By Milton Tella – When Nigeria was referred to as fantastically corrupt by a former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, many Nigerians especially Nigerians in the UK were rightly against his proclamation.
The recent suspension of biometric capture for the issuance and renewal of Nigerian e-passport in London is a typical example of corrupt gangsters holding citizens captive as ransom in order to maintain status quo so as to continue to perpetrate their corrupt practices. How better can one explain, a system that has enjoyed a better and improved running for months suddenly grinding to a halt.
Nigerians in the UK have recently been experiencing a reorganised and efficient running of the passport issuance with a better-motivated workforce up until Friday 25 March 2022.
The new administration at the Nigeria High Commission, London headed by the High Commissioner, His Excellency, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola has been commended by many for the new measures put in place to restore the smooth running of the Immigration Section of the Nigeria High Commission UK in the last one-year. The remarkable clearing of the backlog of passport applications as a result of the lockdown resulting from Covid-19 pandemic cannot be forgotten. It will be recalled that as at 29/07/2021, out of the 24,630 applications enrolled and captured, 23, 654 were issued within four months.
In a media release made available to African Voice, Nigeria High Commission said, “Nigerians were very cooperative and appreciative of the reforms acknowledged to be in line with best practices in the United Kingdom. The smooth operations widely acclaimed by Nigerians existed till 22nd November 2021.
At the launch of Enhanced E-passport operations in London on 23rd November 2021, Nigerians in the United Kingdom were quite optimistic that the introduction of the enhanced passport will bring about improvements in services by the Immigration Section, on the issuance of Passports.
However, the issuance, renewal, and operations since the introduction of the new Enhanced E-passport have been fraught with many challenges, particularly on the issuance of National Identification Number (NIN) linked to the appointments for biometrics capture. The Mission feels and shares in the pains of teeming Nigerians since the launching of the new Enhanced E-passport scheme in the United Kingdom by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola”.
Surely, Muhammed Babandede, the Comptroller General (CG) of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Engr. Aliyu A. Aziz, the DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission [NIMC] who are both responsible for the National Identification Number and passport issuance should know that their respective departments are causing embarrassment to Mr President who appointed them and the country as a whole.
In order to find a lasting solution to the protracted problems introduced with the biometrics capture on the new Enhanced E- Passport, the Nigeria High Commission London had to suspend offering the service with effect from Monday, 28th March 2022.
Nation building, many have professed, requires all hands to be on deck but the opposite is what is at play in Nigeria. Some people are determined to create bottlenecks to prevent smooth working of simple tasks that can make life meaningful for their fellow compatriots.
The recent suspension of the e-passport issuance and renewal at the Nigeria High Commission London can only be the failure of those heading the Nigeria Immigration Service and NIMC. It is only in Nigeria that officials don’t resign when confronted with failure in assignments.
An attempt to find solutions to the many hardship Nigerians are facing at home and abroad brings one to the conclusion that people in position of authority are either incompetent, selfish or deliberately creating the many difficulties to enable them continue to fuel their greed.
African Voice, interviewed Simon Akhigbe, a British citizen of Nigerian descent, an IT professional who was considering a Nigerian passport for the first time with his fiancée. Simon said, “This suspension has put a final stop to my wish for a Nigerian passport. The corrupt individuals who are responsible for this shameful act of not allowing simple tasks such as making applications for passports run smoothly should be fished out of the Nigeria Immigration Service.
To name and shame these individuals who are in position to implement a smooth running operation of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies should be the priority of Nigerians who are at the receiving end of the bad policies of these agencies of government.
Shamelessly, these people forget Nigerians in the UK have cases for comparisons and Nigerians at home have been exposed to the internet. To apply for a British passport, you do not experience any difficulties whatsoever.
Painfully, these rouges in these government agencies in Nigeria are carrying on as if they are ignorant of the pains they cause other citizens.”
While many countries across the world are doing all they can to shake off the impact of the last two years of the Covid -19 pandemic on the economy and standard of living of their people by removing all restrictions and providing reliefs, Nigerians are busy creating difficulties to make life harder for their people.
Situations where trolleys can be made free for passengers, but the system has been created for staff of the agency at airport lobby in Lagos to charge 500 naira when the receipt issued reads 150 naira is deplorable.
The same applies to the criminal act by a paid government staff at the NIMS office that engages in collecting illegal charges of 25,000 naira to fast track NIN verification or uploading, a service that is supposed to attract no charges.
Nigeria is for us all. Nigerians must stand up to challenge these bad eggs. The heads of all non-performing agencies should be called upon to resign from their various positions. This “tear it down” syndrome is not acceptable and cannot be supported by well meaning citizens.
Nigerians across the world are suffering because of expired passports that cannot be renewed. Operations that should be automated are made complicated so the corrupt individuals can continue to benefit.
As these syndicates and gangs of fraudsters are devising means to beat the system, the good guys are making efforts to serve the citizens better. Wherever we find those doing the right thing we must commend them.
An example of the good protective service by the current administration at the Nigeria High Commission London can be seen in the circular issued by the High Commission London on its website.
It reads: It has been brought to our notice that certain individuals and websites have been demanding payment from applicants for processing Nigerian Immigration Documents – i.e. visa and passport applications. The Nigeria High Commission dissociates itself from such suspicious practices and strongly advises interested applicants to use the official channel made available by Nigerian High Commission, and Nigerian Government.
Approved channels are:
• http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk
• http://portal.immigration.gov.ng
Please report any suspicious demand for money or favour to: hc@nigeriahc.org.uk or chancery@nigeriahc.org.uk. All reports made are treated as strictly confidential.
The Federal Government of Nigeria should urgently come to the aid of the multitude of Nigerians who are stranded as a result of non-issuance of passports in the UK before the matter grows into a public protest thereby causing further embarrassment.
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