Every December, Nigerians in Diaspora troop home to be with their loved ones. This annual phenomenon is so impactful that the cost of flights from any part of the world to Nigeria will double during this period. Nigerians at home look with expectation and excitement at their relatives returning home and this is because they anticipate some windfall, no matter how small from these annual trips home from their loved ones.
Then the Coronavirus hit! The world was shut down, travel was crippled and commerce all but came to a halt. This was in February of 2020. As the world began to get a grip on this Covid-19 pandemic, and our society began to slowly emerge from our self-imposed quarantine with travel and commerce awakening. Here comes another menace to torment the already tormented lives of Nigerians. This menace is the organized government extortion of travelers by the Nigerian authorities using Covid-19 testing as a panacea for protecting the country. Only in Nigeria!
As part of opening travels to Nigeria and protecting the Nigerian citizenry, our government have come up with some protocols that must be observed by those traveling to Nigeria. Based on my understanding, all travelers must take the Covid-19 test within 72 to 120 hours prior to traveling to the country. Mind you, the express testing methods capable of yielding positive or negative results in a hurry are not acceptable as proof of negative testing. Upon getting your test results, you have to register at a portal created by the federal government and a QR code generated showing you have been registered in the system and your test result recorded. Additionally, once in the country you are required to pay N50,000 for a second test, slated to happen within 7 days of arrival to show that you are still Covid-19 negative. This second test is where I have great issues and concerns. First, why take the first test if you will be required to take another test once you arrive in the country? Why not take the test upon arrival and then proceed into their purported quarantine for 7 days? To cap the frustration, if your final destination is not Lagos or Abuja, you will be required to return to either Lagos or Abuja to take this second test. That is preposterous! How could the government, in its infinite wisdom, presume that every Nigerian traveling back home has the money and resources to make these trips back and forth all in an effort to satisfy the stupid protocol attached to this travel advisory?
Since implementing these protocols, social media has been replete with horror stories from early travelers to Nigeria. Some travelers have complained about having to pay multiple times for these tests and still could not get tested. Some have claimed that the testing sites are exceedingly difficult to find and, in some cases, do not exist. The implication is that innocent Nigerians whose only wish is to spend some quality time with family members, spend all that time trying to abide by some draconian protocol set up by our purported government to extort poor diaspora citizens of their savings. This is an awful shame!
I often wonder how other African countries are handling this matter of opening their airports for this annual migration home. Why does any Nigerian challenge become an opportunity to punish Nigerian citizens and make their lives difficult while government officials enrich themselves? It is amazing that in Nigeria, you literally have to pay your way through everything, or risk being abused by the police or military. At the airport, all airport employees have turned to beggars asking openly for gifts of money, and if you do not give, you are made to go through hell just to get out of our heated airport. The custom officials have no concern for what is in your luggage but what is in your wallet. Once outside, the traffic police and military; (mind you, Nigeria is the only country where the military serve as traffic police) will make you part with your hard earned savings for one reason or another…again, if you do not oblige them, then be ready to spend some time under the sun and in the sweltering heat just as a way of torturing you into submission.
The saddest part of what is going on now is how we as Nigerians will end up adjusting to whatever evil conditions, we are subjected. Speaking with a friend on this matter recently about this Covid-19 testing scam, I was flabbergasted by his response when I informed him that I am thinking about suspending my trip this December until this matte of testing is resolved. He just cavalierly informs me to give it time and we will figure out a way around it. This is who we are. Just like our leaders, we have no interest in correcting any wrong, just finding a way around it. As silly as this sounds, this is our approach to all challenges Nigeria.
For me, I made up my mind, I will cancel my trip home this December, I understand that there may be a price to pay since the airline may charge me extra to rebook or maybe not issue any refunds at all. But I am no longer going to find ways around bad policy. It does not serve me or anyone. I am also encouraging my friends and other traveling to change their travel plans. We can no longer afford to capitulate whenever our elected and appointed officials think it is their right to make rules to extort us anytime, they feel like it. We need to take a stand and make our voices heard.
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