Nigerian industrialist, Aliko Dangote, has lamented the ineffectiveness of Africa-wide passports in some countries and their potential impacts on trade barriers and human movement.
According to him, despite the supposed access and free movement of citizens and goods that the passport grants, African nations must begin to support visas-on-arrival to effectively facilitate this free movement.
Sharing his personal experience, the Chairman and CEO of the Dangote Group lamented the difficulty among some African countries that still turn away holders of the African-wide passport.
“I have the AU passport which allows people to move around in the continent but until now, there are about three countries that still do not agree to the usage of those passports.
“We go with a British guy or maybe a Nigerian holding a British passport and he is allowed in that country, but we are still arguing and debating about my visa and I am the one with the money. If you are making life difficult for me, there is no way I will go and invest in your country,” he said.
He made this statement at a session of the 30th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Afreximbank which recently took place in Accra.
Dangote further decried that the situation is unfair, particularly to countries that grant access to holders of passports issued by the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK).
He, therefore, advocated for African countries to demonstrate commitment in order to boost intra-African trade and investment opportunities through supporting visas on arrival for Africans.
“African countries must be deliberate in liberalising integration and allow for easy entry and exit of Africans to facilitate trade,” Dangote stressed.
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Aliko Dangote, Chairman and CEO of the Dangote Group