(5th) Mango burger: times are hard but we manage

(6th) Trouble

(7th) She is dead mad

(8th) Chai!!! This hair na trouble

Swagg: It must be orange day (pix 1)

Some office clerks can get you crazy (pic 2)

Lol: if it sounds to good to be true, its a trap for sure ( pic 3)

Lol: the soccer is the limit (pic 4)

When you wear those new shoes to school

This is about most decorated African players in Europe, based on what they have won personally and with their team.

The list is in no particular order.

Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)

Mallorca: Copa del Rey (1)

FC Barcelona: La Liga (3) , Copa del Rey (1), Supercopa de Espana (2), Champions League (2) FIFA Club World Cup – Golden Ball 2010
2005 FIFA World Player of the Year (Bronze Award)
ESM Team of the Year: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006
UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006
Russian Premier League MVP Award: 2012/13

Inter Milan: Serie A (1), Coppa Italia (2), Supercoppa Italiana (1), Champions League (1), FIFA Club World Cup (1)

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)

Chelsea: Premier League (3), FA Cup (4), League Cup (2), Champions League (1), FA Community Shield (2)

Galatasaray: Super Lig (1), TFF Super Kupa (1), Turkiye Kupasi (1)

Michael Essien (Ghana)

Lyon: Ligue 1 (2), Trophee des Champions (2)

Chelsea: Premier League (2), FA Cup (4), League Cup (1), FA Community Shield (1), Champions League (1)

Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)

Olympiacos: Super League Greece (1), Greek Cup (1)

Barcelona: La Liga (2), Copa del Rey (1), Supercopa de Espana (1), Champions League (1), UEFA Super Cup (1), FIFA Club World Cup (1)

Manchester City: Premier League (2), FA Cup (1), League Cup (1), FA Community Shield (1)

Seydou Keita (Mali)

Lorient: Coupe de France (1)

Sevilla: Supercopa de Espana (1)

Barcelona: La Liga (3), Copa del Rey (2), Champions League (2), UEFA Super Cup (2), FIFA Club World Cup (2)

George Weah (Liberia)

AS Monaco: Coupe de France (1)

Paris-Saint Germain: Ligue 1 (1), Coupe de France (2)

Milan: Serie A (2) UEFA Champions League Topscorer: 1994–95
BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1995
Onze d'Or: 1995
Ballon d'Or: 1995
FIFA World Player of the Year: 1995
ESM Team of the Year: 1995–96
Onzes d'Argent: 1996
FIFA Fair Play Award: 1996

Chelsea: FA Cup (1)

Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)

Ajax: Eredivisie (3), Champions League (1), UEFA Super Cup (1), Intercontinental Cup (1)

Inter Milan: UEFA Cup (1)

Arsenal: Premier League (2), FA Cup (2), FA Community Shield (1)

Portsmouth: FA Cup (1)

Benni McCarty (South Africa)

Ajax: Eredivisie (1), KNVB Cup (1)

Porto: Portuguese Liga (2), Portuguese Cup (1), Portuguese Supercup (1), Champions League (1)

Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast)

Arsenal: Premier League (1), FA Cup (2), FA Community Shield (2)

Manchester City: Premier League (1), FA Cup (1), FA Community Shield (2)


John Mikel (Nigeria)

Chelsea: Premier League (2): 2009–10, 2014–15
FA Cup (4): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12
League Cup (2): 2006–07, 2014-15
FA Community Shield (1): 2009
UEFA Champions League (1): 2011–12
UEFA Europa League (1): 2012–13

He or she?! We’re confused, as well as this costumed dude.

Short of cash for hair salons? These BFFs take advantage of the hand dryer for perming.

So, he’s sure about that iPad attached to duct tapes? Good luck! Real pix!

Laziness will cost you. In this case, that man should pay a lot for gas.

Wake up! There’s a traffic flow that you have to handle. (Real pic there)

wait, is that another guys hand? call 911!!

Going to a Drive-thru

Ghost Car Prank, Imagine the possibilities

Benndted:
More pics pls

This is just a loving couple sitting on

This is just a loving couple sitting on a tree

at the edge of a cliff towards the sea

When the family goes to the beach

they tend to exchange their bodies and heads.

This guy must be a modern day viking with that beard

Hint: they are a couple

There are six girls in the photo

When you had to double-take you’re racist.

Take a photo quick

But you don’t know whose body is which.

Its a girl with her man shopping

You don’t see him? please look again

If you counted nine, look again

There is nothing really wrong with her legs right?

You don’t know that they are actually sitting on someone.

You’ve had it with the optical illusions being shown in the internet, you are getting bored with the many factoids being shoved down your brain – you are seeking for another way to have fun when reading an article; well, you are in luck. This article will not only let you look at the photos once, twice – you may even fall off your chair when you see the trick or hidden “people” in the photos.

Have fun!

wait where is her shadow? Witch! oh wait.

Sharp student.

Call it an apocalyptic battle with porcupine.

A lawyer, dairy farmer and farm lover has documented the after-effects of one of the most gruesome animal battles one could imagine: pit bull vs. porcupine. Lorraine , who tweets under the moniker @dflarmer, posted updates Tuesday morning from her sister’s veterinary office, as she treated a pit bull for dozens of quill piercings after the fight.







Poor boy.

These African heroes who stood by their beliefs no matter what, worked to liberate African countries from colonizing forces or to better black interests throughout the world. Some paid the ultimate price with their lives.

Julius Nyerere
Nyerere was the first president of Tanzania and was known for battling corruption within the country’s political system. Upon learning that the ruling elite enjoyed certain privileges and unbalanced authoritarian power over those beneath them, he worked to have those privileges abolished.

Source: YourDictionary.com


Marcus Garvey
Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey did several things to advance black interests in the world, from founding the Universal Negro Improvement Association to launching a huge black economic development campaign encouraging thousands of people to buy from black businesses and employ blacks. He published “The Negro World” newspaper, one of the first to have a page specifically for women. Garveyism was a term named for Garvey that referred to people of African ancestry in the diaspora who believed in “redeeming” the nations of Africa and who wanted European colonial powers to leave the continent.

Source: AtlantaBlackStar.com

Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba was the first elected prime minister of the Congo Republic. He helped win his country’s independence from Belgium in June 1960. His pan-Africanist vision to unite the Congo resulted in some international enemies. Lumumba’s first speech after the country’s independence was not even scheduled. He just stood up, took the stage and made an invigorating speech reminding the people of the Congo about their history and why they had to unite. Within three months, Lumumba was deposed in a coup. He was allegedly murdered in a CIA plot that involved Belgium and the U.K.

Source: Honourablesaka..com


Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe is a beloved African writer who, in a lecture at the University of Massachusetts, called out Joseph Conrad’s book “Heart of Darkness” as dehumanizing towards blacks. His essay on the subject became an influential post-colonial African work.

Source: Biography.com


Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa
Yaa Asantewaa was the queen of the Edweso tribe in what is today Ghana. She raised an army of thousands against British colonial forces looking to subjugate her tribe. After the colonial forces won, she lived in exile until her death in 1921.

Source: AtlantaBlackStar.com



Gamal Abdel Nasser
Nasser was the second president of Egypt and the pioneer of Arab nationalism in the country. He organized the overthrow of the monarchy and was attacked by members of the Muslim community during his work to establish the United Arab Republic with Syria. He was also responsible for much of Egypt’s modernization.

Source: Wikipedia.org



Queen Nanny
Queen Nanny was kidnapped from Ghana as a child and sold into slavery in Jamaica. After escaping a plantation with her brothers, she led revolts, helped free hundreds of slaves, and established a settlement known as Nanny Town in Jamaica where slaves found refuge during British attacks. A Jamaican folk hero, Nanny is known as one of the earliest leaders of slave resistance in the Americas, and one of very few women. She is celebrated in Jamaica and abroad.

Source: AtlantaBlackStar.com



Carlota Lukumi
Carlota Lukumi was kidnapped from her Nigerian tribe and sold into Cuban slavery as a child. She was locked up after trying to lead a rebellion but used secret communication through drums to form a substantial uprising that targeted the most abusive slave plantation owners in her area. Lukumi was eventually captured, tortured and killed.

Source: AtlantaBlackStar.com



Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie was emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He was the heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Exiled after leading a revolt against Italian forces during World War II, he was reinstated as emperor in 1941. He condemned Italy’s use of chemical weapons against his people. Though he worked to modernize the country, some criticized him for not doing enough. Groups such as Human Rights Watch alleged that he ruled in a repressive and undemocratic manner.

Source: Biography.com


wikipedia.org

Kwame Nkrumah
Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana from 1951 to 1966 and a founding member of the Organization of African Unity, an organization that advanced Pan-Africanism. Nkrumah helped gain Ghana its independence from British Colonialism. On his rise to Presidency, Nkrumah was thrown into prison because British authorities believed he was behind a protest against the rising cost of living. After Nkrumah was released from prison, he traveled the country rallying Ghanaians to rise up against British colonialism, even inviting women to participate in the rallies at a time when women were barely gaining suffrage. Nkruman was thrown into prison again for three years because of the boycotts and strikes he had initiated against British colonialists, but eventually his efforts caused the British to flee Ghana.


Source: Biography.com

 

 


wikimedia.org

 

Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as a Secretary General to the United Nations. Annan had the courage to point out the flaws within the systems of the UN, and wrote proposals for reform within the UN, calling for a cabinet-style body in the hopes of getting the UN back on track to working on its core missions—namely focusing on human rights. Annan was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for helping to reform the UN, giving it more of an emphasis on human rights.

Source: Un.org



Steve Biko
Steve Biko was a South African who fought racial segregation during the 60’s and 70’s. Biko was the president of the South African Students’ Organization, which advocated political self-reliance. Biko was expelled from the University of Natal because of his political activism as well as banned by the government, meaning he could not speak in public, or even to more than one person at a time. After his ban, Biko returned to his hometown where he founded more groups advocating political self-reliance and initiated protests against the government. Biko was eventually arrested, tortured, interrogated and died in police custody.

Source: Sahistory.org

 

Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara was a pan-Africanist and the President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. Sankara was very focused on anti-imperialism and self-reliance. He had many policies in place to help the impoverished, aiding agrarian self-sufficiency, promoting more accessible education nation-wide and advancing public health initiatives. He also fought for women’s rights, outlawing female genital mutilation and forced marriages. However, the middle class didn’t like his societal reforms like stripping tribal leaders of the right to forced labor and tribute payments. Sankara was eventually overthrown and assassinated by the eventual new president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore.

Source: Mathaba.net

 

Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda was the first President of Zambia and helped Zambia gain its independence from European rule. After Kuanda experienced international pressure to implicate more democratic practices he voluntarily allowed for multiparty elections. Kuanda lost the following elections to Frederick Chiluba—the leader of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy. Chiluba tried to have Kuanda deported because of his Malawian parentage and passed a law that prevented those with foreign parents from running for presidency, making it so Kaunda could not run in the next election. Kaunda was forced to retire from politics but he is still active in several charitable organizations, particularly those that fight the spread if HIV/AIDS.

Source: Britannica.com

 

Seretse Khama
Seretse Khama was named king of the Bamangwato people (one of the main tribes in Botswana) at the age of four. Khama founded the Botswana Democratic Party in 1962, helped gain the country’s independence and shortly thereafter became the first president of the country but his rise to this position did not come easily. Khama’s marriage to the British Ruth Williams angered his tribe, who temporarily took away his status as king as punishment. Khama managed to win back his title as king, but the neighboring country of South Africa (where interracial marriage was illegal) pressured Khama’s colony to have him dethroned again, saying they would stop providing the colony with essential supplies if they did not obey. Khama and his wife were exiled in 1951 but several protesting groups helped bring the couple back to Botswana. By 1961 Khama was back in the political game, earning title of Prime Minister and helping Botswana win its independence from the recently established capital of Gaborone.

Source: Africanhistory.about.com

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was South Africa's first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. Mandela attended Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the Afrikaner minority government of the National Party established apartheid in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was appointed superintendent of the organisation's Transvaal chapter and presided over the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) and sat on its Central Committee. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. In 1962, he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Mandela joined negotiations with Nationalist President F. W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president.

Source: Wikipedia.org

angieberry:
Thanks for the info.

There was a typpo in my the first post, which I have modified. But even at that, you still get my message.

Stay blessed and you are most welcome.

angieberry:
I thought Egypt would be among, being the center for civilization.

Though Egypt has one of the longest histories of any modern country, arising in the tenth millennium BCE as one of the world's first nation states. But it was later colonised by United Kingdom and became independent on the 28th of February 1922.

Source: Wikipedia

12 Least Fragile African Countries On The Fragile States Index. Nigeria one of the most Fragile.

The annual Fragile States List is out, and it’s not looking good for Africa.

Ten African countries ranked among the world’s 16 most fragile states according to the list, which compared 177 countries around the world.

But we’re looking at the African countries that are the most stable — the least fragile, if you will — that ranked lowest on the Fragile States List, published by the Fund For Peace.

The world’s No. 1 most fragile state, South Sudan, received the highest points and the highest ranking on this list. On the other end, Sweden ranked No. 177, the world’s least fragile country according to the factors that were measured.

Countries were given points and compared based on the following: demographic pressures, refugees and internally displaced people, group grievances, human flight, uneven economic development, economic decline, state legitimacy, public service, human rights and rule of law, security apparatus, fractionalized elites, and external intervention.

Out of 177 countries, the U.K. ranked No. 161 — less fragile than the U.S. which ranked No. 158. China ranked No. 83 — a little more fragile than half the countries on the list.

Nigeria and Zimbabwe are among the most fragile at No. 14 and No. 16 respectively. The world’s six most fragile states are South Sudan, Somalia, CAR, Sudan, DRC and Chad.

Insurgencies, conflict and civil wars contributed to Africa’s poor showing on the index compared to other regions of the world, Mail&Guardian reports. “The real indicators driving down Africa’s performance as a whole are much less dramatic – they are slow, insidious, and difficult to change at the stroke of a decree or in a single election.”

African countries accumulated the biggest points on the Index due to demographic pressures. With two-thirds of the population under 30 years old,  job opportunities have not kept up with population growth in Africa, making it a more fragile place, according to M&G.

These are the 12 least fragile African countries on the Fragile States Index. The index compares 177 countries with No. 177 being the least fragile.

Source: http://afkinsider.com/98552/12-most-stable-african-countries-on-the-fragile-states-index/3/

Colonial powers — traditionally European — have left lasting legacies in the countries they once controlled, and often, it’s not for the best. But while the majority of nations have to deal with colonial legacies in some respect, a select few managed to escape colonial rule altogether. The following non-European countries were never ruled by a European country for any significant period between the year 1400 and the present. These countries are currently operating as sovereign and independent states. Here are 10 countries that were never colonized.

Sources: TisdelsTirades..co.nz, Yahoo.com, AfricanHistory.About.com, eHow.com, Britannica.com, LinkedIn.com

Liberia
Liberia officially became a country in 1847, but before that, several countries had set up trading posts throughout the region, including England, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Some claim the U.S. had set up colonial rule in Liberia for a period. The Cape Mesurado Colony on the Grain Coast was established in 1821 as a place to send former slaves from the U.S., but the short time-frame and lack of over-reaching American influence allows Liberia to qualify for this list.

Japan
Japan was one of the only Asian countries to escape Western colonization, becoming a colonizing power itself in the region. As the country fought against foreign influence and intrusion, only the Dutch and Chinese managed to set up trading ports in Japan, despite the efforts of other nations. Japan, for its part, set up spheres of influence in the surrounding islands, as well as in Korea, Taiwan, and South Sakhalin.

Thailand
Thailand is well aware of its unique heritage that does not include a colonial legacy, and often uses the phrase “land of the freedom” to express pride in the fact that it has remained Thai-dominated since the first millennia B.C. Despite immense pressure from European powers, Thailand escaped colonial rule by maintaining strong rulers and exploiting the tension between colonizing powers – namely France and Great Britain – which had spheres of influence across neighboring countries in Asia.

Bhutan
Bhutan is one of the few countries that has indisputably maintained complete sovereignty throughout history, even before its official consolidation as a nation state in 1616. Though it did have to fight several wars against the British during the 18th and 19th centuries, subsequently losing bits of its territory and political influence outside of its borders, Bhutan remained entirely autonomous throughout the colonial period.

Iran
Iran suffered during the 1800s as the Russians and British fought to build their empires in the Middle East, but was never subjugated to colonization in any official sense. The country did lose some of its territory during the Russo-Persian and Anglo-Persian Wars, and was briefly occupied by the Russians in 1911 and the British during World War I, but was still considered an autonomous state throughout history.

Nepal
Since Nepal was united by King Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1744 C.E., it has existed as a sovereign nation. While it was briefly a protectorate of Great Britain, it was never a British colony, even fighting a war and ceding a third of its territory to ensure its continued autonomy from the empire. It is thought that Nepal’s isolated geographical position high in the Himalayas helped it withstand colonial rule, though it is agreed that both India and China exerted some influence in the region.

Tonga
In 1900, Tonga became a protected state under the Treaty of Friendship with Britain, setting up a British Consul in the state until 1970, but no higher permanent representative was permitted. The indigenous monarchy of Tonga has been maintained until the present day, and has enjoyed an uninterrupted succession of hereditary rulers from the same family since its inception.

China
China, not including Hong Kong and Macao, has never been an official colony of any other power. However, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, China did enter into trade agreements with most Western powers, including Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, and the U.S., that were largely considered disadvantageous to China, as it was forced to make some territorial concessions. This period of unequal treaties is sometimes considered semi-colonialist, though no one power ever exerted complete control across the coutry.

Ethiopia
Apart from a five-year period when Ethiopia fell to Mussolini’s New Roman Empire, Ethiopia has maintained its autonomy throughout history. The Italians were ejected by the British in 1941, and Ethiopia regained its full independent status in 1944, but had existed independently way before then. Even during the Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941, Mussolini’s troops were under constant attack from Ethiopian guerrilla troops and Italy never maintained full order in the country.


Korea
Back when Korea existed as one nation state, it resisted colonial rule from Western powers. It is somewhat difficult to consider Korea wholly independent throughout history, however, as it was under Japanese rule for more than 30 years until independence in 1945 during World War II. But in the lens of resisting Western colonization, Korea is said to have maintained its independence from European rule throughout history.

LOL@ Nicepoker, funny you.

How Imprisonment Saved My Life, Says Discharged Inmate
A 39-year-old, Osita Nwadiobi, who breathed an air of freedom on Thursday in Lagos after five years in prison custody, said his incarceration had saved his life.

“Imprisonment saved my life, I am happy that I have been in prison custody since 2011.

“If not for the prison I would have died because I was moving with `wrong people’.

“I would have ended up as a `certified’ armed robber and be killed,’’ Nwadiobi, a robbery suspect, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Nwadiobi had been detained without trial since 2011 for alleged robbery.

The suspect and 15 other inmates were pardoned and released by the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Oluwafunmilayo Atilade, on Thursday during a visit to Ikoyi Prisons.

The release is pursuant to the provisions of Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody (Special Provisions) Act 2007, Laws of the Federation.

Another inmate, 56-year-old Dauda Adio, the oldest among the freed inmates, also told NAN that he had been imprisoned for five years without trial over alleged stealing.

He said:“I am very happy to be freed today as I have been in prison since 2010 for alleged stealing.’’

“I am going straight to my village in Oyo; I am no longer staying in Lagos as staying in Lagos has put me into trouble.’’

The chief judge said the release of the inmates was aimed at reducing overcrowding at the prison.

“It is paramount in order to alleviate the suffering of inmates.

“There is a recurring problem of awaiting- trial detainees in our prisons.

“To tackle this problem, I will perform the statutory right conferred upon me to release inmates who have spent unreasonable time in custody without trial,’’ Atilade said. (NAN)
Source: http://247nigerianewsupdate.co/how-imprisonment-saved-my-life-says-discharged-inmate/

The Deputy Head of Mission

Embassy of Spain

Accra, Ghana

26th April 2015

Dear Sir:

I applied for a short-term visa to attend a medical conference in Barcelona from 26th April to 29th April 2015 and by your response dated 22nd April 2015 I had been denied an entry visa to your country. As was written in your rejection letter, I have an option of lodging a contentious-administrative appeal at the High Court of Justice of Madrid (Spain) within a two-month deadline counting from the date of serving. Since it is nigh impossible for me to get myself to Madrid and lodge my appeal I have decided to personally write to you for some clarification.

The reasons for denying me an entry visa were that the information regarding the justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not reliable and also that my intention to leave your country before the expiry of the visa could not be ascertained.

I know it is your prerogative to decide whom to grant a visa to but I feel personally insulted for the reasons you have given for the denial.

I am a highly trained orthopedic surgeon with specialty interest in orthopedic sports medicine and complex joint reconstruction. I have been a doctor for the past 20yrs. My current positions are:

1. Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at the KorleBu Teaching Hospital.

2. Lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School

3. Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons

4. Consultant for West Africa Rescue Association WARA. (I treat patients from the expatriate and diplomatic community including quite a number from Spain) I am sure if you were to injure yourself, am the most likely surgeon that you will be referred to.

I have attended medical conferences in Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Japan, Canada, USA and Norway. Incidentally all these countries found my purpose for travelling justifiable except you. The letter of invitation I presented to you was written by a renowned surgeon in Madrid who trained in the same institution as I did in the United States. But I guess you did not find a letter written by such a person credible enough.

I find it laughable that you think I will not return to Ghana and end up as an illegal immigrant in Spain where people of my skin tone are treated as second-class citizens. I have a wife and children whom I do not intend to abandon. Although I do not consider myself wealthy, I am very comfortable economically and have investments in property and other assets in Ghana. How did you ever come to the conclusion that I was a flight risk?

May I kindly remind you of some basic facts about your country?

1. The unemployment rate in Spain presently is 25% and youth unemployment tops 50%. Why will I leave a stable job and to go and join the unemployment ranks in your country.

2. From January 2009 to end of 2013, 400,000 Spaniards emigrated to look for work outside of your country. And this is expected to rise in the coming years.

3. Doctors in Spain are the least/worst paid in the whole Euro zone. Why will I want to go work in a country where my counterparts are leaving in droves for economic reasons?

4. In the year 2012, it is on record that 2405 medical doctors applied for certification to work abroad, according to The Medical Spanish Association – a 75% increase compared with 2011. 83% of doctors seek jobs in Europe (mainly the UK and France) and 7% America.

5. In 2009, the Health Ministry warned that there was a shortage and that the country needed around 3,200 more doctors. By 2025, at the present rate the shortfall will be around 25,000. The Spanish government has talked of increasing the number of university and medical school places, as well as making it easier for overseas personnel to work here.

Sir, as a representative of the country of Spain you have failed woefully in your responsibility to promote the interest of your country by denying me a visa. My skill, knowledge and experience will be invaluable to the Spanish people even if I decided not to come back to Ghana. Furthermore my budget for this conference topped € 5000. This is the amount of money that would have been injected into the Spanish economy in a week. Can you imagine the economic loss if all the doctors from all over the world attending this conference were denied entry into Spain? I was due to present two papers and since I was not able to go I have informed the conveners of the conference of my inability to attend. This is an international conference and can you imagine the embarrassment your compatriot doctors will feel when it is announced that I could not present my scientific papers because you denied me a visa? Never mind that I cannot get a full refund for my ticket and my total booking for the hotel is not refundable.

Given the reason for visa rejection, a detailed explanation on which aspects of my application did not provide sufficient evidence that I will return to Ghana is most welcome. I am particularly curious to know of the lofty economic standards set for Ghanaians to visit to Spain when Spaniards themselves barely meet these standards.

Yours truly,

Dr. Agbeko Ocloo MB.ChB FWACS

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon

Cc:

The Ambassador

Embassy of Spain

Accra, Ghana 

Source: http://graphic.com.gh/features/opinion/43976-letter-to-the-spanish-embassy-in-ghana.html