Nigerians To Pay £3,000 Cash Bond Before Entry Into The UK

Starting November 2013, the UK government will start collecting a £3,000 cash bond from visitors of high risk countries coming to Britain on six-month visit visas and guess what, our beloved country is among them. Other countries affected are India, Pakistan, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. 

This select countries according to the UK government have been picked for their high number of visa applications and what they see as relatively high levels of immigration abuse and fraud.

The bond will also be expanded to cover thousands of visa applicants and extended to work and student permits as well as tourists. The money will be kept by the Government if visitors do not return home by the time their visas expire. 

First Photos: Venus Williams Arrives Lagos, Nigeria

Venus Williams, arrived in Nigeria today ahead of her younger sister Serena as part of the first leg of the recently launched “Breaking The Mould” (BTM) campaign, a women’s empowerment initiative.

Venus touched down at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport this afternoon and will be joined by Serena later today.

While in Lagos, the duo will mentor a broad range of audiences through a series of supporting initiatives which will include a gala dinner, a tennis clinic and an exhibition match.

Welcome ladies!

UK to Refurbish Prisons in Nigeria Ahead of Deportation

Taxpayers in the United Kingdom are to foot the bill to revamp jails in Nigeria and Jamaica so that the convicts in British prisons can be deported without breaching their human rights.

This is the latest move by the UK’s coalition government to persuade foreign convicts to serve their sentences at home.

It was revealed that a project is currently on going in Nigeria which supports the provision of “human rights training for prison officers” while another project will construct new facilities at a women’s prison in Lagos, to reduce overcrowding.

The report also claimed that funds are currently being spent in Jamaica to “assist Jamaican authorities in modernising their prison service and rehabilitation and reintegration activities.”

Arsenal Set to face Super Eagles During Tour to Nigeria in August

It is official. The Gunners will be in Nigeria in August and are scheduled to play the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles.

A statement on the London club’s website read:

Arsenal Football Club is delighted to confirm that the Nigeria national team will be the Club’s opposition for their pre-season friendly match in Abuja on Sunday, August 5.

 

Arsène Wenger’s team will face the Super Eagles in the National Stadium, with a confirmed kick-off time of 4pm local time.

 

Tickets details will be announced on Wednesday, July 4 and will appear on Arsenal.com.

 

Genevieve Nnaji Becomes Range Rover Evoque Ambassador

Land
Rover
 and 
Coscharis 
Motors 

recently unveiled award‐winning actress
 Genevieve 
Nnaji as 
their 
appointed 
ambassador 
for 
the 
brands 
all‐new 
Range
 Rover 
Evoque
 in 
Nigeria.

The
 partnership
 between
 Genevieve
 and
 Land
 Rover
 was
 announced
 during
 an
 intimate
 event
 held
 in
 Lagos,
 Nigeria
 as
 she
 joins
 Victoria
 Beckham
 as
 an
 appointed
 ambassador
 for
 Range
 Rover Evoque.
 The Evoque
 is
 the
 smallest,
 lightest,
 most
 fuel‐efficient
 Range
 Rover
 ever
 produced
 and
 is
 now
 officially 
available 
to 
buy 
in 
Nigeria 
through 
Coscharis 
Motors 
in 
Lagos.

Genevieve 
who
 was 
presented 
with 
a 
special 
edition 
of 
the
 car 
by 
the 
President 
of 
the 
Coscharis 
group 
Dr. 
Cosmos 
Maduka 
said, 
“It’s 
truly 
an 
honor 
to 
be 
working 
with 
the 
Land
 Rover 
family 
on 
this 
exciting 
project. 
The 
Range 
Rover 
brand 
is 
the 
epitome 
of 
quality 
and 
luxury;
 the
Evoque 
represents 
power,
 class 
and 
style.
 I 
cannot 
wait 
to 
drive 
it!”

Dana Plane Crash: Black Boxes to Leave Nigeria for US Today

Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah, on Wednesday said the black boxes retrieved from the ill-fated Dana Air flight that killed over 153 persons in Lagos on Sunday would on Thursday (today) be sent to the United States.

Oduah said sending the black boxes to the US was to ensure that a thorough investigation was carried out to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the crash.

She said, “At the site of the incident, there were officials of the AIB who gathered information; they cut the parts from the aircraft, looking for clues. Every and any information that they take will be taken back to the laboratory where it will be analysed to get the exact reason for the accident.

“But in addition to that, because we do not have a laboratory for that, things like the black boxes, for instance, we need to take them outside the country for proper analysis and then they come back.

“I want to also say that amongst the team that worked with the Aviation Investigations Bureau were are international experts. So you are not likely to have collusion or reports that will have integrity issue. So, I want to assure that the report you will get will be a very authentic report.”

UNILAG’s new name must remain – Maku

Minister of Information, Labaran Maku

The Federal government has announced that it will not revert its decision of renaming the University of Lagos after the late winner of the 1993 presidential elections and business mogul, MKO Abiola.

Speaking to state house correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku said  that what the president did was an answer to the outcry of concerned Nigerians who witnessed the events of June 12 and the subsequent demise of the man that was the acclaimed winner of the election.

The Minister called on Nigerians not to allow the protest by some students to overshadow the significance of the president’s decision to immortalize  Abiola.

Nigerian Housemates, Chris and Ola, leave the Big Brother House!

Nigerian housemates, Chris and Ola, have left the Big Brother House. 

In their Diary Session today, Ola told Big Brother he would like to Voluntarily exit the Big Brother House because of his medical condition, 'High Blood Pressure'. 

He said that he has thought about it and since the medication he is on does not seem to be taking well, would like to seek medical attention outside of the Big Brother House.

According to the game once an housemate from a country leaves, the other must follow.

So Nigeria has Goldie left...

Article: Ebuka Obi-Uchendu Talks on Nigeria's Healthcare System and Yellow Fever Cards Drama with South Africa

I was good at faking an illness in boarding school back in my junior secondary days. I wasn’t a prescription drug addict so it wasn’t about wanting to have pills shoved down my throat. I usually did it close enough to our visiting day so my parents were worried enough to get permission to take me home for better treatment. That instantly meant plenty cable TV time without having to listen to my annoying Business Studies teacher.

But I must have been 12 years old or so when I actually fell ill for real, many days before visiting day. There was no one to baby me so I had no choice but to be sent straight to the school clinic and dumped with the school nurse. There were legendary tales about her. And you know secondary school tales can be legendary.

Anyways, the malaria was killing me and I just needed something, anything to make me live again. She called me up after a few minutes. I tried to stand up but was too dizzy. She went; “My friend stand up. There are other people waiting.” I eventually went to her. She felt my neck with the back of her hands, checked my eyes and told me to sit. She pulled out a syringe, and filled it with something, then told me to pull my shorts down and submit my buttocks.

Poke! Then she pulled out the needle. I thought to myself that it went by really fast. Just as I was about to put on my shorts, she said; “I haven’t given it yet.” I was startled. Then she wiped another spot on my butt cheek with her cotton wool and poked again. Three seconds later, she pulled it out again. I asked if she was done and she said; “No, I’m not getting the spot well.” At this point, I was just about ready to die and make sure she got sued for murder.

Nigeria heading towards civil war – Soyinka

 

NOBEL laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Tuesday reportedly told the BBC World Service in an interview on the state of the nation that the country was heading towards a civil war caused by the political leaders.

Soyinka said the issues raised by the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which was blamed for violence targeting Christians in the and that has sparked fears of a wider religious conflict, had been brewing for some time.

The laureate said, “There are people in power in certain parts of the country, leaders, who quite genuinely and authoritatively hate and cannot tolerate any religion outside their own. “Those who have created this faceless army have lost control.”

He said, “The current security challenge has reinforced the need to aggressively pursue economic development and simultaneously implement the war on terrorism. In this regard, let me caution against reckless utterances by some Nigerians that endanger our national unity.

“Statements that encourage people to move from one region to another on the basis of faith and ethnicity are unpatriotic. It portends danger to our corporate existence and a clear invitation to anarchy.”