*Says trade with Africa not a game of Minecraft

Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, has said that Nigeria will no longer accept deportees from the United States, stating that the matter is no longer open for discussion in Nigeria-U.S. relations.

Tuggar said this at a fireside chat during the Reuters Next Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi.

“That ship has sailed. We made our point, and I believe it’s no longer on the discussion table. We don’t see the need to take nationals from other countries under duress” he said.

The minister revealed that Nigeria’s focus is on developing and training its own population and tackling both poverty and unemployment rather than accommodating deportees from foreign nations.

“We already have a population of over 200 million people, and we are moving towards 400 million in the next 25 years. Our goal is to train our workforce and ensure we have the right dependency ratio to sustain our future.” he said.

Tuggar said Nigeria is enjoying a healthy relationship with the U.S., and not accepting deportees is only a matter of understanding.

He, however, noted that rich countries should not approach trade with Africa as a game of Minecraft in which they secure supplies of natural resources, but rather as a relationship based on mutual respect and the need for Africa to develop, Nigeria’s foreign minister said.

Tuggar also said that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and a crude oil exporter with chronic problems including a huge power deficit, was less affected by U.S. trade tariffs than other countries and was focused on a range of trading partners.

“Sometimes it’s like the game Minecraft: There’s oil, there’s gas, there’s critical minerals, rare earths. We put a bit of this, we invest in this. No, that’s not the way it goes,” Tuggar told the Reuters NEXT Gulf summit in Abu Dhabi.

“The engagement should be based on mutual respect, based on shared interests and based on the fact that Africa needs to develop. If it doesn’t develop, we continue to deal with irregular migration, with all these other challenges.”

The popular video game Minecraft involves players exploring a 3D world made of cubes in which they can mine materials, craft tools and build structures.