Hopes that the visa row between the United States and Nigeria will soon be resolved emerged yesterday after a meeting between Nigerian Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama and US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo in Washington DC. But a statement released by the State Department after the meeting was conspicuously silent on the immigrant visa ban President Donald Trump slammed on Nigeria last week.
On a previously scheduled visit to Washington, Onyeama who met Pompeo behind closed doors said he sought more information on President Trump’s latest immigration ban announced last week which targeted Nigeria and five other countries, saying the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was caught off-guard by the ban.
Striking a diplomatic tone, Onyeama voiced hope that the Trump administration would soon lift the onerous visa restrictions slapped on Nigeria, admitting that Abuja was “blindsided” by Washington. Onyeama said his talks with Pompeo were “very gratifying” but acknowledged, with a smile, that Trump’s move caught Nigeria off-guard. “We were somewhat blindsided by the announcement of the visa restrictions,” Onyeama said.
The Nigerian foreign minister said Nigeria had already been looking to address US concerns, such as providing information on suspected terrorists and embedding electronic data into passports. “We know, and the US officials have also confirmed, that we have been able to tick most of those boxes,” he said.
The lingering problem, he said, involved how to handle lost and stolen Nigerian passports. Onyeama disclosed that Nigeria was putting in place a system that would make data from such passports “immediately available” to all members of Interpol, the global law enforcement body. “We hope to have that up and running very soon,” he said. “Hopefully, once that has been achieved, we look forward to being taken off this visa restriction list.”
Secretary Pompeo, after meeting Onyeama, said that Trump took action partly due to the “terrorism threat” in West Africa, where Nigeria has fought alongside the United States against Islamist extremists.
Acknowledging that Nigeria remains a “strategic partner” Pompeo explained that the immigrant visa ban offered an opportunity for the two countries strengthen their relationship with “room to grow in sharing important national security information. I’m optimistic that’s going to happen,” Pompeo told reporters.
However, a readout of the meeting by the State Department spokesperson, Morgan Ortagus failed to mention the issue of the visa ban. Rather, the statement said: “Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met yesterday with Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama in Washington, D.C., as part of the US-Nigeria strategic dialogue. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Onyeama discussed Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts, the repatriation of stolen assets, expanding trade and investment, and continued security cooperation to bring about the defeat of ISIS-West Africa.
“The Secretary and the Foreign Minister agreed on the importance of ensuring the Nigerian military upholds the highest standards of professionalism and respect for human rights. They also discussed the more than two million people displaced by the conflict in Nigeria’s northeast. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Onyeama agreed to continue cooperating on global priorities for peace and security.”
Trump came to office vowing to impose border restrictions and notoriously was quoted as using a vulgar epithet for African and other developing nations that send immigrants to the United States; calling them “Shithole” countries.
Unlike a controversial order days after he took office that essentially banned entry to citizens from a number of Muslim-majority countries, the latest restrictions primarily involve foreigners who seek to immigrate rather than visit. Along with Nigeria, Trump imposed the curbs on nationals from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudan and Tanzania.
Meanwhile, the US announced an additional 40-million-dollar (N14 billion) aid to Nigeria to address the humanitarian crisis arising from the Boko Haram insurgency. Pompeo, who made the announcement, said this was in addition to nearly 350 million dollars (N122.5 billion) in assistance provided by the US last year.
Pompeo spoke at a joint media briefing with Onyeama, after the US-Nigeria Binational Commission (BNC) meeting, hosted by the State Department. “The foreign minister (Onyeama) and I also discussed today the massive humanitarian crisis that the conflict with Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa and other religious and ethnic violence. We know that these issues are hard. We know that they’re complicated. But I strongly encouraged the Nigerian government to do more to protect its civilians, including religious communities and the humanitarian organisations seeking to assist them. To aid in this effort, I’m pleased to announce today an additional 40 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to Nigeria, adding to the nearly 350 million dollars that we provided last year,” he said.
The BNC is a platform for the Nigerian and U.S. governments to expand cooperation and advance shared goals in the areas of trade and investment, development, good governance and security. Pompeo said the two-day meeting also featured discussions on security cooperation between both countries, especially Nigeria’s “recent purchase” of 12 US-made A-29 fighter planes worth 500 million dollars.
The sale of the aircraft, according to him, is in support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of building “a security force with the best training and modern weaponry.” He said the US would “hold Nigeria to the pledge” of ensuring that the country’s military operates with the highest standards of respect for human rights.
On his part, Onyeama described the security challenges facing the country as an existential threat but was quick to note that they were being addressed with respect for human rights. “Of course, we are faced with other security issues within Nigeria, and we know that some of them cause disquiet amongst our partners and we are addressing a number of those. And in addressing those internal challenges, and especially in the security area, we absolutely make it clear and strive to uphold human rights. We have the greatest interest in protecting and respecting the human rights of our population and we do that,” Onyeama said.
