Thailand Commends NDLEA For Strengthening Nigeria’s Global Image

This commendation was delivered by the Charge d’Affaires and Deputy Head of Mission of the Royal Thai Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Kriwat Pharmorabuta, during a courtesy visit to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd).

Accompanied by Counsellor Mr. Perapol Berananda, Mr. Pharmorabuta praised the inspiring leadership of Brigadier General Marwa, who has led the NDLEA for the past three years. Highlighting the impact of the NDLEA’s efforts, the Thai envoy revealed a dramatic decrease in the number of Nigerian prisoners in Thai prisons, which has fallen from approximately 800 to less than 200. He attributed this reduction to the difficulty traffickers now face in smuggling drugs out of Nigeria.

“I have good news that I received as we speak, because before, there were around 800 prisoners from Nigeria in Thai prisons, but right now the number has decreased greatly, it is less than 200,” Mr. Pharmorabuta stated. “That means it’s very difficult now for them to get out with the drugs. So, I congratulate you and the Nigerian people. I feel pleased because I’m a diplomat in Nigeria and so I love not only my country, I love also Nigeria because Nigeria is my second home. So, when I receive good news like this, I feel very happy.”

The collaboration between the Thai embassy and NDLEA extends to visa clearance, with the Thai government prioritizing NDLEA’s clearance certificates when issuing visas to Nigerians. Mr. Pharmorabuta emphasized the importance of this document, which assures a 90-95% success rate in visa issuance to the Kingdom of Thailand.

“I would like to thank your excellency and to inform you that the government of Thailand gives more importance to the certificate of NDLEA of Nigeria before issuing visas. There may be some other criteria, some other qualifications that they might need, but I think it’s not the priority. The priority document which the government of Thailand needs is the certificate from NDLEA. So, it means that if a Nigerian has the NDLEA Certificate, the correct one in their hands, 90-95% assurance is guaranteed that they can receive the visas to enter into the kingdom of Thailand.”

Mr. Pharmorabuta also expressed his commitment to strengthening bilateral relations between Nigeria and Thailand, particularly in supporting NDLEA through training and scholarships for its personnel.

In response, Brigadier General Marwa expressed his delight at the ongoing partnership and the Thai government’s readiness to support NDLEA. He highlighted the creation of an Alternative Development Unit aimed at encouraging cannabis growers to transition to legitimate crops such as rice, sugarcane, and cocoa. Marwa emphasized the potential benefits of learning from Thailand’s expertise in alternative development.

“In the area of training that you just indicated your readiness to support us, you are very welcome, and we are going to write this week indicating interest in the training and the scholarships. We have a lot to learn from Thailand. In fact, I just created a unit, the Alternative Development Unit in my office, which focuses on encouraging our drug traffickers, especially the cannabis growers, because we have so much going on here, over 10 million consuming it and we’ve seized such a huge number, over 7000 tonnes of cannabis. We’re looking at encouraging them to stop cannabis and do other things like rice, sugarcane, cocoa, and the country that we can turn to for help is Thailand, because you have the experience in alternative development, so that the people will drop this bad habit and do something more legitimate for themselves.”