Reporting from Atlanta, GA, USA
Nigerians in Diaspora may be as many as fifteen million people according to unconfirmed data. One thing that is common to most of these Nigerians is having Nigerian International Passports, especially for those that still maintain their Nigerian citizenship. This set of Nigerians require to obtain and or renew their Nigerian passports for different reasons, with majority keeping their passports valid in order to be able to travel to Nigeria without harassment.
Renewing Nigerian passports outside Nigeria had been mainly hassle-free until recently. Unfortunately however, recent reports are alleging various forms of racketeering in and outside Nigeria during the process of obtaining or renewing Nigerian International Passports. A number of videos flooded social media recently alleging extortion of money from applicants at Nigerian Embassy in Atlanta, Georgia, USA during the process of obtaining or renewing Nigerian passports. Our correspondent obtained a clip of one such videos that was published on YouTube:
Fortunately, Dr. Michael Umunna of Dallas, Texas, USA recently circulated another video educating Nigerians in Diaspora on how to avoid falling victim of the alleged extortion if the main purpose is to travel to Nigeria.
The advice of Dr. Umunna, along with other available information about Nigerian passports, could be summarized in the following categories:
Category one: Nigerians in Diaspora with dual citizenship and valid Nigerian passports plus valid non-Nigerian passports. These Nigerians are free to travel freely.
Category two: Nigerians in Diaspora with dual citizenship and valid non-Nigerian passports but expired Nigerian passports. These Nigerians are free to enter Nigeria despite expired Nigerian passports. Our correspondent called Delta Airline to crosscheck if this category of Nigerians will be allowed to board aircrafts en-route Nigeria. The response from Delta Airline was affirmative.
Category three: Nigerians in Diaspora with valid permanent resident cards but expired Nigerian passports. These Nigerians are allowed to enter Nigeria but will need to renew their passports in Nigeria before exiting Nigeria in order to be allowed to board flights by departing airlines. This category of Nigerians must however board direct flights to Nigeria from their host countries without any transition in another country because a passenger with an expired Nigerian passport is not allowed to enter other country except Nigeria.
Category four: Nigerians in Diaspora with valid foreign passport but missing Nigerian passports. These Nigerians in Diaspora are allowed to enter Nigeria but are advised to apply for new passports while in Nigeria if they have enough time to process this.
Category five: Nigerians in Diaspora with valid permanent resident cards but missing Nigerian passports. These Nigerians in Diaspora are allowed to enter Nigeria but must apply for new passports while in Nigeria before departing from Nigeria. Valid passport is required to exit Nigeria. These Nigerians are advised to be cognizance of difficulty in replacing missing passports if they had ever been issued electronic passports (e-passports). The process of replacing an e-passport in Nigeria could be very daunting, time consuming, expensive and frustrating.
Category six: Nigerians in Diaspora who have renounced their Nigerian citizenship for whatever reason. These Nigerians in Diaspora must apply for visa in order to enter Nigeria. However, such visa is available at the point of entry at a fee as recently announced by the Honorable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
With the foregoing information, Nigerians in Diaspora do not need to subscribe to the alleged extortion or subject themselves to the alleged agonies at the Nigerian Embassies if the main reason for validating their Nigerian International passports is to travel to Nigeria.
The Nigerian government deserves commendation for making these options available. However, efforts should be made by the Nigerian government to curtail the alleged racketeering and bottleneck bureaucracy that Nigerians are allegedly being confronted with in and outside Nigeria while striving to validate their Nigerian International passports.
This is such a wonderful article that explains all the scenarios in a simple and easy to comprehend manner. I have been waiting for my passport in South Africa for three months having first paid on 30th December and captured my details on 18th January and now we are on the cusp of April. My aged mother has not seen me for two years and I missed her 80th birthday. Nigeria moves from one crisis to another and not once has the Minister of Interior , Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola spoken about this sad situation.
Wonderful information for those intending to travel to Nigeria soon. The categories are well explained and makes sense. Nigeria has always had good processes for doing things but it is the corrupt government workers and some looters/politicians that give our country bad eyes.
Hopefully, travelers and consulate workers will adhere to the well-defined procedures listed above. Thanks for sharing this vital travel preparation information.