Ib Macdonald

16/02/2026

Chase your dreams before masquerade chase you in the dream.

02/01/2026

Happy New Year. 😊 Welcome to our Year of overflow and Shining Forth.

15/12/2025

Abuja, 2017.
That was me when I first applied for a Canadian visiting visa.
Back then, you could submit your visa application and do biometrics the same day. I honestly believed I had put everything required. I submitted pof, marriage certificate, family pictures, birth certificates, all of that. My second daughter was barely two years old then. Yet the visa was refused.

They said they were not convinced I would return.

I remember asking myself, why wouldn’t I come back? My children were in Nigeria. My life was there. Why would I not return?
But the truth is, they were right.

At that time, I had no plan of coming back until I figured out a way to sort out my papers and then bring my family over. Looking back now, I thank God for that refusal.

If that visa had been approved, I would have left my children in Nigeria for God knows how long and entered Canada with little or nothing in hand. No strong financial base. No clear structure. Just hope and hustle. The suffering would have been serious, both for me and for my family.

Yesterday, I listened to a minister talking about King Hezekiah, how he begged God for an extra 15 years and God granted it. Many people talk about that passage, but they don’t always mention what happened during those extra years. Some of the decisions made in that period caused real problems.(He fathered Manasseh, one of Judah’s worst kings, He exposed Judah’s wealth and military secrets to Babylon, His focus shifted from dependence on God to pride and legacy)

That message reminded me of my own journey.

Since 2022, after numerous good and bad in my life, my prayer has been simple.
Let God’s will be done. Not my will, but His will.

God’s plan is always perfect. But sometimes we pray so hard for what we want that we forget His timing is better than ours.

As the year comes to an end, let this encourage someone.
That rejection you are upset about might be protection.
That delay might be alignment.
That 'no', might be mercy.

Today, we are all in Canada as a family.
And we did not come as visitors.
We came as Permanent Residents.

My story may not be yours, but remember this.
Sometimes rejection is not denial.
It is God's direction.

26/11/2025

What you don't know will always be bigger than you. I have always proceesed my travel visas myself. It was only to Uganda one guy helped me and I paid him just 50 dollars.

I don't have any travel agent. But to do your visa application yourself, you have to be meticulous, you have to pay attention to details and follow instructions clearly. You have to know how to do proper filling and documentation.

When I wanted to travel to South Africa for holidays, a travel agent asked me to pay 1.6m naira. I even begged for 500k. He refused. My people I went and did some research, found out all I needed and applied. I got the visa and spent less than 100k for everything. Knowledge is power oh.

I processed my Permanent Residency to Canada myself and anywhere I got stuck, I asked friends or went online to search for solutions. There was a time my profile all of a sudden started showing ineligible. I was worried. One agent asked me to pay 2000 dollars to him to sort it out. Many people I asked too were confused because it had never happened at that stage in the application. I created new profiles with pseudo names but similar details and kept changing the details till I discovered the problem was from my proof of funds. Apparently, they had updated how much my family size needed, so all I needed to do was to change the amount I filled in.

Till now, many people do not believe I processed my PR myself. I know someone who paid 45m naira to get PR and she still didn't get it. A whole 45m to agent..

What these agents have is experience in filling forms and documentation. They cannot influence the visa decision at all. So, when you get it, it is not 100% the agent's making but your profile or details being eligible and your processing officer being convinced with what he/she saw on your profile.

Some agents will even use fake documents and lie on your profile which will make you lose your visa and probably get banned.

Does this mean you shouldn't use travel agents? No... You may get dizzy if you see the number of forms and work involved. However, get a good and sincere agent. Me sef done become agent/consultant.

Goodluck.

25/11/2025

I was maintaining steeze and composure until they sang the next song. That song touches me somewhere in my brain and I forget my swag.

Which song does this to you?

20/11/2025

12/11/2025

5 Challenges you may face when you first migrate to Canada if you have no family or friends.

1. Getting a house without a job or credit score

2. Getting a job without Canadian experience, qualifications or licences.

3. Getting a Driving licence even if you have been driving for 50 years in your home country.

Some jobs need you to have a driving licence before you are eligible to apply.

4. Surviving with the money you came with till you are able to get a job.

5. If you travelled with children, trying to get them in a school while you are yet to settle is a problem.

How do I get my kids in school when I am yet to get a house? We need to get a house so the school will be close by. How then do I get a house without showing the landlords I have a job and a good credit score?

Now if I get a house without first getting job, what if the job I get is far from the house I just got? And you need to sign a 1 year lease with your landlord and pay first and last month's rent at least. OK if you say you want to wait to get a job, how do you keep your kids at home for months till you get a job ? Oh which home? Airbnb that's expensive?

What then do you do?

10/11/2025

For the first time this winter in Toronto Canada, it snowed yesterday. It was also our first time seeing and touching snow. My girls were so excited. Especially my second daughter Kelitah. She always imagined playing with the snow, making snowballs and throwing at her sisters. Her dream finally came true yesterday.

You had to see their excitement. Lol 😆 🤣 😂. I don't think they even felt tge cold weather.

03/11/2025

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