The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Ralph Gonsalves, urged young Nigerians living in SVG to “regularise themselves”. Gonsalves on Sunday, December 18, 2022 said that many people here don’t understand the dynamic nature of an enhanced population.
Gonsalves was speaking to the issue of jobs and building a modern workforce that involves not only residents and citizens but individuals from the region and internationally.
Gonsalves said there was a time in SVG when immigration and other people used to discriminate against Grenadians, Guyanese, and Jamaicans. Gonsalves stated that he had to inform those in charge that the people are skilled; they come, they want to work hard, and they should be hired.
“We have a number of Nigerians and a small number of Ghanaians who came here from Dominica when the island was ravaged by Hurricane Maria. Some of the students who came are medical students, and some of them don’t have the support of their governments (a change in government) or a change in some of their family circumstances, so some of them dropped out of school. “Others don’t have money to buy their ticket to go back to Nigeria, but these are young men and women with skills; why chase our African brothers and sisters?” the PM said.
Gonsalves stated that he would have met a young man from Nigeria at Gaymes Pharmacy and asked him what he was doing in SVG.
“He said he was doing medicine but he couldn’t continue the program.” So I said, “What are you doing here?” He told me he has skills as a carpenter and cabinet maker, and that’s how he makes a living. I said, “Very good for you, young man.”
“All I say to them is just regularise yourself; make an application for temporary residence so that you don’t have to run and hide.” “I don’t want that to happen, and sometimes some people in the system are more in favor of a man from Europe, America, or Canada than someone out of Africa,” Gonsalves said.
Gonsalves stated that some people have been bemoaning that they are hearing bad things about Africans.
“This thing about this particular Nigerian or that particular African, with every nation you go to, you would get some of that.We don’t have any bad apples from Saint Vincent?”Gonsalves asked.
