Religious tourist is good, but we can save that money to further scale-up the chances of our economy’s recovery for the betterment of you and us. There is no prayer that God can answer in wherever the destination of our belief headquarters is/are domiciled that cannot be heard by the same God in our local worship centres.
The belief that we must go to a particular place every year to see/encounter God first hand, is brainwash, and we need to deliver ourselves. We lose a lot of fortune every year to the adventure, even lives.
Saudi Arabia has restricted Nigeria and 13 other countries to single-entry visas, limited to 30 days.
The changes apply to tourists, business travellers, and those visiting family members but exclude applicants for Hajj, Umrah, diplomatic, or residency visas.
Beyond Nigeria, the affected nations are Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Explaining the rationale for the new regulations, Saudi Arabia cited the misuse of multiple-entry visas as a key reason for the policy shift.
It further noted that some travellers used long-term visas to stay in the country illegally or participate in Hajj without proper authorisation.
The Saudi government regulates Hajj attendance through a fixed quota per country, and unauthorised pilgrims have contributed to overcrowding.
Officials described the suspension of multiple-entry visas as a temporary measure but have not provided a specific timeline for its review.
The development comes ahead of the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.
In 2024, over 1,200 pilgrims lost their lives due to extreme heat and congestion, a crisis authorities believe was exacerbated by unregistered attendees.
