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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.
The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has honoured former Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, for his enduring contributions to science, innovation and the development of The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation.
At a colloquium organised in his honour, the company highlighted Nnaji’s more than two decades of involvement in the growth, governance and international recognition of the Prize, describing him as one of its earliest advocates and a key figure in its evolution.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Adeleye Falade, represented by the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, said Nnaji had remained a pillar of the initiative since its inception in 2004.
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According to Horsfall, the renowned engineer and academic has provided intellectual leadership, strategic direction and sustained advocacy that have helped shape the Prize’s vision, strengthen its credibility and advance its role in promoting scientific innovation and national development.
She recalled that Nnaji delivered the keynote address at the inaugural Grand Award Night held in Abuja on October 9, 2004, where he spoke on “Leapfrogging Science and Technology in Nigeria.” She noted that the address reinforced the founding objective of the Prize and helped raise awareness of the initiative among scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders.
Sahara Group is convening policymakers, industry leaders, investors, academia, and media professionals to advance practical solutions for Africa’s evolving energy landscape.
Scheduled for Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Lagos, this year’s Asharami Square, a flagship thought leadership platform, is themed “Energising Africa’s Future: Legacy, Impact, and Transformation.”
The platform will spotlight the ideas, partnerships, and policy frameworks required to accelerate sustainable energy development across the continent.
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Building on the success of previous editions, Asharami Square 3.0 will examine how collaboration across government, industry, finance, and the media can unlock investment, strengthen infrastructure, and expand access while supporting Africa’s energy transition.
According to Bethel Obioma, Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, the platform reflects Sahara Group’s commitment to driving impactful conversations that translate into real outcomes.
“Africa’s energy future will be shaped by the strength of our partnerships and our ability to turn dialogue into action. Asharami Square continues to provide a platform for convening diverse perspectives, advancing informed discourse, and driving the decisions that will influence policy, investment, and long-term development across the continent.
As we look Beyond XXX, our focus remains on investing in the ideas, partnerships, and platforms that will help shape a sustainable energy future for Africa.”
Also speaking, Ejiro Gray, Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, emphasised the importance of grounding energy conversations in context and practical realities.
“Africa’s energy transition must be defined by solutions that reflect our unique realities. Asharami Square plays a critical role in bridging technical expertise and public understanding, ensuring that conversations around energy, sustainability, and development are anchored in evidence, context, and impact.
Through initiatives like Asharami Square, we continue to advance our Beyond XXX philosophy by supporting credible dialogue and strengthening the ecosystems that drive sustainable progress.”
The event will feature a keynote address by Sadiq Wanka, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Power Infrastructure, alongside a high-level panel including Professor Abigail Ndisika, Director, Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), University of Lagos; Temitope George, CEO, Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC); Adebiyi Olusolape, Associate Editor, Africa, Argus Media; and Kemi Awodein, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Chapel Hill Denham.
A key highlight of this year’s programme will be the unveiling of the Asharami Square Energy Reporting Fellowship Judging Panel, reinforcing Sahara Group’s commitment to strengthening credible, solutions-focused journalism that deepens public understanding of Africa’s energy transition.
Since its maiden edition in 2024, Asharami Square has facilitated informed dialogue and effective media advocacy to enhance energy transition and sustainability in Africa.
Through the platform and the newly launched Asharami Energy Reporting Fellowship, Sahara Group continues to advance its Beyond XXX vision by investing in the ideas, people, and platforms that will help shape Africa’s energy future, while reinforcing its commitment to bringing energy to life responsibly.
Critical stakeholders are lamenting that fuel importers, licensed by the Nigerian government, are selling imported premium motor spirit (PMS) also known as petrol around N200 per litre, above what local refiner, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) is selling.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) noted that the importers including Matrix, AA Rano, Hayden among others have started pricing imported petrol significantly above the rates offered by the DPRP, raising concerns over the effectiveness of the government’s import licensing policy.
IPMAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said independent marketers had expected the import licences to serve as a check on domestic fuel pricing but are now shocked to find out that the policy had failed to deliver the desired outcome.
“The independent marketers of Nigeria have looked at the price volatility, the issue of the import license, the issue of sales of petroleum products and dollar, and holistically I will want to use the opportunity to urge the federal government to look into this thing transparently through NMDPRA, who is the authority of the industry,” he said.
According to him, the recent import licences issued to marketers have not helped reduce fuel prices as anticipated.
“The recent import licenses, which are termed to be used as a guiding principle or a check to domestic petroleum products being refined here in Nigeria, is not yielding the results as was expected by the independent marketers,” he stated.
Ukadike expressed surprise that some importers were reportedly selling imported petrol at about N1,350 per litre, despite lower prices from the DPRP.
“We were shocked, even as I am talking to you now, that the licenses that have been given to AA Rano, Matrix and all the rest of them to be able to import petroleum products are trying to peg the price of petroleum products at N1,350, which is far, far distant from what Dangote has been selling to us,” he said.
He further questioned the quality and pricing of imported products, insisting that the policy was undermining the purpose for which the licences were granted.
“The essence of NNPC or NMDPRA or the federal government opening up this import license is also to checkmate the domestic price of petroleum products, whereas where we find out that these products are being brought into this country, one, their qualities are questionable, two, their prices are higher,” Ukadike added.
The IPMAN spokesman also warned that continued fuel importation at higher prices was increasing pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, with the naira approaching N1,400 to the US dollar.
He argued that imported petroleum products priced using the international PLATTS benchmark were about 20 percent more expensive than products supplied by the DPRP, making imports less competitive.
Ukadike urged the Federal Government to sustain the sale of crude oil to the Dangote refinery in naira, saying the arrangement would help stabilise domestic fuel prices, reduce demand for foreign exchange and ease pressure on the local currency.
He also cautioned against what he described as the indiscriminate issuance of import licences, warning that such a policy could ultimately lead to higher pump prices for consumers instead of promoting competition.
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