Turkey no longer allows Nigerian passport holders to obtain
its e-visa, which used to be a seamless process enjoyed by citizens in the
past.
In 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) banned nationals of
Nigeria and a few other African countries from entering its capital city,
Dubai. Despite several interventions of the Nigerian government, the visa ban
is yet to be lifted.
Though Festus Keyamo, aviation minister, said the UAE will
lift its ban on Nigerians in October, nobody knows whether this will come to
fruition.
Similarly, Ethiopia stopped issuing visa-on-arrival to
Nigerians two years ago and has refused to reverse it till date.
Airlines have, since 2022, issued circulars to passengers
advising that they obtain their visas at the Ethiopian embassy in Abuja before
travelling.
Bolanle Olukanni, daughter of Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni,
former Nigerian Commissioner to Australia between 2011 and 2015, recently
lamented that her parents were denied visas because of the fear they would not
return.
Olukanni, who shared her frustration with having a Nigerian
passport via her X handle on Monday, said her father, who was a retired
ambassador and lived in Austria for three years, was denied a visa alongside
his mum over fear of absconding.
She wrote, “I just want you guys to know that the Nigeria
passport has really been bastardized. My father is a retired Ambassador who
lived and served in Austria for three years.
“He applied for a Schengen visa alongside my mum, and the
Austrian embassy denied their visas.”
She also lamented that 30 years of her father’s service to
the country as a foreign service officer was disrespected.
“Do you realise the lack of diplomacy and courtesy and
disregard for a country you have to deny a former foreign service officer a
visa? A Foreign Service officer who served for 30 years and has been to over 30
countries.”
Applications for visas to South Africa have since reduced as
Nigerians continue to experience delays and denials to Africa’s strongest
economy.
The number of study visas issued to Nigerians last year
dropped for the first time in three years, data compiled by BusinessDay from
the US Department of State shows.
According to South Africa’s visa office, the department
issued a total of 7,466 nonimmigrant (F-1) visas, down from 7,547 in 2022.
Oritseweyinmi Oritsejafor, a client advisor at Henley &
Partners, one of the global leaders in residence and citizenship planning, in a
recent interview with BusinessDay, said despite being one of Africa’s economic
powerhouses and the continent’s third-wealthiest country as revealed by the
Africa Wealth Report 2024, Nigeria provides a clear example of the hindered
mobility spectrum of African citizens.
Oritsejafor stated that with the country’s passport granting
access to just 45 destinations visa-free, Nigerian passport holders can only
travel visa-free to a fraction of global GDP — just 1.5 percent.
She stated that what this means is that among the 8,200
millionaires who reside in the country, those who only have Nigerian passports
are forced to navigate cumbersome foreign policy hurdles to tap into the
remaining 98.5 percent of the world’s economic prowess, highlighting the
necessity for bolstered passport power.
“The Henley Opportunity Index evaluates 15 investment
migration countries across six parameters, including quality of education,
earning potential, career advancement, employment prospects, economic mobility,
and high livability, providing a benchmark for investors to compare and
identify locations that offer the best ecosystems for future generations to
maximize their career prospects and prosperity.
“Using the same methodology and data sources in the Africa
Wealth Report 2024, we quantified opportunity in Africa’s wealthiest countries
by assessing and scoring them to illustrate how families from these nations can
improve their life chances and future-proof the next generation through
investment migration,” she said.
She further explained that Nigeria has one of the lowest
opportunity scores of the African countries her firm assessed — just 14 percent
— compared to, for example, Malta which scores 55 percent, Spain with 63
percent, the USA with 81 percent, or Switzerland with 88 percent.
Nigeria took bottom spot as country with one of 20 worst
passports to hold in 2023 with visa-free access to only 46 countries.
This is contained in recently released third quarter Henley
Passport Index, which is an authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports
according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a
prior visa.
The index is based on exclusive data from the International
Air Transport Association (IATA) – the largest, most accurate travel
information database – and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team.
After Nigeria, other countries with worse passports include:
South Sudan, with 46 visa free access to countries; Congo, 45 countries;
Eritrea, 44 countries; Iran, 44 countries; Sudan, 44 countries; Lebanon, 43
countries; Kosovo, 42 countries; Libya, 41 countries, Sri Lanka, 41 countries,
among others.
Singapore now has the world’s most powerful passport. The
Lion City beat Japan whose passport had been the most powerful for over five
years
Bankole Bernard, group managing director (GMD) of Finchglow
Holdings, a Nigeria-based global travel management company, told BusinessDay
that he used to think the foreign nations did not like Nigeria, which was why
they refused citizens visas, but this was not true.
“Developed countries are very particular about
documentations. Some agencies that help applicants with the documentations are
not knowledgeable enough to do the documentations right,” Bernard said.
Susan Akporaiye, former president National Association of
Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), told BusinessDay that despite the weakness of
Nigerian passports, there are still individuals thriving and doing exploits in
other countries.
“The foreign affairs need to do more engagements to reduce
denials. To relocate to another country, a lot of Nigerians do not like to
follow the right processes. The problem in Nigeria is that everybody just wants
to leave and many do not have genuine reasons,” the former NANTA president said.