Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has disclosed that the United States under former President Donald Trump pressured Nigeria and other African nations to accept Venezuelan deportees, including ex-convicts and undocumented migrants.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Tuggar revealed that Nigeria firmly opposed the proposal, asserting that the country faces enough internal challenges and cannot shoulder the burden of foreign deportees.
“The U.S. is putting significant pressure on African countries to take in Venezuelans being deported from America, including some directly from prisons,” he said. “It is extremely difficult for Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners.”
Tuggar addressed these issues while responding to speculation that the U.S. may have altered its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerians in retaliation for Nigeria’s recent participation in the 2025 BRICS summit — an event attended by countries like Russia and China, with whom the U.S. maintains strained relations.
He suggested that Washington’s decision to downgrade visa privileges for Nigerians — from five-year multiple-entry visas to single-entry three-month visas — may be linked to Nigeria’s refusal to accept the deportees.
Quoting lyrics from a 1990 Public Enemy song, Tuggar said, “Flavor Flav has problems of his own, I can’t do nothing for you, man,” using the reference to underscore Nigeria’s stance.
“We already have 230 million people and more than enough of our own challenges,” Tuggar added. “We simply cannot take in Venezuelan deportees. For crying out loud, this is not our burden to bear.”
