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Travel › Re: U.S Visit: Port Of Entry Interview/stories. by Mancala: 9:27pm On Feb 06, 2020

AfonjaBoston:
What type of hotel? na Econolodge? lol

While classification of nationwide chains or independently owned hotels are purely subjective and based off customer reviews
The likes of Embassy, Radisson, Four Seasons are typically "3 Star" and I would love to see a link that gives you a deal at that price

I am interested.

Anyways baba I get a business trip to make to naija around October 7- 27 make I bless your hustle find me tickets

I don't do long layovers and preference is usually direct flights but would not mind a Paris or Frankfurt stopover no more than 2hrs

Four Seasons 3 star? You're kidding right? Four seasons is definitely a few notches higher up than Embassy suites and Radisson hotels and is consistently internationally recognized as a luxury chain.

Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 9:08pm On Feb 06, 2020

EgunMogaji2:
Well I guess I can find a way to use the timing belt in the bedroom

Chai, Oga abeg sofrey O! No do pass yourself make body no go pieces like your former engine grin

1 Like

Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 5:06pm On Feb 06, 2020

EgunMogaji2:
Post Mortem pictures.

Cylinder #1 has both crank bearings spun together.

Oil pickup screen is 3/4 blocked with sludge, a mixture of silver from the bearings and baked oil.

Oil pan has significant residue of what I’ll call “grease” for lack of proper description.

Block will become the base of a center table in my man cave.

Cylinder heads will become door stops.

Is that a timing belt I see in the picture? Interference engine? Hopefully, they put in a brand new belt with the replacement engine.

Piston and rods will become wall art in my man cave.

Crankshaft will become oversized conversation piece in the garage.

Egun “waste not, want not” Mogaji

Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 4:59pm On Feb 06, 2020

Contumely:
Oil can be used even for a year plus. Many studies support this.
This change change is just to put fear in people.

The cheapest and best insurance for your car engine is to change its fluids, especially engine oil, at regular intervals. The cost of doing this is negligible vs fixing a damaged engine. Why would you even risk it? No engineer worth their salt will recommend an oil change interval based solely on time. First and foremost criteria is operating conditions. For regular operations, average mileage recommendation is between 3 and 5 thousand miles for dino oils and sometimes up to 15k miles for synthetics. In the recent past, BMW's and Audis had severe sludge problems after going the 10-15k mileage route. For severe operations like occurs in Nigeria, I would not recommend going above 5k without an oil analysis. Severe operating conditions include frequent idling, stop and go, short trips (as opposed to highway cruising), dusty conditions, above or below average temperatures, towing or heavy loads. I have done many Blackstone used oil analyses on vehicles I've owned going between 3k and 7.5k mile intervals. None has indicated any problems, but I am not be willing to go above 7.5k even with normal driving conditions.

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Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 10:22pm On Feb 05, 2020

radautoworks:
Not after everything they do too it o. I should know. I get it out of the ground

Ahhhhhh, greetings to a fellow oilman! I quit the oilfields in my first incarnation in Nigeria. I managed wireline ops and later worked for the majors. Additives make the difference. Base oil is born and bred in Naija cheesy

;

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Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 9:08pm On Feb 05, 2020

radautoworks:
Yes. But you are made in Nigeria, she is not lol

The crude oil used in making foreign engine oil is from Escravos and Oloibiri Nigeria. All oil is local grin

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Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 7:36pm On Feb 05, 2020

Abbeyme:
Nice one.

I was preparing the vehicle again for a new week at that time. So I once opened my car engine to 'top' the oil - this is occasioned by my discovery - there is 'dripping' at my parking lot caused by a small leakage in the bottom oil seal. Before I topped the oil, I discovered some black 'frozen engine oil' just below the cover and above the crank (or what looked like the crank).
Is that the sludge?

How can I safely and permanently dislodge it?

Which oil do you think is desirable for my Corolla 2005? Miles is about 230k or thereabouts.

Yikes! This looks like a severe case of carbon build up commonly known as coking. Is this a diesel engine? It is basically oil that has oxidized at high temperatures and crustified to the state of coal. Does your engine frequently overheat? Common causes of this in a gasoline engine include poor timing, too much idling, improper air-fuel ratio, worn out or dirty air filters and excessive ring clearance. At 230k (miles or kilometers)…… i'd suspect ring clearance but start with the easier suspects.

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Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 7:14pm On Feb 05, 2020

EgunMogaji2:
All my vehicles, including my lowly Korope, sees redline on every trip.

Lol, You are indeed a dare devil good sir grin

. Casual driving in Nigeria is akin to playing Donkey Kong, not to talk of red lining the vehicle. You are continuously dodging obstacles like okada, Keke Marwa, pedestrians, cows, goats chickens, the oddball police checkpoint, road safety etc

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Car Talk › Re: Of Sludge, Wrecked Lower Bearings And Other Inconveniences by Mancala: 5:05pm On Feb 05, 2020

The oil mantra that works for me is "Change it hot and change it often"! 3k miles on todays oil blends may be a bit excessive but it certainly can't hurt (worst case, maybe your oil drain plug gets stripped sooner). 4.5 -5k mile intervals is possible even on dino oil and longer on synthetics. I say this with countless oil analyses on vehicles over my driving experience.... 30+ cars and counting. However, time is another factor you should consider. Even if you haven't done the targeted miles, you should change your oil at least once every 6 months because oil collects moisture when a vehicle is not driven to operating temps frequently. This is another cause of engine sludge. Like they say, drive it like you stole it once in a while (Italian tune up)

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Travel › Re: USA Visit Visa Part 4 by Mancala: 4:50pm On Jan 26, 2020

OmoBendel24:
Yeah, I understand all these. That Nigeria celebrities will enter plane to the US for childbirth purpose and not pay is what doesn't sit right. When you can at the least (before recent developments) hustle for a less than 3-5k package to birth with, and make Twood and his "gang" go gaga . There are very grave consequences known to a lot of people birthing in the US if you dare not pay.

Is it not celebrities that want to go back to the US with same kids and be "brandishing" them? Where does that hope lie then when the rule of thumb is that "if you don't pay, and you step out of the US, kiss ever visiting there again goodbye"? That punishment alone is constraining enough to "frustrate" you to look for how to make payment, a celebrity - the Nigeria brand particularly - will not be careless with that methinks, visiting the US subsequently is as good as life and the air they breathe to them na .

I don't know about Nigerian celebrities, but believe me, this thing is huge especially in some Asian and Hispanic communities. There are organized cartels that facilitate the process and milk the system for all it's worth. The random Nigerian celebrity that births in the U.S. is not the problem. You are correct that they most likely pay up. It's the cartels that bring in thousands of people every year for birthing purposes and take advantage of the loop holes to not pay full price. We as Nigerians are acting alone and have no collective long term objectives. These groups have a long term agenda that the government has keyed into and is trying to stop. However, if the governments intent with immigration laws was clean, this wouldn't be happening.
But the point I was trying to get across is that it's possible to give birth and not pay a dime and get away with it Scott free. I will not reveal anymore of the methods they use ... it is costing me money as a tax payer.

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Travel › Re: USA Visit Visa Part 4 by Mancala: 4:44pm On Jan 25, 2020

seyewest:
You can't have baby in the U.S without paying, maybe they under pay but you must pay sha.

My brother, things dey happen in the U.S. pertaining to this childbirth business oh! Take this scenario for example. A woman is rushed into the ER already in labor, no prenatal history whatsoever. The hospital is duty bound to deliver the baby then ask questions later .
Good luck to them collecting a penny later grin

. In reality, a baby does not need to be delivered in a hospital for citizenship rights to be established. A midwife can deliver the baby at home and file a certificate of live birth certified by other witnesses. In some cities close to the border, immigrants illegally cross the border and deliver their babies at home. They call and a first responder shows up, witnesses the birth and certifies the live birth. The woman then goes back across the border and continues her daily life with her U.S. citizen child who will come back later in life to enjoy the benefits of being a citizen. Nigerians still dey apprenticeship when it comes to anchor baby business!

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Travel › Re: USA Visit Visa Part 4 by Mancala: 9:53pm On Jan 16, 2020

SmartKitty:
If you are an ignorant, read this and educate yourself:
Visitors Visa for Pregnancy Help to Daughter/Daughter-in-Law/Sister
https://www.immihelp.com/visitor-visa-pregnancy-help-daughter-in-law-sister/

This is abolutely correct according to the letter of the law. A grandma should not go take care of her grandkids regardless of if it's compensated or not becasue of the opportunity cost to legally authorized workesr in the US. However, the VO has absolute discretion in this regard and it would appear that they liberally garnt Nigerians and other Africans this privilege perhaps because it is our culture to do the "omugwo" thing, as evidenced by the number of approvals for this exact intent. There is no official review or adjudication of the decision of a VO so their decision stands on its own merits without binding prejudice on the next VO at your next application, so you can be denied at an initial application and approved at the next.

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Travel › Re: USA Visit Visa Part 4 by Mancala: 6:06pm On Jan 14, 2020

AfonjaBoston:
You be Johnny just come and never sabi anything

No individual has the right to ask about your immigration status except of course jobs, [b]law enforcement [/b]and statutory institutions

Continue to accept the norm na people like una oyinbos dey call dumbos and naija dem dey call olodo

In fact, not all law enforcement (including police) is empowered to ask for immigration status.
To butress your point about opportunities, I will encourage smart hardworking Nigerian youth who are excelling in their feild to explore the O1a visa category which is a dual intent visa that easily translates into a Green Card. By nature of my job, I have succesfully recruited and filed for a couple of Africans (one Nigerian included) in this category. There are always opportunities for smart hardworking people.

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Travel › Re: Having A Brother As An American Citizen! What Are My Benefits? by Mancala: 9:41pm On Jan 13, 2020

uchewiz:
Well the wife is already in us

I was responding to this statement, as to why approvals for immediate relatives takes much less time.

"Its a lie ....I know someone that filed for his wife , it was approved within a month because he's in military"

The OP needs to be strategic about this if he wants to immigrate. He should ask his brother to file for him immediately. If the law changes and makes it even harder/longer, the new law will likely not be made retroactive to those already in the queue. However, if new laws make it easier, it will most likely be retroactive. This is based on precedence.

Travel › Re: Having A Brother As An American Citizen! What Are My Benefits? by Mancala: 9:27pm On Jan 13, 2020

uchewiz:
Its a lie ....I know someone that filed for his wife , it was approved within a month because he's in military

Wife (spouse)>brother according to immigration priority.
A spouse/child/parent petition usually takes less than 1 year or 2 at most.

Travel › Re: Having A Brother As An American Citizen! What Are My Benefits? by Mancala: 9:21pm On Jan 13, 2020

Your brother can file for you but it will potentially be more than 10 years before you get an immigrant visa. But don't sweat it, 10 years is not a long time as per if this is what you really want in life. If he had filed for you say 2008 - 2010, you will probably be eligible by now. Ask him to file for you now and go about the business of your daily life. Come back in 2030 to reference this thread and prove all naysayers wrong grin

Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 11:41pm On Jan 07, 2020*

EgunMogaji2:
Here's a recap of a story that I read some years back and what helps shape some of my decision.

The setting is a small fishing seaside village in Mexico.

An American CEO went there with his family for a vacation. On most morning the CEO would see a fisherman just sitting on his canoe driving beer.

CEO: Hi. Sorry but I see you almost every morning here and you're relaxing drinking beer.

Fisherman: Si, Senor.

CEO: Why? Don't you have a job?

Fisherman: Si, Senor. I am a fisherman.

CEO: Then why aren't you out there fishing?

Fisherman: I fished all night and have caught enough fish for me to sell and for my Wife to cook.

CEO: Are there no more fishes in the water?

Fisherman: Of course there are millions more fishes Senor.

CEO: Then why do you stop? Get more boats, hire more people and fish 24 hours.

Fisherman: But why Senor?

CEO: So you can make more money, become a CEO like me.

FishermanL And then what Senor?

CEO: Then you can afford to bring your family to a seaside resort like this and have a vacation.

Fisherman: But Senor, my family and I are already living here in the seaside resort. I finish work in the morning and drink beers with my friends all afternoon.

To me there was a moral to the story and it applies to my life.

What do you think?

This is so true. There's a Yoruba proverb that describes this situation: "Ohun ti a nwa lo sokoto, inu apo sokoto wa lowa"
The literal meaning is that what you seek all the way to Sokoto is in the pocket of your pants (sokoto). Another Yoruba proverb says that fear of poverty is the driving factor for chasing wealth. Ai l’owo l’owo ni baba ijaya, kini n jani l’aya bi ailowo l’owo? Literal translation is the lack of money is the father of all fears, what strikes fear more than poverty? We keep chasing money because we are afraid of being poor. But the things that mean the most to us don't even cost money ! Another proverb says "why seek the key of an open door?"
Another moral of this story is thus: Don' think too highly of yourself. À ń pe gbẹ́nàgbẹ́nà ẹyẹ àkókó ń yọjú .... A sculpture is summoned but a woodpecker shows up! They all do the same thing right? We can learn a lot from our various cultures

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 11:14pm On Jan 07, 2020*

I wrote draft on purpose for ease of general comprehension

. But you remind me of an important point. If you go back to Nigeria and start speaking big grammar with a foreign accent, they will obtain you oh! You will buy 200 Naira bread for 5,000 Naira. When I'm back home, people are surprised the way I effortlessly switch from my native language to pidgeon English to spree spree phonetics grin

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 8:24pm On Jan 07, 2020

EgunMogaji2:
May God bless you infinitely.

My monthly budget is exactly that. N100K ($280). Yeah some months I splurge especially when I roam the countryside due to extra petrol and whatnot. If I needed to I can easily spend that in one sitting with friends but I'm structured

I'm really happy to read from other people with similar lifestyle and though process.

Running generators at night is actually a bad idea for me. It dulls the other sound that I find necessary for safety.

Electricity and security are two major cost items in Nigeria. I have a friend who spends on average 150,00 - 200k a month on diesel as he runs his diesel generator all night because he has sleep apnea and sleeps with a cpap machine. He also runs air conditioning in the house 24/7. For security, he hires ex soldiers @95k per month (i believe from the Nigerian Legion?) and the estate in which he lives pays the DPO to provide active duty policemen that are stationed around for safety. Not sure what his contribution is for the policemen.

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 4:51pm On Jan 07, 2020

CutieKing:
..

Nigeria is expensive either you are properly structured or not.Dont know where people claiming otherwise got their realities from.

It all boils down to lifestyle. If a returnee structures their life in such a way to replicate the lifestyle they were living abroad, it will be very expensive. It comes down to choices. I have tried it both ways. For example, running sound proof generators whenever there is no light, 24/7 climate controlled indoors, driver, gateman, security, cooks, cleaners etc. Where you buy groceries.... shoprite vs open markets? What do you eat? Imported vs locally grown food. Entertainment choices... eating out at expensive restauranmts and clubbing vs playing draft with the boys down the street and the occasional cold brew in my living room. These choices make a huge difference. When I'm in Nigeria with my family, I have to go the whole hog and make life very comfortable for them and it costs a lot. However, when I go alone, I dont run generators all night, I love taking public transport, I open my windows and go to the local markets if I need something. You won't catch me eating Pizza or going to coldstone. If it were me alone, I could easily live on less than 100,000 Naira a month in Nigeria. That would be a fraction of social security in retirement

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 1:49am On Jan 07, 2020

Thanks for sharing these informative videos. I really admire the fortitude and determination of the younger generation moving back to start something. I'm not sure I would have had the courage when I was at that stage of my life. Couple things I would like to put across to anyone thinking of moving home to start a business or career. Nigeria is much more than Lagos. Look beyond Lagos to cities like Ibadan, Aba, Kaduna, Enugu and the likes. If you're starting a business, think broad and include the entire West Africa as market potential. Like they say about Vegas, most moneys made in Lagos stays in Lagos grin

. Also, don't be carried away with the party life you see in some of these videos. You will regret it except you're bringing an unlimitless supply of forex like our big Maquerade EgunMogaji2 grin

Second point. Start making a plan for your retirement the minute you land back in Nigeria. Don't eat your dinner for lunch. With the continuous inflation and devaluation of the local currency, it is easy to fall into poverty if your income is in local currency without some sort of inflation adjusting mechanism.
Thanks again for sharing the videos.

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 9:48pm On Jan 06, 2020

EgunMogaji2:
Apparently happens in Ghana too.

Ghana is a lot easier to move back home to than Nigeria, heck, much easier even for a short term visit for non natives. But like Nigeria, it is expensive if you are trying to replicate your lifestyle in the States. The company I work for has multi million dollar investments in Ghana for their supply chain. Several Ghanaian-Americans moved back home to work there and are very happy at home. Nothing like being paid as an expatriate in your own country with all expense paid return trips to the U.S. whenever you need to come back grin

. We tried Nigeria but just couldn't stomach the BS. I was planning to come home to work for a while if it panned out, but no show! Story for another day.

Talking about Surgeons going home to practice, I know Ghanaians and Nigerians that did that. The Ghanaian folks are happy and doing well. The Nigeria surgeons who I know personally are experiencing mixed results. They are very much fulfilled from a professional perspective because they get to handle a much wider variety of cases than what is available to them in their U.S. practice. Problem is their patients do not pay their bills and so their U.S. practice is subsidizing the Nigeria practice big time. Even the wealthy folks who used to travel to the U.S. for surgery and now go to them in Nigeria are owing big debts but still openly flexing like there is no tomorrow. Not bashing Nigeria, but one needs to recognize the realities on the ground and act accordingly. I have vowed never to work or do business in Nigeria beyond perhaps renting out properties. I no longer have the appetite nor the tolerance for dealing with wahala. I go to Nigeria to relax, enjoy my homeland and get enmeshed in my culture.

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 9:09pm On Jan 04, 2020

justwise:
There are a lot of reliable agents you can use to send money to your Nigerian bank account within minutes, Azimo will charge you a flat rate of about £1.40 no matter the amount you are sending and you get your money within 10-20 mins or less.

Send-wave charges you nothing and your money gets into your Nigeria account in less than 5mins.

You also have transferwise and worldremit. All of them have far better rate than western union and faster.

I have used every single one of them without any issue.

All you need to do is to download their apps and set it up.

Wow, for real? Sendwave has no fees? How do they make money? Perhaps it's built into the exchange rate. I will give it a try. It would be awesome to have the money delivered in 5 mins. One of the issues with Western Union is that they sometimes hold up the transfer and start asking stupid questions (in my opinion). Money sometimes gets hung up for days when they promise an instantaneous transfer.

Thanks for the recommendations. It's good to have options. WU has seen me finish and has gotten arrogant!

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 9:02pm On Jan 04, 2020

EgunMogaji2:
I hate Western Union, rates are not favorable and the fees are high.

I love BossRevolution for simplicity and speed. The fees are also very good. I think it was $3.99 to send up to $3K and they even waive that occasionally. I built my house primarily via BossRevolution and there was never an issue.

What I did was open a free checking at my local credit union and I use that account specifically for Naija stuff.

There are other money companies as you know and even some individuals on here but I prefer BR.

Thanks for the info. I have only used WesternUnion because I'm somewhat risk averse and old school and perhaps even a bit lazy. I will try BossRevolution.

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 7:53pm On Jan 04, 2020

Mr EgunMogaji2

In one of your previous posts on this threads, you said this:
The other thing is that the advent of internet has made internet banking easy. With sites like BossRevolution and others, one can easily fund local bank accounts

I've been looking for an alternative to Western Union which I consider safe but occasionally gives me lots of hassles. How would you rate BossRevolution vs WesternUnion. Any other recommended online sites? My concerns are around safety of banking and credit/debit card information.
Thanks

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 7:36pm On Jan 04, 2020

freecocoahubby:
Everything I stated is what the agbaya told me himself in a different thread.

Sigh

This is really unnecessary. Like clockwork, most threads on here slowly degenerate into personality clashes. Kudos to the OP for avoiding being sucked into it and sticking to the mission

. I am very much interested in the experience of folks that have moved back home in anticipation of doing it myself sometime in the near future. Please let's not discourage the OP from sharing. This is his experience, his decisions are based on walking in his own shoes!

Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and small minds discuss people! ... Eleanor Roosevelt

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 11:31pm On Jan 02, 2020

EgunMogaji2:
You’re getting the picture Sir.

I could retire cheaper to Mexico than Nigeria. At least in Mexico I won’t have to sink a borehole, but multiple generators, rebuild screwed up buildings, bribe policemen and thugs, etc

I could simply drive across the border from Mexico to USA every day if I wanted to. I have Nigerian friends who do exactly that.

The issue I’m starting to feel, and frankly it’s getting tedious, is that people are discounting the joy of being back home.

I was watching a documentary on YouTube about Igbo Ora having the worlds highest twin birth rate. I clicked a link a tab onto Google Map and found out that it was a 2 hour drive away. Guess what I did? Took a shower, hopped into my truck and went there for lunch.

Some weeks back I went to Ogbomosho. And before that I went to Ore.

I love Nigeria and I love being here. End of story

LOL, your mention of Igbo Ora brings back sweet memories. I dated a lady who studied medicine at UCH and did a rotation at the Igbo Ora medical center. Used to go there to visit her way back then. It was quite a rural area and the medical students complained heavily all the time. Would love to visit again when next I'm in that neck of the woods.
Like you, I have become very interested in Nigerian culture, history, trivia and facts. I spent hours at the British museum last summer studying Nigerian artifacts and continue to read up on related facts. As time has elapsed, my diet at home now consists almost entirely of Nigerian food, at least when I eat at home. This is coming from a guy who did not really care for our dishes when I was back home growing up. Strange, but I really miss the constant noise and commotion that exists in Nigeria. Its hard to get used to being in a mall with a thousand people and you can almost hear a pin drop here in the U.S.

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 10:28pm On Jan 02, 2020

justwise:
Its a lot cheaper to retire in Nigeria, you are not doing it primarily to help Nigerian/Nigerians, just to help yourself and i'm not against that.

Good point. I guess I would call it a win win situation for both sides. Nigeria benefits from the imported capital as "Nigerian expatriates" come home to retire to a relatively less expensive retirement existence. But I believe its more than just the cost factor. From a holistic point of view, it costs less for an American resident to retire in Mexico vs. Nigeria for example when you factor in the cost of providing basic amenities/security for yourself in Nigeria. Coupled with the cost of flying out for healthcare needs as you age. I theorize that Maslow's hierarchy of needs explains part of the attraction to retiring to ones country of origin. The typical expatriate is operating at the upper part of the triangle so is interested in stuff that seems mundane to most who are still at the lower end. I find myself engrossed in stuff that I would never have considered in the past now that I have chop belly full grin

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Travel › Re: USA Visit Visa Part 4 by Mancala: 3:43pm On Dec 28, 2019

Mia247:
What about a situation whereby you already have someone sponsoring your trip; accommodation, feeding,flight ticket,everything and you provide proof and also invitation letter from the person..Will they still deny you the visa?

I may not be a visa expert, but I can offer you some insight.
U.S. immigration law requires consular officers to view every visa applicant as an intending immigrant until the applicant proves otherwise. Every applicant is presumed to be an intending immigrant and must prove that they will return to their homeland when their permitted stay runs out. My question to you is this. How does someone else sponsoring your trip in its entirety help prove that you will return to your home country at then end of your visit? Does this really help your application? If I were you, I would focus on establishing ties to which the VO is bound by law rather than relying solely on proving finances to which they can excercise discretion.

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 8:34pm On Dec 26, 2019

EgunMogaji2:
Thanks for the contribution.

Majority of us in that era and previous era wasn’t necessarily fleeing economic conditions like most are doing now.

Also we return not to break laws or oppress people but to simply enjoy our cultural heritage.

[b]I feel pity for those that don’t see anything of worth in Nigeria. A crying shame reall[/b]y.

Its truely a crying shame. But I can see things from their perspective. Many were born into a Nigerian society where pretty much almost nothing works the way it should. They have grown up having to beg, borrow, steal, bribe and hustle for stuff that should come easy and oftentimes is a God given right in saner societies. Oppression, suppression, ethnic and religious bigotry, superstition, greed and many other difficulties are the order of the day in our dear country. Worst thing is that it keeps getting worse over time. They have not experienced anything good with Nigeria and therefore cannot envision anything good about it. We that have seen Nigeria in better times hold on to those memories and believe that the nation will be better someday.
The advent of accessible internet has opened eyes in Nigeria. The broader younger generation (over and above the select few that could travel) has seen whats possible in other countries and want that future for themselves and their kids. Nothing wrong with that. I stumbled into that opportunity and don't regret it even though I had a lot of sadness and apprehension when I left due t o the fact that I had a good life in Nigeria when I left and thought I was leaving for relative uncertainty.

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Travel › Re: Yankee To Naija: Thoughts And Experiences by Mancala: 7:10pm On Dec 26, 2019

Beautyaddy:
lol!...You should.

Every Nigerian retiree who has enjoyed the best of the Western World during their youthful age all make this same statement.

Nigeria is indeed a dumbing ground for most retiree to enjoy their International pension money.

With the very cheap cost of living alone added with the un-countless things and laws one can get away with living in Nigeria why wouldn't an abroad retiree enjoy it more living in Nigeria.

I can relate to this having had an eerily similar background like EgunMogaji2. I grew up in a semi-functioning Nigeria, middle class upbringing and all. I left when things were still relatively sane. The US has been very good to my family and I and many Nigerians I know. However, many elect to return to Nigeria in their retirement years for several reasons (from personal observations). First, the retirement dollar goes a very long way. Second, weather is much more conducive especially for those battling age related ailments. Third, kids are for the most part grown up and out of the house and there is largely no need to worry about them being that they are in the Western world. Fourth, retirement can be a lonely time in the US. Most people are chasing their dreams and have no time for retired people. In Nigeria, a retired person with means will easily make friends and have many people around them to keep them company.

Like EgunMogaji2 mentioned, there are many other countries one could easily go to especially in Asia and the Caribbean. However, it just isnt like your home country. There is nothing like hearing your mother tounge spoken around you constantly. Nothing like feeling you belong (although the locals dont completely feel that you do). Finally, theres nothing like having optionality. If it doesnt work out, you can always run back to the US. Many people I know occasionally come back for medical or other reasons or just to visit family and friends in the summer. The one thing holding me back is family. They have no history or emotional ties to Nigeria like I do so of course, see no reason to be there for more than a few days on any visit.

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Travel › Re: USA Visit Visa Part 4 by Mancala: 6:08pm On Dec 24, 2019

sharpman1:
Actually....it is when people make such claims without proof that they get denied.

Also.....VOs look at the total situation and not just one bit of the story.

Conference is the new car dealer scheme! But they are already on to that now. $100 to whomever can predict the next strategem grin

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