The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has disclosed that Nigerian students population has grown in an amazing and disturbing proportion in the last three years. Speaking with journalists after his visit to the Nigerian State House in Abuja on Wednesday, the envoy said the number of Nigerians travelling to the United Kingdom via study route had multiplied five times in the last three years.
He linked the decision to ban international students from bringing family members with them to the UK starting 2024 was to avoid overburdening the country’s housing infrastructure and to end unguided inflow of migrants. He added that the policy is not targeted at Nigerians.
“Many more students are trying to bring their dependents with them…but it’s not always possible to find the housing and services to meet all the needs of all our existing student population…we’ll have to manage our migration in and out of the UK.” He was at State House for a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Responding to a question why the British High Commissioner gave reasons for the regulation, Montgomery said “I think there are two issues here. The first is, it’s not always possible to find the housing and services to meet all the needs of all our existing student population.”
“And second, reasonable people would accept that we have to manage our visitor numbers and we’ll have to manage our migration in and out of the UK just as the Nigerian government would do.”
Montgomery revealed that “ the number of Nigerian students coming to the UK has increased fivefold in the last three years,” noting that “It is a fantastic success story for our universities and we are really delighted that so many Nigerians are coming to the UK.”
He, however, said, “That issue was not raised in the meeting (with the Vice President) just now. But I would like to put the media debate about it in a broader context.
The envoy resumed in Nigeria on May 18 after meeting former President Muhammadu Buhari to submit his Letter of Credence.