Nigerian embassies and missions in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, France and several other nations have a poor practice of ignoring requests coming via emails.
Dataphyte sent emails to 23 different Nigerian embassies and missions around the world, including those in Qatar, China, Portugal, the United States, the United Kingdom, among other countries.
The email was sent to assess the promptness and quality of responses to requests and enquiries made by Nigerian residents in those nations using official electronic means.
In order to renew his passport before it expires on April 27, the reporter posed as a resident of the country where each of the embassies was situated. He requested the details of passport renewal procedures and associated costs in the emails.
Only three embassies and two commissions responded within 24 hours
As of the time of filing this report, which was already six days (144 hours) from the day the emails were sent, three embassies, including the Nigerian embassy in Spain, Qatar, and Togo, as well as two high commissions in Canada and Ghana had replied in less than 24 hours.
The response from the Nigerian embassy in Togo was the quickest, arriving two hours after the request was made.
“I am directed to acknowledge your mail dated 31st March 2023. On renewal of international passport and to inform that the Nigerian embassy in Lome doesnt renew international passport.”
“You can go to the Nigerian Embassy in Benin or Nigerian High Commission Ghana for renewal of the passport. In this regard, the embassy would be able to answer your questions. Thank you,” the response from Togo read.
Even though replies from the Embassy in Spain and the High Commission in Ghana appeared to be auto responses because they came in less than a minute after the requests were made, there were no follow-up emails five days after.
For instance, the Embassy in Spain said, “Your message has been received. It will be forwarded to the appropriate department, and you will hear from us as soon as possible.”
A response from its counterpart in Ghana read, “Nigeria High Commission, Ghana front desk acknowledges receipt of your mail. Kindly permit us 48 hours to respond to your message.”
Only the Nigerian High Commission in Canada provided full details on the procedure, including instructions, for passports renewal, missing passports, and name changes on passport, among other things. The response came in five hours, 12 minutes after the request was made.
Embassies in US and Qatar took at least 18 hours to respond
The response to the email query addressed to the Nigerian embassies in Qatar and the USA took at least 18 hours, but not more than one day.
The Nigerian Embassy in Qatar responded exactly 18 hours after receiving the request. “Thank you for your mail. Please go to Nigeria to get it renewed,” it said in the response.
After 24 hours and 54 minutes, the Nigerian embassy in the US replied, asking the reporter to visit the Nigerian Immigration Portal to begin the application for passport renewal process and make an appointment there. Additionally, it stated in the mail that the procedure would take two to three months.
It took three and five days, respectively, to get responses from the Nigerian embassies in China and Belgium. Despite the fact that their responses took a few days to arrive, theirs were general guidelines to any Nigerian living in these two nations on how to renew their passports.
For instance, the consular division of the Nigerian embassy in Belgium responded by directing the reporter to fill out a passport application online and make payment.
Even though it did not state the link to the website, it however listed documents that would be needed such as three passport photos, two copies of data page of passport, two copies of residence card and a formal letter requesting the renewal of expired passport. The message said it would take within two weeks or less after submission to get the passport.
For its counterpart in China, the reporter was required to come in person on a Tuesday or Thursday morning along with five listed documents which included data page copy of the passport, online application form, payment slip, two passport photographs and application letter.
The embassy in China did not also state the link to the website or what to be done online. However, a phone number was asked to be contacted for an online assistance. To get passport renewed from the embassy in China, the cost was pegged at 805 Yaun.
No response from UK, France, Italy, others six days after
Six days after sending enquiry emails, 16 embassies and high commissions still did not respond.
These embassies and high commissions include: the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
Others are: India, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
300,000 Nigerians residing in the United Kingdom (UK) as of 2021, according to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, Nigeria’s High Commission in the UK did not respond to an email addressed to it six days after.
Also, as of June 2022, Nigeria had the highest number of migrants to the United Kingdom (UK) and was the third largest nationality group in the country.
Nigerians living in these countries may not have enough time to resolve passport-related problems because of the response delays.
We don’t oversee foreign missions- NIDCOM
Responding to this situation, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) said it was outside of its remit to supervise the operations and activities of foreign missions with regard to passport renewals.
In a telephone interview with Dataphyte, Head of NIDCOM’s Media, Public Relations, and Protocols Unit, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, told the reporter that NIDCOM did not have diaspora focal point officers in foreign missions.
However, he expressed his disappointment that the Nigerian High Commission in the UK had not replied to a message sent to it many days earlier. “It is surprising to hear that the Nigerian High Commission in the UK has not responded to your request considering the sizeable number of Nigerians who reside there despite having a dedicated email and officer,” Balogun stated.
When Nigerians escalated a problem to NIDCOM, according to Balogun, the commission would address the matter.
“If it affects them (Nigerians), they will get back to us and we know exactly what to do. Until when they do that, we do not just assume,” he said.
No official response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dataphyte could not obtain the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official position on this matter. The ministry’s spokesperson, Ms Francisca Omayuli, acknowledged receiving the reporter’s inquiry on Thursday, April 6, and said she would respond as soon as possible.
On Tuesday, April 11, after receiving no response the first time, the reporter contacted the spokesperson again. Omayuli replied on WhatsApp that she would revert as soon as she had the necessary information, noting that she had just returned from her Easter break.
“Good day, please note that work resumed today after the Easter break. I will revert as soon as the required information is obtained. Thank you,” Omayuli said.
However, she did not get back to the reporter after the close of work on Wednesday, April 12.