Nigeria?

[MaturingCheeseball]

Can this be true? That Harry and Meghan are off on a “royal” trip to Nigeria? What’s the game now? My head is spinning!

Thank you.

That's a fascinating press release, in terms of the wording. And odd it doesn't show up in searches.

They also spelled "Megan" incorrectly. Thanks @notimagain for posting those weird notices.

So the press releases do exist.

This article seems to sum much of it up. It does indeed sound that the trip has been initiated by Harry and has been " accepted" by the Nigerian Defence Ministry.

www.mercurynews.com/2024/05/01/harry-and-meghan-visiting-nigeria-despite-state-departments-advisory-on-travel-there/amp/

All very strange!

'Consolidate Nigeria's stronghold at the games and the possibility of hosting'

Nigeria is a corrupt and crime ridden country with a dubious military, there is no chance they'll be hosting the games.

AnnieSF

This article seems to sum much of it up. It does indeed sound that the trip has been initiated by Harry and has been " accepted" by the Nigerian Defence Ministry.

www.mercurynews.com/2024/05/01/harry-and-meghan-visiting-nigeria-despite-state-departments-advisory-on-travel-there/amp/

I'm struggling to understand why someone as paranoid about his safety as Harry would initiate a visit to Nigeria.

If he's not safe in the UK then he certainly won't be safe in Nigeria.

And linking Invictus will just damage their reputation. The whole thing is so strange.

Because his paranoia is focussed on the UK, and his battle to get the taxpayer to fund the highest level of security, whatever the situation.
He doesn't transfer that to Nigeria, which he - or they - have obviously decided is suitable for a quasi royal visit.
They need the pictures. They need the clicks. It's important for them to be in the news.
It's strange double standards for most of us, but they can square a circle.

I could understand his paranoia a bit more if his mother had actually died in the U.K. pursued by U.K. paparazzi, but she wasn’t.

Does anyone remember if any previous girlfriend also made claims re his apparent paranoia? I can’t remember.

I think it’s part of a plan to “colonise” the Commonwealth. I think Harry couldn’t come up with such a plan in a million years, so “someone” is advising and facilitating these dodgy trips, getting in the back door (film premieres, One Year to Invictus and Invictus itself) and then doing a Royal Visit on the back of them.

Morning..

Just for background I found that release by cutting to the chase and aiming Google at something specific like “Nigerian Defence HQ Press releases”…their instagram feed was about number 6 on the list.

I’m guessing in the general Google sphere that sort of primary source got quickly buried underneath all the follow up reports and then the follow up to the follow up reports that have been in the MSM.

https://www.instagram.com/defencehq/p/C2uxvz6IStU/

I do wonder if the trip is a little goading of Harry. I am a person that through their works needs to travel to very dangerous places, like Nigeria. How awful you all are that you won't provide me with adequate security protection, what will the world think a British prince, in line to the throne and his government won't protect him in such dangerous places. When I am there TO DO GOOD WORK.

Would this trip in any way change the risk analysis that RAVEC would perform - raise his risk profile? Could this be used at the Court of Appeal.

Seems utterly bizarre to say in one breath that he feels unsafe in the UK and then seemingly happy to go for unnecessary jaunts to Nigeria. He is not doing government work - so exactly who is he helping with this trip?

I believe I have read that one of the two main girlfriends, the not-Chelsey one, said that he went on about the press a lot. This was some years before he started going out with Meghan. His dislike of the press is not something which happened since Meghan came on the scene.

Quite an 'interesting' press release.

Names are misspelled and titles incorrectly phrased. Also, no dates and no itinerary.

Are they travelling to Nigeria separately? Are they going to demand private jets? At whose expense?

Dunno about you but I'm getting flashbacks to September 2022 and interminable threads about Camilla being queen consort and not queen and some people's obtuse refusal to get it even when having it explained in words of one syllable. And to my constant mental reiteration of 'are some people REALLY this thick?'

Would this trip in any way change the risk analysis that RAVEC would perform - raise his risk profile? Could this be used at the Court of Appeal.

It's highly unlikely the Court of Appeal will be interested in his 'case', and even if by some chance he were to be granted an appeal, he would probably still lose the Judicial Review again. The judge was pretty scathing in his assessment of the 'case'.

And again, even if he somehow managed to win the JR on appeal, all that would happen is that RAVEC would be asked to review his file. As the judge said, the chances are extremely high that they would come to the same decision all over again.

In any case, RAVEC are only concerned with security matters in Britain. Harry's jollies in Nigeria are not their concern.

A bit off topic, but I thought Harry maintained that both Chelsey and Cressida (and other girlfriends) broke up with him because of the press intrusion and the restrictions of a royal life, but I read recently that Harry broke up with Cressida and she was devastated as she really believed he was going to pop the question. How does he get away with massaging the truth so that it becomes something totally different. I guess NDA's mean he can present things as he want's but no-one can contradict him.

H&M really are a weird duo in how they operate.

When Harry says Press intrusion he largely means Press criticism . And, being Superbrain Harry, failed to compute that criticism and intrusion would be 100 times worse when outside the royal fold with no PR curating his image and mopping up behind him.

And, of course, he could have rid himself of the Press almost entirely if he had lived a quiet “spare” life instead of trying to be Celebrity FauxKing A-Lister. (Though quite how much of this is his choice is highly debatable.)

@IcedPurple

Re the press release and Names are misspelled and titles incorrectly phrased. Also, no dates and no itinerary.

I don’t think there’s anything automatically sinister to any of that that.

If you look elsewhere on that website and some related ones it does appear that proof reading sometimes isn’t the best (one VVSO apparently has a hobby of “jugging”).

Certainly if you’ve ever read any Nigerian local press that’s presented in English or even read a Lagos/Abuja hotel menu you sometimes see that the odd error has crept in and the phraseology is sometimes peculiar to European and America eyes.

I’ve always put a lot of that down to the fact that many of the locals (even quite high up the food chain) are working in their second, third or fourth language - a darn sight better than I can manage so I’m not going to criticise.

As for exact dates and itinerary being missing - given the security concerns I honestly wouldn’t expect to see that published, certainly not a week plus ahead.

I don't think it's sinister, and of course I accept that English is not a native language for Nigerians, but it is rather clumsy for a supposedly official invitation.

And I'm sure there are security concerns, which just makes the whole trip seem rather misguided. Harry has just wasted close to a million quid on a stupid 'case' about his security in a very safe country where he has been granted bespoke security arrangements by an organisation with an excellent record in keeping people safe. Yet here he is jetting off to a notoriously dangerous and corrupt country with his wife? Leaving their small children an ocean and a continent away?

I think it really shows his hand. His real concern is press intrusion not physical safety. There won't be paps in Nigeria. No doubt they will put on a motorcade for him to keep the riff raff away. Thats what he wants in the UK, the outriders, the police escort stopping the traffic to let him through.

And I don't doubt that the press coverage will be uniformly favourable to him in Nigeria.

@IcedPurple

it is rather clumsy for a supposedly official invitation.

Yes, but we’re not seeing the official invite, we’re seeing a Press release knocked up someone in an office put out for the benefit of the media…I wonder if the invite was a verbal one from a senior officer, and went something along the lines of:

”Harry, I’d like to discuss holding Invictus in more detail, do come over so we can talk some more, we’ll chuck in 😉a game of polo and of course feel free to bring your partner…”

As for security, I agree that it all looks a bit odd/incoherent.

I suspect the Nigerian Armed Forces will have the couple well protected for the whole stay…but of course if there is a need for that level of security just to protect one or two individuals the idea of holding the games themselves in country looks nonsensical.

I have to say this still looks to me like a bit of a pointless jolly and I certainly hope Invictus and HMG are not picking up the tab for any security.

I suspect the Nigerian Armed Forces will have the couple well protected for the whole stay

Well it didn't work terribly well for their "traditional monarch" or for the diplomatic staff, so who knows if they're capable of protecting a foreign prince:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68179807

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/16/nigeria-us-diplomatic-convoy-attack