(CMC) – Nigeria’s richest businessman, Aliko Dangote, says it will be in the best interest of Caribbean Community (Caricom) member states to remove visa requirements for people from African nations.
Dangote, who is currently visiting Grenada, said this will result in more people visiting the islands from African nations.
He is recommending that advance visa requirements, is obtained at an embassy as part of consular service, be replaced with an online system where applicants receive permission online or upon arrival once the relevant payment is approved in advance.
“As a matter of fact, if you remove visas and you make it visas on arrival… I can tell you that all the Caricom economy can double because you will see a massive inflow of people coming,” said Dangote, who was speaking during the inaugural Independence Fireside Chat with Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell and later during a news conference.
Dangote, who is here at the invitation of Prime Minister Mitchell for the 51st Independence celebrations, is the first guest of the Fireside Chat which was held at the Radisson Conference Room and attended by representatives from the business community, students and government ministers.
Describing visa requirements as archaic, the businessman said the new system should be one that is simply and in line with the use of modern technology for easy processing online. “Your mainstay is tourism, if the visa is difficult, how do you expect to have people visiting you in your nation,” he said, while pointing out that places like Dubai and Singapore benefited positively from not having visa requirements.
“That is what they did to grow their countries,” he said.
“People who cause trouble they don’t go through the airports they go through the borders, you are an island so I don’t think you will have those issues,” he said, while making reference specifically about Grenada.
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed that Nigeria and several other African nations do require visas to enter Grenada and it must be obtained at the closest Grenadian embassy.
Once this visa is obtained its last for up to 90 days and multi visits can be made to Grenada.
A visa is an official document that grants permission for a foreign citizen to enter and stay in a specific country for a designated period of time.
It allows a person to legally travel there for purposes like tourism, business, study, or work, and is typically stamped in the traveler’s passport; essentially, it acts as a form of authorisation from the host country to allow entry and stay within its borders.
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Hmmmmm, take this with a grain of salt, please. Careful contemplation is key!
So we can have the 2023 Air Peace immigrant debacle happen EVERY DAY? Can you imagine Africans flocking to these islands to get to South America and the USVI on their way to illegally migrating to the USA? Caricom would be sanctioned by the USA for being an illegal immigration super highway.
Not so Common you are so correct- I came into contact with a few of the Africans while they were in Antigua and not a single one of them had any intention of staying in Antigua or a Caribbean island. They preferred to perish , like those that drowned off St. Kitts or those that were found dead on that boat that drifted to St. Kitts in January 2025 and those that were found dead in that boat that drifted to Antigua a few years ago trying to get to Europe I guess.
Could be a daggerLog in Shark infested waters they are good. What he should advise that the African politicians stop the corruption and the people stop the wars . Since Africa is so rich in human and natural resources. That Africa could be the bread basket for all African people. That we should be looking to visit the lands of our ancestors to enjoy it’s culture and rich history.
We in the Caribbean do not rush to migrate illegally. Those that use the Mexican border from the Caribbean are criminals.
Tell him to in Grenada. We need to diversify our economies. We need to foster better ties and trading relationships with the Caribbean Nation of CUBA. Cuba has been a savior to us in Education scholarship, Medical assistance, Sports, construction. Since Trump placed this embargo again in Cuba and sill have the gall to flood Guantanamo Bay with prisoners. Let’s us as the Caribbean find ways to make traveling to Cuban easy. Find ways to trade agriculture goods and services and technology. Let’s grow Cuba, let’s invest in Cuban. Cuba has been investing in us when no one else was.
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