Frankly! I think everyone needs to take a chill pill. Yes!! Maybe the OP started this thread out of malice, but still, it was just her experience she narrated and I do not think she should be crucified for that. Well here is my experience with two Nigerian embassies in France (Paris) And Canada (Ontario).

In Paris, it was a plesant experience because the then "Military attache" to the embassy was a relative so I had V.I.P treatment straight out the door. The embassy looked pretty organized and clean. Naturally you still have embassy employees who still have the typical "Nigerian government office/parastatal" behaivior of being rude and behaving unprofessionally.


The Ontario experience was wow! I had just landed in Alberta, Canada, had settled in fine and was about to get my Drivers Licence. Now the normal process from scratch would have taken me forever, but since I had been driving for 10 years prior to relocating, I found out that I needed to get a certain letter from the embassy validating my claims (apparently, i wasnt new to them at the embassy). I went on the website of the embassy (which I must say was utter rubbish and a disgrace), and barely got anything of worth from it. Called the embassy and was told the procedures I needed to take. So I got the Money order (which they asked for), enclosed my Drivers Licence and sent to them by mail with a pre-paid return envelope inside of it. And honest to God, I thought that was the end of my Licence as I was expecting the usual lacadesical attitude which I was used to in Nigeria to apply there as well. But to my utter shock and amazement, 4 days after I sent the package, I decided to track the whereabouts of my mail, Lo the sent package had been delivered the following day, and barely 24hours later, my return envelope was on the move. the following day, I got my package back from the embassy fully attended to. It was amazing. Now if they could be this fast attending to an unaccompanied Mail, I'm guessing the service would be faster if you were to go there in person.

Ask for the High Commission in Accra, the last time I was there (4 years ago), for the 1 week I kept going there I always got the reply (the commisioner is not on seat). I asked if he was on a trip, they said no but he just wasnt in the office. I got frustrated and flew back to Nigeria and attended to my issues here.

I cannot see anything funny about the post. I just see my country being ridiculed.

@Sapele_Don

Thank you. You are an Inspiration. A true son of the soil.

I would like to ask, Is the blue magic passport a ticket to heaven? Can it ever be revoked if necessary? I have read about how native born American citizenship were revoked. Some were even high profile individuals. Can it also happen to a naturalized citizen?

Thanks bro.
Yes the US Citizenship can be revoked if one commits a crime against the State like terrorism in or out of the US. It can also be revoked if one is convicted of trying to overthrow a foreign Government or if one is convicted of being a foreign spy. Bottom line do not do anything that will be against the interest of the United States which you swore your allegiance to the day you took the oath when you became a citizen. The Native American's are not the White Settlers who came first in the Mayflower ship from the present day UK/IRELAND to Boston but the Cherokees,Apache,Comanche etc. This Native American's although killed to nearly the point of extinction by the White visitors are the ONLY AUTHENTIC AMERICAN'S and cannot be stripped of their citizenship no matter what they do. Funny as it may sound they are also the only ones who you will NEVER say this America is ours as compared to the Whites and Blacks who once upon a time them or their ancestors were immigrant and the joker of the pack are Naturalized African's who are quick to shout their Americaness when it is not necessary. Don't get me wrong,it is cool to be an American but humility is also called for no matter what passport you carry.

Sapele_Don:

Thanks bro.
Yes the US Citizenship can be revoked if one commits a crime against the State like terrorism in or out of the US. It can also be revoked if one is convicted of trying to overthrow a foreign Government or if one is convicted of being a foreign spy. Bottom line do not do anything that will be against the interest of the United States which you swore your allegiance to the day you took the oath when you became a citizen. The Native American's are not the White Settlers who came first in the Mayflower ship from the present day UK/IRELAND to Boston but the Cherokees,Apache,Comanche etc. This Native American's although killed to nearly the point of extinction by the White visitors are the ONLY AUTHENTIC AMERICAN'S and cannot be stripped of their citizenship no matter what they do. Funny as it may sound they are also the only ones who you will NEVER say this America is ours as compared to the Whites and Blacks who once upon a time them or their ancestors were immigrant and the joker of the pack are Naturalized African's who are quick to shout their Americaness when it is not necessary. Don't get me wrong,it is cool to be an American but humility is also called for no matter what passport you carry.

I think that the best word on your reply was HUMILITY period. But don't forget that the advantages of having a western passport supasses that of Nigeria come rain come shine,we have a lot of work still to do before Nigeria can get to were it is supposed to be. Starting from me and you where ever we find ourselves.

JeSoul, if i get your right . . . i can actually go there to renew my passport without prior payment or booking an interview date online? Please respond asap because this renewing passport thingy has been a big thorn in my side for months now.

I think one of the guys at the reception is a hausa mugu who looks like he wouldnt want to be at work if given the chance.

This is the kind of bullsh*t that spoil this travel section, some so called pathetic patriotic Nigerians trying to defend indefensible Nigeria, saying some kind of local trash ''second class citizen'' to those abroad. Who are the first class citizens in Nigeria? For your information, we (you and I) the masses are third class citizens, the riches are second class citizens and the governments are the first class citizens. Fucck you all!

I wonder why this thread is not funny to some peepz. Some say Nigeria is a fail state, many disagree, is that not funny enough. What does a fail state means? maybe many dont know. A country that cant provide basic amenities to its citizen, a country where the rich can break the law, a country where its citizen should be enjoying but lacking. Though i wont call Nigeria a fail state, but cant we atleast face the reality that things are not working here the way its working in other countries that has no resources like ours.

Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index

Mtcheeewwww.

How many Nigerians get whipped by security agents at the American Embassies in Nigeria? Go to the American Embassy in London and expect to be treated like a King? Go to the waiting room of the American Embassy in London and expect to see paradise? You must be kidding. People who havent gone anywhere see common issues as big deal and write thrash about it.

werepeLeri:

Mtcheeewwww.

How many Nigerians get whipped by security agents at the American Embassies in Nigeria? Go to the American Embassy in London and expect to be treated like a King? Go to the waiting room of the American Embassy in London and expect to see paradise? You must be kidding. People who havent gone anywhere see common issues as big deal and write thrash about it.

Please how do you mean cuz i dont seems to understand ur write-up.

i had a funny experience there not too long ago. the place is too small, the toilet got no soap to wash your hands (thank God for my hand sanitizer), always crowdy, no good customer service, unending. then you go upstair, same thing.
i ain't going there again sha but it was an unforgetable experience.

Jesoul, you made me laugh lol, zero wan, zero tu, oh fife, oh sis, lol ewoo

Phew, just read thru all the comments . . . sorry I 'abandoned' the thread for a bit, been terribly busy.
Anyways to all those found it entertaining and humorous . . . gongo aso, Lax, striker, my sis armyofone and many others . . . I am glad to be able to make you smile a bit  missions accomplished.

To those who didn't find it funny, that's okay. I still can't find any reputable movie critics both off & on NL to agree with me that Norbit is one of the funniest comedies ever  Different strokes for different folks.

The only part I find unfortunate are those upset at the story or criticism of Nigeria - now that is really unfortunate. In the proud exercise of loving your country, one must never be blinded under the mistaken impression that criticism is at odds with patriotism . . . infact criticism is a strong pillar of patriotism - especially when it is the truth being spoken. As messed up as Naija is, I will always have that soft spot. And as Vescucci said, I do not mess around with my egusi soup. Nuff said.

@Haribo

LMAO at this entire thread,
Late last year I took a day off work and travelled all the way to NYC for my appointment to get my new passport. I got there only for the guy at the reception to tell me they were CLOSED. See me see wahala. I thought I was going to just go crazy and start killing people there and then. After THEY GAVE ME APPOINTMENT DATE and made me waste my precious vacation time to travel there, they were closed? Who does that? Really??

After closing my eyes and counting to 10 to regain sanity, I remembered that on the website, it stated that the embassy sends staff to different states at different times in the year to process passports for Nigerians living far away from NY, the website said they usually come to Boston in March. So I asked the guy to help me confirm when they would be coming round my way. After laughing at me the guy was like who told you that? These people haven't finished managing their scheduling for appointment and you want them to travel to your state? I don't know if he was lying or clueless, but at that point I lost all my energy so I just walked out and went to find somewhere to cool down before heading back home.

I'll cut the long story short. I actually ended up getting my new passport early this year, after much stress at the embassy. I have to say that place is an embarrassment. The staff is disorganised, the place is dirty, many of the lights aren't working, and it smells funny overall. To top it off, I'm sure someone already mentioned it, but there is a 'mama put' style buka RIGHT IN THE EMBASSY. Yes. You go in there, order your eba and egusi, and then WASH YOUR HANDS INTO A BUCKET before digging into your meal. I mean, it's already weird that they are selling moin moin and what not inside an embassy, but try and make it look clean at least. Is that too much to ask??

SMH @ the whole situation. I am a proud Naija girl and I wave my passport proudly wherever I go (except for right after Muttallab did his thing, I had to lay low at that time), but I won't lie, that embassy is an eyesore. We can do better.

Oh, and one more thing, it seems like no matter what time you call, no one ever picks up, and the mailbox is always full. WTH? Cry the beloved country,

LOL   Imagine driving hrs across CT, enduring that yeye NY traffic, paying exorbitant tolls and parking, only to be told "we're closed"   

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A nice thread I must say and it seems one should expect different things at both the Consulates @ Georgia and New York.
    @ Jesoul and Haribo,
      pls do you stay in Boston or near Canton? I need to get an important info. Pls hit me up at  select500@yahoo.com    thnks.

  I'm just a bit west of Boston. Need help with something? Pls copy quick so I can remove before those yahoo boys start sending me $1,000,000 mails.

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The poster of this thread is a concerned Nigerian and I commend you. I lived in Manhattan NYC couple of blocks from the Nigerian Embassy for over 3yrs. It's really embarrassing and bad for the Country's image in NYC. Everything the poster has is true of the staff and structure of that embassy. You would think u r in Nigeria cos of the attitude of the staff there. You just got to overlook everything and get what you want and leave.

Tank God plenty people don corroborate my story. lol. I felt really bad thinking off a non-nigerian walking off the street to the embassy hoping to get some help or information on visiting only to meet the mess over there.

Bluemagic & Endmoll,
Lol. Nobody send you guys at all . Tks for the contributions.

@ mimi234

If you haven't been to the Nigerian Embassy in London - You haven't seen anything.

Just to enter the building is where the problem begins - Me and my mum got there at 8:10am approx you had to see the amount of people blocking the entrance, even the two security guards were overwhelmed lolol. Then he (the security guard) shouts "If your print out does not have 'payment confirmed' on it you can not enter this building" bearing in mind we are still outside on the streets lol in Westminster even the builders nearby couldn't comprehend what was going.

My mum being my mum made her way to the front and ensured we got in - this was about 9.30am-ish. To my surprise the room is also very small - we were renewing our passports so we had to get our number and wait. I felt i was in a choir rehearsal the amount of different noises you hear is funny lol. Then sum man tried to jump in front of us just because we didn't hear the woman call our number. We were 36 but when my mum hear "number 37" you had to see how my mum jumped to the front (usain bolt has nothing on my mum lol). But that part was just to check we paid online and our postal order (kmt lolol). Then we had to go back and sit down again. Someone took our seats (u trust my mum) we got our seats back o!!
After that ordeal i didn't follow my mum to o collect the passports - i stayed home thank u very much looooooool

Lol. I salute our parents for real. That is the naija training for you. Always ready to adjust to whatever the situation demands

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davidylan:

JeSoul, if i get your right . . . i can actually go there to renew my passport without prior payment or booking an interview date online? Please respond asap because this renewing passport thingy has been a big thorn in my side for months now.

I think one of the guys at the reception is a hausa mugu who looks like he wouldnt want to be at work if given the chance.

That is a big fat NO David. You absolutely must make the payment online prior to coming and print out the payment confirmation. I was told that the 'interview date' is more of a ceremonial thing. Once your payment is confirmed, then you can pretty much head down there - along with another $25 money order for 'processing fee'. Ask me why they don't lump the payment together and I'll tell you to stop applying logic

I get and find the OP's article funny and I don't think she meant offence. In fact the situation at the Embassies seem to have improved. Like Don_Sapele I use 9ja passport to enter 9ja always and will always be proud to use it.

By law (if a US citizen) you have to use US passport to enter the US and I intend to use the same principle for 9ja. Still a funny article and I can relate to some of the comments she made.

I was able to renew my 9ja passport hassle free in Atlanta. The staff were courteous and helpful. I made sure to READ the instructions carefully, have all required documentation and follow directions.

There is no need to arrive at the embassy half-prepared and then start blaming Nigeria for your lack of preparation. Some people offer crap to Nigerian Embassies that they will not do with other Embassies.