By ADESOLA AYO-ADERELE
In the course of completing visa application for a visit to an African country, I was prompted to list the number of countries that I had visited or lived in. I laughed.
I laughed not because I underrated the said country, but my anger is predicated on the fact that, as an African visiting an African country, visa application should be easy, but, here we are!
Worse still, processing of ordinary visa is six business days, but when it involves Nigerian passport, it is four weeks.
Even the much-feared American and UK visa processing isn’t that long!
Larry Madowo, a Kenyan and International Correspondent for CNN said each time he needs to visit Nigeria for business lasting a week’s stay, he must churn out $250 for visa application.
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I’ve read so much about South Africa’s uncomplimentary disposition towards Nigerians that when I got their visa to travel for a programme there last year or so, I changed my mind and the visa ended up expiring. I hate stress, abeg.
And then Dangote broke the last leg of the table when he said that, to be able to do his business in Africa, he needs 35 visas on his Nigerian passport at any given time. If that isn’t discouraging, I don’t know what is.
ECOWAS, African Union and whatever else such organisations are there haven’t helped in that regard, despite treaties upon treaties. Shame.
Personally, I hate applying for visa to African countries and its one reason I don’t look forward to travelling there if my job schedules don’t require it.
Ironically, while Africans struggle to move round their continent, nationals of developed countries have free movements. I cite two examples.
There was a time I needed to travel to Jamaica, alongside 11 other professional colleagues drawn from about six countries that included India and Bangladesh.
Because I couldn’t locate where to have my Jamaican visa processed in Nigeria, I had to DHL my passport to Washington where our handlers applied on my behalf and returned the thing within a week.
The Indian and Bangladeshi in our itinerary didn’t have to apply for visa to Jamaica! See?
When Africa’s richest man, Dangote, was busy mourning his African visa application woes, the CEO of TotalEnergies, a French national, looked him in the eye, laughed, and declared that he didn’t have such an experience. See?
ECOWAS, African Union and whatever else such organisations are there haven’t helped in that regard, despite treaties upon treaties. Shame.
