Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch - Gizmodo Comments

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

mackybe — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:02:09 EST

If this really happened, it means at the time of visitation by the Microsoft mogul, a Deeper Life Officer was the attendant, He sure must have a connection with Pastor W.F Kumuyi and he is doing the job like a real Christian and not like his colleagues who would rather take Bribe and let Gates in

mackybe

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

olamayo — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:56:36 EDT

@niravabhavsar: u'd be surprised.

olamayo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

olamayo — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:54:43 EDT

@bobdobbs: U r a total nuisance and a fool for calling Africa as a whole a dump.U need to get off ur mortgage owing,loan borrowing,tsunami stricken,non reasoning,so blinded by CNN and BBC ass and get smthing doing.U surely have lost ur sanity by referring to Africa that way.U r non' but a Fool.

olamayo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

olamayo — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:49:21 EDT

@Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer:
I wlda been upset by ur comment as im Nigerian but guess wat Im not.Reason,u r so ignorant abt wat Nigeria is and is about.So much so tht u wld think we r under Mugabe?Lmao!!!!!

olamayo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

olamayo — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:40:33 EDT

There is no big deal about asking him for this requirement.Its standard visa requirement so whether u r Bill Gates or otherwise,u can be asked by the govt of the country to fulfill any requirement they deem fit.
Unicks is very correct however by saying the country isnt poor.As for those of u myopic,stuck up ignorant people who are saying the country is poor and Bill Gates should just buy it,ma message is go educate urselves properly.
Nigeria like every other country has its ups and downs,so....its a very rich country but trust the media to focus on the ills.Reason,its an African nation.Try to c beyond ur noses pple n realise tht at least,the pple in the country are not indebted for the rest of their lives paying bac loans,mortgages etc.They can afford to build very gud homes tht wld make an average american look like a pauper n they do so with honest money so....
take it or leave it,its an oil nation n one of the worlds biggest so.....the pple there dont feed on bill gates money so the govt can ask for watever they want.he was asked,big deal.He has seen biz opportunities and is going there to invest.
do ur homework pple and see that its no diffent from any other country except of course,they arent suicidal,rapists,gangsters,rascist etc.

olamayo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

ruslanator — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:59:18 EDT

Uncle Billy was upset... "What a f**k do I need this visa for"? ...
I suppose when he attempted to fill in the questionnaire in embassy. Hi has forgotten the name. Unexpected error: "Invalid Name" Abort", "Retry", "Forget it & Relax".

It would be ridiculous, if was not so silly

ruslanator

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

oginni — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:41:13 EDT

This is what we neeed. A full set of comments by armchair jockeys. we get the same questions asked by the US Embassy even when we work $350k a year jobs and have been to over 190 countries to work on complex projects. Even when we have been to the US every year since we were kids, whenever we renew a visa, we still get the same questions asked.

I dont think Bill Gates has ever been scammed and a few emails dont justify the blanket riduclue of a whole nation that is happening here. Haroon might think he is a hotshot microsoft programmer and maybe he is, but if he's ever in a suituation where he feels slighted becos of his race/ethnicity, then this article show help him absorb it.

oginni

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

richse — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:55:32 EDT

@GRAFIKDON
The guy talking about the Nigerian govt revenue probably did not make that up. You should check facts before calling anyone greedy or ignorant. I could not find the govt revenue but I looked up some real numbers and it's pretty sad. The 2006 Nigerian GDP was $191 billion and Microsoft's 2006 revenue was $44 billion. That means MS makes more, per year, than 1/8th of the spending power of the entire country of Nigeria. It's easy to see from there that the govt of Nigeria does not have a revenue even close to Microcoft's earnings.

richse

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

highwind7777 — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:55:29 EDT

@Major-General:
umm...according to the latest IMF figures available, zimbabwe stands at 135th place at $2437 GDP per capita at PPP, and Nigeria stands at 165th place at $1213 GDP per capita. so, i don't know what you're trying to say...

and @ a number of posters above me: when did it become "cool" to laugh at the weak kid? When did you lose your humanity and find it not only acceptable but enjoyable to laugh at the less fortunate. No, less fortunate would be an understatement when you are talking about per capita GDPs of under $3000....

highwind7777

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Nyam — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:09:12 EDT

It doesnt matter who Bill Gates is, he has fulfill visa requirements and I am sure this article has been blown out of proportion. Well the writer of this writer of this article has just expressed what treatment the west expects to in Africa. How many africans suffer everyday under humiliating cercumstances in the corridors at embassies of western powers just to go and build their economies and in return improve their own lives? I am sure what this ignorant writer meant was a part of requirement on the visa application forms that everyone ticks and Bill Gates couldnt have had his visa form designed seperately without those requirements. Bill Gates is treated with respect in Africa. As far as I am concern, this article's irrelevant. If you have nothing doing, don't do it here

Nyam

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

unicks — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 05:23:33 EDT

I'm actually reading this sat in a hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria, I'm connected using a WiMAX terminal I bought in the supermarket, and 300Kb/s costs $150 per month. The hotel is costing the company I'm working for about ~$700 per day and food and drinks in decent places cost more than London or Manhattan. This is an expensive, rich place. Getting my Visa (I'm British) wasn't easy either, it took about 6 weeks and I needed _lots_ of supporting documentation in order to get it. Those of you who are saying "Bill should just buy the country" and "419 is the biggest export" should have a little poke around your beloved intarweb, Bill couldn't afford the tiniest part of this country, it is FULL of oil and is one of the richest countries in the world. Why on earth would Virgin Atlantic fly to this area if this wasn't the case? Virgin Atlantic make more money per seat than on ANY of their other routes as they are full up with fat-cats in "upper-class" eating lamb-shanks and getting shoulder massages. There are lots of very poor people here too, and of course the distribution of wealth _isn't_ equal, but this place isn't only about 419 scammers.

unicks

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Peet McKimmie — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:08:00 EDT

I, too, thought this was a hoot.

But, I'm not American, so I was amused by the fact that Bill baulked at filling in a visa form, not by the fact they asked the question. :-)

Peet McKimmie

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

mictester — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 03:41:29 EDT

Nigeria is just like any country - it has its rich and poor.
The gap between them, however, is gigantic. The oil revenue is only seen by the richest - the poor "man in the street" is still as dirt poor as he was 50 years ago.

mictester

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

AGROS — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:15:05 EDT

@markgm: I have to say this was funny...

AGROS

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Palestina — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:41:33 EDT

ROFL
They didn't let him in 'cause maybe he could buy the whole country, then the bureaucrats would get fired.

Palestina

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

imajoebob — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:43:48 EDT

Bill, Bill, Bill. You should have known something was hinky when they asked for your account number for "verification purposes only."

The good news is that "Dr. Mbake" died of a massive coronary when he saw your bank balance.

imajoebob

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

markgm — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:43:55 EDT

I'd imagine that Bill is headed over to pick up his millions from the dead prince.

markgm

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

grafikdon — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:29:36 EDT

I don't see what the hoopla is all about. It's standard visa procedure and should be applicable to anyone. I bet if they let him him in without following procedure some people will whine about it. this the real world,you can't win no matter what you do.

Apparently, the scam business is thriving because of greed and ignorance. Imagine somebody actually believing Microsoft revenue in one quarter is bigger than that of Nigerian government in one year...ignorance is a disease. It is even more shocking that someone with brain believes '419'is Nigeria's major source of Revenue.People should strive to explore the world beyond them instead of looking up to CNN and Fox.

Finally,it's a normal visa procedure so put a sock on it.

grafikdon

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Major-General — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 21:22:45 EDT

Ok, how poor is your country that you want Nigeria's social services? Wait, I know the answer: Zimbabwe.

Major-General

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

tin — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 20:00:16 EDT

@niravabhavsar:
LOL
@lunarstreaker:
LOL again
@scoobydoo:
LOL once again

tin

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:28:26 EDT

So what you're saying (between the lines) is that Bill Gates is inspecting Nigeria so the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation can buy it so that the Pirate Bay will have their own country to host torrents improving the GDP of the country and thereby rescue the millions of oppressed Nigerians from under the thumb of Robert Mugabe?

Cool. Good story Giz.

Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

dakeemz — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:59:23 EDT

@bobdobbs:
It's unfortunate that people still think with their heads upsidedown...i'm Nigerian and i stand by what they did....There are laws for a reasona and nobody is above the law regardless of money, power or what ever the case maybe. The richest man in nigeria still needs a visa to get here right or wrong?.....so vice versa

dakeemz

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

dakeemz — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:54:29 EDT

hey

dakeemz

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Buford T. Justice — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 14:00:29 EDT

@Dasugo: That would be import... the only thing Nigeria exports to Asia are bouncers who work in Roppongi and oil.

Buford T. Justice

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

LuvGadgets — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 13:32:09 EDT

Maybe the visa processing computer in Nigeria runs on Linux? Was it worried about Gates consuming their resources, or about the software he might bring with him? ;-)

LuvGadgets

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

SashaDDS — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 09:31:49 EDT

What's the big deal. Those of us from the brown nations have to prove it all the time, show them our bank statements, property ownership leases and so on. And sometimes certifications from the police, and then we have to pay hefty sums so that the authorities can check on us after we have left. So some lackey of Bill Gates had to do all the paper work. So what?

SashaDDS

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

immumo — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 04:35:43 EDT

This post is the funniest thing i read all day!

and @BOBDOBBS:
Drop the shitty attitude... Learn to respect!

immumo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

bobdobbs — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 02:44:45 EDT

Uhh, this happened in Africa. When did the world start caring about that dump?

bobdobbs

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

dasugo — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 01:58:18 EDT

Gentlemen and possible lady, as a a Nigerian, I would like to say KISS mY Nigerian ass.

Obviously Bill doesn't have the proper juice to visit Naija. Bribe the right people and u get what u need. Everyone knows that. What makes u think beign Bill Gates will get u in easy??

Isn't that how the lobbyists do it in America??

It isn't like Nigerians pay full price for Win
XP anyway. We export from China bitches..

dasugo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

pokebud — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 01:54:31 EDT

Oh man i though u said windows vista screwed up his trip then i thought i read windows visa screwed somone over which i assumed was even more gimped version of the OS, man i must be tired lol

pokebud

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Buford T. Justice — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:39:48 EDT

@AGROS: That's great; how 'bout spreading some of the wealth around so you can get some of the mugus to stop spamming the world and/or kidnapping anyone who remotely looks like a foreigner.

*ROFLMAO* as if anyone would spend a SECOND more than necessary in Lagos or Kano? Guaranteed Gates will stay in Abuja and go under heavily armed escort to shop at the market and that's about it.

Buford T. Justice

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

AGROS — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 20:24:22 EDT

@niravabhavsar:
Ok I take it I am the only Nigerian on here, I am sure someone messed up at the embassy or maybe they just wanted to make it onto Gizmodo... Oh yeah by the way Nigeria is one of the Richest countries in the world... at least top 50.. oh yeah did i mention that we don't owe the world bank any money? anyways Nuff said..

AGROS

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Ashe — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:28:51 EDT

@lunarstreaker: Funny, Nigeria has oil... and is the third largest exporter of oil to the U.S. if I recall correctly.

As for the hassling of Bill Gates, it is quite possible that not everyone in the world knows of Bill Gates. Not to mention the fact that Americans who go to Nigeria mainly go there to exploit the natural resources (read: oil). I ain't surprised at all. Quit acting indignant...

As to whoever put this up here in the first place, stop being so fucking superior. And congratulations on taking a simple illustration out of context. I'll go so far as to say that you are part of what's wrong with the bad image America has abroad. Calling a country stupid for actually following their own laws. *shakes head* How puerile.

Ashe

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Amiash — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:24:11 EDT

hey! kudos to nigeria!

Amiash

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Kendra — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:06:13 EDT

I bet some Nigerian business owners are going WTF, let him in! We want some of his billions.

Kendra

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

dakeemz — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:41:34 EDT

well, a law is a law, and that's why we have them, just as much as a nigerian (regardless of wealth or anything) needs a visa to come to the US, i would think vice versa also.

dakeemz

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

iomatic — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:43:51 EDT

Maybe they're afraid of more scammers coming in, and just wanted to make sure...

iomatic

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

prodigal_son — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:54:53 EDT

Strange, usually you have to prove you are a poor nigerian to get into my country.. or at least thats what seems to be the case.

prodigal_son

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

hseldon10 — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:21:59 EDT

Well, I expect nothing less from these underdeveloped countries.

When Carlos Slim needs a visa to visit one of these countries, he ALWAYS has to prove that he is not going to "stay and strain social security services", despite him owning one of the largest pre-paid cellphone services in that country! Well, thats how the US works, they ask everyone the same silly questions... Whos gonna change them?

hseldon10

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

whiskey — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:16:46 EDT

Admitedly, the law should be applied to all equally (after all that is why we all have laws, and we all have troubles with celebrities bending them ... do i need to name names here?).
So yes, maybe having to prove you are Bill Gates and that you are one of the richest guys on earth sends the right message, our laws apply to everybody (even if they don't, what do i know, i haven't been there in my life).
So stop being sarcastic and DEMAND that this same rigor is applied to ALL LAWS.

whiskey

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

djkevo — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:12:02 EDT

Not to put a damper on any Microsoft fans, but not everyone in the world knows William Gates III. Just because you'd let him in for dinner does not mean he doesn't need a visa to visit a 'less financially abundant' country. Apparently some Government official in Nigeria does not have the Forbes billionaire list on his desk as a reference guide, but then again ... who does ?

djkevo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

scoobydoo — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:05:05 EDT

Bill Gates should get back by turning off their Internet Access. THAT will teach them a lesson.

I'm sure it's just one call for him.

scoobydoo

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

lunarstreaker — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:00:58 EDT

My hunch is they were afraid he would ruin their economy by shutting down the 'princely' scammers. This is, after all, Nigeria's most valuble natural resoarce is it not?

lunarstreaker

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

stojadinovicp — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:41:46 EDT

IMHO serves him right. My only wish is that ALL governments start doing the same thing to ALL people coming from countries which already do this for a long time now to the rest of us.

stojadinovicp

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

steinwaytony — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:22:48 EDT

@cooper: Maybe, but it ain't Gates anymo.

steinwaytony

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

discounteggroll — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:18:19 EDT

windows 98...shame on you
windows Me...shame on me
windows vista...GTFO of our country

discounteggroll

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

cooper — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:14:47 EDT

If you had the chance to f*ck with the richest man alive, wouldn't you?

cooper

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

Sheemo44 — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:54:28 EDT

if i was him i would just buy the place

Sheemo44

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

obbie — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:37:41 EDT

maybe I will be come the "benefactor" to his fortune, and receive notification via email.

obbie

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

sassyone — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:37:17 EDT

uh...whos bill gates?

sassyone

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

jamar0303 — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:34:12 EDT

@pepe the king prawn: I didn't have to do any such thing when I entered China. Then again, I entered China with some weird visa only available to ethnically Chinese people...

jamar0303

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

niravabhavsar — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:31:48 EDT

Microsoft's revenue in one quarter is equal to that of Nigerian Govt. in one year. LOL.

niravabhavsar

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

niravabhavsar — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:29:11 EDT

USCIS assumes that you'll overstay in the US illegally when you apply for a US visa and it is upto the applicant to prove that you are not going to do so. So, I think this is the similar process everywhere in the world. Seems, some Nigerian official was pissed at US govt. for either denying the visa or asking those questions so he decides to give it back. But, come on you are Nigeira; americans are not going to overstay their visa in nigeria. The otherway around is possible.

niravabhavsar

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

pepe the king prawn — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:24:28 EDT

...on the premise that they required proof he would not reside in Nigeria indefinitely, causing a strain on social services and a general nuisance for immigration.

yup. standard visa stuff. had to "promise" the same thing in a letter to the chinese cousulate when i got my visa.

pepe the king prawn

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

FilthyHarry — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:17:12 EDT

Actually I believe Bill Gates has fallen afoul of the 'Nigerian Scam' Should be a big hint that he had to prove how much he has.

Wonder if he'll still be a billionaire when he leaves Nigeria.

FilthyHarry

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

lightshow — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:09:07 EDT

The customs official was confused, because in Nigeria the fraud-spam reads "Wealthy oppressed AMERICAN prince needs your help getting billions of dollars out of the country." Since he must have known that Bill has billions, I don't blame the customs official for thinking the prince finally made it out of the country and has come to settle down in Nigeria as stated in the email.

The real question, in that case, would be why all the rest of the Nigerian billionaires spend so much time abusing government welfare systems - mind bottling...

lightshow

Nigeria Asks if Bill Gates is a Mooch

davidfbecker — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:56:20 EDT

Apparently the Nigerian government wasn't a big fan of Windows Vista.. that or they're still recovering from Windows ME!

davidfbecker