A fellow of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Dr Nicholas Erameh, has advised Nigeria not to retaliate against the United States’ newly introduced travel restrictions, describing the policy as a domestic decision of a sovereign country.
Erameh made the comments in an interview with ARISE News on Thursday while reacting to the US policy that could require Nigerians applying for B1/B2 visas to post bonds of up to $15,000.
“The thing about it is that, no doubt about it, there’s going to be serious economic and social consequences for some of these issues. But you see, this is a domestic policy of a sovereign country.”
He warned against reciprocal measures, saying, “There’s no need; it’s beyond us to reciprocate. Why? We should not reciprocate because there’s a U.S. bond that we want to reciprocate. No, rather we should go the other way around to say, okay, what other alternatives… they would consider about these issues.”
On the cost of the visa bond, Erameh described it as significant but said retaliation would not change the policy.
“Now, in terms of economic costs, it’s not 15,000 U.S. dollars; it’s not a small money, and that’s why the first thing I say is outrageous. It’s going to bring a whole lot of emerging issues… But what do we do? It’s not a policy that we can change.”
He added that the policy may not remain static over time.
“The only thing we can hope for is that with time… there have been some steps that have been taken, and some of them have been… reenacted in one way or the other… Over time, there seems to be some amendments to all these things… within these contexts and policies, they might not be static.”
Erameh also noted that the policy could have implications for the United States.
“We have not heard the last about these policies. There are also going to be some challenges the U.S. itself will face. Because of the cosmopolitanism of the world today… Isolationism is a luxury no nation, no state can afford.”
Addressing concerns cited by the US, including visa overstays and security issues, Erameh said Nigeria should focus on internal measures rather than retaliation.
“It’s not about reciprocating. It’s about trying to address some internal issues and reorienting Nigerians who are travelling to the U.S. on the likely challenges some of these issues might also face,” he said.
He urged Nigerians abroad to be mindful of their conduct. “You must consider yourself as an ambassador representing the country, not just yourself,” he said.
PUNCH Online reported that the United States has introduced new travel restrictions that could require Nigerians applying for B1/B2 visas to post bonds of up to $15,000.
According to information published on the US Department of State’s website, Travel.State.Gov, payment of a bond does not guarantee visa issuance, and fees paid without the direction of a consular officer will not be refunded.
African countries accounted for 24 of the 38 nations listed in the updated restrictions released by the US State Department on Tuesday, including Nigeria.
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