Our Experts in this sub-sector will aim to showcase the numerous beautiful tourist destinations in Nigeria.

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A major concern for the Diasporean looking to return home is what kind of Education will be available for their Children in Nigeria. Our local expert is a seasoned Educational commentator with a vast knowledge and experience in this field. She will present an unbiased assessment of the schools, based on result, cost ,ethos, curriculum, extracurricular activities and general overall effectiveness of the school. Your own ratings and experience will also be taken on board to enrich the site.

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This forum is a wonderful place to exchange information, the latest developments, your personal story and more about how we can prevent or curtail crime while in Nigeria. Our Security expert will come with tips on how to stay safe and also identify crime hot spots to avoid. I encourage you to join the conversation.

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That Nigeria is the giant of Africa can not be overemphasized. PRESIDENT J. F. Kennedy of the United States of America (USA) at Nigeria’s independence in 1960, referring to Nigeria, said “a new nation is born in Africa that has the resources and power to rise to our USA level in 15 to 20 years.” He added: “Let’s give them a unique birthday gift.” The country is making all preparations towards becoming one of the top twenty economies of the world by the year 2020. Africa has always looked on Nigeria to establish an industrial base founded on micro, small and medium scale enterprises.

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A friend of mine is still trying to recover from the shock of losing N50,000Naira to a group of scammers who promised him a lucrative job with a Multinational Oil company.

My friend who has been jobless for about 5 years was elated when he recieved an email from an online recruitment agency offering him a Job, as his CV matched all the requirements of the Oil company. He was asked to come down to their offices with original certificates and registration fees, He even saw a draft copy of his employment contract. He did what he thought was enough due diligence by calling up the actual company to find out if the vacancy was actually existing, Yes was the answer from their Human Resources.

My friend thought his prayers have finally been answered. After money had exchanged hands, they kept on postponing the start date, offering various excuses why he could not start yet, only to get to their office one day and be told they have moved with no forwarding address.

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Most developed countries are currently in the middle of the worst recession in a century. Unemployment figures are the highest they’ve ever been since the 90”s in the US and the United Kingdom.

Most Nigerians in the Diaspora are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet as redundancies and business closures continue to rise.

To make matters worse the usually welcoming western nations are becoming hostile to foreign and migrant workers, perhaps due to the shortage of jobs and the perception that migrant workers contribute little or nothing to their economy, and all they do is drain their housing, health and educational resources.

Nationalist ideologies and Parties are gaining grounds while Immigration laws have been tightened to discourage people from coming in. As a matter of fact, highly placed Politicians are even talking about British Jobs for British workers.

While the developed economies are shrinking, the Nigerian economy has managed to grow by 5% last year according to the recently released figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria, despite the Niger Delta crisis and the epileptic power supply.

You now have to ask the question, where is the proverbial golden fleece? Is it still in the cold cities of Europe? or Is it now in the warm and tropical cities of Lagos or Abuja.

You only have to look at how well some of your colleagues that you left behind are doing, despite all the moans about no electricity, armed robbers and the likes, they still ride the best cars, send their kids to private schools and perhaps still able to afford an expensive family holiday trip to Dubai. What do you think? Time to move?.

Written by David Phillips

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Tales of River Niger from Grand Hotel, Asaba
Written by OSA AMADI
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 22:24

There is no denying the fact that River Niger is West Africa’s major river. It runs across a distance of about 4180 km (2600 miles) beginning from Guinea Highlands in the Southeastern Guinea down to Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, where it blesses the country with large deposits of oil, palm trees, raffia, and many other natural resources before emptying into the Gulf of Guinea. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo River. Its main tributary is the Benue River. The Niger had so much engaged the interest of Europeans that in June 1786, the Scottish explorer, Mungo Park, became the first European to set eyes on the river. Since then, the few places from where the River Niger could be viewed or approached have been favourite spots for both local and international tourists.
One of the few hotels with standard facilities where the beauty of the Niger could be viewed is the Grand Hotel at 112 Nebisi Road, Asaba in Delta State.
Various options are available to the guests at Grand Hotel. They could perch on one of the rooms on the last floor of the tall hotel building and feed their eyes on the exhilarating views of the Niger. Alternatively, they could also go waterskiing, jetskiing, or one of the numerous boat rides arranged on the river.
[Grand Hotel, Asaba]

Grand Hotel, Asaba

And for those who are scared stiff of venturing into the head-swelling width and breath of the River Niger, but still desire to get a feel of water on their body, then the Olympic sized outdoor swimming pool, in a garden equipped with sun loungers, parasols, and three floodlit tennis courts, will satisfy your desires.
It is not surprising that Mungo Park has a place in Grand Hotel, Asaba. The recreational centre in the hotel is in fact, named after him. The Mungo Park Leisure Centre is equipped with a gym manned by personal instructors who give daily classes on aerobic exercises. The Olympic-sized swimming pool is of course, part of the Mungo Park Leisure Centre.
The hotel’s vantage position on the west bank of the Niger with its sweeping views of the landscape combine with these other wonderful facilities to make Grand Hotel a holiday resort. True to the name of the hotel, the rooms are grand, comfortable, and go for about N34, 000 per night.
These comfortable rooms come with 24-hour room service and are fitted with king sized beds, satellite TV, perfect air-conditioners, and mini fridges. The restaurant, called Planets, comprises of a nightclub and casino. It serves both Nigerian and continental dishes. However, the Jetty serves Chinese cuisine, Barbecue Garden grilled meat and seafood. Both the Bar and Restaurant all overlook the river. There are also large conference rooms and an open-air amphitheater.
The Niger, as a river of waters of life that feeds and replenishes the harsh lands of West Africa, does the same to Grand Hotel and everyone who stays there. Like a ribbon winding its way across the land, it enters and nourishes some of the most remote areas including the environment of Grand Hotel.
Surely, the Grand is one of the best hotels to chill out when you are on vacation or business in Asaba, Delta State. It is truly a paradise with great views of Onitsha and the Niger Bridge

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Posted by Henry Kester Ewruje
While I believe, the successes of Nigerians abroad who came back home should be emphasised, I must say that I am deeply disappointed by the government of the country because it is insensitive to the yearnings of the people.

All over the world, there is an increased thirst for education. Knowledge is the prime need of the hour. More and more people are taking full advantage of opportunities for learning and education level of the people is at a high point.

Nigerians abroad are making greater use of the priveleges inherent in living in advanced countries in the world. This is the only way to rear increasing numbers of strong, purposeful men and women, equipped with vision, mental clarity, health and education.

The strength of some nations is education where there is near zero illiteracy. Every citizen must go to school on government scholarship. Infact, in some countries, you get paid for going to school.

Many Nigerians came backhome after years abroad with good education and with the courage to struggle and achieve success back home. They came back home to be successful Lawyers, Doctors and other professionals while some kept their certificates and degrees to be Pastors, Entrepreneurs, Farmers, Entertainers, Hoteliers and Politicians.

Those of them who were accomplished came back home after many years abroad with high hopes for a better life. Some of them found disillusionment and it did not take long for those hopes to fade but they were armed with faith and the will to succeed in their fatherland. They had self belief.

Faith is the first factor in life devoted to service. Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible. Faith in God is the greatest power, but great too, is faith in oneself. Faith, courage, dignity, ambition and responsibility were needed by the returnees, cultivated and used for their success.

These Nigerian men and women, saw the possibilities of a brighter future in the country, generated by vigorous commitment of new dimensions of self help. And that really cost. It required an investment of time, energy and money. To move up, they needed a plan and a formula. Their success was determined by how well they understood their past and where they were coming from and how well they planned their future in their own country.

While they excelled, succeeding against the odds, because they exerted control, some of them are still outside the mainstream of living out their vision of coming back home. Some of these men and women were uneducated and deported back to Nigeria after serving years of imprisonment abroad for various offences. They had gone abroad to husstle.

Faced with disillusionment, most of them developrd a mobid sense of guilt as well as an extremely sesitive attitude towards their past mistakes. The attitude can be tragic. Their problem is one that must find its solution in the domains of psychology and religion. They must somehow turn their vision toward the future rather than the past and concentrate on the heights which they are determined to reach, not look back into the depths which they once fell.

In other words, they can so outlive their past mistakes by giving their lives to certain high and noble pursuits. In doing so, they will be able to concentrate on such challenging and enobling ideas that they will not have time for self pity.

The accomplished and the deported Nigerians both came back home to a country that lacks everything critical to development like industrialisation, electricity, infrastructure, health care and education.

It is unfortunate that Nigerias dream of vision 2020 toward the achievement of the best economy is like building a house without foundation. We cannot develop a nation without human resources. It is only investment in human resources that will ensure and guarantee the progress and development of a nation. Government has not given education the desired attention.

We are talking of the falling standard of education because people graduate from school without having an increased knowledge. The decay did not happen at once. It started a long time ago and gradually eroded the values in the system to the point of despair.

Government needs to declare a state of emergency in the educational sector or the nation risks a bleak future. No nation rises above the level or content of its educational system.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu disclosed that no fewer than 50 million adult Nigerians are illiterates which effectively places the country among the least educationally developed countries in the comity of nations. Over 7 million Nigerian children of school age have not had the privilege of aquiring formal education which has left a yawning gap in the education of the populace.

According to him, Nigeria and Pakistan were the two countries that have remained the least educationally developed countries. The Minister warned that the country’s vision 2020 might be unrealistic in the face of the prevailing situation except an urgent step was taken to revamp the educational sector.

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