₦airaland Forum

How did he get those bags out of Nigeria when some officials usually go through your bags before you check them in?

Let me contribute here as I have recently gone through the process.

I scanned my Birth Certificate and sent it to my elder brother. I thought I would be able to get a certified copy of my original as they do here in the UK. Eventually, my brother was told that he had to do the NPC attestation of Birth since I was born before NPC decree came out. He went to court in the Western state where I was born and swore an affidavit of birth for me. The document contained the place where I was born, both my parents name and my village/state of origin. Sameday, he went to NPC to get an attestation of Birth, but before he went to NPC, I had to send a scanned copy of my passport photograph and he printed a new copy as this was required to be put on the NPC document. He couldn't get the NPC document signed as the Boss was not around. He got a friend to send it to him next day in Lagos after it was signed.

I travelled to Abuja and took both the affidavit and the attestation of Birth to the Ministry of Foreign affairs. You need to get there as early as 8am as they have limited spaces for the day. You will join a queue and be given a form to fill after they have seen both documents. You will need 2 passport photographs. Then you will be taken to another place where your documents will be checked again. After that, you will pay for each document to be certified. it costs N300 per copy. Following this, you will go right outside the ministry to photocopy the receipt and buy a transparent file. Then you will go back to a counter beside the first place you queued to queue again for them to collect the documents. Both queues have sits under a canopy. You will be exhausted by the time they collect your documents after about 4 hours and in the heat. Then they will ask you to come on a Friday to pick it up if you submitted on a Wednesday. I think they only accept documents on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Just pray that the person signing the seal on your document is around else it may take more than 2 days. any attempt to get it earlier than the day you were given will mean that you will part with between N5,000 to N10,000. The Affidavit and the NPC document will also cost you some money if you need it pretty fast.

You will then need to book an appointment at the Embassy that you are legalizing the document for. I am not sure how it works for the Swiss embassy but you need to book an appointment for this in most European Embassies. You will be lucky to get an early date, depending on the number of people doing same thing as you.

You can do all the above through a very close relative with same surname. For the Embassy, you will need to give a covering letter to the person you are sending and he or she must have same surname as you and have an ID. I couldn't stay back in Nigeria to do the legalisation at the embassy so I left instructions and my documents and now, I need to call the Embassy from here to book an appointment following which my brother will go there for the appointment. I was told by the Embassy in Abuja that everything has to be done from Nigeria (both certifying the document at Foreign affairs and legalising at the embassy) and that I couldn't do it at the Embassies of both countries in London.

That is the pain we have to go through as nobody trusts our documents anymore! Wish you good luck.

ayoola22:
Sin no four is that he was a mad man. Only a mad man is over zealous in Nigeria. What concerns El Rufai and Abuja master plan, even if we build hotels in green areas and build mansions on drainages, why was he working like it was his father’s business, Nigerians don’t want it, don’t deserve it and don’t appreciate it.

Is the blog writer serious about this? Not even mentioning the other "sins" listed. If this is a serious writeup, then I would be getting more worried about our country!

The British Govt can't afford to have so much snow equipments that will stay useless for most part of the year!
What you see around are mostly gritters. The society is pretty handicapped in such a case of heavy snow.

I remember one Taxi shuttle driver in Illinois who told me that his Job during winter is to sprinkle salt on the roads.
So you guys have more manpower and equipments to handle snow than here in England.

For now, we are loving it like "Giant" Mac!

dani1luv:
Lazy bones

Lovely Monday!

More pic

Yet another

Another pic

Didn't even bother to leave my house this morning. Boss, you have to understand!

Usual excuses for our inefficencies from the responses by posters! we excuse virtually everything and that is why things hardly work in our country.

No excuses for this ordeal. Until it happens to you then you will not understand.

If you are not in London, can you get on a flight down here and and come and collect your visa?

chyk91:
na so singapore good.

Yes. It is a very nice country.

They had given us the opportunity to enter freely into their country and I understand that we have blown our reputation in their country and have also been doing so in neighbouring Malaysia. Singapore is now tired of our actions and have decided to react. The withdrawal of the free visa status has nothing to do with trying to make money from visa fees. The visa fees cannot make any difference to their economy. We should stop damaging our reputation everywhere and making life difficult for others.

Just saw that Nigerians now require a visa to visit Singapore from 1st December 2008!
What have we done that have made this people to change their minds about us?  Our reputation ought to be getting better and not worse!

http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=168&secid=166

I think Alexandra deserves to win. Great voice and voice projection and good entertainment performance, but I sometimes don't like the way she overacts. I didn't quite see the voice projection in JLS and Eoghan is better off doing High School musicals. Simon supports who will make money for him, period! 

Personally, I think people will vote for a guy as the winner if the guy is clearly outstanding. I still can get over Alexandra's rendition of Beyonce's Listen in the videos below. Have even gone on to purchase Beyonce's original track from Itunes as well as Alexandra's version of Hallelujah. She is better prepared now after Louis ejected her from the competition three years ago, so never give up your dream if you believe in it. She has stepped into her mother shoes as a great artiste or has even surpassed her. I really loved the Soul II Soul band in the 80's.

http://xfactor.itv.com/videos/video-detail/item_200555.htm
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ty3VGaQd18

It is official. Days of free entry to Switzerland for UK residents who do not hold visa free passports are over!
Switzerland has joined the Schengen agreement so its now the same lengthy process to get the Schengen visa for entry to Switzerland and other European countries.

http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps/eur/vgbr/ref_visinf/visgbr/impnot.html

azorjiu:
Reading through the comments which celebrate the witch- hunting of Ribadu by Yar Adua and his cronies, I can't but say

"Bleed, bleed, poor country/Nigeria!
Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure,
For goodness dare not check thee! wear thou thy wrongs;, " Shakespeare.

You guys calling for the crucifixion of Ribadu,
is our memory too short to remember that this was a man who fought corruption the best he could?
Remember this was the man whose actions changed people's perceptions about nigeria.
He put his life on the line for our sake, forgetting that nigeria is irredeemable.

Now, we all want him killed just because he confronted the devil.

Lady Waziri is in, and the corruption war is dead.
We can now rejoice and celebrate.
"Now we are in an era of the rule-of-law"
We can only get what we ask for.


Something has gone wrong with my fatherland,
and her children are fled to safety!

You have just about summed it up!

Lets wait for that "Saint" that some of you are looking for and see how long we will wait. We need to build on past attempts to right wrongs no matter how little they were. While I cannot vouch for Ribadu or his actions as I do not know him personally, I do know at least that the Master plan designed for Abuja in the 70's had been completely bastardised before this guy came in. He did destroy countless number of houses to revert to the master plan and in the process, he hurt many people directly or indirectly some of who may be on this thread. I wish you knew that Washington DC, Brasilia City, Putrajaya, e.t.c are all administrative cities that abuja should look like. There are allegations that he spared some people or even gave out Lands and houses to people but it is left for the Government to substantiate the claims and prosecute him if found guilty.

During his tenure, he also instilled some level of sanity into public office and even private sector accountability. There is absolutely no way you can achieve all this without being in the blackbook of even your Superiors or hurting many. Now, why the guy even stayed back in the Police Force after he lost power baffles me! He should expect nothing but the humiliation that he is currently receiving as certain people will not go to sleep until they have seen the demise of this guy. Obviously, the don't want blood on their hands else he may have been gone a long ago. Pick up a Nigerian newspaper of the 1980's and the headlines will just be as fresh as today's! When shall we ever learn?

AngieFan:
As I said, you are a grade A obnoxious b!Tch! Whatever you wish for the UK will come to fore in your own backyard. I can't the believe the level of hate on here. People like you will proudly claim that you are from the greatest black nation, one that is so steeped in religion but at the same time spew so much bitterness and hate about a whole country of people. What's the matter? refused a UK visa?

@AngieFan,

Glite may not be from Nigeria just like you probably are not Nigerian and posting messages on this board. So it may be better if you held back some of those unpleasant words about Nigeria or Nigerians in response to Glite's posts.

Back to the main topic of the post, I have not had the feeling here in London that The UK people are not happy about Obama. This is from hearing people talk about him and reading the papers.

If you see and have access to the link http://www.economist.com/vote2008/ , you would see that UK subscribers to The Economist magazine who are mostly corporate and business individuals leaned strongly to Obama (90%) to McCain's 10%. You can also see how the rest of the world leaned towards the candidates. It was largely in favour of Obama.

Jakumo:
No chit. Then how come the entire nation of Nigeria is still without ANY electrical power ?

Oh, right, I get it. We are talking about THEORETICAL power generation figures that exist only in the minds of the officials who looted all the money budgeted for power generation in Nigeria.

Even if we were producing at maximum capacity, there will still be areas without electricity.
The current demand far outweighs the current supply and capacity. We need more power stations and upgrades of existing ones.

The topic of your post is misleading. How do you expect to get responses when you deceive people?

jacq:
I went to the canada immigration site and i found out i could stay up to 3 or 6 months i think without visa
so that is something.(due to belguim nationality) Maybe a working visa is something i have to look into.

You could apply for it. The experience will be worthwhile if you go to Canada.
Perhaps you speak French and Quebec should suit you fine.

K2:
I agree with Ezinwannem. The fact that you have a permit to reside in Europe hopefully in an EU country is a huge difference. Forget about the ties stuff. As long as you have a job and could return to your base, I don't forsee any problem getting a Visa as a tourist. The working Visa though might be additional legwork. Also, you might want to check up on the Canadian embassy website. It might surprise you that you might end up not actually not needing a visa.

I guess you and @Ezinwannem do not need a visa to visit Canada otherwise I would have said that a trial will convince you if you live in Europe. You need to hear more about people who have been denied visas. Living in Europe is not a credential for getting a visa. Yes, the Canadians do issue visas to Nigerians but you need to meet their requirements as they deem fit not as you think fit. You are probably only treated with more respect as you live in Europe, but it does not greatly influence your application or guarantee you a visa. The US embassy appear to be better in issuing visas if you meet the basic requirements and reside here.

As for the section of your post I put in bold, apart from West African Countries, how many countries are left in this world that a Nigerian does not require visa to visit (even with residencies of European and North America Countries)? I don't think they are up to 5 such countries.

Stealthy:
Do they check ur luggage? When u're meeting with he immigration officer, only ur hand luggage is with u & I've never seen anybody's being searched. U only unite with ur checked in baggage later anyway so it should be possible for people to get away with these things, I think.

You ought to have seen customs checking people's luggage at "Nothing to Declare" section. Even though they are not immigrations, I suppose that they can still give you problems if they find some items that you ought not to have if you are only there for a visit. Sometimes they also search you when you just come out of the plane and the search could extend to your hand luggage.

There is absolutely no effort or plan in place by the Government to give Education the priority it deserves.

Compare the performance to that in the UK this 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7574073.stm

@jennykadri,

Don't you think the account opening rule only applies for students wishing to study for long? Since you said it will be a language visa and not student's visa, then the person may not need to open an account. Not sure though as I am only reasoning it that way.

It depends on the lifestyle you want to live when you get home. $1000 is about 120k if I am right.

For three months, that comes to about 40k per month. An average taxi cab depending on the distance is about 1K. A decent fast food meal also costs about 1K. So a return trip out with a taxi and a meal will set you back by about 3K. Going out for drinks will also cost you money. If you have a car available to you, you will likely spend less. Hope the $1000 does not include money to settle people?  Otherwise, it may not be enough!

You can carry whatever electronics you like. The situation is not that bad. They may not even stop you at customs point. If they are portable items and can fit into your hand luggage, then the better. Try to carry your portable and high value items in your hand luggage.

kadman:
How confirmed is this ? So I can enter Switzerland with 6 months UK visiting visa ??

It is confirmed but only valid for UK residents. Applicable to Students, Work permit holders, employment visa holders, e.t.c. As long as you have a valid resident visa and not visitors visa. Switzerland is set to join Schengen rule (but not EU) very soon so you have a chance to visit now or get a visa in the near future! http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/nav/en/citizens/travelling/schengen-area/index_en.html

Here is a response from the Swiss embassy to my inquiry and I have already visited the country without issues. They will however scrutinize the visa on entry with whatever you cannot see behind their desk. This is especially in the case where you hold a Nigerian passport. Note that they will not stamp your passport on entry or exit. Only when you return to the UK will your passport be stamped by UK immigration. You also have to travel with a direct flight especially if you don't have a Schengen visa. Should you go to the city of Geneva which shares a border with France and is very close, do not make the mistake of going into France as you may be deported if caught! The risk is not worth taking:

Dear Sir / Madam

The attached document confirms that if you hold a valid UK Entry Clearance and a valid national passport, you do not require a visa to travel to Switzerland.

Yours faithfully


Embassy of Switzerland

16-18 Montagu Place
London W1H 2BQ
Great Britain
Tel.: +44 (0)207 616 6000
Fax: +44 (0)207 723 9581
mailto:swissembassy@lon.rep.admin.ch
webpage: www.eda.admin.ch/london

The fact that you live in Europe makes no difference to the Canadian embassy. Prove your STRONG TIES to the country in Europe where you reside and they will give you visa. Otherwise, you will be met with a refusal. Ties include Job, Mortgage, Family, e.t.c and your proof must be a combination of some of these ties and not just one.

damola1:
Simply state it there that you collect "EGUNJE"

You think they don't know, Just tell them the truth, and u will be in uk before u know it.

Yeah, only if they give him the chance to speak. Otherwise, the outcome will be decided without even seeing him.

He has already agreed to quit so we expect him to. Now, that is real democracy and not like our leaders who will cling to power at all cost just to have all their bills paid by the Government. Some will even stoop so low as to accept jobs that are less in reponsibilities than they held in a previous dispensation.

patelbhupi:
Hello to all,

please i need guidance from you, i am presenting my Appeal procedure step by step in details

[B]1. I applied for UK WHM visa in January 2008 and i my visa application rejectd - January 2008

2. I was appeal againd the ECO decision - January 2008

3. letter dated 29th July 2008 from AIT - Appeal allowed

4. I personaly went to UK embassy - Paris on 15th September 2008.[/B]
[I]They wasnt received any determination for my appeal decision. (After 7 weeks)[/I]

[B]5. I call to HOmeOffie in UK about my appeal determination - 15th September 2008[/B]
I give them my appeal number, name, Date of birth and Nationality, but she told me they don't have any record for my appeal in his computer database

[B]6. I call same day to AIT. - 15th September 2008[/B]
[I]They told me your appeal is allowed and until 7 weeks Homeoffice not appeal again the decision, you have to contact Visa section and home office for determination of appeal.[/I]

Now AIT letter dated 29th July 2008 indicate my appeal has been allowed But homeoffice and UK embassy in paris have no any information about my appeal, so what can i do in this condition

I am really very thanks ful to you if you provide me any contact details or email address or any further step taking for my appeal.
Thanks in advances

Maybe you should make a photocopy of the determination from AIT and send to the embassy in Paris. It may make them to call you faster.

I don't know much about it.

See links below:
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile973/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_engineering

But in simple terms, I would think that upon graduation, apart from designing ships, you should be able to ensure that a ship gets from point A to B and deliver its cargo without any technical issues (while you are aboard the ship).