₦airaland Forum

Just saw your points, sums up what i was trying to say perfectly.

Ofcourse the UK as with any country wants only the best to remain in it's country and contribute.

dustydee:
To make a blanket statement that there are no jobs is simply not true. There are jobs for those with the right mindset. The unemployment rate is a combination of different factors. A visit to some job boards will show you that there are tens of thousands of jobs. I know for a fact that the big four each have over 1000 vacancies which they struggle to fill each year. One of the reasons foreign student don’t get jobs after graduation is because in their minds “there are no jobs”.


You are right that the UK government are tightening immigration rules. There are however about 20000 tier 2 visa places every year. Are you aware that the places remained unfilled for the past few years?
You have about 18 months to look for a job in the UK. The mistake most people make is that they wait till they finish their program before looking for jobs. The UK system doesn’t work that way. You start looking for a job when you commence your program (I am assuming a masters degree program). Most big companies complete their recruitment process for September start around February (Just when you start your second semester). The key is applying early as most companies operate on a “first come first served basis”.

The visa and the school fees are high but the standard of education is high.

Discrimination, just like everywhere else in the world.

I believe everyone leaving his country to study elsewhere should have a purpose which usually is to be a better person. If the cost to you is not commensurate with the benefits, look elsewhere.



NB: I am talking from experience.

While i agree that the UK is not a good choice for international students now, I disagree with many of your points especially number 1.

The main reason Nigerians struggle is not becuase of unemployment but simply because access to the EU for UK means Nigerians are very far down the pecking order as any UK company who requires graduates has access not only to the top universities in the UK, but also Europe i.e. Germany France etc.

This is also not helped by the fact that the bulk of Nigerians go to universities lower down the rankings. Please look at all the London Met Universities, East London Universities, South Banks etc, full of Nigerians.Then Look at the LSEs, the UCLs, The Oxfords - very few Nigerians and full of Chinese and Indians who understand the value of the brand better. There really is no incentive for any company (aside those who are looking for chap labour) to spend time and money recruiting you and sponsoring you for a work permit. It will be a hard sell to convince the home office that they could not find any UK or EU citizen to fill the role.

My point is we need to stop this trend of flocking to Universities in the UK (and even US) which have easy entry requirements and are cheap - is the trend now, if you don't believe me please visit the travel section on nairaland. Even the US, most people want a cheap school with no GRE or Toelf requirements. please tell me what level of university will you get?

A rule of thumb, if the university has to come to Nigeria to advertise then it is not worth it in my opinion. Infact the guideline I gave my sister when she was coming for her masters was if the university has to go through clearing to fill up it's places each year, then it is a NO.

You mention immigration rules, well the US rules are even more complex for work permits. Do you know how hard it is to get a H1 visa now? Can you even file a H1 or L1 visa without a lawyer? I have just been through the L1 visa process and I can attest to the fact it is more complex that the UK immigration process. I never used a lawyer in the UK.

Many Nigerian students also don't understand the recruitment process/cycle in the UK and especially those coming for a 1 year masters are in a very very disadvantaged poison as recruitment starts about September when you just started your course which means while you are trying to settle down etc, you miss the recruitment cycle which makes your getting a job harder. The US has the advantage here where some of the masters programs are about 2 years which gives time to adapt.
For those on undergraduate courses, they need to understand the importance of internships. With internships many students would get graduate roles before they graduate, but the average Nigerian would be focused on working through the summer for money instead.

In summary we need to apply common sense here, if you are a going to a top school, have top grades and credentials and understand and are ready to go through the recruitment cycle you will get a job as you stand out. if not then do not go as you will struggle.

greenhouse2012:
You have probably seen the adverts on Linda’s blog and newspapers and you thinking may be its time to go and study abroad, in the UK. However, before you take that huge leap, take a step back and evaluate your options. Having studied the system I have come up with the following reasons why studying in the UK is not as attractive as it is painted.

1. There are no Jobs
It is the dream of everyone going to study abroad to get to practice their skills in the environment where they have learned them. Unfortunately, however, for migrants coming to study in the UK, the chances of getting a job after completion of their study are very slim and there a few reasons for this. But most importantly is that there are simply no Jobs. The UK has an unemployment rate of about 6% and there are about 1 million UK citizens receiving job seekers allowance. So you see, jobs are difficult to come by.

2. Immigration Rules
The immigration rules in the UK are quite complex and sometimes even officials in the universities do not understand many of these rules as it is none of their business. The UK immigration system has been deliberately designed to deter migrants from coming into the country. Unlike in the past, the Tier 4 student Visa does not have enough time allowance for foreign students to apply for Jobs and attend interviews after the completion of their study. You would usually on get between 2-4 months to stay after handing-in you dissertation. This is usually not enough time. In addition, to be eligible for a job interview, the company must ensure that there is no suitable UK citizen for that job. This is almost always impossible except for few fields such as medicine and nursing.

3. Excessive Visa application fees and expensive tuition
Applying for a Tier 4 student Visa could be a nightmare. At present, it costs £322 (NGN 100000). This is excluding costs associated with planning, consulting and logistics. In addition, you have to have a “maintenance fund” in your bank account for 28 consecutive days at least 31 days before your Visa application. This includes a full year tuition fee which could be about £12000 (NGN 3.6 Million) and living expenses of about £10000 (NGN 3 Million). These are definitely not easy to come by, even by well to do UK Citizens. More recently, there has also been an addition of a “Health Surcharge” of about £150 pound (NGN 50000) a year and you don’t get a refund if during the year you do not use the health system.
In terms of Tuition fees, the average tuition fee for a non-UK citizen for most one-year courses is about £12000 (NGN 3.6 Million) which is about twice the amount a UK citizen pays for the same course.

4. Discrimination
Although not overt, there is a subtle but palpable air of discrimination towards immigrants in the UK, more so in recent years where many people face financial hardships. Many UK citizens have been made to believe that immigrants are the cause of their difficulties, however many independent studies would disprove this. The truth however remains that many Britons would prefer that you stay back in your home country.

5. It is not worth the hassle
Considering the financial implications, job prospects and the shock associated with relocating, it is only wise to think and think again before taking that step towards coming to the UK to study. Even UK citizens with all the benefits they have being citizens do not find it easy coping with their own system.
UK universities make money off immigrants hence the widespread media campaigns and open days, however they do not influence policies in a positive way so as to make it a wise investment for young people hoping to break new ground. Therefore, before you take that step, think, “Would I be better-off investing the money and resources in other more fruitful ventures?”
This is not to discourage you. Many people come to the UK and settle in nicely, but you must weigh the pros against the cons before you take your decisions.

Compared to the population of Nigeria we are not as rich as you think if the wealth is evenly distributed.

wachakuta:
Wind of Change....

And to be sincere dis con3 is DAMN rich.. asin walai Nigeria is very rich, if we can harness our resources and eliminate corruption, I'm sure FG will be able to pay more than 5k monthly sef...

If u ain't happy wiv dis Govt u have my permission to stay sober for d rest of ur miserable life...

If we are honest with ourselves, majority of the so called believers in Nigeria are hypocrites.

They sin everyday yet claim to be believers and put God's name in every conversation. The church in Nigeria has been turned into a materialistic prosperity driven machine to milk people dry. Many of the people in church in Nigeria today are there for the hope of miracles not to really workshop God.

We have allowed religion to become an excuse for laziness in Nigeria. A situation where a western country will strive to find a solution to a problem, we leave it to God that God will do it. We spend so much time and money in church seeking help (not worshipong) that we spend on research, development etc.

Nigeria has one the highest number of churches per people and Sq ft in the world, yet we are so corrupt, and I don't see the benefits in the country.

Let a pastor announce people to donate for the chance of being blessed financially and see how people will troop out ignoring one simple fact, where is this money you expect to get coming from.

We have been brainwashed in Nigeria. Even the people who brought religion to Nigeria do not do it the way you do.

If you are a real believer you would be comfortable enough to accept other people's beliefs. It doesn't mean you have to believe what they believe but the annoying reaction of labelling someone who claims to be an atheist as evil etc shoes how unsecured people really are in yourself and your religion.

There are 6 billion people in the world, so don't expect only people who practice Christianity like Nigerians will make heaven.

2dillu2:
nobody will kill you because of being an atheist here in northern 9ja I don't know which north you are talking about

Pascal181:
My dear frnd,ignorance is not an excuse. The judgement day is coming and u will be give account of everyting u re doing. Pls believe in Christ and be saved.

[quote author=TobiDave post=34730621 If we don't hold our politicians responsible for our backwardness, who else do we hold? GOD?][/quote]We not only hold our leaders responsible but every Nigerian as well. The mentality of the average Nigerian needs to change to one of progression, development, continuous improvement, maintainance and research not just focusing on money money money.

There must be clear separation between governing the country and religion. We have allowed religion to mesh into every aspect and it drives laziness because we are all expecting this but miracle of huge money
We spend so much on church and nothing on research yet if another ebola crisis comes again we will be begging for vaccines.

It will probably take a generation of change for the mentality to change.

Lol

akoaki:
Better wake up from your deep sleep. However, I appreciate your strong sense of patriotism.

Most reputable companies in most major countries ask for 2:1 minimum. Same with most reputable schools when applying for masters.

This is not peculiar to Nigeria.

kamez:
Blame urself. I'm sure u already knew that the requirement was 2:1, u for just waka pass jeje.

He who pays the piper, dictates the tune.its their company so they have the right to decide who and how they want to recruit.

Move on my guy


Naija companies and their obsession with 2:1 sha.

I love the way you cut through the fat straight to the heart of the matter lol

onatisi:
the op is a nigerian,maybe living in ghana so he applied as a ghanian ,not expecting to win but now he has won,he will need a ghana passport,birth certificates and some other documents from the ghana government which they can't give him because he has no record with them, so what the op wants to do is to change his country and use his nigeria passport and certificates .

The unit will probably be based in the UK helping to stop the transfer of ill gotten gains from nigeria to the UK and not that they will be in Nigeria.

It's a good move as it reduces attraction of stealing money in Nigeria to buy houses etc in the UK or other western countries.

barcanista:
New UK Unit Will fight Corruption and Boko Haram

I never knew that Nigeria has become an extension of the UK. The UK anti-corruption agency will be the one fighting corruption in NIGERIA, and their Military will fight BH(another Iraq). So what is the use of Buhari in power when the UK is to take care of our domestic issues? Nigerians should have been told that we are the newest British territory.

To think that paid APC trolls are hailing this is pathetic, and more pathetic that President Buhari saw no shame in retweeting it.

Good point - whenever I try to explain to people who ask for advice, it always comes across as I don't want them to travel abroad for studies.

Going for the schools with the easy entrance requirements and in most cases cheap tuition is not the best option.

AreaFada2:
[/b].

Not necessarily true. People just don't select properly when coming from 9ja. Though money is an issue too.

In my secondary school days in 9ja, our teachers told us that if you do well in WASCE, you can walk into any top university in the world. We grew up with that mentality.
Even some UK born kids of 9Ja descent refuse to apply to Russel group (Ivy league) universities. They think they cannot get in. I can't understand why.

I applied to several top universities in UK, and the experience was largely positive. I simply chose the most convenient for me. I was already resident in UK though.

If possible, don't apply to post-1992 (new) UK universities except in a few cases where some are very good/innovative in subjects like IT (tailored to industry needs) law, diplomacy, etc. Because their fees are smaller and admission is easier, foreign students rush to those universities.

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Why is there so much bitterness, hatred and disunity against buhari?

He may not be your choice president and but he won the election and is the constitutional head of stay hence we should all join hands and work with him and not all this abuse and bitterness I see all over nairaland.

By the way he wasn't my choice for president, but neither was Jonathan yet he is president and he should be accorded the respect the office deserves and also before condensing and being so critical give him time. All this abuse after 2 days in office is not positive for Nigeria at all.

America definitely has good prospects and so does the likes of the UK but it's a matter of getting yourself there legally with the right to work. Going on a visitor visa in my opinion is asking for trouble.

If you must I would say the US may be better for illegals compared to the UK as it's a lot harder to work or do anything in the UK as an illegal these days.

eferaka:
thanks ttmacoy.
in your own advice what country has such prospects i am looking for? would appreciate your expertise.
regards

The visa may be valid for 2 years but you are only allowed to stay maximum of 6 months each time and even then you must be ready to explain to immigration each time why you are staying up to 6 months each time if the reason you gave when applying for visa was holiday.

Failure to return within the 6 months automatically makes you illegal and it's tough to be illegal nowadays.

Just so you know.

eferaka:
Its not a scam bro. naturally they issue 2yrs visa. u can confirm

Easy to say from a safe distance in lagos or abuja or whenever you are. If you were living in the affected areas or had family there who had been wrongly accused, tortured, killed and arrested by the army you would be singing A different tune.

Also whilst I aknowledge that the army need to eradicate boko haram, they must be professional and protect innocent Nigerians in the process. This abuse also has the implications of pushing people to boko haram or driving another underground terrorist movement. How easy would it be for boko to recruit a young man whose father was killed innocently by the army?

We all know the Nigerian army abuses the people they are there to protect. How many times have they beaten innocent people up on the streets of Lagos? Forcefully getting free rides on buses claiming staff etc.

All I am saying is they must be professional and protect the innocent an don't just eradicate everyone.

Ohammadike:
Good one from buhari keep on killing the spirits of our soldiers.

Fvck amnesty whatever
God bless our soldiers

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I second justwise advice.

I would say with the letter you write, address each point they made to refuse you e.g. Regarding no deposit, explain about your insurance and refer to the letter you get from insurance company. Regarding not enough funds explain clearly your account balance and also an estimate of the cost of your2 weeks stay to show you do have enough funds. As justwise said hopefully another ECO looks at the case positively.

Goodluck.

Nigerians can never be satisfied. If she says she wore the expensive version they will say corruption, where did she get the money, too much opulence.

If she says she wore the cheaper fake one they would say how can our first lady be wearing aba made.

Aviation fuel is a unleaded form of kerosene.

Subsidy should be removed before refineries.

Why? Firstly because the goverment cannot afford to continue paying subsidies and also invest the huge sums required to develop our refineries. This is evidenced by the fact the government is borrowing to pay salaries at the moment.

Secondly the goverment shouldn't be the only one building all the refiberies we need. This should fall to private investors, but no investor is willing to invest billions of the government dictates how much to sell their product.

Removing subsidy will free up the sector to market forces and in the short to medium term prices will go up ( they are already up anyway) but in the medium to long term with competition and supply it will come down and the money saved from su sides can be better used in more crucial areas.

holuphisayor:
govt also needs to build more refineries before removing subsidy

One word corruption.

Also the difference between the subsidy you mention in China and subsidy for oil is the Chinese subsidy is to stimulate economic growth and development through manufacturing while for Nigeria it's for paying for oil for cars and generators. We are using billions and trillions to find recurring expenses which does not bring about capital development.

Kx:
I wonder why subsidies are problems only in Nigeria but are serious economic tools in China to stimulate economic activities and resource allocation.

The truth is bitter. People keep saying they want change yet are not ready for the sacrifices and pain that change brings.

You are right we cannot afford the subsidy. We like to abuse countries like the UK that they pay too much tax but that tax is crucial for the government to be able to provide the services to citizens.

No pain no gain.

Subsidy removal will be painful in the short term, but in the medium to long term it will drive investment in refineries and allow private companies invest their funds. This will bring down the price. It will drive investment in an efficient transport system. With a good efficient transport system we do not need so many cases on the road everyday especially for work days.

This will take a few years of pain and sacrifice if not we will continue to be in the same mess.

gohome:
Answer

ohzee better position to debate whether we should retain subsidy or not.[/i]

[b]This analysis has been done by so many Nigerians. It has been done by your neighbors, Ghana, Togo etc. It has been done by your felow African brothers like Kenya SA. The world bank too has done this shockingly. The Average Price (landing cost) of crude oil is +/- 1.1 dollars per liter. It can vary based on Transportation, grade of refine products and taxes.


wirinet:

Having said that, i am not a fan of deregulation in a critical sector like the petroleum sector. There is never deregulation in the real sense of the word in any country in the world, government always regulate to some extent all industries in order to prevent abuse, monopoly and to protect public interest. It is the degree of regulation we should be debating about. "Deregulation" is good in situations with efficient market economy with strong institutions, but had been proven to be disasterous in countries with inefficient or underdeveloped markets with very weak institutions. All you will produce is monopoly or Oligarchy and the masses being at the mercy of a few powerful cabals.

gohome: If you do not deregulate, you wont build efficiency in Nigeria. Refining margines are very small with the volatile oil market you have. Big players like Shell BP Total etc would not build refineries if you do not let you government hands off. When Dangote's refinery is ready he will sell to Ghana, Togo and the likes if your Govt does not hands off. Fuel is not cheap. it is 220 Naira per liter. Get use to it.


wirinet:

This is what we have in almost all sectors of the Nigerian economy that had undergone deregulation. This is why deregulated Diesel and aviation fuel will never be cheap and available. This is why DSTV, MTN, Etisalat, etc can charge the masses very high tarrifs with very poor services. This is why deregulated NEPA is worse than regulated NEPA. I can go on and on. Before Thatcher deregulated or privatized the British economy, she made sure that the public run enterprises were running optimally and efficiently and very efficient regulatory bodies were in place.

gohome:

Thats the good thing about deregulation.

MTN better than NITEL
DSTV better than NTA
NESCO better than NEPA.

If you choose to use NITEL because MTN service is not good, go ahead. If you choose to watch NTA, go ahead. If you choose to use NEPA instead of solar and inverter, or NESCO go ahead.

NESCO is an independent power company in Jos that supplies 24 hours light to its customer


Reply to Shiftmarket Comments




gohome: I will say it again. Corruption is one of the problems. Maybe the major problem, but it is not all the problem.

The best way to fight corruption is to totally remove what fuels the corruption. It is that simple. Also 100 billion, 350 billion, !1 Trillion, we do not have the money to pay for subsidy.





gohome: If you can trust them with 4 trillion annual budget, then trust them with 1, 2 300 billion. y dont you go collect the 4 trillion Naira because you dont trust them with it and put in your house. You want to waste 300 billion on petroleum subsidy and blame your government for infrastructural decay, No power, No light, external and internal debt, non payment of salary etc. You want your kids to be out of school, you want your wife to die in the hospital because you do not have good medicare, but you want to fuel your Gen in a leaking house? SMH





gohome: Subsidy removal has nothing to do with scarcity. PMS subsidy does not exist in 90 percent of the countries in the world, yet no scarcity. Why should it be scarce in Nigeria. No subsidy in Ghana, Niger, Togo, Benin, Kenya, SA, No scarcity. PMS is available worldwide if you want to have it at 1.1 dollars per liter. The only reason for Diesel scarcity is the fact that marketers refused to lift. If MTN refuses to give you service, Etisalat will. If OandO refuses to give you diesel, Capital Oil will. Deregulate the downstream sector is the only way. 3% of your budget goes to your National Assembly. Let them pass law and implement policies to guide against capitalism excess. Go and read about the meager between ATT and Tmobile.





Reply to Wirinet Comments

[b]450,000 for domestic consumption does not fall from the sky. You have to produce it. It cost 30 dollars per bbl to produce it. Depending on the oil price, you will likely lose 9 billion dollars a year. This is minus the so called subsidy. With an infrastructural decay that needs hundreds of billions to solve, you want to pay subsidy? You are in a country where the government expenditure per person to tax is the highest in the world and you want to still pay subsidy. Your economy (mass transit, banks and industries) runs with diesel not PMS.

What is the population of the UAE? You are 170 million boy. It is not affordable.

Your budget is a mere 4 trillion. Guess what the budget of New York City with 8.9 million people alone is 15 trillion. Your government is poor, it needs money from anywhere. Help it.

Help it create a level playing field to unlock new opportunities. If we show investors we can buy fuel at 200 to 250 naira a liter, you will see them come. We then will be talking about 200K direct jobs easy and another 5 million indirect jobs.

Your country is poor. You need to start paying 30% tax so your government can run your country.

Buhari will not pay a dime on PMS subsidy. Petrol will sell at 1.1 dollars per liter. Unless he wants to throw away 9 billion dollars (465000 bbl) another form of subsidy. You won't die. My grandma in the village buys petro at 210 per liter, food are transported via diesel, mass transit is via diesel, industry via diesel. Nothing will happen

Because 9 million people with a budget the same as yours can afford it doesn't mean we can.

The UAE is 8 million migrant and 1.4 millions citizens. Budget is in excess of 4 trillion Naira. Economy is so diversed that only 4% of oil revenue go to Dubai city budget. If AkwaIbom gets 4 trillion annually, let me see how it won't be Dubai with free fuel.

i really do not know how to explain to these guys that we cannot afford it. No country with a population of 150 million plus pay subsidy on PMS.

Let them keep hiding under masses. Borrowing money to enrich few rich men. Sometimes I feel like disowning this country. People you try to help are the same people killing you.

[/b]

Hope you are aware that schools with MBA programs which do not respond GMAT are not exactly good schools/programs and in many cases the MBA is not worth the paper it is written on?

Worse is some of these programs charge very high prices compared to what is offered.

If you are serious about earning an MBA you should be ready to sit GMAT.

Olabimpesparkle:
Hello everyone,please i need anyone to suggest schools that dont require a GMAT for their MBA admissions. And i would like to know if my refusal to take the GMAT will affect my visa interview negatively.

Please tell those are not all their kids... 8 and see how they are all tiny

quote author=Taylor86 post=33726123]he's a learner

dis is how we do it in ekiti[/quote]

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What has such a stupid question got to do with you applying to work in a bank? They are just taking advantage of the high unemployment rate in the country

debraobas:
Just failed d question been asked. Question: what astronaut wrote his his daughter name on moon.
And my ans was wrong,just google it nw and the ans is eugene cernan

Hey US visa/University gurus in the house,

I want to find out if anyone knows about the universities below in terms of reputation etc and also importantly are they red flags at the Embassy?

If a white person said that about a black woman we would scream racism and stereotyping.

Very myopic view to make such a statement.

mostHandsome01:
We soon will hear, they "re now apart,, dating a white lady is a waste of time.

Really?

What about the men who knowingly go around sleeping with such women, some of them even married?

What about all the many men who desert their children and leave them to be brought up by single mothers?

Yes some women abuse the law, but it was put in place due to the many many men who desert their responsibilities as fathers and leave many women struggling to bring up children as single mothers.

ideykwum:
Wow! Very interesting read! I actually think it's a shame to give women so much rights! Abroad it is: children first, women next and men last! What God designed was: Men first, women next and children last!!

Getting a Nigerian visa is actually hard, but it's due more to the inefficient system and people which frustrates you rather than because there is huge demand for it.

Even as a Nigerian Renewing my passport in Nigeria housd in London is a frustrating annoying task.

MrKnowitall:
Explain how it's Difficult. Nigerian visa is the easiest visa to get.

Don't mind them.

Why not look at it logically, US and UK visa are so expensive and yet queues for visa not only from nigeria but many other countries, and yet Nigerian visa so cheap and no queue and you are talking able increasing the price. Ever heard of demand and supply?

MrKnowitall:

Lol long lines at Nigerian embassies? Don't be silly. Don't be damnn silly.