Before attempting to answer the question. . . . . . . .Read this Article.



''Last Wednesday, we had a very important and urgent need to be in Kumasi very early the next day. It was already midnight Nigerian Time (11pm in Ghana), and we were still in the heart of Accra, surrounded by its brilliant lights, soothing serenity (there was not the faintest hint of any generator anywhere) and profound modesty, wondering what to do. But a Ghanaian who was with us did not seem to share our worries. He simply told us to hit the road, that in the next three hours, we should be in Kumasi.

I looked at him with surprise and disbelief. Who was sure nobody had hired him to lure the three of us into a well-laid ambush by violent robbers? When I expressed my concern about armed robbers, his answer was sharp, with a tinge of impatience.

"There are no armed robbers!"

When I repeated the concern much later, he said something he should not have said, but which Nigerians need to continue hearing no matter how painful we find it: "I have told you, no armed robbers! This is not Nige. . . . . . !"
He cut himself short. It occurred to him, a bit too late though, that he had gone too far in his bid to emphasize that point. Just like the way I felt when I shouted to some Nigerians at one place we had gone to in Accra some days later when the driver was about to run over a bag: "Remove that Ghana-Must-Go bag!"

When I called a Nigerian friend and he reassured me that the long journey from Accra to Kumasi was safe, we hit the road. At the one or two places where very friendly policemen had stopped us, they merely looked at the vehicle and waved us on with their torches, without the slightest hint that they wanted an egunje. And so, after a long journey through lonely, lengthy stretches of the expressway, and vast quiet countryside, we embraced the warmth of the clean, well-lit streets of Kumasi early that cold morning, and found our way to the serene ambience of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Ghana is a very poor country. Beyond the glitter of an efficient system is poverty that is real and palpable. But Ghana has been lucky with its leaders. What nation would not prosper under the watch of a visionary, patriotic leader who is not afraid of his people who had elected him in fairly free and fair elections, but lives among them (instead of hiding himself in an impregnable fortress like Aso Rock) , and is able to inspire the citizenry to believe in him, and buy into his determination to put in place a workable system? It is only thieving, failed leaders that live in perpetual fear of their people. Throughout my stay in Ghana, I never dialled any number twice with my Ghana MTN line, no matter the country I called! But in Nigeria, if you dial a number saved in your phone, what you would probably hear is: "This number does not exist on the MTN network." Then you try again: "The number you have dialled is incorrect." And you dial the third time: "The number you have dialled is switched off." Fourth time: "The number you have dialled is unavailable." And if you have the patience to try the fifth time, it may then go through! What a country!

Ghana Telecom service providers are effectively monitored and regulated, unlike what Ernest Ndukwe claims he is doing for us here. The regulatory body ensures that no service provider sells lines more than it has the capacity to manage. It once, reportedly, called MTN to order, when it attempted to roll out lines like it does in this our lawless jungle. Each time I recharged my line with two Ghana Cedis (N230), I would make several calls both to Nigeria and within Ghana, and would still have much credit remaining. But here, the thing finishes with incredible speed. It offends me each time anyone attempts comparing Nigeria with Europe or America. From Swaziland, Botswana to Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia to Uganda, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast to the Gambia, Nigeria is, perhaps, the only country in the whole of Africa that is yet to achieve stability in its energy supply. We are here still grappling with pitch darkness and watching our pitiably blank and hare brained leaders telling embarrassing, infantile stories about their inexplicable failure and insufferable incompetence, while very poor countries we can easily buy up have since left us behind on this issue of power supply and provision of other social amenities.

In most of these countries, one can conveniently walk to any public tap and drink water, but whoever tries that here any time some liquid manages to trickle from any public tap would be guilty of attempting suicide.

At Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Americans, Britishers, Chinese and people from diverse nations of the world are proudly enrolled as students. In 1993, I met an America Professor of Economics who proudly announced to me that while he studied for his Masters Degree at the University College, Ibadan, (UCI) in 1958, he stayed at Kuti Hall. I wonder if he can advise any American child today to get near that same Kuti Hall he spoke so glowingly about, or encourage the child of his worst enemy to attend a Nigerian University

. While a friend and I took a walk around midnight on Saturday, we felt so safe, despite the several trees in the well landscaped and beautified compounded that lend the school its serenity, but which could provide cover for any cultists to strike. As we stood on a walkway, about eight American youths hopped across, chattering, laughing and feeling so much at home. I am told that children of countless Nigerian government officials are enrolled in the school, generating huge funds for Ghana with which it now offers diverse scholarships to its own citizens. Yes, Nigerians would prefer paying all the money to Ghana than improving and making our own schools safe so that youths from several parts of the world can also come here (as used to be the case) to study. Indeed, the KNUST faculty Guest Houses can comfortably diminish some things that pass for "big" hotels in Nigeria.

Ghanaians do not have the drive and innovativeness of Nigerians. Under sincere and honest leaders who are not mere common criminals whose eyes and hearts are only focused on the treasury, what would stop Nigeria from becoming one of the greatest countries in the world? But what do we get here: the Babangidas, the Abachas, the Obasanjos: rulers who derive peculiar animation from prospering by marketing the nation's entrails. Obasanjo's only noticeable achievement while in office was to join the emergency Billionaires' Club with such fanfare and brazenness that sent all the others scampering for safety. But while leaving office, he left us in the hands of an Umoru Yar'Adua whose only understanding of leadership seems to be to perennially grope for direction . So, while our leanly endowed neighbours like Ghana are gradually laying solid foundation for greater tomorrow, Nigeria is decaying and sinking into unimaginable depths. Laden with insufferably inept legislators, and a character like Maurice Iwu as INEC Chairman, what options are left for a country so immensely rich, but so irresponsibly managed? What a tragedy.

Another Nigeria-Ghana Thread??

Abeg make I hear word jare.

What nonsense. Ghana and Nigeria has no room for comparison. Start with land mass, then move on to diversity.
The light that you are talking about sef is much better than Nigeria but they still take light in Ghana.
KNUST that you have been signing about, did they inform you about how many Nigerians have been stabbed to death by Ghanaians on campus there??
You just entered Ghana and you are already singing, where yo there when things were bad for them??
What did you think led up to the Ghana must go thing??
Economically how are they doing?? 2 ghana cedis = 20,000 old Ghana Cedis = 250 - 300 naira. 1 naira = 85 thousand cedis.
How much is Ghana owing the world bank, IMF, e.t.c
Educational system is tight. No strikes. but thats just about it. Papers dey leak like mad every other day, bribing of lecturers sef happens _{(although not directly)}
I give them kudos for security. No doubt the place is safe, but dont ever get into a troubles while there, I swear you'll hate their police.


Try migrate to a gha with Niger deltans, Northerners, Yorubas, Igbos, Isekiris, Ijaws, Tiv's, e.t.c where each is claiming to be marginalized and wants to rule and see what happens. Abeg if ghana too sweet you, go there and leave Naija for us.

O and why didnt you try comparing Accra to Abuja or even Lagos sef.
Is KNUST finer than some of our Top Universities in Nija??
That hostel accomodation for International students costs 1600 US Dollars.
Tuition Fees of International students costs about 5000 US Dollars.

Pay this money to any Nigerian Uni and you would see the result of your money.

Free Naija o jare

Okija_juju:

Another Nigeria-Ghana Thread??

Abeg make I hear word jare.

What nonsense. Ghana and Nigeria has no room for comparison. Start with land mass, then move on to diversity.
The light that you are talking about sef is much better than Nigeria but they still take light in Ghana.
KNUST that you have been signing about, did they inform you about how many Nigerians have been stabbed to death by Ghanaians on campus there??
You just entered Ghana and you are already singing, where yo there when things were bad for them??
What did you think led up to the Ghana must go thing??
Economically how are they doing?? 2 ghana cedis = 20,000 old Ghana Cedis = 250 - 300 naira. 1 naira = 85 thousand cedis.
How much is Ghana owing the world bank, IMF, e.t.c
Educational system is tight. No strikes. but thats just about it. Papers dey leak like mad every other day, bribing of lecturers sef happens _{(although not directly)}
I give them kudos for security. No doubt the place is safe, but don't ever get into a troubles while there, I swear you'll hate their police.


Try migrate to a gha with Niger deltans, Northerners, Yorubas, Igbos, Isekiris, Ijaws, Tiv's, e.t.c where each is claiming to be marginalized and wants to rule and see what happens. Abeg if ghana too sweet you, go there and leave Naija for us.

O and why didnt you try comparing Accra to Abuja or even Lagos sef.
Is KNUST finer than some of our Top Universities in Nigeria??
That hostel accomodation for International students costs 1600 US Dollars.
Tuition Fees of International students costs about 5000 US Dollars.

Pay this money to any Nigerian Uni and you would see the result of your money.

Free Naija o jare

With your sheer display of ignorance, One wonders if you had ever stepped your legs into sometime called school in your life!
First things first. . . . .Do you at all understand what an article means?? Where in the thread did i indicate that i was the author?
That shows your deficiency of the grasp of the English language. . . . . . .

It offends me each time anyone attempts comparing Nigeria with Europe or America. From Swaziland, Botswana to Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia to Uganda, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast to the Gambia, Nigeria is, perhaps, the only country in the whole of Africa that is yet to achieve stability in its energy supply

It is only someone with a brain capacity of a cockroach like you would be unable to decipher what the author of the article meant with this quoted line above.

The Sly:

It is only someone with a brain capacity of a cockroach like you would be unable to decipher what the author of the article meant with this quoted line above.

yepa ewo e bu

Nigeria is definitely cursed by our attitudes.
You reap whatsoever you sow.
The day that the citizens start to sow seeds of repentance and desire for a stable nation (not just talking about it), we will reap the good fruits of a good economy

The Sly:

Before attempting to answer the question. . . . . . . .Read this Article.



''Last Wednesday, we had a very important and urgent need to be in Kumasi very early the next day. It was already midnight Nigerian Time (11pm in Ghana), and we were still in the heart of Accra, surrounded by its brilliant lights, soothing serenity (there was not the faintest hint of any generator anywhere) and profound modesty, wondering what to do. But a Ghanaian who was with us did not seem to share our worries. He simply told us to hit the road, that in the next three hours, we should be in Kumasi.

I looked at him with surprise and disbelief. Who was sure nobody had hired him to lure the three of us into a well-laid ambush by violent robbers? When I expressed my concern about armed robbers, his answer was sharp, with a tinge of impatience.

"There are no armed robbers!"

When I repeated the concern much later, he said something he should not have said, but which Nigerians need to continue hearing no matter how painful we find it: "I have told you, no armed robbers! This is not Nige. . . . . . !"
He cut himself short. It occurred to him, a bit too late though, that he had gone too far in his bid to emphasize that point. Just like the way I felt when I shouted to some Nigerians at one place we had gone to in Accra some days later when the driver was about to run over a bag: "Remove that Ghana-Must-Go bag!"

When I called a Nigerian friend and he reassured me that the long journey from Accra to Kumasi was safe, we hit the road. At the one or two places where very friendly policemen had stopped us, they merely looked at the vehicle and waved us on with their torches, without the slightest hint that they wanted an egunje. And so, after a long journey through lonely, lengthy stretches of the expressway, and vast quiet countryside, we embraced the warmth of the clean, well-lit streets of Kumasi early that cold morning, and found our way to the serene ambience of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Ghana is a very poor country. Beyond the glitter of an efficient system is poverty that is real and palpable. But Ghana has been lucky with its leaders. What nation would not prosper under the watch of a visionary, patriotic leader who is not afraid of his people who had elected him in fairly free and fair elections, but lives among them (instead of hiding himself in an impregnable fortress like Aso Rock) , and is able to inspire the citizenry to believe in him, and buy into his determination to put in place a workable system? It is only thieving, failed leaders that live in perpetual fear of their people. Throughout my stay in Ghana, I never dialled any number twice with my Ghana MTN line, no matter the country I called! But in Nigeria, if you dial a number saved in your phone, what you would probably hear is: "This number does not exist on the MTN network." Then you try again: "The number you have dialled is incorrect." And you dial the third time: "The number you have dialled is switched off." Fourth time: "The number you have dialled is unavailable." And if you have the patience to try the fifth time, it may then go through! What a country!

Ghana Telecom service providers are effectively monitored and regulated, unlike what Ernest Ndukwe claims he is doing for us here. The regulatory body ensures that no service provider sells lines more than it has the capacity to manage. It once, reportedly, called MTN to order, when it attempted to roll out lines like it does in this our lawless jungle. Each time I recharged my line with two Ghana Cedis (N230), I would make several calls both to Nigeria and within Ghana, and would still have much credit remaining. But here, the thing finishes with incredible speed. It offends me each time anyone attempts comparing Nigeria with Europe or America. From Swaziland, Botswana to Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia to Uganda, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast to the Gambia, Nigeria is, perhaps, the only country in the whole of Africa that is yet to achieve stability in its energy supply. We are here still grappling with pitch darkness and watching our pitiably blank and hare brained leaders telling embarrassing, infantile stories about their inexplicable failure and insufferable incompetence, while very poor countries we can easily buy up have since left us behind on this issue of power supply and provision of other social amenities.

In most of these countries, one can conveniently walk to any public tap and drink water, but whoever tries that here any time some liquid manages to trickle from any public tap would be guilty of attempting suicide.

At Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Americans, Britishers, Chinese and people from diverse nations of the world are proudly enrolled as students. In 1993, I met an America Professor of Economics who proudly announced to me that while he studied for his Masters Degree at the University College, Ibadan, (UCI) in 1958, he stayed at Kuti Hall. I wonder if he can advise any American child today to get near that same Kuti Hall he spoke so glowingly about, or encourage the child of his worst enemy to attend a Nigerian University

. While a friend and I took a walk around midnight on Saturday, we felt so safe, despite the several trees in the well landscaped and beautified compounded that lend the school its serenity, but which could provide cover for any cultists to strike. As we stood on a walkway, about eight American youths hopped across, chattering, laughing and feeling so much at home. I am told that children of countless Nigerian government officials are enrolled in the school, generating huge funds for Ghana with which it now offers diverse scholarships to its own citizens. Yes, Nigerians would prefer paying all the money to Ghana than improving and making our own schools safe so that youths from several parts of the world can also come here (as used to be the case) to study. Indeed, the KNUST faculty Guest Houses can comfortably diminish some things that pass for "big" hotels in Nigeria.

Ghanaians do not have the drive and innovativeness of Nigerians. Under sincere and honest leaders who are not mere common criminals whose eyes and hearts are only focused on the treasury, what would stop Nigeria from becoming one of the greatest countries in the world? But what do we get here: the Babangidas, the Abachas, the Obasanjos: rulers who derive peculiar animation from prospering by marketing the nation's entrails. Obasanjo's only noticeable achievement while in office was to join the emergency Billionaires' Club with such fanfare and brazenness that sent all the others scampering for safety. But while leaving office, he left us in the hands of an Umoru Yar'Adua whose only understanding of leadership seems to be to perennially grope for direction . So, while our leanly endowed neighbours like Ghana are gradually laying solid foundation for greater tomorrow, Nigeria is decaying and sinking into unimaginable depths. Laden with insufferably inept legislators, and a character like Maurice Iwu as INEC Chairman, what options are left for a country so immensely rich, but so irresponsibly managed? What a tragedy.

Too long to read without any snack and juice on the table

@Topic Nigeria is blessed all we need is good gov and all hands on desk

I was once in Togo, and for over a whole week of stay, I never experienced Power Outage. As for Egunje, yes their police officers demanded for that.

Ghana policemen are more courteous though.

Such a shame on Nigeria.

The Sly

I really wish I was in the mood respond to your childish rants.

You are the originator of this thread so it's apparent that you obviously share the views published in the article. If you had conducted your own research you would prolly thought twice before postin this crap.

I only aired my view, and thats what it is. Article or not, Nigeria and Ghana are just incomparable, period.

Nigeria is not cursed, nigeria is curse itself in its original form.