Nigerian International Passport Wahala: October 23, 2022

Curse of Crude Oil or State-Sponsored Scarcity?

I write this essay in response to the age-old unmitigated ordeals and near impossibility that applicants are subjected to while trying to procure Nigerian International Passport and the resultant unquantifiable financial losses to the federal government.

Natural resources are supposedly elements of blessing to any nation. Not all the time. Most often, it's a curse. And that's the crux of this essay. Ask the government and the people of Venezuela. What about the people of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Central African Republic and their avalanche of wasted gold and diamond?

The curse of crude oil wears different hats and it manifests in different colours. It creates a dependency syndrome that it's difficult to cure. Ask a few of our Governors and the reason for the surge in banditry. No more sharing as usual.

Yes, crude oil takes the shine off other sectors of the economy or industries where investment returns are not that pronounced or difficult to achieve.

And who cares! After all, the IOCs are there to exploit our crude oil reserves and pay us handsomely in royalty. Therefore, if other industries caput, there is enough revenue flowing from the black gold to meet the needs of the aristocratic few and their loved ones. OPEC quota shortfalls notwithstanding.

For instance, while Cocoa, Ground Nuts, Rubber, and Palm Oil are enjoying high demand at home and abroad, we are no longer counted as a major producer or supplier of any of the listed items in the international market. And it's all thanks to the Sweet Brent of the Niger Delta.

Nigerian International Passport, for instance, is not issued for free. You pay handsomely for its procurement. Nevertheless, in the past 30 years, it remains one of the most difficult official documents to obtain by Nigerians, whether applying from home or abroad.

Economically, the more scarce and challenging it's to obtain a marketable cum valuable state-issued item or product, the more the country loses in internally generated revenue. The same principle applies to private manufacturers, especially when the means of production are readily available.

How long does it take and how much does it cost to print a brand-new international passport?

If 62 years post our independence, we cannot process our own international passport and make it readily available for applicants on demand or within a reasonable time, when are we going to acquire the technology?

Except, of course, the scarcity is deliberate and it's state-sponsored to deprive Nigerians of what they are entitled to as a right. Because, no matter how you look at it, there is no reason for the scarcity. I beg to add that there is more to the scarcity than meets the eye.

We cannot refine our crude oil and we cannot print our international passport, in spite of the huge market for the two products at home and abroad.

Abuja, what's going on? Why take our people through avoidable ordeals? Applicants are suffering and we are losing money at the same time.

Owning an international passport is not a privilege, it's a right. This frustration is unnecessary. It's time to do the right thing.

2Donatus Idumage and Austin Ozi