Ethiopia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates have revoked earlier benefits for Nigerian passport holders, including visa-on-arrival, e-visa, and outright passport issues.
Turkey no longer allows Nigerian passport holders to obtain an e-visa, which was formerly a simple process for nationals, according to Businessday.
In 2022, UAE sanctioned Nigerians and a few other Africans from entering its capital, Dubai. Despite multiple interventions by the Nigerian government, the visa prohibition has yet to be lifted.
Although, the federal government had on several occasions stated that the restriction on Nigerians will be lifted in October, it is unclear whether this will happen.
Similarly, Ethiopia stopped giving visas on arrival to Nigerians two years ago and has failed to overturn the decision to this day.
Since 2022, Ethiopian Airlines issued circulars to customers recommending them to seek visas from the Ethiopian embassy in Abuja before going.
Recently, Bolanle Olukanni, the daughter of Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, the former Nigerian Commissioner to Australia from 2011 to 2015, complained that her parents were denied visas due to fears they would not return.
Olukanni, who expressed her frustration with possessing a Nigerian passport on Monday via her X handle, said her father, a retired ambassador who had lived in Austria for three years, was denied a visa with his mother for fear of not returning.
She stated, “I just want you guys to know that the Nigeria passport has 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 complained that her father’s 30 years of service to the country as a foreign service officer had been disregarded.
“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,” she explained.
Applications for visas to South Africa have subsequently decreased, as Nigerians continue to face delays and denials.
