₦airaland Forum

me2me:
Despite the rising rate of poverty back home, Nigeria’s economic status appears rosy at London’s Heathrow, the busiest international airport in Europe. The Heathrow VIP says Nigerians are the biggest spenders at its luxury shopping section.

A statement issued by Heathrow’s Retail Director, Jonathan Coen, says an average Nigerian guest at the retail shop spends an average of £1,059 (approximately N314,000) per visit.

Coen adds that the VIP retail service has enjoyed a huge patronage from Nigerian visitors since it was thrown open to all business class travellers.

“Heathrow’s VIP was originally designed for dignitaries, such as heads of states. But we recognised that the privacy and exclusivity that we offered was something that many passengers are looking for in their own lives.

“Making the service available to first class and business class passengers, we now provide a quality experience that allows our passengers to enjoy a personalised service and we are delighted to welcome many of these from Nigeria,” Coen says.

According to him, the huge patronage the personal shopping service section has enjoyed from Nigerians and other big-spending guests is responsible for its phenomenal growth since 2013 when it started operation.

Coen explains, “The personal shopping service is incredibly successful at Heathrow, especially with our international passengers. The service started in October 2013 with a five-member team and just over a year, we have grown to 15 for employees who are on hand from the first to the last flight to offer assistance in 38 languages.”

The statement, according to a related report by the International Business Times, is based on a study complied by the management of the airport.

“When it comes to splashing cash in duty-free, it seems that Nigerians do it best,” the business magazine suggests.

Reviewing Coen’s statement, Ventures Africa reports that Nigerian shoppers enjoy the option of being catered for by members of Heathrow VIP staff who speak Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo languages.

Heathrow VIP was founded on the philosophy of giving a memorable experience to travellers transiting through the airport, says the company’s site.

Apart from retail service, it offers private lounges to those who are waiting for departure or connecting flights.

This is not the first time Nigerians would be given a pat on the back for contributing so much to the success stories of business brands in the United Kingdom. The Daily Mail, a London-based tabloid had, some years ago, claimed that Nigerian tourists were seriously competing with Arabs for the top-spender position in the UK retail market.

While people from the Middle East had a particular season for tourism, the newspaper suggested, fun lovers of Nigerian origin were in and out of the UK throughout the year.

Sadly, the rosy outlook of Nigeria abroad, especially in the UK, appears to mock the harsh economic reality at home and the depressing statistics churned out by the World Bank and other research organisations yearly.

For instance, ranking by the World Bank puts Nigeria as the third country with the largest number of poor people.

Other researchers have also put the country’s out-of-school and unemployment figures at rates many analysts have described as frightening.

The Heathrow VIP’s statement is causing a social media backlash. Many social media enthusiasts describe the report as a reflection of the injustice in the country’s economy.

One Lanre Akinola, a tweeter, says it shows “another spending milestone” of the Nigerian elite. He wonders why the rich continue to waste enormous resources outside the country while the majority of the ordinary people ae wallowing in poverty.

Others who commented on Facebook and Twitter say the overseas spending sprees shows how insensitive the few wealthy individuals are to the plight of the poor masses.

Copyright PUNCH.

and madam NOI will tell us our economy is doing fine..who is deceiving who..kis out d clueless government. Gej till 28th of dis month..

Am presently in a situation like this..i won't nd will never fall victim..v bin in dis kind of situation at least 2 to 3 times b4 now and with options of money oo. I will never give in. Because am not sure I will forgive my wife if caught having extra marital affairs..(single though)

Our government is clueless. Jonathan is confused.. probe and send corrupt people to death not cyber criminals.. send those stealing it in millions and billions to death. Cyber criminals are product of bad, clueless.. focus less, confused, corruption ridden government.. its a result of mass unemployment, bad leadership, hopeless government.

charles009:
Hey folks,

I was in uyo yesterday for an event, So we chilled in a popular hotel.

At about 2am, I started hearing loud shout on the next room. The noise lingered to a point that we were beginning to ask questions, if the hotel and clients were aware of the noise.

Suddenly, I heard a loud bang on my door, I opened and a dark skinned tall lady ran in and was screaming they are raping my friend" please help.

So I stepped into the next room and saw two men striping a girl to her panties. I talked to them mildly to stop, the other man screamed back, I have been spending my money on this pig, today is pay day. He oozed of alcohol.

After a little plea, he stopped dragging and the lady ran half nude into my room. She thanked me and told me that they were students of unical, and that she needed money for her birthday. That's why she got involved in this act.

I allowed them to stay since it was just 2 hours till morning. Though I was conscious. At about 6 am my boss summoned me, I hurriedly rushed to his room.

I spent less than 10 mins, believe this, before I returned. These girls had made way with my iPhone, wallet, my gold necklace. I felt really horrible. And to be fair my heart grew heavy with regrets.

My help has now turned to be a curse on me,
I leave them with their conscience, that is they have any.

Be careful folks, be careful.

it's always gud to help though.. but my 1st question for u is dat..why did u go to d next room to help somone u don't even know..my point is u should v called d management. U r not in d position do go confront dos guyz..if they were harmed or had other missions( kidnappers..ritualist) dis case will be far beyond stolen property. Thank ur God for not making u pay d hard way.

mantics:
Pls help rebroadcast until it reaches the
owner. A lost but found credentials belonging
to BALOGUN LATIFAT MOTUNRAYO of
Laspotech, Ijeshatedo annex. Call this
number to reclaim 07040469000.

type dis on facebook..u should get d details of d owner.

Hydropus or no hydropus..jonathan must go..

nurexfutmx:
I lost my job last year december, have been trying to get another job since then but all to no avail. Am getting frustrated by the day cos i don't see any job coming, I was able to save up to 500k during my time in my former workplace. Now, the question is...

1. Am thinking of going for MSc which i may end up spending the whole money on and God forbid, what if i still don't get any job after the programme won't i go back to square one?

2. I'm thinking maybe i could invest in something profitable and start up a little business but i really want to build my career and with that little sum of money i have, i may end up making little or no gain which i could possibly lose lots of money aswell.

3. The third and last one am really interested doing is someone promised me a job in NNPC and he is asking me to pay 300k for a slot there but from experience of what happened to be last year, i lost 150k to a family friend who promised me a job in Nigeria Custom but i end up got scammed. It didn't workout, am trying to avoid such mistake again.

I've always wish to work with a goverment parastatal (a very good one) and i don't mind forfeiting the whole 500k to get it only if i can be rest assured it will workout.

Am really confused and don't know what to do with my life....i need u guys advice please!

save ur 500k nd let's do business..sorry for bin blunt..i had such opportunity but I wont..SSS for that matter.. dis boko haram issh no go make me do mistake..

Calculia:
My step-father sneaked into my room and made love to me
Relationships Tuesday, March 10, 2015
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/my-step-father-sneaked-into-my-room-and-made-love-to-me/

Dear Bunmi,

I AM an undergraduate in one of the universities and I've recently done something really terrible. My mum was a single mother of two for years until she got married to a nice widower last year. The man has just completed his house, so we all moved in with him along with the three children from his first marriage. We had the house-warming party around Christmas and we all had too much to drink. In the night my step dad came over and we made love.

My head cleared in the morning and I've felt horribly guilty ever since. My step dad now carries on as if nothing happened but I feel really guilty and don't know what to do. I don't want mum to know what happened, yet she needs to be aware of the type of maniac she is married to. Please help.

Augusta,

By e-mail.

Dear Augusta,

This is definitely a tricky situation. Your mum will definitely be hurt if you tell her what has happened. In fact, she may be so bent on defending her new found happiness she might choose to trust her new husband and not you. Your best bet is to have a heart to heart chat with your step dad. Tell him how much you love your mum and how you've both betrayed her trust by sleeping together. Then let him realize you're willing to put the ugly incident behind you if he promises it won't happen again.

Sadly, what you've just experienced is not new though that doesn't make it right. If this man breaks his promise and tries again, then you'll have no option than to tell your mum or confide in a trusted member of the family who can effectively intervene.

dear augusta.. ur letter shows how unreasonable u r..d deed has been done..u can never change that..my advice for u if truly u feel guilty about dis and u r sincerely repentant.. confront d man in question..let him know what and how u feel about the whole illicit Sexual fin..but don't forget to have a visual and audio evidence..u never can tell your one on one discussion might boomerang..but this evidence is your life-line not Nairaland.

OXYGEN011:
How can a Ghanaian argue with a mumugerian? That's not even logic. Dogs are even sensible than u fools.Atleast dogs wont be killing themselves like how u fools do.

it's LOGICAL.

OXYGEN011:
We accept the fact that u fools are superior in all the bad n negative things one can ever think of. Armed robbery, foolishness.bombing n killing each other,Terrorism etc

I don't argue with gaynians..i will be stooping so low..my comments r for intellects (Nigerians) not GayTARDS.

GMB till d world seize to existt.

The figures are always 7000..8000..2000.. I have never seen 1050..2003..1956..dats where u can separate truth from lies..just saying..its just my observation.

dandydrey:
If u like print a banner from Lagos to London.. I will still vote GEJ..

#vote_not_fight #vote_wisely

I will vote wisely to end corruption..to vote out incompetence..religious bigoty and cluelessness...i will vote to save my unborn child..i will vote to save d entity called Nigeria from further destruction from a clueless government.. thanks for reminding me to vote wisely..hope u do to.

Lol.u r right..but remember we are all africans.dey shld just accept we r supperior.. [quote][/quote]

talktofemi:
It is only a matter of weeks.

Only one of us can be right or wrong.

definitely..i appre8 u..not like dos who wld love to impose der comment and beliefs on odaS.. God bless us..God bless Nigeria.

talktofemi:
Influential or not, if you observed the recent gubernatorial election in Osun there is a paradigm shift in the voting pattern. Jonathan will have considerable more votes than in the 2011 Election. Admittedly he is not winning Osun.

paradigm shift u say? Don't get it twisted. Omisore is from ife that was why he got that level of vote.. the presidential election is a diff ball game.. d Jan 1st subsidy removal saga is still fresh in our heart.

OLADD:
By March 28 and April 11, you will know how politically influential Yoruba Obas are. Be that as it may, Buhari wll never win southwest. Mark my words.

very influential indeed..i see..dats why oni of ife was able to deliver Osun state to PDP..i laugh in hindu vs PEJS grammar.

Seanixking:
If this poo make frontpage then someone is among the one million nigerians that need brain checkup....
#StrollOut

and if dis comment is taken criously..den u shld b among d mentally disturbed Nigerians in d gym with GEJ and madam english..

onyedikachukwue:
‪#‎BabaWhileYouWereGone‬

We have known that Tinubu's mouth stinks!

We known that Lai Muhammed is a Diaper wearing Grand Pa! And that his mouth stinks like gutter!

We known that Amaechi used to wear a tee shirt for 3 days!

We known that Tinubu is the single largest landlord in Africavia his corruption!

Documentaries were released on You and Tinubu,and people have seen more about your Draconian past and more about the corruption and stealing abilities of Tinubu!

Jonathan met with Youths in Lagos and guess what? He had a very beautiful welcome and I was there present!

Peter Ayo Fayose was visiting contract sites and in the process, he was hungry!, guess what? He ate at Iya Karimu's cantten!

APC has been silent,as FFK has been hitting them hard!!!

What else do you want me to tell you while you were gone?

baba while u were gone we knew dat d litlle stinky messy small boy am quoting father and mothers mouth stinks..we knew that his father is a beggar..we knew that tinubu can feed his entire generation till eternity and he can even lend a supporting hand to them when they languish in hell..bastard pdp thug..

chukwudi44:
APC supporters should stop pretending as if their party is holy. Everyone is playing dirty. Afterall Buhari is not qualified to stand for election having failed to present his certificates.

You think unseating an incumbent president in Africa is by making noise on nl and Twitter baa.The games have just started

can u prove he is not qualifed.. has he been found guilty by any court of law? Take him to court let's see if he is guilty or not.

ishiamu:
Pdp always beating apc to their games

they are playing with our future and u call it a game..dont forget d future generation will suffer for this.

PhockPhockMan:
I decide to answer you when I realized that almost 100% of the people you're following in your profile are women

WOMAN WRAPPER.

and tell me where it is on NL where u r mandated to follow both sex..@ least it is clearly stated dat u should make meaningful and sensible contribution to threads..all dis u lack..

EVarn:
excuse me?
I dont understand your point.

ignore d guy dat quoted u..he hardly makes sense..

legendsilver:
I know God has a plan we are yet to understand. Just as he did to SUAL in the bible, so will he do to GEJ

amen..amin..in sha Allah X infinity..

We want a dirty president that will not steal our money.. A dirty president with accountability. zero tolerance for corruption..stable power supply..security.. we don't want an irritating and drunk GEJ who says stealing is not corruption..who cannot account for all missing money under him..who is so confused and clueless.. a liar..a killer..a desperate being..who is willing to kill all Nigerians just to remain in power..he will only rule animals frm d south-south and east like asari dokubo and his likes.. Note: excluding reasonable and responsible south-south and south east brothers.

omofela85:
1. "INEC declares Buhari
President-Elect with 26.4 million
votes! PDP rejects result" -
VANGUARD!
2. "Buhari declared winner!". "This
is the worst election in Nigeria's
history" (Olisa Metuh) - PUNCH!
3. "APC in a historic victory!".
"Godswill Akpabio flee to Ghana,
begs for forgiveness". - PM NEWS!
4. "This is the most rigged election
in the world, Jega must be arrested
and imprisoned immediately. We
are
heading to court" (Ruben Abati) -
DAILY INDEPENDENT!
5. "South-south boils as INEC
declares Buhari winner, Militants
threatened war." - NIGERIAN
TRIBUNE!
6. "APC wins Aso Rock, 70 Senate
seats and 65% House of Reps. We
are
studying the results" (Mimiko) -
SUN
NEWSPAPER!
7. "Militants Protests Buhari's
Victory, Demands Cancellation Of
Polls In 21 States" - TRIUMPH
NEWSPAPER!
8. "How Jega Rigged The Polls In
Favour Of Buhari" - Premium time
9. "Obama, Cameroon, Hollande,
Ban Ki Moon, World Leaders
Congratulate Buhari" - THE
NATION!
10. "I Will Finish All The Gambaris
In Niger Delta Before May
29" (Asari Dokubo) -
SAHARAREPORTERS!
11. "Jega Rigged For The
Opposition, We Will Obtain A Court
Order And Arrest Him" (SSS
spokeswoman, Marylin Ogar) -
LEADERSHIP!
12. "It Can Never Be Possible, It Is
Either Jonathan Or No
Nigeria" (Ayo Fayose) - DAILY
TRUST
13. "Senate President, David Mark
In A Secret Meeting With The
Military To Stop May, 29 Handing
Over To Buhari" - THISDAY
NEWSPAPER
14. "No President That Has His
People At Heart Will Hand Over
Power To Someone Who Doesn't
Care About The Masses" (Doyin
Okupe) - NTA NEWS
15. "Nigeria Will Be Better Without
Jonathan" (United Nation) - NEW
YORK TIMES

Amen..Amin..Insha Allah
I expect something like G*j collapsed and rushed to d hospital after d announcement of the result.. though he will not die.. we will wake em up to b d first to visit his proposed E-Prison.

contact us and we will give u a nice concept.

adesinaabiodun:
Hi folks ! Have been thinking for couple of months on how to Wao my Babe with proposal probably in a cool place with some friends! Please how can one organise an Affordable, Reasonable and Surprise proposal?

You mighty just save a home!

Opinion please!

adesinaabiodun:
Hi folks ! Have been thinking for couple of months on how to Wao my Babe with proposal probably in a cool place with some friends! Please how can one organise an Affordable, Reasonable and Surprise proposal?

You mighty just save a home!

Opinion please!

contact us and we will give u a nice concept.

I miss that bucket..nuffin sure pass am..