It began when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alleged that some Nigerian travellers to Dubai or passing by it in transit have been presenting faux COVID-19 take a look at outcomes.
Following the gradual resumption of normal worldwide flights after the COVID-19-triggered disruption, a adverse COVID-19 take a look at outcome was made obligatory for worldwide travels amongst different preventive measures aimed toward containing the unfold of the COVID-19 virus.
Whether or not or not the UAE authorities had alerted their Nigerian counterparts over the faux COVID-19 take a look at outcomes, they unilaterally launched an extra speedy take a look at to all UAE-bound travellers from Nigeria earlier than boarding and recognised its outcome no matter any COVID-19 take a look at outcome a traveller would current.
Additionally, to make sure full management over the enforcement of the measure, and making the most of the Emirates monopoly of the Nigeria-Dubai direct flight route, the UAE banned all non-direct flights from Nigeria to Dubai thereby increasing the monopoly within the absence of any Nigerian competitor. Different airways e.g. Egyptair and Ethiopian Airways, which need to transit Cairo and Addis Ababa respectively earlier than flying into Dubai have been thus successfully excluded.
With hundreds of Nigerians travelling to Dubai or transiting it to catch connecting flights to their respective locations in Europe, Australasia, the broader Asia and the Americas, the Nigeria-Dubai flight route is likely one of the profitable routes for the Emirates.
Anyway, the Nigerian authorities kicked towards the UAE’s unilateral measures. The UAE reacted by suspending all flights from Nigeria till, initially, the twenty eighth February 2021, and banned travellers “who’ve been to or linked by Nigeria within the final 14 days” from visiting the UAE.
Although talks ensued between the 2 events, they could not resolve the difficulty because the face-off escalated with the UAE extending the ban to March 10 initially then to the twentieth. Nonetheless, when it appeared that the UAE authorities could not raise the suspension just a few days to the date, the Nigerian authorities reacted by banning the Emirates passenger operations in Nigeria, which prompted the UAE’s indefinite suspension of all flights from Nigeria. That is no matter its implications on the Emirates battle to recuperate from the massive losses it, like different airways, has incurred on account of the worldwide flight disruption as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, as issues stand, Nigeria is equally incurring vital income losses, as a result of the Nigeria-Dubai route and the Emirates are among the many highest revenue-fetching sources for the federal government and different stakeholders within the aviation business.
In the meantime, many individuals with varied pursuits to pursue within the UAE have been rendered stranded. Curiously, some people determined to journey to Dubai from Nigeria go to the extent of smuggling themselves into Ghana to keep away from having their passports stamped with the Nigerian “exist” stamp. Whereas in Ghana, they pay some unscrupulous people who by some means get their passports stamped with backdated cast Nigerian “exist” and Ghanaian “entry” stamps to point that they left Nigeria greater than 14 days in the past and are subsequently eligible to journey to Dubai.
Anyway, although Nigeria as a sovereign nation has the correct to reject the UAE’s unilateral introduction of the extra speedy COVID-19 take a look at on UAE-bound travellers from Nigeria, it ought to have a look at the UAE’s allegation of the faux adverse COVID-19 take a look at outcomes.
In spite of everything, to be truthful, it is an open secret that because the introduction of a adverse COVID-19 take a look at outcome as a requirement for worldwide travels, the “enterprise” of arranging cast adverse take a look at outcomes has thrived in Abuja and Lagos. Worldwide travellers who both do not need to expertise the “stress” of going for the take a look at, or are COVID-19 optimistic, or just really feel too necessary to be examined, half with a fortune to get laboratory-issued and genuine-looking cast adverse COVID-19 take a look at outcomes. And with the connivance of some unscrupulous authorities personnel at Abuja and Lagos airports, they get cleared to journey.
Nonetheless, the UAE’s unilateral introduction of an extra fast take a look at on all Dubai-bound travellers from Nigeria has successfully ended that “enterprise” at the very least on the Nigeria-Dubai route, which, in fact, angered the beneficiaries.
Now, the longer this face-off persists, the extra it undermines the struggles of the aviation business in each international locations to recuperate from the unprecedented losses during the last 12 months as a result of COVID-19 lockdown and journey restrictions.
Its persistence could even have an effect on diplomatic relations between Abuja and Abu Dhabi in a time when the previous wants the latter’s most cooperation in tackling the actions of some subversive Nigerian syndicates with their international collaborators engaged in facilitating Boko Haram financing, money-laundering and different monetary crimes, by Dubai.
It is, subsequently, within the curiosity of each international locations to resolve this face-off by reciprocal compromise. The Nigerian authorities ought to cease feigning ignorance or denying the truth that faux adverse COVID-19 outcomes are being issued to prepared outbound travellers from Nigeria, for a fortune. It ought to merely cease that follow and make the method of acquiring the outcome too clear to be manipulated.
Nonetheless, the UAE should not have unilaterally launched the controversial extra fast COVID-19 take a look at in Nigeria within the first place; it ought to have completed that in coordination with related Nigerian authorities.
Related authorities in each international locations ought to deal with the difficulty bilaterally to resolve this unnecessarily persistent journey face-off.