Nigeria has commenced the implementation of 79 classes of visas under the new Visa Policy, aimed at attracting innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local capacity, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday.
The policy will enhance Nigeria’s visa on arrival which came into effect in January this year to pave the way for realising gains from the recently signed African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) deal.
“The implementation of the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 will support the attainment of a globally competitive economy for Nigeria by building on the efforts of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council,’’ Buhari said.
The president also noted that the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 provides an avenue to achieve African integration by the introduction of visas on arrival for short visits to Nigeria for holders of passports of African Union countries.
“I, therefore, commend the document to the international community, foreign and local business entities. We are open for business,’’ he said.
Nigeria improved by 15 places but still ranks low at 131st on the World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business Index with critical areas such as power still lagging.
FDI in the country as at the third quarter of 2019 accounted for 3.73 percent ($200.08m) of total capital inflow compared to 18.58 percent ($530.63m) of total capital imported in the same period of 2018.
Nigeria expanded its visa from six classes to 79 for comprehensive coverage of all areas of human endeavour.
Health, education, religion, business, aviation, security, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, investment, tourism and manufacturing are among the categories included, said Muhammad Babandede, comptroller general of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Babandede said the service had already put in place a technological hub, called the Migrants Information and Data Analysis (MIDAS), to ensure strict compliance with the conditions for the issuance of the visa.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Interpol also made inputs into the system and would be carried along in the processing before approvals, he said.
The new visa on arrival policy will be implemented at four of the nation’s international airports, which include Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, and Port-Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State.
Nigeria Immigration Service revealed that a total of 24,000 aliens were registered at the end of the six months grace granted aliens to register beginning in July 2019.
“The visa policy is a step in the right direction given that it is very difficult for foreigners to get the Nigerian visa,” said Bongo Adi, a faculty at the Lagos Business School. “However, that is just one aspect because foreigners are following news about insecurity in the country.”
Nigeria recently fell out of favour with the US which placed the country on an immigrant restriction visa following concerns related to identity management and security concerns in the country.
The activities of Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorist groups in Nigeria earned the country, along with six others, a place on a Special Watch List (SWL), US States Department said in December last year.
“US actions serve as a barometer for other nations concerning the state of things in Nigeria,” said Adi, who pointed out Nigeria’s abysmal performance in recent international rankings including Transparency International’s corruption index, a downgrade by Fitch Ratings as well as IFC’s removal of the country from top five investment destination in emerging markets.
“Buhari has not shown enough commitment to tackling insecurity in the country. His service chiefs should have been sacked by now,” said a banker who asked not to be named. “Nigeria saying it wants to boost tourism under this current situation is laughable while its readiness for AfCFTA is questionable.”
Following the signing of the AfCFTA in July 2019, Nigeria’s ability to take advantage of its size and position in harnessing inherent benefits of free trade has been questioned given the poor state of manufacturing in the country and its recent protectionist stance seen in the border closure.
Meanwhile, the influx of cheap cross Chinese goods, experts say, will continue to undermine the continental agreement in Africa where manufacturing capacity is weak.
TONY AILEMEN (Abuja) & SEGUN ADAMS, Lagos
