US visa curbs force Nigerian business owners to seek opportunities elsewhere

Transcript

00:00Alil Shoybe Idris owns this cosmetic shop in Joss.

00:10He has for years been traveling to the US as well as countries in Europe to import products.

00:15But he says his focus going forward will be less on America.

00:19Honestly, I feel very, very bad concerning this US visa ban.

00:24I myself, I start thinking otherwise because I know in other countries like China, UK, France, they like us.

00:40They have been inviting us. China is even helping us because China will even produce quality of that US product.

00:47The US has for many years been a destination for importation of various products into Nigeria and other African nations.

00:54It has also been a dream nation for young people to study, work and send money back to their countries for investments.

01:01Trump is doing all of this because he's more of a conservative person. Of course, the party is also very conservative.

01:06And like he said, he has said, it's America first. That is the direction that his government is facing.

01:13If you count the number of foreign medical personnel in the US, whether doctors, nurses, pharmacies,

01:19one out of every four of them are Nigeria, talking about 25% of foreign healthcare workers,

01:25spanned from Nigeria. And these guys, this is just one sector, talking about the health sector.

01:30You still have this in several other sectors.

01:32But many business owners like Ali Shoaib will say a travel ban restricting nationals from countries

01:38such as Nigeria by the US is forcing them to consider business opportunities elsewhere.

01:43In December, the Trump led government added Nigeria to 14 other countries it has restricted visa entries

01:50for describing them as a threat to US national security and safety. And that could have economic

01:56implications. According to Nigeria's Bureau of Statistics, total capital importation for the third

02:02quarter of 2024 from the US into Nigeria stood at $164 million. Economic analysts project that there

02:10will be a decline in the figure in the coming years with the visa travel ban. They want Nigeria to address

02:16issues of insecurity to ensure it is removed from the travel ban by the US. If we had our

02:22acts together, we would not be looking out to some of these developed countries like 70, 80, 90% of our

02:31dependence on them. We would actually be looking at fellow Nigerian cops or diversify to other nations.

02:38The government says it is doing all it can, such as partnering with the US to eliminate terrorists

02:44from the country to make it safe. The US on Christmas Day launched strikes on suspected insurgents in

02:50Nigeria's northwest state of Sokoto, with the Nigerian government saying it was a joint operation between

02:55both countries. Business owners like Alisha Eboo Idris say they look forward to when that happens and for

03:02the travel ban to be lifted. For now, they say they will be seeking partnerships in countries with

03:08friendlier visual policies to enable them to do business.