THE recent decision taken by the Dubai authorities to stop Nigerian passengers from entering the country onboard any other airline outside Emirates can be described as another dimension of how countries around the world are ever ready to use Nigeria and her citizens as guinea pigs in the scheme of aero politics.
Though the policy has since taken effect, the development has continued to raise dust with many questions waiting to be answered.
The new Dubai policy specifically targeted at the Nigerian travelers boldly declared that all Nigeria-Dubai bound passengers must fly only Emirates airlines, foreclosing and boxing out transit routes opportunities into Dubai from other carriers.
The news has since elicited reactions from stakeholders across the sector with many expressing displeasure at the action of the Dubai authorities.
The excuse given by the UAE authorities for coming out with the latest action is capable of portraying Nigerian government and its aviation authorities as being passive and out of tune with the realities of the fact that there is an ongoing high international aero politics.
Asking the Nigerian passengers to, amongst others, undergo a rapid response COVID-19 antigen test either in Abuja or Lagos at an additional cost of N36,000 and N25,000, respectively, after paying over N50,000 for the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test before departing for Dubai is unfair.
According to the circular which emanated from the Dubai Airport Operations Control Center, titled ‘Dubai Travel Protocol Update-Travel From Nigeria’, the Dubai authorities had declared: “Kindly be advised that effective from February 1, 2021, the following conditions must be met for travel from Nigeria.
“Departing from Nigeria to Dubai, all passengers are required to obtain a negative COVID-19 certificate. The PCR should be conducted within 72 hours of the date of departure. All passengers are required to conduct a rapid COVID-19 test and obtain a negative result within four hours of their departure time.”
While insisting that passengers must travel directly from Nigeria to Dubai, the Dubai authorities equally declared that “No passengers may enter Dubai from any other country/station if they have visited or transited via Nigeria in the last 14 days”.
Obviously, the latest big stick wielded by the Dubai authorities is trying to paint the country in a negative light obviously because of the pandemic ravaging the globe.
To many key players in the sector, the latest action of the Dubai authorities has gone to show that the relationship that exists between it and Nigeria remains one sided as it is only to the advantage of Dubai and to the disadvantage of Nigeria.
The decision to force all Nigerian passengers to only make use of Emirates and no other airline falls under the over protectionism ploy of the Dubai authorities to give undue preferential treatment to its airline at the expense of others.
Agreed that the Dubai authorities have the right to prevent the unnecessary spread of COVID-19 into their country, but in doing this, things should be done with fairness and not a case of singling out one or two as scapegoats.
It is at this juncture that the federal government of Nigeria and its aviation authorities should urgently intervene as this latest attitude of the Dubai authorities is another way of rubbishing the image of the country and its citizens.
What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander.
While Nigeria is tolerating their national carrier here, they should also learn to treat Nigeria’s airline presently operating there with Nigerian citizens with equal respect and not just a case of hiding under COVID-19 to play aero politics.
The Dubai authorities should be made to reverse this embarrassing policy or be paid back in their own coin.
Nigerian government needs to urgently act since it is obvious that the only reason the Dubai authorities may hold on for taking this rash action may not be unconnected to the case of a Nigerian passenger who died of COVID-19 complications in Canada.
Failure to urgently step into the Dubai hostile policy may inspire other countries from targeting the Nigerian passengers even when many of the countries and their airlines operating into Nigeria are being pampered.
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