John Kofi Annan, a Pan-Africanist, has called out immigration officials for their corrupt practices on LinkedIn.
Kofi stated that immigration officials were taking money from him in order for them to stamp his passport.
He requested for a receipt which will show that the money was paid into a government account, if it was really a legal act.
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The African man said if it is not looked into, he will fight, especially on road travel and stage a protest all over Africa.
We need an action now!
He even compared the African union to the European union and stated that they do not need a passport to travel to their member state, but the case was different for the African union.
Addressing the ECOWAS commission, he vented his frustration on why there is no free movement of people and goods by roads, it is frustrating.
He ended by saying:
Until this is solved the AfCFTA – African Continental Free Trade Area agreement will also become a paper 🗞️ thing. We need an action NOW!
In the comment section, people started sharing their own experiences of the problem and thanked the man for stepping up.
Reactions: I feel your pain
Netizens reacted to Kpfi’s post with many expressing their displeasure about the travel situation.
@Joy Andrew: Very good point. I am with you on this. I can’t even move to other neighbouring countries without being stress of a stamp 😒
@Mide Olufipe: Thank God someone is finally speaking, hope they listen because it doesn’t make sense and further condemned us to be backward in Africa.
@Nkem Offonabo: My first road trip to Benin Republic was and will be my last road trip to any African country. It was a horrible experience with immigration officials at the borders who had to exploit us and made us pay for another Yellow Fever certificate claiming it was fake.
@O Williams V: John Kofi Annan I can feel your pain and relate to every word in this post. My boss Wassim El Kadhi keeps wondering why I have to apply for visa to every African country I travel to – Your post will give him a clearer understanding of the situation on ground.
@Odunbaku Taiwo: John Kofi Annan , you are on point, I experience it a few years ago, I traveled from Nigeria to Ghana, and I slept at the Aflao-Lomé border due to an unnecessary bottleneck created by the immigration officers because some of us refuse to pay the settlement amount requested by them.
Extortion: FAAN dismisses two Immigration Officers
In another story, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has dismissed two officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The dismissed officers were also banned from working at any Nigerian airport.
The officers whose identities remained undisclosed, were sacked for allegedly extorting a 14-year-old by collecting N8000 from her.
