For a robust understanding of this exposition, let’s embark on a brief revision of basic Economics. An opportunity cost is the alternative that must be done without whenever a decision is made to pursue a certain action. For example, deciding to buy lunch as against seeing a movie, when faced with those two options. This concept has its roots in the central economic problem that asserts that human wants are unlimited, and constantly changing, but the resources needed to satisfy those wants are not. This leads to the question: how do we satisfy infinite human wants with finite resources? This fundamental economic challenge requires sound judgement in the allocation of resources – making the best use of what we have to get what we need. A challenge cash-strapped Nigeria is dealing with in the most absurd way by running a National Assembly that costs taxpayers N115 billion.

The concept of limitless wants and scarce resources dictates that we can’t possibly always have everything we want. So what happens when the resources become even more scarce? You learn to prune your wants and commit funds only to the things that are of utmost importance to you. Nigerians want many things, and some of them are so basic you’re left wondering just how far behind the developed world we are. Nigerians want 24-hour power supply, so we can turn electric fans on at night and not die of heat. Nigerians want to be able to buy fuel without having to spend 12 hours on the queue. Nigerians do not want to suffer the grief of losing loved ones to ailments great and small because public hospitals are not equipped or doctors are on strike. Nigerians want a standard educational system so children are empowered to survive in human capital age. Nigerians want good roads, so traveling either for business or leisure, ceases to be the stress that it currently is. But Nigerians also understand that resources are finite but these are not wants to be foregone for a N115 billion National Assembly.

In July 2008, a barrel of Brent crude traded for about $146 and remained above $100 mark from 2010 to 2014. For Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy, that certainly counts as a boom. The 2013 budget was premised on oil production of 2.53 million barrels per day at benchmark price of $75 per barrel. For the 2016 budget, production has dropped to 2.2 million barrels per day and benchmark is less than half what it was 3 years ago at $38 per barrel. Nigeria has seen federally collectible revenue crash over the last one year due to global drop in oil prices, and the masses are bearing the brunt. States have seen their federal allocations reduce, a situation most governors did not foresee or prepare for. This has led to months of unpaid workers’ salaries, which in turn has affected the economies of local communities dependent on cash outflows from civil servants.

A nation’s budget gives ample insight into its developmental scale of priorities, and if the 2016 budget proposal as presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22nd 2015 is anything to go by, the National Assembly of 360 Representatives and 109 Senators is the 8th most important sector by total allocation. Indeed, the National Assembly’s N115 billion budget is almost the same as the capital expenditure allocations for Agriculture (N47 billion), Education (N37 billion), and Health (N35 billion) combined. These are critical sectors in need of huge revenue injection to jumpstart the rebuilding process after years of neglect and decay mediated by unprecedented corruption especially in the last 5 years. Basically, much needed development and progress in education, health, energy and physical infrastructure is the opportunity cost for the N115 billion earmarked for the maintenance of the obscene and criminal tastes of Nigeria’s 469 federal parliamentarians.

Everywhere in Nigeria people are adjusting to the realities of a cash-crunch and pressured economy. Businesses are getting creative about cutting costs, sometimes left with no option but to lay off staff. Families are learning to survive on less and forgo some basic luxuries. The federal government implemented the Treasury Single Account policy to plug leakages in revenue collection and remittance, while state governments are weeding out ghost workers to lower their wage bills. In the midst of all that, the biggest sacrifice yet from the National Assembly is the decision to buy 36 SUVs for over N1 billion, instead of 109. Details of the breakdown of the N115 billion budget and the salaries and allowances of the federal legislators are strongly guarded secrets.

It is such an economic paradox that a nation with more than 70 million poor people, more than the population of the United Kingdom, is also home to the highest paid lawmakers in the world. The average Nigerian lawmaker is thought to earn N40 million in a year, more than 2,200 time the national minimum wage. Indeed, that N40 million is more than what an average worker earning N80,000 per month would earn in 35 years of service. In that same country a woman’s chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 13. Nigeria is the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world, losing about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age every single day. According to UNICEF, preventable or treatable infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and HIV/AIDS account for more than 70 percent of the estimated one million under-five deaths in Nigeria.

The National Assembly has since 1999 received over N1.26 trillion, yet less than one third of Nigeria’s total road network of 194,394 km is paved and only 40 percent of Nigeria’s 180 million population is connected to the national electricity grid. At 149 kWh, Nigeria has one of the lowest per capita electricity consumption in the world. Total generation capacity is currently less than 5,000 MW, about 10 percent of South Africa’s 50,000 MW. A nation which paid N8.64 billion to 469 lawmakers in 2015 also has 3.3 million internally displaced persons, the highest in Nigeria and 3rd highest globally. About 11 million Nigerian children are out of school, the highest in the world and malnutrition accounts for more than 50 percent deaths of under-5 children.

The schools left unbuilt, hospitals left without staff and equipment, the roads left untarred, the millions of Nigerians without portable water and electricity, the children denied a chance to live, the millions of Nigerians who are barely able to afford a day’s meal, the millions of unemployed graduates roaming the streets because N115 billion is needed to finance a retrogressive National Assembly that has turned out to be a production centre for backward laws and lazy debates… all these are the opportunity costs for the financing of the ostentatious lifestyle of our lawmakers.

A lot of people are advocating that Nigeria follows the steps of Senegal in scrapping the Senate to save costs, but I believe we can run a bicameral legislature on less than half of N115 billion. All it takes is for these lawmakers to dial down the frequency of their greed and live within the realm of Nigeria’s economic realities. The era of allowances running to several billions for an assembly of less than 500 legislators at the detriment of the welfare of the millions of people they represent has to end if Nigeria is to attain any meaningful development in the immediate future.

*Bukola Ogunyemi, a digital marketing executive, writes from Lagos.

**This column runs on AfricanLiberty.org every Thursday.

It was at the church service for the 90th birthday of the legendary matriarch of the Awo dynasty Chief Dr Hannah Dideolu Awolowo in Ikenne that the thoughts that prompted this article began. Some well known highly placed gentlemen and their wives were called upon to partake in the wine sipping, bread breaking ritual called Holy Communion. As soon as these respectable ladies and gentlemen, all of them past age 70, and amongst whom were renowned professors, high court judges, legal luminaries and business moguls, finished their spiritual blessing and were returning to their seats, they caught a pitiable sight in their over-flowing garb of hypocrisy.

They wore forlorn mien plastered with furrowed frowned faces like some one afflicted with putrid smell of heavy dose of fart. They looked as if they were mourning a three-year-old boy mistakenly killed by his own father, or the passing of a poor woman who has just succumbed to excruciatingly painful cancer.

They clung to their wives as if they were newly wedded. I temporarily forgot that I was in a holy church, the spiritual enclave of Christians. I almost laughed my head off because I knew each of the ‘holy’ ‘monogamous’ men intimately and by Jove, I knew of their second, third or fourth wives/liaisons/mistresses with whom they had sired several children. To the whole world they were champions of monogamy, but to their hearts and conscience they were celebrated polygamists, or at best, serial monogamists. Pshaw!

I saw pain written all over them, the agony of living a lie, the unease of hypocrisy, and the shame of going through life pretending to be what you are not.

This is the sort of agony a lot of the so-called monogamists go through all their lives. The series of lies they sell to their wives, and the double life they present to their pastors and church leaders, most of whom are actually equally guilty of hypocrisy and double life living.

This piece is not set out to condemn or criticise monogamy. Monogamy is perfect for those who believe in its concept and can genuinely keep to it. I too have been married to one lovely woman for almost 45 years and it has been like a marriage made in heaven. I happen also to be the promoter along with some friends the 35-year-old Family Club of Nigeria which is dedicated to the upliftment and celebration of marriage and family values.

The article is designed to expose the hypocrisy and pain associated with embracing false notions which are really not observed by any culture in the world, and to advise those who erroneously sentence themselves to a life of sadness and emptiness because they were deceived to believe that there is some utopia somewhere called monogamy.

I am very much aware that this article will generate a lot of controversy most especially from those who live holier-than-thou life and have continued to deceive the world that they are upholders of a doctrine that is not supported by true and enlightened interpretation of any religious doctrine.

The white men, I am yet to see any human being whose skin colour is like that of chalk, came and told the unfortunate lands they invaded that the cherished cultures, traditions and religions of such lands were rubbish, and instead indoctrinated them with values which they themselves never believed in or truly practiced. We know of King Henry Vlll, and several major historical figures in ‘Christian’ Europe who had more than one wife in addition of a string of wives who their ‘laws’ forbade them to address as wives but who nonetheless perform all the functions of wife minus name.

God bless President Mitterrand who openly confessed to having two women in his life, with the one in the other house with whom he fathered an 18-year-old daughter at the time he passed on.

I have schooled, worked and lived virtually in all the continents of the world and I make bold to say with all emphasis at my disposal that no culture on planet earth truly practices monogamy. My Greek, Italian, Russian, British, American and other Caucasians routinely visit their other wives [called by other names] with whom they have children. But back in the homes shared with the one carrying the ring, they are monogamists!

If God had wanted humanity to be monogamous, He or She would not have made the pigeon the only monogamous creature.

The cultures that practice polygamy had always known that at any given time, the number of available marriageable women far out number available men plus the fact that an 80-year-old man, if he has money, is still very much in the market whereas a 60-year-old woman may not be that lucky. The biological limitation to a woman’s productive age is also a factor. Why should a woman therefore remain on the shelf till age 45 when she could jolly well get married as second or sixth wife to a man who can afford to share life’s responsibilities with her? Why should a woman leave a man with whom she is No 1, simply because took a second wife and end up being numberless in the hands of several men with whom she naturally shares bed just because of some doctrine she hardly understands?

All the women who should go and marry but are saying they do not want to share their man with another woman in a polygamous setting, are sharing current boyfriends with several other women. Where is the logic?

The argument that children in a polygamous house are always at each other’s throat does not hold water. Many siblings of monogamous families are known to have had worse and irresolvable, irreconcilable squabble, with dirty bitterness over inheritance than children from different mothers.

The agony suffered by both men and women in the hand of unnatural laws and doctrines is too stifling for comfort. In 2002, 502 Reverend mothers were reported to have died while procuring abortion in Rome. Nigerian Tribune wrote an editorial on the unfortunate incident. And stories of Reverend fathers having children and sodomising young men in their care are legion! Why the hypocrisy? Why should the world continue to live the life of Ostrich?

A well known Nigerian journalist hid his other wives from his wife because his religion would not permit of it and his wife, living in monogamy should not hear of it. At his funeral service, other wives surfaced and the woman parading the ring collapsed. It was the grace of God that prevented double interment that day!

The Western world which had not learnt the art of living amicably with more than one partner under the same roof has indulged in multiple serial marriages, divorcing innocent wives under flimsy excuses so that another woman can move in should not be measure of standard for the world. Thank God Hillary Clinton in the US and Mrs Cook in England were very much wiser. They refused to allow some indiscretion on the part of their husbands to ruin their marriages.

There was a well known American actor who passed on about a decade ago and all his 11 ex-wives with their numerous children attended his funeral. To ridicule the lie of their hypocritical existence, all the women were recognised and addressed as wives. As far as records show, the man had 11 wives!

Society must rethink this issue of pretentious monogamy vis-à-vis polygamy so that in the not-too-distant future we do not end up with millions of unmarried women whose life style would be worse than prostitutes’ and millions of children whose fathers would be nowhere to be found.

[b]The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode presented this paper at the London School of Economics, Africa Summit 2016. I felt the paper had a lot of depth and content useful for those interested in the finer details so I decided to publish it here.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me start by saying how delighted I am to address you all at the 3rd Annual LSE Africa Summit. I am not only honored to be at an institution recognized for facilitating insightful discussions about Africa’s contribution to the world, but also excited to be actively involved in this event which seeks to create a platform that inspires actions to achieve Africa’s potential.

Africa’s biggest economies have enjoyed improved social and economic performance for more than a decade, but are now facing significant headwinds following the adverse shock in commodity prices. Growth has slowed, coming in at 3.5% in 2015, down from 4.6% in 2014[1], the weakest pace since 2009.

But I want to step back from the short-term difficulties and focus on Africa’s long term potential. But let me start in China. In 1983, China had not a single private sector car. Its economy was miniscule and did not register on the international landscape. It made great progress in the 1990s, but even in the early 2000s when Goldman Sachs said it would become the world’s biggest economy by 2048, the idea was ridiculed. And it was right to be criticised – Goldman Sachs was grossly mistaken. China will be the world’s largest economy by 2018 – basically now – Goldman Sachs was off by 30 years.

I tell this story, because we are on the cusp of a similar transformation in Africa. And Europe and the world desperately need – as much as Africa itself – for this transformation to succeed. Why? Well, today’s mega trends give cause for this optimism. These include:

Transformational urban swell – by 2050, two in three Africans will be urban,
Large, younger and more affluent population – by 2050 Africa would account for almost 24% of the World’s population, and
Africa’s dormant resources potential – Africa’s share of the world’s total of uncultivated land is 60%.
This transformation and growth in Africa will mean a more equal partner and more intense and deeper trade and commerce with the rest of the world. A prosperous Africa would end the great press of migrants trying to enter Europe.

For there to be real transformation, Nations and States must design their own path, with clear plans for growth and development, directed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Chances of these being achieved are further enhanced when States/Cities such as Lagos play their part. I would therefore seize this opportunity to spice this presentation with some of the Lagos experience.

Strength In Size

In the 1960s, there were roughly 300 million Africans, and 400 million Europeans, and the world was not that well connected. By 2050, there will 2.4 billion Africans, and only 700 million Europeans.

Now, I am not sure about you … but if I was next door to 2.4 billion people, I would want them to be prosperous, peaceful, and socially stable. So all of Europe has a great interest in Africa’s success.

Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 12.48.33 PM

Nigeria is of course already Africa’s most populous nation. By 2050, Nigeria’s population will be 400 million, making it the world’s 3rd most populous nation, more than the US. This is a momentous change, and I do not think it is too much to say that Africa cannot succeed unless Nigeria succeeds.

Urban Migration

If we look at this picture which charts the population size of a selection of world cities with more than one million people, Lagos; the smallest state in Nigeria with a population of over 22million people, has the highest number recorded of urban growth with over 85 people moving to the city per hour as compared with cities in Europe such as London with only 9 people and America with only 10 moving to New York.

Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 12.51.10 PM

















Source: UN World Urbanisation Prospects 2014/LSE Cities

The strength of our demographics offers investors hope in this gloomy era. With Nigeria’s growing population, and a burgeoning middle class, consumer spending (already estimated at 70% of GDP) is expected to increase even further. This coupled with a boom in mobile telecommunications and a rise in broadband penetration makes the retail and ICT sectors very attractive. Seeing as the services sector is projected to be a key driver of the Nigerian economy, contributing 53% to total GDP in 2015, measures will need be undertaken in order to develop the relevant skills and encourage innovation.

Efforts currently ongoing to promote Nigeria’s knowledge economy include the establishment of development hubs, technology parks, as well as a gradual increase in the budgetary allocation to education from 7% in 2015 to 20% over the next four years. The Lagos State government, in its pursuance of creating an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs, has established an Employment Trust Fund in which an equivalent of $250 million will be contributed by the State over four years in order to empower youths to create wealth, as well as encourage companies to invest in the technical and vocational skills required to boost income.

Responding To The Fall In Oil Prices

The massive fall in oil prices has sharply reduced Nigeria’s growth rate, export earnings, foreign direct investment, and government revenues. But if we are honest with ourselves, this provides us with an opportunity to now deliver real growth. The high price of oil created a distorted economic structure, where it was more valuable to capture value from the oil stream than create value. The returns to oil went to a few, with a tiny trickle down system to keep the social peace, but the reality is we squandered the oil wealth and arrived to 2015 with poor infrastructure, a poor education system, and poor level of social development.

The drop in oil prices has revealed that the one dimensional model of our political economy has outlived its shelf life. We are forced by the slump to change the architecture of our political economy. That is the challenge before us.

So, although Nigeria faces some tough time and tough choices with this new reality, I see the low oil prices as a tipping point for positive change. This downturn is an avenue for us, the leaders and citizens of the country, to address the sources of vulnerability in order to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development. The tone of enhance Governance with focus on transparency and accountability has been established under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

We still have the financial band-width to immediately respond to the situation we find ourselves in. We actually are starting from a very good fiscal position. Our exceptionally low Debt-GDP ratio at 13% gives us latitude to be fiscally expansionary for productive expenditure that will stimulate the economy and create jobs.

At the same time, our tax collection is very poor – with tax-to-GDP estimated at 8%, the second lowest in Africa and the fourth lowest in the world. In fact, excluding government revenue from oil & gas, our tax receipts were only 3%. Even in Lagos where we have consistently achieved success in IGR collection, there is still significant scope for growth.

IGR GAPS

If properly implemented to Sub-Saharan African economies’ average of 18%, Nigeria could potentially raise its tax revenue to $103.3 billion, the equivalent of Morocco’s GDP in 2014[1].

[1] PwC Analysis using data from IMF World Economic Outlook

A higher tax revenue would reduce government borrowing and generate more funds to devote to areas where government spending is more productive than the marginal rate of private sector spending encourage financial institutions to offer funds at lower interest rates, thereby boosting the real economy.

But of course, if we ask for tax revenue, we in the government will have to deliver something. We need to imbibe fiscal discipline in delivering the public services that our citizens so rightly deserve. This calls for a greater autonomy of state and local governments, which in turn promotes accountability. If we look at Canada for example, its decentralism has played a great part in its growth and success, allowing for maximum provincial authority in the fields of healthcare, education, taxation and social benefits. In terms of specific sectors, the first step lies in harnessing Nigeria’s potential in the non-oil sectors, focusing particularly on Agriculture, Manufacturing, Solid Minerals, and Service sectors which in aggregate represent 90% of GDP.

We have a superb climate and abundant water and Nigeria’s global agriculture exports should take off at a rate similar to Brazil’s, with a potential $60 billion in export revenues by 2030[1]. Given that agriculture is still largely at subsistence levels, we need to re-invigorate inter-state collaboration so as to establish commodity value chains. Already, Lagos state has partnered with Kebbi state in developing a commodity value chain that will see the local production of 70% of Nigeria’s rice needs.

I firmly believe that forward integration with agro-processing as well as backward integration with input supply sectors would improve farm incomes, create jobs and contribute towards domestic self-sufficiency. In addition, it will solve our FX challenges, as a significant amount of our Foreign Exchange goes to importing food in a country that should be a world food super-power.

Infrastructure Development As Avenue For Stimulating The Economy

Despite the ongoing interventions, structural challenges still persist. The rapid urbanization rate puts pressure on Nigeria to provide quality infrastructure so as to improve its global competitiveness and create a thriving business environment.

The value of Nigeria’s core infrastructure is currently estimated at 39% of GDP, which is significantly below the benchmark average of 68 percent[2]. Nigeria’s road density is 14% that of India and power generation capacity is just 20% that of India. Lagos, one of the world’s fastest growing cities with a population of over 22 million expects economic growth of 7% this year, twice the pace of Nigeria as a whole. There is no other state that faces pressure on its infrastructure as Lagos does. It will require more housing, offices and retail outlets- meaning that there is still a great window of opportunity for private investment in the construction sector.

The Federal Government has strategically increased capital spending to 30% of expenditure, aimed at improving transportation networks and power delivery which would facilitate market linkages, market development, as well as encourage domestic and intra-regional trade. As a state, Lagos has increased its efforts by targeting infrastructure spending towards improving the condition of inner roads- almost 150 due to be completed within one year of my assuming office. We are now in discussions with private and institutional investors who have shown interest in game changing projects such as the Badagry deep sea port, the 4th Mainland bridge, development of new cities around the Lekki Free Trade Zone, where Dangote Refinery is located and scheduled to come on stream in 2018.

Also recognizing that power and security challenges enhance business success. We have invested significantly in security, funding and equipping the police with the Securities Trust Fund initiative. Our ‘Light Up Lagos’ initiative has also seen us connecting 67 communities of the state to the national grid and major roads fully lit. Whilst we are steady heading in the right direction we clearly still have huge infrastructural gap.

Lagos – City Of Opportunities

The Lagos delivery model is based on strategic imperatives built on four pillars: Infrastructure Development, Economic Development, Social Development and Sustainable Development. These pillars are underlined by enhanced Governance structures.

However, despite Lagos’ challenges, let’s be clear on one thing: Lagos is now the commercial centre of Africa. Despite not being an oil producing state, we are one of the few states that are self-sustaining with our Internally Generated Revenue growing by 84% to $1.4 billion in 2014 compared to 2010[3].

Our strength lies in our demographics. The population is nearing 22 million of which a large proportion fall within the ages of 18-40- a ready labour force! We pride ourselves as the 5th largest economy in Africa with our GDP estimated at $131 billion in 2014 compared to Johannesburg’s GDP of $83 billion. This makes a strong case for Lagos not just as a promising market, but as an emerging global centre, with Africa’s lead in financial services, ICT, hospitality, and other high value-added sectors. We are committed to the vision of making Lagos state Africa’s Model Megalopolis and Global Economic and Financial Hub that is safe, secure, functional and productive. This is evident in the recent establishment of Lagos Global a one-stop shop for investors.

At a broader level, Nigeria has a large regional footprint with the possibility to be the hub of West Africa. It is a nation brimming with potential that can achieve economic success in the future, if steered in the right direction. I see an era in which we can utilize the resources of the people to build a future that includes the people.

Closing Thoughts

So where will all this end up? A recent PwC report has projected that in 2050, Nigeria would be the world’s 9th largest economy, ahead of UK, France, and Germany. That is, if it makes the type of reforms we have been discussing and takes advantage of its immense human capital and natural resources. Everyone in this room has a role to play in this journey and I am counting on your support to help us make it a reality.

Since May 2015 when the new APC Leadership assumed office, there has been a massive influx of foreign governments and private sector potential partners who recognize the potential of the Country and respective States. We in Lagos have had more than a fair share of these future investors. We recognize that we have to provide the right climate to make the partnership work, and improving the ease of doing business.

Another exciting journey for Africa has started and as I said at the outset, whether you are in Africa or in Europe, you have a strong incentive to make Africa succeed.

I thank you all for your attention.



Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode

Governor of Lagos State

23RD, April, 2016

[1] PwC Analysis- Looking Beyond Oil

[2] McKinsey Global Institute

[3] PwC Analysis using data from National Bureau of Statistics

ADDRESS PRESENTED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MR AKINWUNMI AMBODE, GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE, AT THE 3RD ANNUAL LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS (LSE) AFRICA SUMMIT ON APRIL 23, 2016.

The move by the present administration to make the agricultural sector its main focus against the backdrop of dwindling oil revenue appears to have suffered a setback as fresh revelations have shown a drastic reduction in the 2016 budgetary allocation for the sector by the National Assembly.

Besides the ministry’s initial N40.918 billion budget proposal that was reduced to N31.618 billion by the National Assembly, the lawmakers allegedly also inserted fresh 386 projects worth N12.6 billion.

A member of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, who spoke to select journalists in Abuja, expressed worry about the development while vowing to invoke necessary channels to ensure a probe is instituted to unravel how those fresh projects were inserted without the knowledge of the entire membership of the committee.

‘’We are happy that the Speaker hinted that the issue of the budget will be revisited this week; but what some of us want is the understanding of Nigerians on this matter.

‘’The issue of this controversial budget has to be carefully done this time around because some persons who think they were smarter had already led the entire parliament into collision with the executive and indeed Nigerians.

‘’They have done this by inserting projects without the knowledge of others, either in the appropriation or relevant sectoral committees, and presenting same as the collective decision of the house or the entire parliament.

‘’To the best of my knowledge, as a member of both the appropriation and agriculture committees in the House of Representatives, I do know that we reduced the ministry’s N40.9 billion proposal by about N9.3 billion.

‘’But the surprise here is that while a decision was not taken where to infuse the reduced sum, some of us were surprised to see that so many projects were passed on to the president for assent which he declined.

‘’The implication is that if the president did not insist on details, most National Assembly members would not have had the opportunity to know what went behind them.

‘’For instance, in the Agric sector which I am conversant with, a total of 386 projects unknown to many of us were inserted, and totalled about N12.6 billion. Out of this, while N5.3 billion of the main ministry’s budget is taken away, about N7.2 billion is infused into almost 40 agencies and parastatals of the agric ministry.

‘’We agree that we reduced the budget, but who infused this bogus sums to the projects without the knowledge of others, is the question here. So, I am poised to raise the issue when we meet because it is betrayal in many angles.

‘’This is more so that looking at the N7.2 billion infused in the agencies, only a paltry sum of N2.3bn is allocated to the south while the remaining N4.3bn is allocated to the north. The most annoying thing is in those areas where those who inserted the projects have interests, the cost of projects is nothing less than N100 million.

‘’That is how to know who had interest in where and what, because from the look of things, how does it make sense that Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, will get N40m, that of Oji River will be given N7m and that of Kaduna got N270m,’’ the lawmaker alleged.

A document sighted by our correspondent from which the lawmaker gave a graphic account of the breakdown shows that about three projects unconnected with the agric sector were in the group of the allegedly infused ones. They include erosion control in Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, Kwadon, and Garin Alhaji at the cost of N200 million, N100 million and N45 million respectively.

Others include provision of 58 boreholes for 29 unnamed rural communities and an additional 50 for another unknown 50 rural communities in the sum of N175 million and N150.4 million respectively.

Similarly, of the N90 million allocated to the Cocoa Research Institute in Ibadan, various sums are allocated to the following seven sub heads: provision of rubber seeds and seedling in Igbotako, Okitipupa (N5m), training and empowerment of youths in poultry farming in Oluyole, Ibadan (N20m) and provision of cassava processing plant in Etsako east local government area of Edo State (N10m).

Of the four sub heads under the Rubber Research Institute, Benin, two areas are equally outside the focus of rubber. These are training and empowerment of youth and women in fish farming in Ndokwa, Delta State, and the fabrication, installation of cassava processing machines in Own west local government area of Edo at N10m and N20m respectively.

Also, the sum of N1 billion was allocated to two projects in Kwara south, the senatorial district of the Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki. They are for the construction of rural roads for the sum of N700 million as well as empowerment of women and youth in agricultural products for another sum of N300 million.

The other projects discovered to have been inserted with no clear-cut purposes include N5.3bn for the main ministry; Federal College of Produce Inspection and Stored Products in Kano – N550.6m; Agric Research and Management Institute in Ilorin – N225m; National Centre for Agric Mechanisation in Ilorin – N422.4m; National Cereal Research Institute, Badeggi – N257.5m.

Others are National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, in Plateau State – N35m; National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike in Abia State – N484m; National Institute for Oil Palm Research, Benin City – N177.8; National Agric Research Institute, Zaria – N243.3m; National Animal Product Research Institute, Zaria – N345.5m; National Horticulture Research Institute, Ibadan – N62m.

Also in the list is Cocoa Research Institute, Ibadan – N90m; Institute of Agric Research and Training, Ibadan – N18m; Rubber Research Institute, Benin – N70m; National Institute for Fresh Water Fish, New Bussa, Niger State – N205m; National Agric Extension and Research Liaison Services, Zaria – N60m; Veterinary Council of Nigeria – N26.2m, among numerous other institutes and colleges under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

culled from leadership newspaper.

http://leadership.ng/news/519064/2016-budget-crisis-386-fresh-projects-inserted-agric-ministry-alone

Fingerprint demand foils man's bid to swindle bank
Marie Nammour
Last updated on January 19, 2016 at 8.17 am


A Nigerian man's attempt to withdraw Dh580,000 from the bank account of a Kenyan by using the latter's lost Emirates ID card was foiled after the staff discovered he was not the real holder of the card, the Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Monday.
The defendant, identified as N.A., appeared flustered as a bank employee took his fingerprint to verify his identity. He claimed he had to make a phone call and ran out without taking the cash. He then fled the spot.
According to court records, the man, identified as N.A, 26, claimed in the investigation he was in desperate need of cash. He agreed when his compatriot friend offered him a lost Emirates ID card that he could use at a bank, provided he gave the latter Dh50,000. N.A. faced charges of using an authentic document belonging to others, forgery and attempted fraud.
N.A. reportedly admitted to the investigators to the charges and claimed his friend trained him to forge the card holder's signature. He said he went to the bank in Al Rafaa around 11.30am on May 13 last year. There, he filled the withdrawal form, forged the card's holder signature and submitted the lost Emirates ID to a bank employee.
But the manager went to him shortly later and informed him that the transaction had been cancelled on instructions from the account holder. He fled the place as soon as he learnt that the bank was about to call the police.
His friend, who was supposed to wait for him outside, had already disappeared.
N.A. was caught around 1am on October 1 last year on a street in Al Baraha.
A bank executive said the defendant filled a form to withdraw Dh580,000 from a joint account belonging to three individuals, including the holder of the ID card he presented to the bank.
A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer said he spotted the defendant at a late hour outside a hotel in Deira. As the defendant was not carrying any ID card, the officer took him to the police station, where he found that the defendant was wanted.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

These are not Nigerians,the post is misleading. Those are BIAFRANS. All the comments are from people from the republic of Biafra.

times faster Li-Fi is here


When the first version of the Wi-Fi protocol was released in 1997, it boasted wireless speeds of up to 2 megabits per second. Now, there's Li-Fi, a potential successor to Wi-Fi that's capable of transmitting data at 1 gigabit per second, about 100 times faster than today's average home wireless connection and 500 times faster than that first incarnation of Wi-Fi.
Li-Fi uses LED bulbs switching on and off billions of times per second to transmit strings of data. Think of the way a Morse code operator would tap out a message, then speed up the process by several orders of magnitude.
Though the communication takes place in the visible spectrum, meaning humans can see the light that's being emitted, the flickering happens far too fast for our eyes to notice it. In other words, to humans, a Li-Fi light bulb appears like any other, but actually transmits lightning-fast Internet at the same time.
Velmenni, an Estonian tech company that has installed Li-Fi in its offices, says that the technology has achieved speeds of up to 224 gigabits per second in the lab and 1 gigabit per second in real life, where transmissions must contend with other factors such as movement and interference from other light sources.
An office or industrial park could be outfitted with smart LED bulbs that could send data and provide illumination simultaneously, Velmenni CEO Deepak Solanki told IBTimes.
"We are doing a few pilot projects within different industries where we can utilise the VLC (visible light communication) technology," said Solanki.
"Currently we have designed a smart lighting solution for an industrial environment where the data communication is done through light. We are also doing a pilot project with a private client where we are setting up a Li-Fi network to access the Internet in their office space."
There's a catch, though: Because light can't pass through walls or other obstacles, a Li-Fi access point can cover only a single room. That means multiple smart LEDs will be needed to cover an apartment or a house with speedy wireless coverage. But on the other hand, wireless interference will be greatly reduced.
If you live in an apartment building, your devices can probably pick up Wi-Fi networks belonging to your neighbors. Those networks, all sharing the same frequencies, tend to interfere with one another, slowing down speeds for everyone. (That's why the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band tends to be faster: it can only be used by newer devices, so it's relatively uncrowded.) But a network that uses visible light is neatly contained by the walls, floors, and ceilings of the rooms it covers - no bleeding into adjacent areas.
Li-Fi might also be more secure than Wi-Fi. Because the wireless signal doesn't spill outside rooms or buildings, it's much harder for an intruder to set up nearby and gain access to the network. The Telegraph reports that intelligence agencies are interested in the potential security of Li-Fi, and that airlines are considering the technology for providing Internet access during flights.
Li-Fi was invented by Harald Haas from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, back in 2011, when he demonstrated for the first time that by flickering the light from a single LED, he could transmit far more data than a cellular tower. Think back to that lab-based record of 224 gigabits per second - that's 18 movies of 1.5 GB each being downloaded every single second.
The technology uses Visible Light Communication (VLC), a medium that uses visible light between 400 and 800 terahertz (THz). It works basically like an incredibly advanced form of Morse code - just like switching a torch on and off according to a certain pattern can relay a secret message, flicking an LED on and off at extreme speeds can be used to write and transmit things in binary code.
While Anthony Cuthbertson points out at IBTimes UK says Li-Fi will probably not completely replace Wi-Fi in the coming decades, the two technologies could be used together to achieve more efficient and secure networks.
Our homes, offices, and industry buildings have already been fitted with infrastructure to provide Wi-Fi, and ripping all of this out to replace it with Li-Fi technology isn't particularly feasible, so the idea is to retrofit the devices we have right now to work with Li-Fi technology.
The technology is still in its infancy today, but within the next few years, flickering LEDs could let us transfer gigabytes in the blink of an eye.

"Our aim, as my brother Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, has said, ‘is to celebrate the last oil barrel we export because we will be prepared for that day when it comes’.”


ABU DHABI // The President, Sheikh Khalifa, has announced details of a plan worth more than Dh300 billion to foster a knowledge economy and innovation, and prepare the UAE for a world after oil.

The Emirates Science, Technology and Innovation Higher Policy will include 100 initiatives with major investments in education, health, energy, transport, space and water.

It will include fields such as robotics, solar power, developing intellectual property, stem cell research and bio-technology.

“The UAE is working towards establishing a solid future for coming generations away from the fluctuation of energy prices and markets,” said Sheikh Khalifa. “The UAE has set its course for a post-oil world through investing in the development of our people in the fields of science and advanced technology.

“Creating sustainable wealth for the coming generation will depend on science, knowledge, technology and innovation. The policy adopted today is a turning point in our journey to develop the UAE economically and socially.”

Sheikh Khalifa made the announcement as part of national Innovation Week celebrations.

The funds will mostly go towards research and development, and tripling the number of people working in the knowledge economy by 2021.

Most of the funds will be focused on developing alternative energy, with Dh128bn allocated for investments in clean energy projects and another Dh72bn towards renewables.

Of the rest, Dh40bn will go to aviation research, Dh20bn to the nascent space industry, Dh31bn to enhancing research across science, and Dh12bn to establish innovation incubators and academic research centres.

“Legislative recommendations and clear financial investment is a strategic decision that aims to change the national economy equation to drive it away from depending on limited oil resources,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

“Our aim, as my brother Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, has said, ‘is to celebrate the last oil barrel we export because we will be prepared for that day when it comes’.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed said: “We don’t only seek to transfer knowledge, but also to instil it in our minds in a way that generates creative ideas and produces innovative solutions in the best interest and well-being of the nation and humanity at large.”

Among the projects are expansion of Masdar’s solar energy centre, developing solar storage and incubators for clean energy technology.

Masdar’s desalination programmes, innovations in cloud seeding and preserving water resources were others.

As part of Innovation Week, Abu Dhabi has launched 132 projects with local and international companies, including Google, which will hold programming events at Al Ittihad and Al Bateen schools on Sunday.

neverever10:
bros abeg no vex them dey rip you for Abu-Dhabi 55000# if am not mistaken is = 276$. I''ve lived in four different countries France,Bulgaria,Georgia,Russia,UAE... if I lie baba God punish me I never paid 50$ for light bill for one month and light dey 24 hours... Bros dem get crazy landlord for UAE make inquiry ooo make you know wether nah your landlord dey chop you mugu...currently I dey Sofia, Bulgaria my light bill never reach 20 euro for one month and I dey stay with four naija guys in 3 bedroom apt with underground serious guys in diaspora come to my aid nah ahhh

You may be right, the Bill includes water like I mentioned in my post, there was 100% increment of recent. Then the weather here is always hot aside few months from End of Nov- February, the AC is always on,unless you want to kill yourself and family. I have more than 7units of AC, garden to be watered,family laundry, kitchen(gas stove,dish washer,fridge ,dispenser and women kitchen essentials. I'm not defending but I live in villa type house. And I once lived in USA,so it's almost in month. My house is big but we like my bill less,lol.

Ferraricash:
Lalasticlal.a, You better place this on a front page bro.. It's so surprising on what we pay on electric supplies that doesn't stay for even 4hrs in sango and environs likewise some places in lagos state, Nigeria in general. I was billed for August with just 6k plus with an outstanding bill of 4k plus, the charges for that month of August was just 1k plus which is still fair with the rate of power supply in that environs, this morning I placed a call to the number placed on the Bill which was different from former number of the lady who was in charge of the bill, to my surprise I realize this silly man was only placing bill to each houses without considering the fact that there was no power supply for almost a month, my bill rose from 4k balance after I paid 2k on the August bill of 6k plus to 19k, and the man was telling me that he's new to the system and he will look into it but I should arrange some money for him when he will be coming to my environs, it's obvious this guy is enriching his pocket.. Abeg who is looking into this dubious and fraudulent act of some IBEDC workers

We are the change and must be change we want and desire my brother. Try to get his mobile contact,call him and records all your conversation with him,and his demand for bribe,put him on record. There re so many consumer right activists and organization or the commission complaint desk,report the case and reversal of your so called crazy bill. We need to report crimes and shame those who engaged in ripping us, they enjoy and take advantage of our silence. Nations are build by people attitudinal changes by forcing their leaders to listen and be responsible.

Having said that,Now it's clear to me that to have constant power supply we will have to pay more,I'm living here in Abu Dhabi,witj my family and i pay close to 55,000 naira(1000 dhriams) every month for my four bedroom apartment( electricity and water),the lowest i have paid is 30,000 for the last 5yrs and only once. No matter how long i live here i will have to move back to Nigeria,that's my plan insha Allah. My point is we can never have power supply 24hrs compared to advance countries with what we pay now, unless govt subsidies again at expense of other infrastructures just like fuel subsidy. If today i am the president of Nigeria,i will call for national referendum on subsidy and salaries of public workers to avoid backlash. Referendum to remove all subsidies and UN -leash infrastructural projects nationwide massively,like 8 lanes roads from the North-South and west -east with modern fast trail tracks,invest in power generation and transmission,internet penetration,using local materials for roads like bitumen, cements and award roads contracts to local and indigenous capable engineering companies,they have to learn to construct bridges and roads like bergers,buy equipment,let our civil and building engineering students get jobs and learn on the job by building roads and rail lines. These would be a ten years plan, for workers to bear with the govt lay off, closed down half of the ministries, integrates most jobs of the ministries on e-platforms, can you imagined having to travel from lagos to abuja for passport correction or attestation of your documents. Do you know thousands of public workers re redundant,graduate from universities or colleges and employ to sit and earn salary,even those in urban planning,agriculture,mineral resources,roads,works and housing should be on the fields or labs that enhance their knowledge and efficient service delivery. In ten years, more jobs from the massive infrastructure and laid off workers would fit into private companies instead of sitting in ministries. And the public we enjoy the good road network,massive housing would spread all over the country because of road access and ready for distribution power. Time spent in delivery of good and servioces will be minimal,farms can deliver faster and fresh to markets,Non oil economy would grow, No pain No gain,but the pain is just a shot time if we can bear and govt is sincere. In ten yrs,we will be a super power country. I'm not perfect, that's just my thoughts as i have seen work in many countries.
Thanks

elijah2u:
Op, these set of people have spoiled islam it is you that can explain this to your fellow muslim bro and sis. All what you just write are pure nonsense to these people, they can even kill you for this post. But sincerely, muslims around the world need to be tolerance, reduce extremism and you will see how things will be. And another thing is that, let imams stop hate speech against nonmuslim because this is where it started. May God protect us from these people

No , you 're wrong. They can never spoil Islam. Bad and extremists are not just Muslims just like comparing Hitler or missionaries slave masters who killed and maimed millions of Africans with no apology as nonsense, you also May end up being a hardliner or extremist calling my opinion nonsense without hesitation. You have displayed intolerance of my ideas and solution on how to really strike and destroyed extremist not as religious but vagabonds. In Sri Lanka and maymar Buddhist 're killing Muslims, Israel killing Muslims and displacing them of their land,Hitler killed Jews. In USA white killing blacks, people of extreme characters are everywhere. What's bad Is bad irrespective of color,language and faiths. I'm from Lagos, a Yoruba man ,Muslim and my sister is a Christian,we do things together ,we love each other. If you dare my sister I will deal with you even if you share same faith with her. My point is we 're all human, we will better when we isolate bad and call it bad not by tagging by tribes,color and religion,by this we fight common fight and win together.

What Jihad IS NOT!

If you open a modern Oxford English dictionary, you would probably find the definition of Jihad as “a holy war undertaken by Muslims against non-believers”. This is a very poor definition. Before trying to define what Jihad is, we should first define what it is NOT.

Jihad is NOT Holy War
Jihad is NOT blowing up one’s self (Suicide is a sin in Islam)
Jihad is NOT killing innocent people
Jihad is NOT flying a plane into a building packed with civilians
Jihad is NOT fighting out of anger and hatred
Jihad is NOT killing others just because they don’t agree with you
Jihad is NOT killing others just because they are not Muslims

The real meaning: Jihad is an Arabic word from the root Jee Ha Da. It literally means to struggle or strive. Jihad is struggling or striving in the way or sake of Allah. Jihad takes a very important status in the doctrine of Islam and is one of the basic duties for every Muslim. Though, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the term Holy War. Such a term, or its equivalent doesn’t exist in the Islamic doctrine. The Christian Crusaders in the mid-ages invented this ideology of Holy War.There is nothing “Holy” about wars. Wars only involve killings and disasters!

Jihad has many forms,

-Jihad of the heart/soul (jihad bin nafs/qalb)
-Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan)
-Jihad by the pen/knowledge (jihad bil qalam/ilm)
-Jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad)
-Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) [as self-defence]

lionness:
There is Oil all over Nigeria - its just a matter of time. Calling some region parasite, is just mere insecurity. No one is better than anyone. No region is more blessed. We just need to stop seeing ourselves as IPOB or ODUA or Arewa and the sky is our limit.

Thank you. I'm from south west but have no doubt there's oil all over the country,even gold. How can you imagine oil in Chad,Cameroon, Sudan and not have huge deposit of oil in the Northern part of Nigeria. If well research you will find huge deposit in Lagos. Nigeria is not a serious country, we only concentrate on what's done and ready,hence the neglect of agriculture and mining. Nigeria is a rich Nation bedeviled by bad leadership and corruption. Our wealth is not what we have as mineral resources but human,we failed to take advantage of our population,we re huge market.

kyrios:
seeds

I'll get back to you.

I Live and work here in Abu Dhabi. I'm a businessman, both here and in Lagos. Tell what kind of moringa needed,the seeds or oil?

HTC one M8

Yesterday we celebrated the 30th anniversary of Emirates. I remember well our first steps and the challenges of building our own airline. Emirates began in 1985 with two leased planes. Today we connect 147 destinations on 5 continents with 240 planes and we have 267 more on order. Our vision for Emirates for the next 30 years is rooted in innovation: to reinvent aviation with new products, technologies and services. Competing in aviation requires not only physical infrastructure but also intellectual infrastructure to entirely redefine global travel. Our vision for Dubai is clear: we are not building the largest airports in the world. We are building the aviation capital of the world.

Tell me what seeds you need and how many, I can supply of seeds of differents types. Contact me bashir09@mail.com

This was a brilliant debate.

seunfunmi33:
In 2012, I was transferred to ibadan. I have lots of girlfriends in lagos and don't want to date any new girl in ibadan, so me and my friend that was transferred to ibadan together became regulars at a brothel. Me and my friend had just 2 customers we patronize.

6 months later (early 2013) I was transferred back to Lagos . After I left, I do invite one of the girls to Lagos because she is too good in bed till I lost her contact when my phone got lost (December 2013).

We all travelled home yesterday due to sallah celebration. I was surprised when I saw my younger brother come with the prostitute in ibadan and introduced her to me as his fiancee. I just stood there not knowing what to do because I was expecting the girl to feel somehow and but she didn't even show any fear. Throughout the day She was everywhere cooking and joking with everybody around there.

I thought she was pretending not to know me but I didn't confront her, so I asked for some of her pix from my brother and sent it to that my friend if he knows the girl and he was quick to tell me that's the girl I do bleep in ibadan. But when I told him of the relationship between my brother and the girl, he told me to tell our parents and my brother so they can cancel the relationship that the girl isn't worth it.

Now am confused, I don't know if the girl is pretending or she doesn't recognize me anymore because of her numerous customers. I don't know if I should tell my brother or just keep quiet. Advice me pls

You're also once a PROSTITUTE LIKE HER, both of you re same. why she is good when you slept with her and not good for your brother to marry. live with it,everybody have a past and past didn't really matter,she can make a better future than her past.

Just saw this online, Do you agree that there's New sheriff in town?

Yasir Qadhi
Allah says in the Quran, "Allah does not like the public mention of evil, except for the one who has been wronged" [al-Nisa; 148].

Many of you are aware that a gang of criminals has been impersonating a number of high-profile activists, and reaching out to innocent souls on Facebook in order to blatantly steal their money. They claim to be building mosques or sponsoring orphans, and use the name of Islamic personalities in order to scam people. Sadly, I have been contacted by a few people who actually did 'donate' their money, only to discover that they had been scammed.

One of the main individuals behind this scam has been uncovered, and I have decided to go public with his name. I have no sympathy for people who swear by Allah that they are collecting funds in my name for mosques/orphans, knowing that they are lying and using the religion in order to fatten their pockets. (If its any consolation, it appears that the mastermind behind this scheme is not a Muslim).

The name of this scammer is Albert Fred. He lives in Benin City, Nigeria. He has already been reported to the authorities and hopefully criminal charges will be filed against him soon.

The purpose of this post is primarily to act as a deterrent to others who would stoop so low as to lie in the name of religion, and misuse the trust that people have in religious figures.

In the meantime, may I request ALL of you on Facebook to be extra vigilant when you get strange messages asking you for money. And in this case, you can pretend so show an interest and extract more and more information from them, so that we can continue to expose such charlatans and make sure that innocent Muslims don't donate to fraudulent causes.

Remember: NO ISLAMIC PERSONALITY WILL EVER PRIVATELY CONTACT YOU FOR MONEY. Any appeals I want to make will be made publicly, with audio-visual evidence to back up my claims.

1, Project: Mall of the World
Location: Al Sufouh 1
World's Largest Mall - 80 Hotels / 20 Hotel Apartments - 20,000 rooms - 7km Retail Promenade - Wellness District - Indoor Theme Park
Dubai Holding’s plans for a massive indoor city and shopping complex four times the size of Dubai Mall are well publicised. Consultants for the estimated $6.8 billion project were being hired towards the end of 2014 and the first phase is expected to complete within three years. The scheme, expected to cover 48 million sq ft, will also house the world’s largest indoor theme park, covered by a glass dome that will open during the winter months, around 100 hotels, a wellness zone, serviced apartment buildings and 7km of climate-controlled promenades, something that is offered nowhere else in the world. Once completed, the development is expected to welcome around 180 million visitors annually.Project: Dubai









2. Creek Harbour
Location: Ras Al Khor
Mixed-Use Towers - Apartments / Villas - Hotels and Hotel Apartments - Marinas - Major Retail Mall both inside as well as outside shopping.
Emaar Properties and Dubai Holding have already started work on this development alongside Dubai Creek, which is expected to be three times the size of Downtown Dubai and house the world’s tallest twin towers. When complete, it will comprise 3,664 office units, 8 square feet of retail space, 39,000 residential units and 22 hotels with 4,400 rooms. It is estimated to take 18 months to complete and cost around $800 million.

what about ovens?

tonychristopher:
I just got this piece from a friend




http://www.citehr.com/500193-how-check-your-microwave-radiation-leakage-mobile.html

Thanks for your prompt response, i have just joined this page on visa issues,I would be happy if you can send me a link to how VO assess ties to Nigeria.

Thanks

LagosNIV:


As we've already mentioned, we aren't in the business of coaching people on how to pass the interview. I suggest you read through this entire thread where we have repeatedly outlined how VOs assess your ties to Nigeria.

Dear Visa Officer, Kindly advise me on all the likely situation that needs to change in my case. I will really love to visit and spend few weeks with my inlaw in NY. i have the means for my travelling.

Thanks

LagosNIV:


... I would suggest that you not re-apply until your situation changes.

... I would suggest that you not re-apply until your situation changes.[/quote]

Dear VO, what's thr likely situation that need to change before i apply?

Dear Visa officer, I apply for a visiting visa last April this year to travel with my wife and baby who're both american citizens but was denied based on the fact that i'm not working presently here in Abu Dhabi,UAE where we live now. I have a company and registered business of over 10yrs in Lagos and still runs today but we moved here three years ago when she got a job as lecturer in the university and I hope to open another company as quickly as i would like but the process and conditions of new company here is not like we have back home,it takes a lot so i'm presently not working and that was reason my visa was denied in spite of having two american citizens in my family, he advised i should not re apply until my situation change. my application was basically without full documents as i would not apply here using my Nigerian business documents and i have heard friend who married american wife like me denied a visa in Abu Dhabi and he had to go back to Jordan(american embassy)in his country to apply before he was granted a visa,he has two daughters who re american citizen and his wife.

What do you suggests i do in my case?

Dear Visa officer, I apply for a visiting visa last April this year to travel with my wife and baby who're both american citizens but was denied based on the fact that i'm not working presently here in Abu Dhabi,UAE where we live now. I have a company and registered business of over 10yrs in Lagos and still runs today but we moved here three years ago when she got a job as lecturer in the university and I hope to open another company as quickly as i would like but the process and conditions of new company here is not like we have back home,it takes a lot so i'm presently not working and that was reason my visa was denied in spite of having two american citizens in my family, he advised i should not re apply until my situation change. my application was basically without full documents as i would not apply here using my Nigerian business documents and i have heard friend who married american wife like me denied a visa in Abu Dhabi and he had to go back to Jordan(american embassy)in his country to apply before he was granted a visa,he has two daughters who re american citizen and his wife.

What do you suggests i do in my case?

Medley:


you've made your point,why then result to insults. We all know only a few have the enterpreneural skill and can take the risk to invest in new businesses. My post was made to encourage the ''few''

I am SORRY,Forgive Me