The Nigerian government has announced that it will henceforth adopt the principle of reciprocity when issuing visas to foreigners wishing to enter the country.
The Minister of the Interior, Olubunmi Tunji Eyestated at the Business Day conference titled: “Nigeria Forward: Catalysing Funding for High Impact Social Projects”, with the theme: “Financing for Change: Building Bridges for a Resilient Nigeria”.
Tunji-Ojo said the days when international visitors were given a free pass when applying for visas were gone and the federal government would begin operating under the give-and-take model, Business Day reported.
The minister said the government also plans to introduce stricter surveillance measures at the country’s borders to control the entry and exit of people and ensure security.
Furthermore, Mr. Tunji-Ojo reiterated that the era when Nigerians were subjected to discrimination by other countries in terms of visa issuance was over as the current administration will adopt the principle of give and take as an approach more efficient.
On the principle of reciprocity, the minister said the federal government had informed the director of Turkey’s Center for Illegal Migration to “expect reciprocity in terms of travel policy.
“Any country that does not give me visa on arrival cannot have visa on arrival to Nigeria,” he said.
“I’m sorry but it’s the truth. We are not a landfill. If you say you are useful, people will see you as useful. If you say you are useful, people will consider you valid.” he said.
“But if you tell people you’re useless, people will tell you why you’re so useless. We want to partner with you, and that is why at the table we must be partners, equal partners, and our investment relationship must be based on the principle of reciprocity.
“So we are doing that in every country in the world. The committee is working. I will receive the report tomorrow. You charge me $100 for a visa and I will charge you $100 for a Nigerian visa.”
“If you give me a visa upon arrival, I will give it to you. If you say that the condition for me to enter your country today is that I must have an American visa, Schengen visa, UK visa, etc., you will have the same conditions to enter my country. It’s not a fight. It is about the question of mutual respect.
Over the past decade, the Nigerian passport has suffered the worst drop in the rankings of the annual Henley Passport Index, dropping 24 places.
The decline in the power of passports leaves Africa’s most populous country at number 100, firmly etched in the bottom quarter of the rankings. The drop in ranking also means Nigerian passport holders can visit two fewer countries now than in 2010 without first obtaining a visa.
Without the luxury of visa-free travel or even receiving visas on arrival, traveling abroad comes with the hurdle of expensive and paperwork-intensive visa application processes for most Nigerian passport holders. But many applications are rejected, sometimes without just cause.
An easy way for Nigeria and African countries to increase the strength of their passports is to relax visa regimes on the continent. However, progress in facilitating travel between African countries remains slow: 49 percent of countries on the continent do not offer visa on arrival or visa-free travel to other African visitors.