Travel agents and others have called on the federal government to introduce a law that will punish Nigerians who commit crimes while in overseas in order to rebuild the country’s image and reduce the number of Nigerians who engage in illicit activities outside of Nigeria.
Nigerians in travel and tourism sector lament that few numbers of the citizens have damaged the image of the country and acquired notoriety for the most populous black nation in the world, noting that their actions influence the perception of other countries about Nigeria and also influence their visa policies directed at Nigeria.
Some of the Nigerians who spoke to THISDAY said the federal government could suspend the passport of those who are identified as engaging in crimes outside the country; so that when their passport is made invalid they must come back to Nigeria and go to Immigration, where they would be taken to Immigration Court and punished if found guilty.
According to them, punishment could range from paying penalties, suspension of passport for as long as 10 years or prison sentence.
The Managing Director of Travel Lab Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Shalom Asuquo, who spoke to THISDAY, said Nigeria has penchant for flouting the laws of the countries they travelled to, noting that when United Arab Emirates (UAE) resumed diplomatic relations with Nigeria, they couched their visa policy in such a way that it removed low income earners from coming to their country from Nigeria; so those who could come are those with substantial funds in their accounts as tourists and those with permanent residence visa.
But unfortunately, the new policies were being flouted because those given 96 hours stay were flouting it; so, in the latest visa policy the country gave more stringent conditions for Nigerians travelling to UAE.
“Despite the conditions given in the visa policy when they started last year, Nigerians were still absconding. Nigerians given 96 hours visa still defaulted. That is tourist visa. They overstayed. So, they have cancelled tourism visa. So, it means that the more the people default, the more they bring in more stringent conditions. This time those who are absconding are well to do Nigerians who can meet the financial conditions for the visa they obtained.
“So, for us to mitigate this abuse, Nigerian government should enact a law that will punish any Nigerian who travels abroad and breaks the law of that land. The punishment could be by way of withdrawing offenders’ passports by the federal government for as long as 10 years. For him to get the travel document back, he must return to Nigeria. The Nigerian embassy in that country will give him a document to return to Nigeria. And when he arrives in Nigeria, he will be detained.
“We have to do this for our national pride, we have to protect the image of our country. It is the activities of such people who damage our image that these countries are giving us stringent visa conditions. So, without travel documents, those unscrupulous Nigerians will not be able to go anywhere,” she said.
Asuquo said even those Nigerians that have residence permit will not travel if the federal government withdraws their passport, noting that they will be made to come back to Nigeria and be sanctioned.
Asuquo also said that what the US and the UAE did to Nigeria in their visa policies has prompted a conversation on Nigeria’s diplomacy, its focus and reciprocity mechanism.
“It’s actually a good thing that this conversation is coming up now. But let’s be honest Nigerians don’t solve problems; they circumvent them. And when that shortcut gets blocked or backfires, we simply find another way to bypass it; never sitting down to resolve the root issue.
“Now that visa reciprocity is hitting home, people are shouting. But we must understand that when reviewing foreign policy, especially visa policy you don’t act on impulse. There are five or six core dimensions any serious country considers: Trade, Tourism, Diplomacy, Security, or National pride/sovereign interest. When Nigeria crafted its visa rules and imposed certain requirements on countries like the US or the UK, none of these pillars were properly analysed or prioritized. We’ve raised red flags over the flaws in these policies yet no one listened. So, what did the US do? They didn’t start a war. They simply mirrored our visa policy. That’s the easiest and most diplomatic form of pushback and it makes you feel it immediately,” she said.
Speaking in the same vein, travel expert and the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, said: “It is high time Nigerian government made a firm response to Nigerians damaging the image of the country abroad by enacting a law to punish those who engaged in illicit behaviours while out of Nigeria.”
He recalled that he had canvassed for this in the past, noting that it is the most effective way to minimise the obnoxious activities of Nigerians outside the country.
“Although punishing them after they have been punished abroad could be termed double jeopardy but Nigeria needs to punish and criminalise bad behaviour abroad. That is one of the ways to control bad behaviour and the way to minimise it,” Ukofurther said.
Uko however said that he would not recommend punishment for Nigerians who default on visa expiry period because it is a consular problem, “but if you commit real crime you should be punished. Overstaying of visa is a consular problem,” he said.
Also, the President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Yinka Folami, told THISDAY that the situation has reached the level where Nigeria must enact law to punish Nigerians who commit crimes overseas and damage the image of the country. He said that Nigeria should push for the legal framework and the National Assembly should make a law, which will serve as deterrent to anyone carrying Nigerian passport who commits crimes overseas.
“I think we have come to the point where Nigeria has to make a law that will punish those who damage its reputation abroad. It they could get on with the legal framework, why not? We cannot fold our arms and allow people to destroy the image of our country. I think it is about time we know there are consequences about this. It is just Nigerians damaging the image of their country abroad,” he said.
United Arab Emirate, in September 2022, issued visa sanction to Nigeria due to the unruly behaviour of Nigerians in Dubai, who allegedly engaged in cult fights. This and other criminal activities, including the despicable and inglorious attempt to steal Automatic Teller Machine forced UAE authorities to ban Nigerians travel to the Middle East country.
If the law is enacted it would be extended to those who engage in drug trafficking, financial fraud and other crimes, which caste the country in bad light. It is largely believed that if Nigeria introduced deterrent measures against its citizens who commit crimes overseas, it will smoothen the relationship between Nigeria and many other countries, enhance more intelligence collaboration and also build trust between Nigeria and other countries.
In addition, many countries will develop less stringent visa policies for Nigerians and they will also report cases involving Nigerians to the federal government.
