By Pius Okaneme

SIR, The imposing of travel ban on Nigeria by the Trump administration will not discriminate who his supporters are. Most families may now wound up being separated from their loved ones in America as a result of his policy.

The subtle disguise by the Trump administration for the travel ban is that America is adopting the policy for national security purposes.

We have to rise from the backward notion that America or any other Western country cares about the interest of the black nations. The underlying principle guiding any of their government policies is self-interest. They can come under the guise of humanitarianism or other social advancement programs. Reality is that if there is nothing for them to gain from engaging in your country, they will show about face irrespective of the calamity you may be going through.

I wish our politicians will learn from this insult to our collective image. Nigeria could seize this opportunity to re-direct its misguided priorities. We could focus on making the country more attractive to the citizens so that there should be no need for the mass exodus to foreign countries that have indicated that our presence on their soil constitutes a nuisance. But you can bet that our politicians have no shame. They will look for another fertile ground in a foreign country to bury the loot from our treasury.

We should seek to find out who our true heroes are. We are not babies that will be dancing with excitement because an impostor is shining sweet platitudes before our eyes. We should not be sulking either because America wants to bully us to submit to their nationalistic dictates. We should retreat and show resilience. We should be proud that our country is rich enough that with proper management of our resources, America will pay any price to be our ally.

It is sad that our present leadership does not engender hope. There seems to be no political suaveness or diplomatic ingenuity to showcase our country as an equal participant on the global discourse. The presidency is running around in a ring of mundane inanities. The political structure seems to be in shambles. The people must wake to the call of our destiny.

• Pius Okaneme, Umuoji, Anambra State.