“If you take shortcuts, you get cut short” – Gary Busey
I read Prof. Olatunji Dare’s back-page column in The Nation newspaper of Tuesday, 16th August, 2022 where he reminisced on the above subject matter; and I have come to the conclusion that the respected erudite scholar is not conversant with ongoing reforms on passport administration.
These reforms being carried out at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) are extensive and difficult for anyone to ignore. It is no longer business as usual. Technological innovations and new administrative procedures have been introduced to ease the entire passport application processes and bring equity to the system.
With the introduction of a digital and online Appointment Management System (AMS) to optimise the passport application experience for Nigerians, and eliminate the inconveniences that Nigerians suffer in booking and rescheduling appointments for biometric data capture, many middlemen have been cut off. Touts, in and out of uniforms, are coming up with excuses such as ‘no booklets’ – another scam which I will address later in this article – amongst others to explain away their inadequacies and inability to meet ‘clientele’ expectation.
You are, therefore, not expected to show up at a passport office except it is your biometric capture appointment date. The claim by Prof. Dare of “crowd of applicants who had been on the scene every working day during the previous week, the week before that, and in all likelihood, the week preceding that” cannot be factual anymore with our new appointment-based system. The only possible scenario this could have happened is if you patronised a tout, who keeps giving you false biometric capture dates.
Applicants are now expected to apply and pay for their passports by themselves online, thereby eliminating any form of cash payment for passport services at ALL Passport Centres. This new policy has improved efficiency in service delivery, eliminating any form of malpractices through agents and/or some unscrupulous officers. At the tip of your fingers, through any internet-enabled device, anyone desirous of securing a passport can apply, pay, secure an appointment and track the entire process in real time online – a new innovation of the current administration.
After capturing, standardised timelines of collection have been introduced. Three weeks for re-issue and six weeks for fresh applications. This is one of the fastest amongst developed nations we love to emulate. For instance, a simple search on travel.state.gov, the official website of the United State Government, reveals it takes 8-11 weeks minimum on the expedited service to secure the US passport and up to 14-16 weeks for a normal service. On Gov.uk, the official website of the United Kingdom Government, it takes 10 weeks turnaround time; and on passports.gov.au in Australia, it takes six weeks turnaround time to secure an Australian passport after approval.
By the end of 2022, it is projected that the Nigeria Immigration Service would have issued at least two million passports. This is the first of its kind in the country’s history. As at 24th August 2022, close to a million passports have been issued this year. The process has largely improved; testimonies abound online and offline.
Sadly, for those who desire the system to remain the way it has been, they have coined a new term, ‘No Booklet,’ in order to continue their evil ways. The term ‘No booklet’ was coined to create artificial scarcity. This narrative is pushed by touts and unscrupulous officials, who want to extort applicants and make them pay for ‘fast track.’ However, nothing can be further from the truth.
A ‘First In, First Out’ policy has been instituted alongside the reforms. Until an official expedited service is inaugurated, this will continue to be the Standard Operating Procedure in our passport administration. Nigerians must, therefore, understand that Passport Document cannot be procured on a ‘wait-and-get’ basis. The reason for the three weeks and six weeks’ timeline for re-issue and fresh applications respectively is to allow for adequate background checks and to ensure the booklet supply chain is not distorted. Of course, adequate provisions are made for emergency cases, which is usually determined by the Office of Comptroller General of the Service.
To harmonise our identity, the new enhanced e-passport has now been linked to the National Identity Number. To avoid delay in processing, Nigerians are advised to ensure their NIN details correspond exactly with the passport application details and apply early, at least six months to the expiration of their valid passports.
When you apply, if possible, pick a centre that will be less crowded in order to get a closer biometric capture date; book and reschedule your appointment online at no extra fee; go for capture and three or six weeks after capturing, you get your passport. This is what the new passport application procedure entails. This is the process in all our passport centres across the developed world. Anything outside of this will only lead to agony and anarchy.
Plans are in high gear by the authorities to set up additional biometric enrolment centres across the country, which are expected to ease the pressure at high traffic passport offices in Lagos and Abuja whilst ultimately working on the elimination of contact with immigration officers in passport issuance process. The authorities are committed to ensuring a seamless passport application process and ensuring this acclaimed Standard Operating Practices are maintained. Innovation, efficiency and transparency are key. As a patriotic Nigerian, Prof. Dare, I am most certain, will agree that those are the standards we must never lose as we build the country of our collective dreams.
- Kikiowo writes from Abuja