Fulaman198:
That's one of the realities you have to face living in the Western world. However, instead of feeling sad about it, don't be such a cucked coward. Man up, and clearly ask someone tailing you is there a particular reason why you are tailing me? Let's see how he responds to that. Do you think white men are followed or watched like Hawks in Nigeria the same way black men are followed or watched like Hawks in the West? Nigerians need to stop being such cucked cowards.

It is quite unfortunate you got a wrong message from the article... the issue of race and ethnicity are social constructions that promote inequalities in the world and the 'static' developing status of many regions of the world. Cheers!

Written by: Seun B. Adebayo

I was born in Nigeria and having spent all my life in Nigeria, a whole new experience began for me in 2015, when for the first time, I got into an airplane traveling to Europe to study at a Master’s programme that will entail me studying in at least 3 universities and countries for the next 2 years, including the University of Amsterdam. This was a remarkable journey for me, and the first reflection I had in the course of my study in Europe was on how I have become more conscious of the ‘black’ identity, institutionally and socially, than while I was in Nigeria. I remember sharing with a colleague of how coming to Europe has made me realized others’ strong identification of me with the ‘black’ identity.

I recount that back in Nigeria, we rarely discuss or identify with the ‘black’ identity, we see ourselves as Nigerians or by our tribal affiliations. However, I have come to understand that the way others (e.g. the Westerns) perceive us is stronger and influential than we do. This realization made me understand why I grew up with the consciousness of my race, ethnic origin and affiliation, and how my identity is perceived in other parts of the world. The fact that my ancestors were forcefully taken as slaves by some ‘foreigners’ is concerning. The knowledge that these ‘foreigners’ exploited and colonized my people and land, is ever more saddening. This prejudice has birthed the harsh realities of a world laden with inequalities, discrimination, and apartheid against people with similar history and background by these ‘foreigners’ who had no ‘right’ in the first place to act so. In addition, it is quite an unfortunate reality that the nation I call my country, Nigeria, was actually an amalgamation of ‘different’ people by such ‘foreign impositions’, which was motivated by what I perceived as selfish interests of the ‘foreigners’. Till this moment, these past foreign actions are still a threat and distortion to the unity of my ‘sovereign’ country.

In the Nigerian context, being from the Southwestern part of the country and hailing from the Yoruba ethnic group precisely, I have grown up with the awareness that I am from a tribe different from other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Nigeria, my country, was formed and colonized by the British (Colonial Masters) to serve their own purposes. After independence in 1960, the country the British left behind had to contend with the issues of ethnicity, minority, social contract, and till date, some groups still agitate to secede from the Nigerian state.

Consequently, I have become conscious of how the ‘foreigners’ who I believe have done more harm than good identify with people of similar background.

From the foregoing, I write this essay with the feeling that the world is going in a cycle with the issues associated with Race and Ethnicity. The truth is not being told as it is! Who has the right to conceptualize and define identities? For whose interests are these conceptualizations and definitions of identities made? These are questions we should strive to answer objectively and critically in our present world. At some point, I got really interested in different identities that exist in the world. I read some history books, materials and articles on the internet. And I discovered that the conceptualizations and definitions of many identities were done by people that had no legitimate right to do so in the first place. In fact, people whose identities were defined by others were not consulted when their identities were defined. Likewise, the conceptualization of identities are not value or interest neutral. This I believe has contributed immensely to social constructions that we have in the world today.

From literature (academic articles, reports, textbooks etc.), I observed how distortions of present realities, truth and history are justified. Recently, I read about how a young student in the United States, observed in a geography textbook that had a chapter on slave trade and immigration, the textbook identified that “the Atlantic Slave Trade between 1500s and 1800s brought millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations”. This is a biased history education, it is obvious that they were forcefully brought as ‘slaves’ and not ‘workers’.

This writing has made me reflect on how I have been coerced to accept my ‘identity’ and conceptions of Race and Ethnicity. While I was in Amsterdam, I walked into a grocery store to get some food items. As I got into the store, I noticed that the storekeeper started trailing me even with the presence of CCTV cameras. I felt really sad, because the storekeeper might have thought that I was going to steal or lift items. I asked myself, why? I responded, because I am perceived as ‘black’, and the society I find myself sees me that way too. It was even more shocking to me when I unconsciously began losing trust and having fear of others labelled as ‘blacks’, and how I willingly wanted to be associated with people labelled as ‘whites’.

From the above reflection, I discovered that I have been consciously trained through socialization, schooling and education to accept my identity. People of my color are referred to as ‘Blacks’; and primarily through training, I have realized that the color ‘black’ has characteristics associated with evil and negative connotations, such as death, disease, ugly, fear, poverty and darkness. While, the ‘foreigners’ are referred to as ‘Whites’, the color which is primarily associated with good and positive connotations. However, judging from history, I think the reverse should have been the case. Researching through the Nigerian cultures, I am yet to find a Nigerian culture where ‘black’ has positive connotations. I recently spoke to a friend from the Kpelle tribal group in Liberia about these issues and I asked if there was any culture in Liberia where ‘black’ signifies anything good or positive, he replied that there was none that he knows of. I further asked what ‘white’ symbolizes in his culture. He responded that ‘white’ represents love, purity, warmth and reception in his culture.

Looking forward, I believe that the issues of Race and Ethnicity will continue except we critically question systems and institutions that promote stereotyping, conceptualization and definitional identities, and what prompts external interests. Furthermore, the truth should be told as it is, this will generate the processes to real freedom, equity, and then we can have a future with fewer challenges on Race and Ethnicity.

First published: amsterdamunited.org

“The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.” —Warren Bennis


Few weeks ago, scholars of the European Erasmus Masters in Education Policies for Global Development (GLOBED), had a visiting professor from Stanford University, lecture us on some themes in the programme syllabus. The professor, Joel Samoff, is a Consulting Professor, African Studies, School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University. His years of experience in education, research and evaluation, make him a force to be reckoned with in global education and development discourses.

His classes were most inspiring to me because he taught from his wealth of research and experiences on Africa. I was very much interested because I am from Nigeria, an African Country, so I could easily relate to his examples. I had great respect for him because I saw him different from other ‘top’ researchers from the West who spend few days in some African countries and feel that all of Africa is the same or in some ignorant cases ‘Africa is a country’.

Furthermore, these ‘top’ researchers claim the legitimacy of proffering the best practices for different sectors of the society to many African countries and upholding the belief that no good thing can come out of Africa, except it be given to her by ‘them’.

Professor Samoff though obviously from the West, has actually lived and worked in many African countries, so I could give him the benefit of the doubt. He shared many ideas with we, the students, and our professors. One of the ideas he shared that struck me was the idea that the givers of foreign aid, grants, policies etc. to developing countries - including African countries - who we often in most cases refer to as ‘donors’ are essentially ‘takers’. In other words, the donors benefit from the relationship and donations in the long term. I believe this is true, even the Holy Bible confirms to us that ‘givers never lack’.

The programme coordinators later organized a dinner for Professor Samoff and his wife – who accompanied him to experience the beautiful city of Barcelona. At the dinner, I was privileged to sit close to Prof. Samoff; there were so many chitchats that night and at some point, I became curious. I asked this question: “Sir, from your wealth of research experience and expertise working in the African context; what do you think Africa needs to do right to attain that ‘developed’ status like Europe and North America?” Professor Samoff paused for some seconds and responded: “I think African countries should be pacesetters rather than being followers”, he went further to give many brilliant examples supporting this idea.

This got me really thinking, and I responded to his answer by pointing out that the relationship that exists between Africa and the developed world is unequal and exploitative in nature. This is also traceable to the colonial periods, so I argued for a ‘de-linking’ instead.

Professor Samoff responded by arguing that he did not agree with the de-linking idea because the world is a global village and we all need one another to exist.

He believes that African countries can borrow ideas on what makes things work in the developed world and redefine those ideas in line with their values and socio-cultural context to achieve success. For example, universities in Africa should inquire of what makes Harvard, Oxford and Stanford Universities great and apply these ideas within their situational and environmental context. This is also applicable to other sectors of the society.

So, instead of waiting for the ‘best practices and policies’ from the global north, I believe African countries should investigate what makes the United States of America (USA) relevant! Rather than only wanting the USA to be the ‘Superman’ that flies to her rescue. Africa should observe the developed nature of the European continent and learn from such findings in order to create her own pathway.

Then, Africa can become a Pacesetter and not Follower!


“Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
- Pablo Picasso



Seun Adebayo
Graduate Student under Erasmus Master in Education Policies for Global Development (GLOBED)
Erasmus Masters Scholar (2015-2017)

Good to hear from you. Please what is your name? Its been a while I heard from Michael and Femi. Cheers!

nigeriainfo:
seun Adebayo, i was shocked wen i see d year of your graduation cos i started reading closely cos i realized we graduated d same year with d same course of study, buh u are very lucky anyway. Buh cud u pls send me your number to my inbox cos i ve misplaced ur number. Hope u dey hear from Micheal(class rep) and femi fasanya and d rest of dem. Pls send ur number to me pls.

@nigerianinfo, good to hear from you! Please what is your name? Its been a while I heard from Michael and Femi.

nigeriainfo:
seun Adebayo, i was shocked wen i see d year of your graduation cos i started reading closely cos i realized we graduated d same year with d same course of study, buh u are very lucky anyway. Buh cud u pls send me your number to my inbox cos i ve misplaced ur number. Hope u dey hear from Micheal(class rep) and femi fasanya and d rest of dem. Pls send ur number to me pls.

Thank you all for your good wishes! I appreciate.

I hope my story will inspire and motivate others to dare to dream big and achieve their goals!

Cheers.

''When you make a choice, you change the future.”
Deepak Chopra


I want to share how I landed a world scholarship (European Union sponsored Erasmus Mundus Masters Programme) with a 3.8 C.G.P.A. Surprised, right? Hey, anything is possible! Just to note this, if you can finish with a higher C.G.P.A, please give it your best.


In 2012, after graduating from the University of Lagos, Department of Political Science, I had the dream of going abroad for my Masters degree programme and I had ¨not so excellent C.G.P.A¨. I wanted a full scholarship. Sincerely, at that period it was really a big dream, I also had little or no work experience. But the next two years I put in a conscious effort to make this dream a reality. I don't intend to bore you with some principles or strategies for success. The truth is that life is made up of principles and you make things happen easily when you know and rightly apply the principles.


The following are principles and strategies I knew and applied, with practical experience:


Vision: In 2012, I had a goal to get an international degree and exposure, to enable solve some of the problems facing the world. This was a good cause and motivation for me to begin my grad school application adventure. It is good, you discover who you are, what you want and where you are going. There were several times I got discouraged of the possibility of getting funded for my grad school abroad. But the vision I had kept me going. Vision also helped me answer the question of purpose, why I needed to get a fully funded Master's degree abroad? which may come to play when writing your Statement of Purpose or Motivation Letter.


Research: After the vision stage, it is research! Information is key, if you are not well-informed, you may be incapacitated. You need to search for schools, scholarships and your compatibility for your intended programme. I practically read everything I found on the internet on grad school application and getting a scholarship. I recommend you to read articles on grad school application written by Mr. Tunde Alawode, he is currently a PhD student at MIT. His articles were the most helpful to me and I also had the privilege of having some online conversations with him which were priceless to my grad school application.


It was in the course of my research I discovered the European Commission, Erasmus Mundus Masters Scholarship. I remembered my first impression was ah! this scholarship is perfect and in line with my vision, #grins! I also got contacts of Erasmus Scholars, they gave necessary advice and counsel related to applying and getting an Erasmus Masters Scholarship. This helped me greatly in preparing a good application. Doing a thorough research, will help you in preparing a strong application. Pour your heart into it!


Service & Learning: During the 2 years of preparing for my grad school, I volunteered in various projects, learnt on a job (which had little financial gratification), became an author, started an NGO etc, all these to an extent gave me a convincing CV.


Offer services and give yourself to personal development. Do not just think about putting up a grad school application and fold your arms. Get busy and engage yourself! I tell people who come to me on grad school application that you should show the admission committee what you have been able to do with the education you have acquired so far.


Maximise every opportunity that comes your way. Be diligent and committed to whatever you do, this is important!


Have Faith and Pray: Every good thing comes from God, so you need God. I prayed, confessed, fasted, believed and sow seeds. And yay! Today I have a testimony.


¨All I know is that when I pray, coincidences happen; and when I don’t pray, they don’t happen¨. ~ Dan Hayes



Wishing you all the best in your grad school application!


Seun Adebayo
Graduate Student under Erasmus Master in Education Policies for Global Development (GLOBED)
Erasmus Masters Scholar (2015-2017)

Got my Visa after 3 weeks of submission of my application. I guess the timing is relative and I am grateful to God for this. For those of us still on the process, keep the faith! It will end up in Praise!

Cheers.

Thank you @1andonly... You are the Spanish Visa Sage here. All the best in your application!

Cheers

1andonly:
Spanish Visa Application Procedure[center][/center]

I finally submitted my visa application and heaved a sigh of relieve. I don't want others who come on here to pass through the ardous task I went through so I will detail all you need before you submit your application.

I would leave the details on authentication, legalization and translation as all a newbie need do is go through all the previous posts on this thread. Here goes:

1) The immigration officials gain points by sending you back (I am joking though but this is a general feeling I get from this whole adventure).

2) I was told I could only apply a month and half from resumption day-this resumption day is a serious matter; make sure your admission letter reflects this information.

3) In light of the above, be sure to start your application like 3 months before departure because of the police character certificate that expires in 3 months to spare your blushes.

4) Your visa form should should carry the insignia of the Spanish Republic any other form would lead to deferring your submission. The guys outside the consulate sell it for N500 so you can take a look. You have to fill out the Spanish and English form.

5) Photocopy all your documents. Yes everything!!! Be sure to photocopy the back with the legalization stamp. Yes I said photocopy your translations too. If you still have doubts check step 1.

6) Try to resolve that accomodation thingy on time. It can get a bit messy at times and no scanned copies.

7) Review your translations meticulously and try to use a recognized translator.

8 There is really no hard and fast rule about the whole process it all depends if you will be meeting the man or the woman. If it is the woman, be sure to arrange your originals and photocopies in the format of the requirements on page 1 of this thread. The man uses another document and might arrange it for you depending on his mood.

9) Don't go in with a scanned document. You can argue till the cows come home but remember step 1.

10) Your medical certificate must state that you are not a carrier of any contagious disease.

PS: like I said, there is no hard and fast rule to this whole step so I expect somethings will generally slip under their radar like the no change policy so it depends on your level of faith, grace and whatever you belief in. For me I am kind of risk averse and would rather err on the side of caution if I can help it.

Cheers!!!

enigma14:
Legalization day @ last. @Seunbumi, I am at d consulate. Blue shirt with orange-coloured framed spectacles. All the best 2day!

@enigma14... It was nice seeing you. For prospective applicants, quick advice, you will need a great deal of patience and long-suffering. hehehe!

@enigma... well, I think that applies to those that have Birth Affidavits instead of the Birth Certificate. So if you are born before 1992 and you have a certificate issued by the National Population Commission and authenticated at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I believe you are good to go.

My Legalization is also on the 14th of July!

Cheers.

[quote author=enigma14 post=35438031]

@enigma, How come you are translating 10 pages. And translation is not needed for legalization.

geniuzio:
Good morning bro. When my friend got to the consulate for the legalization, he told them he had already requested for his O-level (NECO) result to be sent to them. But they said they hadn't received it. Then they told him it wasn't even necessary since he was going for a masters.

Well, I sent the consulate a mail regarding this. They replied with the same old requirement.

geniuzio:


I went to the embassy on last Thursday but I discovered that Thursdays are only meant for collection of documents from the embassy. Monday to Wednesday is for submission. However, before submission of your documents and visa application, you have to legalize your documents first. You need to book an appointment for this, once your documents are ready, so they can give you a date.

Indeed, this whole process thing can be confusing. So what documents are you legalizing? Gosh! So I will need to do this stuff...

geniuzio:


Thanks bro. Yes, I've received all the relevant docs from my school (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid). I'm currently in Abuja and I'll be authenticating my docs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. I've also booked an appointment for legalization at the Spanish Embassy. They replied and asked me to come on June 29.

Always welcome bro, I want to ask if you have made any appearance at the embassy? And what requirements did they ask you to provide as a scholarship holder or is it just the general requirements?

1andonly:
So Seun apparently coded the website to output bleep when you type exexex. Dunno why. Suddenly turned my name, my dad's, uncle and school to bleep.

bleep.com was spot on really. hahahahaha

Nice cover letter! My advice is this give a summary of your major contributions in your current place of work and make it less informal, you never can tell who will read it

I like the bleep's creativity

geniuzio:
I also won an Erasmus Mundus scholarship and my first mobility country is also Spain. Are you through with your visa process? I've started mine but it's very confusing!

@geniuzio... Congrats on scholarship! Have you received your final docs from your school? What stage are you in your visa processing? I am yet to start my visa processing, waiting to receive final docs from my school. But 1andonly, has been of great help and at the frontier... Just as he said, welcome on board!

enigma14:
Thanks and congrats @Seunbunmi. I only notified our coordinator last nite with d Student visa requirement I got from d spanish consulate. Her last mail asked us to send such as she will communicate with us soon on accommodation and other official docs. Have U gotten ur official docs? I will b studying @ the University of Cordoba

@enigma14, I also forwarded same to my coordinator, he said I will be given some docs that will cover the requirements. I got a mail few days ago that I will get the docs ASAP! I seriously hope that the docs will ease visa processing, because I am yet to make physical appearance at the embassy.

1andonly:


Well my first advise before you step out is to strategize. So one of the very first things I will do is to stamp my Bsc certificate at my former university that is the CTC stamp.

Then I will touch base with the translator ingles@traduccion-jurada-oficial.com. His name is Rodrigo Mencia he is certified by the Spanish Embassy and he gave me such a princely treatment. Send him your documents so you are not caught out in case you want to use NIPOST.

I will also go to WAEC (yes you need this whether you are applying for Masters or no) and request they send my result to the Spanish consulate.

I will go to a General hospital in Awka and do the medical test. I described this at some point in the post. Just tell them you want to do the routine medical check for visa and they'd help you figure the rest.

If I had a friend in Abuja, I will send him my documents with the details I have given on these boards so he can help with authentication in Abuja. I have never lived in Abuja myself but I know that the ministry of foreign affairs is opposite ministry of education.

All these you can achieve without moving from your location thereby saving money.

When you have all the necessary documents requisite for legalization, then send the consulate (with the email I provided) and e-mail. Don't travel yet. Wait for their response. When they respond, you can then travel. I say this because I sent them an e-mail on like the 8th and they gave me my appointment on the 20th so if you travel, you'd have to move back.

For insurance, I have also elaborated on this. When you come to Lagos, go to AIICO. It's not a biggie and its not absolutely necessary now. You can do it before you visa application.

As per cost, I have spent nothing less than N200,000. When you remove insurance it should be around N160,000 and I did not patronize any agent. But then I made a couple of mistakes which if you can avoid and depending on the peculiarity of your application (I had to book down a hostel as my school does not have one which means I had to buy dollars as the hostel said they won't accept paypal payment), you might spend well below 150,000 for everything.

My best advise to you: start now! There is no time and starting early will give you leeway to make mistakes and correct them ASAP.

@1andonly, thank you for this... @enigma14, Congrats on the Erasmus scholarship! Have you received your final official documents from your school? I am also a recipient of the scholarship, would be starting my studies at University of Barcelona...

izutex007:




#congrats seun...mek us proud in Europe!!!


Pls shade mre light on statement of purpose; cv et al.,


#Stl preparing, scholarships aint available in my field yt (Biochemistry)

Thank you!

You should start working on your career and academic goals. I will also advice you put into effective use the education you have acquired so far or still acquiring.

cheers.

islamics:

Congrats: I look forward to hearing more goods new from Nairaland applicants and mine 'soon'. All the Best!

Thanks! I also look forward to that.

1andonly:
@Seunbunmi coincidentally the parent university of Graduate School of Economics is UAB.

That's good to know! I had made a post earlier, only to discover that its been deleted. Well, I believe the moderators are doing their job, it's all good!

I want to ask, the translating issues you raised , is it applicable to all Spanish Visa categories? I got an info that I will be issued a schegen visa...

Looking forward to see us study at the same institution!

Cheers.

1andonly:


Quite ambiguous but I'd try. I'm done with undergraduate studies. I'm working class. I'm enrolling into Barcelona Graduate School of Economics.

Hello, thanks for starting this thread, quite insightful. I recently won an Erasmus Masters scholarship and my first mobility country is Spain. Waiting for my school to send the necessary documents. So I will be visiting the Spanish Embassy soon.

Also I would be going to Barcelona!

Regards.

The European commission has validated my admission and Erasmus scholarship. All expense paid trip to Europe!! Thank you Jesus! Super grateful!!!!

islamics:

Please my own problem is writing a powerful statement of purpose. The issue of reference is also pissing me off from all this scholarship stuff. I once applied for a scholarship only to be informed later that one of my referee did not submit his own reference.

You can forward your statement of purpose to my email, I will give necessary advice and suggestions. As regards the references, that is why you need to start preparation early.

transbut5:

One more thing bro. Please drop me your email let me inbox you. I need you to put me through on certain aspects. Thanks in anticipation

royalseun@gmail.com

collinsy2:
Hi Seun, What if your area of achievement is different from your course of study?

You will need to look for a course that fits into your area of achievement. And in your application, you will need to convince them how your course has helped you to achieve the feats. If you can do this effectively, it is jackpot!!

For example, I was preselected for a master's scholarship which to an extent is based on my area of achievement a little different from my course of study. But I guess I was able to convince them how my course of study helped me to achieve the feats.

transbut5:

Thanks bro. That's quite encouraging. After considering my cgpa, I set my focus on low level universities abroad. I want to apply for an Msc program and want an advise as regards to my chances on this particular erasmus mundus. Thanks in anticipation for your candid advise.

You are welcome bro. Yes you have a good chance for the Erasmus programme (depends on the course to an extent) but you will need to put in a strong application, Statement of Purpose, CV (Europass format) and good references.

In summary, you should be able to clearly show them what you have achieved in life with the education you have acquired so far.

WhyNa:


June is not possible. The latest is April as time has to be given for the awardees to receive their scholarship certificate amongst other things, time to apply for visa and then flight bookings. I don't doubt the info you got, it's possible. Some courses even state on their website that 2 people from a country cannot be awarded the scholarship

You are right bro! it varies.