Why should females be any different? Are you scared they will be more qualified when the PHD rule is put in place?.

aloy/emeka:

Why should females be any different? Are you scared they will be more qualified when the PHD rule is put in place?.

Nah, I just dont want fuglies participating in our democracy

We will give Ileke a waiver, since you seem to be interested in her

fstranger1:


Nah, I just dont want fuglies participating in our democracy

We will give Ileke a waiver, since you seem to be interested in her

I never said Ileke Idi is ugly, you are the one insinuating that. I only said she loves tribalistic diatribes.

You'd rather have illiterates--people who cannot read and write English, decide who the leaders of Nigeria would be, decide which laws (written in English) under which Nigerian would be governed than a literate person?

If you're not literate, you should not be in a political party in the first place. Go vote in the general elections. It's embarrassing to have a representative who cannot speak or write in the official language.

Tunmi:

You'd rather have illiterates--people who cannot read and write English, decide who the leaders of Nigeria would be, decide which laws (written in English) under which Nigerian would be governed than a literate person?

If you're not literate, you should not be in a political party in the first place. Go vote in the general elections. It's embarrassing to have a representative who cannot speak or write in the official language.

Ode!

English is not our official language

It is the language most convenient for our law makers.

But as par the constitution, we do not have an official language. The constitution recognizes English language as well as the other local languages. Stop talking form your stinking puccy.

I wonder what litracy means in nigeria? linguistics i guess.A country that is full of educated illitrates devoid of intuition

fstranger1:

Ode!

English is not our official language

It is the language most convenient for our law makers.

But as par the constitution, we do not have an official language. The constitution recognizes English language as well as the other local languages. Stop talking form your stinking puccy.

When you start including insults in your argument, I lose respect for you.
And English is Nigeria's official language. Google "official language of Nigeria" and this matter of Nigeria's official language has been discussed on Nairaland:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-15631.0.html

Tunmi:

When you start including insults in your argument, I lose respect for you.
And English is Nigeria's official language. Google "official language of Nigeria" and this matter of Nigeria's official language has been discussed on Nairaland:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-15631.0.html

Nigeria has 4 official languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Tunmi:

When you start including insults in your argument, I lose respect for you.
And English is Nigeria's official language. Google "official language of Nigeria" and this matter of Nigeria's official language has been discussed on Nairaland:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-15631.0.html

Hey sweetheart, I dont listen to mamaput

NL is not the constitution

Ask FRA Williams, the guy who was in charge of the Nigerian constitution, Ask Bola ige the former attorney general, and they will tell you that English is not the official language. It is the language of the government, but it is not the official language.

I know you are 18 and I will forgive you for your naivety, but next time do some research before typing balderdash.

aloy/emeka:

Nigeria has 4 official languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Hause, Yoruba and Igbo are not official languages. They are the majority languages--the most spoken ones. They are recognized as such and recognized as ethnic languages. I had to learn this abroad. It's sad when our education does not ren teach us about our own country.

Tunmi:

Hause, Yoruba and Igbo are not official languages. They are the majority languages--the most spoken ones. They are recognized as such and recognized as ethnic languages. I had to learn this abroad. It's sad when our education does not ren teach us about our own country.

And you believe that more than what I learnt in by GNS class in uni in  Nigeria?


Do you even know who FRA Williams is?

Look young girl, the constitution recognizes Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba as official languages.!

For some weird reason that is cannot fully explain,  I want the conversation between Fstranger and Tunmi to go on for a long time, 20 pages maybe.

LOL @ GNS class.


*Subscribed*

Kilode?!:

For some weird reason that is cannot fully explain, I want the conversation between Fstranger and Tunmi to go on for a long time, 20 pages maybe.

*Subscribed*

Roger that!

Hopefully, the conversation ends up in my bedroom

Tunmi:

Hause, Yoruba and Igbo are not official languages. They are the majority languages--the most spoken ones. They are recognized as such and recognized as ethnic languages. I had to learn this abroad. It's sad when our education does not ren teach us about our own country.

So it becomes more authentic when you learn it abroad against our local schools?. So, your history is better told by oyibo than your fathers?. Na waaah for Nigerians o and inferiority complex.

fstranger1:

Roger that!

Hopefully, the conversation ends up in my bedroom

Ashewo! Go on soun!

aloy/emeka:

So it becomes more authentic when you learn it abroad against our local schools?. So, your history is better told by oyibo than your fathers?. Na waaah for Nigerians o and inferiority complex.

Abi see me see trouble

Which kinda future Naija-rians are we giving birth to

They believe every thing the white man says!

People like this can sell the country if we dont take care.

Hoepefully this Tunmi girl doesnt come back to Nigeria. We dont need people like her in our country any more.

Kilode?!:

Ashewo! Go on soun!

She is actually cute; may be that is why she doesn't have anything in her head. You either have beauty or brains. You can never have both.

Anyway, I wouldnt mind hitting that.

Three-some?

^Onisekuse ni bobo Fstranger yii sha

fstranger1:


Abi see me see trouble

Which kinda future Naija-rians are we giving birth to

They believe every thing the white man says!

People like this can sell the country if we dont take care.

Hoepefully this Tunmi girl doesnt come back to Nigeria. We dont need people like her in our country any more.

Why?. Don't you think it is better to have sincere and open minded people like her lead Nigeria than crooked politicians. May be she had a bad experience with Adedibu and that's why she doesn't want illiterates running politics anymore.

aloy/emeka:

Why?. Don't you think it is better to have sincere and open minded people like her lead Nigeria than crooked politicians. May be she had a bad experience with Adedibu and that's why she doesn't want illiterates running politics anymore.

Give me Adedibu over any white man

She seems to have inferiority complex, believing what she was told by her white professor without ever crosschecking it. And, the white man, you and I know, do not have our best interest at heart. Adedibu at least is doing his best to move Nigeria forward, we may disagree on his tactic, but the truth is that he  loves Nigeria more than any white man. I am just worried that this girl, if given the opportunity, would not think twice before selling Nigeria and her natural resources to her white professors.

Why do you hate whitey so much, fstranger?

I agree that they do not have our interest at heart. But why should they? They should only care about their own.

Eku_bear don join

@bear, I don't think he hates whitey, i think he's just very protective of Nigerian culture, ideas and worldview, fstranger, is that a fair assessment?

fstranger1:

And you believe that more than what I learnt in by GNS class in uni in  Nigeria?


Do you even know who FRA Williams is?

Look young girl, the constitution recognizes Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba as official languages.!

See, you learned that in Uni, I moved when I was in JS3. I am not faulting you for anything. Rather, I fault Nigeria's education system. Students in the States know their rights by secondary school. We were never taught that in secondary school. And apparently, they don't go into that until SS or UNI.

And no, I do by believe anything without crosschecking. So I did lazy research, google alone, but I do have my facts. Also please know that the United States is not populated by the white man alone. And please do not question my love for Nigeria. Studying abroad has been the best thing for me, and I highly recommend learning in a different environment. The US is ideal in that you get to learn about so many cultures and civilizations and apply that to the betterment of Nigeria. So, no, I do not plan to follow in the steps of our past politicians. I would not sell Nigeria, sorry.

And what I learned about Nigeria was not taught to me. My African-American history classes only mentions the kingdoms--Benin and co., and the slave trade. I read books and had go resort to Nigerian forums and news to gain a better understanding of Nigeria. So please do not be so quick to judge.

I do not illiterates as representatives. This is the 21st century. It is a shame that these people cannot read and write in the, fine, government language. These are the people we trust to ensure to create laws for a safe and healthy nation. If we can set the bar so low that an illiterate can gain the position of delegate, then what's the point of an education. I fault PDP for welcoming delegates with no credentials. Illiterates are free to vote in the general election, but there must be a standard in order to become a delegate--a reresentative, of a political party.

Tunmi:

See, you learned that in Uni, I moved when I was in JS3.

Nah, I learnt it in secondary school as well. It just so happened that it was part of the curriculum for a GNS class I took in college in Nigeria, before coming the US.

I am not faulting you for anything. Rather, I fault Nigeria's education system. Students in the States know their rights by secondary school. We were never taught that in secondary school. And apparently, they don't go into that until SS or UNI.

I am not understanding you. What has knowing your rights got to do with English not being our sole official language? What has being taught your rights in your Almighty American Public school got to do with disenfranchising bonafide Nigerians of their right to participate in our democracy?

Please enlighten me young gal?

As for being taught your rights in your secondary school: Did they also teach you that you, as a black kid with a foreign sounding name, you do not count in the grand scheme of things, unless of course you suck up to them. That whatever luxury you enjoy, you really do not deserve it.

That said, in the secondary school I attended in Nigeria, they taught me my right as well. I was told that as a citizen of the country,that English language is not our official language. They also taught me that I have every right as any other person in the country. And, that I have the right to vote and be voted for. And that my right as a citizen of  Nigeria to vote shall not be denied or abridged by any person on account of ethnicity, circumstance of birth or ability to read or write in a foreign language, Like ENGLISH. And, that my inalienable rights to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness are protected by the Constitution.

And I learnt all of that in Social studies class in junior secondary.


And i learnt some things about my rights as well in primary school like: Bribery and corruption are bad and that both are punishable offenses. I remember, back in the day, teachers would ask students" Who is guilty of bribery and corruption," to which we would answer in unison "both the giver and the receiver." And, if you care to know, I attended your run of the mill public school, yet, we were taught our rights. I dont know what secondary school you attended in Nigeria, the one I attended taught me everything I needed to learn, thrive and  graduate from my American college top of my class. And I was even invited to join PBK in my sophomore year.

And no, I do by believe anything without crosschecking. So I did lazy research, google alone, but I do have my facts. Also please know that the U[b]nited States is not populated by the white man alone[/b].

Thanks for letting me know that.  It seems you are still dumbstruck by your new environment. Whether it is populated by white men alone or co populated with white women, you still have to suck their di-ck if you want to amount to anything in America.  The earlier you learn the trade, the better for you in the long run.

And please do not question my love for Nigeria. Studying abroad has been the best thing for me, and I highly recommend learning in a different environment.

This is what people who couldn't cut it with Naija's educational system say. I have been privileged to have experienced the two, and if I have to do it all over again, I would still want to have been educated in Nigeria. But I understand your sentiment, you would not have survived in the difficult academic terrain of Naija. Naija's system is not for the timid nor for the faint-hearted. I am glad you love your new educational system, Please make use of the opportunity and you are welcome to keep us informed of your progress  or lack there of.

The US is ideal in that you get to learn about so many cultures and civilizations and apply that to the betterment of Nigeria. So, no, I do not plan to follow in the steps of our past politicians. I would not sell Nigeria, sorry.

Well, you cant sell Nigeria. With your mentality, the probability of you reaching a sensitive political post is almost zero. The system does not want you. Hopefully, you get along well with your White friends, may be you can negotiate a PA position with them when they venture into politics.

And what I learned about Nigeria was not taught to me. My African-American history classes only mentions the kingdoms--Benin and co., and the slave trade. I read books and had go resort to Nigerian forums and news to gain a better understanding of Nigeria. So please do not be so quick to judge.

No one teaches you everything. If you expect to be spoon fed all through your life, then you are in for a long dic-k sucking ride in your new found country. Oh boy, do they know how to use and dump?

I do not illiterates as representatives. This is the 21st century. It is a shame that these people cannot read and write in the, fine, government language. These are the people we trust to ensure to create laws for a safe and healthy nation. If we can set the bar so low that an illiterate can gain the position of delegate, then what's the point of an education. 

There is more to education than making laws. These people are old to be your grand father and mother. And unlike you, they may not have had the opportunity to go to school .  whyshould that be held against them. Most of these people are victims of the system, victims of  neglect of the educational sector  by successive government and they are also victims of the wanton looting of the treasure by the country's elite. 

That said, most of these people are actually literate,its just that they are NOT literate in English language. The situation can be compared to say Russia or Asia or Middle East where more people speak and converse in their language. Would you call a Chinese an illiterate?

Also, you do not need western education to make laws. Yoruba people have been making laws in their language long before the Portuguese came in. DO me a favor, try having  a conversation with some of these people in their native language, and you'd realize that many of them are way smarter than you.

I fault PDP for welcoming delegates with no credentials. Illiterates are free to vote in the general election, but there must be a standard in order to become a delegate--a reresentative, of a political party.

No one has mentioned credentials here. The thread is about people being denied their rights because they could not read and write in the Queen's language.

You sound highly bitter. Can you deliver an argument besides being caustic? That I don't deserve the luxury I may have, why thank you. And that I would not have cut it in Nigeria's rigorous academic terrain, again thanks for your assumptions. They have been quite amusing.

The key thing here is that these are PDP delegates and the party does not want illiterate delegates voting. The party should have made clear its requirements before welcoming members. If they want to vote in a general election, by all means do. But as a member of a political party, you adhere to the party rules.

Tunmi:

See, you learned that in Uni, I moved when I was in JS3. I am not faulting you for anything. Rather, I fault Nigeria's education system. Students in the States know their rights by secondary school. We were never taught that in secondary school. And apparently, they don't go into that until SS or UNI.

And no, I do by believe anything without crosschecking. So I did lazy research, google alone, but I do have my facts. Also please know that the United States is not populated by the white man alone. And please do not question my love for Nigeria. Studying abroad has been the best thing for me, and I highly recommend learning in a different environment. The US is ideal in that you get to learn about so many cultures and civilizations and apply that to the betterment of Nigeria. So, no, I do not plan to follow in the steps of our past politicians. I would not sell Nigeria, sorry.

And what I learned about Nigeria was not taught to me. My African-American history classes only mentions the kingdoms--Benin and co., and the slave trade. I read books and had go resort to Nigerian forums and news to gain a better understanding of Nigeria. So please do not be so quick to judge.

I do not illiterates as representatives. This is the 21st century. It is a shame that these people cannot read and write in the, fine, government language. These are the people we trust to ensure to create laws for a safe and healthy nation. If we can set the bar so low that an illiterate can gain the position of delegate, then what's the point of an education. I fault PDP for welcoming delegates with no credentials. Illiterates are free to vote in the general election, but there must be a standard in order to become a delegate--a reresentative, of a political party.

There is something extremely cute about your response [I hope you will not read that as sexist] I just find your response heartwarming. Fstranger, abeg no yab our sister again o! I'm no longer interested.

I agree with some of your points,  I disagree with others.

First, I'll offer my perspective on the official language issue:

The Nigerian Constitution in article 55 has English as the Official Language but also mentioned the "Trio" Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba as languages we can conduct Legislative businesses in. My opinion is that the writers of that section were trying to be clever and probably did not want to alienate those who might see the non-inclusion of Native languages as a cop-out. I welcome other perspectives


On illiteracy, voting/democracy and our educational system;

I will caution that we need to define illiteracy before we apply that description to our people;

If you can read and write in Yoruba, but not in English, are you still an "illiterate"?

If you cannot read and write in any language but you can think, farm, raise children, argue and basically apply "wisdom" in your day to day activities (mentally stable) shouldn't you be allowed to vote and decide who your leader should be? even though you are an illiterate?

If this news report is true, then it's a sad commentary on our priorities. Illiterates are not Nigeria's problem, the same way an hillybilly West Virginian miner w/o an high school diploma is not America's problem.

A party delegate does not need to be educated in a western styled school to know the kind of leaders she wants, maybe she joined politics to push a single issue that does not require Western styled literacy( e.g voter information in Oral Yoruba for those who don't want to speak English or embrace Western cultures) We ought to allow that kind of self determination.

Our main problem, in my opinion, is that we have a society that cannot rally around some basic ideals, unlike the days when we were guided by naturally evolved societal norms and rules -good or bad- that were created by us for our own use, what we have now are LEARNED ideals that are more cerebral than they are emotional, I believe we humans need that emotional connection to an ideal, for us to embrace and practice it effectively.


Tunmi, What we currently have is a confused society. A society without a coherent set of ideals that majority can emotionally rally around. We are not sure if we are Africans or Westerners, we are not sure if we like western styled individual liberty or a traditional communal collective system. We are not sure If we like OBJ/Abacha like Strong-arm rulers or self-appointed representative leaders.

We also lack a coherent national identity (I partly blame that on our unfortunate history) due to the humiliating effects of forced amalgamation and forced servitude. Yes we were not enslaved like African Americans but our 1914-1960 ancestors were not exactly treated as equals by their British Lords-. I'm sure that had an effect on our psyche

I think all that confusion contributed to the state we are currently in and probably led some folks to view those who cannot write or read ENGLISH as not worthy enough to vote,  the same way Black-Americans were forced to take literacy tests before voting in Jim Crow law days.

Further thoughts on Education and Language:

We don't emphasise the teaching of civic rights and responsibilities enough in our high schools, of course smart-$ss students like Fstranger will get the little hurried lesson and read up on the rest,

But, from my own experience and in comparison to US schools, I'll argue that we don't emphasise those things too well in Nigeria. I'll also blame it on the lack of a societal emotional connection to those ideas. I welcome other perspectives.

Also, our people are largely ignorant of the rights and liberties guaranteed by our western styled constitution. I blame all that on the stuff I mentioned earlier. As a society, it's hard to teach what we are not emotionally connected to, especially in a foreign language.

Which is why I kinda sympathise with those who want the adoption of our native languages as the language of instruction, while I recognize the difficulties, I still believe we cannot go too far without changing our language of instruction to something more native, more accessible.

G8; France, Britain, USA, Japan, China, Russia, Germany, Canada, Italy -- they all use local languages, I fail to see how we can get there with a borrowed language that is so alien to our culture. So for me, the issue is not English literacy it's way deeper than that.

^^^^

One of the best posts ever

Not sure who is smarter, You or Aigbofa.


But I am your fan.

Anyway, I am gonna stop insulting 'our' sister from another mother.

^^Haha, I think Aigbofa is MENSA o! I only rep the Irunmoles, I no sabi Mensa smartness.

Good decision on our "sister" from another mother!

I like it--your summary, Kilode?! And no, I don't find it sexist. Thanks, I wanted it to sound like that.
Thanks for the stimulating dialogue, fstranger1.

That was quite mean, illiterates are people too!

How far my follow Nigeria,i had bring good thing to you.Free call is here again but only for glo to glo.here is my number 08152046990.

Tunmi:

I like it--your summary, Kilode?! And no, I don't find it sexist. Thanks, I wanted it to sound like that.
Thanks for the stimulating dialogue, fstranger1.

Have you had a change of mind since our discussion?