Many thanks guys for a very educative and enlightening thread. I keep getting back to these pages for up-to-date information on all things visa!

I will kindly like to know how payments are being made for UK visa now, with all the restrictions on card payments, cash transactions on domiciliary accounts, etc. My bank -Diamond bank - says you cannot make a transaction/payment on cash lodgments in domiciliary accounts.

Please is there any other way around this?

Thank you all.

calebo101:


Pained ke . Believe me when i tell you the life i live is what you pray to live. I live in your fantasy that's why i see beyond the useless propaganda sold to illiterates like you. Jonathan may not be the best but don't be fooled thinking Buhari has one magic wand.

Rot caused by PDP 16 years. You want Obasanjo, Atiku, Amaechi, Saraki, Dino, and the whole hosts of others to clear the rot caused by them? When you guys talk sometimes i really wonder how foolish you think. You want to clear rot and you bring the same people to power?

Is it the name PDP that's the problem? cos last time i checked 70% of APC members were once PDP members in the last 16 years. Stop fooling yourself and face reality. Pray for your nation and pray for yourself.

Sincerely I believe most of us Nigerians should try and see things for what they really are. When people talk about "16 years of rot by PDP...", "...destroyed country...", etc. I sometimes wonder whether we are referring to some distant geographic lands governed by a totally different set of humans...
C'mon, everyone on the current political scene has been around and have been a part of the leadership of this country (in different capacities) at one point or the other! They have included your parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, friends, etc. Tagging every policy or governance decision ever implemented as bullshit just to show how supportive you are of the present government (or party as the case may be) is a direct indictment on our collective intelligence. Patriotic folks don't have to do that. Agreed we could have been better off as a country than we currently are, but that is not to say all the previous government, including "...the last 16 years..." did not make some progress!
The present government of PMB will and can only build on the successes and learn from the failures of the previous government. He will still have to appoint us, same Nigerians, to help him do that.
No party name can change anything.

No doubt the 2015 general elections in the UK was expected to be a tight race with upsets predicted. However, it appears the Liberal Democrats have been the worst hit so far. Labour has not made any appreciable progress compared to 2010.

As it stands, the Conservative Party is on course to form the next government in the UK. The results of 635 constituencies out of 650 so far announced shows they are leading with 320 constituencies to their credit.

UK vote share after 635 of 650 seats -

Party - %
CON -36.8
LAB -30.6
UKIP -12.6
LD -7.7
SNP -4.9
GRN -3.7


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/results

So much about marriage and the single lady these days...

I suppose its got a bit to do with what the society we live in today has defined what marriage is. The very word 'marriage' seems to conjure a sort of picture that makes an average young man think its a burden, and the typical young lady believes its the ultimate. This is not being made any easier with the unrealistic expectations the both sexes seem to have about it. There is almost no room now for any 'open-mindedness' as to what to expect from ones' potential spouse.

Don't get me wrong. We live in a knowledge-driven world and its good to have expectations, define and 'describe' what you can settle for and the like. But I think as far as marriage is concerned, the more these 'traits' are carried into human relationships without a good balance, the less we will seem to enjoy the thrills of a marriage. The more ominous marriage will be.

We may list all the reasons why its getting difficult to find the right person and get married, but we may as well begin to look at what marriage, in my opinion, is ideally (or presumably) supposed to be, for companionship. That is obviously not all, its a big mixed bag. The motivation and conditions for getting married should never be about one thing alone. It should never be a burden. Neither should it ever be an end by itself.

The belief that once married, the man is now 'responsible' and literally carries the whole world should be abrogated. The thought that once married the woman should give up on her aspirations should be thrown out. There is no reason why these should be part of the definitions of marriage.

My submission:
There is a lot of misunderstanding and misrepresentations of the human expectation that makes it difficult for great relationships to be fostered.

Going through Soludo's reply, some contradictions are obvious:

While berating the GEJ govt. of seeking and having the validation of the World bank on its economic policies, he just went 360° and did same with "...the influential Economist Magazine of London and New York Times agreed with us. According to the Economist editorial (7th February, 2015..."

Aso, his article presents a very depressing picture of the country, which although might be theoretically possible, but not exactly factual.

My Opinion: The 2015 Nigerian Presidential Elections and Matters Arising

I have been following the 2015 presidential campaigns in Nigeria for some time now. A casual observer would notice the very interesting dynamics playing out on the scene. The two major political parties PDP and APC are at the forefront of the current campaigns and it can be assumed they also have the most following among the 70 million plus of eligible voters. The campaigns have been anything but issue-based, except for some throw-in here and there (Think OBJ’s recent book, Soludo’s letter et al). Maybe there aren’t much attractive issues to talk about from both camps.
However, my interest here is the very nature of these campaigns and what may likely play out after the results is announced. No, I am not thinking of any kind of violence or the routine “we will go to court” mantra. It’s the reality of governance that will be staring the eventual winner of the polls (irrespective of who wins – GEJ or GMB). I will attempt to put this in context.

Firstly, it is rather remarkable that some voters who, four years ago will never have remotely considered casting their lot with either GEJ or GMB are now leading the campaigns for these gentlemen. Here I will excuse the politicians. We all know what drives them to change their allegiances. I am talking about the young and upwardly mobile electorates; the social-media savvy youths, the average Nigerian. In my opinion three factors could be responsible for this:

1) They have truly not seen any difference in their economic circumstances between 2011 and now. Now this is very arguable. Depending on where your sympathy lies, you could very well convincingly argue this to your advantage. The Boko Haram onslaught in the Northeast part of the country in particular is seen as a weakness and a sign of un-seriousness or tardiness on the part of the GEJ’s government to tackle security issues. The spike in uncontrolled corruption (real or imagined) in the last four years is also a reason why the GEJ government should be taken to the cleaners. Every other economic setback is literally based on these – from the serious to the mundane. Beyond these, it would appear a change in government is the most attractive option. For the GMB supporters it offers hope, or it should. This leads to the next assumption:
2) They have been convinced through the media that a change will do the magic. Also very subjective. But here is where the crux of the matter lies. I am not sure we have seen so much media-based campaigns as strong as the current campaigns, especially from the APC and PDP. The APC seems to particularly have an excellent media-based campaign strategy than the PDP, leaving the latter in a reactionary situation. As someone somewhere noted, the PDP seem to be relying on past glory with regards to their popularity with the Nigerian electorate and on the national media outlets (NTA et al.). With the increasing accessibility of the Internet to the average Nigerian and the identity which social media seemingly confers, people’s opinions are being expressed in an unconstrained way and decisions on who to vote for are being shaped continuously. For those living outside the country, the only way to feel the pulse back home is through these social media as well. Little wonder then that going by what is out there, it will appear GMB is giving GEJ a real run for his money. Granted some commentaries could be sometimes very obnoxious to either parties, but they are nevertheless quickly shaping the debates around the elections and the parties’ candidates. The international audience easily feels this as well. For those who are not convinced about the effect of this social-media hype, the next assumption holds:
3) They are more comfortable with the current setup. For those on the GEJ camp, their convictions are that the status quo is the desirable. The reasons are hinged on the (rather boring) performance indicators: the transformation in the rail transport and aviation sectors, the rebasing of the nations GDP giving rise to the largest economy in Africa with the attendant international investments (FDIs, etc), the automobile industry revolution, the investments in the power sector, the agricultural sector revolution, the commitment to free and fair elections, comparative improvements in human rights which all readily comes to mind. The argument that given the known (GEJ) and the unknown (GMB) in contemporary Nigeria, the choice on who to vote for is self-validating within these contexts. A lot has perhaps benefitted them.

Unfortunately, ethnic and religious sentiments are being subtly and brazenly played up in the course of these campaigns. It will appear that whenever there is an election in Nigeria, these issues always have a part to play – for good or for bad. Everyone seems culpable – politicians and non-politicians. Unfortunately our decisions on who to vote for will always, to a greater extent or less, be influenced by this.

This takes me to my opinion on the two major candidates: GEJ and GMB.

These two have contested against each other before, with GEJ emerging winner in 2011. The dynamics then was obvious. The sentiments now are different. There is real possibility that GEJ could lose his seat on March 28th. But what are the odds?
An incumbent president in Nigeria is yet to lose a presidential election. The power of incumbency (whatever that is) is generally given as a reason. Ideally a sitting president is typically favored by the govt.-regulated national media, which incidentally, has a much wider local audience and spread; and given all the exposure to the detriment of his rivals or opponents. This is however being countered with the unregulated social media (as earlier cited).
The ‘war chest’ of a sitting president is always a factor. With elections in Nigeria still at a ‘basic’ level, it is much easier for a greater number of voters to be enticed with the enormous benefits at the disposal of the incumbent. Promises of better days ahead backed up with bags of rice and token projects here and there still sways majority of the local voters. The PDP still has a very loyal membership base across the country.
Although the PDP appears to have been weakened in several states and constituencies, its structures are still intact and capable of being deployed in full measure when the situation demands. In its folds are key ‘legacy’ politicians who have seen it all and can be considered as political strategists in their own rights.

For GMB, I am tempted to believe, (my opinion) that given his age, if he wins on March 28th, he might only have to go at it for a term (like Mandela did). If however he loses the elections, this might as well be his last outing politically. What are the odds?
GMB’s key asset for the APC is his ‘electoral-value’ especially in the Northern parts of the country. With some 22 million votes in 2011, the APC hopes to cash in on that in 2015 together with the votes from the rest of the country to glide to victory. This is not far-fetched.
With an amalgamation of mostly young key politicians previously in the PDP, there is the possibility that PDP’s ‘trade secret’ has been sold and the APC is better positioned to challenge for the presidency now.
The change mantra seems to have struck a chord with some young internet-savvy youths across the country. Although the seeming contradiction of a change with a 72-year old former military ruler does little to dampen such enthusiasm, more youths are choosing to ‘go with the flow’.
As previously pointed out, the campaign strategy of the APC seems to be more coordinated than that of the PDP. The impression created is that of a potent party that is very capable of muscling out the incumbent.

Both candidates in my opinion, can well lead Nigeria, and no doubt have best of intentions for the country. Nigerians must see and believe that first. The realities after the elections will not be wished away. The downturn in the country’s financial fortunes due to the dip in world oil prices will have to be handled carefully. Irrespective of the promises made before the elections, a lot will have to change. The economic and fiscal policies will have to be reworked. The security situation in the Northeastern part of the country will have to be conclusively dealt with. Whatever has given rise to the need for change must be qualitatively addressed.
When the results are announced, whosever wins – GEJ or GMB – must be ready to deal with these.

My final thoughts on these issues are this:

If the PDP losses the 2015 presidential elections to the APC, it will not be necessarily because GEJ and his party are guilty of all its been accused of. It will simply be a triumph of successful political campaign strategy of the APC over lackluster campaigns of the PDP.
If the APC losses the elections, then it would have proven that the PDP is still in the hearts and minds of majority of Nigerians.

LeadActor.


All comments are welcomed.

Hmm, so moving....

Moral: Refuse to give up on your dreams, no matter how seemingly unattainable it might be!

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[quote author=nitrogen]So, we just have no choice than to conclude that individuals are to be blamed. Quite understandable, but the questions are, those ready to learn, what will keep them motivated and moving? Is it the passion to come out with something new, or the need to survive, or to outwit others.......? Also, what is the place of those that have done it successfully? is it just for them to continue to look, talk, anlyse, simplify, proffer,.....? Too many questions, too many analysis/analysts, and too many un-resolved problems.

I suspect as long as humanity seeks to better the living/survival experience, challenges/problems in need of solutions, will always be created. And so will the desire to surmount them. Whether in economics, social engineering, technology, etc. the motivations will always be the same.

To come across such brilliance in a discussion on NL is so warming. Esere , AJ, nitrogen you've all provided unique perspectives to the topic. I will submit that any form of education generally should serve to make individuals adaptive to basic problem-solving within the society they find themselves. But, indeed as someone mentioned, the impact of globalization will always be a factor in determining how successful these adaptations will be, as the competition (for jobs, skills, etc) is mostly on a global rather than local scale.
Learning how to single-handedly put together some mechanical components , for instance, to make a quasi-prototype made-in-Nigeria car might not necessarily solve an expedient problem, but harnessing that technical ability to possibly redesign one that suits our circumstances will definitely do.

But, if getting the education you need to succeed can be interpreted to also meaning acquiring those skills and training necessary to make you fit in, then I think that in itself is also a form of education.

In other words, education, whatever the form, might not totally be a waste.

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@ paris10
I read your post and the several contributions made. Indeed, you seem to have just voiced out a lot of true Christian's agony vis-a-vis the church as is today. It could really be disheartening for a lot of people who are truly desirous of the true church. A lot of things have indeed gone wrong!
In addition to the many instances that you(and others) have detailed, many so-called "new converts" in some of these churches are anything but sound. There seem not to be any genuine spiritual structures to coach/mentor/disciple these ones into spiritual adulthood. And so, as soon as one is converted, the very next message they get to hear is the prosperity msg! That ultimately leaves them very shallow-minded about biblical teachings/principles. They become so susceptible to just anything their pastors say/do as they are their sole examples!
Truth is scriptures was(and still is) given by the inspiration of God through the Holy spirit, and is available to everyone desirous of living out its principles. I sometimes seriously disagree with some of the things done in my church, and even with some of the messages!! My consolation, however, has always been that those WORDS have never personally failed me.
Bottomline: Make it a personal responsibility to allow only the Word from the Scriptures to speak to you.

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