The federal government has urged the United States of America to follow the laid down convention on the deportation of persons in repatriating immigrants in their country and treat Nigerians with dignity in the process.
This is because it expressed Nigerians’ concerns over the likely suspension of the US government’s Drop Box Visa System.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, stated these when the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., paid her a courtesy visit at the Tafawa Balewa House, Abuja, a statement issued on Sunday by Magnus Eze, the minister’s special assistant on Communication and New Media, said.
Amb. Odumegwu-Ojukwu bemoaned the emotional and financial pains many Nigerians in the United States were already experiencing since the country’s new administration indicated its resolve to repatriate some categories of people from the US.
She stated that the effect was far-reaching even to the hinterlands of Nigeria, where, for instance, several families, including children, relied on remittances from the US for their survival and education.
Highlighting that Nigerians in the US deserved dignified repatriation, the minister asked the US Government to find a way of ameliorating the trauma of those to be deported, including allowing them ample opportunity to retrieve their assets in America.
“With the new administration in the US, we want a situation where there will be commitments. If there will be repatriation, we want a dignified return.
“At the moment, we’re told that about 201 Nigerian nationals are in US immigration camps, and about 85 have been cleared for deportation.
“Will there be any way of ameliorating their pains? This has been of great concern to not just Nigerian nationals in the US but family members in Nigeria who depend on them for survival, children whose school fees are paid for by these diasporans.
“We are asking as a country whether they will be given ample time to handle their assets or will just be bundled into planes and repatriated. It will really be traumatic, especially for those who have not committed any violent crime,” Amb. Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.
The minister also urged Washington, D.C., to reconsider its possible suspension of the Drop Box Visa Policy so that Nigerians travelling to the US for genuine reasons would not have to suffer unduly in procuring a US Visa.
She urged the US Government to issue a statement clarifying its actual position on the Drop Box system to assuage the concerns of anxious Nigerians.
More so, the minister disclosed that about 14,000 Nigerian students in the US have parents in Nigeria. These parents, she said, were worried whether the new US administration would change student policy.
Amb. Odumegwu-Ojukwu also expressed worry that the future of USAID was unknown, saying: “We can’t tell if it’s outright suspension. A lot of NGOs are worried about getting clarifications. We will make that appeal on behalf of the NGOs in Nigeria. There have been concerns less than a month into the 90-day review.
“And I know before the completion of the review, there’s already humanitarian issues in Nigeria and Africa. We will appeal that this initiative be preserved, even if it’s abrogated as an agency; there must be a way of keeping the ideals to ensure that the poor beneficiaries in the communities, not just in Nigeria but Africa, are not abandoned.”
The minister further called for more impetus in bilateral relations between Abuja and Washington, D.C.
Noting that Nigeria and the US had not done well in trade, especially post-COVID-19, she called for investments in the mining sector. According to her, diversification of investments would engender a boost in exports to the US.
Notably, the minister called for reactivating the ‘Silent Secretariat’ where the two countries assessed their bilateral relations.
In addition, the minister explained that the foreign policy of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Administration, which focuses on Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora (4-Ds), was on course, pointing out that the federal government was committed to citizen diplomacy.
“One other area is not just diaspora but diplomacy, people-to-people contacts. Therefore, the issue of illegal migration is there, but the current administration is determined by citizen diplomacy. We want to know how our people in the diaspora are doing. We have some of them in prisons abroad; the administration is concerned about their welfare,” she said.
She said Nigeria needed strategic partnerships to tackle the demographic issue of unemployment, which triggers illegal migration, known in Nigerian parlance as ‘Japa’ syndrome.
She said that, in line with Nigeria’s 4-Ds foreign policy, ECOWAS’s free movement policy was still in place despite the Sahel crisis.
“ECOWAS has been at its best, so one has to appreciate that even with the exit of these states, free movement within the region is still there. The immigration has not closed the borders,” the minister said.
During the meeting, the US Ambassador, Mills, said that he looked forward to the bilateral relations between both countries becoming broader.
He said that the Drop Box Visa Policy has not been suspended, explaining that policies are renewed whenever there is a change in administration. He assured that the new US Government’s position on USAID, the Drop Box Visa system, and others would be known in due course.
He acknowledged that USAID did some specifics, particularly in life-saving in the health sector and humanitarian issues like mother-child issues.
“Some of these NGOs are feeling the pains, but the situation is being reviewed,” Mills said.
The envoy expressed concerns over democracy in Africa, noting the exit of three Sahel States from ECOWAS and the challenge of counter-terrorism.
On deporting Nigerian immigrants, he said: “Those to be repatriated would be dropped in Lagos. There wouldn’t be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja.
“The first group will be convicted prisoners. Those who committed crimes are in US prisons. Some of them are those who have violated US immigration laws. They appealed but were denied, and they are still in the US. They have committed immigration crimes, people who have been ordered to leave.”
The statement added that he also spoke on AGOA, which ends September this year, but noted that it is left for the parliamentary group to push for its renewal.
“I think this administration will concentrate more on trade and commerce. This relationship is strong, and we want it sustained,” he stated.
He then congratulated Amb Odumegwu-Ojukwu on her recent appointment as minister.