₦airaland Forum

I did not ask you how long Alex had been in the game. Please listen to the two singers singing the same song and say which you you prefer. Thanks.

Both versions are good but I have to support my girl Alex.

Good morning, Good Morning feat NeYo


Brandy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNPlQRRi3Zo




Alex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxONBUeA5rU

WOW! She looks about 70 in that pic. RIP Great Great Great Granny!!

chris_j:
Thanks for reply. The issue is the place of birth - I was born in the UK and that is on my British passport.

If I go for a dual nationality passport in the UK then it will state that I was born in the UK. However, if I decide to get a Nigerian passport when I travel to Nigeria, I wonder whether I will need to put place of birth as UK. I fear it might complicate things and make getting the passport less straightforward.

It is not an issue of cost but time and the requirements in terms of guarantor that has to be a Nigerian passport holder and the person also has to sign an affidavit and declare wealth status etc. Dealing with the Nigeria High Commission in London is a pain!

Poster

There is no such thing as a 'dual nationality passport'. A person who claims dual status holds two passports and not a joint one.   
Also, your POB is a fact and doesn't change for different passports so even if you were born on MARS, official documents will always state that you were born on MARS.
If you do decide to get a Nigerian passport then don't create issues for yourself by stating that you were born in a place different to where you were actually born or different to what it says on your British passport. That would be an immediate red flag to the authorities. Imagine going through Heathrown or MM with a British Passport stating that you were born in the UK and a Nigerian one stating that you were born in Lagos? How would that work?

Brush your teeth thoroughly for about 5 mins each morning and night with an extra effort made on the back molars and tongue. (Sometimes it is the tongue that is the issue and not your teeth).

Chew sugar free gum after each meal if you are unable to brush during the day. It is important that the gum is sugar free and preferably minty. Gum with sugar it will eventually erode your teeth and make the breath problem worst.

As someone else suggested, floss often to get rid of food stuck between your teeth. If you can’t get hold of floss then try tooth picks but floss is better.

What do you want to know?

British passports are only given to British Citizens.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/WhoiseligibleforaBritishpassport/DG_174145

An individual who claims dual nationality will normally hold two separate passports, one for each country. From your post above I get the impression that you think there is one passport that states your dual status; not so.

If you born outside Nigeria and can prove you were then the Place of Birth (POB) on the Nigerian passport should state so. My Sister was born in London and had a Nigerian passport which stated her POB as 'London'. My Dad also had a British passport and his POB was stated the town in Nigeria where he was born.

Another note: I don't have a Nigerian passport but I have heard that if you leave the country with your Nigerian passport ought to have the 'right of abode' for the UK stamped on it if you have any plans of coming back. I don't know if it is true but it is worth checking out.

You may be able to pay someone on the Nigerian end but Airlines in the UK will not even allow you to board if you don't have the relevant authority i.e. visa stamped in your passport. You are best advised to spend a day at the embassy getting a visa otherwise you are only going to incur more costs and stress when you are not allowed to board the flight.

Nigerian and UK teachers swap notes

By Tomi Oladipo
BBC News, Lagos

A group of six teachers from different schools around England recently visited Enugu in eastern Nigeria for a week, teaching in schools there.

It is part of a scheme organised by the British Council to connect primary and secondary schools in Nigeria with ones in England.

The first teachers to take part have already learned some interesting lessons about their respective educational styles, cultures and traditions.

VERONICA NWAFOR

We had one of the teachers from the UK in our school [Independence Layout Junior Secondary] and honestly I must say I'm highly amazed about her teaching methods.


She applied a learner-centred teaching method, where the teacher is no longer on the stage, but is now a facilitator who stands on the side and leads the class in interactive learning.

The children really opened up, even though it was the first time they had been exposed to such teaching methods.

The learning environment was made conducive with the use of postcards and pictures, and giving the students writing materials.

This is all very motivational for the children.

Bigger classes

Another difference between our teaching styles is that we give the students information through writing notes, while the UK teacher brought in the aspect of using computer-generated instructional materials.


“ I was very impressed that whatever school I went to the national anthem was sung ”
Collette Cotton

Here we don't have the resources to be able to work on that level.
In the UK these teachers might deal with classes of about 25 to 30 students, while over here our classes can have up to 50 students.

And it would be difficult to cater at that level for the needs of each individual student so we have to take a more general approach.

But if we're able to get enough computers which are also linked to the internet, then we would definitely do better.

Our students are eager to learn and they are doing very well right now, so I can only imagine how much better they would do if we had adequate resources in place.


COLETTE COTTON

I've come over [from St Mary's Church of England Primary School in Kent] to experience what life is like in schools in Nigeria.


I noticed that in the Nigerian schools the children seem to stay in their seats all day long without any interaction.
Here we had to introduce the children to a much more interactive method of children, which at the start they found very difficult to understand.

I'm not sure whether that was because I was the first white person they had seen, or because we didn't quite understand each other's accents.

But they later became much more interactive and expressive, especially when I brought out a laptop and crayons.

Victorian methods

I think the resident teachers might have thought I was someone from another planet, because they seemed to be so strict, and their interaction with the children is completely different.

It's more like our old Victorian methods.

I do think there is quite a lot to learn from the Nigerian schools.

I was very impressed that whatever school I went to the national anthem was sung.

That seems to have disappeared from our own culture back in the UK.

Also the discipline among the children here in Nigeria is good, although I think it needs to move with the times.

They have very little but they could make so much more of it.

Classrooms could perhaps be painted and tidied, and the children should be encouraged to be part of this as well.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/8113373.stm

Published: 2009/06/24 09:53:57 GMT

© BBC MMIX

JustGood:
The fact that some people pelted him with eggs and attacked him still does not remove the fact that he won votes. You think no one voted for him?

Do you know why every election comes with immigration discussions? Go and find out if you have ever been close to any British politician. They might be able to tell you that many ordinary white people that they meet on the doorsteps complain about immigrants.

Everyone talks about immigrants when it comes to Britain because it is an Island. I even talk about immigrants too however I am far from racist. The BNP however take it to another level talking about the desire to deport ethnic minorities whose ancestors have been in Britain for centuries and that even mixed raced individuals can not be British. As I said a handful of people voted for them and a mere handful of people compared to the majority of the country is inconsequential.

The BNP are not a new party and as have existed for over 50 years. Point being, if they were really in a position to claim a majority in parliament then they would have done so long ago. You can waste your time focusing on the racist few and shivering in your pants because the BNP have managed to scrape enough votes together to get a couple of seats in the European parliament but it really is a non-issue to me. It is like me worrying each time I go to America about the KKK.

The BNP in Brussels will be interesting, remember this is a party that can't stand anything non-British including other Europeans and even want Britain to leave the EU so it will be interesting to see how they handle themselves there.

JustGood:
Whoever told you that your naturalised citizenship cannot be withdrawn from you?

How do you know that they are a naturalized citizen?

The BNP are inconsequential. So what they won a couple of seats? Nick Griffin was still pelted by rotten eggs when he tried to hold a conference outside the house of Parliament on Tuesday by the majority white crowd. And the next day he was hiding out for dear life in Manchester after an angry mob with more rotten eggs waited for him to give another talk. Lol

The racist bigots of Britain are a minority and not worth discussing.

Well if she chooses to be transferred to Britain then the child will stay with her for six months before being released into the custody of her mother or other close relative.

Breaking news: Samantha has been jailed for life. This is very sad but I hope this serves as a lesson to others. Hopefully she will get to spend her sentence in Britain. Britain will probably release her after she has done 20-odd years in jail which is better than not leaving the prison sentence at all.

Lagosboy:
What has the place of education got to do with this issue. Education is education. Talking about Africans been first generation is not strictly true as most africans are now well into the 2nd generation especially africans born here in the 80's.

You must be having a laugh at this. I have travelled and lived in every single region of this country from London to the North west to Teeside in the North East , Cumbria, South east and west, East and west midlands, Inverness, Shetlands and oarkeny , currently in Aberdeen, Scotland. I tel you there are some towns you will struggle to find a single black. Travel to a place called cambellstown in scotland and tell me if there is a single black there not to talk of black councillors. I probably think you meant councillors in london otherwise your statement is absolutely false.

Carrebean politicians outnumber blacks because of the reasons in my earlier posts. They were here first simple!!!

I agree. The country is over 90% white while Black people are a measly 2% if that. Anyone with basic maths skills would be able to figure out there wouldn't be enough Black people with skills to fill councillor posts around the country given these figures.

Most Black Mps and other government officials are of Caribbean origin. Nigerians have been in the UK almost as long as Carribeans but tend to always look back to Nigeria instead of integrating into the wider society like the Caribbeans do and so their aspirations are not here in the UK, again unlike the Caribbeans.

There are still some places in the UK where a black person would be treated as a novelty because one had not been seen in those parts before.

I loved little Natalie. Had she been allowed to sing the song (Gotta be strong by Desree)that she wanted instead of that crap Jamelia song she would have won. Obviously the producers didn't want her to outshine overrated Susan Boyle. Hopefully Natalie will be back next year, aged 11 to do us proud.  .Her Dad is a Nigerian, I think.

Why did Shaheen sing that gay song? He totally butchered it.

blackspade:
Here are the sources for what I said in bold:

"There is a large Nigerian community in the UK, estimated to be between 800,000 and 3 million, while up to 4,000 Britons live in Nigeria."

[url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=OHg2eXlVMykC&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158&dq=ghanaians+in+britain&source=web&ots=knW4G-kGSk&sig=x7VS5SdrxhGde_-Tl4A8c1LRHl0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA159,M1]"However, estimates suggest that the number of Ghanaians who are officially registered with the Ghana High Commission in London is about 1.5 million."[/url]

You do realise that the foreign office figure is just an estimation right? There is a wide gulf between 800k and 3 million and for the Foreign office to not give an exact figure shows that they don't have a clue either.

The only accurate source is the 2001 census and even though that is 8 years old it is still relevant. That census states that there are less than 2 million Black people in the whole of the UK and given that the population as a whole has grown by about 3% since 2001 the figure for black people (Nigerians included) should now be over 2 million.

There are more Asians, Kenyans and Caribbeans in London than there are Nigerians. Of  course if one spends all their time in places like Woolwich, Peckham et al they would get the impression that the UK is at least 50% Nigerian but that is simply not the case.

SeanT21:
I find it hard to believe that blacks in the UK make just over 3% of the population.

Wikipedia is not always right!!

Have you been to the UK before? I ask because some of your responses on Nairaland concerning the UK always seen to imply that you are the be all and know all of my country when really you are just another African immigrant in the US.

Flawless, please don't disappoint!

Then we agree to disagree.

OMO IBO:
gosh, chill out ma'am.

i said, the chances of this happenning to a nigerian that grew up in Nigeria is very very low, prolly next to nothing.

you choose to see and respond to posts that best suits you.

I say you are wrong and I have provided links and articles to prove that your statement was based on nothing but bs based on patriotism. Many Nigerians young and old in Nigeria are desperately involved in the drug trade as mules. As mentioned previously the only reason Samantha Orobator is getting press is because she is now a British citizen because there are tons of Nigerians on drug mule charges in foreign prisons with some currently awaiting death row yet no-one is discussing their case on the internet.

So essentially you are saying that there are no 20 year old Nigerians born and bred who have been caught in the drug mule business?

What about Amara Tochi who was exceuted in Singapore aged 21?

Lagosboy:
I am happy that this girl is now British as if she had still been Nigerian she would rot in that jail with no one knowing anything about her.

My sentiments exactly!

haha you're funny.
Age has nothing to do with it. The article is below is about a 12 year old child who lives in Nigeria but was recruited as a drug mule. Do you think he is the only one? You stay there and revel in your ignorance.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-109557/Drug-mule-aged-12.html

[size=20pt]Drug 'mule' aged 12[/size]

by DANIEL JEFFREYS, Daily Mail

Add to My Stories A boy of 12 who flew thousands of miles carrying heroin worth £700,000 in his stomach was recovering in hospital last night after surgeons removed the containers.
Police in New York said the boy, a U.S. citizen who had been living with grandparents in Nigeria, is one of the youngest drug 'mules' they have ever seen.
He was only caught because his body began to pass the condoms the drug was hidden in while he was in a taxi.
Doctors who removed the remaining 'packages' from his colon said he would have died if one had burst.
Police said the boy, Prince Nnaedozie Umegbolu, made the dangerous journey because he wanted to see his mother, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He was to be paid £1,200.
His father, Chukwunwieke Umegbolu, is in prison in Virginia for drugsmuggling.
The boy's journey began in Nigeria where drug smugglers gave him the condoms to swallow.
He then travelled alone to London by Air Nigeria before flying on to New York by British Airways.
At JFK airport, a BA official helped him find a taxi, which took him to an address in Brooklyn, but no one was there to meet him.
Taxi driver Ronald Manning said Umegbolu then asked to be taken to La Guardia, New York's domestic airport, where he said he had arranged to meet a woman in the Delta Airlines terminal.
But when she didn't show up, Manning asked two police officers what he should do with his young passenger and was told to take him to the Port Authority Police, who would contact his mother.
However, he said: 'On the way there, the kid gets real uptight. He said: "We really don't have to go to the police''.'
Manning said he then asked the boy: 'Are you a runaway? Do your parents know where you are?'
He said Umegbolu told him: 'My parents don't know where I am. It's worse than that.'
He then began to groan in pain and started to pass some of the condoms in the back seat of the taxi.
Manning, fearing the child could die, took him straight to the police.
He said the boy told him: 'All I wanted to do was come to the States. All I want is to see my mom.'
Investigators are now trying to discover from whom the boy got the drugs and to trace his contacts in the U.S.
District attorney Richard Brown said: 'International drug trafficking has reached a new low in exploiting a 12-year-old boy by making him smuggle heroin into the United States in this way.
'The true criminals in this terrible case are the cold-hearted and greedy dealers of death who risked a child's life.'
Last night British Airways denied any responsibility for the case.
It said: 'We would never knowingly carry a passenger who we believe or know is in unlawful possession of drugs or under the influence of drugs.
'We would refuse the suspected passenger travel at the check-in.'
It added that because its policy is that children over 12 can travel as unaccompanied passengers, it was unlikely that Umegbolu had any special supervision.
Younger passengers are monitored by cabin staff during the flight.
However, law enforcement officials in the U.S. say the policy operated by international carriers makes it easier for drug smugglers to use children as mules.
They say it would be better if everyone under 18 was under special supervision.

Are you kidding me? There are plenty of Nigerians caught up in messes like this. Check the prison population of countries like China or Singapore for instance. Nigerian drug mules are not scarce believe me.

Please do your research and stop spewing ignorance. Google is free and there for you to use at will.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Nigerian+drug+mules&meta=&aq=f&oq=

I am not missing anything. Again if she had not become a British citizen and gotten caught up in this mess as a Nigerian then this very thread and the headlines that had made the world about this story would not exist. There are tons of Nigerians currently on death row in Asian prisons for drug offences. Ladies too, who like Samantha have been taken advantage of by the guards and are currently pregnant and still facing the death penalty.But sadly no one is taking up for them like they are Samantha.

OMO IBO:
you are missing something ma'am. if she was the Nigeria, the chances of this mess happening would have been next to nothing.

mikeansy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/athletics/7569859.stm

Kobojunkie

I think the above is the point Aloy.Emeka was making.

Why did BBC not remind us of Christine Ohurugo's origin?

There is no point arguing for the sake of it

Ohuruogu was born and brought up in East London [/b]and even when she missed several drug tests and was banned from competing her origin wasn't mentioned.
Samantha Orobotor came to [b]England just 12 years ago, aged 8. Her origin is worth mentioning if you ask me.

Here is another British article where her origin is not mentioned and she is referred to as a Briton but her birthplace isn't mentioned.

Pregnant British woman Samantha Orobator facing death by firing squad in Laos
A pregnant British woman, Samantha Orobator, is facing death by firing squad for smuggling heroin in what campaigners describe as a "hasty show trial" in Laos.


By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:16PM BST 01 May 2009
Samantha Orobator: Pregnant British woman facing death by firing squad in Laos
Samantha Orobator became pregnant in unknown circumstances in December Photo: PA

Miss Orobator, 20, from London was arrested last August at Wattay airport in the south east Asian country.

Prosecutors claim she had 680 grams (1.3lb or 21 oz) of heroin in her luggage.

According to the legal campaign group Reprieve she has not met a lawyer since she was arrested 9 months ago but it is believed that she denies the drugs were hers.

Under Lao law the death penalty is mandatory for possession of over 500 grams of heroin. At least 39 people have been sentenced to death for a variety of offences since 2003.

On Thursday, without warning or explanation, the government of Laos rescheduled Miss Orobator's trial for next week, but they have still not announced which day the case will begin.

A statement by Reprieve said: "By scheduling her trial for next week, the Laos court has made it impossible for any lawyer to prepare an adequate defence,  Samatha's life now hangs in the balance." The fast tracking of the trial came as the Lao authorities knew that a lawyer from Reprieve was preparing to meet Miss Orobator for the first time.

"Laos appears to be acting in a way that frustrates Samantha's right to appropriate legal assistance," Reprieve concluded.

Miss Orobator became pregnant in unknown circumstances in December, four months after she was arrested. "It is not possible to confirm whether she was raped," Reprieve said.

"The prison where she is being held in Phonthong is meant to be all female, but this is apparently not the case."

Reports of the notoriously abusive Phonthong prison describe "highly unsanitary" conditions, inadequate rations and severe punishments for supposed breaches of discipline.

Reprieve said: "Samantha is severely distressed, and Reprieve has grave concerns for her health and that of her unborn child." Another British prisoner, Michael Newman, died after being reportedly refused medical attention at the same prison last year.

Miss Orobator had been on holiday in Holland, Thailand and Laos for around a month when she was arrested as she began her journey home.

Her friends in London, interviewed by Reprieve researchers preparing her defence, say she had never been involved with drugs.

One of her former teachers said, "She was very popular. I remember she had a bizarre sense of humour. She was very bright,  she always got As and Bs." There is no British embassy in Laos, a communist dictatorship of 6 million people. British diplomats in next door Thailand only learnt of her detention months after she was arrested. Since then she has been allowed to meet a consular official for only 20 minutes every month, always with a guard present.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Bangkok said: "We have been actively engaging with the Lao authorities at a senior level."

In a press conference at Westminster on Friday the human rights lawyer and founder of Reprieve, Clive Stafford Smith, called on Miss Orobator's MP, Harriet Harman, to intervene on her behalf. The foreign minister of Laos is visiting Britain on 7 May. 

It is a shame that it escaped you that in spite of her birth place Samantha is still being referred to as 'a British woman' in the British press and that her case is being supported by the British government. That in itself speaks volumes because had she not left Nigeria aged 8, remained with her father who is still there and gotten caught up in this mess she would have been up to the Nigerian government to try and plead her case and we all know how that would have panned out.





You're right. No point arguing for the sake of it.

I pray Nigeria gets this right because an outbreak in the country would spell disaster. If I were in charge all foreign visitors from the us and mexico would be screened as soon as they landed.

Swine Flu: Nigeria’s Free, Says Osotimehin
05.01.2009

Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin , has come out strong that Nigeria has not recorded any trace of the swine-flu that is spreading fast across the world.
He made this statement during an emergency meeting of stakeholders and partners on Swine Flu in his office.
"So far as at 30th April 2009, Nigeria has not recorded any suspected case of Swine flu and the Federal Government of Nigeria is prepared to contain any outbreak of Swine Flu in the country," he said.
In order to promptly detect and effectively respond to any suspected case, the Ministry has put in place the National Epidemic Preparedness and Response Committee to include State Commissioners of Health among other very important stakeholders.
The WHO case definition with surveillance guidelines and Swine Flu Laboratory guidelines had been disseminated to all States Ministries of Health including clinicians.
The States' Epidemiologists have also been directed to carry out sensitisation activities and conduct surveillance in their various states.
He stressed further that surveillance had been strengthened at all ports of entry into the country and all Federal Port Health Services Officers sensitised and are at alert at all international airports.
Meanwhile, Chief Veterinary Officer of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture , Dr. Junaidu Maina, has said that the Swine Flu is a human disease, as there has been no scientific proof that it is transmitted from pig but from human to human.
The Country Representative of the World Health Organization, WHO has reiterated the WHO's commitment in addressing the possible outbreak of the Swine Flu.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=142272

[size=20pt]

Nigeria on Alert for Swine Flu[/size]
By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
28 April 2009


Nigerian health authorities are on full alert to watch out for possible cases of swine flu in Africa's most populous nation. The government has set up a committee to monitor the situation and co-ordinate with the World Health Organization.

No case of swine flu has been reported in Nigeria, but the country has joined the race to contain the deadly outbreak of the influenza virus.

Health Minister Babatunde Osotimehin says Nigeria is focused on early detection and response in an attempt to check a possible outbreak in the country.

"As we speak, there is no known case of swine flu in Nigeria," said Osotimehin. "But we are not going to wait for it to occur before we take adequate steps. We have constituted a committee that is putting surveillance in place to detect cases if they occur."

The virus is blamed for more than 150 deaths in Mexico. In at least 10 other countries, there have been confirmed or suspected cases, none of them fatal. Several countries are investigating suspected cases.

The World Health Organization called for all nations to "intensify surveillance." The health minister says Nigeria has placed its ports on high alert.

"An alert has gone out to our colleagues at the airports and seaports to look out for this because they will have to come from abroad, since we do not have any case in this country at this point in time," said Osotimehin.

Swine flu is caused by a virus similar to a flu virus that infects people every year, but it is a strain typically found only in pigs, or in people who have direct contact with pigs.

Serious concerns have been expressed about Africa's capacity to deal with a pandemic, given the poor state of health infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria is still grappling with a bird-flu outbreak, years after it was first detected.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-28-voa20.cfm

I weren't feeling those Diversity guys at all. Flawless is obviously in a higher class than them although that they do have the cute factor with the little big haired boy. I really did like the little girl Hollie though. Susan has some stiff competition.

Ah right. No indication but I saw them at an African club one time dancing Makosa. The guys are of Africans and Caribbean orgin and I think the guy who did the triple back flips at the end is Igbo.

cabali:
where is it indicated that they are nigerians?

As indicated in my first post, a couple of them are Nigerians, British Born and raised Nigerians from North London.

SeanT21:
This Susan Boyle lady is really getting on my nerves oo.She's everywhere on the US news!!

I am getting tired of Susan Boyle myself. She needs a makeover ASAP because those eyebrows are distracting and her voice is not that fantastic to the point where they will be ignored. Video killed the radio star eons ago.

Yep, the antics on that show are hilarious!
I liked Shaheen but I thought his performance was staged somewhat with Simon asking him to sing something else before he launched into the Michael Jackson performance. That kind of put me off him. Cute kid though.

Susan was good too but she needs a makeover like now. I would like to see Susan and Flawless in the final with Flawless taking it all the way home. Susan will be alright regardless.