Nigeria’s minister for foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar says the administration will not be taking in deportees from the United States and will resist pressure from Trump to do so.
In an interview with Channels TV, the minister referenced a rap line from the music group Public Enemy to stress his point, saying that Nigeria has enough problems on its own to take on more. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa has also emphasised the country’s position on the rejection of deportees, citing issues of national security and economic concerns. With a population of over 230 million people and an economy banking on financial challenges and debatable standard of living of its citizens, the Nigerian administration finds the proposal “unacceptable”.
The U.S. Department of State’s deportation campaign includes sending 300 Venezuelan deportees , some freshly out of prison to Nigeria as their home countries refuse them or are slow to take them back. In July, eight U.S. deportees from the countries Myanmar, Cuba, Vietnam and Mexico were sent to South Sudan. Countries like Benin, Eswatini, Libya and Rwanda have also reportedly been marked by the U.S. to take in deportees. Reports also indicate that conversations at the White House Summit involving the countries Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon and Guinea- Bissau touched on requests for accepting U.S. deportees to these West African countries.
As part of the U.S. Department of State’s “global reciprocity realignment”, nearly all non- immigrant and non- diplomatic visas issued to Nigerian citizens would be single-entry and valid for only three months.
The U.S. Mission Nigeria took to X following the policy’s implementation to address what they termed as “misconceptions” on this new policy. The communication insisted that the new arrangements has no ties with Nigeria’s unacceptance of deportees or for that matter, “any nation’s stance on third-country deportees, introduction of e-visa policies or affiliations with groups like BRICS.”
This has not stopped criticism in Nigeria, with many arguing that the restrictive new policy is tied to the country’s rejection of the request to send in deportees or comply to U.S. migration demands. The Nigerian government commits to engaging U.S. officials to come to agreement on new deals that will focus on the country’s minerals; oil and gas. Tuggar reiterates the administration’s efforts to protect the country’s sovereignty, saying “will continue to stand for our national interest.”
Featured image: Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
