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Nigerian Owners Of Taste Africana, Three Children Face Deportation From UK Over Visa Fees

Published

1 year ago

August 17, 2024

Cynthia and Bright Chinule, with three children, a Nigerian family based in Leigh, the United Kingdom, UK, fears they will be kicked out of the country if they don’t raise enough money to pay for new visas. Their visas expire in 11 days.

The couple, who run Taste Africana, a popular restaurant in the town, say they have just over two weeks to raise just under £26,000 or they could be forced to return to Nigeria after six years of building a life in England.

Their financial troubles began last year after the roof of the first building their restaurant was based in suddenly caved in just two months after opening.

Luckily, they were able to find a new home just minutes away on Market Street, where they have been operating since November 11.

However, according to Bright, the financial effects mean they have been unable to keep on top of the rising cost of living, visa fees, and immigration health surcharge payments, which is a fee paid by migrants who live in the UK for more than six months.

“They’ve put up the immigration charges, health insurance used to be around £300 per year,” explained Bright.

“It’s gone all the way up to around £1,800 per person, per year. Think about me who’s got a family of five. If I add visa application fees and lawyer fees it brings everything to up to around £26k.

“The visa expires in 12 days (11 days today) so we need to at least put in an application the night before. At this stage we just don’t have the money to do that.

“The target is to get enough money to get the whole visa thing fixed to give us some peace of mind. The idea that there is a possibility of being kicked out after six years of work has drained all the peace out of me. It takes a huge toll on you, honestly.”

‘How we started’

Before opening, Taste Africana was ‘Home Food UK’, an online takeaway operating from Cynthia and Bright’s kitchen at their home on Glebe Street, after the couple moved to the area in 2021 to raise their young family.

A former maths teacher, Cynthia was the first to suggest going into the food sector when she was on maternity leave and realised she wouldn’t be able to go back to work as a teaching assistant and look after their children.

She started Home Food UK, which proved a big hit. With two master’s degrees and a career in the NHS, Bright also took the leap to support Cynthia in running Taste Africana.

But the family are now facing the possibility of restarting their lives in Nigeria should they fail to submit applications before the deadline after six years of trying to build something in the UK.

Seeks help

To help with the fees, the Chinules went on the internet to solicit funds as a last resort. Bright created a GoFundMe to raise the £25,620 with hopes that his past generosity will pay forward.

“I never thought I’d do this,” Bright wrote.

“As someone who has always tried to stand on my own, it’s not easy for me to ask for help. But with only 14 days left to secure the necessary funds, I’ve come to realize that I can’t do this alone.

“Over the years, I’ve tried to give back to the community in every way possible — offering hot meals to rough sleepers during the cold winter months, supporting struggling families with food donations, and more.

“And I promise to continue paying this kindness forward,” part of the GoFundMe read.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Our visa fees have been informed by the principle that those who use and benefit from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating it, reducing the level of UK taxpayer funding that would otherwise be required.”

Yahoo News

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Nnamdi Kanu’s Case Proof Of Religious Persecution In Nigeria – US lawmaker, John James

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.

James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.

James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.

He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.

“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.

“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.

“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”

Nnamdi Kanu was on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges.

Headline

Nigerians Don’t Trust Their Govt – US Congressman Riley Moore

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has said that Nigerian people do not trust their government.

Moore stated this on Thursday at US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC.

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. ‘How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask them to?

“The Nigerian government must work with the US in cooperation to address these insecurity issues.

“A case that just happened recently in Plateau state. We had a pastor there who warned the Nigerian government that they were under attack. There’s imminent attack forces here in the next 24 hours. Please come and help us.

“The Nigerian government did not only ignore it but put up a press release that it is fake news,” he said.

Moore would be meeting with a delegation of senior members of the Nigerian government, over the devastating insecurity in Nigeria and the US designation of the country as CPC, DAILY POST reports.

Headline

US Makes U-turn, To Attend G20 Summit In South Africa

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

In an 11th-hour about-turn, the United States has told South Africa it wants to take part in this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday.

President Donald Trump’s administration had said it would not take part in the November 22-23 meeting and that no final statement by G20 leaders could be issued without its presence.

It has clashed with South Africa over various international and domestic policies this year, extending its objections to Pretoria’s G20 priorities for the meeting of leading economies being held for the first time in Africa.

“We have received notice from the United States, a notice which we are still in discussions with them over, about a change of mind about participating in one shape, form or other in the summit,” Ramaphosa told reporters.

“This comes at the late hour before the summit begins. And so therefore, we do need to engage in those types of discussions to see how practical it is and what it finally really means,” he said.

There was no immediate confirmation from US officials.

Ramaphosa said: “We still need to engage with them to understand fully what their participation at the 11th hour means and how it will manifest itself.”

In a note to the government on Saturday, the US embassy repeated that it would not attend the summit, saying South Africa’s G20 priorities “run counter to the US policy views and we cannot support consensus on any documents negotiated under your presidency”.

Ramaphosa said earlier Thursday that South Africa would not be bullied.

“It cannot be that a country’s geographical location or income or army determines who has a voice and who is spoken down to,” he told delegates at a G20 curtain-raiser event.

There “should be no bullying of one nation by another”, he said.

– ‘Positive sign’ –
Ramaphosa said the apparent change of heart was “a positive sign”.

“All countries are here, and the United States, the biggest economy in the world, needs to be here,” he said.

South Africa chose “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” as the theme of its presidency of the G20, which comprises 19 countries and two regional bodies, the European Union and the African Union.

Its agenda focuses on strengthening disaster resilience, improving debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a “just energy transition” and harnessing “critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development”.

After early objections from Washington, it vowed to press on with its programme and its aim to find consensus on a leaders’ statement on the outcome of the discussions.

“We will not be told by anyone who is absent that we cannot adopt a declaration or make any decisions at the summit,” Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Thursday.

Trump has singled out South Africa for harsh treatment on a number of issues since he returned to the White House in January, notably making debunked claims of white Afrikaners being systematically “killed and slaughtered” in the country.

He expelled South Africa’s ambassador in March and has imposed 30 percent trade tariffs, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

US businesses were well represented at a separate Business 20 (B20) event that wound up in Johannesburg Thursday.

The head of the US Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Clark, thanked South Africa for fostering “real collaboration between G20 nations during a time of rapid change” during its rotating presidency, which transfers to the United States for 2026.

“The US Chamber of Commerce will use our B20 leadership to foster international collaboration,” Clark said.

The United States has significant business interests in South Africa with more than 600 US companies operating in the country, according to the South African embassy in Washington.

G20 members account for 85 percent of global GDP and around two-thirds of the world’s population.