It's never too much when we discuss Nigeria. Have I even said anything? Don't change the topic please.

i knew this place would get like this. soon someone who resided in the diaspora would contest for political office and he would be critiqued for ever living outside nigeria. the children of nigerians in the diaspora should just forget about ever trying to help build nigeria cos they would be called foreigners. the hate that would be directed towards them would be so great they would cry on national television. . .


PS: i hope its only the hate thats present on NL and not something that is happening in reality.

Easy, Radiant. Easy.

Don't make it sound like those living outside the country are a bunch of deserters postulating from the comfort of their homes abroad. We 're in this together, and need to join hands with those in the country to effect whatever change we can.

Yeah, the topic is a jaundiced one, but let's use this opportunity to shed light on some gray areas and make those at home more gung-ho about change and development. Not the sort of development that makes every family in NIGERIA a mini-local government providing her own security, water, electricity, and other amenities while the corrupt officials steal the country blind.

@topic, lol **yawns**

must_a_far:

i knew this place would get like this. soon someone who resided in the diaspora would contest for political office and he would be critiqued for ever living outside nigeria. the children of nigerians in the diaspora should just forget about ever trying to help build nigeria cos they would be called foreigners. the hate that would be directed towards them would be so great they would cry on national television. . .


PS: i hope its only the hate thats present on NL and not something that is happening in reality.

@Must_a_far

That's a nice evaluation you made. I pray things don't get to that sorry state though. Yeah, I also pray it's only limited to a few peeps on NL.

TexMex:

Easy, Radiant. Easy.

Don't make it sound like those living outside the country are a bunch of deserters postulating from the comfort of their homes abroad. We 're in this together, and need to join hands with those in the country to effect whatever change we can.

Yeah, the topic is a jaundiced one, but let's use this opportunity to shed light on some gray areas and make those at home more gung-ho about change and development. Not the sort of development that makes every family in NIGERIA a mini-local government providing her own security, water, electricity, and other amenities while the corrupt officials steal the country blind.

I hate when people try to sound all diplomatic about the state of Nigeria. I'm not comparing Nigeria and may be the country I'm in but I'm simply against the way things work in Nigeria. If that means seeing things wrongly then y'all pardon.

I don't see a reason why we don't have steady light in Nigeria, schools shut down for months, very poor health system, unemployment on the rise, all because corruption is the order of the day. Yea, every country is corrupt but I'm sorry for those who think this way 'cause the corruption in Nigeria can never be measured.

We boast about how we contributed to other nations and how we did this and that for other nations but yet we have very little to show as proof of our wealth.
Oil is a problem in Nigeria. That alone is enough to bring shame to the country. Let's not talk about looters and loosers in Nigeria. Seriously, where d'u start and where d'u end?

I do not hate Nigeria or Nigerians but I will not smile at the system. Y'all don't get it twisted.

I get you, Radiant. And you have some valid points. But the way we present our case will determine how folks at home perceive us either as partners for change or deserters.

Partners --> We are in a foreign land, and have the passion for change in NIGERIA.

Deserters --> We jumped ship to a foreign land, and are only content to complain about the living conditions in NIGERIA

We need to involve our folks back home, and that's why I 'm concerned that we don't alienate them. We can't single-handedly effect change complaining from here. The guys in NIGERIA know what they are facing, but we need to tell them it's not normal.

I'm all for change and I don't see anyone living in Nigeria as less human. Hope nobody is offended

The topic has actually changed. . .

NL is there to help ya all

@Radiant.  No one's offended.

I did not start out to derail the thread. The initiator of this thread believed diasporians don't have the current facts about situation in NIGERIA, hence we argue blindly which is funny to him. To him and his supporters, things have improved. Everyone can now generate his/her own megawatts of electricity. 'Palava quench'. In response, I thought it best to appeal to the general body of NIGERIANS (as I 've begun to notice a growing apathy against diasporians in NL) to view diaporians as partners. It's our love for NIGERIA that compels us to be agitated for her.

At the same time, I 'm not unmindful that in the early days, the whites saw AFRICA as a jungle whose people live on trees. I needed to correct any misconceptions home-based folks have about our perception of them. We feel their pains and sympathize with them. We know how things should have been, but are not. So why don't we use this opportunity to engage each other so that this type of threads will stop forthwith?

@Paddy Lo
You’re a typical product of Jubril Aminu’s bog standard Nigerian educational system. All the things the kerosene lamptane smoke had done to your eye sight and brain that you’ve fail to realize that I am only talking about the size of London’s economy and not its land mass size.

@ THE AMAKA,
So you got your broken English Lingo just by watching Nollywood movies you said? You must think you are talking to fools. Funny you didn’t also get Igbo LANGUAGE spoken by your parents every single day of your life but you claimed learn to speak all the perfect Ajegunle’s raw pigeon english from an industry that wasn’t in existence abroad just few years ago. If you were born and bred in United state as you tend to claim, I was born and bred in Mongolia.

Finally, those people who always complain about the agreement here over issues as signs of something wrong with us are only showing all the signs of being brainwashed under years of dictatorship in Nigeria. Disagreement/argument is normal and it’s integral part of every true democracy. But for decades, your junta government apologists had always preached that when you disagree, especially with them, you are being disrespectful or showing signs of disunity. Unless everybody they hear everyone saying oh yeah all the time without question asked.

You should visit BBC’s 606 website or U.K daily Mail web blogs and so many others and see t-he sort of argument ragging on issues. The day everyone start sounding like robot here, I will just quit.

From Radiant

Information officer, please take a chill pill. I call it boasting because you think Nigeria is not that bad only because you enjoy power supply in your area. There are still places in Nigeria that don't have power cables let alone power supply. Just because you enjoy light in your area doesn't mean the whole of Nigeria is the the same.

The government has spent $16 billion dollars on building new power stations and trying to fix transmission grids in the last nine years. What have they achieved? Light in your area?

Please, the situation is very bad and people still live in darkness daily.

You call it boasting because that is the least your brain can process. Information is provided to disprove a misleading information based on facts and the only conclusion is that it is boasting. You are indeed a very smart woman.

Now you talk about $16 billion, this goes to show that you are completely ignorant of the facts and it is the same ignorance that has allowed you to process information wrongly almost all the time.

No $16 billion was used, the total amount of money spent was less than $5 billion and even the same law makers admitted that much and if not for the delay in the power probe (while a lot of turbines were wasting away in different ports) we would have seen an appreciable improvement in power supply.

OBJ though has his faults but when it comes to solving our power supply problem no president or head of state has done more than this man and this is a fact.

So, while your likes rely on rumors, half truths and outright lies to make comments on Nigeria people like us will expose your ignorance anytime we come across them.

From Eziachi

I am sort of disappointed with you Mr. or Mrs. Afam. In all your posting on this particular issue, it’s all about you and only you. And that is typical Nigerian mentality, if I am alright, it mean the country is alright.

In Nigeria you will see their rich men driving in the best choice car swimming it through a gully road and will never see that as an eye sore. He will arrive his mansion, to be greeted and gate opened for him by a guard or a man looking like starved/skinny “Okporoko” from Ethiopia and wearing tore clothes but the big man wouldn’t see anything wrong.

Progress or good tide is not measured by personal comfort of one person but the generality of all people. Its shame to say that it is same source of power that powers Buckingham palace or Downing Street powers the small flat of the least person in England. So it’s not all about you, my good friend, how are your neighbors doing?

Now, you have moved from issues that can be quantified and proven to defender of the masses. Typical Nigerian mentality? Are you a non Nigerian? If yes, then your comment is ok. If no then you are guilty of the same accusation.

Again, you miss the point. Have I told you anything about my personal lifestyle here for you to come to the embarrassing conclusion? The closest thing about me that I have put down here was a proof that power is not almost non existent as many of you who live outside Nigeria would rather have us believe.

I am a realist and have no time for unnecessary lies and sentiments on any issues whatsoever. Do not create diversions. Stick to the issues. Is everyone in the UK connected to the grid? No. Have you burnt down 10 Downing street because of that?

We have over 150 million Nigerians sweating it out to survive and foreigners are trying all they can to get into this country - the same country that a few misguided elements call hell or jungle. Go to airport and see the number of foreigners coming in and the number of Nigerians going out and reconcile the silly statement that you are hell bent on supporting that Nigeria is hell or jungle.

Maybe these foreigners are seeing what you are not seeing. Maybe, your mindset has blinded you to the facts.

From TexMex

Finally, @ AFAM
Please your comments are a sad commentary on your level of intelligence. I had inverter in NIGERIA powered by 6 of the best batteries (Deep-Circle) each costing about =N=45,000 then. I even added generator, but still couldn't use any of my air-conditioners. I sank a bore-hole to make things more comfortable for the staff of my business, but it dried up. What am I saying here? Whereas while electronics and cars are not luxuries per se, inability to get the basic amenities makes owning them a cost center. How many people can afford the added cost of these items?

This is the problem with people that have the type of mindset you have. So, because you could not use your ACs and you sank a borehole that dried up my comments don't make sense?

I will not dwell on the irrelevant question on how many people can afford what you afforded? That has not been the issue. Enough of the diversions please.


@topic,

One thing that is common on this forum is that anytime someone finds it difficult to defend a position he/she turns to insults, lies, diversions etc just to avoid the core issues.

I remember clearly that my first post on this thread was to correct the impression that all Nigerians living outside Nigeria know nothing about Nigeria. I indeed stated that it cannot be all but some.

I also pointed out the fact that those Nigerians living outside Nigeria should stop insulting those of us that are living in Nigeria.

These were the core issues I raised but of course people who have zero integrity had to turn the issues into other things and use the same newly created issues and parameters to debate.

As for those that wonder why their people back home keep complaining and asking for money all the time you should understand that not every family in Nigeria has someone outside that they depend on and some of those that have people would do everything including lies to get money from them.

Meanwhile I am aware of people living outside this country that their families do send money to just to survive even after 2 or 3 years of travelling out.

My position still stands - Nigerians living outside Nigeria should stop insulting Nigerians living in Nigeria. This is simple and this is common sense.

Those that choose to misunderstand, misinterpret or confuse issues should continue but it still goes a long way to show how myopic and ignorant some of us are even when we wrongly assume that once you get outside Nigeria you automatically become a champion.

The never-ending Us vs Them war!
I spent most of this summer defending Nigeria to my family and close friends in the UK and US. So much that I may have damaged some long-standing relationships, all because of this argument that shouldn't really be an argument.

I think, in fairness to everyone, maybe the guys abroad do come down a bit hard on Nigerians, in some cases referring to those of us who live at home as lazy and stupid, and unable to enforce change. Meanwhile, they have had little or nothing to do with the state of the society they live in. Many of them are simply fortunate to even be there, while many of us have had to contend with the crap handed out to us, and try to make something of our lives regardless.

On the other hand, the guys in Nigeria are unfair to dismiss criticism from diasporeans as ignorant and selfish. I have many people, family and friends, who are extremely successful in those nations, and they always criticize Nigeria. They're not hungry to come back home, in fact most are full-fledged citizens of where they are, and don't have any immigration pressures. But they love home, and want to associate with Nigeria and Nigerians. In fact I am impressed that just like Chinese and Indians, we Nigerians are very conscious of our culture and we take pride in displaying it. It makes me proud everywhere I go.

But some of the crap going on in this country is just so wrong, it's shameful to be associated with the country sometimes. And, let's face it guys, our attitudes are terrible. We have a lot of positives, but there are too many negatives, which we need to collectively work on.
In my opinion, the issues around Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, are a lot bigger than mere arguments or rationalization. Heck, I was in Ghana over the weekend, and my opinion was that, it is no different, and very likely worse than Nigeria. My own yardsticks for development, such as infrastructure, massive industrialization, good educational system, public housing, transportation, and healthcare, was obviously absent. They do have power 24/7, but I see that a lot around Africa anyway. Whatever these African governments are doing, it obviously does not add anything to the lives of the common people.

AjanleKoko:

The never-ending Us vs Them war!
I spent most of this summer defending Nigeria to my family and close friends in the UK and US. So much that I may have damaged some long-standing relationships, all because of this argument that shouldn't really be an argument.

I think, in fairness to everyone, maybe the guys abroad do come down a bit hard on Nigerians, in some cases referring to those of us who live at home as lazy and stupid, and unable to enforce change. Meanwhile, they have had little or nothing to do with the state of the society they live in. Many of them are simply fortunate to even be there, while many of us have had to contend with the crap handed out to us, and try to make something of our lives regardless.

On the other hand, the guys in Nigeria are unfair to dismiss criticism from diasporeans as ignorant and selfish. I have many people, family and friends, who are extremely successful in those nations, and they always criticize Nigeria. They're not hungry to come back home, in fact most are full-fledged citizens of where they are, and don't have any immigration pressures. But they love home, and want to associate with Nigeria and Nigerians. In fact I am impressed that just like Chinese and Indians, we Nigerians are very conscious of our culture and we take pride in displaying it. It makes me proud everywhere I go.

But some of the crap going on in this country is just so wrong, it's shameful to be associated with the country sometimes. And, let's face it guys, our attitudes are terrible. We have a lot of positives, but there are too many negatives, which we need to collectively work on.
In my opinion, the issues around Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, are a lot bigger than mere arguments or rationalization. Heck, I was in Ghana over the weekend, and my opinion was that, it is no different, and very likely worse than Nigeria. My own yardsticks for development, such as infrastructure, massive industrialization, good educational system, public housing, transportation, and healthcare, was obviously absent. They do have power 24/7, but I see that a lot around Africa anyway. Whatever these African governments are doing, it obviously does not add anything to the lives of the common people.

No one is against criticisms and every single Nigerian has a right to criticize Nigeria especially when things are not going the way they should.

In doing this they must base their criticisms on facts and more importantly they must not abuse Nigerians living in Nigeria or call our country hell or jungle unless of course all their relations are living in hell.

The issue has been the unwarranted insults by Nigerians living outside Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Ghana does not have 24/7 electricity.

Afam:

Meanwhile, Ghana does not have 24/7 electricity.

Well, I was there for 2 days, and the power didn't go once. For someone living in Lagos, that's 24/7 power!
Though, driving around Accra, you can see generators around, in front of fast food joints and stuff.
On Sunday I sat in one (Frankies, around Osu area), and power went briefly. But I could see technicians working on the pole, installing a new cable.
That made it logical.

The first post started by making generalisation.
Hence their is a feeling of dichotomy in the house(NL).
Nigerians whether home or abroad remains a Nigerian.
We are one and shud rather joins hands together to proffer and implement solutions to our common problem.
One Love.

AjanleKoko:

Well, I was there for 2 days, and the power didn't go once. For someone living in Lagos, that's 24/7 power!
Though, driving around Accra, you can see generators around, in front of fast food joints and stuff.
On Sunday I sat in one (Frankies, around Osu area), and power went briefly. But I could see technicians working on the pole, installing a new cable.
That made it logical.

That's ok. I wasn't trying to state that you were lying. Just stating that even the over 10 years lie by Ghana that it had steady power cannot be allowed to stand due to the fact on ground.

ahaziah1:

The first post started by making generalisation.
Hence their is a feeling of dichotomy in the house(NL).
Nigerians whether home or abroad remains a Nigerian.
We are one and shud rather joins hands together to proffer and implement solutions to our common problem.
One Love.

Yes, we are all Nigerians and that is the reason why Nigerians should not be abusing or insulting Nigerians just because they are living outside Nigeria. This is 100% wrong and cannot be justified.

We are in it together, after all there is a saying that goes thus - "There is no place like home" and Nigeria is not a jungle neither is it hell.

Afam:

Yes, we are all Nigerians and that is the reason why Nigerians should not be abusing or insulting Nigerians just because they are living outside Nigeria. This is 100% wrong and cannot be justified.

We are in it together, after all there is a saying that goes thus - "There is no place like home" and Nigeria is not a jungle neither is it hell.

Afam i think the insult goes both ways just that one is more pronounced than the others due to some factors maybe like the difference in population.

Pharoh:

Afam i think the insult goes both ways just that one is more pronounced than the others due to some factors maybe like the difference in population.

My first response on this thread was to correct the original poster's statement that all Nigerians living outside Nigeria know nothing about Nigeria so I do not support such false accusation even if directed to people who effortlessly insult those of us that are living in Nigeria.

What is wrong is wrong. The insults whichever direction cannot be justified at all.

I respect facts. We cannot depend on rumors or lies to effect change in Nigeria. Sometimes you get to pinch yourself just to be sure you are not dreaming when you hear Nigerians talking about Nigeria.

Afam:

My first response on this thread was to correct the original poster's statement that all Nigerians living outside Nigeria know nothing about Nigeria so I do not support such false accusation even if directed to people who effortlessly insult those of us that are living in Nigeria.

What is wrong is wrong. The insults whichever direction cannot be justified at all.

I respect facts. We cannot depend on rumors or lies to effect change in Nigeria. Sometimes you get to pinch yourself just to be sure you are not dreaming when you hear Nigerians talking about Nigeria.

My brother to be honest with you i cannot deny your last paragraph because i witness it everyday where i am and i always argue with them to see things from a different angle. The sad truth is that almost all of them has lived more that 20 years in that same situation before bad mouthing it now.

The insults are really not justified and i wish it could be stopped right now, what we need is joining your resources together to for a partnership that will be good for the country.

One example could have been analyzing your solution to your energy needs and partner with you to make it more cheaper and available to other Nigerians but it has been misinterpreted as boastful.

@OP; It is not all diasporians that are ignorant of Nigeria.

Pharoh:

My brother to be honest with you i cannot deny your last paragraph because i witness it everyday where i am and i always argue with them to see things from a different angle. The sad truth is that almost all of them has lived more that 20 years in that same situation before bad mouthing it now.

The insults are really not justified and i wish it could be stopped right now, what we need is joining your resources together to for a partnership that will be good for the country.

One example could have been analyzing  your solution to your energy needs and partner with you to make it more cheaper and available to other Nigerians but it has been misinterpreted as boastful.

I am certainly not bothered about misguided comments from people that see my statement on energy as boastful because in life you must come across people like that who would say anything just to make themselves feel good.

About making energy generation and/or storage units or components affordable I do my best in the way I can considering the fact that this is an area where a lot of corrupt people operate so one has to be careful as they would most likely see alternative energy as a threat to their strangle hold on energy in Nigeria.

The average home in Nigeria can afford a generator no matter how small but the average home in Nigeria cannot afford a car so this simple fact goes to show you the type of money those that keep the refineries and PHCN down are making. You don't exchange firepower with armed robbers, you implement strategies to make their activities difficult to carry out.

What does it take to build a wind generator? Basically all the components are around us especially in any mechanic workshop. What are our electrical engineers doing? Waiting for oil companies, banks and telecoms when they can contribute their quota towards solving a real problem and developing not only themselves but their environments.

People talk about inverters as if they are not used in the developed nations.

All the major inverter and battery manufacturers are in the developed countries from USA to Canada and Germany. Many of them are into alternative forms of energy generation from wind to solar and inverter backup systems.

Did these companies spring up to solve the problem in Africa? No. And that is why a lot of imported inverters fail in actual usage in Nigeria because most of the design assumptions used do not hold water down here.

I have had to discuss with many companies including directors of some of these companies who have had to fly down to Nigeria for one form of partnership or the other and all have resulted to no-deal because they are not ready to alter their design and yet want the same ineffective units to be recommended or supported. Many of them turn around and get other Nigerians that do not understand the technology and the inherent problems in these units and make them distributors.

So, if developed nations can turn to alternative energy why can't Nigeria when we have about the best natural resources in the area of solar energy due to the sun we have down here. Even cold climates in places like Germany are investing in research on solar technology and we cannot do anything.

I am a believer in the great potentials of this country. For this country to be great all hands must be on deck to ignore and dismiss all lies and misinformation being peddled by people that claim to be Nigerians.

Who is afraid of the truth? Is there any disadvantage of being truthful? Why must some of us resort to lies just to make our points. The same country they call hell is the same country they cry for help to when they run into problems in their host countries.

Enough is enough. Let those who want the best for this country continue to offer sincere and honest criticisms based on facts.

Let those who depend on lies keep those lies to themselves. Insults directed at Nigerians living in Nigeria by those living outside Nigeria will be challenged at every juncture and roundly addressed accordingly.

Part of the problem is the Nigerian press. The diasporians get their information most of the time, from the press(on the internet). The press most of the time present half-truths with screaming headlines in the name of turnover. Experience unfortunately has shown that bad news sells more here. Sometimes, the newspaper is owned by a politician who at all cost have to further his/her course using the newspaper. Half truths, rumors and sometimes outright lies are picked up by the unsuspecting diasporian as facts.

Many diasporians are even frustrated. Think about it, what do we expect from somebody that left the country because things were very difficult, gets abroad still things are difficult coupled with all sorts of discrimination. You can't come back to nothing( the thought of coming back empty-handed). At every opportunity, he expresses anger. Nowadays internet is the only way to express such.

@Afam, I agree. They should stop the insult.

Its true that some argue blindly but then again it does not mean everyone in nigeria know all about nigeria. I pretty much come on here to learn about things that are going on back home and not to argue.

@ poster

u make me laugh, i am sure i know the 4 corners of nigeria a thousand times better than u do

@Afam Great writeup thanks for that.

@Montega true talk i am here to learn and gain alot not baseless and fruitless arguments.

thank God , the thread is getting productive. @ afam, nice 1, u truly are patriotic . big ups to the diasporans dat calmed things down. e bad as e bad, we are all nigerians.

Let's try to see the big picture.
People are selling all kinds of generators, inverters, and even solar systems in Lagos. You can see all over Ikeja the government installed solar street lighting. Pretty good,but what about the kind of power that is needed to drive massive industrialisation? It can't be done as a ' small-scale business'; it has to be scaled up to what can meet sector demands. Power produced on a large scale can be cheap, support both individual consumers and industries alike, and also be environment friendly.

See here what's going on in California as per solar:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/09/california-to-get-worlds-largest-solar-farm/
Even the natural energy sources, wind, solar, etc, have to be harnessed the way hydro-electricity and fossil fuels have been harnessed- on a massive industrial scale. Else we will end up using what should be a backup solution for consumers, as the primary for everybody. I visited Obajana Cement, built by Dangote, a few years back, and those guys built a power plant to support their production. They were even willing to share some with the surrounding community. I don't know if PHCN ever got round to hooking them up to the grid though.

I heard even in Kwara, there is some sort of IPP generating something around 25 to 50MW. I'm sure you've heard of Bart Nnaji's Geometric Power; now those are the kind of projects we are talking about. But until the government at the very least put a regulatory framework in place like they did with telecom,  we are all screwing around as usual. If they do that, investors will rush in, what with our mammoth population. Then again you see how a nation can't develop based on a splinter of individual miniscule solutions. It takes the effort of a collective.

I doubt you will find any office in Lagos without any kind of inverter or battery backup solution. Ask us in telecoms, asides the normal 2 20KVA generators powering each BTS, (one as primary and the other as a failsafe) we still have inverters and battery backup solutions in place, primarily to ensure the site doesn't go down when fuel runs out in the generators (and trust me they do oftentimes). installed. But imagine if we had provision of cheap stable power, and didn't have to deal with all that extra hardware. Though all the major GSM guys are doing all manner of trials with biofuels and solar power, it is difficult to migrate because there is a tradeoff of having to build smaller cells and effectively more sites, which increases our costs and decreases the QoS to you guys (less effective coverage and more congestion). I read recently that Friesland Foods is even building a power plant of its own

When will this argument ever stop on NL? I must say its very easy to criticize and throw stones. I totally support Afam on the name calling issue. Let these so called criticisms be constructive. All I see here is a lot of hate in many of these arguments, Let's please learn to always focus on the issues as they are rather than cursing and throwing jabs all the time.

Remember No Bodi Holy Pass!

@AFAM

You are misinterpreting things. When I give instances, it is to drive a point home: inverters and boreholes don't seem to solve the twin problem of energy and water cchallenges in NIGERIA. You make it sound like these power sources (INVERTERS specifically) are common place in advanced countries as to be used by companies (and households). Yeah, the U.S. and G20 nations have always been discussing renewable energy. But that's not the point. The point is: People have a large market of electricity providers to pick from, and any use of inverters is to reduce energy consumption (NOT as backup). I even have a friend that installed solar panels, and his reasons are to reduce his energy bills and possibly supply some power to the national grid and be paid for it. On the few occasions where I have come across generators, they are advertised as backups in times of hurricane and other natural disasters (Some 3,000 households were without power when it rained heavily some months ago).

What have I been saying in my posts thus far?
1. Power problem is just one of the issues afflicting NIGERIA. That you run a software company on inverters does not mean you have solved the problem. I don't see your declaration as boastful in anyway, that was why I added the inverter, generator and bore-hole quib to make you know where I 'm coming from (BTW, I 'm into software too).

2. Let's think of how we can forge alliances. I 'm not saying we shouldn't disagree, but it shouldn't be on a 'We vs Them' line i.e. home-based vs foreign-based.

3. NIGERIA is not a jungle. I only get to 'hear' the jungle phrase on facebook. The NIGERIAN friends I have here don't see NIGERIA in such light. Our only concern is that things should work in NIGERIA

Thank you AJANLEKOKO, your post was enlightening. You touched upon some issues I raised in my posts. More posts like this are welcome so folks will know what government ought to do, and not just convince themselves they have it all. Nothing (and nowhere). The govenment needs to get proactive.

Initially I thought it was a societal thing, then a tribal thing, then a Nigerian thing, or maybe a West African thing? Then finally, I realized it was a BLACK THING. A people cursed by their race, regardless of nationality, citizenship or exposure, all by birth are cursed beyond redemption.

I am 22 years old, and well aware of my birth mark, which this thread certainly reeks of. Yesterday my birth mark tried to overpower me but I fought back, I refused to think little of the folks seating next to me, I refused to be condescending, I refused to mock them or the way they spoke of their achievements in order to feel better about myself; WONT GIVE IN TO THE BLACK IN ME.

We are quick to condemn the Muslims we think they are extremists, they rape our young girls and subject the entirety of our nation to undue havoc. But, we also hate the South Africans for being xenophobic, call them rapists, they are violent, dirty and reddened with AIDS, we detest Sony because they reopened an already open can of worms, we call that young man fool because he considered touching his HIV positive girlfriend, we support the pedophile for it is all for love, we are obsessed with marriage, we do not question the man on the pedestal  because he choruses  a certain Jewish name, we hate the way he says odikwa very risky, hate his 3rd neighbour, the one with the H-factor, hate the short lot cos they eat dogs.

We are indeed a sickly cursed race with (apparently) no hope of revival, old young, learned illiterate, Diasporians or indigenes all are guilty.

Please someone tell me, what is the basis of this thread? A 3rd world gathering at its best.

I will like to plead with any 16-25 year olds reading this thread to please desist from joining this useless debate, it only shows you giving into your dirty birth mark (the aggravated compulsion to feel better than the next person) and in this endless quest for relevance, you end up making a huge ridicule of thyself.