ADSC urges FG to prioritize visa access in bilateral trade agreements
*As expert underscores rules towards unlocking $1tr economy
By SUMAYYAH ADEFAKA
The Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to make visa access for Nigerians a mandatory component of all bilateral trade, aviation and international cooperation agreements, warning that many such deals risk remaining ineffective without guaranteed citizen mobility.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the founder of ADSC, Victor Oluwafemi, said Nigeria was entitled to reciprocity in its international engagements, stressing that partner countries must open their borders to legitimate Nigerian travellers if Nigeria continues to open its economy through trade and cooperation frameworks.
Oluwafemi noted that agreements which Nigerians could not practically access might appear strong on paper but often failed to deliver real economic value, as mobility remained critical to translating commitments into measurable outcomes. He observed that Nigerians travelling abroad for business, investment, conferences, education and professional engagements continued to face slow, uncertain and discretionary visa processes across several partner countries.
According to him, these challenges were undermining the conversion of trade promises into real transactions. “A trade agreement only works when traders can travel to meet buyers, inspect goods, conclude contracts and support delivery. An investment partnership only works when investors can deploy teams, undertake due diligence and execute quickly,” he said.
Oluwafemi added that airline agreements would only be commercially viable when passenger access was reliable and predictable, warning that without visa facilitation, Nigeria risked creating international corridors that appeared open but were effectively closed to its own citizens.
Meanwhile, the call for visa access in bilateral agreements came as experts highlighted broader policy requirements for unlocking Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy. Speaking at the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS) High-Level Policy Engagement held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, the Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Banking (Lagos and South West) at The Alternative Bank, Korede Demola-Adeniyi, stressed the need for stable and predictable policy frameworks to attract private capital.
Demola-Adeniyi warned that frequent policy shifts could discourage long-term investments, noting that investor confidence depended largely on policy consistency. The event, hosted by the Office of the Vice President in partnership with Sterling One Foundation and the United Nations Nigeria, had the theme, “Scaling Action: Driving Inclusive Growth Through Policy and Innovation.”
She further explained that blended finance models, involving government, development finance institutions, banks and other stakeholders, could deliver both commercial returns and developmental impact when risks were transparently managed. According to her, projects supported by DFIs often recorded stronger repayment performance than conventional lending when execution was actively monitored.
