Nigeria is nothin but a kleptocracy

A cacophony of armchair connoisseurs of the wealthy, properly biased by their preconceived agendas of who should be on what list. Their hypocrisy is firmly exposed by their questioning of some names on this list but happy with the ranking of others. They prefer Encomium's list to Forbes' because they claim Forbes' list is "incomplete". In essence, they believe Forbes' list is not inclusive enough and Encomium's list is too inclusive. The truth is that no list will satisfy those who view lists of "richest Nigerians" vicariously, with their parochial biases and prejudices.

I find it laughable that any Nigerian is interested in the names of people who have, for the most part, made their wealth through the manipulations of supporters in the string of Nigeria's failed governments. Most of these "richest men" are greedy imbeciles whose cronies in government have used corrupt means to guarantee profits for their buddies. In this foolish drama, the laughable tragedy is that these same admirers of wealthy criminals will throw all manner of aspersions on the known cronies of these criminals. Names like Babangida, Abacha and Obasanjo will make them revolt in disgust and scream "corrupt Nigerian leaders", but names like Dangote, Otedola and Adenuga make them smile with stupid pride and shout "these Nigerians are putting us on the global map of billionaires". They find it all too easy to dissociate the "wealthy criminals" from their coconspirators that have institutionalized corruption in Nigeria and ensured that Nigeria remains one of the most corrupt, poverty-stricken, dangerous, failed states on the planet!

RichyBlack
You can cry if you want, you can even jump into the sea if that makes you feel better.
A good percentage of these Nigerians that you're painting as bad fruits are still responsible for employment opportunities in Nigeria as we speak.
Not everyone has the opportunity to migrate out of Nigeria. For those ones that are strong enough to remain in Nigeria, "these thieves" are the only hope at this time that keep us moving and continue to shine light on Nigerian Universities graduates.

And I see nothing wrong with listing the names of successful people in Nigeria. The concept to me is inspirational and I also view their stories as motivational tool for the students of business.
It is sad and natural for Nigerians to quickly see negative in everything when they aren't directly involved.
If you have anything against anyone on the list, I think you should go ahead and present your case, but to box everyone on this list as thieves is foolish and irresponsible.

RichyBlack
You can cry if you want, you can even jump into the sea if that makes you feel better.
A good percentage of these Nigerians that you're painting as bad fruits are still responsible for employment opportunities in Nigeria as we speak.
Not everyone has the opportunity to migrate out of Nigeria. For those ones that are strong enough to remain in Nigeria, "these thieves" are the only hope at this time that keep us moving and continue to shine light on Nigerian Universities graduates.

And I see nothing wrong with listing the names of successful people in Nigeria. The concept to me is inspirational and I also view their stories as motivational tool for the students of business.
It is sad and natural for Nigerians to quickly see negative in everything when they aren't directly involved.
If you have anything against anyone on the list, I think you should go ahead and present your case, but to box everyone on this list as thieves is foolish and irresponsible.

Spoken like like your name!

zomby:

RichyBlack
You can cry if you want, you can even jump into the sea if that makes you feel better.
A good percentage of these Nigerians that you're painting as bad fruits are still responsible for employment opportunities in Nigeria as we speak.
Not everyone has the opportunity to migrate out of Nigeria. For those ones that are strong enough to remain in Nigeria, "these thieves" are the only hope at this time that keep us moving and continue to shine light on Nigerian Universities graduates.

And I see nothing wrong with listing the names of successful people in Nigeria. The concept to me is inspirational and I also view their stories as motivational tool for the students of business.
It is sad and natural for Nigerians to quickly see negative in everything when they aren't directly involved.
If you have anything against anyone on the list, I think you should go ahead and present your case, but to box everyone on this list as thieves is foolish and irresponsible.

Clearly, you and the rest of your fellow servile kleptobots and sycophants of common criminals dressed in expensive agbada, suffer from a variant of the Stockholm Syndrome! Über-pathetic!!

RichyBlacK:

Clearly, you and the rest of your fellow servile kleptobots and sycophants of common criminals dressed in expensive agbada, suffer from a variant of the Stockholm Syndrome! Über-pathetic!!

do not mind zomby - his/her head has been stuck up adenuga's ass for as long as anyone can remeber.

Jarus:

Richy, oyb et al,
Nobody is denying the fact these guys romance with the people that have contributed to Nigeria's failure. Some people call it fronting, some say they are cronies of these bad leaders, and my good friend and colleague, oyb, has added 'proxies' to the long list of nouns/verbs/adjectives used to describe/call them.

But the fact remains that these guys have worked hard enough to be recognized by the Presidents. Could any President have used Aliko or Mike in the mid-eighties when they were just strugglers/starters? Why didn't IBB or OBJ use Chief Olorunkuse, a millionaire by his own right in my town?

The point I'm trying to point out is that when you are rich to certain extent, you can't help not romancing with the leaders(good or bad, but pitiably almost all are bad in Nigeria). But getting rich to the extent of being noticed/used by these people is no mean feat. These guys worked for their money. Mike and Aliko are particularly shrewd businessmen who made their monies by daring where people feared. IBB, OBJ and co did not make these guys, they only helped them after they had already reached a certain level. With tens of billions worth of investments in a country, if you don't romance with goverment. A single policy may make you lose billions and we can all imagine the number of people that directly or indirectly depend on these guys. Imagine an unforgiving person like OBJ asking to hide under Aliko or Mike for a business, they dare not reject it, of course because they will also make money, but equally importantly, because OBJ will revenge and make them suffer(remember what he did to Mike, just because he refused to join the transcorps stuff, which would have been a rival to his business).

So these guys deserve some praises, guys.

Jarus,

I see that your point is for we Nigerians to celebrate the "hard work" component of the success stories of these Nigerians. I agree that it is good for young Nigerians to believe that they too can make it in life. The problem is that in Nigeria, the "richest people" don't have much, if anything, in common with the average Nigerian. In Nigeria, meritocracy is laughed at and so it is difficult to work your way to the top by doing the "right thing". Hence, it is almost a mirage that any Tunde, Kalu, or Adamu will just become one of the richest without sleeping with the devil. We need better examples of wealthy Nigerians who made wealth without having to sell their expired souls to the proverbial devil. We have examples of Nigerian businessmen, who may not be as wealthy as the "list of shame" up there but have made considerable wealth and influence through hard work, diligence and doing what is right. Let us celebrate these people, instead of celebrating known associates of criminals and kleptocrats.

Better role models:
1. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
2. Mutiu Sunmonu
3. Gani Fawehinmi
4. Akintola Williams

It's always nice to read from a sane-minded Nigerian like you.

oyb:

do not mind zomby - his/her head has been stuck up adenuga's ass for as long as anyone can remeber.

It's people like zomby that make it hard to fight corruption in Nigeria. They hail the system because they're enjoying the dividends from the corruption.

RichyBlacK
You do not know me and look how quick you've labelled me.
It is empty headed Nigerian like yourself that makes progress impossible here in Nigeria, every success must be fraud while all negatives are real.
How could someone in their right mind box all listed names as thieves? Apart from what you heard at the barber shop, what else do you know about these individuals?

As much as you try your best to sound like Wole Shoyinka, you continue to sound like Joe Lasisi more and more.

How did you become the moderator?

The purpose of this topic is to inspire the young stars and encourage hard work. Every single person on this list has worked their tails off. They've taken risks that were too risky for most, they've invested heavily in the country unlike many that have already given up, and they continue to provide jobs with attractive pays to young Nigerians all around the country.
@richywhite, apart from identifying Nigerian thieves and being a part-time moderator on nairaland, what else are you doing to develop your country?
A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image is a disease of the mind.

There is nobody glorifying corruption or stealing, we are only promoting hard work and believing in oneself or one's dream.
Lighten up, brother.

zomby:

RichyBlacK
You do not know me and look how quick you've labelled me.
It is empty headed Nigerian like yourself that makes progress impossible here in Nigeria, every success must be fraud while all negatives are real.
How could someone in their right mind box all listed names as thieves? Apart from what you heard at the barber shop, what else do you know about these individuals?

As much as you try your best to sound like Wole Shoyinka, you continue to sound like Joe Lasisi more and more.

How did you become the moderator?

Joe Lasisi? ROFLOL!

I understand your need to put these people up as role models, but the truth is that only a few of them will survive a thorough investigation as to how they've got their wealth. Most, not all, of these "richest men" are thieves! You know it is true.

These "richest men" are living evidences of the fact that Nigeria has been robbed! Why must we condemn poor Ibrahim Babangida and my late good friend Sanni Abacha, but praise crooks in expensive agbada? We must condemn all of them. In saner societies they will tried for tax evasion, convicted, jailed and their assets absorbed into the national treasury. But not in Nigeria. We only go after the [i]weak[/i,] convicting dead men, like Abacha (who are not alive to defend themselves), and pretend as if all the living are saints.

Depilot:

The purpose of this topic is to inspire the young stars and encourage hard work.

roflmao!!!!! joke of the year!!!!

Depilot:

The purpose of this topic is to inspire the young stars and encourage hard work. Every single person on this list has worked their tails off. They've taken risks that were too risky for most, they've invested heavily in the country unlike many that have already given up, and they continue to provide jobs with attractive pays to young Nigerians all around the country.
@richywhite, apart from identifying Nigerian thieves and being a part-time moderator on nairaland, what else are you doing to develop your country?
A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image is a disease of the mind.

There is nobody glorifying corruption or stealing, we are only promoting hard work and believing in oneself or one's dream.
Lighten up, brother.

Look at this Depilot Dilapidated poster asking foolish question. What can I do in a useless kleptocracy propped up by people like you? I will only do what I can for my family and friends, and leave the pot-holed, crime-infested,  infrastructure-starved slums for your "richest men" to develop.

Do what for Nigeria? A country where you go and do good deeds and criminals gun you down. The police will do nothing and the person just dies like that. A country that could not apprehend those that assassinated the attorney-general? A country that does not even know how many people live with its boarders? What have these "richest men" done by way of philanthropy to alleviate the mind-boggling poverty in Nigeria? What have they done by way of influencing government policies (since they mix with the kleptocrats in Abuja) to assist students who need loans to go to school? What have these "animals in human skin" (na Fela talk am) done to improve the health care infrastructure in Nigeria? These imbeciles you tout as "richest Nigerians" must wait for people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - truly "rich people" who made their wealth through hard work and not through official corruption) to come all the way from America to help in polio, malaria and HIV/AIDS treatment. What are these thieves doing to help the society they live in? How can thieves spend money on those they've robbed?

Hmmmmm.My ears wan burst o.

Richywhite, what else can someone expect from an ordinary pilot? Not much.

Lighten up, brother.

Who ever wrote this list is jost a joker. It is a fact that most of this so called companies used them for cover i.e IBB 0WES MORE THAN 60% OF GLO, so my bros stop distubing ur head as all is looters leveraging themselves. so that as how the system works

Here comes another slowpoke with a beer parlor gist. What is going on here? Are we running out of precocious people in Nigeria?

Nigeria's 10 richest persons right at this moment (03/13/2009) List from a reliable source

1. Mike Adenuga $6 Billion
2. Aliko Dangote $4 Billion
3. Femi Otedola $3.5 Billion
4. Jim Ovia $2.3 Billion
5. Cecilia Ibru $1.2 Billion
6. Oba Otudeko $1 Billion
7. Rasak Okoya $300 Million
8. Sonny Odogwu $260 Million
9. Bode Akindele $230 Million
10. Emmanuel Ojei $165 Million

Where is ABDUL-SALAM ABUBAKAR on your list Your research was not good enough.
Find out, that man is a bloody billionaire.

@Post
Your source is obviously very unreliabe.

If my source is unreliable, what is reliable?

KunleOsho: should I go ahead and place your name at the top of the list?

Depilot:

If my source is unreliable, what is reliable?

What's the source anyway?

Nigeria's 10 richest persons right at this moment (03/13/2009) List from a reliable source

1. KunleOsho $6 Billion
2. Akin23 $4 Billion
3. RichyWhie  $3.5 Billion
4. Muza $2.3 Billion
5. Cecilia Ibru $1.2 Billion
6. Oba Otudeko $1 Billion
7. Rasak Okoya $300 Million
8. Sonny Odogwu $260 Million
9. Bode Akindele $230 Million
10. Emmanuel Ojei $165 Million

Are you people now feeling better about yourselves?

Depilot:

Nigeria's 10 richest persons right at this moment (03/13/2009) List from a reliable source

1. KunleOsho $6 Billion
2. Akin23 $4 Billion
3. RichyWhie  $3.5 Billion
4. Muza $2.3 Billion
5. Cecilia Ibru $1.2 Billion
6. Oba Otudeko $1 Billion
7. Rasak Okoya $300 Million
8. Sonny Odogwu $260 Million
9. Bode Akindele $230 Million
10. Emmanuel Ojei $165 Million

Are you people now feeling better about yourselves?

We're not here to play,don't behave like a nursery one pupil.

What's the source.

this is just forbes list.
any list that does not have the likes of obj, babangida, odili, tony annenih, atiku is not a complete list as long as nigerian rich men are concerned.

What is your own definition of wealth. Imagine the names you listed are all people who never worked for their so called wealth.
ibb, atiku, obj and the rest? Man the thread is about people who we all can point to their source of wealth, not the ones stolen
from the nation's purse. abeg!

afam4eva: Who are you?

RichyBlack
You can cry if you want, you can even jump into the sea if that makes you feel better.
A good percentage of these Nigerians that you're painting as bad fruits are still responsible for employment opportunities in Nigeria as we speak.
Not everyone has the opportunity to migrate out of Nigeria. For those ones that are strong enough to remain in Nigeria, "these thieves" are the only hope at this time that keep us moving and continue to shine light on Nigerian Universities graduates.

And I see nothing wrong with listing the names of successful people in Nigeria. The concept to me is inspirational and I also view their stories as motivational tool for the students of business.
It is sad and natural for Nigerians to quickly see negative in everything when they aren't directly involved.
If you have anything against anyone on the list, I think you should go ahead and present your case, but to box everyone on this list as thieves is foolish and irresponsible.

I agree with you sir.
Nigerians can complain. God?!

I agree with you sir.
Nigerians can complain. God?!

Nigerians can complain, whine and cry, all at the same time like a confused 1 month old baby. This is why I've asked the moderator, AKA Joe Lasisi to jump into the sea. I expected Nairaland to select a moderator that at least has common sense.
Nigerians see nothing pleasant coming from their various villages, they aren't used to such a thing. If it's success, it got to be fraud and if it's fraud, it definitely got to be from Nigeria. What a Fck-up mind.
How can we criticize CNN for calling us criminals, when we're quick to judge each other negatively? How can we blame Oprah for stating that our foundation as Nigerians is built with fraudulent concrete, when we see nothing legit or good coming from Nigeria? How can we hate Custom/ immigration officers that put us through unnecessary delays at the airport, when we label each other quickly as thieves? How can we disagree with foreign employers that reject well-qualified Nigerians just because they carry Nigerian names, when Nigerians are so quick to disqualify each other?
We need to wake up and get ourselves together quickly. Most of what Nigerians are going through world wide is being created by ourselves, just because most of us don't know how to think deep enough.
Nigeria will be a better land and Nigerians will be seen as great people as soon as we start appreciating ourselves as people and understanding the true value of being Nigerians.

It is foolish and irresponsible for any idiot to box everyone on this list as thieves.

comments on self made men vs crony made men

hummmmm.

you are talking of facts and someone is qouting econium and city people

DRANOEL:

you are talking of facts and someone is qouting econium and city people

Na so i see am o my broda. Encomium and city people