Nigerian Twitter users have described the United Kingdom as ‘racist’ and inconsiderate, following its decision to add Nigeria to its travel “red list” beginning from December 6.

The UK government said on Sunday that Nigeria’s entry onto the UK travel list is a temporary measure to prevent further cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant from entering the UK, as 21 cases of Omicron reported in England are linked to travel from Nigeria.

Nigerians, however, did not welcome the news, with many believing the new policy may be a ploy to cut Nigerians and possibly Africans off from the rest of the world.

READ ALSO: UPDATE: Nigerians MAY Be Able to Enter UK Again From December 20

Reacting to a post made by the ‘UKinNigeria’ handle, Chinedu Obeleagu, a Twitter user, asked if the omicron variant in Nigeria is different from the one found in several European countries.

Obeleagu’s question might stem from the fact that, as of now, no European country has been added to the UK’s red list despite the same variant found in countries such as the Netherlands, while Nigeria will join 10 other African countries on the red list by Monday.

Another Twitter user, @jossielight, said he saw no reason why Africa should be an easy target for the West. He wondered why South Africa’s discovery of the latest variant of the coronavirus appears to be wrong.

READ ALSO: 5 Things to Know About Omicron, the Latest Covid-19 Variant in Nigeria

While other users commented ‘racists’ on the post, some others think the new policy of preventing Nigerians from travelling to the UK will affect international students.

Similarly, some Nigerians who tweeted independently on their page believe that stronger nations may be rebranding Covid-19 as an African problem.