Less than two million people visited Nigeria in 2023-  Authorities lament

The government of Nigeria, has lamented the low number of people visiting the country.

According to the country’s Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, less than two million people including the nationals visited the country last year.

The minister  described  the development as unacceptable considering the population of the country and the resources and opportunities available in the most populous black nation.

Consequently, the minister said the country would consider reviewing its visa policy.

Speaking  during a Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on Nigeria Visa held at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, the minister said:

“We are determined to make sure that in the next couple of weeks, by the grace of God, the new implementation framework will be on ground.

“And people all over the world will start having easy access to the country. We want to welcome investment and people.

“Just last year, the number of foreign passengers that came to Nigeria whether Nigerians or non, was just less than two million people.

“That is unacceptable for a country of over 200 million people. It means that we are limiting investment, import of forex among other things.

“So, once we get the visa policy right, and we get the implementation framework perfect, then definitely economic prosperity will come.”

The Minister further maintained that the country would consider a visa policy that would attract investments and encourage visitors to visit Nigeria from across the world without putting the country’s security in jeopardy.

He said though it was difficult striking a balance between easy access to visa and national security considering its delicate nature, but “if gotten right, it would no doubt  lead to a healthy investment promotion for Nigeria “.

 He said “you see, a seamless access to any country is key for investment promotion, job creation, foreign direct investment. In short, it is key to whatever a particular country wants to do or achieve to enable it progress.

“The logic is that everything is built on effective visa administration. So, we are here to really talk about it and to be able to streamline the process for better.

“Especially, in areas of short stay visa and even our other categories of visa to see how we can optimise them and make it more efficient in such a way that will be able to attract more investment.

“It is one thing to have a policy, but it is another thing to be able to implement it.

`”So, we are gathered here today, to deliberate on the need to use technology to reduce the waiting time to get a short stay visa, business visa, tourism as well as entertainment.

“And how easy is it going to be for them to have access to their application mechanism? 

“Why must somebody need to travel from British Columbia in Canada all the way to Ottawa, just because you want a Nigerian visa.

“What are the reasons today people go to Qatar, UK and Singapore even more than the way people go to Europe; it is because there is easier access.“

“So, creating the right framework and having that benchmark that will be competitive, comparable with the best in the world, is exactly what we aim to achieve.

“We want to assure Nigerians that this is not just a workshop, neither are we just here to talk, but to actualise it,” the Minister asserted.