Posted by By Sunny Igboanugo, Assistant editor, politics on
In a rare show of remorse, the British Mission in Nigeria has apologised to Nigerian international journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, who was denied travel visa to visit the United Kingdom to receive an international award conferred on him by a top British firm last month.
In a rare show of remorse, the British Mission in Nigeria has apologised to Nigerian international journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, who was denied travel visa to visit the United Kingdom to receive an international award conferred on him by a top British firm last month.
Umunna, the General Editor of the London-based Africa Today magazine and head of the editorial department of the Western Bureau was reportedly denied entry into that country because the British authorities feared that he would abscond, as they found the story of why he wanted to travel not convincing enough.
Consequently, the 2005 Diageo African Business Reporting Awards winner not only heard how the event scheduled for London, July 4 went as a story, his own part of the ceremony is now to take place in Nigeria, away from the glitz and splendour the London event was expected to present.
The letter conveying the apology to the journalist over the issue came via the Visa Section of the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos. Signed by Charlie Molloy. Head of Visa Operations - UK Visa Services Nigeria, British Deputy High Commission Lagos, it read:
'Dear Mr Umunna
I am sorry to learn of your recent difficulties in obtaining a visa to travel to the UK. I tried without success to contact you on your mobile number - 0803 502 2154 - to discuss the matter. I am going on leave today but my senior colleague, Chris Dix, Director of Visa Services, would be happy to meet you to talk the matter through. If this sounds acceptable, perhaps you would email Rijole Odulate, his personal assistant, to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet. Rijole can be reached on Rijole.Odulate@fco.gov.uk.
Yours sincerely, Charlie Molloy
Head of Visa Operations - UK Visa Services Nigeria British Deputy High Commission Lagos"
Umunna told Daily Independent that based on the letter, he contacted Mr. Dix, who equally apologised and offered to issue him the entry permission instantly. 'Based on the letter, I emailed the P.A. to the Director of Visa Services and was promptly given an appointment. On Thursday, Aug 4, I went to see Mr. Dix around noon and was well received. We discussed the issue; he expressed regrets over the visa refusal and offered me the visa there and then, but I politely rejected the offer, stressing that the event for which I needed the visa had already come and gone. Mr. Dix, the Director of Visa Services, requested me to contact him directly when I eventually decide to travel to the UK, promising that I would get a visa promptly.
I thanked him for his offer and explained that I would like to wait for the presentation of the award to me here in Nigeria as promised by the organisers before deciding when to travel. Mr. Dix also briefed me on effort being made by the High commission to ease the difficulties encountered by Nigerians seeking UK visa", Umunna narrated last week.
Asked his feeling about the development, the journalist, who had earlier regretted a situation where many Nigerians were constantly humiliated by foreign countries, which he said were most times deliberate, said he was neither happy nor sad about the apology. 'To me it is medicine after death. May be I should be happy that next time I want to travel, I should be given a visa without hassles", he said.
Spirited battle to get Umunna into the country by Diageo, a world brewery conglomerate and owners of Nigerian brewery giant, Guinness Nigeria Plc, and personal efforts by the journalist had ended with a simple letter written by an unidentified official of the visa section in these words: 'Your application was submitted via the courier system and I have considered it on the basis of the statements you have made on your Visa Application Form (VAF) and supporting documents. I have reached a decision based on the information before me. You wish to attend an award ceremony in the UK. You have no previous travel history. You have provided no personal/financial documentations to confirm your current circumstances. I am not satisfied to exercise discretion in your favour now. You have failed to establish that your circumstances are such that your return to Nigeria would prove to be an attractive prospect at the end of your visit. I cannot therefore be satisfied, on the balance of probabilities that you intend to leave the United Kingdom at the end of your proposed trip. In the light of this, I am not satisfied that you are genuinely seeking entry to the UK as a visitor for a period not exceeding six months as required by Rule 41(1) of HC395 and that you intend to leave the UK at the end of the period of the visit as stated by you as required by Rule 41 (1) of HC395.
I am therefore not satisfied that you are genuinely seeking entry for the purpose and for the period as stated by you. I therefore refuse your application."