President Donald Trump issued a number of executive orders on Monday upon his return to the White House with the goal of changing U.S. foreign policy, immigration, and health policies, among other areas.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The directives’ ramifications transcend beyond America to nations like Nigeria and Africa as a whole, even though their primary focus was on his pledges to unleash the “golden age of America.”
Being the most populous country on the continent, Nigeria would surely be impacted by Trump’s executive orders in sectors including trade, energy, immigration restrictions, and health. The following lists Trump’s five main executive orders along with their implications for Nigeria.
Birthright Citizenship: Nigerians are no longer permitted to travel to the United States to give birth in the hopes that the child will be automatically granted American citizenship as a result of Trump’s executive order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which went into effect on February 20.
Children born in the United States to women who are in the country illegally or who are on temporary visas will no longer be eligible for passports, citizenship certificates, and other documentation. Additionally, children cannot be citizens of the United States if their dads are neither citizens or lawful permanent residents. At least one parent must hold a US citizen or green card in order for the child born in the US to be an American citizen. The External Revenue Service Trump declared plans to create an External money Service as part of his America First Trade Policy, with the ultimate goal of employing it to collect fees, tariffs, and other money connected to international trade.
On his X (formerly Twitter) account, Taiwo Oyedele, the head of Nigeria’s Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, stated that the decision to impose taxes and tariffs on other nations may cause disruptions to international trade and make the already intricate global tax system even more complicated. Oyedele asserted that Trump’s move underscored the significance of Nigeria’s pending tax changes.
“We can better navigate potential challenges and seize any opportunities this development may present by revamping our tax system,” he stated. 3. Deportation Policy: Trump assigned the U.S. military to support border security as he began his extensive immigration crackdown on Monday. Declaring a national emergency, Trump gave the secretary of defense the authority to deploy troops to the border as required and directed the Pentagon to support the building of a border wall, detention facilities, and migrant transit.
U.S. border officials announced shortly after the inauguration that they had closed outgoing President Joe Biden’s CBP One entry program, which had permitted hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the country lawfully by using an app to make an appointment. Migrants were left in disbelief and unclear of what to do when existing appointments were cancelled. Obed Monago, the director of the African Diaspora Congress, told Nigerians in the United States that there is no reason to be concerned about mass deportations under the Trump administration, but he also said that the United States is likely to tighten its immigration laws.
In the event that Monago’s claim is confirmed, it would mean that Nigerians who violate immigration laws and those who live in the United States and rely on their children’s citizenship already face deportation. 4. Energy Emergency: In an effort to “unleash” the United States’ already rising energy production, Donald Trump announced a national energy emergency. This was part of a flurry of pro-fossil fuel moves and initiatives, which also included lifting restrictions on gas exports and drilling in Alaska.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, the CEO of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), stated on Tuesday that Trump’s broad policies regarding the resumption of oil drilling in the United States and his push for investment would affect the world’s oil supply, which in turn would affect Nigeria’s crude revenue and the value of the Naira. According to Yusuf, the US decision to resume oil drilling could increase the world’s supply of crude oil, which would lower the price of oil globally and hurt Nigeria’s crude oil earnings.
Even though “it will negatively impact Nigeria’s oil revenue,” as he stated, a drop in global oil prices would result in lower local energy prices, which is advantageous for businesses and Nigerians.
Trump’s declaration that he will remove the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) underscores his distaste for the organization and its administration. Citing its alleged mismanagement of the Covid-19 outbreak and other global health disasters, Trump tried to persuade the US to sever ties with the global health organization during his first term in 2020.
With regard to China, which he claims contributes about 90% less to the WHO, Trump charged in Monday’s executive order that the organization is requesting “unfairly onerous payments from the US, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.”
The US is the largest partner and donor to the WHO, having contributed $1.284 billion in the 2022–2023 biennium. The WHO and its partners will be less able to recognize and address global emergencies and further other important global health priorities as a result of the US funding cutoff. Nigeria and Africa as a whole, where the US-WHO relationship has been crucial in addressing public health issues like disease outbreaks, workforce shortages, and health system disparities, are predicted to be significantly impacted by the departure.
The United States has played a significant role in aiding WHO-led emergency responses to diseases such as mpox, Marburg virus, and Ebola. The U.S.-WHO partnership has recently aided in the delivery of vaccines and the development of health system capacity in a number of African countries. Additionally, because of their heavy reliance on WHO and U.S. partnership, organizations like the Africa CDC may experience financing shortages as a result of the pullout.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
