated numbers of those requiring help. But in the past this estimate has proved inadequate. When push came to shove in Sierra Leon in 1997 and 2000, the number of those registered, around 1,500, jumped to over 2,000 in a couple of days, when people realised maybe they really should let the BHC know they were there. Recently in Kenya during the post election Wahala, those registered jumped from below 5,000 to well over 10,000. BHC Nairobi had to deploy a team solely to register British nationals; such was the volume of calls. In Abidjan in 2004 the French had exactly the same problem. Given recent events in the Lebanon many people would be registering.
It is important that your countries representative body in Nigeria know you are here! It is also important they know you are not here, i.e. have left. Many hours of valuable time have been wasted in past emergency situations by looking for people who had left country, maybe years before.
To this end the British Foreign Office have introduced a system called “Locate”, whereby you register yourself for either under or over 90 days. A month prior to the anniversary of your registration (if over 90 days), you will be contacted to acknowledge you are still there. If you do not reply at year-end, your registration will be deactivated. Thus the BHC will know how many nationals are in country at a given time. Personal information is not shared with the taxman!
Below is the link to use.
In order to use LOCATE, you will need to register, but you will only need to register once. The registration is process is simple. Visit the FCO’s website at www.fco.gov.uk and click on “Travel Advice” (this can be found in the Services section on the top left-hand side). When in the Travel Advice section, click “Travel Advice by Country”.At the bottom of the Travel Advice by Country page you will see the following icon. Click on the “Consular Registration Form” icon and follow the online instructions. An e-mail confirmation will follow.
I would also ask companies to encourage new recruits to Nigeria to register.
Please note that I do not write this as a BHC lackey of some kind. Some of you will remember that a few years ago I fell out publicly with the BHC regarding the level of representation here in Port Harcourt. Though I have to say that the current full time incumbent is doing a superb job.
I just feel that in the very unlikely event of a catastrophic break down, or just to help find missing persons. We should all register with our respective Embassy or High Commission. It will save much confusion and possibly your life.
