Desperation to travel abroad is killing us

In 2008, i helped a friend through the process of obtaining U.S visa. He got it very easily. At the time, i was a travel consultant.

Before securing the visa, my friend and other friends often say U.S visa is very expensive to get, but I decided to prove them wrong. Apart from visa fee, bank statement, hotel reservation and evidence of his source of livelihood, he didn’t spend one naira on any other thing.

I later learn that someone had duped his older brother of about N1.5 million for the same purpose. For some years, I worked as a travel consultant.

I helped people through the process of securing visa in different countries. Understanding the process makes everything easy. You don’t need millions to secure visa to any country. If you are qualified and have necessary documents, all you need is a visa fee not more than 50k, depending on the type of visa.

Whenever I hear that someone paid millions to an agent to get visa for them, I wonder if the agent is the consular officer. Those who ask people to bring those huge amounts of money are merely feasting from public gullibility. If you are not qualified, you won't get the visa, no matter how much you spend. If you get the visa, trust me, its not because of the money spent.

I have seen wives of governors denied visa at the embassy before. Getting visa has nothing to do with money. If you will get it, you will, if you won’t, you won't. Just understand the process or get a consultant to help you through.

However, I often discourage people from traveling abroad for permanent relocation. Particularly those desperately going for hustle,I try to give them information they never had about their destination.

I once had a girlfriend whose life dream is to live abroad. She is an interesting case study because there is nothing you can say to change her mind. She eventually achieved her aim. Though i don't know how she is doing now. Sometimes past, one of my friends in Ilorin was duped of over N800k. He paid that money to an agent who promised to get him Spanish visa. Before he made this payment, I discouraged him from traveling abroad. I told him to use the money set up business here in Nigeria and he said he would. But he never did. After many months, I saw him again. Probably he has forgotten we discussed the matter long ago, so he told me how he was duped of 800k. I shake my head in disbelieve.

Desperation makes you foolish. Even when you can see no light at the end of the tunnel, you give yourself false hope. Blind hope actually. No, its even dead hope. Many had ended up in red sea due to this dead hope. May their soul rest in Peace.

Life abroad is not what many people think. I have several people who returned home after seeing the reality abroad. A friend from Abuja had gone to study in U.K, hoping to remain there after school, he came back home and narrated the story. A U.S green card holder now resides in my area in Ilorin, he never wanted to go back to U.S, except on visit. His wife, friends and family almost disowned him for returning, because he never told them he was coming home full time. After the pressure from is wife became so unbearable, he told her, madam, i can help you facilitate your own travel to U.S if you want. For me, am done. Traveling abroad doesn’t amount to going to heaven. It doesn’t worth the huge investment, both emotional and financial. Some people sold everything they had just to raise traveling fare. Some even sold their fathers houses. But the sad truth is that, out of every 100 person who travels abroad, hardly do 5 make it big legitimately. The rest are struggling.

Please, don't get me wrong. I am not saying you shouldn’t travel if you want to, but please, if you have to travel abroad, do it legitimately and most importantly, understand the situation of where you are going properly to decide whether it worth leaving everything behind.