The Nigerian Government recently announced a visa-on-arrival policy for Africans visiting the West African country. The purposes of the policy, according to the government, are to encourage cross-border movements and further open up the economy. Although the policy is laudable, there is still work to be done towards creating an enabling environment to attract potential visitors and investors. Nigeria must prioritize the building of trust within its business environment, especially by working on ensuring the safety of lives, properties, and other fundamental freedoms. Unfortunately, though, present Nigeria is not close to this status. But things have to improve for the visa-on-arrival policy to yield the desired outcomes. The country’s abysmal record on the Global Peace Index—often ranking below 130th since 2010—is a testament to the amount of work that needs to go into creating a peaceful society that foreigners would pay to experience.
Nigeria is currently the 5th least peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nobody would want to spend a vacation in a country where police round up innocent civilians without regard for due process or get kidnapped for ransom with no one doing anything. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK, for instance, had warned its citizens against traveling to 21 of 36 states in Nigeria due to growing insecurity just a few months ago. This, of course, is a red flag to potential investors from the UK—one of Nigeria’s most important trading partners…..
To read more, check full article on Business Day Nigeria.