On July 1st, I read an interesting piece in Guardian Newspaper titled, “Nigeria, Ethiopia rekindle bilateral ties.” Not a long write-up so I reckon you might want to glance through later.

In summary, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, and his Ethiopian counterpart had a bilateral meeting and some nice words were flown around like, mutual progress and prosperity, cooperation in defence and economy, amongst others. There were even mentions of the long standing relationship between both countries pre-dating Nigeria’s independence; and all other such words that probably describes a true love story, at least in the movies.

While this could be true, some thoughts immediately popped up in my head after reading the piece but being the gentleman that I think I am, or at least my wife believes me to be, I briefly mumbled a few words to my wife on my point of view and happily buried it there.

So last night, I was busy being my nocturnal self and just reading through news and stories then I came across a tweet from the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam El-Rufai about Ethiopian Airlines commencing flights directly to and fro Kaduna International Airport from August 1st, 2017.

This is a laudable development and, I must say, one that is probably considered an achievement by those who brokered the deal, being that it would bring some respite to those who would otherwise have taken a trip to Abuja or even Kano to catch a flight. I believe the deal makers had this and more in mind and I truly salute their intents.

However, after reading the tweet from Mallam El-Rufai, it got me pondering again and regurgitating my thoughts from July 1st. Seemingly minor but I believe worth sharing.

Firstly, with the addition of Kaduna, Ethiopian Airlines will have 5 routes/destination cities in Nigeria namely: Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu and Kaduna. I stand to be corrected but last time I checked, this is the only country not just in Africa but the world over including China where Ethiopian Airlines has the highest number of cities covered.

Also worthy of note is the fact that amongst all the ‘major’ countries in East Africa, Ethiopia is the only country that doesn’t grant Nigerian passport holders’ visa on arrival despite the fact that there’s supposed to be very cordial diplomatic relations between both countries.
Recently, The Ethiopian Immigration and Nationality Affairs’ main department in collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines (as written on their website) launched a new e-visa program about last month (June 2017) aimed at boosting tourism and of course, unsurprisingly, Nigeria was excluded from the list.

Now, here’s what I’m getting at, in business, people talk about negotiating from the position of strength. I see no reason from where Nigeria stands why this issue shouldn’t be addressed, considering how much revenue ‘we’ve allowed them generate’ (story for another day) from all the routes they serve in our country. After all, if my money is good enough for your pocket. . .

How does one talk about rekindled bilateral ties without ease of access between both countries? I would expect that our leaders and particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia to seek how they ensure that our interests are protected in every agreement not just with Ethiopia, but with other countries as well.

I didn’t know who particularly to address this to but I suppose sharing my thoughts and putting them out there would perhaps stimulate a discourse and possibly a call to action by citizens and leaders alike.

Remember, it’s in the little things we permit that allow people take us for granted.

Happy to read your comments and have you share your take.

Cheers!

Full disclosure: Yes I’m a frequent traveler to Ethiopia but it’s not just about me getting visas, matter of fact, I have never been denied their visa. Also Ethiopians are very warm and friendly people that love Nigerians.