Some Nigerians in South Africa have lamented alleged corrupt practices of officials of the Nigerian Embassy in Ilovo, Johannesburg.
They accused the officials of high-handedness in several things, including the collection of illegal fees for confirmation of driving licenses and passport renewal.
According to them, Nigerians go through hardship to do all these things while their foreign counterparts are given better treatment.
Ayodele Efunsetan (not real name), who is a student based in Johannesburg, told newsmen that money was usually collected from Nigerians by the embassy for them to have their driving licenses converted to South Africa’s.
Efunsetan, who has stayed in South Africa for two years, narrated an experience he had while processing a driving license.
He said, “The process is usually very simple. South African authorities will send the Nigerian embassy a message, asking for a confirmation of your Nigerian driving license and after that, the person is issued the South African license.
“My friend stays in Cape Town, and he met someone in the Traffic department of the embassy, who sent a message via an e-mail to the Nigerian embassy three months ago. There was no response. From Cape Town to Johannesburg, it is just 20 hours by road and two hours by flight.
“Since I stay in Johannesburg, I went to the embassy. The workers said they did not receive any message. I told my friend and he pleaded with the South-African officials to resend the message, which they did on August 24.”
Efunsetan said a week after, there was still no response, forcing him to return to the embassy.
He said after waiting for five hours, he was told the official in charge did not resume for duty. He said he was frustrated because he had yet to bribe the officials.
He lamented that Nigerians in South Africa were made to go through harrowing pain for passport renewal. He noted especially that the two men (names withheld), who sat behind the counters, were behind the problem.
“The legal fee for passport renewal is $160, which you pay online with your credit card. But when you get to the embassy, one of the two men will say you must pay an additional 120 Rand, for which there is no receipt. He says if you want the passport fast, you must pay 2,000 Rand, which is about N28, 000.
“If you don’t pay, your may never get your passport even after six months,” he added.
It was learnt that to get a passport, Nigerians were sometimes mandated to get a letter of recommendation from the Nigerian Union in South Africa.
The association, it was gathered, worked for the Nigerian embassy, and in a way, it was an avenue to milk Nigerian citizens in South Africa.
Another Nigerian, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said people were mandated to pay 2,500 Rands to be a member of the group.
“If you want to get a new passport, they will ask you to bring a letter from the Nigerian Union. This union actually works pari pasu with the embassy. And before you get their letter, you must pay 2,500 Rands, which is the registration fee.
“Foreigners, who go to the embassy because they want to travel to Nigeria, get their visa the same day. I asked a foreigner I met at the embassy if he was coming for the first time and he said ‘yes.’ I asked him when he would be travelling to Nigeria and he said the next day. This man got his visa the same day. They call it ‘Express Visa’ and the fee is very high,” he said.
Another Nigerian, who did not want to be identified, said there was a syndicate in the embassy in Johannesburg.
The Cape Town-based worker alleged that one of the two men behind the counter in the Nigerian embassy headed the syndicate and the Nigerian Union was the group’s tool.
He said, “Firstly, you have to have a US dollar account to pay for the passport application online. Because majority of Nigerians don’t have that, the Nigerian Union in South Africa collaborate with officials of the embassy and the Nigeria Immigration to use their personal account to transact the payment of the fee and charge about 600 to 800 Rand.”
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