texazzpete:

@onyinye
Oprah never did say that. It was reported by one probably inebriated Nigerian, and we went into a frenzy over an untruth.
Nigerians who actually watched that show have confirmed she said no such thing.

Sure sure sure. Doesn't escape the fact that she labled "nigerians" as corrupt. She should have said that "some" Nigerians are corrupt. But she said "nigerians" meaning all. Same with Anderson Cooper. Instead of saying "some" nigerians are corrupt he said "Nigerians" meaning all.

Obama is a typical African with the attending bias and xenophobia.

Thats all there is to it.

Nice pix, thanx for sharing that

My guy all that alone, how cld uh ave been a victim of fraud at the age of 13, when u don't even know what to do with money at that age,

LOL; to each is own.
Let's leave that alone and refocus on the topic.

Obama should have been more sensible.
I still admire the man and without any question he's getting my vote. But Nigerians need to start paying attention; if you don't expect anything, you do not get disappointed.
Obama might not be the leader that expects great things coming from Nigeria; therefore, Nigerians need not to expect much from him as the president of United States.

Sincerely, I didn't know Nigeria's 419 has become this popular, to the extent that Obama referred to it in a public campaign!

Big B1:

LOL; to each his own.
Let's leave that alone and refocus on the topic.

Obama should have been more sensible.
I still admire the man and without any question he's getting my vote. But Nigerians need to start paying attention; if you don't expect anything, you do not get disappointed.
Obama might not be the leader that expects great things coming from Nigeria; therefore, Nigerians need not to expect much from him as the president of United States.

hahahahaha, i feel u my guy, expectation leads to disappointment, and my philosophy has always been dont expect, when it happens, be surprsed and be happy, even americans will be chocked, cos i am sure Obama is not as saintly as he appeared, but he is just better choice than the old man.

Big B1:

Obama might not be the leader that expects great things coming from Nigeria; therefore, Nigerians need not to expect much from him as the president of United States.

You used to be more intelligent than this? What happened? Are you just stirring up a debate to while away time?

. . . . . . . .Thank God McCain now leads in the poll.


The woman is really a disgrace to the already besmirched image of Nigeria.
I dont even believe a toddler in the state would be ignorant of the fact that . . . . .
No presidential candidate is allowed to accept any donation from non-citizens.
Which i believed a supposed educated person like Okereke should be aware of.

This without a doubt is a bloody scam that should not be allowed.
Oh and as for what Obama said. . . . .it was even fair because i expected more.

I've been around for awhile and I've been around the world; I'm sorry, Nigerians are not the worst.

Yup. . . . .I have been to places too and i can boldly say. . . . .Nigerians are one of the worst.
Truth is bitter. . . .I know but lets face it.

The Sly:

. . . . . . . .Thank God McCain now leads in the poll.


The woman is really a disgrace to the already besmirched image of Nigeria.
I don't even believe a toddler in the state would be ignorant of the fact that . . . . .
No presidential candidate is allowed to accept any donation from non-citizens.
Which i believed a supposed educated person like Okereke should be aware of.

This without a doubt is a bloody scam that should not be allowed.
Oh and as for what Obama said. . . . .it was even fair because i expected more.
Yup. . . . .I have been to places too and i can boldly say. . . . .Nigerians are one of the worst.
Truth is bitter. . . .I know but lets face it.

Nigeria will get better

$$Rhino:

Nigeria will get better

That is very sure and certain. . . . . .
But im afraid most folks here would be having 2 to 3 teeth left in their mouths with loads of Grey hairs on their heads when that time comes.

The Sly:

That is very sure and certain. . . . . .
But im afraid most folks here would be having 2 to 3 teeth left in their mouths with loads of Grey hairs on their heads when that time comes.

before nigeria cld be where it ought to be, me and you might be long forgotten.

Man, I really don't care about Obama and his comments.

Don't care if he wins the presidential election either.

The US is already a made country. they don't need my help.

What i find confusing is this Onyiuke of a lady stashing away money for Obama

Obama, who has enough money to feed her whole family for their whole lives.

Hungry children are still abound in the streets of Nigeria but this lady would rather give to the rich

than help her country. Na wa oooo!! This kind of madness is beyond me. This is exactly why Nigeria

is the way it is. Gosh, she really thinks Obama cares about her few nairas?? when he got lots of dollars

Maybe now, they'll know that Americans don't give two shits about them.

NIGERIANS have to get better before Nigeria will get better.

The bad reputation of Nigerians abroad is due to the actions of the individual Nigerians. ie people who were born and maybe raised in the country.

Thank GOD people are using their brain this time.

chiogo:

Man, I really don't care about Obama and his comments.

Don't care if he wins the presidential election either.

The US is already a made country. they don't need my help.

What i find confusing is this Onyiuke of a lady stashing away money for Obama

Obama, who has enough money to feed her whole family for their whole lives.

Hungry children are still abound in the streets of Nigeria but this lady would rather give to the rich

than help her country. Na wa oooo!! This kind of madness is beyond me. This is exactly why Nigeria

is the way it is. Gosh, she really thinks Obama cares about her few nairas?? when he got lots of dollars

Maybe now, they'll know that Americans don't give two shits about them.

U have said it all, and this has been my arguement as well.

tpia:

NIGERIANS have to get better before Nigeria will get better.

The bad reputation of Nigerians abroad is due to the actions of the individual Nigerians. ie people who were born and maybe raised in the country.

Nigerians need a better Nigeria to be able to be good and display what they have, or is it the Nigerians that ought to build roads and make sure there is light for small scale buz, that only starts a buz from the lil money she stole from her husband's salary of 50k a month, pls, give me a break, talk to the leaders and leave the poor nigerians alone

One farmer asked Obama if it's true he refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Obama told the man not to believe that internet rumor: "That is bogus. These e-mails been sent around, each state, depending on what state I'm about to go into, suddenly you start seeing this smear campaign. I lead the pledge of allegiance when I'm presiding in the Senate, so you can see it on videotape. I've been saying the pledge since I was 3 years old. If you get these letters from Nigeria saying, 'We've got a lot of money for ya,' don't give 'em your bank account number."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/927567,CST-NWS-campweb02.article

He's giving the man advice na0!lma0

@bib b1

i dont care about obama,i only care about how we can achieve 24 hr power supply,constant water, better transport system,security,better healthcare etc,these,im sure, mama nse dont give a damn about. what she got bfrom the obama campaign team aint even enuf,they should havr k.o'd her, imajin she even said twas nobody biz what she does with her own money.either this comes from someone that doesnt care about her own country or someone that has lost touch with reality, any way i still suspect real ass foulplay, its fishy

I don't know if most Nigerians, well-traveled and otherwise, actually appreciate the level of our notoriety. Why should Obama not warn his country men about the infamous letters and e-mails from Nigeria? His allegiance is to them and not us, as it should be.
Sure they are lots of honest Nigerians (by the way, the "few rotten apples" thing doesn't fly any more. We all know its a heck of a lot more than that.) but does Obama know the poor Grandma who toils everyday to eek out an honest living for her family? Does he know Iya Risi who treks miles with a basket of tomatoes to the market to earn a living to feed her family?
He knows the big men and leaders who have raped a stupendously wealthy nation and pauperized her once-respected, intelligent and hard working citizens. He knows of Okereke-Onyiuke, a professor, a supposedly well-read woman, head of the Stock Exchange,who, in a bid to massage her typically over-sized ego of the Nigerian public official, knowingly or unknowingly perpetrated a fraud against the people who donated to the fund-raising.
What extreme callousness to raise such a stupendous amount to send abroad, in a country rank with abject poverty and hopelessness.
Respect is earned, not demanded. And we continue to do precious little to earn that respect.
World leaders,more than most, know our incredible potential. It must stick in every right-thinking human being's craw to see how we continue to waste it away.
Of course there are scammers in every country. But our ostentatiousness, and glorification of wealth, whatever its source, have aided our well-deserved notoriety. Additionally, Nigerians generally tend to be quite dynamic and intelligent even when on the wrong side of the law. Our positive attributes that enable us to shine also brings more notice to us when we commit crimes.
B1, sorry you were scammed at 13. What did you lose, your pocket money? My God-mother, who is American, has a neighbour who lost half of his life savings.

Arielle:

I don't know if most Nigerians, well-traveled and otherwise, actually appreciate the level of our notoriety. Why should Obama not warn his country men about the infamous letters and e-mails from Nigeria? His allegiance is to them and not us, as it should be.
Sure they are lots of honest Nigerians (by the way, the "few rotten apples" thing doesn't fly any more. We all know its a heck of a lot more than that.) but does Obama know the poor Grandma who toils everyday to eek out an honest living for her family? Does he know Iya Risi who treks miles with a basket of tomatoes to the market to earn a living to feed her family?
He knows the big men and leaders who have raped a stupendously wealthy nation and pauperized her once-respected, intelligent and hard working citizens. He knows of Okereke-Onyiuke, a professor, a supposedly well-read woman, head of the Stock Exchange,who, in a bid to massage her typically over-sized ego of the Nigerian public official, knowingly or unknowingly perpetrated a fraud against the people who donated to the fund-raising.
What extreme callousness to raise such a stupendous amount to send abroad, in a country rank with abject poverty and hopelessness.
Respect is earned, not demanded. And we continue to do precious little to earn that respect.
World leaders,more than most, know our incredible potential. It must stick in every right-thinking human being's craw to see how we continue to waste it away.
Of course there are scammers in every country. But our ostentatiousness, and glorification of wealth, whatever its source, have aided our well-deserved notoriety. Additionally, Nigerians generally tend to be quite dynamic and intelligent even when on the wrong side of the law. Our positive attributes that enable us to shine also brings more notice to us when we commit crimes.
B1, sorry you were scammed at 13. What did you lose, your pocket money? My God-mother, who is American, has a neighbour who lost half of his life savings.

Nice!! I am in complete agreement with you!

obama is campaigning to president of the US and not president of the black race. it's amazing how nigerians prefer nigeria's corruption record to swept under the rug. obama is a politician and not an activist.

You got it wrong.
Nobody is asking Obama to polish up our image, that's our responsibility; but it is absolutely irresponsible and unnecessary for him to use Nigeria as a nation negatively during his presidential campaign.
It shouldn't have gone down that way.
For God sake, there are tons of other decent Nigerians all around the world doing great things.
It is despicable and unacceptable for him to sink the ship just because of few bad fruits on the board.

Question for you:
Do you really think Nigeria is the only country that has a dark image?
To what extent do you understand the negative effect of Obama's statement on an average Nigerian who is try to do great things or on an unborn Nigerian?

We need to start thinking a little more deeper and understand that it isn't always about you or myself. It is about Nigeria as a nation and the future.

Even as bad as these folks openly despise America or Americans, I can assure you that Obama wouldn't have opened his mouth carelessly like that to talk negatively about folks in Russia or Mexico or Pakistan or Afghanistan or Iran or South Africa, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, even N Korea and many many more.

Regardless of the matter, we (Nigerians) must quickly become mentally matured and learn how to respect ourselves, our country and our people.
Yes, we may not be perfect like many, but we aren't the worst people on earth and as long as there is tomorrow, we must keep hope alive.
If we do not show some respect for that green passport, I guarantee you with confidence that no one else will do.

I think Obama hasnt made his opinion of Nigerians clear enough.

After he wins, then maybe he'll speak clearly and directly so Nigerians can get the message. And in a way they cant miss.

In the meantime, they should keep dreaming.

Obama to Partner Nigeria If He Wins

Senator Barack Obama will partner Nigeria as a major ally of the United States on the African continent if he wins the presidential election for the White House, says his campaign.
Also, the Democratic Party convention opened Monday in Denver, Colorado, with an appeal by ailing Senator Edward Kennedy and Obama’s wife, Michelle, giving a warm description of her husband, as party leaders struggled to unify the party ahead of the general election.
Obama's Foreign Policy Adviser, Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman, told THISDAY that Nigeria was an important country in Africa, not only in terms of its sheer size but because of its growing economy and its influence on the continent.
"Nigeria is obviously a very important country in Africa. It has a growing economy, a large population and a democracy with some bumps on the way. Senator Obama has spoken of the importance of Africa in terms of the growing world economy, the importance of trade, African labour and failed states of which Nigeria is not."
Sherman added that the Obama presidency would support Nigeria in order "to ensure the entire continent the kind of progress that Nigeria is making at this time."
Asked why Obama did not visit any African country during his recent world tour to Europe and Asia, another Senior Adviser to the campaign, Mr. Gregory Craig, simply stated that Africa was important to him.
Craig mentioned the presidential candidate's previous trips to the continent as proof that he would not neglect that part of the world.

http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link="http://www.thisdayonline.com"

Obama's camp must have recognized that Big B1 wasn't too happy with their constant low blow throwing towards Nigeria as a nation and Nigerian citizens.
Nigeria is a great country and Nigerians are incredible group of people; we deserve nothing less, but a complete respect at all time.

It is about time to positively recognize the real Giant of Africa.

I do not know what it is, but something continues to tell me that Sweet Nigeria will be back on top shortly and our bright image on the map will glow once again.
As long as their is tomorrow, we (Nigerians) must keep hope alive and never never allow our nation to be stepped on under any circumstances.

May God bless Nigeria!

@BigB1
Read this

http://odili.net/news/source/2008/aug/15/37.html

It's an article from Reuben Abati on the whole Obama dinner mess.

a worthy excerpt is

'Obama is not running a racist or tribal campaign. As President he will not go out of his way to defend black or African interests. The myth that when our own "brother" is in power, he would defend our interest is a major shortcoming in African politics, but it is a myth that has been exploded again and again. How many brothers and sisters from our streets, residents associations, or professional groups have we voted into power or whose pre-eminence we have celebrated only for them to turn around and disappoint us thoroughly? In South Africa, two black men have been President since the introduction of black majority rule. How much change has that brought to the average black South African?'


Obama is an American. Pure and simple. As an american he clearly feels the need to speak out in defence of his countrymen.
His mention of Nigeria was apt. His message was clear; Do not believe everything you see in your email. There's no point in believing everything negative you read about me in your email. After all, when you get emails from Nigeria telling you you won stuff, it doesn't mean you did

Obama could not use Iran or Afghanistan because there is a shortage of Iraqis or Afghans huddling in cybercafes to send a torrent of scam emails. Nigeria is not the worst country in the world. At least we're better than ZImbabwe or Haiti. But the topic at hand was a discourse on the possibility of false info via email, and there's no way he could have used haiti or zimbabwe in that context as a valid example.


There's some mischief at play here. Every educated Nigerian knows of the sheer flood of emails and scam letters sent out by these Nigerian traitors to Western targets. So why the denial, why the pseudo-patriotic stance?

We will not be on the right path anytime soon. Not when Nigerians try to sweep the problems under the rug instead of solving 'em. Not when 419ers are vigorously defended in all spheres of the nigerian society (yes, even Nairaland!!). Not when Yahoo boys are feted and celebrated in our society.

I reiterate: Obama did nothing wrong. He's a patriotic American. As patriotic Nigerians we should try to fix the problems in our country before we start playing the saint here. Because soon we'll ALL be victims of this 419 scourge.

@ texazzpete

Nice article.

'Obama is not running a racist or tribal campaign. As President he will not go out of his way to defend black or African interests. The myth that when our own "brother" is in power, he would defend our interest is a major shortcoming in African politics, but it is a myth that has been exploded again and again.

Pay attention.
I can careless if Obama defend our interest or not. All I ask for is for him to lay off Nigeria or Nigerians during his presidential campaign. If he has nothing positive to say, just simply stay away.

Nigerians are not beggars; when the time is right, all these super power countries will come back to kiss our ass. Just give us sometime to get it together.

If you don't expect anything, you do not get disappointed.

This was already posted on this tread.

Please, say hello to the writer (Mr. Reuben Abati) for me, he did such a wonderful job.

He must have also spent enough time on this form as well.

Yes, we have nobody but ourselves to blame; but it is also amusing to me that we find it very difficult to recognize the enormous negative effect that could irrupt from a negative statement carelessly made by a potential next president of United States of America (the most powerful man on earth).

Nigerians just don't get it.
You guys wonder why you get on a different line at the airports just because your passport happens to be green; you also wonder why no-one is willing to do business with honest Nigerians all across the world. Well, you haven't seen anything yet, just wait and see.
Things will get worst if we continue to allow silly statement like this to drop off easily on the national TV and don't do anything about it (please, keep in mind that Obama's campaign is being televised all over the world in multiple languages)

Regardless of the matter, Obama wouldn't have made a silly comment about the Mexicans, even if the topic or subject has something to do with illegal Immigrant.

We do not get, but I'm sure that we will get it some day.