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Please fact-check me: Almost 70% of Nigerians who apply for a United Kingdom visa are approved. Almost 60% of Nigerians applying for an American visa are accepted. Slightly over 50% of Nigerians who apply for Canadian visas are granted visas.
In addition, Nigerian citizens have visa-free access to at least 44 countries (actually more).
Also, Nigeria's passport rose to 89th out of 199 countries on the Henley Passport Index, up from 94 in 2025 and 98 in 2022. What this means is that the Nigerian passport is STRONGER than more than half of all the passports on Earth.
So, in conclusion, we have to be circumspect about our choice of words and not confuse personal experiences with national situations.
Nigerians are not trapped in Nigeria, nor is Nigeria scorned by the rest of the world. Time Out magazine of London listed Lagos as the 19th-best place to live on Earth, and Detty December became the single biggest tourist event in Africa, drawing 1.2 million visitors to Lagos annually.
Also, Foreign Direct Investment inflows into Nigeria hit an 11-year high in 2025, according to the World Investment Report 2026, released on Tuesday, July 2, 2026, by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Per UNCTAD, FDI into Nigeria increased by 148.4% to $4 billion in 2025, from $1.61 billion in 2024.
If an individual is denied a visa, it is usually due to their specific circumstances and is not a reflection of, or a judgment on, their country of origin.
Nigeria has given us so much. Many of us have risen from humble circumstances to achieve fame and fortune because of the Nigerian nation and its people. Let us therefore be prudent and not de-market the nation that has given us so much. Nigeria is not finished. Nigeria is blessed!
Reno Omokri
Ambassador Designate to Mexico. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years.
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