When South Africa discovered the Omicron variant, they did not try to hide it to save face – they stepped up and informed the world. In response, nations imposed a travel ban not only against South Africa but neighboring African countries, many of them have only a few reported outbreaks of COVID altogether. 

What bothers me is I don’t care about Morocco and Israel imposing blanket travel bans because of their size and capacity handling. The country that bothers me the most is Japan, the 3rd largest economy. The Japanese blanket travel appears to be arbitrary and they seem to enjoy imposing travel bans at a whim. Japan is not messing up my personal game right now but the Japanese Travel Ministry is destroying the lives of people who invested their own lives in Japan who started service-based businesses. I’m also hearing a lot of foreign students who wanted to go to Japan for higher education are suffering from depression and despair and have not been to school for two years waiting on Japan to let them back in. 

Japan is singling out these African nations as well and this is very bigoted and discriminatory. There is no logic or reason to even think a travel ban against foreigners is effective. Japan lets its own citizens travel to other countries and return. So, think about the illogic – a Japanese can go to Africa, have close contact with Africans who have Omicron, and bring it back to Japan but somehow the virus likes Japanese over Africans when it comes to traveling – that’s how stupid Japan Travel Ministry logic is trying to sell to us. It is the most bigoted/discriminatory thing I have seen and Japan is not cool right now.  

Africa is at a crossroads but at the same time, African countries especially Nigeria, like to run their mouth but don’t have any muscle behind their words. If these countries keep treating Africans like second-class people, then Africa better respond with action and take a stand and show they not taking bigotry against Africa anymore. I’m tired of passive Africans when ADOS be out here fist fighting these bigots – Africans be sitting around smiling with all their teeth showing and type some weak protest comments on Twitter like that means something. Africans be looking weak all the time and that’s why these countries are treating them any kind of way. 

The African Union needs to push back harder than protest speeches that are empty words. Get together and discuss retaliatory sanctions against nations that imposed these bigoted and arbitrary travel bans. The COVID virus cannot be stopped by travel bans, we have to live with the virus and focus on treatment in a global economy. No one can stop themselves from getting the virus, we have to focus on remediation and treatment which we have the science to do right now. There is no excuse to stop Africans from traveling anywhere except out of the bigotry and condescending attitudes of African people. 

Get together as African nations and threaten countries like Japan that they will be sanctioned/boycotted and replaced with Chinese counterparts if they continue this travel ban practice that is only done out of racism and discriminatory practices. Stand up and say travel bans are no longer an option and the African Union will fight this travel ban practice with real action to stop it. If not, then countries like Japan is just going to continue to do travel bans when they feel like it. Hit them where it hurts and that’s their economy and the African Union needs to take a stand. 

Stop looking weak Africa, if the African Union let them get away with keep imposing travel bans and Africa does nothing then no one will take the African Union seriously and African people will suffer from not participating in the global economy. This is the time to stand up and push back with actions, not words.