My brother having obtained his passport will proceed to get his Visa to Italy. Please are there tips, precautions he needs to take in order to make the process a smooth and successful one?

My brother having obtained his passport will proceed to get his Visa to Italy. Please are there tips, precautions he needs to take in order to make the process a smooth and successful one?

And before you ask how many international airports I have passed through, I have been to a significant number across six continents. At least I have passed through over 150 in 78 countries.

I think that should be enough to have the experiential knowledge on how some of these things work.

The key issue is that Nigeria does not want to change.
Nigerians love the chaos that envelopes them daily. It appears that “anyhowness” has been embedded into our social DNA such that whatever efforts to get us to drop our ways of doing things would meet stiff oppositions.

I have to admit that the MMIA Terminal 2 is more decent than the old terminal, but from my experience in the last few months, you could still see that it is fast becoming infected.
Please let the signs at the arrival halls do their jobs.

There is no need stationing an officer to tell passengers where to queue. The signs ate bold enough, and if anyone makes mistake and stay on wrong queue, they would correct themselves. It is not a crime.

It appears Nigeria Immigration Service has far more officers than is needed because I do not see why you should have up to five to six officers carving out job specifications of “Yellow Fever” traffic control of passengers.

“Welcome sir, how was your flight, go here, go there, stay here, and stay there”……six well trained officers? What a waste of human resources.

I have cried out before, questioning why we should have NDLEA, DSS check passengers passports before sending them to the Immigration officers. That too is a huge waste of manpower. All over the world, the best practice is a single officer stamp you in, or stamps you out. The country should have a central security database accessible to all agencies.

This unnecessary inter-agency trust deficit is itself a security risk. That was one of the weaknesses of the American system before 9/11, and after a thorough overhaul of internal security the agencies got merged that is why the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) handles both customs and Immigration with the support of the US Dept. of Homeland Security officers who carry out oversight functions in realtime.

That is what obtains in virtually all the advanced economies of the world that I have traveled to in the last few years.
The US has even stopped stamping passports. They simply scan you in, and scan you out. Some cases you do it yourself, they just direct you where to place your passport. Even you check in yourself at airline counter, print your boarding passes and baggage tags, affix them on your bags, and take to the counter to drop. SIMPLE LIFE.

Yes, we pay for trolley in many other countries, in most US airports, it is $6.

But what does it take to actualize some of these workable things in Nigeria?

Infrastructurally, it is next to nothing, but mentally, it is Sysiphian. We love suffering.

Across the world, interactions between the immigration officer and the passenger is recorded live with a supervisor listening in, some other countries have video cameras that capture everything so that issues of forcing first time passengers ( as is mostly the case here) to slip in dollar notes inside their passports are not there.
I experienced this in India over 7 years ago.

In Indonesia, I saw a great innovation where passengers has a HDTV screen that captures from the time their luggage leaves the belly of the aircraft onto the carrousel then down to the hall for retrieval. You watch everything on screen.

I would not want to go into my experiences at either Changi International Singapore, Narita, and Haneda both in Tokyo, or even Incheon International Seoul, those are what airports should aspire to be. If you miss your flight at Changi, you wont even know you missed anything. It is home in itself.

Like in Shanghai, AI has already ran a full security scan on you before you get to the counter thus oftentimes, you are waved to go carry your luggage.

Sometime in February, I was pleasantly shocked when I landed at brand news terminal of Freetown International Airport Lungi, Sierra Leone, the seamlessness of the organization was mind blowing.

There were only five non passengers at the baggage collection point. Two from the airline, two from Customs, one airport Police officer, and nobody was marketing his exceptional skill of helping you carry your luggage. You would experience same thing in Niamey, Senegal, Mauritania, Ethiopia, among many other African countries, but not Nigeria, especially Lagos.

Nigeria is the only place where you have a long table of over 15 officers from different agencies all competing against one another by shouting at the passenger to come to their own stand at the same time. Is it not shameful that officers would be shouting as if they are market women at Oyigbo selling pepper and crayfish hustling for customers?

Sometimes they even fight amongst themselves over quest to "obtain" from a passenger. National shame.

Then immediately you step out of the hall, all hell would be let loose on you, from taxi drivers to money changers, to touts hustling for everything under the Sun would besiege you as if you are a lamb on its way to a slaughter house.

At the taxi pickup stand, you’re your harassment continues, they would not even allow the person who came to pick you up to see space to park. At the same time touts masquerading as airport officials would want to clamp the wheels of your car. WTF is this country?

You would encounter able bodied men and women would be struggling with you to put your luggage into your own car, after which they besiege you with demands.
How can a country grow and develop on the back of anyhowness as a national lifestyle?

Dear Festus Keyamo, you promised to tackle some of these shameful acts during your oath taking, it is going to a year...


Kelechi Deca

A lot can happen in just one year.

A whole lot…

I love putting things in perspective in my little effort to help us keep our eyes on the ball. Why this drastic drop makes news for me is that the media has been too quiet about it. That in itself sounds conspiratorial to me. I hate conspiracies. Second, if the opposite was the case, the government would have milked it till last drop in celebrating their achievements in such a short time.

And Ajuri Ngelale who has been busy lately mouthing how more Nigerians are presently enjoying the economic benefits of Tinubunomics as their purchasing power has risen ( imagine) would be busier singing it from UBA rooftop, ably reechoed, and effectively rebroadcasted by their multiple vuvuzelas on social media.

I do not need any in-depth analysis for readers to understand that actually something is wrong with our economy. At least every man and woman, even children feel the pang daily. Some teeth gnashing can be heard by neighbours, even though we all put a brave face and step out every morning hoping for a “Hope” that has become elusive in less than a year.

That the country’s GDP crashed from a height of $488,964,000,000 (constant, inflation adjusted) as at the end of 2022 to a low of $253 billion (based on current prices this year), almost half its size, falling from its position as the biggest economy in Africa, to the current position of 4th biggest economy, behind Algeria ($267 billion), Egypt ($348 billion) and South Africa ($373 billion), now the number one. With their elections at hand, whether they would remain table top is a focus for another day.

The IMF forecasts also points to an increase in Nigeria’s government debt-to-GDP ratio to 46.6% in 2024, up from 46.3% in 2023. You know what that means. I was there in Washington D.C. when the latest figures were released, and Nigeria’s economic team was equally represented at the occasion. They heard it, and they acknowledged the figures with nodding of the head.

This development requires a quiet introspection.

But an introspection from a place of humility.

A trait we all know is so scarce, and not part of the present leadership. Afterall, no be statistics we go chop. Remember two weeks ago, many of you were publicly humbled into acquiescence by chants of Cardoso is a wizard, Cardoso is a genius. And any effort to ask “the how” was shouted down with accusations bothering on lack of patriotism.

Fortunately, that strategy adopted by the crowd cowed many courageous and vocal citizens. The present monetary policy contributed about 65% to this economic crash, followed by other “reforms”.

Does size matter?

Yes. It does matter, especially where it reflects the strength of growing economic activities within a given country. Meaning that a great percentage of the population is productively and actively engaged in economic activities.

Let me make a confession.

I am a journalist with bias to human development, and my interest when analyzing economies is geared towards trickledown effects policies; to what extent is the growth impacting on the lives of the people. That is basically why I have preference for data on human development index, than the comparative size of the GDP of a country.

Many people I know would prefer to live in Luxemburg than in the United States, even though if Luxemburg was one of the states that make up the United States, its $84 billion GDP would place it at number 45, lower than Maine with a GDP of $91billion but higher than North Dakota with a GDP of $74 billion.

Yet most people I know would prefer Luxemburg to the United States with its $27 trillion economy. That is why I have preference to growths that impact social status of the citizens more than just recorded growths.

I hope you get what I mean. If you do, let us proceed. But if you don’t, wait for my next post.

I know there is this debate about the actual importance of GDP size beyond bragging rights. In actual fact, changes in the GDP base may directly increase other metrics used to capture income status such as GDP per capita, though actual welfare status may not change much given the very large informal and non-monetary economy that is characteristic of African countries.

However, growth in GDP and being the leading economy in size has its own advantages. Do not let anybody tell you otherwise. It helps a country to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) especially from multinationals who consider investment destination based on the size of the economy. But other things must be right; we are all witnesses to the number of multinationals leaving the country in the last one year. Is there a correlation? We will discuss this another time.

Add to attracting foreign investment, being the numero uno gives a country a certain level of negotiating power on geopolitical and economic issues. Moreso, bragging rights comes with many other pecks both at national, international, and sociocultural levels, especially at a time soft power plays a very commanding role in geopolitics.

I have to admit that almost every economy in the world suffered from the effects of Covid-19, and every economy shrank. However, some countries have been hiding under the excuses of Covid longer than others. As Igbo elders say, let us agree that Mosquitoes are the culprits of every bite experienced in the night.

But do not forget, no be statistics we go chop.

Sent from Total Fuel Station at Onipanu.

Kelechi Deca

Banks have issues circulars for customers to link their NIN and BVN to their accounts and the deadline is near.

GT Bank seems to have released the modality for doing that but it hardly works. The website after filling my details won't even send me an OTP in order to continue with the process.

Has anyone successfully linked his NIN?

I haven't been able to access my Luno account for a while now, both the app and the web. It seems to be down.

Is anyone facing same issue?

A recent circular was passed by the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding dealings in cryptocurrency. But reading it critically, one cannot really conclude that the ban on cryptocurrency has been lifted.

Please what is the import of the recent circular and it's effect on crypto dealings?

I went into the trading of crypto until the government decided to put a ban on it by prohibiting commercial banks from facilitating such transactions. Therefore, I had to abandon it totally and now I'm contemplating on resuming it.

Is it lifted and is it still profitable?

Why are all piggyvest investments sold out? I've been trying to invest with the little I've got but it's always sold out. Do they have a particular time when they bid for investment?

If there's an alternative to piggy investment, please let me know. Thanks.

abiolert:
Their office is at Ikpoba Hill. Just try and locate the place. He needs valid means of identification, local government of origin, age declaration or affidavit. He should carry between 35k to 40k.

Thanks

Good day nairalanders. My bro is about going to Benin City to obtain an international passport. Please, where in Benin is it processed ? Also, what are the requirements and the financial cost? How long will it take him to get it too? Please help out if you have done it before. I need proper guidance. Thanks

Do you think religious differences is a big factor in marriage?

Personally, I tend to lean towards atheism and I may end up with a devout Christian. What's the possibility of having a smooth marriage without issues relating to religion?

I also do not want my children to be religiously brainwashed. In this part of the world, its really hard to find a female atheist.

I can cope with this, but the problem is if my future wife would be able to cope too.

I was having a conversation with a girl the other day and she said that one of the things she looks out for in a guy is being a strong Christian.

She advised I look for a Caucasian but I'm not buying into the Caucasian stuff because I'm not cut out for that and the chances are remote. And then, she let me know that if I should go for a Christian, her pastor might be an obstacle to us getting married.

Currently, I'm flowing well with this Christian girl and would love to settle down with her.

Those who have faced this challenge should contribute to the discourse. Those who are of a different religions with their spouse should tell us how they manage to cope.

Hello. I'm currently preparing for law school. I wanted to choose Lagos campus because Lagos state is the closest to my state but I don't really like the hustles and bustles of Lagos, so I decided choose the new campus at Port Harcourt in Rivers State.

The issue is that in Law school, one has to fend for himself as cooking is not allowed like in the normal university. Therefore, you have to buy your food.

But due to the current economic climate in Nigeria, I'm thinking that the cost of living and cost of food in Port Harcourt and Lagos will be quite high. So I would prefer a place where food is cheap.

I was contemplating going to the Northern States like Kano or any other Northern State, but the insecurity is quite discouraging.

Note that I can only fill two campuses and I will be deployed to one.

So, I need your advise on where to go for my law school. Those who have done their law school especially in the Northern States should please contribute. Thanks