US Visa Restrictions: Nigerians Go for Other African Countries’ Passports

By Uche Mbah

The Visa restrictions imposed on Nigeria by the United States have resulted in Nigerians moving in droves to seek seek for the passports of other African nations that are not included in the US visa restrictions.

Recall that the US had placed visa restrictions on Nigeria and six other countries in retaliation for lack of transparency in information sharing on security and other matters. Besides, President trump has banned maternity tourism-a situation where Nigerians go to the united states to have their babies just for their babies to become US citizens.

This magazine investigations show that many Nigerians, desperate to travel to the United states, have resorted to abandoning the green passport for the nationality of other African countries. Prominent among their choices are Ghana passports-ostensibly because Ghana has been said to have become Visa free to the United states in recent times. Therefore Nigerians are applying for Ghanaian passports, according to investigations.

Besides Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia are other passports that are in high demand, particularly because Liberia has provisions for two persons in one passport-the pictures of the owner and his spouse.

The US had said they gave Nigeria and others more than six month notice about the Visa restrictions, but the Nigerian government appear to be taken unawares. It is only then that President Buhari set up a committee to review the information, which was done in a hurry. The committee came out with the recommendation that Nigeria should reduce Visa fees for Americans coming to Nigeria.

Analysts, however, are skeptical that this will address the issue.

In recent times, the wife of former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, was reported as being turned back from the point of destination in the US from going to have her baby. There was also reports that the General Overseer of Winners Chapel, David Oyedepo, has been denied Visa to the US, a report the US Embassy in Nigeria denied.