Why Visa Restrictions Shouldn’t Apply To Prospective African Students With Legitimate Causes -By

Nothing trumps quality. Whether as regards the food we eat, the clothes we wear or the place we call our home. Nothing can outdo, outlast or is of more value than that which quality affords us. Using this premise, the same can be said concerning the education we receive. The standard of education one gets eventually determines the standard of life one lives. So, in spite of man’s many contraventions, the fact remains that high quality education is a core element in the making of a people whose legacies will grace the sand of time.

And by quality education, I mean the passage of relevant information from one mind to another with the definite aim of learning unto expertise. The attainment of knowledge potent enough to not only sustain development, but also dynamically initiate the smorgasbord of potentials that lies deep within simple men.
G.W Leibnitz was so certain of this that he said “Make me the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world.” He believed that by gaining access to quality education, any kind of man could influence the world; how much more a nation?

Until ignorant men are brought into a savvy condition, the reality of progressive change may never become lucid. This is the very reason why a plethora of Africans apply each year to study at some of the best universities outside of Africa, and in particular The United States.
I understand, it easily begs the question of “Why don’t they stay in their countries? There has to be at least one good school?” and if it’s as bad as many say “Why don’t they do something to change it?” Well, we all know that by virtue of the constitution there’s so much a citizen can do to influence his standard of living in any nation, but by virtue of the elitist world in which we live that constitutional privilege sometimes appears to be only a mirage. That’s why most Africans believe in the concept of bettering themselves and then returning to better their countries, because in truth no one listens to those below them. So we try to bring ourselves on par with those ruining our economies so that one day we may be deemed fit to rescue our nations from these barbaric entities.

Which brings me to my point.
For years the American educational system has aided a lot of Africans in reaching their full potentials and achieving subsequent aspirations. There are a countless number of notable names that can be thrown around to support this argument, but I’d like to reference a rather once close friend of mine, Dr. Obed Dodo, whom through a fully-funded scholarship acquired a Ph.D., and now contributes to the global population as a Senior Scientist at a leading Corporation.

That’s why I believe that while I comprehend the need to place certain restrictions on the kind of persons who can enter a country, it is also pertinent to note that to the same degree there’s a 100% chance of granting the worst sort of people access into American soil if these restrictions aren’t upheld, there is also a 100% chance of potentially missing out on the brightest minds if this policy is left unconditionally extant. My hope is that individuals would be assessed and characterized on an individual basis and not on the circumstantial basis of their nationalities. On their dreams and personal track record and not because of a past incident attributed to a person of similar race, religion, kin or social status.

There exists a bold association between development and quality education. Take a comparative look at the immense development of China (and its many affiliate but independent countries) and the wide number of its nationals who sojourned abroad to study at the best schools. Do the same with India if you have the time, and then you’d understand why many Africans look to the American state as some sort of haven for their buried potentials. Only then would you truly see the need for a word-limited article as this.

Now think of what results Africa could achieve if the same energy engendered via quality education was channeled into the minds of her people. Just think. We wouldn’t need aids nor handouts. We would be giants in our own right and maybe someday can repay the favor by being a haven to those who lent a hand in our ascension.

This is why I can only appeal to the Trump administration and the American people at large to take a different approach as regards certain immigration laws. Not just for Africa. It might be too late for me, but to give people like me something—to give them hope and a chance at a better life.

Isn’t that what America stands for?
Home of the free.

A home for those who dare to dream and desire freedom of all sorts—most especially from a penurious form of life.