Controversy continues to trail the new visa regulation that bans immigrant students from bringing their family members as dependants into the United Kingdom. The policy move has elicited mixed reactions from experts in the field of immigration and education.
Education researcher, Dr Peter Ogudoro, acknowledged the United Kingdom’s generosity and openness in welcoming Nigerians, emphasising that the UK government has not made it difficult for foreigners who genuinely aspire to improve their knowledge and skills.
Ogudoro went on to clarify that Nigeria’s poverty situation and bad governance inspire Nigerians to seek better opportunities outside the country. Nigerians tend to move out, leaving their families behind, or bring their families along while they pursue a better life in other countries. According to Ogudoro, this act places a heavy burden on the UK’s public treasury. The education sector should fuel revenue for the government, and the new policy will help control resource allocation while promoting international education.
However, the immigration expert, Comptroller of Immigration, Chukwuemeka Obua, believes that every sovereign country has the right to make laws concerning immigrant status. He states that the UK’s new immigration law should not be viewed as a directed attack on Nigerians alone, as other foreigners have similarly been banned from bringing dependants to the UK.
The UK government’s decision to exclude dependants of immigrant students from the country has generated a buzz among Nigerians, perhaps because of the country’s worsening situation. The policy move may trigger more Nigerians to seek alternative education destinations, and countries like New Zealand and Australia may well take advantage of that.
Nigeria’s governments should fix the nation’s education sector, specifically high education, before things get out of hand, Ogudoro warns. It is crucial that Nigerians do not see the new UK immigration policy as specific to them. Rather, it is a regularised procedure that other countries have put in place to ensure the security of their economy and social conditions.
