John O'Donoghue is on his way to South Africa for the United Nations conference on racism, organised by Mary Robinson. He talked before leaving of the deep evil of racism. On his way to South Africa he has stopped off in Nigeria and today will sign an agreement with the Nigerian government to speed up the deportation from Ireland of Nigerians seeking asylum here.
The agreement is being opposed by civil rights groups in Nigeria and here, and several refugee groups attending the anti-racism conference in South Africa are lobbying international groups in Durban to oppose such bilateral arrangements.
Of the 4,769 applications for asylum here in the first six months of this year, about a third were on behalf of people from Nigeria. The arrival of about 1,600 refugees from Nigeria so far this year, apparently, is a major problem, and it is this that has led to John O'Donoghue stopping off in Nigeria to conclude the deportation agreement. Mr O'Donoghue apparently is of the view that most of these asylum-seekers are bogus and are thus not entitled to the protection of asylum.
In its latest annual report Amnesty International has the following to say about Nigeria: "There were sporadic outbreaks of civil unrest throughout the year [2000] in which hundreds died. As many as 1,000 people were killed in intercommunal violence between Christian and Muslim communities in February over the possible extension of Sharia [Islamic law] in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, and in reprisal killings in eastern Nigeria.
"In May, renewed rioting in Kaduna led to a further 300 deaths. Further unrest over Sharia left 10 dead in Gombe State in September and at least nine in Niger State in November. In October more than 100 people died in Lagos, south-west Nigeria, in intercommunal conflict.
"There was widespread lack of public confidence in the severely under-resourced police force, and lynchings of criminal suspects by vigilante groups or community militias sometimes provoked intercommunal conflict.
"Killings and ill-treatment by the security forces since May 1999 were not subject to independent investigation. Local human rights organisations expressed concern at persistent reports that suspected armed robbers were killed by the police instead of being prosecuted.
"House of Assembly representatives in Delta State reported that in September members of a paramilitary police unit had fired indiscriminately at residents of several villages, burned and ransacked homes, and looted property.
"At least one amputation and several floggings were carried out. New laws introduced or announced in 10 northern states during 2000 provided harsh corporal punishments for offences including theft, sexual offences, consumption of alcohol and gambling.
"Several men and at least one woman were publicly flogged for offences which included smoking marijuana, gambling and carrying women on the back of motorcycle taxis. Sentences were often carried out immediately after conviction, and most defendants had no defence lawyer or means to bring an appeal.
"In March a farmer in Zamfara State, Buba Bello Jangebe, had his right hand amputated after being convicted of stealing a cow. In September 17-year-old Bariya Ibrahim Magazu was sentenced to 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage.
"Unable to produce sufficient witnesses to substantiate her allegation that she had been coerced into having sex with three men, one of whom had made her pregnant, she was sentenced to a further 80 lashes for her accusations against the three men, which were judged to be false.
"Supporters of opposition groups were arrested and charged with offences, sometimes following unrest, in circumstances suggesting that their detentions were politically motivated."
The report went on to record the arrest of hundreds of opposition party activists and the suppression of political activity.
HOW is it that there is not a presumption of authenticity with the asylum applications of people from Nigeria and other countries subjected to devastation and oppression? A few weeks ago in this column I wrote about the deaths of 2.5 million people from the Democratic Republic of Congo directly arising from the war that has been going on there since 1998. And yet people who come here from there are, invariably, presumed to be bogus asylum-seekers.
Let's not put a tooth in it, this is racism, the deep evil that John O'Donoghue professed to be concerned about before he left for the conference in South Africa. He may not have used racist language himself but he has bent to the racist clamours over refugees here.
Last Saturday morning I was at Dublin Airport. The place was thronged with people mainly going on holiday. Two young men before me in a queue at the entrance to the departures gates were talking about difficulties they had encountered earlier in the summer at various airports in Spain and France.
Foreign travel is now commonplace for most Irish people. One would have thought this might have led to greater tolerance of other peoples and other cultures but, if anything, we have become more intolerant.
vbrowne@irish-times.ie