On Donald Trump’s Decision to Increase U.S. Visa Fees For Skilled Workers By $100,000 (₦150 Million) -By Sylvester Udemezue

    I have just read with keen interest the news report announcing that U.S. President Donald Trump has approved a massive increase in visa fees for skilled workers entering the United States, raising the cost by $100,000 (about ₦150 million).   While many may react with outrage or despair, I see in this decision an opportunity for sober reflection, especially for Nigerians. For too long, many of our citizens have adopted “japa” (mass emigration) as the most attractive response to the challenges of governance, insecurity, unemployment, and systemic failure at home. Understandably, people want better lives. But mass exodus is not, and cannot be, a sustainable solution to our national problems. History is replete with examples of countries that confronted deep crises but chose to fight for reforms from within rather than flee. Egyptians stood their ground during the Arab Spring. Algerians rose to challenge poor governance. The people of Tunisia, Nepal, and Yemen took destiny in their hands. They did not run away en masse; they confronted their realities until positive changes emerged.   Nigeria must learn this lesson. “Japa” may offer temporary relief, but it is essentially escapism. Those who leave often discover that life abroad is not without its own struggles, sometimes humiliating, sometimes demeaning. Many end up in second-class status, facing discrimination or limitations. And eventually, most still yearn to return home. But what home will they return to if the country is not rebuilt today?   This is why, on September 25, 2020, shortly after the Edo governorship election, I wrote an article titled “2020 Elections: Edo State As A Pacemaker Towards Realizing the Democracy of Our Dreams in a Perennially Troubled Country?” In it, I said:   “Nigerian youths, I salute you. You are not lazy; you are the leaders of Nigeria’s tomorrow… Amen. Your destiny is in your hands! The day you rise to say ‘enough is enough’ to these manipulative, exploitative, egoistic, corrupt, and inept politicians and leaders (and you can do it), that day will mark the beginning of Nigeria’s journey out of Golgotha. Your exploits on September 19, 2020, in Edo State, showed clearly that you are able and capable. You stopped election rigging; you resisted vote-buying; you curtailed electoral violence and exposed malpractices, just as you gallantly did in Edo State. That spirit of courage and resilience is the same spirit Nigeria urgently needs today.”   Those words remain true today. If our youths could summon such determination in Edo, they can do even greater things for Nigeria as a whole. Instead of lamenting Trump’s action, Nigerians should see it as a clarion call. If migration becomes almost impossible due to prohibitive costs, then we must stay back and focus our energies on fixing our country. Imagine if our youths (full of creativity and courage) could channel their focus away from Yahoo-Yahoo, Yahoo-Plus, drug abuse, and desperate attempts to escape, and instead spend even one month working earnestly towards reforming Nigeria. The results would be remarkable.   In truth, Trump may have done us an unintended favour. His policy should inspire us to embrace the urgent duty of national rebirth. Other countries may follow suit, and if they do, it will only hasten the moment when Nigerians finally turn inward to reform and reposition their own land.   Fellow Nigerians, let us take this as a wake-up call: you cannot cherish what you do not nourish. The destiny of our country lies in our own hands, not in foreign visas. The time has come to stay, to fight, and to rebuild our country, Nigeria.       Respectfully,   Sylvester Udemezue (Udems)   Proctor, The Reality Ministry of Truth, Law and Justice (TRM).   08021365545.   udems@therealityministry.ngo.   (20 September 2025)