They accused the South African High Commission to Nigeria of failing to respond to their email enquiries about the reason for the delay.
Some Nigerian students who applied for different research fellowship programmes in South African universities have accused the Southern African country of frustrating their plans by refusing to issue them visas months after filing their applications.
They accused the South African High Commission to Nigeria of failing to respond to their email enquiries about the reason for the delay.
One of the affected students, Abiodun Afolabi, who was offered admission for a fellowship at the University of Pretoria said he applied for the programme in October 2021 and got a letter of offer in December 2021.
He said for any Nigerian to apply for such a category of visa, they must get a police report from the South African police which he got around April.
It was gathered that the applicants were sent messages via email notifying them of the closure of Lagos and Port Harcourt centres for the visa application as applicants were told to go to the Abuja centre.
Afolabi was scheduled for a visa interview on April 26, 2022, in Abuja where he provided all the necessary documents. He said they were made to sign a disclaimer that visa processing may take longer than usual.
He said, "They gave me an appointment in Abuja and I travelled all the way from Lagos. I provided everything they requested.
"Usually visa applications for this category take three to six weeks. But since April till date, I have not received an update on my application and no reason was given.
"Around October, one of their agents called (me) to come to Abuja to fill a form and that if I did not come my application would be cancelled. The agent also asked me to send a letter to my host university for confirmation that I am a genuine applicant.
"On getting there, I was made to fill out the same form I completed in April.
“The Vice Chancellor of my host university has also sent letters to the high commission to make enquiries about the update on the processing of the visa. I also sent them a mail but there has been no response from them to date. We are just in the dark and nobody is responding to all our enquiries.
SaharaReporters gathered that some of the affected students have lost their offers owing to the fact that they could not get visas.
Afolabi said he is on the verge of losing his offer after the expiration of the November 2022 deadline given to him by the university.
The students condemned the attitude of the high commission toward their plight and for keeping mute and ignoring their messages.
They described it as an attempt to deny Nigerian students admission into South African universities.
The students, therefore, called on the relevant government authorities to come to their aid and prevail on the high commission to process their visa without further delay.
A statement issued by the aggrieved students reads, "We are bringing the attention of the government and the public to the utmost disrespect and disregard for Nigerians by the South African High Commission.
"Over time, Nigerians applying for SA visas have been constantly frustrated. While it may be understandable that some western countries have strict visa issuance policies against Africans, African countries are expected to have a relaxed visa policy for fellow Africans.
"However, this development cannot be said of South Africa. The South African High Commission has been notorious for accepting visa applications from Nigerians without any hope of attending to them, thereby traumatizing Nigerians.
"They wasted applicants' time. Some applicants have had to wait for more than 8 months just for a visitor's visa. Application for a visitor's visa usually takes 7 days. Of course, most people miss their appointments because visa outcomes were not ready.
"Furthermore, the South African High Commission and their allies send messages to threaten applicants over their own negligence. For instance, some people were sent messages to go back to VFS to resubmit the application form, months after they have submitted it (them). The awkward thing is that no genuine reason was given for this move. Rather, they threaten applicants to follow their inhumane condition or risk losing their application.
"They neither respond to mails nor allow calls to their contact numbers. The applicants are left traumatized. So many people have lost or are on the verge of losing research fellowship opportunities just because of the Commission's uncanny treatment of visa applicants.
"One could allege that the phenomenon could be part of tactics to prevent Nigerians from visiting the country in another subtle xenophobic move that has been the case over the years.
"If they are not willing to offer Nigerians a visa, they should be plain about it rather than waste people's time. The Nigerian government ably represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs must rise up to challenge these dehumanising conditions from SA High Commission.”