₦airaland Forum

4play.
Why did you and co reduce this  Igbo bashing. I guess you did not see CNN's  "How to Rob a Bank" where Nigerians were featured and to my knowledge only 1 Igbo was featured. You  think that only Igbos are spoiling Nigeria's image. Think again, your govs  Alams and Odili are no better.

Instead of commenting of the issue, your first line of attack was to insult Igbos. I don't know why you always have issues with Igbos. Obj, Atiku and Co are stealing money, it becomes a Nigerian issue.

@Londoncool
_{The answer is because Calabar is different from the North,Ibadan,Benin or Lagos. Could the Yoruba's impose an Oba of Ilorin in Kwara State ? To be frank the Igbo's don't need any Eze umbrella to operate under. They are hardworking folks who just want to earn their money wherever they settle and not trying to usurp local authority. The Igbo's by nature do not subscribe to the "Kingship/Eze" thingy, the situation is only political and Chief Ezenwenyi is only trying to score a political point.}


You live in London and still have issues with people because of their ethnicity? Why is that something that is in place in other parts of the nation is not possible in your culture? Why is Calabar different from Bening and Yorubaland? The difference here is that they more tolerable than your folks. Can you tell the reason why Calabar is different from other states in Naija

When did this turn into politics? Eze Igbo is not a political position and does not have any political connection with C/River State. This is why we can never grow beyond tribalism. An educated folk like you is misinforming the people, I wonder what you would do if you find yourself in a position of authority. You know damn too well that Eze Igbo is not coming to take over Calabar, but just for cultural and ritualistic institutions of Igbos like New Yam festival, public reception of prominent Igbo public officials and end of the year party in C/River State.

Let's live beyond our ethnic enclave and see that Igbos are really not the way they are always being portrayed in Nigeria.

take a look at this link

http://www.saharareporters.com/www/report/detail/?id=219


Maurice Iwu- The full story of a fraudulent umpire

The United States called on Nigeria Thursday to give poll observers "full and transparent access" to presidential elections this month that will mark the country's first transfer of power from one civilian to another.

"We encourage the electoral authorities and government to take all possible measures to enhance public confidence in the elections," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

"These steps should include the immediate granting of full and transparent access for domestic and international electoral observers," he said.

Elections for state governorships and assemblies are scheduled for April 14 while presidential and National Assembly elections are set for April 21.

The run-up to the elections have been marred by violence, with five people killed this week in clashes between political rivals.

And a key rival to outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has been barred by the electoral commission from running for the presidency.

McCormack rejected suggestions that Washington was ignoring opposition charges that the ruling party of Obasanjo, a US ally who steps down in May after 16 years in power, was using intimidation and legal maneuvers to limit slates of candidates in the polls.

"In no way, shape or form," McCormack said, noting that the US government had spent some 15 million dollars over the past three years to train election authorities and poll watchers in Nigeria ahead of the votes.

"The United States is a committed supporter of free, fair and open elections in Nigeria," he said.

But McCormack acknowledged that Nigeria was "trying to move beyond its past where the credibility of some of those elections came into doubt among outside observers."

"We have talked to the Nigerians periodically about the importance of having the right kinds of elections," he said, adding that this meant polls that are "free, fair and transparent, not only on election day but also in the run-up to the election."

Nigeria's presidential election will mark the first transition from one civilian government to another in the oil-rich west African nation of 140 million.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070412/pl_afp/nigeriapoliticsvoteus&printer=1;_ylt=AtyRmyRlCrpt2pBy1WncQLqtOrgF

@Obong

^{This is sad.  The ibos in that region have a very imperialisic mentality as is evident in the whole biafra struggle. i have heard about this for some time now as the ibos in that area have tried to move into calabar, the homeland of th efiks and claim it as thers. this could get ugly}[color=#990000][/color]

Point of action correction.  Its called IGBOS not IBOS. If you can call Igbinedion not Ibinedion, Igbobi not  Ibobi, why cant you call Igbos?

I would want to know if you can refresh our memories on Biafra struggle as to why Igbos are imperialistic.  Why do some people like you always portray Igbos as the   cause of South- South problems nay Nigerian ills? May be an imperialist is someone who lives, develops and goes about their normal life in your state.  I do not know any history where Igbos started a communal fight in Calabar.  Igbos have not plundered your resources, Igbos have built their businesses and lives in Calabar. Igbos have co-habited peacefully with indigenes of Calabar  and yet they are still regarded as imperialists. If the truth should be told, people like you are afraid of Igbos because they can overwhelm your city with their zeal, handwork and entrepreneurial spirits. If Northerners could allow Eze Igbo in their states, why cant your Obong do the same? Igbos have Eze  Igbo in Ibadan, Benin, Lagos etc. Not a single violence has emanated from this.  Tomorrow, someone will say that Nigeria is not one; you will shout him or her down.

Afam,

It seems that you are from Enugu.  OBJ helped Chimaroke to fight and defeat Jim Nwobodo and in Anambra State, OBJ helped Ubas to Kidnap Ngige and destroyed  government properties. How do you  define double standard.

chect out this link
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-19165.0.html

backslider,
what's your argument?  point of action correction. leadership is not an institution by God  because there is leadership in Hell. Hitler was a leader and so was Idi Amin.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/business/article01

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that last year remittances by Nigerians in diaspora back home hit US$7.7 billion.

The apex bank also indicated its readiness to surrender its head office in Abuja to the African Central Bank (ACB) anytime the African Union approves the take-off of the continental bank.

CBN governor, Chukwuma Soludo, stated these yesterday in Abuja at the quarterly economic forum chaired by President Olusegun Obasanjo. Soludo said that it was only a matter of time for the CBN to become only a branch of the ACB.

He said that the bank was working toward the internationalisation of the naira and that already, the currency, which had remained stable for months now, was being traded in the international money market.

Soludo said that overseas remittances from Nigerians abroad went up to 7.7 billion dollars last year, an amount that was higher the GDP of 29 of the 53 countries in Africa.

Soludo said that the CBN was also planning to establish an international financial centre in the Lekki peninsula of Lagos and that the centre would be in the mould of similar centres in Dubai and Singapore.

He said that for the country to join the league of 11 countries in the world that had been projected to be among developed countries by the year 2025, it must record an annual growth rate of 12.5 per cent.

He said that it was possible for the country to attain that level because only 40 per cent of its arable land was under cultivation and it was also blessed with many more human and material resources that were still untapped.

"We do not have the luxury of a gradual approach; we need a quantum leap to be there,'' he said, adding that the country was already preparing to work so hard to be able to join the league of emerging developed economies by 2020.

Soludo added that with the national gross domestic rising up to 145 million dollars the country was now at par with Chile and Malaysia, although with higher population.

He said that the country's per capita income had gone up to 1,000 dollars, the level it was in 1980, noting that a lot still needed to be done to further improve on the figure.

In her presentation, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, said that the country had completely exited both the London and Paris club debts and was now left with the domestic debt.

She said that the domestic debts included pension arrears of N75 billion and a local contractors' debt of N300 billion.

She said that bonds were issued to liquidate the outstanding pensions and that those being owed were now receiving their cheque.

In his comment on the presentations, Obasanjo said that the forum would review the NEEDS1 document.

He noted that the implementation was being rounded off while the focus would now shift to the NEEDS 2 document to be implemented by the incoming administration.

i saw this coming and some forumites were shouting crucify him for saying that Transcorp might not be a success

We have to expunge this idea of oil belonging to every Nigerian. Yeah right, Northern states are feeding the nation and nobody is asking for their money.  I believe that a trust fund could be established for Niger Delta states. Government should advertise for interested money managers. Application fees could generate millions of dollars.  Let's say $5 billion for diversified investment in foreign and local markets. Local banks will be given concession, but they would have to swap that with heavy investment in Niger Delta states. They will be required to build more businesses in Niger Delta in order to qualify for tax exempt status.

Foreign Fund Managing companies will also be required to have business presence in Niger Delta in conjunction with Nigerian Banks. This joint venture will establish skill acquisition centers and start up capital for entrepreneurs. They would have to also establish education/scholarship fund for people who want to go university.  This partnership will also provide soft loans and macro credit financing to Niger Delta dwellers. This whole arrangement could be taken care of by yearly dividend from Niger Delta Development Trust.  The maturity of this investment could be from 5-10 yrs

@ Afam

Anambra is burning because of people like you that refuse to call a spade a spade but would rather blame OBJ for everything that happens in Anambra.

I beg to differ, why is it that Anambra palaver has nothing to do with OBJ? You have always insisted that OBJ has nothing to with Anambra problems. I am ready to listen to your conspiracy theories on Anambra. Go ahead and lay the facts before us.

What kind of party is PDP that stifles dissenting opinion? It does not want short changed members to seek redress in court. PDP does not want Ararume and it does not want to obey Supreme Court orders. In PDP, everything is a family affair; even looting state treasury.

http://www.pointblanknews.com/os33.html

The independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has contracted WITNESS, a non existing firm allegedly based in United Kingdom, UK as one of the firms to handle election results this month.

Another firm, GILAT, contracted by INEC is a telecommunication firm which provides broadband solutions and satellite networks including internet, voice, and video with a 2004 poll transmission experience in Venezuela.

GILAT is an Israeli owned company with Amiram Levinberg as chairman, co-founder and Erez Entedi as the chief executive officer.

It would be recalled that INEC had awarded the same contract at N4 Billion to RELTEL, a local firm based in Nigeria and owned by Annie Okonkwo, a People’s Democratic Party Senatorial Candidate in Anambra State, East of Nigeria.

The award of the contract to the Senatorial candidate had generated a lot of controversies when it was unraveled by the media and INEC, it was learnt revoked the contract and sought for a foreign firm to handle the poll results.

However, pointblanknews.com investigations revealed that no company called WITNESS exists in UK which provides services in either transmitting of polls results or telecommunications. The same is the case of GILAT.

WITNESS has no known address, no telephone number or website in the UK. It does not exist in any capacity as capable of handling election results. The only company known as WITNESS is based in the State of Georgia, United States, according to findings.

The only entity called Witness provides legal support services to UK residence.

It was further learnt from reliable sources that WITNESS which INEC announced would collaborate with GILAT is a front for RELTEL which was originally awarded the N4 Billion contract to transmit election result.

It was gathered that in a bid to douse the already generated controversy over the N4 Billion contract to RELTEL owned by a PDP member, INEC chairman, Maurice Iwu and Annie Okonkwo, owner of RELTEL, had met and agreed to put forward another firm for the poll transmission contract. The new firm became WITNESS.

In few days to election in Nigeria, INEC announced that GILAT, in association with WITNESS will provide technological backbone in electronic transmission of results of elections.

In a statement signed by Andy Ezeani, Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, he said the UK firms have international experience and are noted for competence.

@Gnature,
If that amount is mathematically converted into Naira, it will come up to N23 billion.

@ backslider
^{The war on fake drug is not yet won
4) Power Supply has Economic Implication for our foes and fiend
5) Power supply is an institutional problem that Energy mafias don't want to relinquish hold on.}

Ans: 1 .I did not say that the war on fake drug had been won. My argument is that if NAFDAC has made a lot of progress in fighting fake drugs inspite of the counterfeiters, why is it that NEPA is still moribund? Answer; because it is serving as a conduit to siphon public funds. They have spent about $3 billion dollars on power projects and yet more Nigerians are in darkness.

Ans:4. It’s a key ingredient that can jump start our economy
Ans: 5: You keep changing your stand, you initially listed - Listers, perkins, and yamaha as part of the problem. If Obj was able to handle Atiku, who are these people that he- OBJ cannot handle? I feel that he is OK with the status quo or that his hands are soiled that he cannot change the situation. He keeps reappointing his cronies into power sector. Why cant OBJ hire a professional like, Soludo or Iweala who can bring about a much needed change?
This is also applicable to fuel supply. No minister of oil, refineries are still operating under 50%.

I would want us to critically analyze these issues, not by saying that some folks are mightier than the president when he stopped Atiku from contesting elections

Simple economics in the sense that people are benefiting from government inefficiency not that people are sabotaging NEPA to make money. Why is it that you guys are quick to point at NAFDAC's efforts and still maintain that NEPA is sabotaged? NAFDAC is fighting army of distributors, while NEPA is a monopoly. If CBN, NAFDAC, EFCC, and NCC are working why can't NEPA work? How can one really sabotage NEPA? Is it when NEPA officials take bribe not to generate power or when John Holt Plc and Co capitalize on incessant power failure to carve a niche market? I still don’t know why genuine business organizations are called saboteurs. 

Let’s know that NEPA is responsible for power distribution and generation unlike NAFDAC that regulates millions of people who are in one way or the other connected to foods and drugs. NEPA generates powers and connects the man in Potiskum to its grid, while   a pharmacist sells drugs to the same man in Potiskum. The difference here is that man in Potiskum has no choice when it comes to NEPA and has a lot of choices when it comes where to his buy drugs. NEPA solely manages its operations. There is no black market for NEPA services in Nigeria, while drugs  could be sold in black market.

Should counterfeiters be held responsible when CBN fails to circulate genuine notes? In this case these guys are genuine business people with govt licenses. Why are they called saboteurs since NEPA went into partnership with Prof Nnaji’s power project?

If we point at OBJ's successes, would it not be a balancing act to point at his failures instead of heaping encomiums on him?

Backslider, lets not backslide this topic. I don’t hate OBJ, but I do hate some of his policies which have taken Nigeria to lowest level. Not fixing NEPA, elevating political godfatherism and increment in pump prices. NEPA alone floors all the achievements   he recorded. NAFDAC needs constant power to power its operations and labs to test for genuine drugs. CBN needs power to constantly monitor electronic and swift transactions. Nigerian banks which are controlled by CBN depend on vibrant manufacturing sector to thrive. So if productivity is low, then the economy stagnates. I wonder how much money banks spend on generating sets in Nigeria. The list is endless.
I hope that this thread not does degenerate into OBJ as   a true statesman; we should rather dwell on his competence as a leader.

BT Terminates Agreement with Transcorp
• IPO undersubscribed
From Ijeoma Nwogwugwu in Abuja, 04.10.2007



British Telecom (BT) has pulled out of the technical services agreement with Transnational Corpora-tion Plc (Transcorp) for the management of NITEL and its mobile subsidiary, MTel. Transcorp, with BT as its technical partner had acquired a 51 per cent stake in NITEL last year under the privatisation exercise handled by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
But in a letter to Transcorp, BT cited the unavailability of working capital needed to turn around NITEL and MTel, and the lack of adherence to corporate governance principles by the companies’ management and their boards as the reason for its decision to withdraw from the agreement.   
The decision by BT to terminate the technical services agreement it has with Transcorp could not have come at a worse time for the Nigerian conglomerate which is yet to overcome the disappointing returns from its initial public offering (IPO).
Capital market analysts estimate that the Transcorp’s IPO may have been undersubscribed by as much as 70 per cent.
Under the technical services agreement, BT was expected to have provided technical and managerial expertise to Transcorp for one year in the first instance, but the contract comes up for review by both parties every six months.
In exchange for its services and upon meeting key performance benchmarks that had been agreed under the contract, BT was supposed to have been paid a fixed fee and a performance bonus by Transcorp.
In addition, salaries of its two contract staff seconded to run NITEL and MTel for the duration of the technical services agreement would have been met by Transcorp.
Transcorp had also committed to raising substantial funds from banks and the capital market to inject into both telecom firms for their network expansion programmes and in order to meet other commercial obligations.
In that regard, Messrs Steve Brookman and John Weir were seconded by BT as CEOs of NITEL and MTel respectively in November last year to oversee their day to day operations.
Ms Funke Okpeke, meanwhile, was employed by Transcorp and appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) of NITEL.
But ever since Transcorp took over NITEL, and by extension its mobile subsidiary in November, the reconstituted boards of both companies have been enmessed in internal wrangling among its members, on the one hand, and disagreements with the British CEOs on how best to manage the companies on another.
Specifically, John Weir, who was appointed CEO of MTel, has been at logger heads with the company’s chairman, Gboyega Olulade and other board members over the selection of equipment vendors for the company’s network expansion programme.
Weir was said to have shown a preference for the appointment of Huawei and Motorola, while Olulade was pushing for Ericsson and other vendors. Weir also took umbrage over the appointment of the new Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Davidson Anene, by Olulade without his input, and is said to have refused to recognise Anene as the company’s CTO.
This got to a head last month when MTel’s board comprising Transcorp members and Federal Government representatives terminated Weir’s appointment and gave BT four weeks within which it was expected to send his replacement.
His dismissal did not sit well with BT which was already getting disenchanted with Transcorp’s inability to deliver on its promise to provide working capital for NITEL and MTel, thus compelling it to pull out of the agreement in its entirety. Both companies are also riddled with massive debts owed banks, equipment suppliers and unsettled interconnect fees.
The void created by BT’s withdrawal could not have come at a worse time for Transcorp. The company’s IPO held between December and January this year is believed to have been undersubscribed by 70 per cent.
Even a two week extension granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to Transcorp which embarked on road shows to the UK and South Africa to shore up investors’ participation in the offer did not help matters.
Capital market operators are of the view Transcorp grossly underestimated the capacity of the market to absorb another major public offer right on the heels of the Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc IPO.
According to a market analyst, “the timing for Transcorp’s offer was obviously not right. It came at the end of the year when most investors were cashing in to raise money for the yuletide season. Besides, it came immediately after Dangote’s IPO which had soaked up most of the investible funds in the market.”
Transcorp, he posited, should have bid its time and waited to go to the market later this year when investors would have had a clearer picture on the company’s direction.
The undersubscribed offer is already impacting on Transcorp’s share price which has been on a downward spiral since the technical suspension on the company’s shares was lifted twice by the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
A few weeks after the IPO had closed the Stock Exchange lifted the suspension placed on Transcorp’s share which took a hit in four days of trading to fall from N9.71 kobo per share to N8.34 kobo per share.
Without prior notice to stock brokers, the Exchange placed another technical suspension on the shares, which was ostensibly done to stop the free fall. However, the official explanation given by the Exchange for the second suspension was that it had done so to enable the Issuing Houses to the offer conclude collation of returns.
Since trading resumed last week, Transcorp’s shares slumped again, closing in at N7.93 kobo a share by end of trading last Thursday.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=75176

In Nigeria, chics give hugs based on the amount of money you spend on them. As a guy, you get a side shoulder hug from women if the money tap is about to open.
When you spend money, they give you an embrace hug with 45 degrees inclining position. If you spend money like there is no tomorrow, they will give you a big wholesale hug. No strings attached - have all of me kind of hug.

May be we are alluding to the fact that those who are making money because of bad situation are saboteurs. This is simple economics. Inefficiency is pushing consumers to look for another reliable source of providing electricity and generator dealers are cashing in. Improvisation of electricity in Nigerian cannot be construed as sabotage. May be Prof Barth Nnaji is also guilty of sabotage because he pioneered an independent power generating company in Aba with collaboration from World Bank, IFC, NEPA and Aba Community. NEPA is also a saboteur. Market is demanding for more generating sets. Power generation is controlled by the government, which cannot be compared to distribution of drugs with many distributors. Do we have more saboteurs in power generation than drug distribution; yet, NAFDAC has been able to checkmate their activities. If there is indeed sabotage, it can be easily crushed. Generate more power.

This is another bull as the reason why FG has not built seaport in Onitsha is because Luxury Buses Owners are sabotaging that effort. I thought this forum had overgrown all these beer parlour stories

As per Abacha and IBB, if we believed that they were corrupt and could not put NEPA in order, why do we have to use sabotage as an excuse for power failure despite the fact that this administration has spent billions of dollars on power projects. By the way power output was way higher during IBB's time than today.


http://www.geometricpower.com/projects.htm

I don’t know why Nigerians allude to some unfounded theories. Why would people sabotage NEPA when there is Govt in power? Why wasn't there any sabotage when Abacha and IBB were in power? We are talking about GSM as if GSM companies did not pay over US $1 billion for licenses. This money was not used to boost NITEL networks and gateways. This money was not used for rural telephony. Can someone tell me how much the FG spent on bringing GSM companies to Nigeria? Answer is zero Naira, because GSM companies paid for application, bidding and licensing. The whole cost was borne by GSM companies, and then Govt made money from that process and did not use it properly and we are clapping our hands. This is the reason why corruption will not stop because we are carried by trivialities,


Backslider,
your sentiments do not allow you to be objective minded. If the govt controlls the importation of goods in Nigeria, why wouldn't the govt control Honda, Listers, Perkins and Co if indeed they are "sabotaging" govt? These companies are making money because the Govt has failed.

Can you also tell who is sabotaging federal roads? May be Julius Berger, PW and Strabag. Can you as well define government and its functions to me?

Have you thought of what it would be like without a job. please hang in  there and save some money for your certification. Always have in mind that your current position is not  you want to be. Always remember that you can do better, but you haveto lay down a foundation.

Good luck

of what use is American accent to someone who does not live in the US. Nigerians will resent America accent the way Americans will resent Nigerian accent. Besides, American accent in America does not necessarily put food on the table, because Chinese , Russians, and Japanese are every where doing their thing with their accents.

instead of developing and expanding pidgin English as our second language, they are talking of Guosa or what. More people in Naija speak and understand pidgin English than any other language.

I was just wondering that cozy relationship some Nigerian pastors have with some politicians might make them to mortgage their conscience. Sunday Mbang has been an avid supporter of Obasanjo, so is Enoch Adeboye of RCCG. Do you not think that some of these pastors might compromise their beliefs and philosophy in order to have a photo opportunity with the president? Rev. Sunday Mbang officiated Obasanjo's 70th Birthday Thanksgiving Service. Bishop Oyedepo was also in attendance.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200704093571528

I was reading about Chimaroke and found out that Anglican Bishop of Enugu is a member of governing council of Renaissance University,   a private university founded by Chimaroke.

Can these religious leaders really speak truth to power if necessary? I am not saying that they should adopt Tunde Bakare's approach of seeing and prophesizing evil, but I think that religious leaders should maintain some level of decency and spirituality when dealing with politicians.

http://www.rnu.edu.ng/governingcouncil.html

please remember naija where there are few   parks in the city,  let's remember naija where  few people have access to internet let alone owning computers.  Let's remember Naija where  romance may mean a different thing to comon folks on the street

let's see some pictures baby.

Sometimes Naija women always think that most naija men are not romantic and here is my argument.

If this is really true, then it happens that women  have not taught them.  Men cannot learn romantic treatment from men, assuming that most Nigerian men are heterosexual.
If this is really true, then it happens that men have not imbibed  romantic values from their parents. Our moms never treated our dads romantically and  our dads never treated our moms romanctically as defined by western standard.
If this is really true, then its becuase women have not challenged Naija men to be more romantically involved instead of serving as breadwinners, bill payers and providers.
If this is really true, then its becuase women have not prefered chocolates and flowers over recharge cards, Tantalizers and Mister Bigs

What do we do when government officials invite foreign journalists and treat them like kings? There was even a time when some of them were given dollar padded envelops for attending a press conference. This stems from the fact that Africa is viewed from a stereotypical prism in the west. The only "good things” about Africa we may see on Western media are Sahara and animals. The west sees Africa as a nation instead of a continent.
Even people who know Africa very well like Oprah still perpetuate these stereotypes. I was watching her show on her Leadership Academy in South Africa. She showed an animal squatting in her balcony without showing the whole view of her hotel, which I know must have measured to the best leisure facilities in the west. But that depiction alone further reinforced the erroneous impression that Africa is a place peopled by animals and trees.

In 2000 alone, Americans spent about $70 billion on illegal drugs. This figure is two times bigger than our national budget
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/drugfact/american_users_spend2002/index.html. U don’t get to hear much about this, but Nigeria is always portrayed as heaven for illegal drugs.

. Africans govts have to open up the political and media regulations. How can NTA be funded and controlled by the govt? It cannot fairly and effectively disseminate information. We need to borrow a leaf from S/African media companies like SABC. Their media industries have developed to point that most western media do not rely on the western reporters to report on South African issues. CNN's Chief African correspondent is a South African. Its liberalization of media in Africa that would jump starts the process of changing African image beyond continental shores. Aljazeera was born because of western media. Today, Qatar, which is home to Aljazeera Networks, wants to establish a world class journalism school in partnership with Northwest School of Journalism, USA.
If we have strong and vibrant media, western journalists will be looking for collaborative efforts not to portray Africa in a very embarrassing situation. Simple economics dictates that it’s cheaper and thorough when local journalists do the reporting.

We don’t to get to hear case like these. Nigeria even bettered India in Children’s Nutrition. If you ask this question to most westerners, they will say Nigeria has more malnourished kids than India. Half of India's Kids Are Malnourished.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Half_of_Indian_kids_malnourished/articleshow/779981.cms

More than 300 million people in India are affected by one or more micronutrient deficiencies, and about 35 per cent of the world's malnourished children live in India. This amounts to over 40% of Africans given the fact that African is about 800 million, yet you don’t get to hear about all these in the western media.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2201/stories/20050114000307100.htm

backslider,
You did not provide any proof to show that Achebe is uninformed as you posited. All his concerns bodered on Anambra issues and you did not prove any of his accusations wrong.

How can Africa control  the proliferation and illegal arms trafficking. What can be done to curb this problem which fuels civil wars,civil unrests, and armed robberies