Complaints about Nigerian immigration officials’ extra “outrageous” charges for visa-on-arrival biometrics and processing fee at entry points have raised concerns in the trade union movement community. CHRISTIAN APPOLOS reports.
The recent outburst of CNN International Correspondent, Larry Madowo, on his LinkedIn page over outrageous extra charges to the tune of $215 he paid for biometrics and processing fee for visa-on-arrival at Nigeria’s entry point raised fireworks on different social media platforms and in the trade union movement community last week.
The extra charges in Nigeria’s entry points are believed to be riddled with corrupt tendencies.
Alarmed by the persistent practice, trade union leaders and migration enthusiasts in Nigeria are leading a call on President Bola Tinubu; the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, as well as the Controller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, not to be quiet anymore at the heaped complaints of extortion and corrupt practices against the officials of the Nigerian Immigration by foreigners who are coming into Nigeria for legitimate businesses. They are calling for immediate action and blockage of all means through which officials of the government perpetuate acts of corruption at the country’s entry points, especially the airports.
The worry is that continuation of such practices in whatever form, which is against what is obtainable in other African countries like Kenya, further affirms the long-held notion that Nigeria is among the worst corrupt nations in the world.
Kenya’s open visa arrangement is far better than Nigeria’s. Findings showed that Kenya’s online visa application process is predictable, fast and reliable. Before now, Kenya charges $51.40 ($50 for visa and the rest as administrative/processing charges). But today, its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is $35 (less $15). Why then is that of Nigeria way too expensive even for Africans?
Following Larry Madowo’s complaints, trade union leaders and immigration enthusiasts said the extra charges, in addition to the official $25 for visa, totalling $215, is outrageous and a practice intended to further smear Nigeria’s image.
Madowo wrote: “Nigeria just charged me $215 for a one-month, single entry visa, again. I was here three weeks ago, paid the same $215. The visa itself costs $25 but Nigeria charges a $20 “processing fee2 and $170 for “biometrics” every time. My fingerprints haven’t changed since I was here three weeks ago. Why am I paying $170 to have them taken and to pose for a picture each time I visit? Isn’t that a standard part of admitting someone into a country?
“How can we achieve a borderless Africa, or the promise of the AfCFTA, if we charge Africans $215 for a single-entry visa? In the three weeks since I was last in Lagos, I went to Uganda, South Africa and Ghana where I don’t need a visa with a Kenyan passport. In fact, I’ve also been to South Africa three times this year. It cost me $0, like the ancestors intended. Nigeria’s visa-on-arrival system is similar to the “visa-free” delusion of Kenya’s Electronic Travel Authorisation – you apply in advance, submit some documents and wait for it to be approved. It can take up to five business days. If you know “someone,” you can pay them $50 or more to “facilitate” a faster approval. Why this shege pro max?”
In reaction to the issue, the General Secretary, African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Comrade Akhator Joel Odigie, in a message to the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government, said, “Since borders as entry points are the first places visitors get to be welcomed into the country, Nigeria government must eliminate naked and aggressive corruption by the various border and security agencies at such border points. Failure to do so is contributing to the affirmation and assertion of Nigeria as a corrupt country.
“What we experience at the border points are organised and open extortions. It is suspected that the online visa application payment portal is deliberately compromised so that visitors are exposed to extortion arrangements. This year alone, I have made online visa applications for Zambia and Uganda and paid online ($50 for a single entry and $75 for multiple entries, respectively) and the processes were seamless.
“For Zimbabwe, I made an online visa application, got the visa and made payment ($25) at the point of entry in Harare. Nigeria needs to do better. Our government and its institutions and agencies must make conscious and urgent efforts to defeat corrupt practices at our border points. This is why we say that migration is not a security issue but corruption at the border is a security concern.
“Let’s be clear, these comparisons are not meant to disparage Nigeria, rather it is the utilisation of the NEPAD peer review mechanism that the member states have elected to utilise to advance governance and service delivery in Nigeria. Nigeria is a strong voice for Africa’s integration. Successive governments have made good, though slow, efforts to advance the continent’s integration agenda. Therefore, this government must stand up and be counted.”
Odigie asked the Nigerian government to “Review the cost of biometric capture to a reciprocity arrangement. In other words, Nigeria will apply this arrangement only to countries that apply this process to Nigerian visa applicants. Most African countries don’t do this to Nigerians. Fix the online visa application payment portal as the country is currently doing well in establishing a cashless economy. Make conscious efforts to implement a no-visa regime for Africans as the socioeconomic benefits are immense. There are easy and humane means to identify visitors without the lazy recourse to the time-worn “security concerns” and ensure a robust migration governance architecture in place, since mobility is a human right.”
He also noted that ITUC-Africa has had to report to the Minister of Internal Affairs through the Permanent Secretary that officials of the Immigration Service at the airport demand extra payments and issue dubious receipts.
Comrade James Eustace, Assistant General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who is also NLC’s Focal Person on Migration Governance, said, “The CNN reporter’s post is not far from the actual fact. We have had such experience during ATUMNET (African Trade Union Migration Network) meetings in Nigeria. The participants from outside the country were made to pay more that the official price. The immigration people made it very difficult for these people to access the online platform to process the required documents.
“At the point of entry, because of delay and being stranded, they were constrained to pay more as demanded by the immigration officers. That actually made nonsense of the visa-on-arrival thing because when one arrives a country and has to spend about four to five hours processing documentation to gain entry. Such situation makes a whole nonsense of the entire visa-on-arrival arrangement.
“The worst part of it is that the Nigerian Immigration website, where they would process the required documentation before departing their country, is very difficult to access. Sometimes, we even get the documents from Nigerian Immigration indicating that these persons are arriving for an important meeting and it is granted, but when they get to the point of entry, because of bureaucratic bottleneck and the difficulty in accessing the immigration platform, the visitors still fall into exploitation.
“Nigeria government must first simply the visa application process and also keep a serious watch on immigration officers, because many of them are painting the image of our country so black at our international airports, especially those managing the online platform. People planning to visit Nigeria on legitimate business should access the immigration application platforms easily, get documentation and have easy entrance into the country. It is very sad that the case is always terrible when it comes to Nigeria.
“Government should be aware that Nigeria is losing a lot because of these corrupt and ill practices of our immigration officials because many organisations are choosing other countries in Africa for the location of their meetings and conferences. Now for instance, ATUMENET finds it very easy to hold its meetings in Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenyan and other countries. These meetings bring patronage to hotels, markets, even the visa fee that goes to the national treasury is lost as well. All of these gains are lost because of the selfishness and corrupt actions of few individual immigration officers at the entry point.”
Also, Tunde Salman, Team Lead and convener, Good Governance Team (GGT), Nigeria, who is also a civil society labour migration observer and enthusiast, said, “The exorbitant charges by the Nigerian Immigration officials at Nigerian airports and embassies for travellers (especially Africans) coming to Nigeria legitimately, is very worrisome. It actually raises concerns about the African Union Free Movement of People Protocols. It is a wakeup call to state actors to rectify the protocols. You cannot be talking about Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement whereas the people are facing serious difficulties to move across the borders.
“There have been series of complaints about the difficulties especially Africans face to process visa to Nigeria. The irony is that Nigeria has been in the forefront of the pursuit for African integration, particularly in the West African region, in the last 40 years. So, I wonder why Nigeria government finds it difficult to allow other Africans who have legitimate business to do in the country come in without facing a lot of hurdles. When you place a lot of hurdles before such kind of visitors, it literally seems our government is neglecting the positive impact in terms of contribution to hospitality (hotel accommodation), transportation and the entire business chain.
“Immediate action needs to be taken by authorities especially to quell the extortion by the immigration officials. Unfortunately the officials doing this extortion are further painting the image of the country black rather than being good ambassadors. This issue of extortion is mostly peculiar with Nigeria. Kenyan for instance, you don’t pay anything extra apart from the amount that has been stated. Why should Nigeria’s be different? Right now because of this, many organisations are choosing other African countries for their meetings.”
To buttress Salman and Eustace’s observation, it was learnt that Mo Ibrahim cancelled the Mo Ibrahim Governance Weekend that was billed to take place in Lagos. Sources said the cancellation is in connection with difficulty with the visa application for guests coming to Nigeria. A migration enthusiast, Chief Emenike Ubani, said, “This is why countries like Kenya, Morocco and South Africa are eating good hosting regional events. You can imagine the reservations that must have been made that have been cancelled and the money businesses would have made. We really need to rethink our business sense in governance. Nigeria needs to do better, Nigeria needs to set a higher standard.”
In all of these, the questions that beg for answer are why is the entire visa process to Nigeria so cumbersome? Why is Nigeria’s immigration online visa payment portal not working? Is someone intentionally sabotaging the online platform to compel visitors to pay at the entry point? Is the Nigerian Immigration Service lacking resources to make the visa online payment portal effective and efficient? Are the authorities oblivious of the complaints of outrageous charges that visitors are forced to pay? Are these extra charges actually imposed on the visitors on visa-on-arrival arrangement by the Federal Government of Nigeria?
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