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British Visas in Nigeria By Wale Akin
It’s rather very appalling and highly disgusting to read over the weekend that the British High Commission in Nigeria will this day being the 11th of April 2005 stop the issuance of visitor’s visas till 2006 to prospective Nigerians wanting to travel and aged between 18-30 years old. I scrolled through the news link on the BBC and could not help but laugh at the high tech slavery being embarked upon by the so-called British government.
I am not really bothered about the news but one thing which many Nigerians may not figure out is the ill-timing in releasing the news, there was no televised version of the news, it only came out on the internet and was released on the exact day the late Pope John Paul II was being interred in far away Rome and the very next day was the marriage of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker-Bowles. These major two events captured the entire global community for a period of 48 hours and then the British government finds it so convenient to releasing such very volatile news. Do we then assert that knowing fully well the heat the news would generate, they decided to tread softly by capitalizing on the subtle nature being generated by the entire world at the Pope’s funeral and quite aware of the agitation of everyone towards the nuptial knot of Charles and Camilla and thus caught us all unaware?
The High Commissioner gave a very flimsy excuse that the embassy wants to know why many applications of that age range are not granted and thus will need time out to address the issue but he was so quick to conclude that they will continue to grant Visas to prospective candidates and business men and women of that same age range, what a funny simulation. Granting students’ visas will continue to generate billions of pounds and since the rich in Nigeria wants their children to come and have a taste of the likes of Cambridge, Oxford and Hull universities, the British embassy capitalizing on the foolery of us all wont hesitate to grant the visas and thus rake in a high revenue for its government all at the detriment of Nigerians.
Why grant visas to prospective business men wanting to travel to the UK in that age range? Do we then assert that the same reason of raking in revenue applies here too, I find all these amusing because it thus boils down to a simple fact that the act of modern slavery is at hand but this time, its being conceived, doctored, and done in a high format that will not be noticeable to many of us. According to published reports in Nigeria, we are made to understand that the embassy gets a minimum 25,000 applications each month both at its Lagos and Abuja offices but when we compare this to Nigeria’s population of well over 150 million, isn’t that minute and so what’s the fuss of this man and his cohorts?
The bilateral agreement and supposedly good relationship between the two countries should have been considered in the first place before this highly obnoxious news is released. Why is it that Nigeria as a country is always at the receiving end of bad judgment? Why is it that most developed countries especially the UK and US look down on Nigeria as a country and thus relegate us to an abysmal level? If we keep quite and allow this despicable act to pass without a collective response, it won’t come as surprise if it eventually turns out to be a litmus test for the remaining African countries. Many readers will be quick to say it will only be for a short time as pointed out by the high commissioner but what happens if by 2006 the same official releases another memo detailing another two years of visa sanction?
This is a clarion call to the Federal Government of Nigeria to take care of its citizens by adequately providing for our needs and making Nigeria conducive, the only difference in UK to Nigeria is the security of lives and properties, good governmental responses to all and sundry and the provision of basic amenities even to the least of its citizens. If Nigeria is socially viable, no country will dare put a stop on us. Let the Obasanjo led government do everything possible to making Nigeria conducive and this brain drain of which most of us are and are still victims stop. I want to live in Nigeria, eat freshly plucked bitter leaf, yam pounded in wooden mortal, drink naturally chilled palm wine and live amongst my boys in the neighborhood where we while away the evening time under the popular Mango tree. So let government do something about our country as many of us feel like coming back home but to what?
In conclusion, I want to advise the embassy to make its various visa applications open to all Nigerians and just make sure as a deterrent all applications are screened to ensure first class services at all times
Wale Akin lives in Kent, UK and a founding member of a group called Men Now!
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