NEWS
Africa’s Richest Man Says He Needs 35 Visas To Travel In Africa – Way More Than A European Visitor
Even Africa’s wealthiest man has trouble traveling in his own continent.
Despite doing business in multiple countries, Nigerian-born Aliko Dangote complains he faces far more hurdles crossing Africa than visitors with European passports ever do.
“As an investor, as someone who wants to make Africa great, I have to apply for 35 different visas on my passport,” Dangote told the recent Africa CEO Forum in Kigali.
“I really don’t have the time to go and drop off my passport in embassies to get a visa,” he said to laughter from the audience.
The 67-year-old entrepreneur’s visa woes have reignited a fresh firestorm about the frustrations of traveling within Africa for Africans.
It’s even more infuriating for many Africans that European passports from former colonial masters have more visa-free access in Africa than many African passports.
It’s a point Dangote made powerfully in Kigali, when he turned to the French executive next to him and deadpanned: “I can assure you that Patrick (Pouyanné, CEO of Total Energies) doesn’t need 35 visas on a French passport, which means you have freer movement than myself in Africa.”
Dangote commended Rwanda, which eliminated visas for all African nationals in 2023. Benin, The Gambia and Seychelles also offer visa-free access to all Africans.
But many African countries still require visas from other Africans and the experience is fraught with discrimination, hostility and sky-high fees.
‘Humiliating Experience’
Nigerian travel filmmaker Tayo Aina says he was forced to give a stool sample in front of an Ethiopian immigration officer, to confirm he hadn’t ingested any drugs, when he landed in Addis Ababa in April 2021.
“It was my most humiliating experience traveling within Africa,” he told CNN by phone from London. He has also been detained at airports in Kenya and South Africa because of his Nigerian passport.
This year, Aina announced that he bought a passport from the Caribbean country of St Kitts and Nevis for $150,000 so he can travel more freely.
“Sometimes you go to a country, and it is no longer visa-on-arrival. There are cases where people get deported when they land because they changed the policy mid-flight,” the 31-year-old YouTuber says.
The African Union has said one of its goals is to remove “restrictions on Africans’ ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming restrictive laws and promoting visa-free travel” but implementation has been slow. Free movement within the continent is a critical part of the African Continental Free Trade Area, but action hasn’t followed the commitments.
The fear of permanent migration is one of the reasons why African nations don’t make it easy for other Africans to visit, migration researcher Alan Hirsch told CNN.
“There’s a fear in richer African countries that people from poorer nations might be looking for a way to permanently move there,” he explains.
“A lot of Africans cross borders informally and we don’t have a real record of that. Some countries fear people applying for asylum and then disappearing under the radar.”
The retired University of Cape Town professor runs a program on migration at the New South Institute think tank in Johannesburg. He says the integrity of passport and visa systems especially in poorer African countries has also held back Africans’ mobility. “People have found illegal ways of obtaining passports, for example someone pretending to be Burundian without actually being from that country.”
Fresh bottlenecks
While Africans can move relatively freely within their regions, traveling further away is still challenging. Travelers from East African Community countries don’t need a visa within the block and most parts of Southern and West Africa are open to nationals from the respective regions.
But even what looks like progress can introduce some fresh bottlenecks. A Nigerian visa on arrival used to be $25 for Kenyan passport holders. But after changes to the application process, Kenyans now have to apply for a Nigerian e-visa in advance, at a cost of $215.
Kenyan President William Ruto famously promised to eliminate visas for everybody traveling to the East African nation. He introduced an Electronic Travel Authorization instead but the application process is similar to that of a visa. It costs $30 without processing fees and approval may take several days. Many visa applications require an application form, bank statements, flight and hotel bookings. Applicants are often rejected for incomplete documentation or for unclear reasons.
“South Africa held my passport for almost five months,” the Nigerian content creator Tayo says.
His new St Kitts passport allows him to go to more African countries than his Nigerian passport.
Culled from CNN.
NEWS
N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
International News
ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Others
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
NEWS
Edo State Governor Sets Up Committee To Recover Missing Gov’t Vehicles
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.