Visa-Free Countries for Nigerian Passport Holders

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Have you been wondering if Nigerian passport holders can freely visit other countries without hassles and visas? If you have, wonder no more as this article provides you with a list of Visa-free countries for Nigerian passport holders.

Globally, the Nigerian passport ranks as the 98^th alongside the Ethiopian visa and the 45^th strongest or the 9^th weakest visa on the African continent. This rank is based on the 2022 Henley Passport Index (HPI), a firm committed to an annual ranking of countries’ passports. Their rank is thus based on the freedom that ordinary citizens of each country enjoy while visiting other countries.

Before we continue, let’s look at what makes a passport strong.

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Factors that Shape a Country’s Image in the Global Community

There are certain factors that shape how a country is perceived in the global community which directly or indirectly determines its diplomatic strength with other countries. This in turn rubs off on the strength of her passport. It determines the level of relations with other states.

In the article, country image in marketing strategies, Martin and Eroglu (1993, p. 193) define country image “as the total of all descriptive, inferential and informational beliefs one has about a particular country”. These are some factors that shape a country’s image in the global community:

Foreign Policy

A country’s foreign policy refers to certain guidelines the country must follow in order to achieve its goals outside its borders. The process in turn protects her national interests. A situation whereby a country’s foreign policy collides with another country’s will not augur well. The friction experienced in their relations will rub off on their perceived image of themselves.

Language

If they share same language, some times, it is a plus to how they both view one another. Francophone African countries are viewed differently when you compared them with Anglophone African countries in French speaking countries. Thus the immunities enjoyed by Francophone African countries on France’ soil may be denied citizens of Anglophone African countries. For instance, holders of the Senegalese passport do not need a Visa to Benin Republic, a similar Francophone country. It should be noted that this is not always the case as Senegalese passport holders require a visa to visit France despite speaking similar language.

Blocs

By blocs, what is meant is that there are certain organizations that certain countries belong to e.g., ECOWAS. ECOWAS countries or member countries share certain similarities and ideologies and have come to an agreement on certain issues. For example, Nigeria is an ECOWAS country that enjoys Visa-free visits to other ECOWAS countries and Vice versa.

Terrorism

Countries experiencing terrorist attacks usually do not have a good image in the global system. They are tagged as pariah states which in turn affects the strength of their passport to travel the world free. Most terrorist countries have weak passports as the number of the countries they can visit without visa are infinitesimal compared to countries terror free. For example, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan passports rank lowest on the HPI (2022) global index as they can visit a minute number of country visa-free. For example, holders of Afghanistan passport that ranks last can only visit 26 countries.

Corruption

Countries perceived as corrupt definitely will be affected image wise. No other country will like to be associated with a corrupt country except they both stand to benefit from the corruption. Corruption is the last factor on the list. It affects a country’s image and limits its diplomatic exploits which correlates to the strength of her passport.

So the question is how is Nigeria’s image perceived beyond her borders? From the factors listed above, the correlation between Nigeria’s image and her passport strength can be easily deduced.