Donald Trump, as we know, cannot tell the truth even if truth applied for a visa with premium processing, attached a bank statement, and came with a letter from God. Truth under Trump is always “under review”, “subject to further verification”, or flatly denied entry at the border.
This week’s episode of America First, Facts Last features Nigeria being added to yet another visa restriction scheme. The reason given? “Security concerns.”
Of course. When in doubt, say security. It is the diplomatic equivalent of “my dog ate my homework”.
Now, let us be serious for just one paragraph — only one, I promise.
There are no Nigerian suicide bombers queuing at JFK. No Lagos-based insurgent cell plotting the takeover of Nebraska. No grand Abuja conspiracy to destabilise Montana. The average Nigerian trying to enter the US is more concerned about missing documents, embassy queues, and whether the visa officer woke up on the wrong side of the bed than overthrowing Western civilisation.
If Trump wanted to be honest, he could have simply recycled his greatest hit:
> “A total and complete shutdown…”
This time, just update the lyrics. Same tune, new target. Less “security”, more melanin management. When Trump talks about borders, walls, bans, and shutdowns, the subtext is so loud it no longer qualifies as subtext. It is a full-blown press conference.
Security concerns, indeed.
Nigeria has been exporting doctors, engineers, professors, tech founders, nurses, and entrepreneurs to the US for decades. Nigerians run hospitals, teach American children mathematics, power Silicon Valley startups, and prop up entire professional sectors. If Nigerians truly posed a security threat, the US healthcare system would have collapsed by now. Instead, it relies on them like NEPA relies on excuses.
At this point, Nigeria should consider a bold foreign policy move: turn around and face elsewhere.
The world is bigger than Washington DC and Mar-a-Lago. There is Europe. There is Asia. There is the Middle East. There is Africa itself — a continent we keep forgetting exists unless we are begging for visas.
And while we are at it, perhaps Nigeria should also reconsider how enthusiastically we supply our natural resources to countries that treat us like a background risk assessment. Oil, gas, critical minerals — these things are not souvenirs. If relationships are to be transactional, then let us bring our own calculator to the table.
Maybe Nigeria should even announce its own policy:
> “A total and complete shutdown of emotional attachment to Trump’s America.”
No drama. No press conference. Just vibes.
This does not mean cutting ties with Americans — Nigerians and Americans get along just fine. This is about Trump’s America: a place where truth needs a passport, honesty needs an affidavit, and racism wears a badly tailored suit called national security.
Trump will move on to the next target soon enough. He always does. The bans change, the countries rotate, but the script remains the same. Fear first, facts later — if at all.
As for Nigeria, perhaps this is a good moment to remember something important: you cannot be perpetually begging at the door of someone who keeps changing the locks.
Sometimes, the wisest thing to do is stop knocking, turn around, and build your own house.
Centre for Nigeria Progress 