The Trump administration has slammed a general visa ban on Nigerians over corruption allegations against the government of President Bola Tinubu and poor intelligence sharing between the two countries
This led to the Trump administration starting efforts to implement a blanket visa prohibition on Nigerians, citing corruption within the Tinubu administration and the inadequate sharing of intelligence between the two nations.
According to a memo from the State Department, which was endorsed by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, that 36 nations, including Nigeria, are being evaluated for potential visa regulations in the U.S.
The Trump administration mentioned that the absence of governmental transparency and reliable databases for efficiently checking traveler backgrounds from these nations was the basis for the forthcoming ban, part of broader initiatives to curtail immigration into the United States.
Certain nations lacked a competent or cooperative central government capable of issuing trustworthy identity documents or related civil papers, or they experienced significant governmental deception.
Other nations had high instances of citizens remaining in the U.S. beyond the validity of their visas, as reported by the Peoples Gazette.
According to the memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and distributed to U.S. diplomats dealing with these countries, governments on the list have a 60-day window to comply with new standards and expectations set forth by the State Department.
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They must submit an initial plan for addressing these requirements by 8:00 am on Wednesday.
The anticipated travel limitations come after similar bans were imposed earlier this month on the nationals of 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
As in the previous announcement, most of the nations under consideration for this upcoming travel ban, referred to as the “third-world list,” are situated in Africa.
Among the 36 countries identified, 25 are African, including Nigeria, as well as Egypt and Djibouti, which are two key military allies of the United States on the continent.
Nations that may also face travel bans include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia.
Additionally, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are part of the list.
Nigeria faced a similar travel ban during Donald Trump’s first presidency.
However, he lifted restrictions on the West African nation after then-President Muhammadu Buhari implemented enhancements to the country’s immigration system to align with international criteria.
