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continued from p(48) of them will get a percentage of the player’s transfer fee as they all have authentic mandates given to them by his handlers. “Kelechi father has said his boy will go for nothing less than a million Euros and to add to all these, at least seven agents have mandates for the boy,” said a source who asked not to be named. “Such was the chaos that these agents had to come together in Dubai and agreed
continued from p(49) that whoever gets to finally sell the boy, all the other agents will also be entitled to a percentage of this sale.” The player himself said he is unaware of the offers that have poured in for him since his heroics in the UAE. “I am not aware of offers coming my way yet but my aim is to go and further my career in Europe,” he said. “I am very grateful to God for giving me
the opportunity to showcase my skills on an international stage. Words are not enough to express my joy.” He further said his dream club is FC Barcelona. “I cannot pick a club or country now but my preferred club is Barcelona but I know that I cannot play for them now at this age but someday I may get that opportunity.”
for the elevators but as the elevators arrived, they were fully packed. Some people were taking the staircase. Where was Antonio? Misan wondered. After waiting for twenty minutes, she and Ruth decided to take the rugged staircase, pulling their luggage behind them. On the last floor, they joined the queue of tourists to check out. As she stood in line, she glanced round but the one man she wanted to see was not in sight. Outside the port, Ruth took a cab to her uncle’s house in Miami while Misan boarded a bus that had ‘Airport Shuttle’ written on its side to the airport from where she boarded a plane to Houston. Her mother’s sister was at the airport to receive her. On Saturday, Misan was on a plane again, on her way back to Nigeria. She would get to Lagos at about 10AM the following day. She couldn’t wait to get back home and tell her sister about Antonio. She had so much time to think on the eight hour flight to Madrid where she would have a stopover. She watched the movie that was being shown for a while and
then tuned off, closing her eyes. Why was she having problems in the area of relationship? After she had Weyin and began to attend church regularly, things hadn’t improved much for her. She had expected that being a Christian would make things easy and she would get a man to marry immediately but it hadn’t turned out that way. Instead, she had realized that she had to keep trusting God for each day. She was glad she was now a Christian but could she be under a curse or a spiritual attack? She thought about it. She was doing well before, when she was much younger. Even though she wasn’t too happy following her parents’ separation … “Pasta or chicken?” Misan opened her eyes and saw the flight attendant looking down at her. “What did you say?” “Pasta or chicken?” The blonde slim woman repeated. Misan sighed deeply. What is pasta? I’d better ask for chicken and if I don’t like the food, I can eat the chicken. She was glad for her choice when she opened it. She shook her head and
wondered. When it came to such things, she knew how to choose right, how come she didn’t know about men? She asked herself as she was eating the rice and chicken with vegetables. She felt stressed up. God help me, she prayed. About two hours after, she fell into an exhaustive sleep. The plane landed in Madrid and taxied to a gate. As Misan got down with the other travelers, she realized she had thought of Antonio through the entire flight except when she fell asleep. As she waited for her next flight to Nigeria which was in four hours, she walked round the airport. This was Antonio’s birth place. This was where he grew up. Where’s he now? Has he got back home? Is he okay? Should she have told him about Weyin? Misan asked herself for the umpteenth time.
continued from p(11) •Referrals from friends and relatives who are able to speak to the quality of the service of the representative; •The staffing level within the office of the representative should be considered. Multiple staff members will ensure that there are secondary professionals to address your issues should your primary representative be unavailable; •Knowledge of the process and the law by the representative should be considered too. You will generally have an idea after a few minutes of discussion with your representative; •Confirm that your representative is legally allowed to represent you before the Federal Court of Canada and if not, what process has the representative put in place to ensure
that you get such representation should the need arise; and, •Although there are fresh graduates that are also knowledgeable, you may nonetheless decide to consider the years of experience of the representative. If you desire to use the services of a representative, please note that you must complete the necessary forms authorizing representation by the lawyer, paralegal or Immigration Consultant. The completed authorization forms must be submitted with your application. With that being addressed, the responsibility falls squarely on you to do your research and due diligence to ensure that you’re choosing the right representative for you. The Canadian immigration process is becoming in-
creasingly complex, therefore, you will find it advantageous to be guided by an individual or firm that is extensively familiar with the intricacies of Canadian immigration law. The above is not intended as legal advice. Readers are cautioned to seek for legal advice before making any decisions on the contents of this newspaper as a whole and this article in particular. Johnson Babalola (johnson@jblaw.ca) is a Toronto, Canada based immigration and business lawyer. He is with the Law Society of Upper Canada. Tracy Ayodele (tracy@jblaw.ca) is a Student-at-Law at the law office of Johnson Babalola. They can be reached at info@jblaw.ca. Internet: www.jblaw.ca *Tel: 416603-9191 x 223 *Fax: 416603-9190
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continued from p(14)
To be continued. This story is from the novel, This Time Around To order this book and others by the same author, Taiwo Iredele Odubiyi Call: 1-410-5196888 1-410-8187482 Website: www.pastortaiwoodubiyi.org.uk
making payments to each creditor yourself. If your proposal is not accepted, you are not automatically forced into bankruptcy. However, your creditors can continue or begin legal action against you. The failure to attempt a proposal instead of choosing bankruptcy, can be held against you when you apply to be discharged from bankruptcy. Division I Proposal Another alternative to bankruptcy is called a Division I proposal, available to both individuals or businesses. It is similar to a consumer proposal but is available to individuals with debts greater than $250,000 (excluding the mortgage on their main residence). This process is carried out through your trustee who will put together an offer to pay creditors a percentage of what is owed to them
over a specific period of time, extend the time the debtor has to pay off the debt or a combination of both. For the proposal to be accepted at least 50% of the creditors (representing 66% of the debts) must approve it. Once approved, payments are made through the trustee, and the trustee uses that money to pay each of the creditors, and also takes their fee. The advantages of a Division I proposal to the debtor, include: you retain all of your assets; actions against you by unsecured creditors, such as wage garnishments, will be stopped; it allows you to solve your financial problems without having to declare bankruptcy; unsecured debts are paid off at a portion of the original amounts; and often, tax debts can also
be paid off at a portion of the original amount. Credit counselling A fourth option is credit counselling. There are a number of credit counselling services in Ontario who will help you consolidate your loans. Before enrolling with a credit counselling service, make sure you ask about their services and fees. Often credit counselling services are useful in helping you to decide whether bankruptcy is the right option for you. There are many options to consider when you are in a situation of financial difficulty. For more information about business bankruptcy, visit the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada at www.ic.gc.ca, or consult with a trustee in bankruptcy, a lawyer, or an accountant. Source: www.legalline.ca
continued from p(12) Fifty residents; one bathroom....
has its fair share of billionaires and multi-millionaires, but an estimated 70 percent of the population are slum dwellers. The UN predicts that the city’s population would hit 23.2 million in 2015; which means that an estimated 1,200 new people enter Lagos every day to stay. This huge population has continued to strain the already inadequate housing available in the city, resulting in more cramped space and unhealthy living conditions for most inhabitants. In October, an outbreak of cholera in areas of the state such as Apapa, Ajegunle, Oshodi, Surulere and Lagos Island claimed
a three lives; with several others hospitalised for long periods. According to the state’s Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, the cause was contaminated food and well water, among other unhygienic habits. Most of the residents of such ‘public yards’, who live in such appalling conditions, say their problem is the high rents that living in flats attract, and seem powerless to change their status. A state law that criminalises the collections of advance rent is sneered at by most landlords. In some cases, landlords demand as much as three years advance rent from
new tenants. Prospective tenants are powerless as state authorities struggle to enforce this law. In cases where landlords agree to accept one year rent, they routinely inflate the prices by as much as 50 per cent. Mr Ekwebelum finally got his turn at using the bathroom and as he dressed up for his first day at work, he couldn’t help wondering if he emerged from the bathroom cleaner or dirtier. He is determined, however, to work hard and “rent my own room as soon as possible, hopefully with a cleaner bathroom”. Public yard in tenement accommodations.
WARN THEM NOT TO TAKE YOUR PHOTO) So this woman photographer (God will judge her appropriately), with many photos of me in her hand, came right to the High Table before the program was over, to whisper that each tiny ugly photo was 200 naira. I felt sweaty all of a sudden because my wallet was far away where I had parked my car. Not that there was money in it. I would have to go to an ATM to be able to pay her. Now, the other people on the high table were looking at me. No, God will judge that woman! This is one of the few moments when I have been thankful for being a lawyer, trained to squeeze water out of
a stone. I told her with a stern face: ‘I do not take photos. I do not like photos. I did not ask for my photo to be taken...’ I might have gone on and on and accused her of blackmail, of being an agent of my enemies and village people, but the woman by my side said, don’t worry ill just pay for all the photos. I initially protested, careful though not to protest too hard, lest I would have to make the uncomfortable trip to the ATM. My prayer for you is that you are blessed with better high tables and more juice loving people on the high table. And that God shows you those plotting your downfall before they see you.
continued from p(12) speech. That was the best part. It emboldened me to at least open the bottle of water in front of me. I deserved it. All that speaking! Then during question and answer time, this guy, who eventually came up to me to inform me of his just having returned to Nigeria six weeks ago from Harvard, stood up to give a little speech of his own. He reeled out all the big social science terms and theories and although he claimed to be disagreeing with me, ended up summarizing my speech. All I could say (in my mind of course) was ‘God is watching you!’ LESSON 6: ALWAYS CARRY MONEY FOR PHOTOGRAPHS (OR
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 11 • NOVEMBER 2013