The federal government has reacted to a recent travel advisory issued by the United States, warning its citizens against travelling to Nigeria due to rising insecurity.
Naija News reports that the US had cautioned its citizens against visiting Nigeria, citing the prevalence of crime, terrorism, kidnapping, and inadequate healthcare services.
The warning, published on the website of the US Mission in Nigeria, stated: “Overall, all locations carry significant security risks.
“Do Not Travel to Borno, Yobe, Kogi, and northern Adamawa states due to terrorism and kidnapping. Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states due to kidnapping. Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states (with the exception of Port Harcourt) due to crime, kidnapping, and armed gangs.”
Speaking on Tuesday at the annual retreat of the Nigeria Reputation Management Group, which was organised in Abuja, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, cautioned the US government against undermining Nigeria.
He faulted the travel advisory, insisting that the move was unjustified.
The minister, represented by his Special Assistant on Media and Communication Strategy, Alkazeem Abdulkadir, said no nation, including the United States, could boast of absolute security.
He said, “There is a saying that if the lion does not learn how to write stories, the game will always glorify the hunter. I share this proverb with you because in 2024, about 47,000 people died from gun violence in America. Again, it is projected that in 2025, 45,000 people will die from gun violence in the same America.
“But because we have not articulated or replied to their travel advisory, we have empowered them to continue writing these things against us. A year ago, we wrote a travel advisory against Australia because they published one against us.
“We also wrote a travel advisory against the UK because they published one against us. In the ministry, we call this self-flagellation, where we, as Nigerians, are very prone to laugh at ourselves.”
He stressed that Nigeria must be more proactive in controlling its narrative in an increasingly manipulated global information space.
He added, “In such a context, your expertise becomes indispensable, not only in managing reputation but in framing the national narrative with clarity, integrity, and patriotic purpose.
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