Follow Us on Google
We understand the Federal Government’s enthusiasm to implement the new ‘visa on arrival’ policy but we urge a great deal of circumspection. African nations have for years worked for the realisation of the new arrangement as a step toward greater African integration. Indeed, when the 30th session of the African Union Summit ended in Addis Ababa in February 2018, it generated a great deal of optimism and happiness, due largely to the new liberal visa policy.
A grateful continent had thanked the then outgoing chairman, Guinea’s President Alpha Conde, for his exemplary service and wisdom while ushering in his replacement, Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Conde had distinguished himself by being proactive in diffusing African tensions, including the Gambian cliffhanger when the continent averted a civil war by a hair-breadth. Ex-President Yahya Jammeh’s peaceful exit was a near-miracle. Conde had also held the leaders together, got everyone involved and ensured the necessary interventions were made in timely fashion, especially when delay was dangerous. Indeed, Kagame, in his acceptance speech, paid him glowing tributes commending “his (Conde) big heart for Africa” and “his impeccable service to the continent.”
Kagame also announced that the “Free Movement for Africans” is achievable this year as part of the African prosperity Agenda, which entailed the implementation of continent-wide visa-free travels, including the issuance of visas at ports of entry for Africans. He added that women and youth would play key roles in the scheme. Kagame is renowned worldwide for his gender-sensitive disposition and faith in the youth in the push for change. Africa, he said, must act quickly because “we are running out of time.” Thus Nigeria cannot just pull out of a scheme as the visa policy.
The issue of free movement of Africans on the continent has occupied African leaders for decades and it would be considered a positive step if the AU has finally resolved to fully implement it. Many Africans think it has not come early enough, given that the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) the first continental organisation of post-independence Africa, AU’s precursor, was founded more than 50 years ago. Before last week, many African countries had liberalised their visa requirements. Indeed, in at least 16 African countries, all a Nigerian was required to do was show his or her passport to the immigration officer at the port of entry. The AU has in recent years advocated “a single African passport” and the “abolition of visa requirements for all African citizens in all African countries by 2018.”
We consider this a step in the right direction for Africa; although Nigeria’s precarious security situation and its war against Boko Haram would constitute a constraint. The benefits of free movement in the continent are legion, including a general increase in economic activity, which would bring increased investments and industrial growth and more job creation. It would lead to greater integration of Africa and a boost to inter-regional trade and travel, access to quality education, greater competition and efficiency in the use of resources and the spread of information and ideas.
Yet it would be foolhardy to underestimate the security demands of the scheme at a time several African countries are swarming with terrorists and jihadists from Libya, Somalia, Mali, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Mauretania, Niger and Egypt. Close security co-operation is therefore a sine qua non if the scheme must work, including exchange of information, background checks, and the maintenance of data bases of criminal and arrest records across countries in Africa. In other words, those countries with a record of terrorism must exchange security information with Nigeria about the citizens before they are admitted.
The AU had also launched the “Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM),” which unites the continent through aviation. In terms of infrastructure, many Nigerians think the continent is not yet ready for free movement of people, that it is illusory to try to emulate Europe when the most basic needs for mass movement are lacking. The plan for an East-West railway from Dakar to Djibouti runs through 10 countries, including Nigeria, covers 7,800 kilometres and is estimated to cost $13 billion.
Each country is expected to bear the costs within its own borders. Only a hazy outline of this plan exists. The “Trans-Africa Highway,” which has been proposed for decades doesn’t seem to exist. The new visa policy should, therefore, be implemented in phases and must be within the security background of a Nigeria that is under attack by Boko Haram terrorists. The commitments of President Muhammadu Buhari on behalf of Nigeria in the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, Egypt, must be domesticated through the National Assembly under Section 12 (1-3) of the 1999 Constitution.
