Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has recounted how he was denied entry into South Africa over an expired visa while, according to him, European travellers were allowed into the country without visas.
Rabiu disclosed this while speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, where he called for reforms in Africa’s immigration and visa systems.
He explained that the incident occurred in February 2025 when he travelled from Lagos to Cape Town to attend the Mining Indaba conference.
According to him, immigration officials stopped him on arrival after discovering that his South African visa had expired the previous day.
Rabiu admitted responsibility for the situation, stating that his travel team failed to notice the expiration date before the journey.
“I take full responsibility because my visa had expired and my crew failed to notice it before the trip,” he said.
However, the billionaire businessman said what disturbed him most was watching passengers arriving from Europe gain entry into the country without visas while he and his team waited for hours at the immigration desk.
“While we were waiting at the immigration desk, there were about three international flights from Europe. Most of the passengers were Europeans, and they all entered Cape Town without visas,” he stated.
Rabiu said the experience reflects the difficulties many Africans still face travelling within the continent despite ongoing conversations around African integration and economic cooperation.
He argued that Africa cannot achieve true economic unity while Africans continue to face movement restrictions across African countries.
The BUA chairman therefore called for urgent reforms in visa policies and immigration procedures across the continent to encourage trade, investment, and regional integration.
His remarks have since sparked conversations online about travel restrictions, reciprocity, and the implementation of free movement policies within Africa.
