The ongoing conflict between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) governments has taken a new turn, with the Arab country barring Nigerians from applying for work permits and imposing visa restrictions.
Work permits are being monitored in the UAE, according to a Ministry of Labour (MOL) official, in light of cautious and preventive measures for COVID-19.
The MOL is in charge of all labor-related matters, including issuing work permits (or labor cards) and enforcing labor restrictions “on individuals who are entitled to one.”
The ministry's new policy, on the other hand, appears to be directed solely at Nigerian citizens. The ban was an internal agreement exclusive only to the ministry, according to Fernando Judel, Director of the Nigerian in Diaspora Organisation (UAE). Nigerians wishing to renew their work permits were barred from doing so.
“We've had that problem for about a week and a half now, where some people would apply for a labor or work visa and have it denied. This is exclusively for Nigerian nationals, albeit we've had problems in the past, and the problem always arises when our citizens commit a high-profile crime.
“If you wish to apply, you'll see in the dialogue box that it's confined to this nationality, which is Nigeria. So the person can't even apply, let alone have the ministry receive and reject the application,” Judel told the newspaper.
Nigerians are accused of committing high-profile crimes in the United Arab Emirates.
According to unofficial accounts, on June 15, some Nigerian cultists in Sharjah got into a brutal brawl that left more than a dozen individuals dead.
A video that went viral online showed a gang of men armed with machetes arriving to an apartment complex in Sharjah, where they forced their way into a unit and attacked the inhabitants.
Other recordings revealed the attack's aftermath, including dismembered victims on the floor of a bloody corridor.
Further inquiry revealed that the confrontation on June 15 was timed to commemorate the 58th anniversary of The Supreme Eiye Confraternity (SEC), also known as the National Association of Airlords, which was founded in 1963 at the University of Ibadan.
Habakrier NA Airlord, a member of the confraternity, stated that SEC was not a cult, but rather a socio-cultural brotherhood that believed in the communion of minds and the traditional teachings of ancient African oratorical techniques.
“SEC is not a gang and does not engage in gang-related actions as a result. “As evidenced by our strategic participation in the National Inter-Frat Council (NIFC) and the SEC effort of ‘Stop the Confra Wars,' we repudiate any forms of violence perpetuated by those with malicious intent within and outside the confines of the Nigerian Ivory Towers,” he stated.
Many others, however, do not believe him because of the group's alleged aggressive attitude.
Another video has surfaced online, showing a medical professional wearing personal protection equipment chastising four girls for reportedly killing a local following the cult conflict and lamenting how the terrible behavior of a few Nigerians was robbing the entire black population in the UAE.
“Once you become a Nigerian, they will flee you. Dey are owned by Hushpuppi. Woodberry is his own man. Some Nigerians practice cultism in Sharjah, which is still active. Now some chick is going to kill some locals. They're arresting everyone now, whether you're a Nigerian or a Cameroonian,” he remarked in pidgin, a regional dialect of English used primarily in West and Central Africa.
He urged all Nigerians to assist police in catching criminals so that the innocent and hardworking majority would not be made to suffer for the transgressions of a few.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has imposed a visa ban on Nigerians.
Even though the UAE's labor ministry claims the step was put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19, some Nigerians' recent scandalous acts may be linked to the recent rejection suffered by Nigerians trying to renew their work licenses in the UAE.
Only a few people who had sought for work permits on concessionary terms were able to receive them, according to Judel, who added that "another category of people who get visas is free-zone companies." Employees in free-zone enterprises, he continued, were not affected by the regulation since they worked directly with the immigration service, which gave their visas.
Furthermore, he stated that any Nigerian whose employer had obtained a labor or work permit from the ministry of labor may easily renew their employment visas.
Nigerians are subject to visa restrictions in the UAE.
Judel, on the other hand, blasted the UAE for arbitrarily denying Nigerians visas without warning.
“Once they commit those criminal acts, the UAE will restrict our visas, whether job or tourist, but this has been happening for years. There hasn't been an official declaration about our visa limitations in years. When they know they won't be able to defend the restriction, they'll label it whatever they want,” he added.
Last July, the UAE decided to impose visa restrictions on Nigerians following a clash in Sharjah between two rival cult groups, The Neo-Black Movement of Africa (also known as BlackAxe) and The Aromate Group (also known as Barggas), which resulted in casualties, including the Aromate Group's number one leader.
At the time, the UAE denied blacklisting Nigerians in order to prevent them from obtaining visas. The ‘temporary suspension' of visas was justified by the Embassy in Abuja as a precautionary step to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The Embassy tweeted, "At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE implemented a variety of preventative measures to counteract the virus' spread, including the temporary suspension of issuing UAE visas for all nationalities as of March 17, 2020."
According to Nigerian Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, the limitation was lifted in September when the country decided to enable Emirates Airlines to resume operations in Nigeria, which had been halted owing to the pandemic.
“The United Arab Emirates has written to confirm that they will provide visas to Nigerians. As a result, the decision was made to enable Emirates to fly into Nigeria. The start of the Visa application process is a prerequisite. Please bear with me as I deal with this odd issue. Thanks a lot,” he said on Twitter.
COVID-19, flight, and diplomatic row
Flights between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have been halted since March 17 this year due to a disagreement regarding COVID-19 testing, which Sirika claims is unique to Nigeria.
It's unclear whether the ban on Nigerian visas is intended to persuade the Nigerian government to change its mind and embrace the UAE's COVID-19 protocol, which Sirika has branded as discriminatory and unsupported by science. The diplomatic spat between the two countries has gotten worse as a result of this.
Many Nigerians believe the feud was to blame for work visa denials.
According to a Nigerian citizen in the UAE who did not want his name used, things have changed in recent years, with many Nigerians getting increasingly upset with work visa limitations and "a bogus labeling of a huge number of Nigerians as criminals." He claimed that some criminals from other African countries committed crimes while posing as Nigerians, and that the UAE authorities were aware of this reality.