How My Experiment Failed at the Nigeria House in London

When I got the chance to renew my passport through the Nigeria High Commission in London, I refused advise to make calls to make the process easier and faster. I refused, not because I wouldn’t have appreciated an easier and faster process, but I saw it as an opportunity to test the system. In essence, I was using my passport renewal process as an experiment.

So, I applied like everyone else. Then went to the Nigeria House for data capture etc. My experiment failed at the point I was going to take my photo. The guy that was meant to take the photo — Amir — was like, “where do I know this face from? Are you Omojuwa?”. Omo, I was casted and my experiment fell apart because they insisted on giving me my new passport that same day. I ended up having to ask other people about their experience to make my judgment. That was in 2020.

I am happy to see things get even better. Some Nigerians often prefer to be loud about what is not working and will not resist any opportunity to shame the country. Other Nigerians are also loud about what’s not working but because their intention is the pursuit of the better, they are also quick to acknowledge what works. They are excited to share what works because that’s what they truly desire of their country — that it works.

I am happy to amplify the voices of some of those people here. It is quite clear things have gotten even much better at the Nigeria High Commission, London. The feedback on the marked improvements on passport application, renewal and issuance process is quite self-explanatory.

This is credit to everyone at the Nigeria High Commission (NHC) in London. I’d love for them to keep up the great work. I should reserve special recognition to the NHC London attaché, DCI Bashir Aminu. The Hon. Ministers of Interior Bunmi Tunji-Ojo and Foreign Affairs Mallam Yusuf Maitama Tuggar deserve a lot of credit for their apparent commitment to make life easier for Nigerians abroad. This is without prejudice to other aspects of their jobs. What is good can always be better, so I hope for even more improvements across every layer of their objectives and responsibilities.

My passport is up for renewal again. I think it is an opportunity to test the process at another Nigeria Mission abroad, London has since proven itself committed to getting better. We’ll see.

PS: I’d love to read about experiences from other Nigeria Missions, especially the busier ones. Please share by commenting.