BY CHIKA KWAMBA/RITA OYIBOKA/JUDITH OBIANUA
Nwodika weaved through the airport crowd, clutching his small bag as he joined the slow-moving queue snaking towards the aircraft stairs. This was the moment he had waited months for, the moment he believed would mark the end of struggle and the beginning of a new life. Dubai beckoned, glistening with promises of work, dignity and escape. Nothing, he thought, could go wrong. Even if someone had warned him that his travel documents were fake or that the agent he trusted had swindled him, Nwodika would not have listened.
Reality struck moments after landing. Pulled aside by immigration officials, questioned briefly and handed the verdict he never imagined, his dreams collapsed in an instant. His shoulders slumped, his face fell, and the same journey that had filled him with hope only hours earlier now led him back to Nigeria—deported, disillusioned and financially ruined. With his savings gone and his confidence shattered, Nwodika was forced to begin life again from scratch, bearing the heavy weight of a dream that died at the airport.
On this edition of Sunday Digest, The Pointer beams its searchlight on Japa-Gone-Wrong, giving voice to men and women who set out in search of greener pastures, only to watch their hopes crash before their eyes; victims of fake documents, dubious agents and the harsh realities of migration gone bad.
According to Emeka Okeke, who is now into fancy chandeliers in Lagos, “As a young boy, I always had this dream of travelling outside the country for greener pastures. After my university education, I couldn’t get a sponsor, so I had to work a little to be able to sponsor myself.
‘’With time, I was able to get my international passport. Then the quest to get a good travel agent began. I searched, and with the help of some friends, I got someone. After several attempts and money spent, yet no papers, I began to lose interest in the whole process. I started thinking outside the box about how to build my life here in Nigeria.
‘’It wasn’t a pleasant experience. My expectations were high, and I really looked forward to travelling out, but here I’m stuck and starting over again. I had to accept my fate and also come to realise that man proposes and God disposes.
‘’So, I ventured into business and started all over again. I’m not blaming anyone; I see it as fate. For now, I can only travel out for vacation or to China to buy goods, not to hustle. I’m done with that idea.” Okeke posited.
Another respondent who spoke to our correspondent from Abuja, Ms Beneita Chris, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Nitamorris Travel and Tour, explained, “We all know that there are some requirements and documents one needs to put in place while preparing, but the immigration or embassy of that country has the final say.
‘’Sometimes, the immigration personnel representing that country in your own country has the right either to issue or reject your visa, irrespective of what you are going for, whether education, tourism, or work. Truly, it is not your right; it is a privilege given.
‘’Firstly, they need to see your financial strength and passport, a letter from your previous place of work. Some people don’t work, and for business owners, they need to show that their company is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). If these documents are not put in place, they are red flags. These documents are supposed to be ready while applying for your visa because the consular officer will go through them.
‘’If your expenses are above your monthly pay, that is another major red flag that leads to visa rejection. Meanwhile, you can’t always tell if your visa will be rejected or not. First, you submit your visa application; within a space of seven days (one week), the embassy goes through your documents for verification.
‘’Then the second week is when you get a response from the embassy, and most of the time it comes with excitement and optimism. Some people go as far as selling their properties in readiness to travel out. Mind you, you are yet to hear from the embassy and, boom, the expected message comes in, stating that your visa has been rejected, maybe with reasons.
‘’This puts the individual on edge and activates a sad mode instantly. Life plan changes, mental health unstable, some even develop high blood pressure immediately.
‘’Now, that’s why we advise people before applying for a visa to consult a certified and experienced travel agent, not those just after your money, but to guide you through the process. Again, it is necessary to know how the country operates, business-wise and system-wise.
‘’Knowing the country you are travelling to is very important, not after your application, but before applying. Make it a point of duty to always follow up with your travel agent, because sometimes you may find out that the process isn’t working in the dying minutes.” Chris disclosed.
From Port Harcourt, Engr Princewill Okpara shared his experiences with The Pointer. He said, ‘’When it comes to travelling, no agent can assure you of success. Even if your papers are okay, the agency or embassy may not approve them, when it’s a paper application and not an oral interview. Sometimes, your documents might be in order, but the final decision rests with the embassy. The feeling after so much money, time, stress, effort, and energy have been put in, and it doesn’t work out, is exhausting and depressing.
‘’Before I applied, I was attending their fair and classes, and I think I was fortunate to ask the consul a series of questions for clarity. Truthfully, there are no hard and fast rules to these things. For me, all my documents were in order.
‘’Again, the school gave me a 50 per cent scholarship, while I paid the remaining 50 per cent, with my receipt attached. Everything was in place. I had enough money, and my bank statement was well funded, as required. Trust foreign countries… Aside from their working systems, they will always find a reason for not letting you into their country.
‘’In my case, they said I didn’t have enough travel history. The same documents they rejected, a friend used; what we did was to edit some parts. My statement of purpose, which they earlier said was vague, was the same document I used for my friend. I just changed my name to hers; even the course of study wasn’t properly edited, but her visa was granted.
‘’Even though she didn’t have enough money in her account and had zero travel history, it was granted. But with my travel history outside Nigeria before I made the application, I was still declined.
‘’During that process, I met two colleagues who were supposed to travel to a conference in the same office. One had a good travel history, and the other had none. While the other came with a virgin passport, the one with the virgin passport was approved, while the other was rejected on the basis that his travel history wasn’t enough. The only thing is that once you apply, you just keep your fingers crossed, praying that the person at the embassy approves it.
‘’Also, I have been to the U.S. Embassy. Right before me, a guy was asked what his name was and the name of the school he was applying to. Instantly, the green card was handed over to him, meaning that his application had been accepted, and he should come back for his visa.
‘’Now, the next person behind him has the same thing. There were two officers; anyone attended to by the same lady got visas. But the other officer who attended to others kept rejecting people’s applications. His facial expressions weren’t pleasant; he looked angry and unhappy.
‘’Funny as it may seem, they are trained to reject people. At first sight of you as the applicant, the decision is sometimes already made whether to approve or reject your application. Sometimes, they are not even after your documents. For instance, when applying for the UK, once your documentation is intact and ticks their boxes, your visa will be approved.
‘’But for other countries, once they see you, they decide what to do with you. It’s in their power to approve or reject. For Canada, it is at their discretion. So, there is no one way to do these things. If luck shines on you, congratulations.
In the words of Chinecherem Nwodika, he recounts his older brother’s experience back in 2010. ‘’My brother had the eagerness to look for greener pastures outside the shores of Nigeria. As of then, the major country in the minds of many youths was Dubai, the city everyone wanted to explore. Luckily, a friend of his, who happened to be a travel agent, after travelling out, promised to help him secure his papers and join him over there.
‘’Since we don’t have full details of what transpired between them, one thing is sure: his friend managed to arrange fake documents. He paid the required amount of over ₦1.8 million for the visa processing. So he set out, went through all the airports, and was cleared to our greatest surprise. How he made it through, we don’t know. But on getting to Dubai airport, they discovered that most of his documents from his agent were fake.
‘’I believe that if he was able to pull off such fake documents, then he must have had an insider, either here in Nigeria or over there. This shows that we (Nigeria) don’t really check the authenticity of travel documents at the airport, but the other side of the country is serious about it, verifying the originality of each document and whether it fits their requirements, including the invitation.
‘’From what I gathered, the invitation that was sent to him to enable him access his visa was fake. The supposed company didn’t send any invitation to him. I guess they created their own website, developed an invitation from Dubai, and sent it to him, with the help of someone claiming to be a company in jewellery.
‘’Maybe too, that company never existed. So, on getting there, everything was exposed, and they found out that such a company didn’t exist. He was immediately deported. That was a bitter experience for him, which took him some time to start all over again.
According to another respondent, Susan Akin, she planned on travelling abroad some time ago. She was to travel to America through the ‘’conference method’’ but did not succeed due to some misconceptions.
‘’I wanted to travel to America through the conference method, so I went for the training. My aim was to get the American visa, just to enter the country. That is why I registered for the conference, which, after the conference, I will just hang out there, I won’t come back to Nigeria again; that was my plan. So my aunt paid for the conference, and even booked a hotel where I will stay during the conference.
‘’I went through the whole process, paid for everything, all the requirements. Finally, it was time for me to go to the embassy for the visa. So I went, and when I got there, I presented my passport, the white men took it from me, looked at my face and gave my passport back to me. That was it, no long story, he didn’t give me a visa, nor did he utter a word. He simply returned my passport.
‘’Our whole time was wasted, and the money spent was wasted. That was how I missed the American visa. I was heartbroken and devastated because it’s my dream land, but today I have gotten over it and moved on with my life’’ she said.
Speaking with Animene Elizabeth, she said she told our correspondent in Asaba of the cases of two brothers who planned to travel abroad and missed their flight due to their folly.
‘’I know of two brothers whose elder brother got a visa for, and they finally missed the flight. Ikechukwu and Obioma were to travel to Australia. Their older brother was there already and decided to take them along. When their visa was ready, they travelled from the east to Lagos and on getting there, they booked a hotel and checked in because their flight was the next morning.
‘’The night before their departure, they decided to take their last drink before leaving the country. What they forgot was that the departure of their flight schedule was by 7 am. They drank to the extent of getting drunk and slept till 11 am the next morning. That was how they missed their flight and are still in Nigeria.
In an interview with The Pointer in Asaba, a mother of two who identified simply as Tina narrated how what began as a promise of opportunity in the United States spiralled into years of displacement, coercion and survival across three countries before she eventually found her way back to Nigeria.
“I was 23 years old at the time, 2012, when my boyfriend told me about an opportunity to go to the U.S to work, and he spoke with so much confidence and about his connections (including his aunt, who was there) that I never doubted him for a second.
‘’I was not doing anything meaningful then, no steady job, no prospects, and the idea of travelling abroad felt amazing. We didn’t call it japa then. It was just an opportunity. He told me I would work in a restaurant or as a caregiver or even a hairdresser, as I was still learning to make hair then, that I would earn in dollars and be able to support my family back home. He handled the discussions, the contacts, even the documents, and I trusted him because we were in a relationship. Looking back now, that trust was my biggest mistake.”
Tina said the journey did not lead to the U.S as promised. Instead, she found herself moving through unfamiliar routes, relying entirely on people she did not know, while her boyfriend slowly disappeared from the picture.
“We first travelled to Spain, but even there, nothing was clear to me, and I was told to just keep quiet and follow instructions. The man I came with handed me over to other people, and from that point, I no longer had control over where I was going or who I was with.
‘’They took my phone, my documents, everything that tied me to my identity, and I was constantly reminded that I owed money for the journey. When I asked about the U.S., they asked me to be patient, as that was the process. I was later forced to move again, this time to Italy, and that was when the reality of my situation became undeniable. I was told plainly that I had to ‘work’ to pay my debt, and refusal was not an option. That was the moment I understood that I had been trafficked, not helped. Finally, I found myself in Senegal.”
She explained that life in Senegal was defined by fear, isolation and constant monitoring, with very little room to resist or escape.
“Every day felt like survival, not living, and I was always afraid of what would happen if I tried to run. I did not know the language, I did not know the streets, and I was surrounded by people who reminded me that I had nowhere to go. There were other girls like me, all with similar stories, and we barely spoke because even talking felt dangerous.
‘’I was constantly thinking of my family and how ashamed I would be if they knew where I was. Some days I felt numb, other days I felt angry, but mostly I felt trapped. I kept telling myself that if I stayed alive, maybe one day an opportunity would come. That hope, no matter how small, was what kept me going.”
According to Tina, her eventual escape came from an unexpected and risky opening. “One of the clients I met over time happened to be from my village. He noticed that I was different, that I was not there by choice, and he kept asking questions quietly.
‘’At first, I didn’t trust him because trust had already destroyed my life once. But after several encounters, he told me he could help me leave if I was willing to take the risk. We planned everything in secret because if the traffickers found out, I don’t know what would have happened to me. The day we left, my hands were shaking the entire time, and I thought I would be caught at every checkpoint. I didn’t even believe I was free until we crossed the border.”
She said the journey eventually brought her back to Nigeria, where she began the slow process of rebuilding her life. “Coming back to Nigeria was not the happy ending people imagine; it was another kind of struggle entirely. I came back with nothing, no savings, no documents, and a lot of trauma that people could not see.
‘’I had to cut ties with my mother and move out of her house after a while because whenever she was angry, she would say I should have just stayed there because she, too, was ashamed about what people were assuming. I later got married to the man who helped me and gave birth to two children, but the marriage did not last, and that is a story for another day. At the end, I would advise anyone travelling to be very, very careful.”
