News

Nigerian applicants to US varsities groan over visa appointment hurdles

Published

4 years ago

August 5, 2022

Nigerian students, who have got admission into American universities for August to September intakes, have expressed fears that they may not be able to fulfil their ambition of studying abroad over failure to successfully book visa interview appointments at the United States embassy and consulate in the country.

The applicants, in a chat with our correspondent, said they had applied for admission for graduate and post-graduate studies into various institutions in the US earlier this year, after which they were given admission for the spring and fall admission windows. They were thereafter provided with I-20 forms, which enabled them to book an interview appointment.

However, securing interview dates after paying the necessary fee required by the US consulate has been a serious hurdle.

While the respective institutions they applied to are expected to resume lectures between the month of August and September, the applicants are yet to secure dates for their visa interviews. The lucky ones were given interview dates that exceeded their resumption dates.

The distraught applicants who spoke to The PUNCH expressed their displeasure over the development, as they claimed to have spent a lot of money before getting to the interview stage.

An applicant who gave his name simply as Francis, said, “I started the process earlier this year with the hope that it should be concluded in the next three to four months but, to my surprise, the embassy did not provide a date for interview. They usually make emergency provisions for students who need to resume before our resumption dates, but now the embassy is doing nothing to resolve the issues, which means that there are no emergency dates for us to go for appointments to be interviewed. This I-20 I am holding expires after the school resumes and it costs so much to get another I-20, which is another admission letter after deferring this current one. I think the US embassy needs to do something about this considering the money I have spent on this process.”

READ ALSO:

Another applicant, one Tunde, noted that his visa interview date was slated for December but he’s supposed to resume studies at his American school in August. He described the situation as an automatic cancellation of his admission.

He said, “My resumption date is August 15 and they decided to schedule my interview for November. That is like an automatic cancellation when they already told my agent not to book 60 days before resumption. We are not saying that you should give everybody a visa, but try to release the appointment dates. It is a conspiracy against us because they feel the Academic Staff Union of Universities (in Nigeria) is on strike and every student wants to leave the country. I have spent close to N1 million. My parents are disappointed but hopeful that everything will be sorted because it is for my betterment that they decided that I should go abroad.”

Our correspondent learnt that the embassy on May 22 initiated a policy, instructing prospective visa applicants to book appointments 60 days prior to the resumption date of school admitted into. The period allows students to book an emergency appointment.

Stephen, who is also an applicant, said, “The laws for appointment as of last year stated that you can book an emergency appointment 120 days before the actual resumption date. But this year, the US embassy came up with a policy that you can only book the emergency appointment two months before, which is 60 days before your resumption. And to our greatest surprise, most of us are expected to resume in August, which means two months starts in June. We booked the appointment and the date given to us is between October and November. This means I have to defer admission and have to seek another I-20. So all we are asking for is a nearer date before our school resumption. Giving me a date after my resumption is no longer an emergency appointment, and the same embassy will not accept an expired I-20. An emergency appointment does not take more than two weeks before, but now it takes more than four months.”

An educational consultant, Ayeni Oluyemi, who assists applicants to process applications to US universities, complained that the development has left the applicants stranded.

READ ALSO:

He said, “The students have spent a lot and most of these documents have expiry dates. The visa fee expires in one year. The sevis fee expires in two years, while the i-20 expires the day the school resumes. So what is the fate of those that have already been given admission? Most of these students are postgraduate students and they seek to have an experience different from their first degree.”

Emergency appointments

Another consultant, Mr Tobi Ajibade, said, “This has not happened before; a situation whereby a student applied for emergency (visa appointment) and he or she is being denied. They should tell us what is happening. Is it a case of diplomacy or what? I have been in this business for 15 years and I have never applied for appointment for any student and they are denied.”

Ajibade, however, disclosed that the consulate often releases names under emergency conditions.

He said, “There are cases whereby they release names for emergency appointments on Saturdays and Sundays. They do this when there are problems of this kind. But it is always very chaotic. They can interview like 500 students in one day.”

Also speaking to our correspondent, Mr Felix, an educational consultant who claims to have processed the application for close to 60 people, said his clients are beginning to lose trust in him.

“I have been doing this job for over 15 years and I have also got referrals from it. But what is happening now has begun to discredit my efforts. The people I registered have started grumbling. Some already concluded that I have scammed them. If not for my track record, it would have been worse. I also wonder why the embassy still collects money from the students. As I speak to you, students are still going to the bank to pay for application and sevis fee. They should advise them to stop paying; no appointment this year again. An average applicant spent up to N600,000 before getting to this stage. To pay sevis fee is N200,000, while visa fee is N68,000 yet there is no hope.”

Reacting, a Lagos-based lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, said the problem of students seeking to study abroad in the first place is a problem fundamentally rooted in the nation’s chaotic educational system. added that the government has lost its credibility to provide solutions in the education sector.

He said, “The leprosy of our problem is our chaotic educational system. Students and parents who seek a way out of our chaotic education system may not see it the way I am seeing it now, because they just want how they can better their own lot academically because our education system is in a state of perpetual crisis. So, they are seeking a way out. They want to school abroad. So if they are having problems at the embassy, they have to look for a way out by all means.”

The legal practitioner said though the Nigerian government has lost credibility to intervene for its citizens, it remains the only resort for the applicants to find a solution to the problem.

He said, “Nigerian parents cannot engage this government by themselves. Is it a country that cannot issue its people passport speedily? Or a country that has no credibility to engage foreign government that would say, please expedite the way you grant visas to Nigerians so that they can school abroad? Won’t that be self-mockery? The truth is, the entire visa application process is based on their policy. It is based on the number of people they can take. If the anger is that they are not telling us the truth on the possibility of granting visas to the applicants, then the parents should engage the minister of foreign affairs so that they can wade in, and then from government to government basis, there can be a diplomatic discussion around this problem and then a solution can be found.”

Related Topics:Featured Nigerian US visa

Up Next

Plateau Revokes Licences Of All Private Primary, Secondary Schools

Don't Miss

Former IGP Tafa Balogun dies at 75

News

Tinubu Has No Plan to Change Nigeria’s Name or Abolish Sharia Law – Presidency

Published

14 hours ago

May 22, 2026

Trends Admin

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Tinubu Has No Plan to Change Nigeria’s Name or Abolish Sharia Law – Presidency

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reacted to a report making rounds in some quarters on the alleged plan by his government to change the name of Nigeria and abolish Sharia law in the northern part of the country. The President, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday night, May 21, 2026, described the report as far from the truth. The statement from the Presidency reads: “The Presidency wishes to inform Nigerians and state clearly that there is no truth whatsoever to the viral fake story claiming that President Bola Tinubu seeks to carry out constitutional amendments that will change Nigeria’s name to the ‘United States of Nigeria’ and abolish Sharia Law in the Northern region, among other claims.” According to the Presidency, the report—which cited anonymous sources—is part of a “dubious plot by some desperate politicians to create disaffection in our country, stir up a political crisis, and heat the polity ahead of the general elections.” The statement urged Nigerians to ignore the viral story in its entirety, describing the purveyors of the fake news as “agents of destabilisation and merchants of disorder.”

The statement also clarified that President Tinubu has “no plan whatsoever to send any bill code-named ‘Project True Federation’ to the National Assembly by December 15, a few weeks before the general election.” The Presidency emphasized that under Nigerian law, constitutional changes and amendments are serious matters that require legislative scrutiny, oversight, and extensive debate. “The process of amending the constitution is not at the President’s or the National Assembly’s whim. It is a task that requires a 2/3 majority in both chambers of the National Assembly and the concurrence of 24 State Houses of Assembly.” This constitutional safeguard ensures that no single individual or branch of government can unilaterally alter the nation’s founding document, a fact that makes the alleged “Project True Federation” bill not only improbable but legally impossible to execute within the claimed timeline. The rigorous amendment process, which involves extensive public hearings, legislative debates, and state-level ratification, is deliberately designed to protect Nigeria’s federal structure from arbitrary changes by those in power.

READ ALSO:

The Presidency further stressed that President Tinubu is focused on the arduous task of entrenching and deepening the economic reforms his administration has embarked upon, with the aim of delivering more tangible dividends to Nigerians. Since assuming office, Tinubu’s administration has pursued a series of landmark economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of exchange rates, aimed at stabilizing the economy and attracting foreign investment. The statement cautioned citizens against consuming fake and divisive reports, warning that misinformation is likely to proliferate as the nation begins political campaigns, a prelude to the general elections scheduled for January 2027. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the 2027 general elections have been scheduled to hold on Saturday, 16th January 2027 for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections will hold on Saturday, 6th February 2027. Political campaigns are expected to commence in August 2026, which the Presidency noted as a period when fake news could proliferate as desperate politicians seek to gain an advantage through misinformation and fear-mongering.

The viral report had sparked widespread concern across the country, particularly in the Northern region where Sharia law operates alongside the secular legal system in several states including Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, and Kaduna. The false claims raised alarms among religious and traditional leaders, who feared the potential social and legal implications of abolishing a system that has been in operation for over two decades in some Northern states. However, the Presidency’s swift and categorical denial appears aimed at dousing any potential tensions arising from the false claims. Meanwhile, the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has also weighed in on the broader political landscape, declaring that the only factor holding the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is political power, though this comment was made in a separate context at the launch of the Rise Up Naija Movement (RUN) in Abuja. Nigerians are advised to rely on official communications from the Presidency and verified news sources for accurate information, especially as the country heads toward the 2027 general elections. The Presidency reiterated its commitment to transparency and called on citizens to verify any sensational claims through official channels before sharing, warning that spreading unverified information could lead to unnecessary panic and social unrest.

Tinubu Has No Plan to Change Nigeria’s Name or Abolish Sharia Law – Presidency

News

BREAKING: Tinubu appoints Prof Segun Aina as new JAMB registrar

Published

1 day ago

May 21, 2026

Trends Admin

Professor Segun Aina

BREAKING: Tinubu appoints Prof Segun Aina as new JAMB registrar

ABUJA – President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of 39-year-old Professor Segun Aina as the new Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), signaling the end of Professor Is-haq Oloyede’s decade-long tenure.

The appointment, announced in a statement issued late Wednesday by the Director of Information at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, confirmed that Professor Oloyede’s tenure will officially expire on July 31, 2026. Professor Aina, a Professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, is set to make history as the youngest Registrar ever to lead the nation’s premier examination and matriculation body. He holds a Doctorate in Digital Signal Processing from Loughborough University, United Kingdom.

President Tinubu, in the appointment letter, tasked the new Registrar with leveraging his extensive background in engineering and information technology to build upon the transformative reforms introduced by his predecessor. Under Professor Oloyede’s watch, JAMB became globally recognized for its deployment of the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) and biometric verification, drastically reducing admission fraud and the incidence of fake results. Observers believe Prof. Aina’s core competence in computer engineering signals the government’s intention to further digitize the admission process, enhance cybersecurity, and introduce next-generation innovations.

READ ALSO:

Furthermore, Professor Aina is not a stranger to high-stakes examinations. He brings a wealth of practical experience from previous roles with the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB). Interestingly, the new JAMB boss began his career with the very organization he is now set to lead—serving as a corps member during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year.

As Professor Is-haq Oloyede prepares to leave office after two terms of five years each, he is widely celebrated for clearing the backlog of unclaimed admission spaces, blocking financial leakages that saw JAMB’s remittances to the federal purse rise from N3 million to over N50 billion, and sanitizing the system of fake ‘cut-off’ marks. Stakeholders in the education sector have described the transition as “a changing of the guard from consolidation to innovation.” Professor Aina is expected to assume office immediately following the formal handover on August 1, 2026.

BREAKING: Tinubu appoints Prof Segun Aina as new JAMB registrar

News

Hajj 2026: Arafat Sermon to be Translated into Yoruba, Hausa, 33 Other Languages

Published

2 days ago

May 21, 2026

Trends Admin

Hajj 2026: Arafat Sermon to be Translated into Yoruba, Hausa, 33 Other Languages

MAKKAH — As pilgrims continue to arrive in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ahead of the 2026 Hajj exercise scheduled to commence on Monday, the Head of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Professor Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais, has announced that this year’s Arafat Day sermon will be translated into 35 international languages, including Hausa and Yoruba, to enable non-Arabic speaking Muslims to benefit from the sermon’s spiritual and humanitarian messages.

According to Al-Sudais, the Presidency of Religious Affairs would not only translate the sermon to be delivered by Sheikh Dr. Ali bin Abdulrahman Al-Hudhaifi, an Imam and preacher in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, into the 35 languages, but also broadcast it via digital platforms and channels affiliated with the Presidency. This initiative, he said, is aimed at conveying the message of Islam and the content of the sermon to Muslims across the world, adding that the translation is an extension of efforts being made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to serve Islam and Muslims. Al-Sudais described the Arafat sermon translation project as “one of the qualitative initiatives in which the Presidency has accumulated experiences over many years,” contributing to enriching religious content in various international languages. The translation of the Arafat sermon is designed to enable non-Arabic-speaking Muslims to benefit from the contents of the sermon and the comprehensive faith and humanitarian messages it carries. Al-Sudais noted that the Presidency has harnessed its technical and media capabilities, along with specialized teams, to ensure the sermon reaches the widest possible global audience with high professionalism and advanced quality standards. He emphasized that the translation project helps deliver the sermon’s themes to Muslims worldwide and convey Islam’s message of moderation. “The initiative enables non-Arabic-speaking Muslims to benefit from the sermon’s spiritual and humanitarian messages,” Al-Sudais stated.

Al-Sudais informed that the languages approved for translating the Arafat sermon include a diverse range of languages spoken across Africa, Asia, Europe, and other regions. The major global languages include English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Swedish. Asian languages include Indonesian, Urdu, Turkish, Persian, Bengali, Hindi, Malay, Pashto, Punjabi, Tamil, Filipino (Tagalog), Uzbek, Tajik, Nepali, Sinhala, and Malayalam. African languages include Hausa, Yoruba, Swahili, Amharic, Somali, Oromo, Tigrinya, and Ugandan. European languages include Bosnian and Lithuanian. According to Al-Sudais, the Presidency of Religious Affairs has accumulated experiences over the years in the translation project, noting that the initiative is meant to enrich religious content in various languages and enable non-Arabic-speaking Muslims to benefit from the contents of the Arafat sermon.

READ ALSO:

Al-Sudais further informed that the Arafat Day sermon this year will be delivered by His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Ali bin Abdulrahman Al-Hudhaifi, an Imam and preacher in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. The sermon is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, corresponding to the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah 1447AH, from the pulpit of Masjid al-Namirah on Mount Arafat. Sheikh Ali Al-Hudhaifi is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished Quran reciters and influential religious personalities in the Muslim world. He has served not only as Imam of Masjid-e-Nabawi but has also previously led prayers at Quba Mosque and Masjid al-Haram. Al-Sudais described the sermon as “one of the greatest comprehensive faith messages followed by Muslims in the east and west of the earth,” noting that it enjoys wide attention because of the Sharia contents and comprehensive directives it contains that confirm the tolerance and mercy of Islam and its call for goodness, peace, and harmony among peoples.

This year’s five-day Hajj exercise will commence on Monday, when pilgrims will depart from Makkah for Mina, also known as Tent City, to begin their Hajj journey. Pilgrims will spend the 8th day of Dhul-Hijjah (Day of Tarwiyah) in Mina, praying and preparing for the central rites ahead. On Tuesday, May 26, pilgrims will converge on Mount Arafat, also known as Jabbal Rahma (Mount of Mercy), and its valley. The Day of Arafat marks the zenith of the Hajj exercise. Following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), pilgrims will perform the Dhuhr and Asr prayers together at noon time in the Namira Mosque. As the sun sets on Arafat, pilgrims will proceed to Muzdalifah, where they will perform the combined Maghrib and Isha prayer and spend the night until dawn of the 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah. After praying Fajr, they will proceed to Mina to begin the stoning of the Jamarat ritual. Pilgrims will spend the next three days engaging in, among other activities, stoning the Jamarat (the pillars representing Satan). The exercise will come to an end on May 29, when pilgrims are expected to return to Makkah, preparatory to their departure for their various countries.

For Nigerian pilgrims, the inclusion of Hausa and Yoruba among the 35 languages is particularly significant. Nigeria, with one of the largest Muslim populations in Africa, sends tens of thousands of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia annually. The ability to follow the Arafat sermon in their native languages will deepen their spiritual experience and understanding of the profound messages delivered on the most important day of the Hajj. According to Al-Sudais, the sermon will be broadcast live through digital platforms and channels affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs. The Presidency has mobilized its technical and media capabilities to ensure the sermon reaches the largest possible segment around the world with high professionalism and advanced quality. As the 2026 Hajj season approaches, millions of pilgrims from around the world are expected to converge on the holy city of Makkah. The Presidency of Religious Affairs will continue to provide updates and guidance for pilgrims through its digital platforms and official channels. For the millions of Muslims who will not be able to make the journey this year, the translated and broadcast Arafat sermon will offer an opportunity to spiritually connect with the proceedings from their homes across the world.