@ Poster

[b][b]Conference and business facilities
There are restaurants, bars, banks, bureau de change and a duty free shop in the international terminal, as well as a post office and medical facilities. NOTE: pickpockets and confidence trickster, some posing as local immigration and other government officials, are common at Murtala Muhammed Airport. Security is not always satisfactory, so be vigilant.

Car rental
Avis (tel: 01 497 4420) and Hertz (tel: 01 320 5016) both have desks in the terminal. It is possible to hire a car from most of the big international hotels too. Please note that fuel shortages often occur in Nigeria, so ensure you have enough petrol to complete your journey. Roads are in poor condition. Be vigilant when travelling on major roads, as robberies can, and do, happen. Avoid travel outside cities after dark. Be vigilant when driving in traffic jams (‘go slows’): keep valuable out of sights, and keep doors and windows locked.

http://www.emirates.com/ng/English/plan_book/essential_information/airports_worldwide/airport_details.aspx?airport=192945[/b][/b]


"Can every1 visit the site before commenting?"

@honeric01

@lastpage

Do i look like a signboard to you? or a minister of information? If you need such info, look around you, go around Nigeria and see for yourself,


Let me give you a tip,
compare 10 years ago with what we have now, maybe you might see reasons to disagree a bit with all the things you're being told about Nigeria.

Oh so its now that we ask you to put your money where your mouth is, that you're about asking "whether you look like a signboard?
Well, YOU SURE LOOK LIKE ONE!!

Definition of "signboard":
1. Can only display or relay that which was written on it.
2. Does not have the ability for independent thought!

See what YOU mean?

BTW: dont bother to reply this one, it might confirm the "signboard thingy"

MSY:

Ziga @Post 99 above


Mr Ziga, learn to pick a position and stick with it. Your comments above are all over the place. First you say the people who make comments on this page are most likely not Nigerians, or have never set foot in Nigeria. Then you say all you want is fairness, then you say i have no shame, and then you finally admit that yes, Nigeria is rotten and we should fix it!

First of all, it does not matter if the people who comment on this page are Nigerians or not, as long as they speak the truth. And believe it or not, you can actually benefit from comments made by non-Nigerians. You have a false sense of patriotism that will not get you anywhere. You need to learn to call it the way it is. Do not for one second think your defense of Nigeria here means you love Nigeria more than i do. Easily verifiable truths have been said about Nigeria, and you are here huffing and puffing about crime existing in other countries and that the UAE wants something from you. Your primary concern should be "how do we correct this perception of Nigeria", not "you should not say that because there is crime in other countries too".

If someone calls you a thief, your motivation should be, how do i stop stealing, not, "don't call me a thief, because there are other thieves out there".

Do you get it now?

@MSY

I completely understand your point, and i want you to get mine too by looking at this objectively.

I am not being unduly patriotic, neither am i justifying wrongs by saying others do it too.

Let us use the thief scenario. Someone who has being called a thief so many times, even when he goes clean will always be called a thief. It is the same problem ex convicts go through when they get out of jail.

I admit the bad in Naija, at the same time, i know there are very few people trying to correct it. Correcting the problem will involve removing the bad behaviour as well as image laundering. These two don't have to go in that order, it is usually simultaneous.

Bad behaviour doesn't change completely overnight, so we try to change and at the same time we should have people who will encourage foreign organizations not to worsen an already bad situation.

They could be encouraged to state the facts for their potential passengers without scaring them (I know its possible without). Journalism can be used as a weapon, many people in the world see Africa as war thorn just like CNN shows!

I believe this kind of arrangement will probably be in place in some other countries, and my point is, because we don't think PR is important in Naija,  we will continue to get bad publicity, even when we try to change some of the bad behaviour, however slow it is.

The Ministry of Information has got lots of work to do in countering this Image bashing from a common airline.

The Ministry of Information has got lots of work to do in countering this Image bashing from a common airline.

Please note that fuel shortages often occur in Nigeria, so ensure you have enough petrol to complete your journey. Roads are in poor condition. Be vigilant when travelling on major roads, as robberies can, and do, happen. Avoid travel outside cities after dark. Be vigilant when driving in traffic jams (‘go slows’): keep valuable out of sights, and keep doors and windows locked

I still fail to see whats so extremely offensive about this travel advisory.

The bolded especially is very good advice.

In all honesty and while I have not been to Nigeria in a long while, I wouldn't know, but then again from what I have read, I think they said it in a respectable tone. I would assume to some extent that its the truth because I have had friends and family members with similar bad experiences. Well for people who think it was over exaggerated or lies, you might want to visit the U.S Department of State website regarding the travel advisory to Nigeria; No Holds Barred, I am sure you you will very well appreciate what Emirates did.

@all,

I struggle to understand why emirates wrote this. The so called flights to Lagos are filled mostly by Nigerians so who are the travel alerts for? I do not think it is prpoer for the airline to do this. vigilance is required of any passenger whereever he or she is going. To hand out such info to passengers coming to nigeria is so IMPROPER because they could be undermining our tourism potential. If the UAE wants to issue travel alert warnings to their citizens coming to Nigeria, they can. For emirates( an airline) to hand out travel info to other nationals, apparently unsolicited, is not right.
Honestly, i think a lot needs to be fixed in Nigeria,but allowing an airline that makes money on nigerian routes to spit at us in this manner, calls for urgent action.

Nigerians can be very thoughtless.

Nigerians can be very thoughtless. They think they do themselves a favour when they run down their country before the world. I think it stems from a deep-seated inferiority complex. Where it comes from only God knows.

I once spoke with a Liberian in the US a few years ago, right when there were wars raging there and rebels cutting off arms and legs of prisoners etc. Back then I thought like majority of Nigerians, along the lines of ''Nigeria is useless etc.''

The Liberian refugee was shocked. He said I must be crazy to speak that way about my country. This was a guy fleeing war and conflict in which thousands were being slaughtered on the streets, but yet who showed more love for his country than I, a pampered Ajebota immigrant who'd just left a relatively comfortable life in Nigeria could muster for mine.  I was so embarassed. I felt small.

Today, I think differently.

And I thank my Liberian friend for showing me the truth, ie, a that a man who rubbishes his country before foreigners, or otherwise accepts such rubbishing of his home nation by foreign nationals, is ignorant, stupid, and thoughtless.

Greeting Rossike,
Indulge me to respond to your post, especially the part below.

And I thank my Liberian friend for showing me the truth, ie, a that a man who rubbishes his country before foreigners, or otherwise accepts such rubbishing of his home nation by foreign nationals, is ignorant, stupid, and thoughtless.

I want to highlight that
1. Truth is Truth, , like FACTS, they can not be wished away, even with the best P.R machine in the world.
2. Former Prez Obasanjo spent a huge sum of money, using an "Oyinbo P.R company", to launder Nigeria's image and yet the image refused to IMPROVE! A good product as they say, needs no HARD SELL
3. There is a saying that "if and when the Britons complain about Britain, it is not in the place of foreigners (sic) to join in!
4. To solve a problem, a real one, as opposed to an image(inary) one, one must first identify and "acknowledge" the existence of such problem, Problem identified is problem half-solved.
5. Discussing between ourselves, as we do on our "homepage here" is different with discussing with a foreigner or 3rd party.
We can afford to call a spade, a spade, to ourselves.
With a foreigner, we may get defensive like your Liberian friend, though you would agree with me that his "spirited defense" did not change the "facts on ground" in Liberia; we saw it on TV, in Films, in documentaries and they are documented for life.

Finally, since we all want a good country, not just a good image for our dear country, and we all recognize that there are many areas of our national life that needs improvement (did you read the thread about the Nigerian businessmen that diverted toxic rice rejected by Sierra Leaone's Govt, to Nigeria, his country, to be fed to his people?)
the very important question is therefore HOW TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED GOODNESS/ IMAGE.

And in answering this question, the key procedure revolves around whether we should:
(a) Put the Cart before the horse (correct the image using P.R mechanisms and Propaganda , and come for the negative behavior after-wards)
(b) Put the Horse first, before the cart (correct our negative behavior first and image (is nothing:7up!) will adjust automatically thereafter.
(c) try to do both at the same time . (Cart and Horse side-by-side!  ). correct our negative behavior while at the same time, use P.R and propaganda to accelerate the perception.

option (c) would be most attractive in any normal circumstance but when it comes to "entrenched" negative tendencies as we have now, it is easier to get value-for-money by starting with our "behavior".

Example, I see Zenith Bank and a few other Nigerian Banks on CNN and other foreign media.
Assuming[b] that the banks are un-networked, un-computerized, no ATM and their staff are shabby and discourteous, do [/b]you think all the CNN of this world and all "positive self review", would make a foreigner who have experienced online- banking and ATM facilities in some other countries, open an account with them? (option a).

Nigerian banks took the route of option(b): they "improved first" and now used P.R and propaganda to "maximized" the benefits of such improvement.
Behavior does not change over night as you said, and it would not even change in the next twenty years if we dont start now and if we keep glorifying sudden wealth, corruption, especially in govt.
If it takes the "embarrassment" we get to make people sit-up and change, then so be it.
Once changed, no more embarrassment.
A failure is only a failure if and when he keeps failing. Pass once and that tag is behind you.

Just my "thoughtful view".
lastpage

lastpage, thanks for your erudite, well thought-out response. The way I see it, however is this: In the case of Emirates Airlines, their 'warning' to passengers is quite irrelevant for the purposes of this discussion. I simply think Nigerians need a lot more UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for their fatherland than they seem to think is required. For me that is the starting point. If a Liberian who escaped WAR and CONFLICT there is in America and still can find it in himself to regard his country  with affection, then what is the problem with Nigerians? The way some of them talk you would think people drop dead the minute they set foot in Naija, or that robbers have killed half the population, the other half lying awake all night in expectation of attacks.

But statistics show that less than 1% of Nigerians has ever experienced an armed robbery!!

The number of people killed by robbers in a year in Nigeria is less than the number of murders in New York City in 6 months. Most robbers in Naija simply rob their victims and depart, so long as there's no resistance.

Those are the FACTS.

In London where I live, an MP is critically ill in hospital after he accosted a group of youths damaging property on the street, and corrected them. They stabbed, beat, and left him for dead. The other day an IT worker was stabbed to death in London for the exact same reason. He tried to stop a group of youths robbing an old lady.  Adults and kids are mugged, raped, stabbed and killled all over the place and virtually no day passes without such incidents. Yet how many airlines have travel advisory warning intending passengers to the UK of these dangers? None to my knowledge!!

The problem with Nigerians saying it's ok - ie this skewed negative attention we get -  is that it's a scorpion that turns to bite the holder. One day THEY will find themselves in a situation where they are grossly discriminated against for their nationality, when in fact they shouldn't be, since problems affecting them are common to other countries whose nationals are fairly treated.

ROSSIKE:

Nigerians can be very thoughtless. They think they do themselves a favour when they run down their country before the world. I think it stems from a deep-seated inferiority complex. Where it comes from only God knows.

I once spoke with a Liberian in the US a few years ago, right when there were wars raging there and rebels cutting off arms and legs of prisoners etc. Back then I thought like majority of Nigerians, along the lines of ''Nigeria is useless etc.''

The Liberian refugee was shocked. He said I must be crazy to speak that way about my country. This was a guy fleeing war and conflict in which thousands were being slaughtered on the streets, but yet who showed more love for his country than I, a pampered Ajebota immigrant who'd just left a relatively comfortable life in Nigeria could muster for mine.  I was so embarassed. I felt small.

Today, I think differently.

And I thank my Liberian friend for showing me the truth, ie, a that a man who rubbishes his country before foreigners, or otherwise accepts such rubbishing of his home nation by foreign nationals, is ignorant, stupid, and thoughtless.

Thank u bro, I will never believe dat crime rate in Naija is any close to de one in South Africa, yet, they dont issue such against S.A.

@ all,

I really think emirates overstepped its ranks by posting such travel warning on its website. Such an action can threathen tourism in Nigeria. If the embassy of the UAE decides to post a travel warning to its citizens flying into Nigeria thats a different thing. But for an airline that ferry(mostly Nigerians) to issue a warning on its website is an insult to this country.
Is there no limit to the things we take in this country? On my way back to Nigeria last 2 months, 1 hour to arrival, the BA( Gosh I hate that airline) air hostess started dishing out landing cards to everyone and informing us about having our documents ready for immigration and letting us know we should have our yellow fever cards ready for inspection. On their website, there is no such alert( I still hate BA) on travel to nigeria.
Emirates did not do well at all.

Hi fellow Nigerian, l am aspiring 2 own one of diz big company b4 l die. dat y l read alot.if d majority here re speakin about security den in d same spirit condemin a little notice sent to most of our brodas who may b comin home 4 da first time, sure there is a problem. In reality no country is safe. If u travel down there n live wit them, but u ll b taught how 2 defend urself when d needs arises. Kul 911, d clinic re open incase u r injur.And if some1 die in d incidence.there is investigation @ least cal 2 book d killer but in Nigeria if u wish 2 ignore this guyz warnin.u ll miz ur bags. ur village head will help wit his search team 2 find u, because police is not ur friend.finally u ll accept dat d fault is within us.'Hey' if u r in d state com back n volunteer by takin dis guyz around untill d know their route,don't hide up there in a country wit better offer 2 condem d owner. come back hom n b ur brodas keeper in ur save home sweet home.mayb b4 u arrive l'll b thro wit ma company n guez what it ll b kul ''GOD BLEZ NIGERIA'' wit no warnin maps since u ll b there 4 ma vistors 2 lean on

MSY:

Ziga @Post 99 above


Mr Ziga, learn to pick a position and stick with it. Your comments above are all over the place. First you say the people who make comments on this page are most likely not Nigerians, or have never set foot in Nigeria. Then you say all you want is fairness, then you say i have no shame, and then you finally admit that yes, Nigeria is rotten and we should fix it!

First of all, it does not matter if the people who comment on this page are Nigerians or not, as long as they speak the truth. And believe it or not, you can actually benefit from comments made by non-Nigerians. You have a false sense of patriotism that will not get you anywhere. You need to learn to call it the way it is. Do not for one second think your defense of Nigeria here means you love Nigeria more than i do. Easily verifiable truths have been said about Nigeria, and you are here huffing and puffing about crime existing in other countries and that the UAE wants something from you. Your primary concern should be "how do we correct this perception of Nigeria", not "you should not say that because there is crime in other countries too".

If someone calls you a thief, your motivation should be, how do i stop stealing, not, "don't call me a thief, because there are other thieves out there".

Do you get it now?

men deres is a lot if sense in dis quote & i will write it in a Book, Word up & thumbs up MSY

emirates said the truth in fact they were polite

Yeah, emirate is right.
So f**king what?
They could as well close shop, they get lots of patronage from Nigerians for God's sake.
We have worst case situations around the world, is that how they went image bashing?

the truth is bitter
the fact is that when u mention the name nigeria, people say 419

so y are u mad, nigerians succeeded in destroying their image, why shouldn't emirates protect their costumers from the nigerian fraudsters in the airport

plus the security in nigeria is completely useless, they are crime enablers

lovemoi2:

the truth is bitter
the fact is that when u mention the name nigeria, people say 419

so y are u mad, nigerians succeeded in destroying their image, why shouldn't emirates protect their costumers from the nigerian fraudsters in the airport

plus the security in nigeria is completely useless, they are crime enablers

Hey, take it easy. What do you mean Nigeria is completely useless?
Have you ever been to South Africa before? What customers are they protecting?

lovemoi2:

the truth is bitter
the fact is that when u mention the name nigeria, people say 419

so y are u mad, nigerians succeeded in destroying their image, why shouldn't emirates protect their costumers from the nigerian fraudsters in the airport

plus the[b] security in nigeria is completely useless,[/b] they are crime enablers

i said the security is useless,
read b4 answering

shay na like this we go dey deyyy? haan na like dis we go dey dey?? 2x haaan haaan , na like dis we go dey dey, i no knnoww , everytin don daburu corruption is un bearable , Unbearable yeey, wetin go do cos i cant take this thin no more, so shay naaaaaaa, lol

jethrokay: Is this fear enough?
See the quotes:

Conference and business facilities
There are restaurants, bars, banks, bureau de change and a duty free shop in the international terminal, as well as a post office and medical facilities. NOTE: pickpockets and confidence trickster, some posing as local immigration and other government officials, are common at Murtala Muhammed Airport. Security is not always satisfactory, so be vigilant. 

Car rental
Avis (tel: 01 497 4420) and Hertz (tel: 01 320 5016) both have desks in the terminal. It is possible to hire a car from most of the big international hotels too. Please note that fuel shortages often occur in Nigeria, so ensure you have enough petrol to complete your journey. Roads are in poor condition. Be vigilant when travelling on major roads, as robberies can, and do, happen. Avoid travel outside cities after dark. Be vigilant when driving in traffic jams (‘go slows’): keep valuable out of sights, and keep doors and windows locked. 

http://www.emirates.com/ng/English/plan_book/essential_information/airports_worldwide/airport_details.aspx?airport=192945

To be honest, it is d bitter truth, a bitter pill to swallow, but these are the truth and I don't see why they should not alert their people.

jethrokay: Is this fear enough?
See the quotes:

Conference and business facilities
There are restaurants, bars, banks, bureau de change and a duty free shop in the international terminal, as well as a post office and medical facilities. NOTE: pickpockets and confidence trickster, some posing as local immigration and other government officials, are common at Murtala Muhammed Airport. Security is not always satisfactory, so be vigilant. 

Car rental
Avis (tel: 01 497 4420) and Hertz (tel: 01 320 5016) both have desks in the terminal. It is possible to hire a car from most of the big international hotels too. Please note that fuel shortages often occur in Nigeria, so ensure you have enough petrol to complete your journey. Roads are in poor condition. Be vigilant when travelling on major roads, as robberies can, and do, happen. Avoid travel outside cities after dark. Be vigilant when driving in traffic jams (‘go slows’): keep valuable out of sights, and keep doors and windows locked. 

http://www.emirates.com/ng/English/plan_book/essential_information/airports_worldwide/airport_details.aspx?airport=192945

To be honest, it is d bitter truth, a bitter pill to swallow, but these are the truth and I don't see why they should not alert their people.

Emirate is not saying the truth

The truth is naija is worst than what they have said.
I guess people castigating emirate don't leave in nigeria of the present!!!

Nigeria is a country you come to and die in air mishap
Nigeria is the country you get like 10 419 calls and texts daily!
Nigeria is the country you get robbed and carried away in ur car to an unknown bush or in d middle of third mainland bridge.
Nigeria is d country where policemen rob you in broad day light
Nigeria is d country where you get robbed in traffic and fellow nigerians look on
Nigeria is d country you travel to ur village and get kidnaped for ransom and they still kill you.
Nigeria is the country d road is sooo bad it collects d steer wheels from you hands and swave you into a ditch.
Nigeria is d country where you kingsmen jazz you and kill you because you're helping dem
Nigeria is d country where we celebrate corruption
Nigeria is d coubtry where the rich constantly oppresses the poor without justice
Nigeria is where police wake up and raids your neighbourhood and you get into jail for a crime you don't know of.
Etc
How I wish emirate had said the complete truth and nothing but the truth.

These things happen so why are some of you people complaining ?