₦airaland Forum

I have some money, like N100k I wish to drop into fixed deposit. How lucrative is it? And which bank will be best suitable this 2019?

Champora:
I was just checking for information too on Ethiopian visas. I came across this Ethiopian visa site >> https://www.evisa.gov.et << and it claims to be the main visa application website and on it, visa fees for tourists (30 days visit) cost $52. The site also mentioned not to make visa applications to this site >> https://www.ethiopiaevisa.com.

Wow, i made inquiry from Ethiopian Airline here in Naija and i was told the visa is $52. that means the other site charged me higher. Thanks for the research. Would be more careful next time

My Sister’s Remark on Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a very great country with warm and friendly people. Amharic and English is their official Language. Over 90% of their populations are practicing Jewish religion. They have a viable middle class. They’re contented with what they have, living a normal, simple and comfortable lifestyle. They’re not too religious or forming “Holier than thou”. Dem no dey form, Dem dey real and accommodating. And dem too dey fine.
Sis said Ethiopians treat people with respect, and workers do their jobs without expecting any tip from customers. Almost all the shops she entered, the customer services were top notch.
Sis said their fabrics/clothes are expensive but of low quality. That means the prices of their clothes is not directly proportional to the quality.




My Sister’s Remark on South Africa

South Africa is beautiful but the people are quite relaxed compared to Nigerians. Maybe because our environmental condition here is too harsh.
Sis said, from what she saw and what locals are saying, she believes the crime rate in S.A is higher than that of Nigeria. Their pick pocket there is legendary and aggressive. The tour guild was always with them to direct the routes for smooth security protection.
Sis said she had a conversation with some locals (South Africans) about Nigerians living in S.A. They said Nigerians living in S.A are nice, aggressively hardworking and friendly people. They don’t have any problems with them. Most of the weird things we hear about Nigerians in S.A are mostly Zimbabweans and Malawians who commit those crimes but would instigate the name of Nigerians. Some of the locals said the Zimbabweans are really giving them problems. Sis was surprised because it was quite different from what we see and hear on the news.
Sis enquired about xenophobic attacks on Nigerians. Some of the locals said that it’s mostly lazy South Africans who engage in xenophobic act on other nationals. Because Nigerians are good entrepreneurs and business people, in trying to take over the successful shops and businesses of other African nationals, xenophobic attacks are instigated, thereby chasing those nationals away while they take over their businesses.
Sis said the S.A government is now encouraging entrepreneurship. The buying and selling community over there is viable. No wonder many Nigerian business people in S.A are often successful. According to sis, “If you open market for S.A, you go sell because everything dey sell.

<<<<The end>>>



Thank you for joining me. you can follow me on IG @ozorchristian for more stories

Sis and couple of tourists enjoyed a mini Johannesburg city tour on a metro bus.
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She left Johannesburg on Sunday for Addis and from Addis, back to Abuja on Monday 31/12/2018.
Watch Video of the city tour...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jc40zfofRc

More photos at the church..

Sunday morning, 30/12/2018, Sis and her friend found their way to one of the RCCG churches in Joborg for Sunday service.
They had an amazing time in the Church and the presence of the Lord.
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Follow me on IG on..... @ozorchristian

More photos

More photos..

Still in Johannesburg, Sis met so many tourist from so many countries who came on Christmas vacation in SA.
Sis and her friend joined the metro bus with other tourists as they took a mini tour of Johannesburg.

NOTE: will be uploading the video of their city tour on my YouTube channel tomorrow.
For now, enjoy some of the photos of their city tour.

ednited:
I have been watching the video. . .

The statue at sidist kilo is call 'sematat hawelt'
which means 'Matrys statue'

That statue was made at the time of Empeor Haileselassie to remember those who died fighting the Italy fascist. At Ethiopian national patriots day, that place is going to be filled with ceremony. The statue is one of the figure which explains Addis Ababa.


And also there is Christmas in Ethiopia. We celebrate it on January 7, it isn't that we don't have a break for this holiday. The driver doesn't seem English speaker that is why. . . .

Tell that to your sis. But I bet she had more days in Addis, there are millions of things she haven't enjoyed here

Beautiful. Ethiopia is a great country with rich culture, that was why I recommended it to her. Surely, she enjoyed herself and would visit again.

More photos..

Saturday, Sis went for shopping with couple of friends. I Guess she enjoyed herself so well . Shopping in SA is quite expensive.
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South African ladies are pretty and fascinating.
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majesticme1:
Mr Bamanger,can you please ask your sister her perspective about Ethiopia as per migrating there,if it's a place to relocate to and venture into business than staying back here in naija.

Okay, will do that..

More photos.

Photos...

More photos from soweto,

One of the sweetest and fun memories of traveling adventures and experience is the one you have with a company. Sis met some Nigerian families who came from Nigeria to Johannesburg for Christmas holiday. They all lodged in the same hotel. Sis bonded so well with one of the ladies. She found a perfect company for her city tour.
According to sis, Johannesburg is more beautiful, well organized and environmentally reserved than Abuja. I totally agree with her on that.
So sis and her new friend went out on a mini city tour. They visited Soweto, an urban settlement in Johannesburg. They visited the Nelson Mandela National Museum, commonly referred to as Mandela House in Soweto.
Personally, I admire how South Africans are able to preserve their heritage, beautiful artifacts and treasures in their museum, which has been able to attract millions of tourists to that destination

More photos of Joborg..

Finally sis enjoyed her stay in Addis Ababa. She left Addis for Johannesburg on 27th.
Addis Ababa to Johannesburg is 5h 30m flight. The name of their currency is South African Rand. [1 Rand = N25.36].
Sis landed in O.R Tambo Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa 12 noon. She was picked up to her hotel. She really loved her hotel. Not too far from the Airport, and literally close to the city center ���.

Follow me on IG @ozorchristian

majesticme1:
Sire,can you share the Ethiopian visa application link with us,also how much did it cost?Thanks.

https://www.ethiopiaevisa.com

Cost is $99

chukxie:
Nice! I'm here for the photos. I wish your sister a beautiful, fun filled vacation.

Thanks.. Don't worry, you will see more photos..

Follow me on Instagram to see more photos and videos @ozorchristian

Few minutes later I got some photos and videos of sis inside a cab . "Where to?" I asked. She said she's headed to their local market for explore, sightseeing and some shopping.
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Few minutes later sis dropped some videos and photos of her at a local shop. Sis said her cab driver passed by Addis Ababa university and American embassy on her way back from the local store. The driver asked her to stop recording when they got to the American embassy. As usual, no external cameras/recordings in most embassies and high commission. Ethiopian people are very friendly and reserved, unlike we Nigerians that are bit loud. ��.
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Watch the video of her mini tour of Addis


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k30f3T2_Enk

Lookandlaugh:
Hello bamangar,

Can you pls tell me the name of the hotel used by your sister,because you said something about the proximity of the hotel to the airport,that made me have an interest in lodging in the hotel.
Because I will be visiting ethiopia very soon.
Thanks.

Caravan Hotel

More photos

Photos of breakfast served

Photos of Ethiopian currency..

7:50pm Nigerian time, same day while I was on the road returning from a friend's place, I got a Whatsapp call from sis, telling me she's landed and already in her hotel room in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She sent me couple of photos of her hotel room. She said immediately they landed, immigration stamped her passport, authenticating her visa. Then she changed 200 USD to their Ethiopian currency as she headed to the hotel's restaurant to have dinner. She had Chicken salad for dinner before going to bed.
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Next morning, I asked her about the country and their government. In her words, " Ethiopia is a pretty nice country but experiences bad governance like Nigeria, and transportation is expensive", �. I slightly disagreed with her over some issues she talked about concerning the country. Why? Because she has only been there for roughly like 14 hours. It takes longer time to know a place.
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Huge population of the people are mainly into Jewish religion. So as we dey celebrate Christmas for here, nothing dey happen for there. Ethiopian Christmas day na every January 7th.
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Sis said Ethiopia currency is "Ethiopian Birr" and $1 = 28 Ethiopian Birr official exchange rate. But in black market is $1 to 32 Ethiopian Birr. 1 Ethiopian Birr =12.93 Nigerian Naira.
Sis went to have her breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. Breakfast; cinnamon juice with homely cake, banana bread, fruits, and coffee.
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A week to her departure, I needed to get in touch with the hotel I booked for her in Ethiopia to provide a cab to come pick her at the Airport. I would have done that while booking her hotel, but unfortunately sis was indicisive on some issues so I left that pending. So after issues was sorted out, I decided to call them for the provision of cab. I didn't know the kind of demon that pushed me to use my mobile number to call them. Barely 45 seconds I called, almost all my airtime gone.. "fiam". I heard, "you have one minute remaining".. Nibo niyen �.. How come?? How manage. Credit wey I just load now now �. I checked my balance and it was 0.02 Naira. And we haven't even had the main conversation yet. Na so I reach out to dem via online connect. I sent them my sis flight number. They said they would send a cab to come pick her at the airport to the hotel.
Her hotel was an exquisite one and 10 minutes drive from the airport.
25th December, 2018, sis flight to Ethiopia was 1:20pm. I came over and we took her to Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport. She has traveled by aeroplane couple of times but still maintains she has slight phobia for heights ��. We encouraged her.
There's this sweetilicious travel culture Nigeria has. "As a Nigerian, You cannot travel somewhere and return empty handed, you must buy something for your people" . I told her to buy me Ethiopian coffee/tea. I admit having sugarcoated mouth, in sustaining the sugar mouth, I asked her to buy me chocolates in S.A �����.
Ethiopia is 2 hours ahead of Nigeria. From Abuja to Addis is 4hrs & 15mins. Lagos to Addis is 5hrs & 20mins.
Few minutes later, we left the airport after getting a Whatsapp message from her that she's been checked in. I went to hang out with friends while I thought about 2019 and how Atiku and Buhari would slug it out at the polls.
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7:50pm same day while I was on the road returning from a friend's place, I got a Whatsapp call from sis....

Kindly follow me on Instagram : @ozorchristian to get more pictures and videos of the adventure.. I follow back too

I applied for Ethiopian tourist E-visa online for her, paid and few hours later they sent me an email that visa was granted. I was sent the E-copy too, which I gave to sis. Ethiopia is Visa on arrival for all AU member citizens. It’s either you apply in your host country for e-visa or you do that at Addis Ababa at their immigration section at the airport. But I chose to do the application here in Nigeria, to be easier and faster for sis when she gets to Addis.
I booked her hotel in Ethiopia, cancelled the S.A hotel reservation due to the inclusion of Ethiopia in her itinerary and change of dates. I rebooked the S.A hotel with new dates.
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According to the booking, she would arrive Ethiopia on 25/12/2018, spend 2 days in Addis then leave for Joborg where she will spend few days. On returning, she would spend a day in Addis before finally returning to Nigeria.
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Few days later, sis changed some Naira notes to USD in preparations for her trip. She planned on spending 1000 USD. She also informed her bank on possible transaction using her ATM card over there.
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One of Sis former colleague who’s now based in US reached out to a family friend in S.A to see if they can keep Sis a bit warm for a fun stay in Joborg. But unfortunately the family was already in Lagos to celebrate the Christmas. But they promised to make available couple of people to come take her on tour of Joborg city.
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We became worried because it was going to one month of submission, and time was running. “At least if they didn’t give, passport should be returned”, my thought.
I was in my office, as I picked up my phone to call the embassy, my boss sent for me. I dropped my phone to answer my boss. When I got back, I saw a missed call from Sis, I left it, hoping to call her back when I was less busy. I also forgot calling the S.A embassy concerning the status of Sis application.
By evening Sis called, telling me she got a call earlier in the day from S.A embassy. She said they asked her series of questions like what she would be going to S.A to do, accommodation details. And she gave the best answer to the best of her knowledge. I guessed that was why she called earlier to inform me.
3 days later, in the night, Sis got a call from S.A embassy visa officer. The V.O wanted to clarify some movement of funds in my sister’s account. Sis gave explanations to the best of her knowledge. After the call, me sef don dey vex. If dem wan give visa, make dem give her. Which one be say dem go dey call person for weekend.
Two days later, which was a Monday after, sis got a text message from VSF to come collect her passport. She was a bit nervous. 2 days later I was in the office when she called to inform me that she was given the S.A visa. I was happy for her. Destination S.A loading……. Next day she said she was still interested in spending couple of days in Addis Ababa before going to Johannesburg. I had to find a way to fit in Ethiopia destination to her itinerary within the N500,000 budget.

For this course and trip, I became her official travel agent. She said she wants to spend seven (7) days in S.A and budgeted N500,000 for the trip. The N500,000 is for her visa processing, accommodation in S.A, Return ticket and airport transfer in S.A.

Mid October, I downloaded the South African Visa form from VSF website. I went for tourist visa as required.
Part of the requirements is accommodation & flight reservation I helped her with flight reservation, booked a suitable hotel not too far from the Airport in Johannesburg. Since she had plans on visiting some notable sight attractions and do some shopping, I made sure the hotel I booked was close to the taste of her demands.

On the 30th of October, 2018, after filling the visa application form, I went for submission at the VSF office in Abuja which is not far from my office. At the VSF office they requested that the person traveling, which is my sister should be the one submitting the visa application and other
documents herself. I called Sis and explained things to her. She finally did the submission the next day. She got a text message that her application has been moved to South African embassy from VSF in which the time duration is a minimum of 15 working days. And the wait began.
Two weeks later, since she’s using Ethiopian Airlines (ET) and the airline would stop at their hub, Addis Ababa before heading to Johannesburg. She suggested if it’s possible for her to spend extra days in Addis, Ethiopia before going to Johannesburg. I told her it was possible, but let’s wait till we conclude the S.A process. "Sis wants to still chop life in Ethiopia ����
4th week of November, after more than 15 working days given by S.A Visa office for Visa processing had elapsed, still no call or text message from the embassy on the status of Sis application..

" Nawa oooo, Abi S.A Don start this their wahala!!!!! " We thought to ourselves... And time was running

Early September, 2018, I was on my own Jeje-ly when my sister called and asked if I will like to go on Christmas vacation with her . I was so happy, at least spending Christmas and new year celebration in Oyibo man's land. Sis asked me to make a list of 2 destinations.. Na so my head swear up like pop corn. "So I can decide to add the moon to the destination and we will visit there". .

I made a list of Vancouver, Canada and Belgium as the sweet spots. But sis refused.she preferred African continent for now." Choiii! Wey me Don dey buuga say I wan enter Canada go flex". Wey I Don almost dey use Canada dey make mouth na im sis just shatter my heart.