By Ibukun Emiola
Ibadan – Some experts have urged the Federal Government to improve on Nigeria’s homeland security to guard against imposition of tough visa rules by foreign countries.
The experts, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Tuesday, said that the country risked getting such treatment if it failed to address its internal security concerns.
Prof. Soji Aremu, a security expert at the University of Ibadan, said that the situation had become worrisome, even as European Union proposed to impose tough visa rules on Nigeria few weeks after the US visa ban.
He noted that the same reasons or excuses cited by the US for the visa ban also prompted the European Union, a situation which, he said, called for immediate action.
Aremu said “When it comes to international policy, the US government dictates how global affairs should be run.
“Since Nigeria had gotten such treatment from US, the European Union finds it convenient to follow the same action on security.
“The question is: Can Nigeria account for its nationals outside the country? We have a government agency in charge of profiling people going out of the country, but we have not been able to do this well.
“If Nigeria fails to profile its citizens, you cannot expect foreign countries to do it on your behalf.’’
He further said that there were allegations that Nigeria government was issuing passports to non-Nigerians which they used to get visas into foreign countries.
“These people then become suspects and soft targets for the foreign countries.
“The US and EU have every reason to place such a ban on Nigeria, if that is the case, for their own security.
“It has serious implications on the image of Nigeria; so the government should look inward and review its homeland security,’’ he said.
Aremu also called on the Federal Government to review the issue of passports, create a system of profiling its citizens adequately and appeal to countries that have imposed strict visa rules on Nigeria.
“Government should investigate and appeal to these countries for a change of mind and address the concerns raised on security.
“After doing these, we should also address our security issues so that countries of the world will not follow suit in imposing visa ban on Nigeria,’’ he said.
Also, Dr Babatunde Oyedeji, an International Relations expert at Lead City University, Ibadan, attributed the migration of people from Nigeria to economic conditions and unemployment.
He said that if the government could address these issues, there would be reductions in the insecurity currently facing the country, thus reducing the rate migration.
According to Oyedeji, the border closure by Nigeria is causing problems for the country, suggesting, therefore, that the border closure should be a temporary measure.
“We need Europe and Europe needs us. I don’t think we should allow Europe and America to close their borders against us.
“Nigerians are all over the world doing great in many areas of endeavour, though there are some bad eggs, who are spoiling the name of the country by doing bad things like ‘Yahoo Yahoo’.
“Government should continue to talk intensively with Europe and America, and also increase our internal security measures.
“The Federal Government needs to do something about it. They have to keep talking, even if it means begging them so that they don’t shut their borders against us.
“We need them more than they need us; that is the truth of the matter,’’ Oyedeji said.
Another, Political and International Relations expert, Dr Olu Ojedokun, who is also a legal practitioner, said that Nigeria should be proactive in addressing issues of foreign policy.
He said that the country’s ambassadors should rise to the occasion, as several warnings were oftentimes issued before measures were taken against the country.
“All hope is not lost. We need to tighten our foreign policy procedures and address some critical issues, because these countries have noticed some weaknesses in our internal security procedures and our approach hence the sanctions,’’ he said.
According to Ojedokun, because it is possible to have more than one passport, these countries are set to safeguard their economy and their respective foreign policies.
“Also, there are lots of immigrants who come into Nigeria because of its population and status as the largest economy in Africa and the most populous Black nation in the world.
“Because of this immigration, these countries are worried when it comes to reabsorbing immigrants and Nigeria is resistant also in reabsorbing because a lot of people who claimed to be Nigerians are not Nigerians.
“I also think that Europe is taking a cue from America to a certain extent. But Nigeria needs to work on its computerised system, biometrics and other things,’’ he said.
NAN reports that according to a recent report, EU also may impose tough visa rules on Nigeria over illegal migration, if the country fails to play its part in the returning and readmission of its nationals staying illegally in Europe.
The report also noted that Nigerians are still placed among the top 10 nationalities detected as staying irregularly in EU, even though the number of Nigerians travelling abroad irregularly to EU had dropped since 2019.
NAN)