BBC Pidgin of Monday, 24 October 2022

Source: BBC

UAE sama visa ban on Nigerian travellers - How e reach here

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United Arab Emirates, (UAE) don put compulsory visa ban on Nigerians wey wan visit Dubai. Di notice UAE give trade partners for Nigeria last Saturday no provide reasons for dis ban but tok say, “all Dubai applications submitted don dey rejected,” e add say dem go send di rejections in batches.” Dis new development dey come weeks afta di UAE goment tighten visa restrictions to visitors. Dem begin grant tourist visas only to pipo under di age of 40, except doz wey dey apply for family visas, wey affect Nigerians plus oda kontris mostly for Africa. Why dem impose visa ban on Nigerians? Over di past 18 months, Nigeria and di UAE don battle plenti diplomatic palava. Last year August, one viral tweet  show as dem hold some Nigerians for one room for one Dubai airport. Di poster para say dem no dey treat dem well even though dem carry  valid travel documents. Nigerian government for dia response thru di Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Chairperson, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, say di affected Nigerians, including doz wey dem send back, no follow di new visa rules of di UAE.  NIDCOM say most of di affected Nigerians “dey issued wit family visas, and dem go Dubai without any family member.” Dabiri-Erewa for one video she post on 1 September, say na, “bad behaviour” by some Nigerians na im make di UAE tighten dia visa rules, afta reports and videos of Nigerian rival cult groups clash for Dubai.  Of recent di Nigerian goment evacuate ova 500 Nigerians wey dey stranded for di UAE last Sunday. Wetin be di Aviation drama between Nigeria and di UAE? Many disagreements dey ground between both goments for di last 10 months, and na di aviation sector suffer am di most. For December 2021, Nigerian goment reduce di number of Emirates Airlines flight operations for Nigeria from 21 flights to one flight per week. Di decision wey di goment say na to retaliate against di way di UAE goment take treat one local carrier, Air Peace.  Di UAE bin reduce Air Peace operations from 3 flights to one per week. Di decision by di Nigerian goment force Emirates Airlines to stop operations for Nigeria for few weeks. Operations later kontinu afta both goment settle. For August 2022, Emirates Airlines announce suspension of all flight operations for Nigeria wit effect from 1 September. Dem say di reason na dia inability to collect dia money wey dey trapped for Nigeria.  On 11 September, di airline resume operations for di kontri afta, “di Central Bank of Nigeria don release part of our blocked funds” di statement tok. Wetin Nigerian goment dey tok? Although di Nigerian goment neva respond to dis new visa ban on im citizens but inside one previous statement, di ministry of foreign affairs say Nigerians gatz respect di immigration laws of oda kontris to avoid “unwarranted treatment”. “Di general public dey invited to note and dey guided say di Goment of UAE don introduce a new visa regime and don stop to issue tourist visas to pipo wey under di age of 40 years, except for doz wey dey apply for family visas,” di ministry add. Oda African kontris dey affected? Di UAE at different points bin introduce visa restrictions on some African nationalities for many kain reasons. Howeva, development economists believe say dis dey in line wit di overstay by dis kontris wey use 30-day visitor visa wit di hope to apply for jobs. As di end of dis issue between di UAE and some African kontris no dey in sight, e fit cause reduction in diaspora remittances to Sub-Sahara Africa plus loss of revenue to di Emirati goment wia thousands of Africans dey choose to go for tourism (including medical tourism), education, and business annually.