Can Nigeria’s Digital Visa Initiative Enhance National Security?

In January, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced that all visa applications would be digitised by March this year. The minister assured Nigerians of a centralised visa approval centre to ensure uniformity, enhance national security, and reduce corruption.

Tunji-Ojo claimed his administration has been able to build one of the biggest data centres in Nigeria, noting that the Ministry inherited a Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) without a data centre. He said the data of Nigerians was saved in private capacities with various contractors in gross contravention of the Data Protection Act.

“The visa approval centre is also an achievement for this administration because we also now have a centralised visa approval centre,” he said. “This will stem corruption, ensure national security, and merge the visa regime to ensure uniformity. Before March 1, all visa application systems will be online to ensure proper vetting.”

For years, digital advocates in Nigeria have called for a digital-driven economy to ensure societal transparency and accountability. “The best way to ensure shared prosperity for Africa is by making the single market work, and this can only be achieved if it is owned and driven by Africa’s private sector, particularly SMEs,” said Gabby Otchere-Darko, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network. He emphasised that the digital economy leverages the internet, digital platforms, and other digital technologies to create value, drive innovation, and foster economic growth.

In April 2023, Nigeria’s e-government and digital technology service provider, NeGSt-TAS Technologies Limited, formed a strategic partnership agreement with Visa Incorporated to digitise the Nigerian economy. Similarly, at the 2022 US-Africa Business Forum in Washington, D.C., Alfred Kelly, the chairman and CEO of Visa Inc., pledged a $1 billion investment over the next five years to digitise African economies. The investment aims to promote resilient, innovative, and inclusive economies while expanding access to digital literacy, payments, and formal financial services for individuals and merchants.

Failed attempts 

In 2019, the NIS tried to establish a digitised tourist visa. Muhammad Babandede, the former Comptroller General of Immigration, unveiled his plans to digitise Tourist Visas by December of that year. He said the tourist visa would be web-based, and everything would be digitised without physical contact. “Once you apply online, upload your application, submit, pay, and get approval, you start coming, and within 24-48 hours, you get your tourist’s visa,” he stressed.

However, the plan failed to materialise as intended. Tourists continued to face bureaucratic delays, inconsistent processing times, and technical glitches that hindered seamless access. Analysts argued that the absence of a human interface in the visa-on-arrival system necessitates innovative digital solutions to boost Nigeria’s development. They stressed that the success of the visa-on-arrival process is crucial for enabling tourists to visit Nigeria easily and conduct business in the country. 

Olugbenga Agboola, the founder of Flutterwave, a Lagos-based fintech company, for instance, stated that for a thriving and inclusive digital economy, African countries such as Nigeria need to build the critical foundations of the digital economy. “These foundations are interdependent and require public and private sector solutions,” he said.

What’s new?

Since becoming Nigeria’s interior minister, Tunji-Ojo has taken several steps to digitalise the economy through the agencies under his control. Several experts have said the minister’s digitisation schemes, especially in e-passport services and visa reforms, will streamline business operations and strengthen Nigeria’s international relationships.

In 2024, digital technology advocates advised the NIS to advance its operations to ease interactions with the parastatal. The experts urged NIS to deploy technological reforms, such as electronic visa application and processing, biometric data collection, machine-readable passports and visas, mobile verification apps, and so on, to fully digitise the system.

“These technological solutions could significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of travel document and visa verification processes,” the experts noted. “This not only benefits immigration authorities but also enhances the overall experience for travellers, reduces the risk of fraud and security threats, and promotes Nigeria as a modern and secure destination for visitors and investors.”

Although Nigeria has significantly advanced by implementing electronic visa applications, demonstrating its commitment to streamlining the visa process, its steep visa-on-arrival fee overshadows these improvements. As a prominent African nation, the country commits to the alliance created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to establish one market to boost intra-African trade and eliminate trade barriers among countries. The AfCFTA is also an ambitious agreement among African countries to create a uniform market for African entrepreneurs. 

However, this commitment seems to have been frustrated by NIS when, in 2023, the country doubled its visa-on-arrival biometric fee to $170 – from $90. The sharp increase has deterred dozens of investors and tourists and undermined the government’s economic recovery efforts. 

An analysis by the Abraham Accords Peace Institute reveals that if visa fees are too high, some tourists and entrepreneurs may decide to visit a different country with more affordable fees or no visa requirements. A growing number of African nations are making notable progress in facilitating travel across the continent, according to the Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI). In January, Ghana became the fifth country to grant visa-free entry for all African nationals, joining the likes of Rwanda, Seychelles, Benin, and The Gambia. 

According to Seyi Adewale, the Chief Executive Officer of Mainstream Cargo Limited, relaxed visa policies like low cost or total removal of visa requirements can stimulate economic growth by attracting foreign exchange. A notable example is Mauritius and Seychelles’ visa policies and their effects on tourism. Before 2013, Mauritius required visitors to obtain visas before arrival, while Seychelles adopted a more open approach, requiring no entry visas. This divergence in policy led to a significant disparity in tourist growth between the two nations. 

Nigeria trails behind its African counterparts in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness, ranking 129th of 136. Ghana and South Africa, with more favourable visa policies, secured 120th and 53rd, respectively. With its new visa-free policy, Ghana’s position is expected to increase in the coming years. 

Audu Bello, a lecturer at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, told HumAngle that the removal of visa barriers can be a game-changer for foreign investors, researchers, and entrepreneurs, stressing that visa-free travel facilitates cross-border cooperation and collaboration, enabling individuals to capitalise on new opportunities quickly.

“Countries with effective visa-free policies tend to witness a surge in tourism, underscoring the potential economic benefits of such policies,” according to Bello. 

Muhammad Danjuma, an immigration officer and security analyst, said the NIS initiative, if implemented, would make visa application easier than ever and enhance national security. He, however, tasked the government with reducing the visa application cost to allow foreign investors and tourists to have a better entry experience with Nigeria.

This report is produced as part of the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programme, a collaboration between the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-develop.