We are products of our thoughts, and the more we think and say Nigeria is bad, Nigerians are bad, there is no future for nigeria, our leaders can never get it right, the follwership is doomed etc, the more nigeria slides into that state that you are thinking, one of the root causes of our problems is the way we think, and beginning from our thoughts, we can start setting things right. The truth about it is that the situation is not the best at the moment, amd we are not making it better by being negative about it. It will cost us as much as it cost us the equivalient of what it cost to be pessimstic abt nigeria in being optimistic abt it too, let us opt for optimism. When I say think positive, i dont mean saying "e go better" while you believe in ur heart, it wont be better coz that wil never translate to action. I know we are naturally trained to be critical of everything in nigeria, but while being critical, please, be positive. Your thoughts will soon infect that person staying close to you, if you keep on thinking positive. It can be frustrating thinkin positve sometime, but it pays off at the end.


Thinking positive is not the solution, but it will lead us right.
be the incurable optimist

PeeDaVinci:

We are products of our thoughts, and the more we think and say Nigeria is bad, Nigerians are bad, there is no future for nigeria, our leaders can never get it right, the follwership is doomed etc, the more nigeria slides into that state that you are thinking, one of the root causes of our problems is the way we think, and beginning from our thoughts, we can start setting things right. The truth about it is that the situation is not the best at the moment, amd we are not making it better by being negative about it. It will cost us as much as it cost us the equivalient of what it cost to be pessimstic abt nigeria in being optimistic abt it too, let us opt for optimism. When I say think positive, i dont mean saying "e go better" while you believe in ur heart, it wont be better coz that wil never translate to action. I know we are naturally trained to be critical of everything in nigeria, but while being critical, please, be positive. Your thoughts will soon infect that person staying close to you, if you keep on thinking positive. It can be frustrating thinkin positve sometime, but it pays off at the end.


Thinking positive is not the solution, but it will lead us right.
be the incurable optimist

Nigerians are not being negative, they are just being real and honest.

there is a way to be real and optimistic, and that is the path to follow
A glass half-full can be seen as half empty, both of the views are real, but one view is better

Here is a logic I want us to use; How can one think in a noisy room? Worse still, those in that room making that very noise claims it is as quiet as a graveyard.

Nigeria is like that, it is hard to keep positive sometimes, when one is constantly surrounded by negativity.

I can't think positive because the Present and Past leadership of Nigeria is giving me a mental block. They will need to removed physically.

blacksta:

I can't think positive because the Present and Past leadership of Nigeria is giving me a mental block. They will need to removed physically.

tell the dude again.

PeedaVinci - For some of my brothers and sisters, what you are asking for is an impossibility. Asking them to think positively about Nigeria is akin to asking them to commit suicide.

The mistake they make is in equating positive thinking about Nigeria with supporting the government or supporting mismanagement. The government are not accountable to the people, that we already know but the people are not the government. There is a disconnect evident there.

As individuals we can do our bit, such as sponsoring people in education, fundraising for hospitals, cleaning our streets, volunteering etc etc. These things happen in the UK and USA

There are so many contributions that an individual makes to civic society that are not dependent on government.

Truthfully, if these people can't criticise anymore, then they will have nothing meaningful to write about.

@poster

Thank you for telling them.

Yes, in addition to the hefty sums some Nigerians already pay in taxes for amenities still lacking in most places, and the continued foregoing of their share in the countries resources so the money can be used for development, individual Nigerians need to dig deeper and come up with money to help sponsor people in education, fundraising for hospitals, cleaning the streets and volunteer. This is the contribution needed from Nigerians; More money out of our pocket so as to build the Nation, build the very streets we already have paid billions in taxes to see built. We need to take more money from our pockets to educate the masses and build our healthcare system, even after all the money from resources we continue to set aside for the very same each year in the billions of dollars.  Essentially, we will have to pay three times for what we need in that country as that is the only positive way to accomplish things in that same country.

Kobojunkie - You were doing okay, 'till you mentioned taxation.

Taxation is a big problem in Nigeria. The only people who pay the correct taxes if at all are civil servants and public sector workers. As they make up a small section of the employment sector, you can see there is a big deficit in tax receipts. The billions that you allude to in taxation revenue is an illusion.

Nobody is excusing the deplorable conditions, we have said that before but we can't fold our arms pointing the finger of blame, whilst everything around us collapses.

If foreigners can dig into their pockets to sponsor charities like friends of the earth, oxfam, medicin san frontiere, USAID etc in areas like health, education and our environment on projects in our country, why can't Nigerians do the same for their own people? Remember they are doing this for their brothers and sisters not some faceless government.

What about all those multiple national dont they pay tax so what defict are you talking about. Nobody likes paying taxes but one has to be encourage by government ( buidling schools, roads, power stations). Is not the same mad government that gave the vaswani brother 0% importation duty charge.

SapeleGuy:

Kobojunkie - You were doing okay, 'till you mentioned taxation.
Taxation is a big problem in Nigeria. The only people who pay the correct taxes if at all are civil servants and public sector workers. As they make up a small section of the employment sector, you can see there is a big deficit in tax receipts. The billions that you allude to in taxation revenue is an illusion.

I don’t think you have a good idea of how much revenue comes from taxes each year, from the amount paid by small business owners to that paid by larger organizations. Add to that the amount brought in each year from multinationals, and you are looking at billions in taxes paid each year. States like Lagos state make a huge sum from that alone.

SapeleGuy:

Nobody is excusing the deplorable conditions, we have said that before but we can't fold our arms pointing the finger of blame, whilst everything around us collapses.

Requesting that we fork over even more is not only unfair but unwise considering we have records of millions of dollars that have been poured into projects to do exactly the same yet we have yet to record real progress even after all that. I think it is irresponsible to request people continue to pour their hard earned money down the same drain without at least calling that we deal with the main issues and plug up the drain so we will not have a repeat of the old. When that is done, we will find we have no need to ask people to dig deeper but that we have enough funds already to handle all the development work that needs to be done. Pouring money at the problem has yet to solve it, so why continue to prescribe the same old drug which has failed so many times before?

SapeleGuy:

If foreigners can dig into their pockets to sponsor charities like friends of the earth, oxfam, medicin san frontiere, USAID etc in areas like health, education and our environment on projects in our country, why can't Nigerians do the same for their own people? Remember they are doing this for their brothers and sisters not some faceless government.

Have you ever stopped to ask how far the millions of dollars in AIDS have gone to fix the problem?

How much of that money actually gets to where it ought to?

How much of that money comes from Nigerians who happen to live in foreign lands?

Or do you just assume if it is foreigners, it is not Nigerians?

Do you realize how many billions of dollars Nigerians living in foreign lands already contribute to the Nigerian economy each year?

Do you think it is fair to ask them for much more when there are next to no signs that the money they keep sending actually goes to good use?

This is one of the reasons why I ignore people who call for Nigerians to contribute. The rhetoric is usually the same; the message is only a twist on what we have been doing and are sure does not work.

Almost two trillion dollars have been poured into Africa in the name of Development in foreign AID and what has happened to all that money so far?

Do you really believe that asking for more money will now solve the problem?

Millions of people around the world already volunteer their time in the name of developing Africa, what has that done?

Does prescribing we do more of the same really change things?

Prescribing more of the same only gets you the same result. I am actually saying that we do something different, therefore I can't agree that we do nothing. That is defeatist.

The issue of foreign aid is particularly interesting because over 70% of the aid donated returns to the donor country after equipment, salaries and the cost of other technical restitution has been deducted. So there is no way those projects will leave any lasting benefit. If Nigerians perpetrated such an act we know what you would say.

I believe that the country will get better, for that to happen you need to do something. Nobody will give you power, you need to go and get it. 35 years ago apartheid looked like it would last forever, the change will come!, so keep up your 'constructive criticism'

God bless Nigeria.

SapeleGuy:

Prescribing more of the same only gets you the same result. I am actually saying that we do something different, therefore I can't agree that we do nothing. That is defeatist.

What you continue to do is prescribe more of the same things we have already been doing. I know you want to convince yourself that you are saying something new but I am sorry, you are not. And No, I have yet to say doing nothing is the solution. In fact I did mention doing something different for a change in one of my posts.

SapeleGuy:

The issue of foreign aid is particularly interesting because over 70% of the aid donated returns to the donor country after equipment, salaries and the cost of other technical restitution has been deducted. So there is no way those projects will leave any lasting benefit. If Nigerians perpetrated such an act we know what you would say.

No matter how you mix it right now, all AID to Nigeria, be it donated by Nigerians or none will end up the same way. Nigerians abroad currently contribute about 15 Billion dollars to the Nigerian economy each year to the Nigerian economy. Are you telling me that all that money remains within our shores? Even money generated from sales of our resources barely remains within our shores, so what makes you think that more donations made by Nigerians to Nigeria will remain within the shores?

SapeleGuy:

I believe that the country will get better, for that to happen you need to do something. Nobody will give you power, you need to go and get it. 35 years ago apartheid looked like it would last forever, the change will come!, so keep up your 'constructive criticism'

Dude. . . . 35 years ago, Nigeria was in place so far better than it is today. All the contributions in the world have yet to change things, yet we keep prescribing more and more money be pumped in to solve the problem? South Africa’s issue was not solved by pumping more money into the system. It was solved by the people in south Africa getting up to take back the government from the corrupt, power hungry leaders they had. Not until we do something similar will we get to half where south Africa got to or currently is.

No where in any of my posts have I advocated throwing money at a problem. That would be wasteful. I can not accept that we are in our current predicament because money has been thrown at a problem or down the drain.  The money wasn't thrown at anything, it was stolen.

What has happened has been kleptomania, with no concern for projects that will alleviate the condition of the people. We have been crying corruption pre 1960, even declared war against it, to what effect. Has corruption disappeared? no, it has gotten worse.

We have a far bigger enemy and that is wickedness and intransigence to the plight of our fellow citizens. Be it pipeline fires or children dying from preventable diseases.
Have I included the vast majority of upright and decent Nigerians in this kleptocracy, no. I have merely stated that our people are not government. I refuse to condemn all Nigerians for the sins of a few.

Predicting doom and gloom will not help our people, neither will complaining from abroad. We must support our people.

God bless Nigeria

lets us all go beyond thinking positive about nigeria,lets start doin positive things that will promote ,embrace and promote change.we should be able to ask ourselves wat one is contributing to the nation most especially if one is a nigerian youth graduate.

inshort lets find a place we can play our part.in science,sports,leadership,religion,service ,business ,politice and so onlets be a nehemiah in our generation that will build the broken wall of jerusalem.change does not start wit everybody but wit few pple.

be part of d few.

SapeleGuy:

No where in any of my posts have I advocated throwing money at a problem. That would be wasteful. I can not accept that we are in our current predicament because money has been thrown at a problem or down the drain.  The money wasn't thrown at anything, it was stolen.
What has happened has been kleptomania, with no concern for projects that will alleviate the condition of the people. We have been crying corruption pre 1960, even declared war against it, to what effect. Has corruption disappeared? no, it has gotten worse.

I am sorry, what? We have been crying against corruption and that ought to have made corruption pack up and leave? Lol . We declared war against corruption while those who declared the war continued feeding their pockets and you expected that to work? Wasn’t it the same Babangida who declared War against corruption that is considered by most as the father of corruption in that country? Lol  . . .  please stop!!! lol

We have been throwing money at the problem for the longest. Instead of actually attacking the problem at the root, what our government and individuals have done has been to throw money at the problem and somehow sold us the idea that that ought to fix things. From the many rebranding projects to the many projects supposed to somehow make the people’s lives better, money has been at the centre of most all programs geared towards fighting corruption so far. Take the latest rebranding project for instance. No plans to actually go after the culprits or close up the many holes in the system that continues to allow these acts, but the project expects to throw more money at the problem in hopes to magically eliminate it.  

SapeleGuy:

We have a far bigger enemy and that is wickedness and intransigence to the plight of our fellow citizens. Be it pipeline fires or children dying from preventable diseases.
Have I included the vast majority of upright and decent Nigerians in this kleptocracy, no. I have merely stated that our people are not government. I refuse to condemn all Nigerians for the sins of a few.
Predicting doom and gloom will not help our people, neither will complaining from abroad. We must support our people.

The vast majority of Nigerians are not upright and decent. No, they are not. If that were the case, we would not be close to where we are today. Speak to the average Nigerian and he will tell you that in order to survive you have to blend in. The average Nigerian is guilty of fueling the problem and that is a major reason why it is as bad as it is today. Those we have in government are not aliens, they were and are still Nigerians like you and I.


Well, predicting all will magically work out if we throw more resources at the problem will not help. To those who predict doom, I do not have a problem with as I see they have their minds made up. But to those who come in to tell the gloom-and-doomers that they are the problem, then turn around to prescribe we do the same old thing we have been doing for years, I say please enough already. We already know the result of that and where it will get us. No need to continue turning a blind eye to these facts that continue to stare us in the face daily; the fact that more money will not work things out.


Sure, supporting those in Nigeria as we can is a good way to deal but what sort of support do you believe they need? I remember being a part of a group a couple of years ago that sent computers to some schools in Nigeria. Less than a couple of weeks later, all the machines where gone. Some stolen and sold off by the very people who we sent them to. The machines, books and all vanished after less than 2 months. These people even had the guts to demand we send them more and better machines the next time around. I mention this to say that support  is good if the people who you plan to support really need the support you offer.

this thread coming up on the back of the show of shame in Ekiti, poster is practically asking us to be deluded

Kobojunkie- Your response shows that you have given up (i don't criticise you for that). I was going to ask you, why knowing full well that somebody or some people stole this equipment you decided not to litigate.

No doubt you decided that the judicial system was corrupt and there was no chance of you bringing the individuals to book.

You did well to be involved in the project but by not prosecuting you abdicated your civic duty. If majority of Nigerians are not decent as you stated, you help to sustain that indecent behaviour by turning a blind eye and choosing to moan about it instead of taking wrongdoers to court.

The fact that you believe there is no hope for the country doesn't mean that others must also give up. The fact that your attempts didn't work out doesn't mean other people can't succeed.

SapeleGuy:

Kobojunkie- Your response shows that you have given up (i don't criticise you for that).

@Sapeleguy, your response above confitms that you do not possess psychic abilities so I suggest you instead stick to your day job.
You only need to ask anyone else on here to figure out how wrong that statement is.

SapeleGuy:

I was going to ask you, why knowing full well that somebody or some people stole this equipment you decided not to litigate.
No doubt you decided that the judicial system was corrupt and there was no chance of you bringing the individuals to book.
You did well to be involved in the project but by not prosecuting you abdicated your civic duty. If majority of Nigerians are not decent as you stated, you help to sustain that indecent behaviour by turning a blind eye and choosing to moan about it instead of taking wrongdoers to court.

Yet another problem I see here. That someone tells you of a project that went wrong among numerous others does not mean you can then claim to have it all figured out. If you would like to know more of what transpired, learn to ask rather than jump to baseless conclusions.

SapeleGuy:

The fact that you believe there is no hope for the country doesn't mean that others must also give up. The fact that your attempts didn't work out doesn't mean other people can't succeed.

I told you you have a brother here. That you conclude I have no hope for the country confirms that to me. In fact, I will not be surprised if you are both twins.
The point I was trying to make with that little story there was to draw your mind to the fact that as long as the system remains as is, things are likely to go the same way it has and continues to. I happen to know that hundreds of thousands of computers and books have been shipped from certain groups here to Nigeria and Ghana in the years between 2000 and present. Of the many computers shipped to Nigeria, less than 5% went unstolen while over 80% of the machines sent to Ghana were actually used in the schools and libraries they were meant for. To date these groups have been in and out of courts trying to figure out who actually stole their goods. There are even some reports that suggested some of those involved were government officials who OK-ed the deals for the groups to send machines to the schools in the first place.

No, all you came away with was that you somehow had imagined psychic abilities enough to read my mind and my future?
*** Forgot to mention that many of the gloom-and-doomers happen to live full time in Nigeria. Are those sitting comfortable screaming hell as well?

Kobojunkie,

Psychic abilities are not required, your mind set is evident from the submissions you have made. To say that the vast majority of Nigerians are not decent and upright, as you did, is indefensible. In hindsight you may have chosen different words.

To criminalise any nation, especially one you claim to belong implies and connotes that you feel the nation is beyond redemption. In other words you have given up.

I do agree with you that doom and gloom is not location dependent, it is a state of mind.

On this issue we shall respectfully agree to disagree. God bless Nigeria

SapeleGuy:

Kobojunkie,

Psychic abilities are not required, your mind set is evident from the submissions you have made. To say that the vast majority of Nigerians are not decent and upright, as you did, is indefensible. In hindsight you may have chosen different words.

Sigh!!! This is really getting old.
Dude. . . . Again, you fail to read posts without injecting your own thoughts into my words. I do not believe Nigeria’s case is hopeless; I happen to believe our problems can be solved in less than 3 years when we are ready to solve them. Just because I do not buy into your “grand plan” does not mean I consider the situation a hopeless one. Saying that the vast majority of Nigerians are not decent and upright is simply telling the truth. The vast majority of Nigerians are willing to bribe their way through any tight spot they find themselves in. The vast majority of Nigerians are willing to turn a blind eye to injustice just so they do not have to deal with it. The vast majority of Nigerians are unwilling to die for any cause or anyone else. If you would prefer to deny all that so you can claim you are right, and then feel free to go with that. But time after time we have been shown evidence that this remains the main reason why the country remains in shambles.
I chose the right words and meant exactly what I said. I happen to know that majority of us on here are guilty of bribery and corruption. It is a crime and if we had a real effective system in place, most all of us would have had to serve time for such at one time or another.
My not opting to think as you do does not mean I consider the situation hopeless and you do not need to turn to lampooning me now, in hopes you can claim a brownie point or two for your side.

SapeleGuy:

To criminalise any nation, especially one you claim to belong implies and connotes that you feel the nation is beyond redemption. In other words you have given up.

BULL!!

I don’t believe in denying the truth or mincing words when I don’t need to. Has absolutely nothing to do with the conclusion you have so conveniently made above. And so your conclusion has little bearing with my reality.

SapeleGuy:

I do agree with you that doom and gloom is not location dependent, it is a state of mind.

On this issue we shall respectfully agree to disagree. God bless Nigeria

Don’t even sell me that agree to disagree load of bull!!! Agree to disagree implies you have made some point that I do not agree with. You have yet to make your point at all. You have only introduced much the same argument that many before you have and I have provided you with evidence as to why those have so far not worked. What is your point?

Anyways, I understand if you do not want to continue. I am just here to say we are done with doing the same things over and over again, but expecting something new each time we do it. sort of like the RE-BRANDING schemes of the many years. Every administration and group has had one and so far not a single one of them has worked better than the rebranding scheme of Idiagbons time, why? Because he actually dealt with the problems as they should be.

the problem is that we believe that Nigeria cant be better, given is happening now and the trend we are seeing, but should we becuase of that give up on nigeria that we actually are. we dont give up on our children no matter how bad they are (even if we know they are worst criminals, we still have hope that one day they will change), we didnt give up on our life, family, careers, businesses, education, health etc even at points wen we were supposed to have given up hope, we didnt give up on pple in coma - we always hope that one day they will come back to life - why give up on a country that u own and that owns u? the starting point is to change our thoughts, lets see hope, no matter how dark it is, and let the hope we see drive us to act right, let's be the change we want to see- be willing to err on the side of hope. this in anyway doenst mean we should not criticise anybody doing right, but the the critcism be constructive and bring hope to anybody that listens. to think that nigeria wont be better will make us act in the way that resonate with that, and that has never helped us.

God bless Nigeria

PeeDaVinci:

the problem is that we believe that Nigeria cant be better, given is happening now and the trend we are seeing, but should we becuase of that give up on nigeria that we actually are.

The problem is that we believe Nigeria can’t get better? Are you for real? You mean over 300 billion dollars lost to corruption was lost because Nigerian do not believe Nigeria can get better? Are you saying that all the people that were killed during all the riots of the past years died because we do not believe Nigeria can get better? Are you saying that all that is required for the criminals to finally get their comeuppance is that Nigerians start to believe Nigeria can get better? The people should start thinking happy thoughts and somehow the real issues with go away?

PeeDaVinci:

we dont give up on our children no matter how bad they are (even if we know they are worst criminals, we still have hope that one day they will change), we didnt give up on our life, family, careers, businesses, education, health etc even at points wen we were supposed to have given up hope, we didnt give up on pple in coma - we always hope that one day they will come back to life - why give up on a country that u own and that owns u?

A country OWNS you? *** shudders****

PeeDaVinci:

the starting point is to change our thoughts, lets see hope, no matter how dark it is, and let the hope we see drive us to act right, let's be the change we want to see- be willing to err on the side of hope. this in anyway doenst mean we should not criticise anybody doing right,

Let me guess, you get to DEFINE right and we have to accept your definition of that which is right? Lol

PeeDaVinci:

but the the critcism be constructive and bring hope to anybody that listens. to think that nigeria wont be better will make us act in the way that resonate with that, and that has never helped us.
God bless Nigeria

I am yet to understand one thing here. . . who gets to decide what is constructive and what is not? Why is it that in the case of your beloved Nigeria, only constructive criticism seems acceptable for you? Why? That is really weird!

See, this is why I am unable to jump on the “THINK POSITIVE, AND THINGS WILL MAGICALLY FIX THEMSELVES” bandwagon. Nigerians are recorded as the HAPPIEST PEOPLE on the planet already. How much more positive can they get for crying out loud? We are talking of people who grin through most all of it. They practically accept most anything thrown at them out there, if that is not positive thinking/hope at work there, then I don’t know what is?

the same people, the same things said over and over - peeps, anything new in here to say?