The Canadian government is sending the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen to Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja to seek ways to reduce the rising number of Nigerian asylum seekers illegally entering the North American country through the United States of America.
Hussen said he would meet with Nigerian officials during his trip in the coming weeks as the Trudeau government struggles to deal with the surge of Nigerian migrants crossing the US border into Canada in Lacolle, Que and seeking asylum. News reports monitored by THEWILL put the number of illegal Nigerian crossings daily at around 90.
Most of the crossers have visas into the United States and then cross to Canada to seek refugee status because of the Trump administration’s hostile immigration policy.
The Minister said the Canadian government has been working with American officials to address the problem and has three Canadian officials working with the US Embassy in Nigeria on the matter.
“The US has taken action with respect to this issue. This includes cancelling visas and denying applicants’ visas,” he said.
THEWILL can report that millions of Nigerians living in Africa’s most populous country are poor despite the abundant natural resources available to develop the economy and turn the country into one of the top economies in the world.
Corruption and weak state institutions are mostly responsible for Nigeria’s economic troubles which has left the major oil producer and its almost 200 million population in pain and despair.
