By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
Thousands of Nigerians, sources say, are on the way to Sierra Leone in search of Sierra Leonean passports.
They are expected to enter Sierra Leone through the Liberia and Guinea borders.
The move by Nigerians is directly connected to the US ban slammed against the West African Nation. If their search is granted, Nigerians would escape the US ban with the use of Sierra Leonean passports.
It is clear that the US is leading serious anti- terrorist campaign in the world and would not hesitate to blacklist countries riddled with terrorism and barring their citizens from entering the US.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, still grapples with Boko Haram, a potent terrorist group in Africa threatening the country’s internal and external security. The terrorist group is notorious for its guerrilla tactics that is wreaking havoc on the country’s security. Boko Haram came under the spotlight following the abduction of dozens of Nigerian school girls for which they claimed responsibility.
Considering the tough stance on terrorism by the US government, it has no alternative but to stop Nigerians entering the US.
The Nigerian terrorist group is believed to have murdered dozens of Nigerians with Christian communities being the special target for the terrorist attacks.
However, another pranks employed by Nigerians to enter the US has been captured by the Trump government. A source at the US embassy in Sierra Leone says Nigerian pregnant women have been entering the US with the hope of giving birth there. “Any child born in the US enjoy the facilities such as food stamp (EBT), medicaid, Women In children (WIC) allowance,” the source said.
African countries are affected by abject poverty which they escape by beating systems in their country and the US.
Since the campaign period in the 2016 Presidential elections, President Trump was highly insistent that “America belongs to Americans.” With the slogan: ‘ America first.’
The move by Trump was recently, widely criticised by different quaters including the former President, George Bush. The former President claimed that America is known for magnanimity.
In spite of the wide criticisms, President Trump pressed ahead with his plans of removing thousands of illegal migrants and blacklisting countries that pose terrorist threats to the US.
Nigerians’ hunt for the Sierra Leonean passports is similar to the one they adopted in late 2002 following the end of the war in Sierra Leone. The period marking the end of the war ushered Sierra Leone into various resettlement and repatriation packages to which war victims were entitled to including the privilege to stay in any of the Western countries including the US.
During that period, Nigeria was also struggling with a US ban, a situation that compelled them to come to Sierra Leone in search of passports.
Some immigration officials, at that time, sold Sierra Leonean passports to the Nigerians who travelled to the US for a permanent stay. It is no gainsaying that some Nigerians are well known for felonious crimes especially economic crimes and drugs trafficking.
The US government, late last year, deported 16 Sierra Leonean citizens to Sierra Leone for the alleged commission of various felonious crimes.
Sierra Leone government officials were taken aback upon discovery that two out of the 16 deported persons are not Sierra Leoneans.
Office of National Security (ONS) is an institution responsible for the coordination of security in Sierra Leone. The institution has since raised security concerns for the deportation of non-Sierra Leonean citizens to Sierra Leone.
Assistant Director for the ONS Serious Crime Unit, Abdul Will told Nightwatch that his institution was scratching its head to resettle the deported citizens. “The country is worried because the migrants are sent home for serious criminal offences,” Abdul Will said. Quite apart from the security concerns, the ONS official, went on, the deportees’ welfare is a blow to the economy.
As Nigeria faces US Ban… Thousands of Nigerians Jet In For Sierra Leone Passports
