Hundreds of visa applicants daily go through various degrees of humiliation at the South African High Commission, Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A correspondent of NAN, who visited the mission for a visa yesterday, reports that hundreds of applicants stood for hours in front of the mission unattended to.

Some applicants who spoke to NAN expressed sadness at the treatment being meted out to Nigerians by the high commission and its local staff.

"This is the third time I am coming to the South African High Commission and today I got here at 8 o'clock and the time now is almost noon.

"In all the three occasions, I've not succeeded in getting anyone to talk to me," said Prof Peter Omoluabi, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Lagos.

"This process is unfair and it is a degradation of human dignity because there are so many people milling around under the hot sun, yet, unattended to.

"What I have expected is to find a desk manned by officials of the embassy.

"As people come in, they are documented and given numbers and a place to sit in a large hall", he said. According to Omoluabi, people who have genuine reasons to travel to South Africa either for business or pleasure were not attended to.

"The whole mission is so disorganised. This does not ensure a humane procedure that befits human dignity.

Miss Victoria Nwaje, a first time visitor to the High Commission, was furious she was not attended to when she tried to inquire about procedures.

"This is my first time here. I actually came on behalf of my company. I have been here since 7 o'clock and nobody has attended to me.

"I tried to make enquiries on what I need to do but nobody has come out to provide basic information on visa procedures", she told NAN.

According to her, the first time the embassy door was opened was 11 o'clock and those attended to were a few corporate bodies.

"I called the attention of the official when he opened the door, just to find out what to do. He just ignored me and closed the door.

She appealed to the South African High Commissioner and the home government to undertake a total overhaul of the its mission in Lagos.

Some other applicants alleged that bribery was rife in the High Commission, especially among the Nigerian workers. However, nobody at the high commission could either confirm or deny this allegation.

NAN noted that the visa forms, which are free according to the notice on the board, were sold by touts outside the embassy for N200.

(NAN)