Tunde Oderinde

Traveling through Abuja International Airport today, the lady in front of me at immigration had 3 kids with her. They asked her for the letter of consent from the children’s father allowing them to travel. I immediately challenged it and asked why they were asking her for that. The Immigration officer said the Immigration Act allowed them to do that. I asked him which section but he couldn’t say. I immediately googled the Immigration Act and it does say they could ask for relevant documentation. I argued that the consent letter wasn’t relevant documentation, that it was against her Constitutional right not to be discriminated against because she was as a woman, and that the Immigration Act was inferior to the Constitution. The officer asked me “Which Constitution?” I said: “The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.” At this point, a more senior Immigration officer joined the argument and told me that it is a matter of practicality and not of law. I asked him if they asked men too for a consent letter from children’s mums when they travel with kids and he said they do. I didn’t believe him but couldn’t prove otherwise. The lady produced the consent letter and they let her pass. I will test it next year when I plan to travel with my grandsons.

Staff of ⁦@DAIGlobal⁩ ⁦@MADENigerDelta programme⁩, funded by ⁦@DFIDNigeria,⁩ celebrating raising the incomes of 300,000 people in the Niger Delta by 20%. That’s enough people to completely fill the Abuja National Stadium about FOUR TIMES! 🙌🏽