Atiku lists type of Nigerians who should be targeted by US in visa restriction

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the last general elections, Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the visa restriction imposed on Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania by the United States of America.

Atiku in a statement he personally signed on Saturday, said that the US should have considered adopting measures that individually target those in government who have failed in their duties of serving Nigerians, rather than target the entire population.

“The current Nigerian administration may have its deficiencies and deep faults, but the Nigeria people ought not to be punished for their inefficiencies,” he contended.

Reacting further, Atiku said that the ban does not take into account the pro-American sentiments of the Nigerian public and the solidarity previous Nigerian administrations have had with the US.

“I urge the government of President Donald Trump to consider the history of US-Nigerian relationships.

“Nigeria was one of the few African nations that joined the US-led coalition during Operation Desert Storm between 1990-1991 when the United States championed the liberation of Kuwait.

READ ALSO: US slams visa restrictions on Nigeria, 5 other countries

“The Trump administration may also consider the pivotal role Nigeria, in partnership with the US, played in bringing peace to Liberia, an American sphere of influence, that now enjoys democracy because Nigerian blood and money paved the way for peace in that nation.

“Nigeria has also consistently voted in support of the United States and her allies at the United Nations and other multilateral world bodies.

“This is even as we are perhaps the biggest trading partner that the United States has in Africa, even where we had alternatives.

“Nigerians love the United States and have been a major force for the positive development of that great nation: 77% of all Black doctors in the United States are Nigerians.

“Nigerians are also the most educated immigrant community in America bar none.

“Surely, the US stands to benefit if it allows open borders with a country like Nigeria that is able to provide skilled, hardworking and dedicated personnel in a two-way traffic,” the statement by Atiku added in part.

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