₦airaland Forum

South Africa denied me entry over expired visa, allowed Europeans — BUA boss.

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has recounted how he was denied entry into South Africa after his visa expired just a day before his arrival, while European travellers were reportedly allowed into the country without visas.

Rabiu shared the experience on Thursday during his presentation titled ‘Africa at scale: Capital, policy, and the architecture of growth’ at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum held in Kigali, Rwanda.

The businessman narrated that the incident occurred in February 2025 when he travelled from Lagos to Cape Town for the Mining Indaba, only to be turned back at immigration after officials discovered his visa had expired.

According to him, the oversight left him stranded for hours at the airport before he was eventually returned to Lagos.

He alleged that while he and his team were delayed over visa issues, passengers arriving on several flights from Europe were cleared into South Africa without visas.

“I had a personal experience. Last year February, I was travelling to Cape Town for the mining Indaba. And as we landed. I left at night from Lagos to Cape Town. We arrived at 6 in the morning,” he said.

“As we arrived, we went to the immigration. I tendered my passport, and the immigration officer looked at it and was like, where is your visa, and I said, “My visa is there”. Unknown to me, my visa had expired the day before.

“Unfortunately, our crew did not check the visa to ensure the visa were valid. We were there for four hours, but at the end of the day, I had to turn back. I was turned back to Lagos.

“But the issue is, while we were waiting to see whether we would be able to get access to the countries without the visas, there were like three international flights from Europe. All three flights were mostly Europeans.

“I was standing there by the immigration desk, and every passenger on those three flights went into Cape Town without any visa.”

The BUA boss stressed that although he accepted responsibility for the expired visa, the experience reflected broader challenges facing Africans within Africa, saying, “I do not have a problem with the fact that I was there without the visa and I was returned. I took full responsibility of that.

“I had an issue with being an African in Africa, being turned away because I do not have a visa and foreigners from other continents were coming in and were allowed to enter without a visa. This must change.”


https://guardian.ng/news/south-africa-denied-me-entry-over-expired-visa-allowed-europeans-bua-boss/

Cc. Disguy, justwise.

This is another reason for Nigerians to boycott these unfriendly brothers called south Africans.

Sad Africans aka white worshippers...


They can worship anything in light skin. They haven't gotten the treatment they deserve yet!

Dangote has complained about this visa movement in Africa.

The entitlement towards South Africa is becoming nauseating.

South Africa did not “deny an African entry while welcoming Europeans.” South Africa enforced its immigration laws exactly as every sovereign country does.

Mr. Rabiu himself admitted his visa had expired before arrival. That is not discrimination ..... that is immigration compliance. If a South African arrived in Nigeria, the UK, USA, or even Rwanda with an expired visa, they would also be denied entry.

The comparison with Europeans is also misleading. Many European countries have bilateral visa-waiver agreements with South Africa based on tourism, trade, and reciprocity. In the same way, many fellow Africans....especially citizens from SADC countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini and others.....enjoy visa-free or easier access into South Africa because of regional African agreements.

So the claim that “Africans are rejected while Europeans are welcomed” is simply not true. Millions of Africans enter South Africa legally every year through existing African regional agreements.

South Africans themselves still need visas for many African countries, including Nigeria in most cases. No country suspends its immigration laws because a visitor is wealthy, influential, or African. Rules are rules, and every traveller is responsible for ensuring their documents are valid before boarding a flight.

CharlotteFlair:
Cc. Disguy, justwise.

This is another reason for Nigerians to boycott these unfriendly brothers called south Africans.

Stop threatening and start doing it. For years now we have heard endless boycott threats, insults, and dramatic announcements about South Africa, yet the obsession never seems to end.

If South Africa is supposedly so “unfriendly,” then simply disengage and move on. No country is forcing anyone to come here, invest here, holiday here, or do business here.

What many South Africans are tired of is the constant entitlement .... this idea that South Africa must apologise for enforcing its laws, managing its borders, or putting its own national interests first, while other countries are free to do exactly the same without criticism.

Leave South Africa alone and focus on building your own country instead of constantly centering South Africa in every conversation.
🤮

South Africa only known for Xenophobia and champions of HIV and AIDS

Nigerian reasoning 101

WhiteIverson:
South Africa only known for Xenophobia and champions of HIV and AIDS

Funny how those HIV people still outlive you on average... you have the lowest life expectancy in the world at just 54.. you die of malaria and malnutrition than a South African dies of AiDS.. make that sink in.

Lionessza6:
The entitlement towards South Africa is becoming nauseating.

South Africa did not “deny an African entry while welcoming Europeans.” South Africa enforced its immigration laws exactly as every sovereign country does.

Mr. Rabiu himself admitted his visa had expired before arrival. That is not discrimination ..... that is immigration compliance. If a South African arrived in Nigeria, the UK, USA, or even Rwanda with an expired visa, they would also be denied entry.

The comparison with Europeans is also misleading. Many European countries have bilateral visa-waiver agreements with South Africa based on tourism, trade, and reciprocity. In the same way, many fellow Africans....especially citizens from SADC countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini and others.....enjoy visa-free or easier access into South Africa because of regional African agreements.

So the claim that “Africans are rejected while Europeans are welcomed” is simply not true. Millions of Africans enter South Africa legally every year through existing African regional agreements.

South Africans themselves still need visas for many African countries, including Nigeria in most cases. No country suspends its immigration laws because a visitor is wealthy, influential, or African. Rules are rules, and every traveller is responsible for ensuring their documents are valid before boarding a flight.

OK the immigration law only allows whites without valid visas

Mrtaye:
OK the immigration law only allows whites without valid visas

Yes,if that's what you goy from the write-up. Now keep your black-arses away from SA. Easy,hey 💁‍♀️

IronGalaxy:
Nigerian reasoning 101

“My visa expired, South Africa followed its immigration laws… but somehow South Africa is still wrong because Europeans from visa-exempt countries entered legally.”

The entitlement and gaslighting are genuinely exhausting and comical at the same time. If some of their rich and influential people reason like this, imagine the mindset of the average person ..... then people wonder why Nigeria is a place to escape from not to.

Mrtaye:
OK the immigration law only allows whites without valid visas

Why are you guys always victims? Its so annoying

Lionessza6:
The entitlement towards South Africa is becoming nauseating.

South Africa did not “deny an African entry while welcoming Europeans.” South Africa enforced its immigration laws exactly as every sovereign country does.

Mr. Rabiu himself admitted his visa had expired before arrival. That is not discrimination ..... that is immigration compliance. If a South African arrived in Nigeria, the UK, USA, or even Rwanda with an expired visa, they would also be denied entry.

The comparison with Europeans is also misleading. Many European countries have bilateral visa-waiver agreements with South Africa based on tourism, trade, and reciprocity. In the same way, many fellow Africans....especially citizens from SADC countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini and others.....enjoy visa-free or easier access into South Africa because of regional African agreements.

So the claim that “Africans are rejected while Europeans are welcomed” is simply not true. Millions of Africans enter South Africa legally every year through existing African regional agreements.

South Africans themselves still need visas for many African countries, including Nigeria in most cases. No country suspends its immigration laws because a visitor is wealthy, influential, or African. Rules are rules, and every traveller is responsible for ensuring their documents are valid before boarding a flight.

Stop the BS.

The individual we speak about deserves a fast-track, and your policy sucks.

He's an investor and employer of labour in your country.

I'm not talking about your skwata camps type of businesses.

If there was a country that treats Africans as less than, it is South Africa.

Learn to understand.

Lionessza6:
“My visa expired, South Africa followed its immigration laws… but somehow South Africa is still wrong because Europeans from visa-exempt countries entered legally.”

The entitlement and gaslighting are genuinely exhausting and comical at the same time. If some of their rich and influential people reason like this, imagine the mindset of the average person ..... then people wonder why Nigeria is a place to escape from not to.

There are countries that would fast-track his entry that aren't even African.

I have experienced it personally.

Flangelo12:
Stop the BS.

The individual we speak about deserves a fast-track, and your policy sucks.

He's an investor and employer of labour in your country.

I'm not talking about your skwata camps type of businesses.

If there was a country that treats Africans as less than, it is South Africa.

Learn to understand.

So because he is rich, the law must bend for him? That mentality explains a lot about why corruption is so normalised in your country.

An expired visa is an expired visa. Immigration officers are not there to kneel before billionaires because they employ people. If anything, someone operating at that level should know better than to travel with invalid documents.

And enough with the fake outrage about “Africans being treated less than.” South Africa has visa-waiver agreements with certain countries. That is diplomacy and policy, not racism. Crying because Europeans entered legally while he could not is not an argument ... it is pure entitlement dressed up as Pan-Africanism.

If South Africa is supposedly so terrible to Africans, why are thousands still trying to enter, work, invest, study, and settle there every year? Clearly the reality does not match the constant online outrage.

Flangelo12:
There are countries that would fast-track his entry that aren't even African.

I have experienced it personally.

Good for those countries. South Africa is not obligated to suspend its immigration laws because someone is wealthy or influential. Let him choose to go invest there then. We are clearly not deserving of His Majesty.

An expired visa does not become valid because the passport holder owns companies....and that's that.

Lionessza6:
So because he is rich, the law must bend for him? That mentality explains a lot about why corruption is so normalised in your country.

An expired visa is an expired visa. Immigration officers are not there to kneel before billionaires because they employ people. If anything, someone operating at that level should know better than to travel with invalid documents.

And enough with the fake outrage about “Africans being treated less than.” South Africa has visa-waiver agreements with certain countries. That is diplomacy and policy, not racism. Crying because Europeans entered legally while he could not is not an argument ... it is pure entitlement dressed up as Pan-Africanism.

If South Africa is supposedly so terrible to Africans, why are thousands still trying to enter, work, invest, study, and settle there every year? Clearly the reality does not match the constant online outrage.

It is not corruption.

It is exemption and recognition.

I personally experienced it travelling to Greece with my Nigerian passport.

They offered me a Greek visa on the spot.

To you, it cannot make sense if it does not give you an opportunity to demean another.

Flangelo12:
Stop the BS.

The individual we speak about deserves a fast-track, and your policy sucks.

He's an investor and employer of labour in your country.

I'm not talking about your skwata camps type of businesses.

If there was a country that treats Africans as less than, it is South Africa.

Learn to understand.

bigmanism doesnt work in SA boss.. the laws apply for everyone

Lionessza6:
Good for those countries. South Africa is not obligated to suspend its immigration laws because someone is wealthy or influential. Let him choose to go invest there then. We are clearly not deserving of His Majesty.

An expired visa does not become valid because the passport holder owns companies....and that's that.

Your country would revise this law.

Let's see whether you would picket the government.

IronGalaxy:
bigmanism doesnt work in SA boss.. the laws apply for everyone

It's not bigmanism.

It's common sense.

One would think South Africa is such a pristine place without high levels of crime.

Violence and corruption is even rife in SA.

Mtcheeew.

Flangelo12:
Your country would revise this law.

Let's see whether you would picket the government.

If South Africa revises the law, that is the government’s decision. Until then, the law is the law 🤣

And good luck with the emotional blackmail and arm-twisting campaign. An expired visa is still an expired visa🫡 and that man has been sent back to Lagos.

Lionessza6:
If South Africa revises the law, that is the government’s decision. Until then, the law is the law 🤣

And good luck with the emotional blackmail and arm-twisting campaign. An expired visa is still an expired visa.

To mouth breathers.

A visa is simply a document that permits travel.

It's not a jail sentence nor a means to demean.

Once a person meets certain criteria it could be waived or fast-tracked.

This is exactly why South Africa is losing its respect.

You take everything as a "pepper dem" opportunity.

Flangelo12:
It is not corruption.

It is exemption and recognition.

I personally experienced it travelling to Greece with my Nigerian passport.

They offered me a Greek visa on the spot.

To you, it cannot make sense if it does not give you an opportunity to demean another.

Then go sing praises to Greece. South Africa is under no obligation to copy another country’s immigration practices just because a wealthy businessman felt inconvenienced.

What is happening here is simple: you are angry that discretion was not extended to someone you believe is important enough to deserve special treatment. Fine. But stop dressing it up as some grand anti-African injustice.

A sovereign country enforced its immigration laws. The world did not end.🫡

I think it's a Black problem.. even in our country here, our people don't respect one another the way they respect Europeans, Asians etc.

A police man will be comfortable holding umbrellas or carrying bags for foreigners but will see his fellow Blacks and be harassing them, slapping and dehumanizing them all because he sees himself as having higher position of authority.

It's same thing with those into insurgency, foreigners are looting our resources without hinderance, while our own farmers can't even farm on their own lands, yet noone is battling an eyelid.

Africa is at the very low.

We need serious reorientation so we can start treating one another with respect and dignity.

Lionessza6:
Then go sing praises to Greece. South Africa is under no obligation to copy another country’s immigration practices just because a wealthy businessman felt inconvenienced.

What is happening here is simple: you are angry that discretion was not extended to someone you believe is important enough to deserve special treatment. Fine. But stop dressing it up as some grand anti-African injustice.

A sovereign country enforced its immigration laws. The world did not end.🫡

It has a lot to do with his status.

Clearly not going into your country to commit a crime, to live there, to constitute a nuisance.

Rather he is there to improve relationships and business across 2 African nations.

The issue for you is that you see it as an opportunity to reduce his status rather than opportunity to cooperate.

My retort is not for you.

Certainly not for those who harbour xenophobia.

It's for those who understand that international travel, business and relationships improve the wellbeing of those involved and should be encouraged.

Flangelo12:
To mouth breathers.

A visa is simply a document that permits travel.

It's not a jail sentence nor a means to demean.

Once a person meets certain criteria it could be waived or fast-tracked.

This is exactly why South Africa is losing its respect.

You take everything as a "pepper dem" opportunity.

Maybe that is exactly why your own country is such a mess .... laws are treated as flexible suggestions depending on status, wealth, connections, or influence. Then when another country refuses to play that game, suddenly it becomes “disrespect” and “anti-African.”

South Africa did not imprison the man. He was simply denied entry because his visa had expired. The hysterics and fake moral outrage afterwards are what people are mocking.

“This is why South Africa is losing respect” ....according to who exactly? Online people angry that immigration laws were enforced?

Most countries are respected when they apply their laws consistently, not when they abandon them because a wealthy foreign businessman arrives with expired documents and expects exceptions. Respect is not built on emotional pressure or selective outrage.

Lionessza6:
Maybe that is exactly why your own country is such a mess .... laws are treated as flexible suggestions depending on status, wealth, connections, or influence. Then when another country refuses to play that game, suddenly it becomes “disrespect” and “anti-African.”

South Africa did not imprison the man. He was simply denied entry because his visa had expired. The hysterics and fake moral outrage afterwards are what people are mocking.

“This is why South Africa is losing respect” ....according to who exactly? Online people angry that immigration laws were enforced?

Most countries are respected when they apply their laws consistently, not when they abandon them because a wealthy foreign businessman arrives with expired documents and expects exceptions. Respect is not built on emotional pressure or selective outrage.

The number of YouTube videos of crime in South Africa carried out by South Africans makes your chest beating rudderless.

Flangelo12:
It has a lot to do with his status.

Clearly not going into your country to commit a crime, to live there, to constitute a nuisance.

Rather he is there to improve relationships and business across 2 African nations.

The issue for you is that you see it as an opportunity to reduce his status rather than opportunity to cooperate.

My retort is not for you.

Certainly not for those who harbour xenophobia.

It's for those who understand that international travel, business and relationships improve the wellbeing of those involved and should be encouraged.

Nobody reduced his status. He himself admitted the visa had expired. The problem started when a straightforward immigration issue was transformed into a morality play about Africans being “treated less than.”

You say his status matters because he is a businessman improving relationships and investment. Fine ....that is an argument for South Africa to *consider* more flexible policies for high-level investors in future. It is not proof that immigration officers were wrong for applying the rules that currently exist.

And spare people the “xenophobia” label every time there is disagreement. Wanting immigration laws enforced consistently is not xenophobia. Countries can encourage trade, investment, and cooperation while still expecting visitors....rich or poor .... to travel with valid documents.

Lionessza6:
Maybe that is exactly why your own country is such a mess .... laws are treated as flexible suggestions depending on status, wealth, connections, or influence. Then when another country refuses to play that game, suddenly it becomes “disrespect” and “anti-African.”

South Africa did not imprison the man. He was simply denied entry because his visa had expired. The hysterics and fake moral outrage afterwards are what people are mocking.

“This is why South Africa is losing respect” ....according to who exactly? Online people angry that immigration laws were enforced?

Most countries are respected when they apply their laws consistently, not when they abandon them because a wealthy foreign businessman arrives with expired documents and expects exceptions. Respect is not built on emotional pressure or selective outrage.

Just the nature of xenophobic South Africans.

The same place would quickly grant entry to a broke white man who' s a junkie.

The joke's on you.