A Nigerian influencer has made an apology on his YouTube channel after he told the BBC that some Nigerians sign up to study degrees in the UK just to get a visa for themselves and their dependents.
“We’re beginning to see that a lot of people just hide behind the studentship. So the student thing is not real, it’s not like they need the degrees,” Emdee Tiamiyu said.
Speaking on YouTube on Wednesday, Mr Tiamiyu apologised, after a backlash on social media – with some suggesting he had betrayed Nigerians.
“I am sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused you,” Mr Tiamiyu said.
He added that he regretted the “pain” he had caused, and he also said positive things about Nigerians in the interview.
His intention for granting the interview was to “highlight some of the challenges” Nigerians face at home and in the UK, and that he would never have agreed to an interview that he felt “put Nigeria to shame”.
He also said he did not know how he would “get over” the backlash.
Mr Tiamiyu’s comments come as the UK government restricts visas for family members of some foreign students.
The reaction to Mr Tiamiyu’s apology has not been universally warm online, with some calling his video “worthless”.
