Nigeria criticises UK's COVID travel restrictions as it was placed on red list
December 6, 2021, 3:07 pm

Nigeria criticises UK's COVID travel restrictions as it was placed on red list

Aircraft-Air travel/Pixabay

The BBC reported, Nigeria has criticised the UK's travel restrictions after it was placed on the red list amid fears over the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

"What is expected is a global approach, not selective," Sarafa Tunji Isola, Nigeria's high commissioner to the UK, told the BBC on Monday.

He also echoed comments made by the UN's chief, who described restrictions imposed on some southern African countries as "travel apartheid".

New rules came into force at 04:00 GMT.

Nigeria-Ekiti road/Pixabay

It means travellers arriving from Nigeria will be required to enter hotel quarantine - at their own expense - and isolate for 10 days.

"The travel ban is apartheid in the sense that we are not dealing with an endemic," Mr Isola told the Today programme. "We are dealing with a pandemic. Whenever we have a challenge there must be collaboration."

UK government minister Kit Malthouse, meanwhile, said the wording "travel apartheid" was "very unfortunate language".

He told the BBC: "We understand the difficulties that's created by these travel restrictions, but we're trying to buy a little bit of time so that our scientists can work on the virus and assess how difficult it's going to be."

The UK's Department of Health and Social Care said all countries collect data differently, meaning it is hard to directly compare the information. It said the government would continue to keep the data under review.

The BBC noted that Nigeria became the 11th country to go on the UK's red list for international travel on Monday. All nations currently on that list are African.

Source: BBC

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”