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What makes Nigeria different from the rest of Africa — American tourists who have spent 36 years in Nigeria

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Liza Gatsby and Peter Jenkins, two American tourists, arrived in Nigeria in 1998 on 10-day transit visas that were approved for them. But 36 years after, the duo have remained in the country, with beautiful stories of their hosts.

The two tourists recounted their experiences in an interview with a content creator, David Nkwa.

According to them, they never planned to stay in Nigeria beyond their approved days of visitation until they saw the need to save drill monkeys in the country because they were impressed by the dominance of interesting opportunities in areas of Science and Wildlife Conservation, the roads, the hospitality of Nigerians and the living condition that appeared better compared to America in those days.

“I’ll tell you what I like about Nigerians. Okay, that’s what makes Nigeria different from every other country in Africa. They would say ‘hey! Oyinbo, come in na, sit down, make we talk. Make I go buy you the drink.’ That is the difference between Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

 

“There were a lot of interesting opportunities in areas of Science and Wildlife Conservation that we became involved in, and we’re still here 36 years later. We arrived with a 10-day transit visa, and we have been here for 36 years.

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“We founded a nonprofit organisation called Pandas that ranches monkey drills in Bano and Calabar in Cross River State. I don’t think that one species is more important than another, just like I don’t think that human beings are more important than drills or elephants are more important than whales; I think we are all of equal value, and the drill is a scarce species, it’s one of the rarest animals in Africa and it’s one of those animals you never thought you would even see when we were traveling across Africa, you know I had my Wildlife Field Guide and you look at the pictures,” Gatsby, one of the tourists said.

Speaking on why Calabar was their place of choice, Jenkins said they had done their research and that aside from Cameroon, Calabar was another place for monkey drills, stressing that no scientist or tourist had discovered that those animals were living there until 1987 when they consulted the local people in the community and got funding to make it habitable while conserving the rare species of Monkeys and other animals including girafees.

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Jenkins added, “I love Nigeria, this is a great place. Come and live in Calabar and be at rest.When we got here, the population of Nigeria in early ’90s and the late 80s was around 65 million.

 

“The amount of natural resources that were still intact was extraordinary, and the density of wildlife generally in the forest was better compared to today. In fact, it’s appallingly low now, but in those days, this was a wonderful place to do research. Communities were very welcoming in those days; life was cheap; here, diesel, which is what our Land Rover ran on, was 35 Kobo, and with 29 kobo to the market, you would come back with two heavy bags with change in the pocket.

 

“We were comfortable and found Nigeria habitable. It was the best value country on this continent by far. The food was cheap, the road was perfect. There was no gallop deaper than a botlle cap.”

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Meanwhile, Gabsty identified the lack of patriotism as the challenge facing many Nigerians while berating the growing negligence of the country’s culture, heritage, identity, music, traditional herbs, and healing.

 

“Nigerians don’t have pride in Nigeria’s natural heritage. I think that’s a big issue because that’s what it takes to try to make a difference. People don’t take pride in their cultural identity, language, traditional herbs, and healing.

 

“There was this huge wealth of knowledge when we came here on traditional healing and herbs from the forest, and that was another thing that put value on the natural resources here, but which of these old herbalists have an apprentice who is learning from them and when these old guys are gone all that knowledge is going to be lost?

 

“You go to the market now; we see herbal teas and herbal cures imported from China. How do we know that those things work? What’s wrong with our traditional ones here?” She queried.

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Blood thicker than water: Prince William and Kate celebrate Prince Harry as he turns 40

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Prince Harry has received a surprise public birthday message from his estranged royal relatives on his 40th birthday.

The Kensington Palace official social media account posted a message to the Duke of Sussex, across the Atlantic in California, as he celebrates the landmark birthday today – despite him being embroiled in a bitter feud with his father King Charles and brother Prince William, according to UK Mirror.

Only working royals usually get birthday wishes on the official Royal Family social media accounts. The last time Harry got birthday wishes on the Royal Family account was three years ago in 2021 when the late Queen was still alive. The Prince and Princess of Wales ‘ account last publicly sent him birthday wishes in the same year.

Harry has been embroiled in a feud with his father and brother since he and wife Meghan Markle dramatically quit as working royals in 2020. The feud was fuelled by Harry railing against his family in his 2022 bombshell Netflix series and controversial memoir, Spare, released last year.

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He remains estranged from his brother William, which was highlighted by the siblings reportedly not talking when they attended a family funeral last month. Previous reports suggested they had not talked in over two years since the late Queen died.

Meanwhile, other reports have claimed Harry and his dad are no longer speaking with one long-running issue seeing their estrangement deepen. Sources close to the Sussexes claimed that Harry’s calls to his dad are going unanswered as Harry tries to discuss his security arrangements with his father. The Duke has been embroiled in a long-running battle over his security when he comes to the UK after he automatically lost the right to his police protection when he stepped down as a working royal.

 

He has lost his subsequent court battles to have it reinstated for him, wife Meghan and their two children and is planning an appeal. According to PEOPLE magazine, Harry believes his dad could help to have this reinstated, although this has been dismissed as “wholly inaccurate” by a palace source.

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And now a friend of Harry’s told the magazine: “He gets ‘unavailable right now’. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too.”

The birthday wishes come as Harry said: “Bring on the next decade”, as he turns his back on a turbulent period that rocked the Royal Family. Harry said he was ‘excited’ about celebrating his 40th birthday ahead of the big day, and in comments released to the BBC he said fatherhood had given him a renewed sense of purpose to make “this world a better place”.

The past 10 years have been a period of upheaval for Harry and his wife Meghan who, after struggling behind the scenes with royal life, stepped down as working royals and moved to America for financial and personal freedom.

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Bobrisky: I plan to have kids in the next five years

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Okuneye Idris, better known as Bobrisky, the controversial crossdresser, has shared his plans to become a parent within the next five years.

In a recent chat with Egungun of Lagos, the content creator, the crossdresser was quizzed about his plans.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” Egungun asked.

Bobrisky swiftly responded, “I see myself in five years with beautiful children”.

The crossdresser also revealed that he spent ₦6 million on a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery.

“My BBL cost about six million naira,” he added.

Born Okuneye Idris, Bobrisky is a Nigerian social media personality who went viral on TikTok for creating the “Bobrisky” dance in 2021.

He holds a BSc degree in accounting from the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

He was the most searched individual in Nigeria from October 26 to November 2016.

Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in prison on April 12 for abusing the naira. She was released from jail on August 5.

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Speaking about the prison sentence, Bobrisky said, “It was like a vacation to me”.

He also clarified that he is not an ex-convict.

“I cannot be convicted for spraying money,” he said.

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‘Not me’ — Mercy Eke distances herself from Viral video of lady masturbating

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Mercy Eke, the former Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) winner, has denied being the woman involved in a viral explicit video.

The video, which has circulated online, shows a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Eke exposing her private parts and using an adult toy.

In response, the reality TV star took to Snapchat to shut down the claims, stating that the woman in the video is not her.

She also pointed out several physical discrepancies, such as her nail length, piercings, and sock style, to support her claim.

“The video y’all are circulating can never be me,” she wrote.

“I do not wear long nails, no piercings, and I don’t wear such socks. That girl does not look like me. Sorry to disappoint y’all evil fantasies. I don’t do such nonsense. Not my MO.”

In 2022, a blogger alleged she was involved in an affair with Ikechukwu Ogbonna, also known as IVD, whose wife, Bimbo Ogbonna, passed away amid domestic violence allegations.

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The reality star dismissed the claims, accusing the blogger of trying to tarnish her reputation.

Eke rose to fame after winning the fourth season of the BBNaija reality TV show in October 2019.

In 2020, she made her acting debut in the film ‘Fate of Alakada’.

She also featured in the Nollywood blockbuster ‘Shanty Town’.

In 2023, Eke participated in the BBNaija All-Stars season, finishing as the first runner-up.

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