Trump should revoke visas of corrupt Nigerians – Campbell Published April 23, 2017 Share Tweet Share BAYO AKINLOYE The United States-based think tank, Council on Foreign Relations, has called on the US President, Donald Trump, to revoke visas of corrupt Nigerian politicians and work with President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption in the country. Trump was also advised to collaborate with the South African President, Jacob Zuma. The organisation, however, warned the Trump administration to be prepared to accept blowback from powerful Nigerian political officials. In the latest CFR report released this month, ‘How the Trump Administration Can Help Combat Kleptocracy in Africa,’ co-authored by a former US Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, the think tank noted that kleptocracy undermined US interests across sub-Saharan Africa. According to the report, a policy of combating corruption across the region will strengthen US national security. The report recommended that the Trump administration should establish an inter-agency working group to make full use of the US anti-corruption policies and procedures that are already in place to pursue country-specific strategies in Nigeria and South Africa. The report, otherwise referred to as the ‘Corruption Brief,’ said, “First, the working group should ensure that an anti-corruption strategy is shared by the whole government, including the Departments of State, Treasury, Justice, and Homeland Security, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such an approach should use anti-corruption tools such as the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which provide the US executive and judicial branches jurisdiction over illicit money that passes through the US financial system, no matter its origin, destination, or beneficiaries. “The working group should collaborate closely with the Buhari administration as it seeks to repatriate stolen funds that are sheltered abroad. In South Africa, the working group should make its expertise on prosecuting money laundering and other white-collar crimes in a sophisticated financial environment available to anti-corruption NGOs, the courts, and members of parliament. The working group should ensure that US efforts in the two countries are coordinated but reflect the important national differences; a one-size-fits-all approach should be avoided.” As part of its recommendation, the report urged the Trump administration, with guidance from the working group, the US embassies in Abuja and Pretoria, to revoke visas of corrupt Nigerians and South Africans. “The purpose of this action would be to underscore that corruption has personal consequences even for those in the previously protected political classes. To that end, the Trump administration should work to speed up the slow and inefficient visa revocation procedure. US embassies in both countries should publicise the policy of revoking the visas of those credibly suspected of criminality. Identification of those whose visas should be cancelled will be easier in Nigeria, where corruption is widespread and open. “The Donald Trump administration should start with Nigeria and South Africa. They are Africa’s two largest economies, and each country is ostensibly democratic, though some institutions are still fragile. Reflecting the importance of both countries to the United States, President Trump telephoned Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and South African President Jacob Zuma during his first fortnight in office, making Buhari and Zuma the only sub-Saharan African leaders with whom he has been in personal contact,” it said. Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. 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