Editor’s Note
Migration and refugees have become significant issues in many Western countries in recent years. From one capital to another, the rising profile of Nationalists and far-right parties has significantly influenced the shift in policies regarding immigration and already settled migrants. Immigration Laws have changed, and constitutional reforms have either been enacted or are in an advanced stage in many of these countries, making it more challenging for potential migrants to enter, gain a stay and eventually obtain citizenship.
The Trump administration in the US, for instance, has not only overhauled the immigration laws but also engaged in mass deportation of suspected undocumented migrants, in many cases without recourse to due process.
The new German Government has indicated its willingness to be tougher on migrants with dual nationality and serious criminal convictions, in so doing, maybe borrowing a leaf from the Swedish Government’s plan to strip individuals of their Swedish passport if convicted of serious crimes like espionage. In the UK, where citizenship is increasingly viewed as a privilege rather than a right, the British Government is taking a similar line.
Any responsible Government must safeguard their citizens from threats within and outside its borders, and rightly so. However, the conversation on migration in general is believed by many to be more far-fetched than it appears to be at present. In this edition of Issues Arising, we present two quotations that are opposed and represent divergent views on the topic. It is striking that the two speakers whose quotes we are highlighting are of Nigerian descent.
Feel free to form your opinion and let us know which side you are on.
“Britain is our home; it’s not a hotel. The truth is that for 30 years, mass migration has been far too much, not just here in Britain but all across the Western world, and can’t continue. If you enter this country illegally or overstay your visa, you will be banned from ever gaining leave to remain or a British passport. Lower (migration) numbers, secure borders that will work for the British people.”
Kemi Olufunto Badenoch
British Politician of Nigeria Descent
“I am thinking about these things in terms of righting historical wrongs, the whole conversation about refugees. Europeans came to Africa without visas; what’s wrong with Africans doing the same?
I keep thinking that 150 years ago, you went to Africa, and you didn’t have a visa. Nobody asked you to come. You go in there, plunder, do whatever you want. I think that should form the conversation on a moral basis. I think the West has responsibility for colonialism, which was a brutal and terrible dictatorship that resulted in countries that were never going to work.”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Internationally acclaimed Nigerian writer