News
There’s No Free Ticket” – Canada Warns Nigerian Asylum Seekers Crossing From USA
The Canadian government said it’s working with U.S. visa officials in Nigeria to mitigate the surge of migrants coming to the United States seeking a safe haven in neighboring Canada.
There’s a growing number of Nigerian asylum seekers who legally travel to the United States on a visa and stay for a brief time before attempting to cross the border into Canada, according to the Canadian government. In response, three Canadian officials have been stationed to work with U.S. visa officials in the Nigerian city of Lagos to “combat abuse of U.S. travel documents,” the government announced in a press release Monday.
“Coming across the border in a way that seeks to circumvent our procedures is no free ticket to Canada,” Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale said in a statement. “We will continue to ensure an orderly managed border, including the compassionate treatment of those who genuinely need Canada’s protection. And we will continue to work with the United States to deter the misuse of travel documents that has helped drive the influx.”
Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen will also travel to the West African nation this month to meet with Nigerian officials about the issue.
“Our government’s priority first and foremost is to ensure that all laws are followed to protect the safety and security of Canadians,” Hussen said in a statement.
The U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment Wednesday.
More than 25,000 asylum seekers were apprehended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, mostly in Quebec, as they crossed “irregularly” into Canada from the United States between the ports of entry from January 2017 through March of this year. The influx of irregular border-crossers appears to be on the rise, and there’s concern the number will soar as the weather warms up.
The number of asylum seekers apprehended by the national police force in the first three months of this year was more than double the amount in the same period last year. And last year, the number intercepted at the border more than tripled in July and August, according to figures from the Canadian government.
Many of the asylum seekers crossing into Canada last year were Haitians who feared they would lose their temporary protected status (TPS) in the United States, after President Donald Trump’s administration announced it will end the program for Haitian immigrants by July 2019.
So far this year, most of the asylum seekers crossing into Canada by land have been Nigerian citizens, the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed to ABC News.
“Nigerians do not want to settle in the U.S. but in Canada. It is much easier for a citizen of Nigeria to obtain a tourist visa for the U.S. than for Canada,” Stephane Handfield, an immigration lawyer in Montreal, told ABC News in French. “So they get a U.S. tourist visa, stay a few days in the U.S. and cross the Canadian border.”
Handfield said it’s also easier for asylum seekers to obtain refugee status in Canada than in the United States.
Nigerians are fleeing their home country for a number of reasons, such as poverty, persecution and violent conflict, including Boko Haram’s years-long insurgency. The Nigeria-based jihadist group, which seeks to establish an Islamic state, has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced some 2.3 million since 2009, according to the latest figures from the United Nations.
“When people are fleeing persecution, whether they’re in Nigeria or elsewhere, they will take whatever method and route is available to them,” John Cockell, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Canada, told ABC News. “International humanitarian law recognizes this and that’s why asylum seekers are not penalized for entering a country using irregular means, as many choose to do in the case of Canada.”
“We feel [Canadian] authorities have actually done a very good job with managing the increased numbers,” Cockell added.
The Canadian government said it will build new facilities for short-term accommodations at a popular border crossing into the province of Quebec from New York state. Canadian officials will also fast-track work permits for asylum seekers, so they can financially support themselves and their families while they wait to see if their claim for protection is granted.
“While we adhere to international conventions and want to offer asylum to those fleeing persecution and war, the fact remains that there are very specific laws, rules and criteria to be respected in order to find refuge in our country,” Canada’s Minister of Transport Marc Garneau said in a statement.
ABC News
News
Alaafin: How selection process turned controversial
After the death of Oba Adeyemi on April 22, 2022, about 198 contenders signified their interest to assume the revered throne.
But, the number was pruned from 65 to 10 by the Oyo Mesi, a council of kingmakers after a rigorous interview and consultation with Ifa Oracle.
Then, the kingmakers were reported to have nominated Prince Gbadegesin.
After the nomination of Prince Gbadegesin by the estranged kingmakers, there was a row among the kingmakers over the sharing formula for the sum of money allegedly offered them for the selection.
It was gathered that it was the sharing formula that sowed the seed of discord. It was alleged that two of the kingmakers felt the larger portion of the cake was taken by one of them.
Inundated with complaints and alleged monetisation of the process that led to the selection, the‘greased palms’, the governor restrained himself from giving approval to the name forwarded to him by the kingmakers.
The governor insisted that due process must be strictly adhered to.
The governor, as reliably gathered instructed the kingmakers to go back to the drawing board by re-consulting Ifa Oracle without being induced by any one of the princes which the kingmakers rejected.
- Ifa Oracle consulted outside Oyo;
In what could be termed an unprecedented move, the state government reportedly went and sought the services of a neutral ifa priest, Professor Wande Abimbola, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ife and the head of all Ifa oracle diviners to ask Ifa Oracle which of the aspirants he preferred.
Ifa picked Prince Owoade — Prof Abimbola
In a viral video last weekend, Prof Abimbola was heard saying that the Oyo State government contacted him on the divination process.
According to the Ifa diviner, the Oyo State Governor called him to ask Ifa who the right choice would be.
The Professor of Yoruba explained the rigour he went through before picking the new Alaafin.
He said: ”I spent ten days seeking the face of Ifá oracle and Ifá made its choice. Ifá chose Prince Owoade.”
The Ifa representative also alleged that the Oyo kingmakers tried to monetarily influence him by persuading him to stick to their initial nomination to which he said no.
This was how Oba Akeem Abimbola Owoade became the 46th Alaafin of Oyo.
News
The Alaafin’s throne is not to be rubbished. Don’t play with me – Late Alaafin of Oyo’s daughter drags Queen Dami, exposes her over paternity of her child
Adeyemi Adebisi Aminat, the daughter of the late Alaafin of Oyo State, has dragged his ex-wife, Queen Dami over her social media shenanigans
In a series of posts on her Instagram story, she pointed out the irony of how Dami was shaming someone over paternity of their child, yet, doesn’t know the father of her child. She claimed the former Queen bought the child from Port Harcourt.
Adebisi stated that the fact that this palace isn’t talking doesn’t mean they don’t know what to say.
She further stated that the Alaafin’s throne is not to be rubbished as she admonished Dami not to play with her.
Adebisi revealed that she had all the blood tests and evidence before the King passed away.
Dammy you are insulting someone that they don’t know the father of their child. Do you know the father of your own child? The child you went to buy in Port Harcourt.
The fact that we are not talking doesn’t mean we don’t know what to say.
The Alaafin’s throne is not to be rubbished. Don’t play with me. I have all the blood tests and evidence before the king passed away. Go and give the child to the rightful owner”
Recall that Queen Dami was married to the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyeye but the marriage crashed after she allegedly broke a palace rule, an act that prompted her to leave her marriage and run away from the palace.
She later blamed the whole act on frustration and wrong advice from friends. Unfortunately, her relationship with the monarch was never repaired before his demise last year.
Following the death of the King, Dami publicly moved on with Portable, who confirmed their relationship in an interview in 2023.
Portable stated that Queen Dami was only a fan before the death of her husband, the King, but things switched up from there as he wasn’t one to have an affair with people’s wives.
Dami later went public with their affair o Valentine’s Day. She shared an adorable message for Portable, on her Instagram, as she excitedly expressed that Portable was her man, while also stating that he had her whole heart.
Celebrities
Condolences poured as Nigeria Fuji music star Kwam1 loses wife to illness
Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde Marsha popularly known as Kwam1 or K1 de Ultimate, has lost one of his wives, Alhaja Hafsat Anifowoshe
According to reports, the singer’s wife died in the early hours of today from an undisclosed illness.
The 65-years-old has been laid to rest at Abari Cemetery, Lagos in line with Islamic traditions.
Speaking on her death, the Chief Press Secretary to the LIEL CDA chairman, described the deceased as an excellent woman and loving mother. He noted how her time spent on earth was a good service to God and humanity
Addressing the family and her supporters, he said their prayers were with them and urged them to find the strength to continue where she stopped.
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