office of the United States in Abuja last week in a flowing agbada, bearing his
self-importance on his lapel. By the time he left, however, a member of the
House of Representatives from the South West cut a pitiable sight: He had been
denied visa.
That was after he had banged tables and engaged
consular officers in a hot argument, consular sources confirmed to the Nigerian
Compass. He had also issued several threats against the consular official who
had demanded proof of his claim that he is a member of the federal legislative
body.
The lawmaker, names withheld, flew into a rage
when asked to produce his Certificate of Return, usually issued by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to successful election
candidates.
In response, he repeatedly told the consular
officer: “Don’t you know I am the lawmaker of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria?” He banged the table several times, and the official told the
Nigerian “Big Man”: “Do you know that I reserve the right to deny you or
to approve your application?”
It was reliably gathered that the lawmaker
continued to bang the table and, the official subsequently drew the glass
shield between him and the Nigerian big man, signifying the end of discussion.
A letter by the embassy refusing the visa
application was, however, silent on the dramatic exchange between the
legislator and the official. It simply read: “We have carefully examined
your case and regret to inform you that you have been found ineligible for a
non-immigrant visa under section 214[b] of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“This may have been because you either did
not demonstrate strong ties outside the United States or you were unable to
demonstrate that your intended activities would be consistent with the type of
visa for which you applied”.
The letter continued: “To be eligible for a
non-immigrant visa you must show that you meet the legal requirement of the
type of visa for which you applied and that you will depart the United Sates at
the end of your authorised stay.
“Today’s decision cannot be appealed. You
are welcome to reapply in the future, particularly if you feel there has been a
significant change in your circumstances, or if you have additional compelling
evidence to support your case that you did not present today”.
When contacted, the lawmaker confirmed that he
appeared before the Consular office and that his application was refused. He
blamed the refusal on the handlers of the application process who, according to
him, “did not tell me what to say.
They did not tell me the documents to take
along, they were asking me of the INEC certificate which I did not know they
would ask of. I have never been to the USA, so I did not know the evidence they
would ask me to present.”
