₦airaland Forum

I-man:
Had to drag in Israel and the US in a discussion about Sudan.It seems its in The Code that everything involves Israel.

And the dog you are will never face facts. An idiot like you that feels that you have the right to say what you want to say on anything regardless of the correctness or otherwise have no right to question a statement of fact.

In case your warped sense of reasoning failed to understand my post I will break it down for you.

It is wrong for China to use its veto power just to support Sudan based on its selfish interests.

Same way, it is wrong for the US to use its veto power to support Israel based on its selfish interests.

The fact remains that while idiots like you will always want to paint the likes of China bad it is equally important to point out that China is not alone as your almighty US is also playing the same dirty game elsewhere, silly thing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3541706.stm

President gaffes in terror speech

US President George W Bush
Speech-writers wish Mr Bush would stick to the script

In his latest gaffe, President George W Bush has appeared to suggest that his administration is forever thinking up ways of harming the US and its people.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful - and so are we," the US president told a high-level meeting of Pentagon officials.

"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people - and neither do we."

His comments came during a signing ceremony for a $417bn defence bill.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that Mr Bush's mistakes should reassure rather than alarm.

"Even the most straightforward and plain-spoken people mis-speak," he told the Associated Press.

"The American people know this president speaks with clarity and conviction, and the terrorists know by his actions he means it."

'Liked for his flaws'

According to Jacob Weisberg, who has made it his job to catalogue the gaffes commonly known as "Bushisms", even when Mr Bush trips over his words he does not always fall flat on his face.

"I don't think it does him any harm, because people who are appalled by the way he speaks tend not to like him for other reasons," he told the BBC's World Today programme.

Indeed, he says, his flawed public performances should not be "misunderestimated" - to borrow a "Bushism" - as they actually strengthen his bond with ordinary people.

"I think his inarticulacy is part of it, people identify with his problem. You know, it's hard to speak in public - one makes mistakes, it can be embarrassing. And this bonds him to people."

GEOGRAPHY BUSHISM


"I was raised in the west. The west of Texas. It's pretty close to California. In more ways than Washington, D.C., is close to California."

In Los Angeles as quoted by the Los Angeles Times, April 8, 2000


HISTORY BUSHISM


"I think we agree, the past is over."

On his meeting with John McCain, Dallas Morning News, May 10, 2000



FISCAL LEADERSHIP BUSHISM


"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."--Rueters, May 5, 2000



FOREIGN RELATIONS BUSHISM


"When I was coming up, it was a dangerous world, and you knew exactly who they were. It was us vs. them, and it was clear who them was. Today, we are not so sure who the they are, but we know they're there."

Iowa Western Community College, Jan 21, 2000

nigeria1:
Afam , you are not well inform, And on my english, i sometime write, like i speak. and we speak different english over here. I can say You people. That is not accepted in Nigeria, but over here it is. You are allow to say I want to go to a place, but in Nigeria you not. So Nigeria english is not the only one around.

I guess you are a huge fan of Bush then, where anything goes whether it makes sense or not, abi?

somze:
I usually don't like talking about this issue, but lets have some things in perspective.

Our power sector is a government run monopolistic system. The bills from the prepaid meter are unnecessarily expensive. Its about N2000 per day. Minimum wage is 7k per month. How can power be accessible and affordable to the masses at such outrageous prices.

I disagree with you on this, in fact your bills from the prepaid meter is the best as you pay for what you use. I don't know where you are getting N2000.00 per day from but about N3,500.00 that we spent on card lasted my office about 9 months.

Even PHCN came to the office to check the meter as they said that we have not come to recharge for a long time and reminded them that it is not their duty to ask us to use energy in a particular way and as long as the meter was not tampered with and the re is no illegal connection anywhere they don't have a case.

I took them around and showed them what we use and funny enough the day they came there was no power so they were surprised to find power even though no generator noise was heard. I told them that for over 3 years now that I never run out of power supply and I don't have a generator in the office because I use an inverter back up system.

The next thing was that they started talking about getting inverter systems for their own homes and promised to change all their bulbs in their houses.

So, the issue of energy conservation is one that every single person will come to terms with especially with the introduction of prepaid meters.

somze:
In UK, the apartment gets billed like 10 pounds a week which is not much compared to what is made in a day.

We have a lot of possible options for power sustainability and energy consevation -
[list]
[li]Hydro-power[/li]
[li]LNG[/li]
[li]Solar and geo-thermal energy[/li]
[/list]

Corruption and security is the real problem in implementing a sustainable energy source for Nigeria. Even if PPPs - private public partnership - solutions are used, the rate of corruption will hamper such. Its a long and sad tale.

Geo-thermal? Is any nation using geo-thermal energy to sustain power?

Even solar is not a viable alternative on a large scale because the conversion efficiency is still low and it remains the most expensive form of energy generation.

texazzpete:
@chidichris
let me try and understand your point
Lebanese businessmen connive with Nigerian officials to steal money meant for the masses.
Greedy Nigerian lout dupes young British woman of her life savings just so he can buy a Prado jeep

Why are you comparing apples to oranges?

Why are you narrowing his choices by providing totally different types of scams?

Believe me there is no way anyone can defend the so called victims because they are not victims.

100% of whites I have challenged on this on discussion forums where issues like this come up even end up agreeing that most of the so called victims were greedy, lazy and stupid but keep maintaining that at least they reserve the right to hope for a lucky break and life and some stupidly believe that the lucky break may be the next scam email, nonsense.

@nigeria1,

Have you tried comedy before? You can carve out a niche for yourself - say disjointed english and believe me you will strike gold.

I spend more time trying to understand you than in reading your posts.

So, being on the same plane with Iyabo is enough to prove here innocence abi? Wonderful. Maybe all criminals need to fly just once with you for them to become innocent people.

davidylan:
I pitch 90% of the blame solely on those who choose to reap where they did not sow. I reserve no sympathy for white men hoping to earn millions of dollars from non-existent uncles in Cameroon or Somalia!

Is today your birthday? For the first time in a long long while I think I agree with you 100%.

The painful thing is that the greedy criminal cum business partner is just free to setup websites and forums dedicated to insulting Nigeria and Nigerians.

Unfortunately, the leaders in Africa have allowed this unnecessary killing to go on and it is not fair.

The southern Sudan can and should fight to have a separate state not just to remain alive in the larger Sudan.

But again China is doing to Sudan what the US is doing to Israel, protection based on selfish interests.

mrpataki:
Your analogy here is very wrong. The same privatization you are critizing as expensive is the same one you are using for your analogy to e cheap for another.

The services of Private Telecommunication Operators (PTO) like Multilinks and Starcomms have limited coverage, they are not capital intensive as the GSM operators. Not to even talk of the international roaming services the GSM operators offer.

Privatization is generally not cheap. It only creates room for accountability and development the more.

The content in bold refers, it is clear you did not even understand the statements covering telecommunications otherwise you wouldn't have come to the conclusion or am I missing something here?

My focus is on doing things right and cheap because everybody gains by doing so. We must not repeat the same mistakes the developed world made in energy generation, we should as a matter of fact learn from their mistakes and develop a robust energy policy.

I am not talking about energy generation here as that deserves its own topic and is very clear on what needs to be done once the will do do it right is there.

For example, the US gets about 40% of its electricity from coal fired plants and yet we don't get any electricity from coal and yet we have high quality coal in Nigeria.

This talk about solar generation as a viable alternative is not the best because solar remains the most expensive form of energy generation.

Someone complained about inverters being an elitist product, I beg to differ because you cannot use the power generated by solar panels or wind turbines without inverters as these energy generation tools produce DC and not the regular usable AC we use to rn our appliances.

Wonders shall never end.

So, people can actually complain that they are being insulted when they freely insult others on this forum? Hypocrisy at its peak. Not surprised though.

naijaking1:
So, for all those quasi-socialist nairalnders who are skeptical about privatization, I say 'look back at NITEL'

The cost would inevitably be higher at the begininng, but with competition and open market; prices fall and quality tends to rise.

That's the only solution to naija's perenial and persistent power problem.

The content in bold refers, I dare say that for someone with such line of thinking any attempt at discussing the issue further will be futile.

Enjoy!

@texazzpete,

I am not picking a fight with you, I find it hard to believe that you even call them victims.

These guys are business partners only that the business in question is fraudulent.

So called 419 victims in reality are business partners to their Nigerian counterparts.

The same people that will scream privatization will be the same that will complain that services are expensive.

With the GSM today in Nigeria, do you realize how the average Nigerian is sending close to 100% of his/her income to manage a single GSM line? Is this normal?

This is a case of the more you look the less you see.

In this age and time we should be talking about massive deployment of VOIP or encourage the use of local PTOs over GSM but again the average Nigeria will hardly see the complete picture.

If Nigerians living in Lagos (about 25% of the telecomms market) choose to dump their GSM phones and choose the PTOs the cost of GSM calls will crash in no time but lack of understanding of the cost implications and outright ignorance in some cases will not allow us do what is best for us.

Average GSM to GSM call within Lagos - Over N35.00 and in some cases close to N50.00 per minute

Average PTO to PTO call within Lagos - N12.00 if the PTOs are different and N6.00 per minute if the PTOs are the same

Again for a typical 1 hr calls in a day we will be looking at

GSM to GSM - N2100.00 to N3,000.00 for just 1 hr

PTO to PTO - N720.00 or N360.00 for the same 1 hr

Same time, high voice quality, same service.

Double standards and hypocrisy are common tools being used by the US but Bush simply battered the image of the US based on his style, a style based on lies, incoherent talks, spreading democracy with guns and wars, invading countries, partnering with military heads of states etc.

The list plenty and I no go finish am today if I continue.

How this man lasted 7 years as the president is one thing I find difficult to come to terms with.

texazzpete:
Ah. The usual 'blame the victims' approach. It's a favourite with criminals and 419 kingpins, a ready excuse for their crimes.
should honest people think that way?

You see what blind and complete support for anything white is doing to this Nigerian?

So, in your opinion the thieves that plan to steal money from Nigeria are innocent simply because they are whites? Very very interesting.

@those that show apathy towards any meaningful thing in Nigeria,

This is not the solution to our energy problem but one of the ways to help solve the problem.

We keep talking about not generating enough power as if wastage is normal.

Let's say we are generating 100W instead of 300W of electricity.

Let us also say that we could reduce our energy needs from say 300W to 80W, would this not help?

It is clear that there are Nigerians who hate anything Nigeria but could you guys stop displaying your low level of understanding of the issues here?

Without it being good on paper it will not even be implemented, however, not only is it good on paper it is easy to implement and even Ghana is taking serious steps towards retrieving the regular old bulbs (60W) while replacing them with energy saving bulbs (15W).

I agree you all have a right to oppose anything good in Nigeria but what you are displaying is becoming too repulsive.

@Tayo-D,

I only didn't want to pollute this thread otherwise I would have used worse words to describe him. I have been insulted on many occasions by him simply because I have opinions that he does not agree with.

Make no mistake about it, I do not insult people but any insult will be responded to in kind and there is no limit to posts that I will respond to such insults.

So, face the topic and leave him alone to answer for himself because he knows what he did.

ojimbo IV:
@poster

i can't agree with you any less my man. but i think your calculations need to include the fact that the energy saving bulbs cost about 4times more than the 'non-energy' saving bulbs on the average. that way a more realistic savings figure will be obtained.

I quite agree with your comment.

I always advice people to buy the cheapest energy saving bulbs around because I have bought the so called original at N800.00 and some went bad under 6 months whereas some so called inferior ones as low as N150.00 have been working for over 2 years now.

The cost saving is also easy to see.

Using the 10 bulbs example a family that gets the cheaper energy saving bulbs would only spend about N1,500.00 and still achieve less than N1,200.00 a year (recurring) energy bills where as a family that maintains the status quo will be spending over N6,900.00 per year for the same number of bulbs in the house.

Good Day,

Although, I do not know you in person, I have received your contact via, personal search while seeking a reliable but obscure individual to assist me in this pending transaction. It became necessary for me to seek your assistance as I Want you to Assist in investing my share of the money in your Country.
Let me start by introducing myself. I am Dr.Ishak Oduro the chief corporate officer auditing department Ecobank Ghana ltd.Accra Ghana. I have a Obscured business suggestion for you.
I am writting to seek your coperation over this transaction,after the annual auditing of the year 2006,I discovered an abandoned sum of ($26,000,000 USD(Twenty six million United State dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his entire family in a plane crash that took place in Kenya,East Africa,the Late DR. GEORGE BRUMLEY,a citizen of Atlanta,United States of America.
Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because it cannot be released unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines but unfortunately,all his supposed next of kin or relation died along with him in the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.
It's therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you to make sure his balance of fund will be released to you via your foreign bank account as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and this money could go into the Federal treasury as "unclaimed Bill".
The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained unclamed after four years, the money will be transfered into the federal treasury as unclaimed fund.I think it will be better for us to put a major part of this funds into helping people suffering from aids,orphans,displaced persons,etc and keep some percentage,instead of letting some dubious leaders put this funds in their personal pockets.
The request for your assistance and maximum co-operation as a foreign citizen to stand as the next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the deceased customer was a foreigner and a Ghananian cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.
Due to my position in the bank you will play a vital role in the pulling out the funds since i cannot come out openly and as a foreigner you will be in a more favourable position to claim these funds.
I agree to offer you 30% of this money as my foreign partner as soon as we conclude the transfer into your account. 10% will be set aside for expences incurred during the transfer and 30% would be for me,while we use the remaining 30% to assist the needy.
You are to send to me the following informations,if you are willing to work with me;
NAME:
ADDRESS:
OCCUPATION:
PHONE NUMBER:
I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is strictly confidential and i will use my position in this Bank to effect a hitch free transfer of this fund into any of your private account.
Please, visit the website below for more informations about the Plane Crash and the tragic death of the deceased and his entire family,
Late DR. GEORGE BRUMLEY. SITE.http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/20/kenya.crash/index.html
Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.

Yours Sincerely,
Dr.Ishak Oduro
Private Email:dr.ishak_oduro@hotmail.com

The FG should forbid the EFCC from accepting foreign cash incentives so that we can be certain that their allegiance would remain with Nigeria and not being shared with foreign nations just because of funds that can as well be provided for them by Nigeria.

Just like accepting $2M aid from a country and announcing same in the media as if it's a big deal when we have corrupt officials stashing away millions of dollars.

I agree with the idea that the Nigerian should be tried for trying to defraud an individual where as the foreigner should be tried for trying to defraud a nation.

I guess the intricacies of this so called online scam should be looked into so that we can start apportioning blames to relevant people instead of all the open ended statements and wastage of funds on seminars making false promises based on limited knowledge of the issue at hand.

angel101:
how about the govt stops the importation/production of the 60w bulbs. If they are not available we cannot use them.

This will automatically reduce the current energy need by up to 50% considering the fact that lighting constitute the greatest percentage of energy needs across the board from poor people to rich people.

I have done energy efficiency programs for homes and offices with more than 30 bulbs each and some of them have the 100W not even the 60W so you can imagine the amount of energy being wasted.

Importation of old fridges/freezers should be stopped, I have seen brand new freezers rated just 70W.

What does it take to manufacture the energy saving bulbs? Nothing much but again those that should be focusing on such issues are busy scrambling for the so called national cake.

Even in the area of IT all regular CRT based monitors should be replaced with their flat screen LCD types.

NGOs and Charity organisations that keep donating these power hungry machines should be told to look for energy efficient alternatives or forget about the donations because IT is nothing with out power and power is not cheap.

babasin:
Good Idea but I have 5 AC and I can't sleep in these suffocating heat!

I have my washing machine plus dish washer as they made life easy.

so what do you say?

Apart from plasma TVs that are yet to attain reasonable power requirement in this age of white goods basically every single appliance out there has an energy efficient alternative.

ACs based on smart microprocessors or Digital Signal Processing (DSP) based technologies abound, they take a fraction of what the regular ACs take to deliver the same power and more efficiently too.

Why would someone be using an appliance that takes say 400W per hour when an alternative appliance can take just 80W and yet deliver the same service?

Even the developed world keeps talking about reducing energy needs and here we are in Nigeria talking about generating more energy to satisfy our already high (and sometimes unreasonable energy demands).

And to think that AIT was doing Nigerians a great service all these while.

Financial recklessness and outright corruption will certainly show David Mark the way out.

Thank God, the ethics committee confirmed the N400M for renovation for the senate leader.

If Etteh was taken out of the picture for less than N300M then this N400M should be more than enough to make David Mark leave that seat.

@nigeria1,

On a more serious note, are you really serious with your postings or are you just having fun making them?

I am sure the 2 threads have different titles with completely different contents.

One was asking a question and the other was making a suggestion on how to tackle our power problem.

Put differently, the 2 posts are miles apart.

@almondjoy,

People are already doing it and it is working, it is not a hypothesis, it is something that people see the results immediately.

@Purist,

I did not plan anything with that boy. He is basically asking a question and it is obvious he wants to learn something, not that he is making any reasonable contribution.

By the way the people talking about needing N3Trillion are not serious. Do they know what energy conservation will do to our energy needs as a whole not to talk about what it talks to take care of that?

Nigeria Power Problem - Why Energy Conservation Is A Must

The ability to understand a problem is key if any meaningful solution is being expected.

That the state of power supply in Nigeria is low is no news, what is news however is that in spite of money and energy expended thus far in trying to solve this problem the most basic and yet effective approach is being over looked.

To begin with we are energy wasters in Nigeria.

The FG policy on power seems to be focusing on generating more electricity, throwing up figures and cost implications, comparing what Nigeria produces to what South Africa produces etc.

Generating more electricity is a good thing if it will solve the power problem but in reality not only is this approach expensive it is also sheer promise considering the ability to deliver.

Without being technical or playing politics with this very important issue I will attempt to explain using the simplest of terms using an example that we are all familiar with - our home.

A typical home will be used to drive home the message that energy conservation is key, it can't get simpler than this.

We shall base our example on just 10 bulbs (common 60W type) and energy cost of N4.00 per KWh of electricity.

This home with 10 bulbs for just 8 hours a day will consume the following

Daily - 10 (60W bulbs) x 8 (hrs) = 4800W
Monthly - 10 (60W bulbs) x 8 (hrs) x 30 (days) = 144000W
Yearly - 10 (60W bulbs) x 8 (hrs) x 30 (days) x 12 (months) = 1,728,000W

If 1KW of electricity cost N4.00 per hour then in one year this household would have spent

N4.00 x 1728KW = N6,912.00

Now assuming this same household decided to replace the 10 bulbs with energy saving bulbs rated at 10W (they are bright, never mind the low wattage, they are based on energy saving technology).

Daily - 10 (10W bulbs) x 8 (hrs) = 800W
Monthly - 10 (10W bulbs) x 8 (hrs) x 30 (days) = 24000W
Yearly - 10 (10W bulbs) x 8 (hrs) x 30 (days) x 12 (months) = 288,000W

If 1KW of electricity cost N4.00 per hour then in one year this household would have spent

N4.00 x 288KW = N1,152.00

You may say this is just a single household, no big deal, just wait until we get more practical.

Assuming we have just 40 million households connected to PHCN here is what really concerns the government now as regards electricity generation

For the typical home using the 60W bulbs PHCN will have to generate

1,728,000W x 40,000,000 = 69,120,000,000,000W

And Nigerians would have spent

69,120,000,000KW x N4.00 = N276,480,000,000.00 just to light 10 bulbs for 8 hrs a day.

For the typical home using the 10W bulbs PHCN will have to generate

288,000W x 40,000,000 = 11,520,000,000,000W

And Nigerians would have spent

11,520,000,000KW x N4.00 = N46,080,000,000.00 just to light 10 bulbs for 8 hrs a day.

Now, which makes sense, to spend N276 Billion a year or to spend N46 Billion for the same amount of energy?

The idea of reducing our energy needs is simple and yet workable and effective. The cost savings are there for all to see and feel. This is not rocket science, it is common sense but again I cannot assume that I know why the relevant agencies and powers that be are not looking at this very efficient alternative or strategy for now.

To further drive home this point I have been consistently receiving energy bills for less than N500.00 per month (including the compulsory N130.00) for a long time now to the extent that on more than 2 occasions PHCN officials suggested that my meter may be faulty (even when they come to take readings every month). We all know how PHCN rate homes in Nigeria, Mr A has an AC therefore his bill cannot be less than N3,000.00 a month without knowing if the AC has been bad for ages.

After explaining to them why my energy consumption has crashed and that I never run out of power supply because I have an inverter backup system that takes over when regular power fails they want me to help build inverter systems for them and even promise to change their own bulbs.

I have a small 950VA generator (comes up maybe once in a week or once in 2 weeks to charge my battery bank and that is if the power outage is long).

For about 3 years now I don't even have a standby generator in my office and yet I hardly ever run out of power supply because I choose appliances to use very carefully.

Put differently, in Nigeria today you can crash your energy needs (and ultimately the bills) and enjoy steady power supply without depending on the generator.


Bigger is not always better so the government should consider a serious energy conservation policy while planning to guarantee steady power supply. Trying to match what South Africa currently produces is an effort in futility since our needs and populations are not the same.

A strong policy on the power requirements for appliances getting into Nigeria is needed. Why would Nigeria be a dumping ground for CRT monitors (250W average) where LCD monitors (40W average) are available and are getting cheaper by the day?

Information Technology is nothing without Power as computers don't run on urine.

Ghana is doing well in trying to retrieve the regular 60W bulbs from its citizens while replacing them with 4 nos 15W energy saving bulbs because it is cheaper for the government to do so than for the government to generate more electricity to meet with the current demands.

In 2009 it will be illegal for anyone to use the regular 60W bulb type in Australia as energy efficient alternatives are available.

I do not see any reason why PHCN will not increase the tarrif of those that waste energy in Nigeria. Some homes have their security bulbs on 100% of the time and only get to touch the switch when they need to change the bulbs. There should be a monitoring unit that should sanction homes like these as we cannot be talking about power problem and at the same time wasting power.

While I agree that Nigeria has a lot of basic power problems to tackle it is however not enough excuse for us not to be thinking about saving the environment (since we are part of the world anyway) and seriously looking into renewable energy.

I do not see any reason why the government will not subsidize the cost of solar panels and wind turbines for those that may want to generate their own electricity just as it is done in some developed nations.

I do not see any reason why the government cannot setup serious research institutes that would look for ways to develop solar panels and wind turbines in Nigeria.

There are a lot of things I do not see the reasons why they are happening but I do see a nation blessed with abundant natural resources that if well tapped into would transform the lives of millions of its citizens while propelling the nation forward towards attaining most if not all its set goals in the VISION 2020 AGENDA.

Nigeria online scams - EFCC still missing the point

It is becoming embarrassing to read, hear or see the EFCC holding seminars after seminars, wasting money and not making any meaningful progress in combating cyber crime, well in this case the plain old online scam aka 419.

What is an online scam or 419 as it is popularly known today even amongst foreigners?

Without any consensus on the definition I will explain what it is and how it works.

Online scam is a scam that is effected using the internet. It involves the initiator sending out emails to a lot of people (not really targeted people) making offers that are not real or true while waiting for greedy people to respond to such offers.

2 variants are common

1. A relative just died and left $150,000,000.00 in a safe deposit in a bank. Your help is needed to claim this money and for your stress you will be compensated with say 40% of the money.

2. There is this oil well that I just found in my backyard, no body knows about it but I am looking for buyers for the crude oil for as low as $10.00 per barrel.

Now, online scam cannot begin and end with the originator, in this case the 419 man, before a scam takes place you must have a willing partner waiting and hoping to benefit from this financial crime against Nigeria.

In other words, 419 is a crime committed by at least 2 parties, not 1 party.

What does it take to initiate this online scam?

A computer connected to the internet and an email account whether free or fee based. Then the ability to put together some sentences even with very bad grammar.

Nigeria's image being battered

I agree that 419 has contributed to the battering of our image worldwide but again that is simply because Nigerians decided to do what other people have been doing in the past only this time the prize is usually way too high.

For starters, the percentage of online scams being perpetrated by Nigerians amount to less than 10%, USA accounts for over 50% (based on a study some 3 years ago) so why should Nigeria be blamed for what others do?

Can 419 be stopped?

No. Unless you want to control all the computers that Nigerians can use especially the ones connected to the internet. Can it be reduced? Yes. And that is the essence of this piece.

The current strategy of the EFCC

Once in a while a fraudster is arrested and probably jailed. But the fact is that for every single fraudster arrested you have hundreds of thousands of scam emails originating from pcs all over the world.

While the Nigerian fraudster is arrested, paraded and jailed his counterpart/partner in the financial crime against Nigeria is sipping coffee in one foreign country cursing and blaming Nigeria and Nigerians for his stupidity and greed.

Is this enough? No. Is this right? No. What then is right?

A crime committed by 2 people should have 2 people serving the punishment not 1 person. As simple as this statement is, herein lies the major problem hindering the fight against online scam.

Just like prostitution, as long as men are willing to patronize prostitutes prostitution will continue, after all brothels will naturally close down if men stopped visiting them.

In the same way, as long as you have greedy foreigners waiting for such criminally focused business opportunities the sending of scam emails will not stop.

I have challenged a lot of foreigners on this and the usual lame explanation some give after making it clear that most 419 victims are just plain stupid, lazy and greedy is that one cannot deny them the right to hope for a lucky break in life, can you imagine?

What can the EFCC do to reduce online scam?

One way or the other the reason why we are not really making any headway is that only 1 person is usually punished for a crime committed by 2 people and in the sight of God and man this is wrong and counter productive.

It is important for us to understand that the allegiance of the EFCC should be with Nigeria and Nigerians regardless of foreign bodies that support them either financially or otherwise.

The EFCC should come out with a bold statement that henceforth for any online 419 issue reported action will be taken only when the originator and the collaborator are arrested. Put differently, the so called victim should be sent down to Nigeria to face charges of financial crimes against Nigeria.

What will this achieve? Remember that people commit crimes depending on the weight of the punishment for that crime. A situation where a foreigner knows that he/she runs the risk of being arrested and sent to Nigeria for trials and a likely jail team is good for Nigeria and for the world because not many foreigners will be willing to go that route.

If the EFCC is not making any serious progress in the fight against online scam in spite of the energy, money and time expended thus far then the time is now for them to try a new approach, an approach that is just and in good faith, an approach that will make it clear to all parties that there is a price to pay either as the originator or the collaborator.

We should be bold enough to defend Nigeria and punish whoever is engaged in financial crimes against Nigeria regardless of race or gender.

@smartsoft,

Sorry your post was turned into something else, all I wanted to pass across was that you need to make sure you are not wasting your time, money and energy doing a demo for someone that may not need it.

I have only done a demo for free just once and that was because the team in the bank begged for it because I was blunt and told them I have better use for my time. They even admitted that I was the 3rd person they were asking for the same demo when I told them that their ways are certainly not new to me as I have been in this business since 2003.

At the end of the day I spent about 30 minutes to set it up and posted it online, sent an email to them and gave them 20 minutes to view the site as I removed it after 20 minutes.

Up till today they have not implemented any new thing on that website even though they were talking as if they wanted the upgrade immediately.

Only God knows the time and energy the other 2 developers spent in trying to win the project which has not taken off and this is about 12 months ago when the Philips Consulting rating came out and rated the bank 24th out of the 25 banks in Nigeria.

On evergie, he called and pleaded to have my posts removed. I shall do so once he deletes the nonsense he put down here and present the true picture of what transpired between the two of us.

I have worked hard to provide honest and professional services to Nigerians and will certainly not tolerate anyone trying to toy with the integrity of my business.

texazzpete:
Good! Now here's a challenge, little man. Kindly show me just THREE (3) lies i've said on Nairaland, along with your proof that they are lies.
You DID say i lie a lot, right? Prove it.

Three two (pun intended !) much for you? Okay, make an effort for one. . .then try for three. . .

I hope you realize that I don't take up challenges from your type that believe the only way they can express themselves when other disagree on issues is to insult them. This, shouldn't be news to you.