AndrewIroOkungbowa 
…Nigeria should not invoke reciprocity doctrine, its last resort instrument
…They gave an hour notice to Nigeria High Commissioner in London
…It’s discriminatory, stigmatizing
The Director General of the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, Professor Eghosa Emmanuel Osaghae, has described the placement of Nigeria on Red List by the British government as a result of COVID-19 Omicron variant, as an unfortunate development, saying that it is wrong. He, however, believes it can be resolved diplomatically.
This is even as a Nigerian envoy, Akin Fayomi, said it was a ‘Diplomatic faux pas, a diplomatic blunder and discriminatory act on the part of the UK government by taking a hasty decision without consultation with Nigerian government. Fayomi, who is a former Nigerian Ambassador to France and Monaco and was also a former Undersecretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged restraint on the part of Nigerian government while calling for diplomatic engagement to resolve the issue. According to Osaghae, the decision to place Nigeria on the Red List: ‘‘Is an unfortunate development but the only thing that is reassuring is that we heard diplomatic engagements are going on and what we heard and have reason to believe, is that these things are being reviewed and from time to time there are errors of judgments,’’ he said.
The reactions that trailed the decision, he said, were expected. ‘‘You can expect the kind of reactions that you had, it is not only from Nigerians themselves but from the conscience quarters of the world, from the UN itself, the Secretary General, from the Archbishop of Canterbury, men and women of diplomatic wisdom; they have all said it is wrong and some have even described it as travel apartheid,’’ Osaghae said.
He said he doesn’t believe that the decision was discriminatory or that Nigeria was targeted, saying that: ‘‘I don’t want to think that they discriminated against us but whether they were or not I don’t think it was something that they sat down to deliberately target those countries and if they did that would be unfortunate.’ Although many Nigerians have called on the Federal Government to reciprocate the action of UK government, Osaghae said doing so would be wrong as there are already diplomatic talks. ‘‘When there are talks already underway you don’t reciprocate.
The role of reciprocity is that it is an instrument of last resort when everything else has failed. So long as there is room to talk, to jaw jaw, the question of reciprocating don’t just become our first line of discourse.” On Nigeria-UK relations, he said it has been cordial, saying: ‘‘The UK is perhaps Nigeria’s most permanent friend.
The historical progression, context is that the UK remains quite close to Nigeria politically, economically, socially, culturally and all of those things. The ties are very strong and even when you have shocks like this they don’t weaken those ties. UK remains one of Nigeria strongest allies and that is the history.’’ Meanwhile, Fayomi carpeted the UK government, saying it was a diplomatic blunder taking such decision without consultation with Nigeria government. While also aligning himself with the comments of the UN Secretary General and others who described the ban as ‘travel apartheid,’ he added that: ‘‘I will even go beyond that to say that it is really a Diplomatic faux pas so to say. I will go beyond the mere fact that I said that it was a diplomatic faux pas; it was a diplomatic blunder on the part of the UK government because in taking a harsh measure like this they ought to have consulted with the country concerned. ‘‘But from reliable sources they gave one hour notice to Nigeria High Commissioner in London to say we are going to place your country on the red list.
Who does that? If you have a partnership and you take the other person as a partner then you don’t treat the other person as if he is lower than you. ‘‘That is like patronising, it is like saying take it or leave it and I don’t think that augurs well for Nigeria- UK relations. In fact, I will call this ban very discriminatory and at the same time it is stigmatising. Because three people got it (Omicron variant), Nigeria should automatically be on the list?’’ He condemned such decision, saying it is not based on scientific evidence. ‘‘We have to work scientifically and not work on prejudices. Because three Nigerians have it then all Nigerians should not come to the UK, what kind of thing is that? That is stigmatisation and I don’t think it is in the best interest of the UK to do so.’’ On the issue of retaliating, he said it is wrong and on the extreme, saying that: ‘‘I don’t subscribe to retaliation, when we talk about reciprocity in diplomacy it is for good intentions. Two wrongs they say don’t make a right; you have to engage with them. We have to let them know that we don’t agree with them and our High Commissioner in London has said that and many others too and even petition signed by Nigerians resident in the UK.’’ He said with ongoing engagement, the decision should be reviewed by the UK government. ‘‘There might be a review and it can be lifted before its own review in three weeks’ time. Whatever the case maybe, we don’t have to retaliate but we have to make our voice loud and heard.’’
