*Says Nigeria Accounts For 11 Per Cent Of Visas Issued
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Eleven per cent of the three million visas issued by British high commissions and embassies globally in the last three years went to Nigerians.
Also, the number of Nigerian students in the United Kingdom (UK) rose to 127,000 from 20,000 during the period.
British High Commissioner to Nigeria Richard Montgomery revealed these during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday.
The UK Home Office had in May announced that from January next year, undergraduate and master’s students would no longer be allowed to take their dependents along with them.
The restriction, however, does not apply to research programmes students.
Montgomery blamed the media for misinterpreting the policy and enjoined Nigerians to view it from a wider rather than narrow perspective. He said it was beneficial to Nigeria and his country.
The envoy who lauded the Tinubu administration’s reforms, also spoke on the areas the UK and Nigeria could improve their economic and security ties.
He said that his personal interactions with President Bola Tinubu and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Geroge Akume, had provided Britain with the opportunity to grow its trade, investment, and economic relations.
The High Commissioner dismissed speculations that the visa restriction was to discourage Nigerian students from studying in the UK, saying it was primarily aimed at managing the pressure on social services for scholars in the UK.
Montgomery said at the moment, Nigerians desiring to study in the UK have a 97 percent visa approval rate.
Describing the policy as “positive for Nigeria and the UK,” he said: “Three years ago, there were 20,000 Nigerian students in British higher education institutions, and last year, the number increased to 127,000.
“So, we had a five-fold increase in the number of students from Nigeria coming to UK universities. We are delighted that UK universities continue to attract the best and brightest from Nigeria.
“And in the wider context, last year, the UK granted three million new UK visas of various types including students and other visitors.
“Nigerians alone received 325,000 of those three million visas.
“So, more than 10 per cent of the visas from the UK are to Nigerian citizens which is fantastic.
“It goes back to the fact that the UK and Nigeria have strong people-to-people links.
“The policy change is about people who are doing non-research degrees coming to the UK as undergraduates, or for a one-year master’s degree programme, and who decide to bring their dependents.
“We have had a very significant rise in the number of people coming from all around the world, not just from Nigeria. This has caused some strain on the UK.
“Sometimes, it is difficult to find good accommodation as a student and there is real pressure on housing and social services for students.
“If you looked at it, three years ago, only 1,500 dependants of students were coming to the UK from Nigeria, but now it was 52,000 last year. I am just trying to put it in proper context, that this is an adjustment.
“The words that are being used in the media to describe the situation are misrepresenting. We are making an adjustment that enables us to manage the demands on services in university towns and elsewhere.
“Nigerians are very successful in acquiring visas. We have a 97 per cent approval rate and so that is the big context.”
Montgomery, who also said that the UK was awaiting the appointment of ministers by President Tinubu, identified some areas in which both countries could strengthen cooperation.
His words: “I will say that there are six areas we would like to explore. The first is long-standing development cooperation.
“The second is economic area. We already have a good economic dialogue but we would like to take the next step and develop a form of a more enhanced trade and partnership.
“The third area is security and defence, which we would like to evolve and take forward. “Finally, we would like to have a more systematic dialogue on foreign policy.
Pledging UK’s willingness to continue to support Nigeria in its fight against insecurity, the envoy said: “ UK government’s two levels of defence collaboration with Nigeria are strategic and practical.
According to him, at the strategic level, a security and defence partnership exists.
“This Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) is a strategic umbrella, it enlists the areas where we are collaborating.”
Montgomery explained that the practical level deals with issues relating to things like Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Montgomery also assured that Britain would back Nigeria’s economic reforms to ensure success and build on its economic relations to boost the trade balance between the two countries.
“Years ago, the UK bought more oil from Nigeria and the trade balance might have been the other way.
“But I think the UK buys less oil from Nigeria now. Nigeria’s oil is going to other countries.
“This brings me to the key question which is, what is the content of your export?
“We would like to help provide export opportunities for Nigerian businesses to the UK, partly as a component of your diversification strategy.
“Nigeria has done a fantastic job to diversify its economy, particularly in the Southwest of the country.
“I think there are lots of high-end and high-value potential in the creative industry, the artistic areas, and services.
“There is an opportunity for Nigeria in the future to develop goods and services that can be exported based on the digital economy with abundant agricultural land if committed to national standards on export.”
The High Commissioner underscored the need for the Federal Government to provide incentives to reduce plastic pollution in order to protect the environment.
He described plastics as the largest, most harmful and most persistent fraction of marine litter that accounts for at least 85 percent of total marine waste.
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