From here:
https://www.nairaland.com/505782/questions-comments-complaints-talk-moderators/46#12685141

musKeeto:




Do you think there will ever be a change in quality of governance and public administration within Nigeria, a more 'civilized' not necessarily 'American or European' mode of politics? A government that would curb wastage of resources and focus on providing basic amenities to its people? If yes, what do you think will influence such change? Would it be internal or external?

Sorry o... politics na my hobby to.. don't talk about it much though cos in Nigeria, it remains an exercise in futility as long as one remains outside the 'government'..

Resonded:

JeSoul: Mehn.......

so I was in Naija earlier this year after a long time, and to be honest I left feeling very hopeless for naija's future. When we talk about government, it is us, the everyday average man on the street, he is a reflection of the leadership, and what a sad reflection it is. What bothered me the most is how desensitized the people are to behavior that should be otherwise insane or frowned upon in any civilized society. Lemme give a very small example because something happened 2 days ago that reminded me of it:

we stopped at a mr biggs along lekki, we got in line and waited our turn. Another customer came in and stepped to the side, another came in after and stepped to the other side along the counter. As soon as the server finished serving the last customer both of the two new customers (well-dressed professionals) jumped ahead and started shouting their orders with disregard for who was there first. To make matters worse, the server went ahead to serve those forceful customers, equally disregarding those of us who came first.

I know this seems like a small & innocuous situation but flash forward to 2 days ago in Boston. I'm standing in line at the store behind one other lady. 3 cashiers are available but there's one line for all three. Another lady bypasses the line and goes to the front of one cashier and the other customers were furious. "You just don't do that" "Respect other people" "I want to see the manager" "This kind of behavior is not appropriate" etc etc were some of the comments you would think she'd just killed someone lol, to the point the lady stepped back from the line and asked me who was next to go ahead.

^the stark differences in reaction to the same situation flashed me back to mr biggs in Lekki - its the little things that speak volumes. I got the sense Nigerians in general do not care an inkling for anyone outside of themselves. I saw this repeat itself over & over when a car robbery/jacking happened 3 cars in front of us at the lekki toll gate, crowded with cars, all the other drivers kept mute & turned face and the police where right across the street chatting away.
-Or when an okada knocked off the front bumper of our car and simply drove off & "big men" in "Jeeps" drove on the wrong side of the road cos they didn't want to wait in traffic
-Or when the vulture customs agent at the airport threatened to confiscate some artwork I'd purchased from Ghana simply because I did not want to bribe them.
-Or when we were charged road fee, local govt. fee, parking fee, hut fee followed by constant harrassment for money & offerings (from a freelance 'pastor' that disturbed the peace with his 'preaching') just to spend a few hours at the beach.
-Or when the redeem church next door decided to do prayer service & choir practice at ungodly hours in the morning disregarding the residential neighborhood they're in
-Or when the local anglican church we went to actually printed tithers & the tithing amounts in the bulletin
-Or when the serenity is disturbed by the collective groan of personal generators reminding of the failures of govt.
-Or when I asked my sister why she wasn't stopping at the red lights, only to be told she was once robbed like that
-Or when driving on a busy bridge with traffic only to see it was one man that stopped to "ease himself" on the side
-Or when one lady had at least 7 small children crammed into one small keke 'taxi' where any of them could've easily fallen out & died
-Or when I told my parents I wanted to go for "a walk" and look around on VI or the mainland they laughed and said "people don't go for walks or 'look around' in Lagos". You can be targeted.

^these are all insane & this is Nigeria's govt reflected - we see it everyday in the insane things they do. ^^^but all this tori to answer your simple question - what can influence change in Nigeria? first foremost & above all - consideration for someone else other than yourself. Every progressive society has this trait, that we have a sense of community and "we're in this together" and my actions will echo and affect other people so I have to try my best to do the right thing. Life is so cheap & the Law can be so easily bought. I almost got into so many 'fights' with people doing the wrong thing, save the intervention of my hosts that it was futile & moreso dangerous.

Naija. Is there hope? I hope so. Nigeria has so many beautiful aspects to her culture - the food, the clothing, the folklore, the rich traditions etc. I love naija so I must have hope, afterall is it not soaked garri & epa & moi-moi I ate for lunch few days ago before I headed into the lab to do some experiments? lol. I know so many brilliant Nigerians so I know there can be hope - but who is willing to risk their life for a country that does not care?

^pardon the long post, you opened a can of worms .

We are on the same page. Whatever fabric, if there is any, that holds our society is in tatters and needs to be rewoven.

There is no society per se in Nigeria, just a bunch of individuals trying to outdo each other and hoping for the right opportunity to 'hammer', doesnt matter who is hurt in the process..

Do I love my country? Yes...
Do I think there's hope? No, not if it continues on this downward trend...

Take for instance ALUU. Horrible, horrible, horrible. The kids in that community will be grown up sooner than we think. What lessons/morales will they have picked up from this incident?

We've been posting horrible results in WAEC and NECO exams. These kids will be adults soon.

An Indian here told me he visited Nigeria some years back. His dad works in Abuja. He said our aeroplanes are as crowded as the buses here. It was a funny comment, but it got me thinking. People have become too self-centered, and as long as they're making just enough to live above the sufferings of the common man, its not their problem..

I'm not saying everyone should try to fix the problems of our society, its easier said than done, and tbh much risky.

The truth is if we keep 'hoping' for change to come, change will also keep 'hoping' for us to come...

I hope to get involved in media services, probably through online media as soon as I'm through here.

The only hope for a 'change' is if people, esp those my age, are made aware of how one's actions, which may seem so trivial, may actually have a negatively profound effect on society.

@JeSoul, I quite agree with you. Like you, I hardly ever feel qualified to speak to Nigeria's political situation. My own reason actually is that I don't follow the news well. I'm beginning to though. However I do live here and I feel everything even if I don't hear it.

@all

Anyhow I also agree that there is hope. Until the last Nigerian has given up on this country, there will be. I don't think I'm the last but I am sure I haven't given up.

Even though that is the case, I freely admit that the situation is dire. I believe that the best approach to dealing with it is to stop comparing Nigeria to other countries, at least not with a view to having her measure up to them. If there must be a comparison, it should be with a view to taking a leaf out of the book of their development. In that latter case, it would be similarities rather than differences that are sought.

Next and an extension of the above, Nigeria's peculiarities should be taken right account of. These peculiarities are the guiding factors for deciding what developmental paths to pursue. For instance, the average Obi on Nigeria's streets is extremely self-centered (not very representative of Nigeria though, this is more the urban Nigerian than anybody else). Why? That is the right question to ask. Because its answer leads up to how one can deal with him productively.

So, I hold that Nigeria's redemption lies in a commitment by the Nigerian to using one's intellect in adherence to the highest moral principles to deal with everyday problems. I'm working on it myself. I hope that when my kids are adults, this Nigeria that I know will be a very distant and hazy memory for them.


@JeSoul

My thoughts on the government: I know that there's a lot that I don't know, but I know that what Jonathan attempted to do was to limit tenures to one term of six years (I think, for the president and governors, don't remember about the house of assembly). He held that the fight for a second term prevented political office holders from doing their jobs and diverted public funds substantially. Obviously, the powers that be murdered that baby. GEJ might have made a bunch of mistakes and pursued paths that I have not always agreed with, but I think the man is a breath of fresh air to Nigerian politics. In my opinion, he's brought more honesty and comradeship to governance than any president before him. Even his moves have served to involve Nigerians more powerfully in their home politics. We used to be an extremely fatalistic people who just didn't give that much of a damn about anything the government did. But GEJ appears to have the effect of rousing Nigerians and making them respond. I'm completely at home with that.

musKeeto: We are on the same page. Whatever fabric, if there is any, that holds our society is in tatters and needs to be rewoven.

There is no society per se in Nigeria, just a bunch of individuals trying to outdo each other and hoping for the right opportunity to 'hammer', doesnt matter who is hurt in the process..

Do I love my country? Yes...
Do I think there's hope? No, not if it continues on this downward trend...

Take for instance ALUU. Horrible, horrible, horrible. The kids in that community will be grown up sooner than we think. What lessons/morales will they have picked up from this incident?

We've been posting horrible results in WAEC and NECO exams. These kids will be adults soon.

An Indian here told me he visited Nigeria some years back. His dad works in Abuja. He said our aeroplanes are as crowded as the buses here. It was a funny comment, but it got me thinking. People have become too self-centered, and as long as they're making just enough to live above the sufferings of the common man, its not their problem..

I'm not saying everyone should try to fix the problems of our society, its easier said than done, and tbh much risky.

The truth is if we keep 'hoping' for change to come, change will also keep 'hoping' for us to come...

I hope to get involved in media services, probably through online media as soon as I'm through here.

The only hope for a 'change' is if people, esp those my age, are made aware of how one's actions, which may seem so trivial, may actually have a negatively profound effect on society.

This is worrying. That was put together excellently. If you become serious then what am I supposed to do?

wiegraf:

This is worrying. That was put together excellently. If you become serious then what am I supposed to do?

lol... my crase still dey .. but the nigerian situation really bothers me... always on my mind...

Jesoul,
There is a reason I follow just you on this forum and your post right there......(Errrr you get twin sister biko )
I totally agree with you, no one needs donkey years in this country to understand Nigeria and Nigerian politics. In the simplest and crudest forms you have explained what Nigeria is.
What you see as governance is a reflection of who the people are as individuals. The Government did not spring from Atlantis, they were once part and parcel of the common man. Our values as Nigerians are skewed and I say it here today the average Nigerian is the reason why Nigeria is as terrible as it is today.
The situation of things might make it seem to an outsider that there is an elite group of bad people oppressing the good people of Nigeria but that's not true at all. Well there is a group of bad people who rode on the greed, dishonesty, tribalism of their peers to achieve an elite status. They then proceed to make sure that they deprive the rest bad people of the chance to achieve the elite status. Lemme break it down to some events,
VIOLENCE:
Someone here mentioned the ALUU 4, that event showed just how far we have been frustrated as a people, to the extent that we now behave as savages. Some weeks prior to that event someone made a thread about how violent our society was, lynching and burning theives has not been something that shocked an average Nigerian. So watching comments pouring in about how wicked the killers were would have given the false assumption that oh Nigerians were finally getting in touch with their humanity. But was that really true? Well asides from the fact that 40 people were killed in their own rooms a couple of days earlier and it did not gather as much media frenzy, there was an assumption that the boys were "innocent", would a regular theif have gotten a humane treatment from those crying foul? The answer was evident when students took their turn and destroyed and burnt houses, they made pages of comments cheering saying they had it coming. Sad but that is the state of things today.

HONESTY AND DIGNITY
These words are missing in the Nigerian dictionary, it sad but Nigerians have done nothing to dispel that myth. I will take your mind back to two examples of this, during the elections I worked quite closely with the youth corp members who were in charge of polling stations mostly in the south and I don't want to go into the gory details but if you are looking for a revolution or a change coming from the youth? Forget it, so many Nigerian girls would readily betray their families for a blackberry torch ( maybe na Ipad now).
In ahaoda of rivers state a tanker fell, people rushed to scoop petrol it caught fire and killed more than 200 people, a week or so later a tanker was set ablaze at eneka near ph, just say 45 mins from AHaoda and people still jumped out to scoop the product. When one is ready to risk his life like that even after the event of the past week was fresh in their minds shows that their moral fabric is in tatters.

SUCCESS
To "hammer" is the meaning of success to the average Nigerian. Not living a good comfortable life, normal is not the goal, mega is the only option. This is one of the reasons why David oyedepo has made it, all Nigerians want to be prosperous even if it is at the detriment of their fellow Nigerians. The guy walking envies the man on the okada who in turn envies the man in the toyota camry that nearly splashed water on him, the man in the camry is thinking if only I could be in that range rover just in front of me while the man in the range rover wants to be like the guy with 20 cars in his convoy.
We waste the little we have just to be among the psychological caste system that we have built for ourselves. The bride in a traditional average wedding ceremony wants to change 4 times to different attires shoes and bags, the couple want to hire a mighty hall print expensive cards, have at least two catering firms to take care of the food, invite wizkid to sing Me I dey dance pakurumo

\=))_
((
<,'\/‎​ pakurumo pakurumo ojo dada!.
So how on earth would any sane Nigerian expect those that control the commonwealth of the country to be prudent and not spend one billion to chop isiewu in 2013?
Life as a Nigerian has got to be enough for someone to do a Phd thesis on, I really don't know how to say I have hope, because I don't know what I am hoping for. Things have fallen apart, a long time ago.

Chrisbenogor: The guy walking envies the man on the okada who in turn envies the man in the toyota camry that nearly splashed water on him, the man in the camry is thinking if only I could be in that range rover just in front of me while the man in the range rover wants to be like the guy with 20 cars in his convoy.

wikid.... oga, which tym mkmyers go do your interview na?

A truly terrible thread. Religious people with common sense is bad for business

wiegraf: A truly terrible thread. Religious people with common sense is bad for business

Lmao...

Chrisbenogor: Jesoul,
There is a reason I follow just you on this forum and your post right there......(Errrr you get twin sister biko )
I totally agree with you, no one needs donkey years in this country to understand Nigeria and Nigerian politics. In the simplest and crudest forms you have explained what Nigeria is.
What you see as governance is a reflection of who the people are as individuals. The Government did not spring from Atlantis, they were once part and parcel of the common man. Our values as Nigerians are skewed and I say it here today the average Nigerian is the reason why Nigeria is as terrible as it is today.
The situation of things might make it seem to an outsider that there is an elite group of bad people oppressing the good people of Nigeria but that's not true at all. Well there is a group of bad people who rode on the greed, dishonesty, tribalism of their peers to achieve an elite status. They then proceed to make sure that they deprive the rest bad people of the chance to achieve the elite status. Lemme break it down to some events,
VIOLENCE:
Someone here mentioned the ALUU 4, that event showed just how far we have been frustrated as a people, to the extent that we now behave as savages. Some weeks prior to that event someone made a thread about how violent our society was, lynching and burning theives has not been something that shocked an average Nigerian. So watching comments pouring in about how wicked the killers were would have given the false assumption that oh Nigerians were finally getting in touch with their humanity. But was that really true? Well asides from the fact that 40 people were killed in their own rooms a couple of days earlier and it did not gather as much media frenzy, there was an assumption that the boys were "innocent", would a regular theif have gotten a humane treatment from those crying foul? The answer was evident when students took their turn and destroyed and burnt houses, they made pages of comments cheering saying they had it coming. Sad but that is the state of things today.

HONESTY AND DIGNITY
These words are missing in the Nigerian dictionary, it sad but Nigerians have done nothing to dispel that myth. I will take your mind back to two examples of this, during the elections I worked quite closely with the youth corp members who were in charge of polling stations mostly in the south and I don't want to go into the gory details but if you are looking for a revolution or a change coming from the youth? Forget it, so many Nigerian girls would readily betray their families for a blackberry torch ( maybe na Ipad now).
In ahaoda of rivers state a tanker fell, people rushed to scoop petrol it caught fire and killed more than 200 people, a week or so later a tanker was set ablaze at eneka near ph, just say 45 mins from AHaoda and people still jumped out to scoop the product. When one is ready to risk his life like that even after the event of the past week was fresh in their minds shows that their moral fabric is in tatters.

SUCCESS
To "hammer" is the meaning of success to the average Nigerian. Not living a good comfortable life, normal is not the goal, mega is the only option. This is one of the reasons why David oyedepo has made it, all Nigerians want to be prosperous even if it is at the detriment of their fellow Nigerians. The guy walking envies the man on the okada who in turn envies the man in the toyota camry that nearly splashed water on him, the man in the camry is thinking if only I could be in that range rover just in front of me while the man in the range rover wants to be like the guy with 20 cars in his convoy.
We waste the little we have just to be among the psychological caste system that we have built for ourselves. The bride in a traditional average wedding ceremony wants to change 4 times to different attires shoes and bags, the couple want to hire a mighty hall print expensive cards, have at least two catering firms to take care of the food, invite wizkid to sing Me I dey dance pakurumo

\=))_
((
<,'\/‎​ pakurumo pakurumo ojo dada!.
So how on earth would any sane Nigerian expect those that control the commonwealth of the country to be prudent and not spend one billion to chop isiewu in 2013?
Life as a Nigerian has got to be enough for someone to do a Phd thesis on, I really don't know how to say I have hope, because I don't know what I am hoping for. Things have fallen apart, a long time ago.

Very clear description of the state of Nigeria, but given the fact that accurate description of Nigeria's woes is now a commodity, they're no longer giving out degrees for it

Seriously though, if there really are grounds for no hope, I will see firsthand. The bitter truth is that I cannot remember any honest, impacting and profitable venture that has survived Nigeria in recent times but it may be because I have not found them yet, not because they don't exist.

I believe that Nigeria's redemption lies in business.

musKeeto: We are on the same page. Whatever fabric, if there is any, that holds our society is in tatters and needs to be rewoven.

There is no society per se in Nigeria, just a bunch of individuals trying to outdo each other and hoping for the right opportunity to 'hammer', doesnt matter who is hurt in the process..

^this right here is really the begining & end of the story.

Do I love my country? Yes...
Do I think there's hope? No, not if it continues on this downward trend...

Take for instance ALUU. Horrible, horrible, horrible. The kids in that community will be grown up sooner than we think. What lessons/morales will they have picked up from this incident?

We've been posting horrible results in WAEC and NECO exams. These kids will be adults soon.

An Indian here told me he visited Nigeria some years back. His dad works in Abuja. He said our aeroplanes are as crowded as the buses here. It was a funny comment, but it got me thinking. People have become too self-centered, and as long as they're making just enough to live above the sufferings of the common man, its not their problem..
I'm not saying everyone should try to fix the problems of our society, its easier said than done, and tbh much risky.

The truth is if we keep 'hoping' for change to come, change will also keep 'hoping' for us to come...

I hope to get involved in media services, probably through online media as soon as I'm through here.

The only hope for a 'change' is if people, esp those my age, are made aware of how one's actions, which may seem so trivial, may actually have a negatively profound effect on society.

My brother you don talk am finish. And you're right in saying the minds of the youth have already been poisoned so its tough to be optimistic about change happening in a generation or two. Its tough tough tough....considering this hopelessness why won't people be running to church? lol.

One thing I'll confess is I found myself 'sympathizing' with the 'atheist' while I was in naija. Churches everywhere. 10 on one street, facing each other, on top of each other, competing with each other etc etc and then going out into the madness that is the everyday street and seeing the 'lambs' turn into ferocious lions - it doesn't add up. I went to church only once while there and I couldn't wait to leave the service. The 'pastor' spent 2hrs blowing his trumpet & boasting of the demons he has cast & the reverence people have for him...seriously? and in the bulletin they actually printed names of tithers & the amounts...SERIOUSLY if this is what 'christianity' is then I certainly want no part of it.

Anyways...I hope the media gig blows up good for you. You intend on going back to set up shop?

Ihedinobi: @JeSoul, I quite agree with you. Like you, I hardly ever feel qualified to speak to Nigeria's political situation. My own reason actually is that I don't follow the news well. I'm beginning to though. However I do live here and I feel everything even if I don't hear it.

@all

Anyhow I also agree that there is hope. Until the last Nigerian has given up on this country, there will be. I don't think I'm the last but I am sure I haven't given up.

You try oh lol...optimism is good.

Even though that is the case, I freely admit that the situation is dire. I believe that the best approach to dealing with it is to stop comparing Nigeria to other countries, at least not with a view to having her measure up to them. If there must be a comparison, it should be with a view to taking a leaf out of the book of their development. In that latter case, it would be similarities rather than differences that are sought.

Interesting point. I get what you mean by not directly 'comparing' because afterall we are a different people with different values and different cultures. At the same time, I do think it is fair to see how Naija "measures up" against similar countries. I spent time in Ghana as well and I can tell you the difference is like night & day - in terms of just mentality alone. At this point nigeria ought to be leading the charge of african countries.

Next and an extension of the above, Nigeria's peculiarities should be taken right account of. These peculiarities are the guiding factors for deciding what developmental paths to pursue. For instance, the average Obi on Nigeria's streets is extremely self-centered (not very representative of Nigeria though, this is more the urban Nigerian than anybody else). Why? That is the right question to ask. Because its answer leads up to how one can deal with him productively.

Can you please expand on this part? not sure I fully understand, thanks.

So, I hold that Nigeria's redemption lies in a commitment by the Nigerian to using one's intellect in adherence to the highest moral principles to deal with everyday problems. I'm working on it myself. I hope that when my kids are adults, this Nigeria that I know will be a very distant and hazy memory for them.

Amen oh! amen.

@JeSoul

My thoughts on the government: I know that there's a lot that I don't know, but I know that what Jonathan attempted to do was to limit tenures to one term of six years (I think, for the president and governors, don't remember about the house of assembly). He held that the fight for a second term prevented political office holders from doing their jobs and diverted public funds substantially. Obviously, the powers that be murdered that baby. GEJ might have made a bunch of mistakes and pursued paths that I have not always agreed with, but I think the man is a breath of fresh air to Nigerian politics. In my opinion, he's brought more honesty and comradeship to governance than any president before him. Even his moves have served to involve Nigerians more powerfully in their home politics. We used to be an extremely fatalistic people who just didn't give that much of a damn about anything the government did. But GEJ appears to have the effect of rousing Nigerians and making them respond. I'm completely at home with that.

Thanks for the correction on this part. I'll attempt to point out some shortcomings in this...

Consider the tumultuous circumstances under which he assumed the role of presidency - for one of his first actions as head-of-state to be mullings on presidential term limits - which could obviously be construed as an attempt to lengthen his own stay in power - is a terrible case of misplaced priorities. Even if his intentions were noble, perception matters. Secondly, if the argument was to force leaders to be more productive while in office, its a redundant one - this is what the electoral process exists for to begin with! to hold leaders accountable and vote them out if they don't do the job well. There is already a check in place to address this.

Thirdly & most importantly, was stops an elected official from condensing his looting to 6 years instead of two 4-yr terms? A looter will loot regardless. Limiting the terms to 1 and extending the length of tenure to 6yrs is a meaningless numbers exercise. If you give me a million bucks, I can blow it just as easily in 1month as I can in 1year.

On the other aspect you spoke about, GEJ being a sort of galvanizing political figure that engages previously uninterested people - I hope you're right. I'm sure he's done some good, but the criticisms from many who supported his presidential bid are pretty hard to ignore.

wiegraf: A truly terrible thread. Religious people with common sense is bad for business

Lol...see this boy.

---

and my dear Chris shows up

Chrisbenogor: Jesoul,
There is a reason I follow just you on this forum and your post right there......(Errrr you get twin sister biko )

lol...you've always been so generous with me, I so appreciate you dude (wish you'd come back to posting here often too).

I totally agree with you, no one needs donkey years in this country to understand Nigeria and Nigerian politics. In the simplest and crudest forms you have explained what Nigeria is.
What you see as governance is a reflection of who the people are as individuals. The Government did not spring from Atlantis, they were once part and parcel of the common man. Our values as Nigerians are skewed and I say it here today the average Nigerian is the reason why Nigeria is as terrible as it is today.
The situation of things might make it seem to an outsider that there is an elite group of bad people oppressing the good people of Nigeria but that's not true at all. Well there is a group of bad people who rode on the greed, dishonesty, tribalism of their peers to achieve an elite status. They then proceed to make sure that they deprive the rest bad people of the chance to achieve the elite status. Lemme break it down to some events,
VIOLENCE:
Someone here mentioned the ALUU 4, that event showed just how far we have been frustrated as a people, to the extent that we now behave as savages. Some weeks prior to that event someone made a thread about how violent our society was, lynching and burning theives has not been something that shocked an average Nigerian. So watching comments pouring in about how wicked the killers were would have given the false assumption that oh Nigerians were finally getting in touch with their humanity. But was that really true? Well asides from the fact that 40 people were killed in their own rooms a couple of days earlier and it did not gather as much media frenzy, there was an assumption that the boys were "innocent", would a regular theif have gotten a humane treatment from those crying foul? The answer was evident when students took their turn and destroyed and burnt houses, they made pages of comments cheering saying they had it coming. Sad but that is the state of things today.

Very very well pointed out. And to be honest some of the brutal responses to the incident has inspired shivers down my spine. It would've not nearly been as 'savage' & 'babaric' if the men were established as thieves.

HONESTY AND DIGNITY
These words are missing in the Nigerian dictionary, it sad but Nigerians have done nothing to dispel that myth. I will take your mind back to two examples of this, during the elections I worked quite closely with the youth corp members who were in charge of polling stations mostly in the south and I don't want to go into the gory details but if you are looking for a revolution or a change coming from the youth? Forget it, so many Nigerian girls would readily betray their families for a blackberry torch ( maybe na Ipad now).
In ahaoda of rivers state a tanker fell, people rushed to scoop petrol it caught fire and killed more than 200 people, a week or so later a tanker was set ablaze at eneka near ph, just say 45 mins from AHaoda and people still jumped out to scoop the product. When one is ready to risk his life like that even after the event of the past week was fresh in their minds shows that their moral fabric is in tatters.

na wa oh. Its sad. Why are we raising kids that get more & more corrupt by the generation? kai! a long hard look in the mirror nigeria, a long hard look. Is honesty encouraged? is there motivation to do the right thing? is dignity recognized? on the national level? why would any child want to be honest when it does not pay?

SUCCESS
To "hammer" is the meaning of success to the average Nigerian. Not living a good comfortable life, normal is not the goal, mega is the only option. This is one of the reasons why David oyedepo has made it, all Nigerians want to be prosperous even if it is at the detriment of their fellow Nigerians. The guy walking envies the man on the okada who in turn envies the man in the toyota camry that nearly splashed water on him, the man in the camry is thinking if only I could be in that range rover just in front of me while the man in the range rover wants to be like the guy with 20 cars in his convoy.
We waste the little we have just to be among the psychological caste system that we have built for ourselves. The bride in a traditional average wedding ceremony wants to change 4 times to different attires shoes and bags, the couple want to hire a mighty hall print expensive cards, have at least two catering firms to take care of the food, invite wizkid to sing Me I dey dance pakurumo
\=))_
((
<,'\/‎​ pakurumo pakurumo ojo dada!.
So how on earth would any sane Nigerian expect those that control the commonwealth of the country to be prudent and not spend one billion to chop isiewu in 2013?

Lol. Infact ehn, you have said it all. The funny (or not so funny) thing is these undesirable characteristics of greed, lust, envy & covetousness are certainly not unique to only nigerias - its a problem to all men. But the prevalence of this mindset in naija is what is scary. I wonder why? or maybe I really don't.

Life as a Nigerian has got to be enough for someone to do a Phd thesis on, I really don't know how to say I have hope, because I don't know what I am hoping for. Things have fallen apart, a long time ago.

lol, you already have.

@Jesoul
My dear, work has been crazy. I read a lot and post from time to time but not as frequently as I used to. Some topics move me enough to reply though. I am totally confused about this Nigeria issue. Everywhere I turn it seems to get worse.
As for GEJ, I don't even want to start. Make I d̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣γ̲̣ read d̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣γ̲̣ go. Hope you are good, nice to hear you showed up in naija.

JeSoul: You try oh lol...optimism is good.

I'm sorry that you think it's mere optimism. I am a Christian, JeSoul, and my faith rules all that I do and say. There is no dichotomy for me between Christ and the circumstances of life. As long as there is one untried solution to Nigeria's problem and a will to pursue it, there is hope. It's not really mere emotional optimism. Unless of course you mean, hope, by which I mean godly hope that maketh not ashamed.

Interesting point. I get what you mean by not directly 'comparing' because afterall we are a different people with different values and different cultures. At the same time, I do think it is fair to see how Naija "measures up" against similar countries. I spent time in Ghana as well and I can tell you the difference is like night & day - in terms of just mentality alone. At this point nigeria ought to be leading the charge of african countries.

I am not saying that we should not say "Nigeria, Ghana is doing great, you should be too". I am saying that we should not say, "Nigeria, you're a waste of time. Just look at Ghana: wasn't she so and so and now she is . . . and you are still . . ." One is an excuse, the other is pep talk. I'm sure you can tell which is which. The fact is that Nigeria is not what or where she can and should be, but there's no sense in overflogging that.

Can you please expand on this part? not sure I fully understand, thanks.

We already talked about peculiarities. That's what I mean. Say, the average Nigerian is an extremely self-centered douche bag, is that the whole story? No. There is a why. It could be a survival mechanism. If it is, then, anyone who wants to work on Nigeria would be better off factoring in the reason of this self-centeredness. Such a person would have to indicate very overtly that he can be trusted with the average Obi's problem of survival. If he does not, whatever he attempts to do with Nigeria will fail on that point. Obi will steal every resource entrusted to him the first instant he touches it. But if Obi's fear is evidently accounted for, Obi will be more likely to be helpful.

Amen oh! amen.

Same thing God's saying to HIs children

Thanks for the correction on this part. I'll attempt to point out some shortcomings in this...

Consider the tumultuous circumstances under which he assumed the role of presidency - for one of his first actions as head-of-state to be mullings on presidential term limits - which could obviously be construed as an attempt to lengthen his own stay in power - is a terrible case of misplaced priorities. Even if his intentions were noble, perception matters. Secondly, if the argument was to force leaders to be more productive while in office, its a redundant one - this is what the electoral process exists for to begin with! to hold leaders accountable and vote them out if they don't do the job well. There is already a check in place to address this.

Thirdly & most importantly, was stops an elected official from condensing his looting to 6 years instead of two 4-yr terms? A looter will loot regardless. Limiting the terms to 1 and extending the length of tenure to 6yrs is a meaningless numbers exercise. If you give me a million bucks, I can blow it just as easily in 1month as I can in 1year.

On the other aspect you spoke about, GEJ being a sort of galvanizing political figure that engages previously uninterested people - I hope you're right. I'm sure he's done some good, but the criticisms from many who supported his presidential bid are pretty hard to ignore.

I get what you're saying and in very large part I agree with you. In fact, his maiden president's media chat did not impress me at all. I was extremely furious watching it. Regardless, there's more to the office of the presidency than the expectations people may have of it. I'll go a little further later. gotta run.

JeSoul: You try oh lol...optimism is good.

I'm sorry that you think it's mere optimism. I am a Christian, JeSoul, and my faith rules all that I do and say. There is no dichotomy for me between Christ and the circumstances of life. As long as there is one untried solution to Nigeria's problem and a will to pursue it, there is hope. It's not really mere emotional optimism. Unless of course you mean, hope, by which I mean godly hope that maketh not ashamed.

Interesting point. I get what you mean by not directly 'comparing' because afterall we are a different people with different values and different cultures. At the same time, I do think it is fair to see how Naija "measures up" against similar countries. I spent time in Ghana as well and I can tell you the difference is like night & day - in terms of just mentality alone. At this point nigeria ought to be leading the charge of african countries.

I am not saying that we should not say "Nigeria, Ghana is doing great, you should be too". I am saying that we should not say, "Nigeria, you're a waste of time. Just look at Ghana: wasn't she so and so and now she is . . . and you are still . . ." One is an excuse, the other is pep talk. I'm sure you can tell which is which. The fact is that Nigeria is not what or where she can and should be, but there's no sense in overflogging that.

Can you please expand on this part? not sure I fully understand, thanks.

We already talked about peculiarities. That's what I mean. Say, the average Nigerian is an extremely self-centered douche bag, is that the whole story? No. There is a why. It could be a survival mechanism. If it is, then, anyone who wants to work on Nigeria would be better off factoring in the reason of this self-centeredness. Such a person would have to indicate very overtly that he can be trusted with the average Obi's problem of survival. If he does not, whatever he attempts to do with Nigeria will fail on that point. Obi will steal every resource entrusted to him the first instant he touches it. But if Obi's fear is evidently accounted for, Obi will be more likely to be helpful.

Amen oh! amen.

Same thing God's saying to HIs children

Thanks for the correction on this part. I'll attempt to point out some shortcomings in this...

Consider the tumultuous circumstances under which he assumed the role of presidency - for one of his first actions as head-of-state to be mullings on presidential term limits - which could obviously be construed as an attempt to lengthen his own stay in power - is a terrible case of misplaced priorities. Even if his intentions were noble, perception matters. Secondly, if the argument was to force leaders to be more productive while in office, its a redundant one - this is what the electoral process exists for to begin with! to hold leaders accountable and vote them out if they don't do the job well. There is already a check in place to address this.

Thirdly & most importantly, was stops an elected official from condensing his looting to 6 years instead of two 4-yr terms? A looter will loot regardless. Limiting the terms to 1 and extending the length of tenure to 6yrs is a meaningless numbers exercise. If you give me a million bucks, I can blow it just as easily in 1month as I can in 1year.

On the other aspect you spoke about, GEJ being a sort of galvanizing political figure that engages previously uninterested people - I hope you're right. I'm sure he's done some good, but the criticisms from many who supported his presidential bid are pretty hard to ignore.

I get what you're saying and in very large part I agree with you. In fact, his maiden president's media chat did not impress me at all. I was extremely furious watching it. Regardless, there's more to the office of the presidency than the expectations people may have of it. I'll go a little further later. gotta run.

Ihedinobi: I believe that Nigeria's redemption lies in business.

You are sounding like Romney. lol

But seriously,there is no conducive environment for running legitimate profitable businesses for the long term.
The environment is extremely hostile for the building enduring wealth-creating tendencies.
Business in Nigeria is "Kill,Chop & Go".

The problem with Nigeria!!!

Over-reliance on religion to solve the issues we can solve.

Greed caused by decades of corruption that trickled down to the average citizen. (I blame Babangida for setting the benchamark!, there was corruption before him but he institutionalized it)

Ignorance.

And a lot more.

Oh one more thing, the disturbing symbolic image of Jonathan kneeling before a Pastor sums up the state of Nigeria, the iron age state, shows how far we are behind.

We can all hope and keep hoping till thy kingdom come. Thy kingdom better come fast, because, the future doesn't look pretty.
The nations that are prosperous, all the nations that are just emerging from entrenched poverty like Brazil, India, etc, did not achieve these feats by merely hoping. There is nothing miraculous about attaining national prosperity.
Our pioneer elites were too simple minded , myopic and extremely selfish to have laid the foundations for a prosperous future.
For example, we conduct a hundred times the volume of trade with nations 10,000 kilometres away than we do with our regional West African brothers.There are no rail links between Nigerai and our neigbors in the West, East or North, just like the British and French colonialist wanted and left it.

Our educational system was tailored to produce clerks for the colonial administration, and not thinkers. 52 yrs later,We have not changed the basic platforms of that educational system. Our police force was modelled and the force trained to pacify native agitations, they were trained and housed in barracks, isolated from the greater community, and encouraged to see the greater community as the enemies. That system remains firmly in place 52yrs after the departure of the colonialist. Just go to police college at Ikeja and see how our policemen are trained.

I was on recent flight from Dubai to lagos, and two-thirds of the passengers were Fillipinos working in our oil sector. I was burning with rage inside. For a country with tens of millions of unemployed youths and graduates, how can, just how can our government allow foreign Companies to bring in Fillipino workers to take jobs that should naturally be reserved for Nigerians? I wondered if at all there was anyone out there looking after the interests of Nigerian Youths. Where is the leadership?

Back to the issue of youths and hope. Sorry to burst everyone's bubbles, but the futere, the foreseable future looks very very bleek? Why?
The educational output, the youth culture tells us clearly what to expect in the future.
India has been slowly but steadily pulling 600 million of her poor out of poverty through a solid and consistent investment in education over the past 40 yrs. Same with China, Taiwan, Korea.

At what point will our leaders realize that education is the great equalizer? Sincere and committed Investment, and a complete remodelling of our educationa priorities is the only messiah and hope for a better nation in the next 30yrs or so. Without that, I really cannot imagine what it is going to be like.

I remember when I first returned to Nigeria In 1994, I was alarmed that all the factories and warehouses in my old neighborhhods in Ikeja and Oregun areas of Lagos had been taken over by Churches, and, ironically, everyone was shouting halleluya.
I remember shaking my head in horror, and telling my cousin that this country was in deep deep trouble.

Things have gotten a lot worse since then, and ofcourse, the Shouts of Halleluya have also gotten much more frenzied and louder.

Thanks Plaetton. I couldn't have put it better.

Basic cultures are incompatible imo. Problem identified? The hausa man thinks it should be solved this way, yorubas that way, enter ibos, then the motley crew. In many cases, what one views as a problem is certainly not so to other tribes. Even western nations that are supposedly more mature than us would have problems in these conditions. We need to split up.

I concur. Let every tribe be on their own. Then maybe they'd be forced to survive.

Warning: this may sound a bit harsh...
What if more financially stable members of a family stopped giving out handouts or 'use this one manage' packages to less financially stable members within the extended family?
Would any of you agree that these packages, in a sense, have shielded most from the harsh effects of government's failures?

wiegraf: Basic cultures are incompatible imo. Problem identified? The hausa man thinks it should be solved this way, yorubas that way, enter ibos, then the motley crew. In many cases, what one views as a problem is certainly not so to other tribes. Even western nations that are supposedly more mature than us would have problems in these conditions. We need to split up.

Like any bad marraige, if we are not couragous enough to opt for divorce, then we should be able to commit ourselves to making it work.

wiegraf:
Even western nations that are supposedly more mature than us would have problems in these conditions. We need to split up.

Just imagine a country made up of frenchmen, germans and englishmen and try to imagine that there will be no conflict.
That's the same thing that Lugard did by making Yorubas, Igbos and Hausas one country as if these tribes didn't have enough difference within themselves already. Add the ignorance of the judaic myths and bad governance.......

The only shining light I can think of is social media. The pathologically blind should now be able to communicate with their neighbors and realize said neighbors aren't the devil's offspring. Then again even NL, which is all about the universally loved money, couldn't manage it (I'm looking at you particularly, 'islam for muslims'). If ever one needed proof that there are limitations to even the power of communication, which social media engenders brilliantly, well.
The other issues become magnified against this backdrop of mistrust, self-preservation in particular causing untold amounts of woe. Education may be able to do only so much, it might not be the ultimate panacea.

@plaet I'm too much of a theorist, so I don't think that way. Looking at the numbers, history of other countries as well as ours, etc, it just doesn't seem possible to reasonably progress even if we really tried. I think all we'll do is postpone the inevitable self-destruct.

We can't even decide on what 'reasonable progress' is. Ultimately we may all sort of want the same thing, but methods used to achieve this? Hahahaha, no. I want a peaceful society, how do we achieve this? 'A' is adamant sharia will work, 'b' says secularism. Throw god into the issue of ultimate purpose as well, complicating the issue just a bit more. People now living their lives to please him/it. Makes for some delicious pepper soup (not the good type mind you)

Random: humans would use hair color to draw the 'them' and 'us' lines if there were nothing else readily available. We, 9ja, have done rather well lasting this long. It's an enormous accomplishment, we can actually claim to be rather mature. It could be we're too lazy or incompetent to go about dividing the country though. Or the north is not as silly as it's reputated to be and will only let go of the oil money when it's cold, dead and buried.

Maybe in the future we will willingly decide to form a union. And even at that, look at the EU.

Opinions, opinion, opinions...

Chrisbenogor: @Jesoul
My dear, work has been crazy. I read a lot and post from time to time but not as frequently as I used to. Some topics move me enough to reply though. I am totally confused about this Nigeria issue. Everywhere I turn it seems to get worse.
As for GEJ, I don't even want to start. Make I d̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣γ̲̣ read d̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣γ̲̣ go. Hope you are good, nice to hear you showed up in naija.

My dear I'm good oh. I thank my God . I did have a blast in naija. If not for anything else, the fried snails & catfish stew alone was worth it . I'm glad you're doing well and staying engaged, and hope that paper is stacking .

I'd like to hear your take/challenge to Ihedinobi on GEJ. All the contentious arguements in the politics section sometimes cloud the issue. It's nice to hear what common sense people think.

Ihedinobi (and plaetton, wiegraf, Dare) I'm short on time right now but I shall be back to reply ur post. Thks!

JeSoul: My dear I'm good oh. I thank my God . I did have a blast in naija. If not for anything else, the fried snails & catfish stew alone was worth it . I'm glad you're doing well and staying engaged, and hope that paper is stacking .

I'd like to hear your take/challenge to Ihedinobi on GEJ. All the contentious arguements in the politics section sometimes cloud the issue. It's nice to hear what common sense people think.

Chai, Nna see enjoyment kwa, I hope say you reach nkwobi and isiewu joints oh, if not better book another flight kia kia. Even me d̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣γ̲̣ hope say the paper "is stacking" hehehehe.
Hmmmmmm Ihedinobi, well make I try.

Ihedinobi: I believe that Nigeria's redemption lies in business.

First off let me say I respect your religious beliefs and your faith. What I am going to try and do however is stick to the facts as they are because I am not one for wishful thinking.
After my run in with discovering myself religion wise and my deciding to drop it in 2008, my subsequent anger at religious folks for lying and deceiving people, I have reached a stage in my epiphany which is simple.
"There are good people and there are bad people"
It doesn't matter what they believe, what they claim they practice, the good ones are good. The bad ones however would find ways to be bad, this is all so evident in Nigeria especially in the business of selling hope which is evident in the proliferation of those that are "called" today.
I however would like to keep this discussion away from all that and focus on that which we can see daily.
I had the very unintersting experience of doing business in Nigeria recently. Nine times out of tenwhen you have to buy something in Nigeria do you ever ask if "its the original".
I tried to buy a used car recently in Nigeria and I tell you its one thing that would show you how much we have no moral dignity in this country and what people will do for a quick buck. While in the US you could walk into a car dealership and get the exact history of a car (at least to the best of my knowledge and the ones I checked), if it was damaged anywhere or salvaged you would know. But again the hassles of importing and clearance made me decide to get it in lagos.
When I arrived lagos I was taken to meet a guy who would guide me through my search and I don't want to go into the sorry details but suffice to say after 5 days of searching I gave up.
Doing business in Nigeria and making it legitimately without cutting corners has got to be a sleight of hand that houdini would have loved to learn. 99 percent of businesses running in Nigeria are just......
I once had this friend who does supplies, and he told me the story of how this very big Supermarket in port harcourt went to Aba to get things, stocked them up like they were "original" and slapped exhorbitant prices on them, unsuspecting Nigerians in the bid to avoid these Aba substandard products still go there and get ripped off.
So I don't know where your optimism is coming from, petrol stations on January 1st this year all turned their pumps to 140 naira per litre even when they knew fully well the products the bought they got at 97 naira per litre. What does that say about us as a people?
I am sorry but each time I hear the whole I have faith and I serve a living God I cannot help but scoff because I know these same people would go back to their rip off businesses come monday.
Simple question is this how many small businesses in Nigeria pay tax?
Goods in most countries in the world come from china, but our Nigerian business men go there and make sure they get sub standard goods for a massive profit. I am sorry but I refuse to share your optimism about business being the hope for Nigeria.


As for GEJ, that's another epistle on its own.

I saw this thread a while ago and wanted to contribute something but was pressed for time.

The little bit I want to say is about an ugly personal experience which says a lot about security and violence in Nigeria.

About two and a half months ago, I went out for a friend's birthday dinner somewhere in Ikoyi. It was a pleasant evening and we chatted late into the night, eventually leaving Ikoyi at about midnight. As my friend didn't drive, I was going to drop her off at home along the Lekki axis and then return to Victoria Island where I live. The road being good, open and well lit, I had no concerns whatsoever about any security problems. I have hardly heard of any security problems on that road anyway, and being a chronic lover of the night, I am more than used to driving in the dark.

In just about ten minutes or so we had arrived at the estate where my friend was residing. It's a gated estate and they have these OPC guys guarding the estate. I thus was not surprised, when, after honking, an armed man came out of the gate. I put on the car's inner lights and wound down and explained to him that I was just dropping my friend off and would be right back. He said ok, and opened the gate. From that point it took me just about five minutes to drop off my friend and get back to the estate gate.

When I got to the gate, the same man who had let us in stood in front of my car pointing his gun straight at me. At this point, I still did not think there was anything amiss. I simply thought he was an over zealous OPC security guard. I put on the inner lights again and mouthed that I just came in to drop someone, and would be leaving now.

He simply shouted at me - "Will you come down now or I blast your head off!"

It was only at that point that I looked around the car and to my shock, there were about ten heavily armed men surrounding the car, all with raised automatic rifles pointing at me. Two of them were now banging the windows saying that if I move an inch they would shoot into the car.

To be honest, i didn't budge at first. I just sat there contemplating my options. My car is a very large 4 x 4 and I was seriously contemplating stepping on it and blasting them right out of my way and right through the gate. I have in the past been attacked by armed robbers and on each occasion I shocked the robbers with some serious James Bond Driving and got away clean. However something just told me (and I thank God I did not try it, as later events showed) to just play it cool and do as they said. So I came down from the car.

As soon as I came out, they attacked me with the butts of their guns and bundled me into the boot. They then reversed the car and parked it in a corner. At this point I could see them mulling about the first house in the estate. Then they produced a very large iron hammer (someone later told me its called an "Adam's Hammer", I don't know, but it was the largest hammer I have ever seen in my life. It took two of them to hold it.) With the hammer they blasted open the gate and told the security men to lie down on the floor. Then they brought me out of the back of the car.

My friends, this was how these guys took me at gun point on a three hour robbing, killing and ra.ping spree, never letting me out of their sights and holding me at gun point into each of the houses they broke into.

In the first house, after robbing the house, they shot dead one of the security men, for reasons I don't know.

Thereafter, I was bundled into the back of my car and all ten of these guys somehow crammed into the car. About three of them were bundled in the back sitting right on my head, about four in the rear seat and three in front. They sped out of the estate gate and from that point all the way to the lekki expressway, put their guns out of the windows and began shooting indiscriminately into the air. It was the loudest and most present show of gun fire I have ever experienced in my life, simply harrowing. At the same time I thought to myself that it would be ok if they just shot me: I have not had the best of years this year, and being put out of misery was not altogether the worst thing I could think off. So with this flurry of gunfire, I strangely became calmer and sort of resigned to whatever would happen.

They drove for a while and entered another neighborhood. Same thing again - they parked outside a house - a very large and well fortified house. Jumped out, bringing me along at gun point. I kept begging them to take things easy, to relax and not to kill me. I was asked to shut up or be shot. I was amazed at the ease with which they broke into the house. Again the hammer. One slam and the gate flew open. They took the hammer inside and to my shock, just three giant slams and the window beside the frontdoor was thrashed, buglar-proofing, wall and all. Inside the house they broke down all the doors in the same way, robbed three expats in there, beat them quite a bit, and then took their car keys. They then drove the expats car out and parked beside my own and then attacked the next building. In this instance one of them simply climbed the wall and pointed a gun to the guard there and asked him to open the gate. Again they took me at gun point, this time with the security men from the first building and the present building, they marched us all in at gun point.

By this time very loud alarms had gone off from this house and neighboring houses and I was surprised that they seemed unperturbed. They took the hammer again, two big slams and the sliding door (and buglar proofing) gave way with a deafening crash and they entered the house. I was asked to lie down on the floor with the security men while they robbed the house. There was only one young girl in the house, she shouted that she had 200k on her, and gave it to them. They then took her into a room and ra.ped her, as she told us after the whole thing was over.

It was while they where doing this in the room that all of a sudden they rushed out and began to seem agitated. They paced around the living room sounding agitated. Apparently the alarms had attracted the neighborhood security guards who came in a while pick up van. It had blinking lights on it and as such they probably thought it was the police.

They all rushed out at once and you would not believe the gun fire that ensued. It was lengthy, horrible and deafening and we just lay on the floor praying for our lives. At some point I heard them speaking Yoruba saying that they must not forget that boy with the Land Cruiser o, make sure you bring him. I just stayed on the floor. Then there was silence.

After about five minutes of silence we all crept out of the house, the girl came out as well and told me that she had been ra.ped and that she and her fiance just rented the place that weekend in preparation for their wedding, and he only travelled to PH on business.

We went to the gate of the house and right there on the floor were two dead bodies. They had shot the security men dead and their pick up was riddled with bullets.

At that point neighbours began to come out and apparently the police were on their way.

The robbers encountered the police in their escape and outgunned them, killing a police officer instantly in the process. That brought the death toll to four.

Sometime later, the police arrived as though they were going for a war. Tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers, more than a 100 policemen. Too much, too late.

Later that morning, my car was found abandoned on the mainland, around Itire / Oshodi. I had used the neighbor's phones to call my family as soon as the robbers left: to my warm delight every single member of my family arrived the scene before five a.m, though they live very far away.

Now, my friends, I come to the reason I posted this story and you will find this quite shocking.

1. For all the huge numbers the police came with, there was ABSOLUTELY ZERO crime scene investigation. Those guys must have left loads of evidence and pointers in their reckless operation and the police just went inside, picked up a bag on the floor belonging to the lady I think, and some bullet shells on the floor. Within two minutes, their crime scene investigation was over.

2. My car, when found abandoned, was towed to a close-by Police Station. I went there that same morning to look at it. It was riddled with bullets as the robbers had engaged the police. Other than this, and the fact that they made away with the remote keys, there was nothing wrong with the car.

Would you believe that by the time I returned two days later to tow the car away - right there in Police Custody, the car had been vandalized, and the brain box and all electronics removed? ? ? The Police said they know nothing about it. Not only this - they then insisted on being given "something" before releasing that car. They said that otherwise, the car will be retained as "evidence". . . or that there is a procedure, etc etc. People, can you believe this? ? ? ?

Now tell, me, if this is the same Police force that is addressing bigger issues like Boko Haram and others, what hope for security do we have in this country, save the grace of God?

What serious change can anyone expect from the Nigerian Police within, say the next fifty years even ? ? ? ?

This is the same way that we cannot expect serious change with Nepa or is it called PHCN. This is the way we cannot expect serious change with corruption. Because overall, both the government and the people lack the political will and thirst for change.

Someone once told me that all that Nigeria needs is for everyone to do the right thing. That, with respect, is a fantasy, and happens no where. What Nigeria needs is a vigorous, people led, determined and sustained revolution with a clear vision defined by strong revolutionary leaders. This needn't be violent: but must be sustained in terms of protest. And that change must start with a Sovereign National Conference. The National Assembly can't do it because they are an interested party: you don't expect them to place sensible legislation which would jeopardize their current millions, do you?

Nigerians have become so used to misgovernance that we now have a twisted worldview which does not recognize "protestable" issues. We accept all the daily nonsense and impunity and simply go home, look for petrol or diesel, fill the gen, and have a good night's rest. Nothing else matters.

But in the Arab world, one man setting himself on fire in frustration led to the Arab Spring.

Maybe I need to set myself on fire.

Deep Sight: I saw this thread a while ago and wanted to contribute something but was pressed for time.

The little bit I want to say is about an ugly personal experience which says a lot about security and violence in Nigeria.

About two and a half months ago, I went out for a friend's birthday dinner somewhere in Ikoyi. It was a pleasant evening and we chatted late into the night, eventually leaving Ikoyi at about midnight. As my friend didn't drive, I was going to drop her off at home along the Lekki axis and then return to Victoria Island where I live. The road being good, open and well lit, I had no concerns whatsoever about any security problems. I have hardly heard of any security problems on that road anyway, and being a chronic lover of the night, I am more than used to driving in the dark.

In just about ten minutes or so we had arrived at the estate where my friend was residing. It's a gated estate and they have these OPC guys guarding the estate. I thus was not surprised, when, after honking, an armed man came out of the gate. I put on the car's inner lights and wound down and explained to him that I was just dropping my friend off and would be right back. He said ok, and opened the gate. From that point it took me just about five minutes to drop off my friend and get back to the estate gate.

When I got to the gate, the same man who had let us in stood in front of my car pointing his gun straight at me. At this point, I still did not think there was anything amiss. I simply thought he was an over zealous OPC security guard. I put on the inner lights again and mouthed that I just came in to drop someone, and would be leaving now.

He simply shouted at me - "Will you come down now or I blast your head off!"

It was only at that point that I looked around the car and to my shock, there were about ten heavily armed men surrounding the car, all with raised automatic rifles pointing at me. Two of them were now banging the windows saying that if I move an inch they would shoot into the car.

To be honest, i didn't budge at first. I just sat there contemplating my options. My car is a very large 4 x 4 and I was seriously contemplating stepping on it and blasting them right out of my way and right through the gate. I have in the past been attacked by armed robbers and on each occasion I shocked the robbers with some serious James Bond Driving and got away clean. However something just told me (and I thank God I did not try it, as later events showed) to just play it cool and do as they said. So I came down from the car.

As soon as I came out, they attacked me with the butts of their guns and bundled me into the boot. They then reversed the car and parked it in a corner. At this point I could see them mulling about the first house in the estate. Then they produced a very large iron hammer (someone later told me its called an "Adam's Hammer", I don't know, but it was the largest hammer I have ever seen in my life. It took two of them to hold it.) With the hammer they blasted open the gate and told the security men to lie down on the floor. Then they brought me out of the back of the car.

My friends, this was how these guys took me at gun point on a three hour robbing, killing and ra.ping spree, never letting me out of their sights and holding me at gun point into each of the houses they broke into.

In the first house, after robbing the house, they shot dead one of the security men, for reasons I don't know.

Thereafter, I was bundled into the back of my car and all ten of these guys somehow crammed into the car. About three of them were bundled in the back sitting right on my head, about four in the rear seat and three in front. They sped out of the estate gate and from that point all the way to the lekki expressway, put their guns out of the windows and began shooting indiscriminately into the air. It was the loudest and most present show of gun fire I have ever experienced in my life, simply harrowing. At the same time I thought to myself that it would be ok if they just shot me: I have not had the best of years this year, and being put out of misery was not altogether the worst thing I could think off. So with this flurry of gunfire, I strangely became calmer and sort of resigned to whatever would happen.

They drove for a while and entered another neighborhood. Same thing again - they parked outside a house - a very large and well fortified house. Jumped out, bringing me along at gun point. I kept begging them to take things easy, to relax and not to kill me. I was asked to shut up or be shot. I was amazed at the ease with which they broke into the house. Again the hammer. One slam and the gate flew open. They took the hammer inside and to my shock, just three giant slams and the window beside the frontdoor was thrashed, buglar-proofing, wall and all. Inside the house they broke down all the doors in the same way, robbed three expats in there, beat them quite a bit, and then took their car keys. They then drove the expats car out and parked beside my own and then attacked the next building. In this instance one of them simply climbed the wall and pointed a gun to the guard there and asked him to open the gate. Again they took me at gun point, this time with the security men from the first building and the present building, they marched us all in at gun point.

By this time very loud alarms had gone off from this house and neighboring houses and I was surprised that they seemed unperturbed. They took the hammer again, two big slams and the sliding door (and buglar proofing) gave way with a deafening crash and they entered the house. I was asked to lie down on the floor with the security men while they robbed the house. There was only one young girl in the house, she shouted that she had 200k on her, and gave it to them. They then took her into a room and ra.ped her, as she told us after the whole thing was over.

It was while they where doing this in the room that all of a sudden they rushed out and began to seem agitated. They paced around the living room sounding agitated. Apparently the alarms had attracted the neighborhood security guards who came in a while pick up van. It had blinking lights on it and as such they probably thought it was the police.

They all rushed out at once and you would not believe the gun fire that ensued. It was lengthy, horrible and deafening and we just lay on the floor praying for our lives. At some point I heard them speaking Yoruba saying that they must not forget that boy with the Land Cruiser o, make sure you bring him. I just stayed on the floor. Then there was silence.

After about five minutes of silence we all crept out of the house, the girl came out as well and told me that she had been ra.ped and that she and her fiance just rented the place that weekend in preparation for their wedding, and he only travelled to PH on business.

We went to the gate of the house and right there on the floor were two dead bodies. They had shot the security men dead and their pick up was riddled with bullets.

At that point neighbours began to come out and apparently the police were on their way.

The robbers encountered the police in their escape and outgunned them, killing a police officer instantly in the process. That brought the death toll to four.

Sometime later, the police arrived as though they were going for a war. Tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers, more than a 100 policemen. Too much, too late.

Later that morning, my car was found abandoned on the mainland, around Itire / Oshodi. I had used the neighbor's phones to call my family as soon as the robbers left: to my warm delight every single member of my family arrived the scene before five a.m, though they live very far away.

Now, my friends, I come to the reason I posted this story and you will find this quite shocking.

1. For all the huge numbers the police came with, there was ABSOLUTELY ZERO crime scene investigation. Those guys must have left loads of evidence and pointers in their reckless operation and the police just went inside, picked up a bag on the floor belonging to the lady I think, and some bullet shells on the floor. Within two minutes, their crime scene investigation was over.

2. My car, when found abandoned, was towed to a close-by Police Station. I went there that same morning to look at it. It was riddled with bullets as the robbers had engaged the police. Other than this, and the fact that they made away with the remote keys, there was nothing wrong with the car.

Would you believe that by the time I returned two days later to tow the car away - right there in Police Custody, the car had been vandalized, and the brain box and all electronics removed? ? ? The Police said they know nothing about it. Not only this - they then insisted on being given "something" before releasing that car. They said that otherwise, the car will be retained as "evidence". . . or that there is a procedure, etc etc. People, can you believe this? ? ? ?

Now tell, me, if this is the same Police force that is addressing bigger issues like Boko Haram and others, what hope for security do we have in this country, save the grace of God?

What serious change can anyone expect from the Nigerian Police within, say the next fifty years even ? ? ? ?

This is the same way that we cannot expect serious change with Nepa or is it called PHCN. This is the way we cannot expect serious change with corruption. Because overall, both the government and the people lack the political will and thirst for change.

Someone once told me that all that Nigeria needs is for everyone to do the right thing. That, with respect, is a fantasy, and happens no where. What Nigeria needs is a vigorous, people led, determined and sustained revolution with a clear vision defined by strong revolutionary leaders. This needn't be violent: but must be sustained in terms of protest. And that change must start with a Sovereign National Conference. The National Assembly can't do it because they are an interested party: you don't expect them to place sensible legislation which would jeopardize their current millions, do you?

Nigerians have become so used to misgovernance that we now have a twisted worldview which does not recognize "protestable" issues. We accept all the daily nonsense and impunity and simply go home, look for petrol or diesel, fill the gen, and have a good night's rest. Nothing else matters.

But in the Arab world, one man setting himself on fire in frustration led to the Arab Spring.

Maybe I need to set myself on fire.

Wow!
You have been through a very traumatizing experience my friend. I really dont know what a negative experience of that magnitude would do to my future outlook and love for my country.
I am glad that you are ok.