It all came to me as a surprise. I did not expect to go to England and conduct a class of fellow journalists to the BBC, Bush House, London. But that’s exactly what happened on Friday 17 December 2010. We had finished our last paper in a two-week long exam and a palpable sigh of relief overtook the tight class …

The first time I slept over in Enugu was in 1988. I had just finished youth service in Benue State and was on my way back to Rivers, my home state. My dad was not expecting me. My mum was not expecting me. My brothers and sisters were not expecting me, and there were no handy phones to take a …

President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Saturday, 11 January, to participate in the 2025 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2025). His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, invited President Tinubu to attend the Summit, which will take place in the emirate from January 12 to 18. The Summit will bring …

The latest Henley Passport Index has ranked Nigeria’s passport 94th out of 199 countries, underscoring the country’s persistent challenges in global mobility. The ranking released yesterday shows that holders of Nigerian passports can access just 46 destinations around the globe without a visa. Global mobility is an important measure of soft power for a nation’s citizens when they go abroad. …

German authorities have launched an online visa application portal for Nigerians and other applicants worldwide. This was announced in a statement by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office on 1 January. “The Consular Services Portal is being launched worldwide today, 1 January 2025, enabling people around the world to submit applications for German visas online”, the statement reads. According to the statement, …

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo announced on Friday that visa-free travel for all African passport holders will start at the start of this year, marking a step towards continental economic integration. The announcement came during his final State of the Nation address as he prepares to step down on January 6 after two terms in office. “I am proud to have …

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, yesterday urged 290 pilgrims departing the territory for Jordan and Israel to remember that a holy pilgrimage is neither a jamboree nor tourism. She said a holy pilgrimage should be a spiritual call to strengthen one’s faith and to attain a new level of spirituality and responsibility. Mahmoud spoke …

Nigerian applicants seeking visas to Thailand can now apply for e-visa online, the Royal Thailand Embassy, Abuja, has said. The embassy said it no longer accepts physical applications. Apart from Nigeria, the new policy also applies to other African countries such as Ghana. Cameron, Benin Republic, Congo, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Sao Tome, and Principe and …

Brass was one of the places I wanted to visit again after I lost my son. I wanted to go far away and still be close enough to be certain about what had happened, and learn to live with the fact of the matter. I wanted to visit everywhere I had been as a boy, to traverse the years of …

A few days before Christmas and New Year, most domestic flights to some parts of the country have been fully booked while prices have gone up by over 100 per cent in some Southern routes, Weekend Trust can report. The most affected routes are the South-East and South-South destinations, which usually record increased passenger movements during the Yuletide festivities. Daily …