A Twitter user, Peter Ademu-Eteh, said as a lawyer, he has represented many Nigerian students and workers "who permanently lost their immigration status in Canada because of passport renewal".
A Twitter post by a Nigerian woman in the diaspora, Addy Olubamiji, has yet again sparked wild conversations on what many described as poor attitudes of staff of various Nigerian embassies abroad, especially towards Nigerians seeking one service.
In her tweet on Saturday, Mrs Olubamiji narrated how poorly her family was treated while attempting to process their international passports at the Nigerian embassy in New York.
"How they talked us down, treated us like we do not matter; the inconsistencies in their processes, late arrivals of employees, and lack of empathy, and I was moved to tears," she wrote.
She noted that each time Nigerians in the diaspora attempt to stay patriotic to Nigeria, the system makes things difficult, adding that; "We should not have to cry or plan to bribe or know that the system will not work".
According to Mrs Olubamiji, despite having contacts in the embassy, she did not call because she wanted the "average person" experience, but she ended up in disbelief.
"I want to write nice things about my country, but when things are not working, it is also our responsibility to say it," she said.
After her experience, she questioned why her child should have a Nigerian passport.
"Someone needs to look into the structures and systems running in our Nigerian embassies around the world; they need to be looked at," Mrs Olubamiji added.
Corroboration
Corroborating Mrs Olubamiji, Babs Adewumi on Twitter said he has equally had a "difficult experience" at the same embassy.
"I have dealt with Nigeria's NY embassy thrice, and twice, I had a difficult experience," he said.
He went on to compare his experience with that of the embassy in Ottawa, Canada, which he claims is better organised except for the difficulty in reaching them via phone. "But they do a fairly decent job with the application and passport tracking."
Mr Adewumi noted that Nigeria needs benchmarking, standardisation, and performance tracking across its global footprint.
To Mr Adewumi's surprise, the Ottawa office may not be what he thinks, as another user- Peter Ademu-Eteh, described the situation as "probably worse".
Mr Ademu-Eteh said it takes an average of three to six months to get an appointment for capturing and another three to six months to get the international passport. "The disorganisation is legendary."
"In my law practice, I have represented many Nigerian students and workers who permanently lost their immigration status in Canada because of passport renewal delays," he said.
"After spending $100,000 on tuition, many cannot graduate because the embassy could not renew their passport in time for a visa extension. In a country with stable electricity, stable internet, and working ports - there is no reason people should face this kind of problem. It is an absolute disgrace," he added.
Similarly, Oluwakemisola Adewusi, another Twitter user who lamented the situation at the embassy in Washington DC, United States of America, said the embassy has no functioning telephone line.
"They misplaced my old passport, which had my valid US visa. All efforts to reach them were unsuccessful. I had to go on LinkedIn to look for people who work there until a former employee helped," she narrated.
For Kofi Renner, it was a case of alleged impersonation. "The one on Northumberland Avenue, London, is no better. With a name like Kofi, I was made to explain my heritage after being accused of impersonating a Nigerian," he narrated.
Ex-minister speaks
Nigeria's former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Geoffrey Onyeama, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, attempted to explain the challenges of the ministry and, in turn, the several missions abroad, which he said are mainly administrative.
"We are grossly underfunded, so you have a perpetual crisis due to the underfunding, and we need a mechanism... we have to give more to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if we are going to maintain 104 missions around the world and also if we are going to reorganise the headquarters by giving it modern means of communication," he said.
Mr Onyeama also noted that there is a need for the automation of work procedures of the ministry, the computerisation of work procedures, and contact with the embassies.
Not all gloom
Even though many Nigerians, especially on social media, have lamented the low level of professionalism at the embassies in different countries, there are a few heart-lifting experiences.
Also commenting on Mrs Olubamiji's post, Roy Chikwem empathised with her while noting that it is not the same situation with the Nigerian Embassy in Canberra, Australia. "I have been there several times to renew my or my children's passports, and they have always treated everyone with respect and dignity, and the process is stress-free."
Similarly, Adewale Adejimi said the Nigerian embassy in The Hague, Netherlands seems orderly. "I got my passport within three hours."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Ann Amuta, another user, described the embassy staff in Atlanta as helpful but not without asking for "something small" to help fast-track her passport.
Like home, like abroad
The challenge of acquiring or renewing passports is not peculiar to Nigerians in the diaspora, as most Nigerians at home also face similar difficulties.
This recently led the acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Caroline Adepoju, to announce a state of emergency on passport issues in the country.
According to a statement issued by the NIS spokesperson, Tony Akuneme, the NIS boss on Thursday emphasised the urgent need to address the challenges faced by Nigerians in obtaining passports and declaring a comprehensive plan of action to tackle these issues effectively.
She noted that the NIS top management is fully committed to addressing institutional and technology-based drawbacks "to ensure more efficient and streamlined service delivery."
Mr Akuneme, in the statement, noted that Ms Adepoju had "earlier directed all Passport Control Officers (PCOs), relevant units and personnel within the NIS including our missions abroad, to work tirelessly towards eliminating all hindrances preventing Nigerians from accessing passports promptly."
