UK’S IMPOSITION OF £3K BOND ON NIGERIAN TRAVELERS IS GOOD FOR US Nnamdi Onyeka Many Nigerians have been complaining about the imposition of bond on Nigerian travelers by UK government and I keep wondering why we are complaining, when in reality they are doing us good. UK is not a primary producer of any product, hence the cost of their products and services are usually too high. The mad rush of Nigerians to the UK actually results to huge outflow from the Nigerian economy to the UK economy. Worse still is the fact that these huge outflows are from the private pockets of Nigerian citizens, who are most times treated with contempt and disrespect by both the people and government of UK. Just to give us an idea of how much Nigerians are contributing from their private pockets to the UK economy, I have provided some rough estimates below. 1. Visa Application fees At least 500 applicants per day, 3 days a week with average fee being N50,000. This is equivalent to annual turnover of N6 billion by the UK visa office in Nigeria. This surely is a very lucrative business. 2. Flight tickets British carriers BA and Virgin Atlantic operate a total of 4 flights daily from Nigeria with average of 1,600 passengers. If 60 percent of those passengers are Nigerians, that will give us about 1,000 Nigerians per day going to the UK. Average cost of promotional economy ticket is N150,000. So daily payout by 1000 Nigerian to British airlines is about N150 million, equivalent to N54 billion per annum Note that this estimate of 1,000 Nigerians per day does not include travelers on Arik, and other connecting passengers on Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar etc. So the estimate of 1,000 Nigerians per day is a very conservative one. 3. Accommodation within uk At least half of the Nigerian visitors (500) will require Hotel Accommodation for average of 5 days before returning. Average hotel in UK costs N15,000 (£60). This will give us a total of N14 billion per annum 4. Shopping, Entertainment etc Each visitor will spend money on food, shopping, tours, cinemas, transport etc. For an average of 5 days stay in UK, each individual will spend between N50,000 and N1 million depending on economic status. If we use average of N100,000, we will have an estimated N36 billion per annum. 5. Educational Tourism(school fees) At least 2000 Nigerians are schooling in the UK. School fees is upwards of N1 million (£4,000) per annum. This gives us about N2 billion per annum. 6. Medical tourism (Medical fees) At least 500 Nigerian visit UK annually for Medical treatment with each of them spending a minimum of N500,000 giving us a total of N250 million per annum TOTALS Summing up items 1 to 6 will give us estimated N112 billion annual flow from Nigerian travelers to the UK economy. Other Nigerians visiting from other places outside Nigeria have not been included and these estimates are based on perceived minimums. Effect of the Bond With the introduction of the bond, Nigerian visitors to UK will reduce. If this reduction is 50%, the UK will be losing at least N55 billion annually from Nigerian travelers. Conversely, as many Nigerian businessmen become less interested in travelling to the UK, their UK partners will have no option than to come to Nigeria, thereby spending on the Nigerian economy. From all indications, UK is the party that is actually benefiting from the mad rush of Nigerians to UK. However the unfortunate irony here is that these folks are making it appear as if they are doing Nigerians a favour. If I am to offer an opinion here, I will say “Let Them Bring It On” and let’s see who will lose at the end of the day. Nnamdi Onyeka Lagos – Nigeria
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 21:30:06 +0000