Foreign Travel Advisories: Nigeria Should Invoke Reciprocity

Are Nigerian citizens in the US and at home guided by any travel advisory for their safety when visiting the US and other countries with major issues relating to street criminality and organised violence? 

Nigeria has been at the receiving end of travel advisories from major Western nations for many years. In theory, the primary audience of these advisories is their nationals living here and those yet to step out of their shores. Embassies routinely send dispatches to their home governments. Such reports contain assessments of the political, economic and security situations of their host countries. These contribute to policy formulation and business decisions.

The US Department of State issued a statement on 8 April warning its nationals in Nigeria to avoid travelling to 23 of Nigeria's 36 states due to widespread insecurity: insurgency, kidnapping for ransom, communal violence and banditry. The recent warning from the US to its nationals is troubling. The grounds of the advisory are wide-ranging and contentious in their hyper-generalisation.

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