The United States and Nigeria have voiced hope that the Trump administration would soon lift onerous visa restrictions slapped on Africa’s most populous country, which said it was “blindsided” by its ally.
On a previously scheduled visit to Washington, Nigerian Foreign Minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, said he sought more information on President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown announced last week which targeted Nigeria and five other countries.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 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.
Nigeria remains a “strategic partner” but Trump restricted visas as it has “room to grow in sharing important national security information.”
“I’m optimistic that’s going to happen,” Pompeo told reporters.
Striking a diplomatic tone, Onyeama said his talks 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.
He said that 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.
- Agency Report