Come to London on a Sunday after Church, all you will see in certain areas is Native sha. Lol, the worst offenders are those Redeemed folks, but it happens everywhere. Regular Fashion parade.

I know that estate behind aleshinloye market, are we talking up in the hills or very close to the market?

That area is very expensive, they call it millonaires row, and the compounds as you drive towards ring road are amazing!

Chaircover- The traffic in Akobo is not so bad, yes around the market it can be a little hectic. And there is a littlle bit of worry of robberies and becuase of people just disappearing around there.

If I had the mega-millions I would choose Ikolaba or Agodi Gra. I also had the chance to check out the golf course and a few clubs.

Secondly, they have started building on that new GRA Kolapo area, and another has been earmarked near Oldoo, but those are a little further out.

Chaircover - just got back from Ibadan. I think I would choose a plot in Akobo or General gas area, its nice, not as central Bodija but better paved roads, and few newly built shopping marts around. Bodija is nice but everything is built up, Ashi and Kogi areas are kind of run down. In Old Bodija folks are buying the old colonial houses and pulling them down to replaces them with Mansions.

Gate/Loyola are where the market maybe another good choice. Although it is quite run down now, the state is moving the market and going to demlish a ton of structures transforming the area. Its really central

oyewolejos

A Nigerian travelliing at the wrong time, with the wrong sounding name (Mohammed) in the US, could easily falll in to the Bo Haram category, meaning do you know how many foreigners have been detained and lost in the US detention system or accidently classifed as a terrorist, and a few have ended up in gitmo. This guy was lucky, in the US at best he would have been in a federal prison with mexican gang bangers.

Again, guys like this make it hard to get visas.

Identity theft is a big deal!!

This is the stuff that annoys me, asking to regularize when you have over-stayed,? you hashing over 5-7 years overstay, it does not make any difference.

Has anyone heard of Gitmo? The idea that things would be better in the US is laughable, for all you know you could have been considered Bo Haram and really disappeared.

I get your point your an economic immigrant but if you read the papers or watched the tv, since the financial crisis any illegal in any country is fair game by the indigenous. Its not fair, right, but simply the facts, how can they afford you around when they cannot take care of their own poor?

Abeg, try getting a e-passport!

Lets get the basics straight, which nigerian in the UK other than those diplomats or ex-bankers, have a driver? a househelp? nanny? Please they would love to have equal the space in London as somebodies boy quarters in Lagos, instead of living in council house.

The picture is more mixed than people think. Yes, there loads of Nigerian doing well in the UK, educated, doctotrs, lawyers, accountants. Its cost allot of money to get to the US/Europe. I know people who have spent upto £20k just to get papers!

Everytime I go out to nice bar/ restaurant in central London and I use the bathroom, the guy handing me a cloth to dry my hand is a nigerian, or the security guards at the apple store, or at any west end night club.

Sometimes I have to go to Heathrow earlier in the morning, the train is full of nigerian cleaners and porters. This being said I know a nigerian cleaner who saved every penny, put her son through priavte school in naija, and he works as a banker in naija. I know of mechanics who own three houses in magodo. I know of porter saving that every last penny to build that bungalow in enugu. People are struggling whether in Nigeria or US/UK, they all want a better life, or more opportunities.


There tons of  people without papers, everyweek you hear about a nigerian being deported, or caught in a sham marriage.

Salsman -I agree

Your right about the british class system. The admission for universities just happened thursday, 1/4 student did not get a place, only 30% blacks get an education in the UK, and despite Obama we all know that blacks in the US are poorly educated.

They told these folks who could not get nto university to go and volunteer with homeless people Education for Nigerian children brought up overseas is not easy at all.

Time and time again, I have family friends in the UK who have sons, who get into trouble, they send them back to Nigeria for schooling at a private school, the boys need discipline.

At the moment because of the government cuts in the UK,  fewer number of university spots are allocated to UK/EU students, you have better shot being from outside the UK, yes having a nigerian passport and applying. Although you will pay higher fees.

All will be well. Its not impossible just go forarmed if you make the decesion. Where to live, how much money for rent, where to avoid.

Spain is not a good place to be, and the UK they are cracking down on scams. People will say go marry an oyibo girl and get passport, the moment they will see a nigerian name its red flag.

These are the stories,,,,, take a read

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/07/30/reverend-s-360-sham-weddings-scam-115875-22450608/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/03/vicars-arrested-suspected-sham-marriages

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-a-rising-global-tide-of-xenophobia-2057128.html

Its not easy, but if your coming ask family or others for help.

Waxviven

Your spot on there are poorly educated people in the West who`s can make a decent living, while in naija they would only make N17,000 or even 100,000. We cannot compare the person educated in the UK/US/Ger/Canada who father is best friends with the Chairman of Zenith bank, and lands him a job on his return, with a house and driver.

The other thing is most people who have lived overseas want to go back and live or buy there plot in the best neighborhoods, whether that be Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Ilorin. Folks lets be honest the returnees never build a modest two bed bungalow, it a mansion 3 floors, 8 bed ensuite, two boys quarters.

These neighnorhoods are not cheap even by western standards. Everyone knows prices in Lagos and Abuja, but its not usuall for people to ask for N18million and upwards in cash.

However, allot do not return because of shame, because they have not done much. There is too much familial expectation, you must arrive in a big way home. Not all can.

The UK has limited its immigration for work permts, so long as there in recession with high unemployement things will be hard for a Nigerian. However, if you are a doctor, nurse or engineer and attend a on year couse life might be easier.

By and large things are very really tough, the glory days are over.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11053227

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/more-migrants-quitting-ireland-than-any-eu-state-2038004.html

Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.[2] Her middle name, Folasade, means honour confers your crown.[3] Her parents, Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, at UNILAG

Nneka, -letterman as main stream american as it ! d`banj and 9ice are not even selling album mumber globally like her, busgee just because you don`t know who she is the world does.

In January of 2010, Nneka appeared in Late Show with David Letterman in New York before getting her US tour underway.

Dizee is half nigerian, is blowing up and has a clothing line with jay-z. Sade omo ibadan is also huge.

There allot of singers and artists out there that have worked overseas or grown up, who are nigerian. It depends on the market, the domestic nigerian market versus the global, rap versus soul.

Fele and Ade were global, tuface, bank-w, and 9ice are not going on OPRAH, or winning grammies,are SEAL, SADE!

Lenny grew up in lagos, how can he be foreign? Has a nigerian mother?


Sade born in Ibadan, dad taught at Unilag, brother lives in lagos.

Nneka and Asa raised in Lagos

buzguee

Nneka is not a local champion, she not be big in the UK, but she is with touring Nas, Talib, and Common state side. Sold tons of albums in the US, Germany, and France.

Dizee Rascal is ghanian, accra born an raised till 12.

Again, short list those who actual sold albums over 1 million  Lenny Kravitz, Sade, Seal, Nneka, Asa,



Tuface, d`banj, and 9ice are second tier domestic

@redman44 Lenny kravitz, and seal have sold more than sade!

Doing a search on stories its SEAL, seal and his supermodel  wife everywhere.

MOST RECOGNISED globally - well Nigerian artists are more diverse than we think.

The top of this list goes:Seal, Lenny Kravitz, Fele and Femi Kuti, Sade, Nneka, Sunny Ade,or ASa, little wayne.

REASONS WHY:

Grammies we have Seal, kravitz, and Sade.

Tuface, P-square,D`banj, 9ice and the rest are not global, domestic africa, there albums are not used in hollywood movie tracks. As for rap Little Wayne sells more. Fele has a New York broadway musical based on him, his music was used to open the world cup! Everyone bows down to Fele and Ade.

If you walk into a music store in Paris, Rome,  london, or NYC, you more like to find stuff by Femi Kuti than D`banj and the rest of the young naija rappers.

Nneka is touring with Nas and common in America, is the best selling Nigeria artist in France ad Germany, Asa has been used on oprah. Seal is the most commercial, one of his songs was used for batman, has also sold the most albums, and is wealthiest, and better known in Europe and America.

Sade-Omo Ibadan, born and raised, her brothers family stilll lives there.

Yes, Lenny Kravitz, his mum was Nigerian, holds a nigerian passport, he got into trouble allot as a teenager in NYC, she had enough , sent him home to Surelere, Lagos, were he was schooled by his granparents.

!?!

calabar is a jewel, sokoto is not bad either

A crash is not going to happen, the difference is most of these buyers are paying with cash, while the western world everyone pays with mortgages.

Are Lagos houses over priced, YUP, but 60 MILLION naira, say £500,000 would not get you a mansion in London or NYC. These peopele don`t know central london or mamhattan prices at all, so lets be realistic, rent its cost around £2,000 a week in the plushest areas in London.


There are tons of diaspora people from overseas that come in buy up land on bulk, build and rent it out for hard cash. How is a average lagosian making 50,000 to 100,000 naira going to compete with that ? So many nigerians in the western world are hiding money in lagos and nigeria, some of its black market money, retirement funds, or just investments, you cannot keep that stuff in your bank account it has to be declared, plus likely to taxed.

Lagos is the financial capital, with a huge population of course its going to be expensive. The other problem is that builders only build for the rich, not the poor. There is severe shortage is quality housing, with good security, no omonile, and you pay not to be around poor people, these environs are exclusive.  None of these wannale boys, I am doing business, want to be in export import.


Bannana Island million a plot is nothing compared to Mahattan in prices! Again lets be serious, who is living there, Expats, oil workers, senators, govenors, bankers, actors, embassy staff, foreigner companies, lebanses, and asian, and there is a shortage of land. You pay in naija to be around the elite to have your kids associate with right chairman.

Nigeria is an emerging market, foreign companies can come in quick quick and buy land and set up. Look at KFC, or Etislat do you think they paid cheap 30,000 for there plots! Prices will go up.

Does anyone now which area has the most amount of returnees from abroad? And are there good secondary school upto international standard clustered around, so thay someone can put there child on the path to getting into univeristy oversees. Thnxs

And we think Nollywood is bad! Nollywood is a thoudand times better.

Dubai has built its wealth on thousands of poorly paid immigrants workers, its one life for the rich in there villa`s and another life for the workers who live in camps outside the city. The crisis has shown that its not sustainable, nowhere can survive on tourists, because when there money dries up everything empties.

The question we have to wonder is this the best form of development. Secondly, is Nigeria going this route, look what is happening with clearances for the megacity projects, banning of okada, registration of those who live in lagos,  abuja`s satelite towns, road clearances in Ibadan, kano new city projects. Every govenor says they want to turn there state into the nect dubai, two worlds  living very close by!

Try wikimapia, put in lagos

What about the Monatan or Iwo Road area?

Israel modifies plans to deport migrant worker families

The shy five-year-old speaks fluent Hebrew and is already in the school system.

But she is almost oblivious to the fact that there are some people in the Israeli government who want to deport her and other children who are fully assimilated into Israeli society, because their parents are here illegally.

Israel has approved plans to deport the families of illegal migrant workers, and government spokesman Roei Lachmanovich told the BBC the plan would affect some 400 children and their parents.
Vincent Uzoma Vincent Uzoma says Israel should recognise the birthright of children born within its borders

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was made because the country faced increasing illegal migration, which was a threat to its Jewish character.

Eustace's father, Vincent, is originally from Nigeria but came to Israel 14 years ago on a legal tourist visa.

Having outstayed his official welcome, he settled down here and a job, got married and had children.

"It's unfair and unjust," says Vincent of the deportation plan as he carefully watches his youngest daughter on the swings.

"These children are born here and speak the language. Israel should recognise their birthright."

For years Israel encouraged foreign workers from the developing world to come here and do the poorly paid, menial jobs that Israelis did not want to do.

Now, wanting to reduce its dependence on overseas labour, Israel says many of those workers must leave even if they have children who were born here.
'Bringing disease'

Campaigners like Noa Kaufman from the organisation Israeli Children says the recent sight of immigration inspectors conducting spot checks on people in the street is tantamount to persecution.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Noa Kaufman

    They live here, they have friends here but now the government wants to separate them from everything they know”

End Quote Noa Kaufman Israeli Children

"You can't simply put a child and it's mother, against their will, on a plane out of the country to somewhere the child doesn't know," says Ms Kaufman.

"They live here, they have friends here but now the government wants to separate them from everything they know."

Some Ministers in Israel's coalition, including Interior Minister Eli Yishai from the religious Shas Party, say they cannot grant more than 1,000 families permanent residency simply because their children were born in Israel.

Mr Yishai caused an outcry last year when he accused migrant workers of bringing with them "a profusion of diseases,  and drug addiction".
In need of reform

According Mr Netanyahu,

Immigration laws in Israel make it extremely hard for people to stay if they are not Jewish, but the scale of protest against these controversial proposals appears to have brought about a compromise of sorts.

Under pressure the government will now allow many children who have assimilated into Israeli society, those who go to school and speak Hebrew, to stay.



While there may be good news for five-year old Eustace and her family, others of a similar age will be sent to countries they do not know, with languages they do not understand.

By the government's own admission, Israel's immigration policy is unsatisfactory and is in need of reform.

pics?

Lead Image

Applicants for the new passport say they are prepared to wait provided they beat the deadline
Long wait for new passport

By Adeola Adeyemo

July 30, 2010 01:43AM
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Ahead of the December 31, 2010 deadline for the use of the country's old international passport, Nigerians all over the world have been trooping to various passport and immigration offices to obtain the new passport. But the process of obtaining the new passport has been received with mixed feeling, especially by people in Lagos; while some have applauded the new system, others complain that the process is very slow.

Simisola Aderibigbe, a pharmacist who works in the United Kingdom but who is currently in Nigeria on holiday, complained that a lot of time is wasted in the passport office at Ikoyi due to the problem of people waiting to obtain the new passsport. "I can't believe I've been waiting here for more than seven hours just to get the finger print and image capturing done. If I had known it would take this long, I would have waited till I got back to the UK to obtain my passport," she said.

Another Nigerian, Daniel James, who wants to travel abroad to further his education next year says that online registration should have been implemented in order to save time. "They should have done it in a way that people will be able to register online, pay at the banks and then just come here when it's time to do the finger prints and stuff like that. I have been here since seven in the morning. I got here early because I thought I would just spend a few hours and get back to my business. But it is now past three and my name hasn't even been called. The whole process is too slow."

New is better

According to King Ekpedem, the public relations officer of the Nigerian Immigrations Service, the new passport is necessary to curb the incidence of forgery and put all applicants under a central data base.

"We want to migrate to the electronic passport because of the challenges we had with the former one. It was susceptible to forgery. The new one will be under a central data base and will have finger prints that cannot be forged anywhere." He added that the turnout of Nigerians for the new passport has been impressive and that the Immigrations Service is doing everything it can to ensure that the passports can be obtained within as short a time as possible.

"The passport can be obtained within a maximum of one week from the date of payment and registration. It costs N8,750 but when the bank charges are added, it goes up to above N9,000." Mr Ekpedem said the document can be obtained in all states of the country as well as in other countries, including United States of America, Germany, Malaysia, Spain, South Africa, and China, amongst others.

In sickness or health

The physical presence of anyone who wants to obtain this passport is required at the point of registration because of the finger print and image capturing. This, therefore, means that even the sick and physically challenged have to go to the immigration offices to obtain their passports. At the Ikoyi Passport office, a sick man was seen coming out of a taxi with the assistance of relatives to obtain his own passport.

Asked why no special provision was made for the invalid, an immigration officer who pleaded anonymity said it was the usual practice everywhere. "Sometimes, they bring sick people who want to travel for medical reasons here with ambulance, but we attend to them quickly."

Despite the shortcomings with the process of obtaining the passport, some Nigerians have applauded the new initiative and commended the efforts of the Nigerian Immigration Service. Bola Adetola, a banker who just obtained his new passport held it proudly. "I like this new one. It's better than the former one," he said smiling.

But for someone like Henry Ukpedem, a resident of Lagos Island who obtained his previous passport with ease, he has no smiles on his face as he got ready to face the throng of people he was sure to meet at the Ikoyi passport office.

Back

Poverty is no alone a nigerian problem oooooooooo

Ibori is not a fefugee, and any country has the right to deny asylum seeker Becomrich0, the host country decides who meets the criteria.

The US and Uk, have allowed there citizens to deported or extradited to other countries. It often happens to dual nationals in terrorist cases. Where they believe there is better evidence, or that they will be dealt with more harshly.


Its a good thing he is being deported to the UK. Ibori will stand as a warning to Nigerian politicians, there`s no country you can run to. The US will block you and family from entering the country (Aoondaka), Dubai will deport you, the UK will jail you for fraud, SA will beat you, the EEFC will hound you to your last breadth.

Look at the Abacha case in Swiss also!