More troubles as Nigerian passport faces ‘devaluation’

9
187

Apart from the high fares Nigerians have to pay to travel to other countries, Nigerians
holding green passports are faced with another problem of experiencing visa-on-
arrival denials from several countries as a result of the ‘devaluation’ of the passports
globally.
In a recently released third quarter Henley Passport Index, which is an authoritative
ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their
holders can access without a prior visa, Nigeria takes the bottom spot as a country
with one of the 20 worst passports to hold in 2023 with visa-free access to only 46
countries.
Naziru Mikail Abubakar who recently travelled from Abuja to the Swedish city of
Gothenburg to attend the 2023 Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC),
narrated his experience.
He arrived in Istanbul at 6.30 a.m. local time, he said he rushed to the Turkish
Airlines ticketing desk to change his ticket to the next available flight to Gothenburg,
and then the drama began.
Abubakar said he was surprised to discover his passport no longer allows him to
obtain a Turkish e-visa, a seamless process he often experienced before.
He said the passport has also forfeited numerous privileges that holders once
enjoyed in various countries.
Just like Turkey, several countries have stopped granting holders of Nigerian passport
visa on arrival or e-visas, making travel options for tourists and travellers from
Nigeria limited.
Last year, Ethiopia stopped issuing visa-on-arrival for Nigerian citizens. In a circular
by Ethiopian Airlines to passengers on Tuesday, it stated that effective immediately,
there will be no more visas on arrival for Nigerian citizens.

Author: Bunmi Johnson

New York, USA

olu20@hotmail.com

9 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Time limit exceeded. Please complete the captcha once again.