Information and culture minister Lai Mohammed has sounded a note of warning to the United Kingdom over its decision to bar Nigerian travellers.
The UK, on Monday, justified its travel ban on Nigeria, saying the measure was a temporary measure aimed at protecting its public health from the newly-discovered Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Experts, including US public health policy czar Dr Anthony Fauci, say the variant has so far not shown that it is as deadly as previous ones.
UK says it would re-evaluate the ban by December 20. But Nigerian officials threaten that they may respond with a policy of their own before that time.
“As you are aware, Britain has put Nigeria on its red list and banned foreign travels from our country,” Mohammed said in Abuja on Monday.
“Let me say straight away that it’s up to the Presidential Steering Committee to respond to this action by the British government and others, and I have no doubt that the committee will respond appropriately.
“If somebody who is a Nigerian but holds a British passport is allowed to enter Britain, he is as risky as I am. Is it the passport that now reduces his risk? That doesn’t make sense.
“If my cousin who holds a British passport stays in my house and is going back, you allow him to come in but you say I can’t?
“I don’t think the issue is how many people have tested positive or how many people Britain claims have tested positive. My position is very clear. Is travel ban the answer? The answer is no.
“Number one, where is the origin of this Omicron variant? It is definitely not Africa or Nigeria.
“How do you slam this kind of discriminatory action on a country of 200 million people just because of less than two dozen cases? Whereas British citizens and residents are allowed to come in from Nigeria, non-residents from the same country are banned.
“The two groups are coming from the same country, but being subjected to different conditions. Why won’t Britain allow people in both categories to come in, and be subjected to the same conditions of testing and quarantine?
“This is why this decision to ban travellers from Nigeria, who are neither citizens nor residents, is grossly discriminatory and punitive,” he said.
