The number of passports issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service increased by 38 percent between 2020 and 2021.
This is an increase from 767,164 to 1,059,607 passes issued in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
According to the data obtained from the NIS, the types of passports ranged from standard, official, diplomatic, emergency travel certificates and refugee passports or standard travel documents.
An analysis of the number revealed that of all the passports issued in 2020, 761,825 were normal; 2,024 were official; 444 were diplomats, and 2,871 were ETCs.
In 2021, the NIS issued 1,041,537 ordinary passports, 2,811 official passports, 895 diplomatic passports, 14,214 ETCs and 150 refugee passports.Î
That’s about 2,081 and 2,853 passports issued every 24 hours in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
For the period under review, the UK immigration report showed that 13,609 Nigerian health workers were granted work visas. This is second only to India with 42,966 experts.
According to the 2021 Nigeria Social Balance Survey conducted by the African Poll Institute, seven out of 10 Nigerians were eager to leave their country if given the opportunity.
Also, a World Bank survey conducted that year revealed that 56,000 more Nigerians were leaving the country each year than arriving.
A further review showed that more than 19,000 UK work and study visas were issued to Nigerians in 2019. In 2021, the number increased by 210 percent, 59,000.
Furthermore, 12,595 Nigerians immigrated to Canada in 2019 alone, according to data obtained from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. That year, NIS issued 1,198,274 passes, which was a daily average of 3,282 passes.
More citizens are also leaving the country through the study route, obtaining more study visas in the UK, Canada and the US.
In an interview, the Executive Director of Adopt A Goal Initiative, Mr Ariyo-Dare Atoye, said that the increasing number of Nigerians obtaining passports was closely related to the high level of migration caused by the poor economic situation and security challenges of the past decade.
However, the new passport system launched in the middle of last year may also be a factor contributing to the ease of passport issuance for many applicants.
According to him, the number would continue to increase if the country fails to elect credible leaders in the next election. “The numbers don’t lie,” he said.