The United States has long positioned itself as the world’s champion of liberty, democracy, and free speech; and never tires of lecturing the world about censorship and human rights. Yet, from the very halls of its embassy in Abuja, the US government unveiled a policy that strikes at the very heart of those values; imposing a digital iron curtain – an insidious attempt to police the thoughts, words, and associations of Nigerians who apply for US visas. In its latest visa diktat, the US mission in Nigeria requires applicants to disclose every social media handle used in the last five years. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp, Telegram – no matter how trivial or private – your online footprint is now US consular property. Failure to disclose? Automatic denial. Worse still, the applicant is branded for life as “ineligible.” This is not diplomacy; it is digital colonialism and creeping authoritarianism masquerading as “national security.”
The US Mission in Nigeria gave the condition via a statement on X on Monday, August 18, 2025. It noted that Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form. “Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form. Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit. Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas.” The Mission also stated on its website that: “Starting September 2. 2025, nonimmigrant visa applicants in most categories, including those who are renewing will be required to attend an in-person interview with a consular officer.”
The justification, as always, is “national security.” But let us not be deceived. This is not routine paperwork or counterterrorism. This is control. This is not just bureaucratic overreach. This coercive demand for digital confessions is a deliberate, calculated attack on free speech. Nigerians are being forced to surrender their private thoughts, online associations, and political expressions simply to qualify for an American visa. Omit a single handle? You are denied. Misremember an old account? You are marked ineligible for life. America is forcing Nigerians to choose between silence and surveillance: stay quiet online, or risk being blacklisted by the most powerful country on earth. Speak your mind, especially if your views are critical of US policies and you may as well kiss your visa hopes goodbye.
This policy amounts to an American surveillance regime imposed on Nigerians. It punishes both the outspoken and the silent. A young activist in Lagos who tweeted critically about US foreign policy? Suspect. A student in Enugu who shared memes mocking American hypocrisy? Denied. And what of those who never used social media? They, too, are viewed with suspicion, for in America’s eyes, having no digital footprint is itself a red flag. The message is clear: speak at your own risk. Express yourself, and you may be blacklisted from opportunities abroad. Even silence is not protection. It is a chilling paradox that the so-called champion of free speech now demands conformity as the price of a visa.
For decades, Washington has lectured African nations about censorship, human rights, and democratic accountability. Yet it is the US itself that is now exporting authoritarian-style digital policing. With this requirement, America isn’t just vetting for security risks – it is creating a chilling effect across Nigerian society. Will a young activist in Lagos think twice before criticizing US support for the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, or America’s role in destabilizing Libya, Iraq, and Syria; or Trump tariffs that are destabilizing the global economy? Will a student in Kano hesitate to post a meme mocking American double standards? This policy does not just screen for terrorists; it silences dissent, stigmatizes opinion, and punishes those who dare to be vocal in the digital square.
The absurdity doesn’t end there. Consider Nigerians who have never had a social media account. They are instantly rendered suspicious – “What are they hiding?” In an age where everyone is expected to have an online presence, being digitally invisible becomes its own form of incrimination. America’s paranoia now targets both the outspoken and the silent alike. This is not security. This is surveillance theater. And Nigerians are the collateral damage. For decades, Washington has berated African governments over censorship and human rights. Yet here it is, exporting the very authoritarian tactics it claims to oppose. For Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of America’s most strategic partners, this is an insult of the highest order. America, a country built on the promise of liberty, now seeks to muzzle Nigerians before they ever board a plane. It wants to pre-screen our opinions, filter our politics, and condition our silence. What is next – demanding passwords? Monitoring WhatsApp groups?
President Bola Tinubu’s administration cannot afford to remain silent. When a foreign government extends its arm into our citizens’ private lives, Nigeria must respond with firmness. Reciprocity is the bedrock of diplomacy. If the US insists on harvesting Nigerians’ private digital histories, Nigeria should require the same of every American applying for entry into our country. Let Washington explain why its citizens should enjoy freedoms it denies to others. Civil society must also raise its voice. Journalists, human rights groups, student unions, and digital rights advocates cannot treat this as “just another visa requirement.” Our universities, professional associations, and the media must recognize this for what it is: a covert attempt to muzzle Nigerians not just at home, but abroad. Left unchallenged, this direct assault on freedom of thought, expression, and association will condition Nigerians to censor themselves, lest they jeopardize future opportunities.
Let us be clear: the United States has every right to secure its borders. But it has no right to criminalize Nigerian speech. Make no mistake: this is not just about visas. It is about narrative control. It is about ensuring that Nigerians who migrate, study, or work in the US arrive already conditioned to self-censor, already stripped of the confidence to challenge US foreign policy. Washington is not content with dominating our markets and extracting our oil – it now wants to colonize our speech. The American experiment once stood for freedom. Today, in Nigeria, it is building a surveillance regime that would make the most notorious dictators blush. We must say it clearly: our voices are not America’s property. Our thoughts are not subject to US visas. Our speech and online posts are not bargaining chips to be auctioned for a passport stamp. If Washington truly believes in democracy, it must abandon this coercive overreach. If it does not, then Nigerians and the world must recognize the truth: America’s vaunted defense of free speech was never about principle. It was always about power.
