₦airaland Forum

I presume those that had been shouting:

"just keep quiet and don't complain"

"nigerians don't get any better treatment in their own country so they shouldn't complain"

"we don't have a airline of our own so what right do we have to complain about how BA treats nigerians"

can now see that kicking off the complaint has been a worthwhile venture. Now BA realises how badly their finances could be hit if a boycott was indeed started. I don't think BA would have even bothered to come out with this insufficient and 'wisely crafted apology' if the few Nigerians have not been defiant to call for a boycott and kick dust about what happened on that flight.

Moral of the story: Just because you don't have good roads, steady light, incorruptible govt, respectable police force doesn't mean you can't stand up for your rights.

'What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
But what went you out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts' - Luke 7:24-25


Me too I tire o, the lengths folks go to just to show that life in naija is nowhere near their high flying lifestyles wherever they were coming from. Personally the best holidays I've had was when I go to naija. Forget all the heat, the dust,no light, the uncoordinated hustle-bustle, that's what makes naija naija. I go home most times as usual with very little expectations and I normally have the fun of my life. From the lows (eating amala and ewedu at onigbongbo, pounded yam and snail at shitta) to the highs (sipping champagne and caviar at protea back on the island), naija is as good as it can get.

THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), its president, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and a Nigerian citizen, Mr. Ayo Omotade, have dragged British Airways before a Lagos High Court, over the manhandling, molestation and inhuman treatment mated to Omotade, while aboard British Airways, last month for daring to question the inhumane treatment mated out to another Nigeria, being deported to Nigeria from Britain.
Omotade, who had while aboard British Airways, observed the deportation of a Nigerian, who was handcuffed, yet being further restrained and manhandled violently, had gently approached the officers tormenting the deportee and asked them not to kill him.

But was later told to get off the plane and not to travel with the airline because the cabin crew claimed he had been disruptive by questioning the noise being caused by the deportee that was removed.

Omotade, after being prevented from traveling, was later arrested, handcuffed and detained and is being prosecuted in London, over the money found on him, which he was bringing to his family in Nigeria.


Plaintiffs in the suit are further asking the court to declare that the arrest, detention, harassment, humiliation, intimidation, jettisoning, manhandling, molestation, persecution, threatening and tormenting of Omotade on or about March 27, 2008 on board the respondent’s Flight BA075, from London to Lagos without warrant or lawful justification by British police and law enforcement officers, with the assistance, co-operation and support of the officers and crew of the respondent, in the circumstances of this case, are unlawful in the municipal laws of both Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

As well as in international law, and violate Omotade rights guaranteed him by sections 34(1), 35(1), 39(1), 41(1) and 42(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999; articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 16(1), 19 and 23 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and articles 1 to 7, 9, 13 and 28 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.


The court is also asked for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondent, its officers or crew or any of them, whether by themselves, their agents, officers, privies or servants, or otherwise howsoever, from doing or attempting or purporting to do, or letting any authority or person do or attempt or purport to do on the respondent’s flights, any of the following: arresting, detaining, harassing, humiliating, intimidating, jettisoning, manhandling, molesting, persecuting, threatening or tormenting Omotade, or in any other manner contravening the Omotade fundamental rights.

The applicants are contending that the suit is predicated on the grounds that the  respondent’s grievous desecration of the applicants’ fundamental human rights offends not only the municipal laws of the jurisdictions to which the parties respectively belong, but also international law.


Source:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7447&Itemid=43



Damn right about time. For those who think Nigerians should always keep quiet in the face of unfair treatment when overseas 'because they don't get any better treatment in their own country' - think again. And just before you shout 'nothing would come out of it'  - doesn't matter, the important thing is that a precedent is being set and 'they' would think twice now before dishing out unfair treatment to Nigerians.

bluehorizo:
@rasputinn

God bless you. I love the break down and they are so useful. Thanks man.

I couldn't agree with you more. Give it up to posters like rasputinn.  They come out with very informative and well thought out posts that many are bound to find very informative and useful. A very obvious deviation from the normal oner liners - LMAO, na today,  and other mediocre posts that abound on nairaland.

@Prince_onx - while your knowledge on the US visa process is not in doubt, never be in a haste to shout liar-liar for those that make claims you might not be familiar with or think outrightly impossible. No one holds a complete repository to knowledge. You would have asked him for further clarifications before discrediting him.

@Biabeke - always make your postings unambiguous so as not to leave readers wondering what's amiss. It would have taken just another 2 or 3 lines to clarify in your initial posting about getting a green card while applying for a student visa the way you just did in your last posting. And what's the emphasis on your wife's nairaland account, it only take about 5 minutes to create  one for yourself. You sure don't want people confusing your postings with those of your wife.

Just my take on this.

Recognize when politicians makes political statements. I guess this is his indirect way of saying "don't treat all Nigerians visa applicants as potential criminals, there a lot of business travellers with genunine intentions, give them the benefit of doubt rather than take the approach, all-visa-applicants-are-potential-forgers-tricksters-fraudsters-until-they-can-prove-themselves-to-be-otherwise."

Just IMHO

Nice one here. I'm sure Olusegun Adeniyi (the president's spokesman) might be pulling some weight here. 

Remember when he was still at ThisDay and he wrote this article criticising the Britiish High Commission in Lagos of charging visa fees that 'expired and being non-refundable' after 30days of applicants making payment into the bank but was unable to make the interview.   

http://allafrica.com/stories/200705310257.html
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=79603  (thisday archives link - login required)

He seriously questioned how the fees payed into BHC GTB bank account could 'expire' within 30 days when the funds was still in their account and when the services the fees were paid for had not been rendered and moreso when the visa appointment process then was done in such a way that applicants can genuinely pay in the fees into the BHC bank account and end up being unable to secure a visa appointment at the VFS center within 30days.

Left to some 'Nigerians', Segun shouldn't have complained because:

[list]
he would not get better services from the Nigerian High Commission so he has no right to demand such from BHC
he cannot question the sovereignty of BHC as they represent Her Royal Majesty in Nigeria
he should have kept his mouth shut and go along with the flow as Nigerians are well known for their unruly behaviour
Nigerians are treated far worse by fellow Nigerians in their country.
[/list]

But no Segun went ahead and complained anyway. And the result. BHC wrote a rejoinder apologizing to Segun for the personal experience his wife went through (his wife had earlier been subjected to this 'expiring fees' policy when she applied for a visa renewal at BHC) and taking time to clarify that they are now making provisions for applicants with genuine reasons to circumvent the '30-days fees expiry policy.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=79747  (thisday archive link - login required)
http://allafrica.com/stories/200706010763.html


My take on this: The agent of change with regards to how Nigerians are being treated overseas does not necessarily have to start at home and should start anywhere, wherever as the occassion arises. It is not enough to castigate Omotade for standing up for his fellow Nigerian because Nigerians get a worse deal at home. We need to put our foot down with these guys whenever the opportunity presents itself as no one else would do this for us. Remember the saying about the Romans, Greek - when they came for the Romans, I did not complain because I was not a Roman,

Well spotted man. Now the issue would be which is the more credible source. This has been passing round via chain email some months back now as being IBB's house. Well until now.

Living in mates land at the mo' but Lagos is where my heart is.

Eko for sho'

Eko o gba gbere.

Eko wejenle

D'eko ko m'eyo

quoting this baba song:
Ko ma sibikibi ti mo le fori le, ko ma si o, a f'eko ile
Ko ma sibikibi ti mo le fori le, to le dabi eko ile
bi mo ba r'ajo lo london, ma tun pada s'eko ile
bi mo ba r'ajo lo nu'york, ma tun fabo s'eko ile

there's no where I can lay my head, except lagos
there's no where I can lay my head, that would be like lagos
even if i journey to london, i'm bound to return to lagos
even if i journeyed to new york, lagos is where i'll return

If you go come to lagos or passin thru, make sure to open your eyes and sense well well. No love for strangers. Maga gets devoured in a jiffy

Damn I love that state and city. Not even Rio d'Jainero, NY, Bogota can beat the toughness.

Interesting - I've gone through the same video and couldn't detect any grammar or vocab errors. Or is it that he sounds semi-illiterate because he speaks with an accent (a yoruba accent?). Thanks for clarifying anyway.

Really I'm trying to understand Vic and the rationale behind some of his posts but I'm yet to. He seems to have the flair for being the butt of jokes here.

@VicJustice - and again where did you receive this letter from the Greek Authority six months later - at your Ireland or Greek residence? Except you have a 2nd home abroad or,

, anyway I'll wait for your clarifications before jumping to conclusions.

Extreme concentration and high speed driving are mutually exclusive - as long as it's not on a race track. It's like saying you talking on the phone but with extreme concentration while driving, the two don't go together. Why would there be a radar gun record if there was no speed limit then, you should have contested that charge quite easily if this was the case.

No where is really safe in Lagos. Think of it, if armed robbers could dare go to rob a bank, not at night but in broad daylight in heavily built up areas, it would be foolhardy to think that any residential area could be safe.

@Seun - I think a Crime section on nairaland would be quite useful. Let people narrate their local experiences, give tips, raise awareness about crime etc.

@VicJustice

This is the kind of posting that makes Pataki, FB and co come after you. How can you be driving with extreme carefulness when you are breaking the law driving at 226 km/h. Even on German autobahns, it's not sensible driving at that speed. I hate to be hard on you bro but what's the point of this post.

Yeah and I did know you have a BB airgun from your profile. Ooh I'm scared - huh.

And more disturbing were the associated comments. Personally I don't think I'll have any business venturing out to countries where people like those reign free.

mamaput:
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?tab=av&q=nigerian%20passengers%20removed%20from%20british%20airways%20&recipe=all&scope=all&edition=
i watched the tape . the way that man speaks i will never believe he wrote that statement. he must have had a ghost writer.
and i will never sign any paper when it has to do with airlines. the next thing i know is that they will drag me out some place for some reason because am on some black list.
they must have told him the first time to go back to his sit. why do they have to tell him that more than once.
he must have instigated the others.as the ringleader he was the only one arrested.

@mamaput - Just out of curiousity, what's the relationship between the way he speaks and the statement he wrote?

Dead serious. Obviously if you've noticed, they only do this once all passengers are fully boarded. It is actually directed at all the insects (read mosquitoes) they might have brought onboard.

I could recall having having a chat with a virgin hostess about this on a flight and she claimed it is regulatory requirements (regulatory my foot) when their flight is outbound to the UK from a mosquito-prone country (no joke).  I think Fani Kayode read them a riot act and had this stopped while he was the aviation minister but it seems the trend has been continued afterwards.  I would support an action in this regards - who say mosquito no dey UK - go hackney or daltson, you'll see better mosquitoes.

@D-Reloaded
You should have realized by now that there are some 'enlightened' people on narialand that must win every arguement discussion . You have no chance with them because they have something to counter whatever you say. Just visit any thread in which they have a arguement discussion. Sometimes I wonder how different that is from Obj's way of doing things. Be more mature than them and let them have the satisfaction of 'winning'.
[quote][/quote]A very observant one here. Thought I was the only once that noticed. The win-at-all-cost-crew. They can't look good unless they're making someone else look bad.

[quote author=D-reloaded link=topic=126441.msg2154017#msg2154017 date=1208212113]they hide behind passive aggression and throw out insults covered in 'wordplay", like I havent been playing the same game for years.[/quote]Tell me about this. Some self-appointed 'clique' think they hold the key to knowledge here with each post coming with the subtle element of I-know-everything-you-know-nothing; I'm-always-right-and-never-wrong; I-live-abroad-you-live-in-naija-so-you-don't-know-jack; And to crown it all, they try to pass it off in wordplay and some goddamn emoticons - like they don't mean it.

Remind me of Fela song: "English the civilize, Africa is the bush" Abeg make we hear word bo !

rikkyjen:
Who the F%uck is this? and What the F@#$k are you talking about?

Actually, i don't do politics thread, i just strayed into this place and what did i see, a threat?

Is you threathening posters? You forgot, you were once like this posters bickering and contributing on threads.

So because, you were promoted to "class monitor/class captain" you think you can threathen people here.

You better comot that your badge and respect yaself here!

I can understand when you tell them not to digress, Becos i know people here digress and i hate that shyte, but threathening with a lock is totally out of bounds.

Son, life continues after and outside Nairaland. . . . .

My guy - no need to be rude.  You can make your point without all these. Siena is a gentleman and I'm sure possess enough civility to even respond to you.


On the other hand. It is good to see how some posters dey think say na dem get mouth monopoly for this nairaland - yarning opanta most times until they meet their match. 

@D-Reloaded - I can see you sure don't take no bull. Surprising how the loudmouthed go quiet when they meet their match. But please cool down abeg. No need to get yourself banned for these heated arguments.

Tegese:
as for those of you who say there is nothing good about nigeria, are you saying that everything is bad including the people? there is a popular saying in my language it goes thus: "He who says everyone is bad, He is the bad one" he should examine himself because, everyone can't be bad save he.

Just like the age old Paradox of the Liar

Epimenides, a Cretan supposedly said "All Cretans are liars"

Was he lying or was he telling the truth?

pahtahkee:
@ Jackal,

As I keep saying, Give constant 24 hours power supply to the nation, and you will see the rapid development that will shoot out from Nigeria. If there is constant electricity supply in Nigeria, I will personally pack my luggages and head back to Nigeria as soon as possible.

A signficant point as have been also identified by Jackal. But can Nigeria really use this as an excuse. We could as well say:

Give us good road,
Give us good transport system,
Give us good schools,
Give our youths jobs,
Give us assured security,
and let's see if our development won't be dizzyingly rapid.

The problem is just this. Majority of the things provided as basics in some other parts of the well are not provided by the govt here in Nigeria. Not that they can't afford to do but corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. If Ghana there can afford to supply constant electricity, why can't naija.

Anyway one good thing I can point to about Nigeria (or rather Nigerians) is the never say die attitude. How some people manage to survive from day to day is a miracle. You can imagine someone earning like 10k a month, how would that meet his very basic needs. God help Nigeria. And the fools at the top are busy siphoning our billions in phantom power projects.

cmon big bumper - you're going to rant n rave all night about this? - Feel free to continue sha, me I'm going to bed. I'll check up other names you've gotten for me here by tommorrow.

@Bigbumper

Asking you to cite sources on statements made as a matter of fact is good practice and not antagonising you. Factual statements won't always be taken hook line and sinker without sources to back them up. Opposing views are not necessarily antagonistic.

@Pahtahkee
It'll be hard to get offended by anything on nairaland. People take it for granted that blanket statements would always pass without opposing views.

[quote author=big_bumper link=topic=123957.msg2125997#msg2125997 date=1207430484]As a matter of fact, Nigerians are the highest health tourist in UK, the figure given as at 2002 was 1 in twenty NHS user is Nigerian, and if you consider the fact that Nigerians were given visitors visas by the bucketload in 2004, the figure is probably now 1 in 10.[/quote]Always remember to cite your sources!

[quote author=big_bumper link=topic=123957.msg2125988#msg2125988 date=1207430197]ouch [/quote]No need to dig up a storn where there's none.

dnative:
I did presumed I initially understood what you meant to convey - just wanted to clarify if this was otherwise.

If you can read properly - presumption meant I wasn't !00% sure about what the author meant and decide to seek further clarification to see if this was otherwise. Definitely not the same thing as knowing for sure and giving a defacto clarification. I knowingly decided not to make further response to the author's last post as it would border on trivialities.

And you have to bring all this up again. Shame !

I don't see anything wrong with what the poster said. He's simply trying to draw attention to a scam he has identified and preventing people from falling victims. What's the problem with this? Last time I checked, this is still the travel section and the post is in order.

@LondonCool

Would an execption normally be made in a scenario where a holder of a visitors visa deliberately book a childbirth appointment with a private hospital, pays all the fees beforehand and embark upon the trip to the uk with the intention of actually giving birth there and at no expense to NHS or other public funds?

I usually try as much as possible to avoid a confrontational approach which is why I sought clarification in the first instance. It would have suffice to have simply clarified what you meant in the first instance as well as especially when science is not your domain. But when your initial reaction was to further defend a flawed interpretation, my thinking was that the correction need to be made - and purely for informative purposes alone.

I did presumed I initially understood what you meant to convey - just wanted to clarify if this was otherwise. No need we further expand upon trivialities.

Let's not play on words here. The phrase 'DNA fingerprinting' is not the same as the fingerprinting used in the context of taking print samples made by our physical fingers.

DNA sample is a genetic attribute that is seperate from the fingerprints of an individual. This would explain why a DNA sample is taken seperately from a fingerprint - usually from a saliva swab or other body fluids.

The word DNA and fingerprinting are used together in a complementary and associative phrase 'DNA fingerprinting' because taking fingerprints have been the traditional way of uniquely identifying an individual until DNA proves to offer better non-repudation in this respect. Think of it, when a DNA sample is to be taken, fingerprint is rarely what is in mind, otherwise there would be no talk of a separate DNA database in the UK now when there is already a fingerprint database.

Back to the UK government and foreign visa applicants i believe what is being taken is fingerprints as in physical print samples rather than DNA samples. Period.