₦airaland Forum

Hi Tensor, thanks for going easy on me. I don't see any reason why the UK govt can't stop the PSW visa as they have done more things already. The proposal made by the home office in December according to the UKBA website stated that only Tier 1 investor/entrepreneur and people of exceptional talent will continue after April 2011. Click the link below and read for yourself.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsfragments/35-t1-t2-annual-limits

A lot of questions will be answered by April and I know that many people will remember these posts then,

Tensor, are you an education sales rep abi do you run a UK immigration office? You sound like that judging by that you have been saying here. An advise is an advise. U can either take it or leave it.

Meanwhile, why are you emphasizing on the minority and forgetting the majority?

tensor777:
Some may get job offers in Nigeria immediately after graduation some may be employed  here in the West, some may get scholarships for further trainng etc. Others may network and gain business connections thereby
IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

What of the majority who don't get any job offer or scholarship or 9ja jobs? What percentage of 9ja students in the UK fall under the category you've just described?

Please be your brothers keeper and paint a balanced picture,

The UK has always been an unstable place in terms of immigration. They seem to change their law every April and most of us outside the UK do not understand how far reaching these laws are until we see ourselves neck deep in it.

Many people on this thread have brought the tricky situation students find themselves in the UK to light but some will still not listen hoping that they will by some magic, be strangely lucky.

Even if they don't stop the Tier 1 post study work visa in April (I am almost very certain that they will), the Tier 1 general visa has now been stopped PERMANENTLY, This simply means that even if you get a Post Study Work visa after your studies, you have 2 years to get your acts together and either go home or become an illegal immigrant. If you are dreaming of someone sponsoring you on a Tier 2 visa, think again as the laws on Tier 2 are now very tough and you need to be paid up to £40,000 to get a visa longer than a year in addition to the fact that they have cut down the number to 20,700. Ask yourself (or your guys in the UK), how many people in the UK who have finished their studies have been sponsored on a Tier 2 visa?

My own advise is simple. If you are going to the UK solely just to study and you have a good financial base here in 9ja and you intend to go home ASAP when you graduate, then its not a bad idea. But if you by chance want to settle in the UK, you will remember this thread in a years time or so when you have committed resources only to realize that you have made a serious mistake. Shikena!!!!

Hmm, what a thoughtful piece.

A thought occurred to me just now. What would have happened if the Governors were killed in the blast? Will it have helped MENDs credibility or will it have turned everyone against MEND?

What would have happened to the states that the Governors are from since they are the chief security officers of these states?

As the South-South governors were an integral part of the governors forum who told Jonathan that he should not dream of 2011, I hope they got the message now that they are running their own agenda and not that of the South-South people who they are supposed to represent.

This message is directed to Seun,  That is if he doesn't luck or delete this.


STOP ACTING LIKE YOU OWN NIGERIA BY TURNING THIS THREAD TO YOUR OWN POLITICAL AGENDA. THE WAY YOU ARE BULLYING BEAF IS JUST UNFAIR. IF WE DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF NIGERIA, YOU CAN'T BIND US TOGETHER. I AM BEGINNING TO BELIEVE THAT YOU MAY BE A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL OR SOMETHING OR A PART OF THE CORRUPT ESTABLISHMENT.

STOP TAMPERING WITH PEOPLES THREAD OR CLOSE THIS WEBSITE AND FIND SOMETHING BETTER TO DO!!

This is absurd!! Why is it even in the papers? It makes my skin crawl!!

Niger Delta is not a tribe but an entity that has many tribes in it. I cannot talk about all the individual tribes, Urhobo, Isoko, Ukwuani, Ijaw, Itshekiri, Edo, Isan, Kalabari, Ikwere, Ibibio to name but a few. All these tribes have their grievances but have come together as an entity so that they can have a voice.

If we look at what happened in Ghana, they wiped out the old politicians and see how far the country has moved. Goodluck has not even entered and the foolish old politicians who have brought us this low, have already started meeting to advise him.

Even if we split, can the individual entities stay together? Say the Niger Delta forms a country, will all the various tribes mentioned above work together?

I have gone through a lot of threads and have realised that as Nigerians, we harbour a lot of bitterness both within our ethnic groups and across ethnic groups.

Yorubas: We are supposed to be educated and we boast of the highest number of educated people in the country. Despite this, we are not able to translate this to wealth and power. We see the northerners as uneducated and it baffles us how they are able to keep hold of the power that has continued to elude us. We sometimes feel that we should pull out of the country from the north although we have not been able to think out how to go about this. The other tribes especially the Igbos are seen as opportunistic and grabbers who will do anything to get rich. We seem stuck in this entity called Nigeria and we don't know how to pull out of it.

Hausas: We feel privileged that we have been in the corridors of power but still baffled that our literacy level is still alarmingly low. We still have strife amongst ourselves although others don't know that but we stay together to be able to stand the challenges posed by the south. We hold on to our religion as it has evidently been out source of strength and has helped us to dominate in the country with assistance from our brothers all over the world.

Igbos: We feel aggrieved that the issue of the civil war has been swept under the carpet. It seems as though no one but us wants to know about it. We feel discriminated against anywhere we live across the country especially in the North and in Niger Delta who hates our guts. The people who we feel were responsible for the genocide against us in 60s are hailed as national heroes much to our dismay. We will give anything to pull out of the country as we feel that the other tribes are pulling us down and we don't really care about the Niger Delta going with us as they are deluded to think by their fathers.



Niger Delta: We see ourselves as the source of wealth for the country. Despite this, we have been brushed aside by every tribe in the country especially the Igbos. They came into our territory before the civil war and dominated everything almost chasing us from our lands and resources. Injustices done to us have been swept under the carpet. Take the Saro Wiwa issue, the Odi issue amongst others. Even the people who are supposed to fight for our resources seem to be fighting for themselves. Our leaders tell us a lot about how other tribes have been trying to take advantage of us but when the little resources that trickles down gets to them, they keep it to themselves.


Minority tribes: We hate being called minority and the fact that we get attached to the nearest major ethnic group. We seem not to have a voice in the country. When the major tribes say something they appear to be better heard than us. Sometimes we get annexed to them especially when we live far from home like the Ibibio man being mistaken as Igbo if he lives in the north or the those from the middle belt being referred to as being hausas etc.


My question now is: Since we all feel bad and insecure in one way or the other, how can we work together to diminish the difference between us and highlight or strengths so that we can move forward? What are your suggestions about how to placate those who feel aggrieved amongst us rather than diminishing how they feel? How can we work together to change the world perspective of us? The reason why I am asking this question is that I have noted the level of bitterness and prejudice in everyone posting something on this website but no one seems to think that this is really a big cog in our wheel of progress.

I was enjoying this thread until bluetooth stepped in. Bluetooth, pls where are you from? What level of education have you attained? Have you really read books on Nigerian history? Who told you that Gen. Ironsi planned the 1966 coup? Do you think that talking this way will make Nigeria more united? What region was portharcourt in the 60s? In fact, how many regions were their in Nigeria before the war? Did the Eastern region origins ever step out of their region to claim the Mid-west as the war was starting? I have too many questions for you and it disgusts me when I realise that you will come here and continue your ignorance.

I hope that more people will join Dora Akunyili and stand up for the truth. It is really unfortunate. I hope she lasts in that seat after declaring her stand.

Some people seize any opportunity to insult others clearly displaying their bias. The article talked about Benny Hinn who has more white followers than blacks and someone has turned it to a racial abuse in this thread already.

Talking about playing by the rules, the UK shifts their goal post every second and it really difficult to keep up with their laws. The rate their law changes is akin to the way their weather changes.

The point of the post is that if they can be this harsh on someone who does not fit the normal profile of those targeted by immigration officials (blacks or asian looking people with the passport of a developing country) then where do we lie with our 9ja kpali?

I was shocked to see this article on the Times newspaper.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6859240.ece

Having read it, I kind of feel that there is no one that is spared by the travelling laws in the west so if you feel profiled or targeted when next you travel just remember that if it can happen to someone like Benny Hinn, it can happen to you as well!!

It is still amazing that Yar'adua is still out of the country and everyone seems to be quiet. The khaki boys are watching us in amazement. What is wrong with this country?

Does it mean that Yar'adua was occupying space while he was around as his absence is not felt at all? Are we even sure the man is alive? It seems as though Turai is leading us as only rumors are what we go by. Why can't the media take this seriously?

This is really frustrating!!!

Doesn't like look funny that the leader of a Nation is in another sovreign nation and everyone in his country is left to guess how he is faring. For me, looks as though we are under the authority of Saudi Arabia that is why the president is so much at home there.

Anyway, like I asked originally, will it make any difference to us whenever if ever he comes back?

Do we have someone whose flesh and spirit are both willing and strong?

But bluetooth, how have we been moving forward before he left? Just give me some examples of forward movement with Yar'ardua at the helm of affairs.

For over 2 months, the supposed president of Nigeria has not been in the country and he did not officially delegate anyone to function in his stead. The country is now running on auto-pilot like an aircraft on cruising altitude and the legislature is incapable of saving the situation. Despite all these mess, the country has not imploded although this may not be too far off.

The question now is of what good was the president when he was in the country and hence do we really need him back? If so, how different will it be when indeed he comes back?

I am not gay myself. I was telling myself that I am not homophobic until I saw 2 men kissing and believe me, I found it repugnant and was in a way feeling a bit bad that I felt that way as in as much as I don't want to profile people and judge them, the various holy books,  don't condone such acts.

Am I in the minority?

Be honest, how do you feel when you see two men kissing in public? Do you feel thesame when you see two women kissing? I guess is the fastest way to decide if you are homophobic or not,

na wa o

After traditional wedding, have you ever heard the elders say you may now kiss the bride?

Eziachi, na you get your mouth. In the US presidential debate, did you see the independent candidate on the day of the debate? Did he bring a group of people to come and protest on live TV?

What do you call a group of people that resort to violence to address their grievance?

Thats really sweet. I haven't seen my own folks. But in the traditional context, were our fore-fathers using kissing as a way of expressing love?

Sometimes, I really wonder if kissing is what we have to do. I really feel that it is because we watch people kiss in films that we think we should do it. How many of us who grew up in 9ja have seen their dad kiss their mum in their prescence?

So I ask the question again, is kissing in our culture?

There are a few cardinal states in Nigeria and Anambra is one of them and may even be the most cardinal in the south east. I will not mention any other ones so that no one attacks me. Take the west for example, Lagos is on of the most cardinal state there.

Hence, the point about the debate is not to witch hunt the Igbos or anything. I really wonder why people think about being bashed as the previous posters say just because of some other peoples comments. Anambra is a state that has a lot of human potentials and that is why it is surprising that it has been difficult to make a head way there. That is not to say that where I come from is better. Of course not. But I know that Anambra has the potential to well if they get their acts together.

Chidichris & Metalgong, in no way was I trying to laugh at Anambra state or indeed any state. I am really surprised how we start insulting one another based on our perceived tribal affiliations.

My various travels have brought me to the south-east and I in no way look down on any tribe in Nigeria especially the Igbos as you implied.

I'll be the happiest person when I see a Nigeria where everyone forgets their ethnic origin and have a healthy chat without anyone feeling bad. If the process in Anambra works, I'll be very happy as it can be an example to all.

All eyes are on the state. I was disappointed that people will storm into a debate. Is violence the only way to address our concerns?
I do hope the process goes on peacefully and that Soludo wins. He may be a round peg in a square hole but the fact that he has his reputation at stake will hopefully put him in check.

I wonder how whoever wins can bring these thugs under control!!!

I saw this on the Vanguard newspapers today and I was really shocked.

http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/27/304.html


[b]

The event was put together by an organisation, called Anambra Rebirth in collaboration with other 28 bodies, with Dr. Reuben Abati of the Guardian Newspapers, Mr. Labaran Maku, a public affairs consultant and Dr. Okey Ikechukwu, Director of International Institute for Leadership and Governance, as moderators.

For about 15 minutes, there was scuffle as the aggrieved candidates, who came with their members, tried to disrupt the exercise and it was only through the intervention of security operatives, that frayed nerves were calmed.

As the confusion lasted, the six invited candidates, who were already getting the attention of the large audience kept their cool and their security aides had to rush close to them to avoid any ugly incident.

At that point, some people in the audience started finding their way out of the hall to avoid being caught in the confusion and the invited candidates, who were standing on the podia showed some signs of worry, although they did not move from their positions.

Those officially invited by the 29 collaborating bodies that organised the event, were the incumbent governor, Mr. Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Dr. Chris Ngige of the Action Congress, AC, Professr Chukwuma Soludo of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Andy Uba of the Labour Party, LP, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the Hope Democratic Party, HDP and Mr. Ralph Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress. The seventh candidate, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife of the Progressives Peoples Alliance, PPA, did not attend the debate.

Abati had to plead to the candidates to keep away from the hall in the interest of the exercise. “This is not good for the image of Anambra State. These candidates should ask their supporters to leave the stage. People should know that the whole world is watching. If the people of Anambra cannot organise a simple debate, then it is very sad for the state. We have criteria for selecting the candidates and those not invited have no business being here,” he said.

Though there are 24 candidates for the election, Dr. Reuben Abati, on the criteria for selecting the seven candidates for the debate, said it included the strength and spread of the on-going campaign efforts of the candidates, party following within Anambra State, quality and size of the rallies held so far, as well as the structure and management of the campaign organisation.
[/b]

I wonder how they allow thugs to come in and disrupt a simple debate holding live on TV. What is wrong with Anambra state? Chris Uba who burnt down government infrastructure is still walking free. Its really a pity.

Because if it is only 2 people that dies in Nigeria, it is not taken seriously. Since the country is on auto-pilot it will take the death of 100 people for it to be taken seriously!!

Violence erupts in Sokoto
Posted 24,Jan. 2010
Two people are feared dead in a sectarian violence which erupted in Sokoto state in North-Western Nigeria, in the early hours of today January 24, 2010.

Several people are said to be wounded while house and cars have been destroyed.

Trouble is reported to have started over an argument at the Usman Dan Fodio teaching hospital school of nursing which almost left one female student dead, with properties with the institution damaged.

The violence spread to the Tudunwada area of the state where about three houses and cars were burnt.

Pockets of violence were also reported at the diplomat and Kofar Atiku areas of the State.
It took the intervention of military personnel who arrived at the scene to forestall an escalation of the violence.

The Level of damage to lives and properties are yet to be confirmed, but reports reaching our studios have it that a few people have been affected in the violent crisis.

We will keep you updated on this development in subsequent reports.