The ECOWAS passport thingy wasn't in PLAY then.
Now, it's like the EU schitzo. . . . . .any EU citizen can fly from anywhere into any member of the EU community and live happily ever after.
With an ECOWAS passport, no lunatic can deport you from Ghana - Quote Sauron when they come for you with machete n dane guns.

.

In the west, even with the mortgage crisis, with good credit history and all that, you could still tap into your credit lines; what I hear in Nigeria is that the banks just freeze it so construction/developments of estates come to an abrupt full stop just like that

Not in all cases

the project in yaba is being financed by a bank in Lagos

.

@ poster, firstly your view is what you think abt your relatives, but have you really checked urself and see what you are not doin right to get that kind of reception from your relative.The much called illegal immigrant cannot see themselves coming back to nigeria to become a bus conductor and they are coping with what fate God has decided for them.There are alot of europeans,asian south americans around the world  they dont have views like this abt there fellow country men.you dont know every Nigerian living in uk so dont generally think the same abt everyone[i][/i]

@ poster, firstly your view is what you think abt your relatives, but have you really checked urself and see what you are not doin right to get that kind of reception from your relative.The much called illegal immigrant cannot see themselves coming back to nigeria to become a bus conductor and they are coping with what fate God has decided for them.There are alot of europeans,asian south americans around the world  they dont have views like this abt there fellow country men.you dont know every Nigerian living in uk so dont generally think the same abt everyone[i][/i]

[Quote]However, when you speak of lekki and returns, what exactly do you mean?[/quote]

Oh you get to tell people you live in lekki and the awed look on their faces is returns enough, Lmao!

Before I came to lagos, all I heard was lekki and all its phases. How it was the best thing since sliced bread. My imagination ran wild, was expecting tarred roads, well kept lawns, parks. . . Ya know things you'd expect to see in places where people pay through their noses to live in. What did I get? The exact same thing I saw in ojudu Berger, in surulere, even festac. Then there's the traffic because there's only one good route into the place. I swear you haven't sat in traffic until you seat through one going in and out of lekki traffic. It's crazy and crazier still because every day more people flood in to lekki, paying these ridiculous prices. . . For what? Nothing.

Sigh! Nigerians confuse me.

^^
Lol. Spot on. I just luv the way you put these things. Inimitable.

doesnt look so bad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZ45t4Pv0k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHqqR29yWuw&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93OF7xtDB4U&feature=related

must see. this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93OF7xtDB4U&feature=related

on a side note, when i relocate to nigeria is their anywhere i can purchase an assault rifle from and a couple of hand guns ? are there connections like this in naija ?

.

Aaaah, l am a late-comer to this thread and reading the 25 or so pages was a pain in da eyes!
Anyway, on one hand, l think the "topic" is uncalled-for. It is divisive and we should avoid going that route.

Having said that, l think it is impossible to notice some level of acrimony between the "generality" of Diasporeans and their folks still in naija  (You can notice it but you dont necessarily have to speak about it, some kind of fragile friendship!)
I cant call it "jealousy" really.
I perceive it as a kind of "superiority complex battle" (albeit a very unnecessary one).
Knowing we Nigerians and our penchant to "sound-off", pose and "oppress" as it is put, it is only natural that there would be friction between the few "have-muchs" and the "struggling majority".

I still remember, a few months ago when Mrs Dora Akinyilu, labeled "Nigerians in Diaspora as enemy of the nation"!  
So, the "beef" between the 'home-brews and the foreign ones' did not just start, its been there but we all "play by the rules": Keep quiet about it!

If you've ever witnessed the "bashing" given to an unsuccessful Diasporean, by his successful counterpart at home (when he finally decides to go home or gets kicked out of 'abroad') then, you will be tempted to conclude that 'it makes "a good laugh" to see a failed "journey-just-come'  
Have you ever heard comments like "even those of us here in Nigeria are better than them"? (and l have seen a few of similar comments on this thread also!), "if they know that 'Abroad' does not pay them, why dont they just come home"? "is it by force to live abroad after all, Nigeria is far better"! e.t.c
Another derogatory term for "abroad elderly" is "Egbon" or "Baba London"    e.t.c" Its actually a polite insult.

God help you if after some years of sojourn abroad, you went home and have to depend on your Nigerian folks for anything, they will teach you a lesson. The only way you will 'escape' is if you are willing to part with loads of money, (they also want to share in the "booty" from this abroad man! ).
If you are silly enough to go and live with a relative when you travel home and you're unlucky enough that they are not the very well-to-do, you will have to pay ALL their bills for as long as you are there (feeding, generator fueling, hospital bills, children school fees and about any other "pending financial problem' they have!)
Now, this does not apply to everyone, it might even be in the minority.

So, in my own opinion, "the sky is big enough for all birds to fly", no need to compare or beef each other.

if you live in Nigeria, it has its own inherent advantages (like the superb weather and entertaining Christmas period festivities) and disadvantages too (like power supply and insecurity).

If you live abroad, it has its own inbuilt advantages (regular power supply, peace of mind and working infrastructures) and its own disadvantages (lousy weather, over-regulation, "bad moral influence" on your kids (if care is not taken), bill, bill and more bills   ).
So, whichever/wherever you chose to live or find yourself, you should be content with it. No one can eat their cake and have it.
Give God glory and thank Him for being alive, hale and hearty after all, STOP making comparisons as it will only brew discord.
We should be complementing each other rather than this unhealthy competition.
Nuff said.

ftmom:


but what if you have to live there on a permanent basis?

Ofcourse I meant having a permanent structure I can come home to.  Living down there permanent basis sounds ok but I doubt I would move back PERMANENTLY, but having a nice place to live surrounded by other people sounds more secure and more at home to me. I have friends and family down there and it makes sense for me to want to invest in a place that I know I will have peace of mind, more than a place where peace of mind(limited) comes with a high price tag.

ftmom:

Dollars? are you comparing to tkb's Yaba project? lol that's way out of my league

Still in the minor league, one property at a time is all we can manage for now but I imagine you would need some sort of large scale financing for $30-$45m and I can tell you off the  bat that it's almost impossible to get any bank to finance on such a scale today. There are several estates in Lagos that have gulped millions of naira but work is now at a standstill because their lines of credit have been halted by the banks. I know people who have made down payments but now have no idea when construction will start/continue on their estates

WOW

ftmom:

In the west, even with the mortgage crisis, with good credit history and all that, you could still tap into your credit lines; what I hear in Nigeria is that the banks just freeze it so construction/developments of estates come to an abrupt full stop just like that

You are right. I definitely would not consider taking a loan from a bank here to build in Nigeria. That would be absurd.

Thank u lastpage
Lol

@buzugee
U need guns in Nigeri? For what if I may ask?
U wanna form a vigilante group or what?

tkb417:

Thank u lastpage
Lol

@buzugee
U need guns in Nigeri? For what if I may ask?
U wanna form a vigilante group or what?

for protection. i dont plan on becoming a victim in nigeria. anyone who crosses the line is getting shot. you break into my house you will get so much bullet pumped into you, you will look like a sieve when i am done with you. i also plan to shoot my way out of any unsavory encounters i have when i am driving.

buzugee:

for protection. i dont plan on becoming a victim in nigeria. anyone who crosses the line is getting shot. you break into my house you will get so much bullet pumped into you, you will look like a sieve when i am done with you. i also plan to shoot my way out of any unsavory encounters i have when i am driving.

hehehehe. . . . you nor well. . . the last nucca in PH that tried to shoot it out with armed robbers ended up 6 feet deep. . .

Waoh! i cannot believe the number of people who have commented on this thread. 25 pages already? This is interesting.

Ibime:

hehehehe. . . . you nor well. . . the last nucca in PH that tried to shoot it out with armed robbers ended up 6 feet deep. . .

thats because that nuccas combat strategy is lacking. i practice defensive combat. trust me armed robbers dont wanna go into duel with me, especially if i am in my house that i know all the nuke and cranny of.

Buzugee,

That wont work with Nigerian armed robbers oh!!!!! If they want to rob you, believe me, the will,

shotster50:

Buzugee,

That wont work with Nigerian armed robbers oh!!!!! If they want to rob you, believe me, the will,

they have to get past my ammunition first. trust me i have seen nigerian robbers operate. half of them cant even shoot straight. and they are all scary lil punks. sometimes all you have to do is fire a warning shot in the air and you see them scuttling and darting for the exit. one thing i have learned about nigerians ? they love life too much. they dont want to die. most of their crimes are opportunistic crimes. but if they know someone will take them on they will never come to your yard.
like let me give you a few examples of extremely good scare tactics, early in the morning everyday just fire a shot into the air. everyone automatically knows you are armed. word spreads around. no one will try you.

And that will be you against 50 robbers armed to the teeth wit everything except the nuke?

shotster50:

And that will be you against 50 robbers armed to the teeth wit everything except the nuke?

only 50 robbers ? let me tell you about john brown. this guy and about 10 of his boys took on a whole town in the 1800s trying to abolish slavery. this is his saying. GIVE ME JUST A FEW GOOD MEN and i can take on a whole army. let me tell you something dude, no one knows your house better than you. so long as you are in your house and you have enough ammunition to wipe out an entire army ? you will easily do it. first things first you need a retreat and solace point. a bunker. also you must plan your house in such a way that the point of entry is only one spot. ok so that will factor into the kind of house i will get. i need all the fifty robbers to try to get at me through the same entry point. lets see if all 50 of them make it

Couldnt you choose a better way to die?

buzugee:

only 50 robbers ? let me tell you about john brown. this guy and about 10 of his boys took on a whole town in the 1800s trying to abolish slavery. this is his saying. GIVE ME JUST A FEW GOOD MEN and i can take on a whole army. let me tell you something dude, no one knows your house better than you. so long as you are in your house and you have enough ammunition to wipe out an entire army ? you will easily do it. first things first you need a retreat and solace point. a bunker. also you must plan your house in such a way that the point of entry is only one spot. ok so that will factor into the kind of house i will get. i need all the fifty robbers to try to get at me through the same entry point. lets see if all 50 of them make it

laughs at concept and wonder's aloud.

returns back to seat and waits for other meaningful/usual post

Nenum:

laughs at concept and wonder's aloud.

returns back to seat and waits for other meaningful/usual post

perpetual victim mentality.

shotster50:

Couldnt you choose a better way to die?

50 robbers come to your house ? you think you are going to live ? dude i am picking a better way to live.

buzugee:

perpetual victim mentality.

continue laughing and falls to the ground.

re-check forum - "NL is a public forum"

ooooo now i see.

still continue laughing

Home-based Nigerians while on holiday tend to be free-loaders even though they are rich enough to pay their way. The UK-based ones that are well-paid usually do not have enough money to throw around, as life in the UK is not that easy, even if you have a good job - for example, as a doctor. Home-based Nigerians tend to assume that the fact that you are in a good job in the UK, means you are financially strong enough to take care of them.

@buzugee

only 50 robbers ? let me tell you about john brown. this guy and about 10 of his boys took on a whole town in the 1800s trying to abolish slavery. this is his saying. GIVE ME JUST A FEW GOOD MEN and i can take on a whole army. let me tell you something dude, no one knows your house better than you. so long as you are in your house and you have enough ammunition to wipe out an entire army ? you will easily do it. first things first you need a retreat and solace point. a bunker. also you must plan your house in such a way that the point of entry is only one spot. ok so that will factor into the kind of house i will get. i need all the fifty robbers to try to get at me through the same entry point. lets see if all 50 of them make it

About two decades ago, there was this man who owns "Apata School" in Surulere, Lagos (will not mention his name as a sign of respect to him (R.I.P)) and used to talk the way you're talking now
He sounds off and actually uses his guns to scare armed robbers in his area.
The day the robbers decided his time was up, they sent him a letter stating the day they will come for him!.

They announced their arrival with a few rounds and our local "John Wayne" took them on till he ran out of bullets! (Dont ask me about whether the Police responded quickly or suddenly developed hearing problems).
The short of the story is that he was "executed" right there!
Question l asked myself is: Is killing a few armed robbers worth my life? Not even 50,000 of those scumbags is worth my left foot, less my life
So, if after all your 'battles and challenges' in life, you think killing a few drugged-losers is a fair exchange, your children will have a few questions to ask your "deadi-bodii"

BTW: Can l ask what happened to that your John Browne after the gun battle?
*shakes head and knocks down a can of Guinness* (life is sweet)

lastpage:

[size=13pt]If you live abroad, it has its own inbuilt advantages (regular power supply, peace of mind and working infrastructures) and its own disadvantages (lousy weather, over-regulation, "bad moral influence" on your kids (if care is not taken), bill, bill and more bills ).[/size]

I don't really care for the jealousy nonsense but I was searching for a post and this particular block in your post there came up and I feel I have to ask what exactly you mean there.

Are you somehow suggeting folks on other side, as in Nigeria,  don't pay bills?

www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201006011271059

. . . .
The committee listed the management-induced problems to include poor fuel-to-power strategy; poor and irregular maintenance of power plants and installations; absence of strategic support agreement losses due to theft; sabotage; and vegetation interference with lines.

It also catalogued the commercial problems to include “lack of commercial framework for private sector participation/investment; ineffective and non-responsive regulation; and price adjudication mechanism, which results in inadequate tariff regime.

The report noted that there was “poor payment culture among Nigerian electricity consumers, poor revenue collection and non-responsiveness to consumer needs.”

What sort of bills do those abroad pay that their counterparts in Nigeria do not pay?

a) Electricity -- Even though the government sites poor payment culture, people these days are forced to generate their own electricity by paying money to by generators and for gas to power their generators. More on average than their counterparts in the west

b) Gas -- For cooking fuel, many in Nigeria still need to pay for kerosene, some pay for gas and because of the higher cost pay more than their counterparts in places do

c) Insurance -- SOme of Nigeria who value their lives and families actually pay for car and life insurance, that the vast majority are somehow not aware of the advantage or are willing to die off like flies, leaving nothing for their kids, I don't see the difference really

d) Mortgage -- Sure, a serious minority have Millions of Naira or even hundreds of thousands to pay cash down for property and cars, many in the west only do not pay the cash up front but instead break up the payment over time. Still, they get more bang for their money in the end considering houses and quality offered in the best places in Nigeria still only compare with houses in slum areas in many of the west.

e) Cable/Satellite/Phone --- Ofcourse all those who have these services both in Nigeria and abroad pay for these services. Ofcourse one can choose to live without but generally those that use these services on either shore pay for them, either monthly, annually, or daily.

f) Taxes --- well due to the bad leaders we have had over the last 30 years, that has not been enforced for so long in so many states, but I am glad those in Lagos have finally come to know why paying taxes is GOOD FOR THEM and not EVIL that only happens in the west.

So exactly what bills do you refer to when you say that those in the west are innundated with bills while those in Nigeria are not?

lastpage:

@buzugeeAbout two decades ago, there was this man who owns "Apata School" in Surulere, Lagos (will not mention his name as a sign of respect to him (R.I.P)) and used to talk the way you're talking now
He sounds off and actually uses his guns to scare armed robbers in his area.
The day the robbers decided his time was up, they sent him a letter stating the day they will come for him!.

They announced their arrival with a few rounds and our local "John Wayne" took them on till he ran out of bullets! (Dont ask me about whether the Police responded quickly or suddenly developed hearing problems).
The short of the story is that he was "executed" right there!
Question l asked myself is: Is killing a few armed robbers worth my life? Not even 50,000 of those scumbags is worth my left foot, less my life
So, if after all your 'battles and challenges' in life, you think killing a few drugged-losers is a fair exchange, your children will have a few questions to ask your "deadi-bodii"

BTW: Can l ask what happened to that your John Browne after the gun battle?
*shakes head and knocks down a can of Guinness* (life is sweet)

like you said he ran out of bullets that was his downfall. me myself ? i will have enough bullets to take on a small country bullets are cheap. i will order them by the caseloads from walmart dem no born the armu robber well.

oh yeah what happened to john brown ? he won the battle but lost the war. he got hanged by the USA government for treason

@Buzugee
LMAO!!!
I would seriously advise against this bravado of yours. Heed Lastpage's warning, else you'd be massacred beyond recognition. Believe me, you want to live long enough to enjoy the proceeds of your medical practice.

But truth is that the crime rate in Nigeria is not apocalyptic as is often portrayed; it is over-hyped. I know this wouldn't sound nice to anyone that has been a victim, but it's the truth. I hear about violent muggings and robberies on the dark streets of London and New York but you Diasporeans tend to downplay those. Come' on. I believe in destiny: if it's meant to be, you will die by a robber's bullet even in a paradise like Luxemburg, while someone else in 'hellish' Lagos wouldnt even hear a gunshot throughout his lifetime. Thats life for you, one can't escape the inevitable.

Anyways, there are so many neighbourhoods in Lagos that have NEVER been robbed. I've lived (largely) in Lagos since the 1980s and I've NEVER WITNESSED a robbery in my estate or anywhere else for that matter, let alone be victim of one. I only get to 'hear' about it through word of mouth and in the newspapers. Ain't saying that its my own doing, its God's grace I know. But my point is: if you want to relocate to Lagos, try as much as possible to set up home in a gated estate - it significantly reduces chances of being robbed at home. For example, I'm familiar with Shonibare Estate in Ikeja (adjacent Sheraton Hotel) and I know there hasn't been a robbery there for @ least 15 years. Real estate there is quite pricey like Lekki, but many smaller, less expensive neighbourhoods in the Ikeja area also have similar levels of relative peace. Examples include Wemabod Estate (near Adeniyi Jones), Akinola Cole (in Adeniyi Jones), MKO Gardens (Alausa), and a lot of mini-estates off the Opebi-Allen Axis. All these places are gated and somewhat controlled environments with pretty impressive levels of safety, peace and quiet. With N20-N50m you should get a decent property in some of these areas and live in relative security. At least you would only have to worry about robbers when you hit the road (in traffic, in a 'joint', or elsewhere), and not in the sanctuary that your home should be.

ftmom:

In almost a year of living in Naija now, have only heard of one armed robbery incident on the island and I heard it on Nairaland. A lot of night-crawlers say there are lots of police checkpoints at night all over the island to protect the club market and keep the patrons alive and coming.

Personally, home by 10pm at the latest cos I don't take chances.

On the mainland, honestly have no idea what it's like, perhaps someone else can advise

Security has generally improved in Lagos. Almost everywhere you go at night, island or mainland, there are scores of patrols.

buzugee:

like you said he ran out of bullets that was his downfall. me myself ? i will have enough bullets to take on a small country bullets are cheap. i will order them by the caseloads from walmart dem no born the armu robber well.

oh yeah what happened to john brown ? he won the battle but lost the war. he got hanged by the USA government for treason

You, my friend, have been watching too many episodes of The Unit, or is it 24?