₦airaland Forum

Nigerians: The Happiest People And The Most Stupid.
Written by Dr. Olusola Osineye
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Nigerians: The Happiest People And The Most Stupid

The festival of life (FOL) is London’s equivalent of Holy Ghost night - the monthly gathering of Christians in Nigeria, irrespective of denominations, at the redeemed Christian church camp to offer prayers and praises to God. Although the FOL is held twice a year at the Excel centre in East London, it is already turning into a ritual similar to the one at home. The turnout is always massive and the passion generated at the event is just typical of any gathering of devoted Nigerian Christians.

Politicians, clergymen from the Church of England, and other non-governmental organizations have started to associate very closely with this event. This somehow underscores the socio-political significance of the gathering. The former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, once used the occasion to campaign during an election period and was given a tacit endorsement by the Nigerian churches but still lost anyway. Yes, he lost, partly because the Nigerian population in London is hardly significant to guarantee him any success at the polls. Besides that, the British electorate are not as dumb as those in Nigeria. That statement is actually my own hypothesis.

According to official statistics released in US, Nigerians are rated amongst the most highly educated foreigners. It is likely to be the same in the United Kingdom. But we are easily one of the most stupid also. We might be one of the most educated but the level of ignorance on display by even the educated lot is so amazing that I don’t think anything can salvage the country from her destined self-destruction. The horrible smell of our collective stupidity has reached high heavens and I think God can no longer stand the stench and that probably explains the type of leadership in every sphere of our lives. I know I have a lot of explanations to give for this generalization.

Wait! I don’t think I need to go far before getting evidence to back up my hypothesis on our collective stupidity. For example, if less than one million rogues are able to suppress the will and aspirations of over one hundred and forty-nine million people, what better explanation can one give for such a scenario? Well, I trust Nigerians they will give loads of reasons. But, I don’t really care about the reasons. I am only stating a fact.

For a start, my intention is not to discuss why the few stupid rogues are able to overwhelm the huge majority and push them into a state of unbelievable docility. Other people can talk about that. I am more concerned about the stupid one hundred and forty–nine million who believed that it is God’s will for the majority to live in abject poverty in the midst of plenty.

There was even a poll conducted not too long ago that gave justification to our stupidity, which gave further credence to my hypothesis. The poll claimed that we are the happiest people on earth. Jesus Christ! There is nothing more sinister than such ridicule. How could any group of people stay happy when they are in pitch darkness for twenty out of twenty-four hours in a day? Infant and maternal mortality rate is continuously one of the highest in the world. And of course life expectancy is about forty-five years for male. This means that if you are forty five, male and reading this article, you are one of the lucky few who are still alive because most of your mates who could not leave the country are already dead, and you are likely to be dead before the end of the week either through a ghastly motor accident on those death-traps called roads, or through ingestion of fake drugs or one equally stupid and mad police man would simply blow your brains out and nothing will happen. Anyway, never mind; just be happy, you are just another stupid Nigerian.

As I mentioned briefly earlier, one of the most compelling evidence of our level of stupidity can be seen in our attitude to religion. It is always God’s will. If Ya’Ardua suddenly drops dead tomorrow, as he likely would eventually anyway, (renal failure is a terminal ailment, and only transplant and not his stupid faith in some miracle can save him) and a few morons decided that Good-luck Jonathan is not from the North and therefore cannot become the next president, it would simply be God’s will. We would all write articles and scream on the pages of newspaper about the unconstitutionality of the decision but nothing would happen. We are clowns in Nigeria and the whole world is laughing at us. We all know that clowns act stupidly to make children laugh. So you can see that my hypothesis will eventually take shape.

Therefore, I daresay that religion will remain one of the greatest impediments to our greatness in Nigeria. Alternatively, if the influence of religion is effectively utilized it can actually be a useful tool for development.

Take a look at the North where Islam is the dominant religion. The wretched religious clerics in that part of the country can easily mobilize more than five million street urchins to wreck havoc on all Igbo traders because an unidentified person used a torn page from the Quran to wipe his bum after defecating. Has anyone ever wondered why it was always the Igbos? Meanwhile, they have never ever organised a peaceful rally to express their displeasure at the lack of development in the area.

The North is probably only second to the Stone Age in terms of human capital development. Even those in that age used their brains to fabricate sophisticated tools for hunting purposes. And then the joke of the century is when Forbes magazine suddenly came up with the story that the only billionaire from Nigeria is actually from that part of the country. Well, he is not the government so what is he supposed to do? I beg to differ. This guy has one of the most potent clouts in any government in Nigeria. He can advocate and strive to see that something is done. Bill Gates has used billions of dollars of his money to fight malaria. There is no malaria in America but it kills millions of children in Africa every year.

Christianity is the fastest growing industry in the southern part of the country. The pastors are growing fat while the congregation are burdened by the harsh economic conditions. All the rogues in government are elders in one church or the other. The churches are like second homes to looters of the treasury. They are chairmen or chairpersons of one church building committee or the other. The pastors are always saying special prayers for them and have no scruples about taking their stolen money.

The churches now buy private jets for their chief executive officers (oh sorry, pastor) and are shameless enough to claim that it is for evangelism. Meanwhile, half the congregation of those churches live on less than $1,000 in a year while most of the youth are jobless. Yes, the pastors are not the ones to provide jobs; but how many times have they criticised the government for not creating those jobs? How many times have they told them that they cannot continue to loot the treasuries and then come around to the house of God to make some bogus claims of God’s blessings in their lives?

During the last American election, religious leaders were very vocal in their criticism of one government policy or the other. They do not keep quiet and say it is God’s will. Barack Obama’s pastor, Reverend Wright, was so vocal about his criticism of America’s racial divide that he became a big threat to his election prospect. That is the job of a pastor- saying the truth as it is, and not only collecting tithes and junketing about in private jets in the name of evangelism.

Pastor Tunde Bakare is the only pastor that I respect in Nigeria. He told Obasanjo to his face that he is evil. That is a real man of God. I worship with RCCG but not impressed that all manner of past and present rogue governors and ministers tend to associate with the overseer. They are always present at the Holy Ghost nights. They have probably repented and God has forgiven them and they are free to enjoy the loot till they die. A thief is a thief. I don’t care if God has forgiven them. What manner of forgiveness is that anyway? How about the thousands that died on the roads that he refused to tar? How about the thousands of kids that died because there was no free Medicare?

The Yorubas of South-West are the most pathetic. They are quick to boast of their education and sophistication. Meanwhile, Adedibu and Obasanjo were the best they could come up with as national leaders. The former was the head of street urchins while the latter has a reputation for sleeping with his children’s wives.

I am actually fed up discussing and writing articles about our thieving leaders. They will never change anyway, at least not through our lengthy articles or criticism. If you believed that Ya’Ardua and his PDP cohorts will not rig 2011 election, then you are even more stupid than an average Nigerian. Your own stupidity is extra-terrestrial. If you believed that the electoral reform would lead anywhere, I despise your sense of reasoning. If anyone believes that Nigeria will wobble and fumble (a la Fanny Amun!) into greatness, then I leave you alone to perish as a nonentity who only came to this world to look at Eko Bridge. (Or London bridge)

The Igbos and the Ijaws are probably the ones that have been most rebellious, the least religious and hence the least stupid. Maybe that is where the hopes of Nigeria lie. They would never accept that something is the will of God simply because somebody said so. They are difficult to subjugate and that is one of the reasons there was a civil war in the first place. Ojukwu remains a true hero. Why would some group of murderers continue to kill your people over some flimsy excuses? If I was an Igbo, I would be a low-life not to fight under those circumstances. He fought for what he believed in and the Igbo people followed him because they are not stupid like my people, the Yorubas. Although they lost the war and millions of lives were lost, but I know that they live to fight another day as long as some people continue to deter the progress of others.

The Ijaws have taken over the struggle and though there have been some criminality in the struggle, that is not unexpected, but by and large they have shown that people’s destiny is in their own hands and God’s will has nothing to do with it.

Yar’Adua and the looters of the treasury, both at the federal and state level, have started to panic as MEND cripples the oil industry. MEND, a ragtag bunch of militias have exposed the weakness of the Nigerian government. They quickly and with lightening speed offered them amnesty. They knew if there is no more oil, there wouldn’t be any Nigeria. They planned to kill twenty million Ijaws to satisfy the lust and cravings of those vampires in Abuja.

Nigeria cannot continue to be the butt of jokes in the world. We cannot continue to believe that everything is the will of God. It is not God’s will to lack the basic things of life, and certainly not his will that our children should still be dying from malaria because there are no good hospitals. Untimely death from accident on death traps called road is not the will of God. All these things are the creations of the rogues amongst us and we have aided and abetted their actions because we have kept silent and didn’t act. Our lack of action is construed as acceptability; we are therefore very stupid collectively.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/index.php/content/view/12621/55

This is bad news.

Can he name names (of those who retired him based on ethnicity)?

TPIAH,

I do not need to say I was born in Yorubaland if I was not. Tell me if there is an advantage it confers that should propel me, of all people, to say I was born there if I was not? I am a proud and accomplished Igbo man whom Yoruba has not offered anything in life, so far. Where I worked in Yorubaland was not owned by an indigene. So, take your argumentative nature and shove it,

I was born in Yorubaland and lived a significant part of my life in two different Yoruba states. I schooled there partly, and also worked there. I speak the language too. So when I talk about Yoruba, I know what I am saying, to a large extent. But again, this topic was not about me and Yoruba.

During the tenure of OBJ, the Ijaw warlord Asari Dokubo once described Awo as evil (I forgot the other adjectives he used) and OPC directly declared him persona non grata and barred him from stepping into Yorubaland until he apologises. Recently, past uncomplimentary remarks made about Awo by another great Yoruba (I also forgot his name but that fellow was obviously friends with Zik during their political hey days) almost went unreplied by Yorubas. Now why would Asara not be able to exercise his freedom of speech in Yorubaland, especialy when he did not even insult a group (Yoruba) but just an individual?

An Igbo can say what I sad about Biafra and go free. A Yoruba can say what I said about Awo and go free. An hausa may insult the sultan and go free. An Ijaw may accuse their leaders of corruption and go free. But people of other tribes dare not. True or false?

Jairzinho:
Your examples are a bit flawed,this isn't tribalism,. . . . .its called incitement !

Much as any discerning body would dislike what tribalism has wrought in Nigeria, its existence in Nigeria is a fact of life that nobody can deny. If in doubt, let a Yoruba walk down to Onitsha and publicly say ''Biafra war was stupid''. Let an Igbo man go to Ibadan and say ''Awo was a fraud who seized their money and only gave back 20 pounds''. Let a Yoruba go to Kaduna and insult the sultan. Let an hausa man go to the Delta and say Niger Delta leaders are corrupt. The reaction can only be imagined.

Most (if not all) newspapers in the world are free online. Punch go tire.

lagbaja:
copyright law on internet content in Nigeria ?. how are they going to enforce that when they dont know where I am operating from, whether within or outside Nigeria.

Your IP number bears you out. Except you are operating from outerspace

Suit yourself. It is a large world with large enough receptacle to accomodate all shades of opinion.

IBB's mother is not the same as IBB. Plus, so much hue and cry was also generated when Yorubas accused OBJ of being Igbo simply to give them another opportunity at the presidency (PDP) when it moves down south again. It is grieviously evil to try to confer a different ethnicity to a person, especially in a country like Nigeria.

It is news because he was being accused of impersonation. And in the volatile environment that Nigeria is, Sokoto indigenes could become violent and riotious, knowing that a Yoruba man illegally/deceitfully reigned over them. If it is no news, why did it appear in the papers?

http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2652:i-am-not-a-yoruba-man--former-sokoto-gov&catid=16:headline-news&Itemid=75

I Am Not A Yoruba Man – Former Sokoto Gov
Written by Golu Timothy, Abuja
Thursday, 18 June 2009 02:39
Former governor of old Sokoto State, Alhaji Yahaya Abdulkarim, has debunked media reports which insinuated that he is a Yoruba man who lived and became a governor in the north.

He said it is painful that some persons want to create a false history of origin and deliberately create a crisis of identity for him.

Speaking to our correspondent in Abuja, the former governor, who served under General Babangida's two- year transition period said, "I am shocked to read on the pages of a newspaper that I am a Yoruba man. I am being compared to others who have those backgrounds. I am not happy to have been wrongly accused of being an impersonator. Because that is what it means if you say I am not the child of my father. Maybe somebody is being referred to here, but as a journalist, I expect verification and authentication of whatever information one gets before going to press.

“I was born here in my village in Talata Mafara by my parents who are also from here. My father was a Native Authority officer and my brother, a former senator. Anybody in doubt can even contact the Sultan of Sokoto and findout the truth. I don't know what the story intends to achieve, but I want to advise people against such dangerous jokes or mistakes as the case may be. They are capable of creating serious conflicts in the country. It is unfair and ungodly for anyone to say what he does not fully know or be used to pass an unconfirmed information.

"Is it because my surname is also being used by Yoruba people? Does that make me a Yoruba man? I am not against any tribe, but I hate to transfer my solemn identity, which God has given me. I did not choose that from Zamfara, so nobody should make me a Yoruba man by force. I have no link with the Yorubas in any way," he added.

MOre pay coming for Northern workers.

By Our ReporterPublished TodayNewsRating: Unrated
Workers in the 19 nothern states will soon enjoy a pay rise, it was learnt today.

The Heads of service of their respective states have forwarded a recommendation on the improved salary structure to the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) for approval.

Kwara State Commissionner for Information and Communication Ben Duntoye said the implementation was being delayed by the global economic meltdown and Niger Delta crisis.

I got this mail- our brothers have devised new methods to steal. Na waoh! When you click the link they provided, you immediately realize how fake the site is.


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Kanu deserves his spot.

Aloy Emeka:

Adeboye has a case with customs (tax/duty evasion) which is in the public domain. Tell him to report himself and make the necessary corrections and be saved. Nigerians merely making him a legend due to a brainwashed state of mind will not assuage.

Please differentiate between religiousity and morality. No doubt, Nigerians are highly religious people but highly immoral too. More Nigerians will probably be in hell than other Africans put together ( ;I duck my head for the expected bombs)

Aloy.Emeka:
Don't mind Afaukwu and BecomeRich. They speak the thoughts in their minds and not the fact.

I think Adeboye deserves the number one spot and should've won by a higher margin.

And you speak what thought? The thought of your stomach? What makes Adeboye a legend in Nigeria? At least I am persuaded to assume that more than half of the Nigerian population (I mean muslims) may not have voted him as their legend. Then for the rest half, what has he done for them? How many charities has he established? How many scholarships has he given? Was he not mentioned in custom duties evasion bothering on corruption? Lemme hear word ojare.

Ibime:
Where do you think the people of Ndoki are from? They are Okrika migrants. Last time my pops was in Ndoki land, one old man hugged him and told him that he is their ancestor.

You mean Ndoki in Abia state? They are definitely a blend of peoples: Igbo and possibly Ijaw. I do not know much about them and have only met one Ndoki person all my life. Her Igbo sounded strange.

Ibime:
Afaukwu, what makes you think Niger Deltans would not view Ojukwu as a legend? Ojukwu is a qualified legend!

Most Ijaws would not. I have a number of Ijaw friends and some of them do not hide their resentment for Igbos. I have come to understand that the feeling is pervasive or near so. In contrast, Akwa Ibom people will behave differently than other NDs.

Also remember the comments of Edwin Clark on the presidential bids of Peter Odili and Pat Utomi?

Thanks ow11.

I was wondering why many Okrika people fancied Umuahia women in particular. I hear more than half of the people of Okrika have half-Igbo ancestry. Although I am from the general Umuahia area, I have not bothered to investigate that trend. It is something that is worth looking into

Olodo becomerich,

Jaja of Opobo was Igbo. That is why Opobos speak Igbo. Go back to your Benin republic for history classes

Becomeerich is a crass misinformer. When you tell some people to leave their native homes and travel out a bit to gain knowledge, they will say no/mba/iro. Andoni is different from Ndoni and Ateke is from Okrika which has no bearing with Ndoni, an Igbo area of Rivers.

ow11:
Most Ijaw people have Igbo blood as it was the norm to always marry an Igbo girl in addition to your regular wife.

Pray tell, what is the possible connection between your assertion above and King Jaja of Opobo (the Igbo boy who became the greatest Ijaw leader ever known)? Did he facilitate the trend of Ijaw (men) marriage to Igbo (women)? Just curious.

Such polls indirectly tell the population of Nigeria and the number who are involved in socio-political activities- such as polling. Whereas Adeboye, Kalu, Soyinka and Gani cut across the entire Nigerian spectrum, at least the discerning south (and would in all likely have been voted by ALL NIGERIANS), it is almost predictable that an average Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba and Niger Delta (minus Imo, Abia and possibly Akwa Ibom) would not vote Ojukwu as a legend. So who voted for him? Mainly Igbos, I guess; indicating that Igbos are the most populated Nigerians overall, or at the least, have the most number of people who are enlightened as to participate in a poll.

Adeboye, Kanu, Ojukwu, Gani, Soyinka win living legend poll
Headlines Jun 17, 2009 By Kayode Matthew
LAGOS — THE search for Nigeria’s 5 greatest living legends, initiated by Vanguard Media Limited and Silverbird Group, ended yesterday as five winners out of 20 nominees were announced in Lagos.

The winners who emerged after the collation of results of votes cast by Nigerians through text messages are Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; Nwankwo Kanu; Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu; Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Professor Wole Soyinka.


The winners who emerged after the collation of results of votes cast by Nigerians through text messages are Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; Nwankwo Kanu; Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu; Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Professor Wole Soyinka.
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who is the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God scored the highest number of votes with 30.8 per cent of the total votes cast followed by the current captain of the National football team, Nwankwo Kanu with 10.4 per cent of the votes. Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu polled 8.9 per cent of the votes to come third, Chief Gani Fawehinmi emerged the fourth winner with 7.6 per cent votes while Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka came fifth with 6.2 per cent.

The other 15 nominees and their votes are Professor Dora Akunyili 5.6 per cent; General Yakubu Gowon 4.7 per cent; General Olusegun Obasanjo 4.5 per cent; Anthony Cardinal Okogie 4.4 per cent; Chief Anthony Enahoro 3.2 per cent; King Sunny Ade 2.6 per cent; Professor Chinua Achebe 1.3 per cent; Phillip Emegwali 1.3 per cent; Alhaji Aliko Dangote 1.3 per cent and Professor Pat Utomi 1.0 per cent.

Others are Mallam Balarabe Musa 0.8 per cent; Chief David Dafinone 0.7 per cent; Chief Akintola Williams 0.6 per cent and Hakeem Olajuwon 0.5 per cent.

The criteria for nomination was based on selfless service; enduring achievements; sincerity of purpose; resilience; patriotism; uprightness; respectability and incorruptibility.

According to Vanguard and Silverbird, the project was borne out of the fact that “for too long in Nigeria, so much emphasis has been placed on materialism and wealth, which in turn has led to the get rich quick syndrome and the erroneous praise of visibly corrupt and irresponsible individuals, a situation that has led to undeserving and unworthy people being bestowed with National Awards while the real heroes of our time, who have contributed selflessly to the upliftment and development of our fatherland have had their achievements gone unnoticed because of the present day celebration of mediocrity and corruption”.

An award ceremony for the winners will hold on a date to be announced by the organisers.

At the press conference held at the premises of the Silverbird Group to announce the winners were the General Manager of Silverbird Galleria, Mrs Naomi Iwugo, Mr Jacob Akinyemi Johnson of Silverbird, Mr Ikeddy Isiguzo, Vanguard Editorial Board Chairman and Mr Victor Omoregie, Corporate Affairs Manager of Vanguard Media.




95 Responses for “Adeboye, Kanu, Ojukwu, Gani, Soyinka win living legend poll”

Constitution Review: North Plots Against South, Ekweremadu
By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi (Abuja) and Austin Oboh (Lagos)

Northern elite is not comfortable with the attempt to amend the Constitution and has enlisted its members on the Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR) to scuttle the exercise unless it has its way.





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It emerged at the weekend that Northern lawmakers are in the loop, which includes a plot against Deputy Senate President and JCCR Chairman, Ike Ekweremadu, by insisting on the title of JCCR Co-chairman for Usman Nafada, who is House of Representatives Deputy Speaker.


Nafada has turned down the title of JCCR Vice Chairman, even though the Senate argues this is what the Constitution recognises.


National Assembly (NASS) sources said factors the North has stacked up against Ekweremadu include:


One: The North believes that its interests would be jeopardised with Ekweremadu chairing the JCCR, hence its insistence that Nafada must be Co-chairman, so that both men would take joint decisions.


A source, a ranking legislator, reasoned that "the latitude given to the former JCCR Chairman and former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, would not be repeated this time.


"Because there was no Co-chairman in the last Constitution review, that was why the issue of tenure elongation was brought in and the House had to play along. This time around, we want to be carried along in every decision-making on the JCCR."


Two: The North wants control of the finances of the JCCR, outside the N1 billion appropriated for the exercise in the 2009 budget.


"Look, lobby will come in form of money. Those with vested interests in any clause to be amended will do something. There is no way one man would be allowed to be in charge of that."


The antagonists believe the only way to control the finance is if Nafada becomes Co-chairman and is privy to all decisions.


Three: While the North is stridently against state creation, the South seeks more states and has mobilised the Southern Senators' Forum (SSF) to speak with one voice on it.


The SSF has agreed that, to correct imbalance, the South East should have three new states while other zones should have a maximum two new states each.


But the North believes that its fears over state creation would be allayed only if Nafada is made JCCR Co-chairman.


"He can adequately protect Northern interest and keep us abreast of developments concerning the issue," the source said.


Another concern of the North is oil derivation which the South wants increased from 13 per cent to 50 per cent, but which the North opposes.


According to a source, the North is against any increase in the percentage and believes that Ekweremadu being from the South East would be sympathetic to raise it to at least "50 per cent as demanded by the South South.


"There is a general mistrust, and unless Nafada is there as Co-chair who will be part of decision making of the review committee, we don't see how we are going to accept Ekweremadu as the Chairman with Nafada as Vice Chairman."


He cited the National Political Conference where there was a Co-secretary; so, "there is nothing unusual about Co-chairman. In an important exercise like the review of the Constitution, you can't leave it to the whims of one person."


Senate President, David Mark, inaugurated the JCCR in October last year, comprising 44 members from each NASS Chamber.


A joint review has, however, been filibustered by House members who insist that Nafada has the title of Co-Chairman.


Mark announced about two weeks ago that the Senate would do a solo review and harmonise its conclusions with those of the House.


Ondo State Governor, Segun Mimiko, touched on the gridlock at the weekend when he reiterated that reforming electoral system, which is part of the Constitution review, is critical to enthroning a virile democracy.


He advised Nigerians to pay attention to the independence of the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as the two institutions are vital to democracy.


His words: "Whatever we can do to strengthen the judiciary, let's do it, because ultimately if the judiciary is strengthened, and can make independent decisions, then we will be on our path to having a dependable INEC or whatever name it is called.


"The argument about whether it is the President or the NJC (National Judicial Council) that should choose the INEC Chairman, I think, is taking the issue to a pedestrian realm, because we love names that have some meat around them.


"If a President really willingly wants to influence it (appointment of INEC Chairman), nothing stops him from picking. There are one million ways he can influence the NJC, even to pick whoever he wants as INEC Chairman.


"The issue that I think we should be harping upon, because the independence of the INEC is very important and critical, is how can we ensure that if, per chance, a fairly good person is INEC chairman he can be truly independent.


"The issue is how do we ensure independence for the INEC and continue to fortify the judiciary and make it truly independent? If we do all those things we will be on our path to electoral reform."

US don rates Innoson helmets, auto products high
By Moses Akaigwe [igwemos@sunnewsonline]
Friday, June 12, 2009
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Plastic wares, crash helmets, motorcycles and other automotive products and accessories manufactured by companies within the Innoson Group, have earned high marks in the score card of a curious American Associate Professor who visited their factories in Nnewi and Lagos, recently.

Professor Deborah Brautigam, who has been to many African countries, including Zambia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and South Africa on a fact-finding mission focused on the bilateral business ties between Nigeria and China, said she was impressed with both the production processes and the end-products in all the Innoson factories she visited, particularly the Innoson Technical And industrial Company, Emene Enugu, where sundry crash helmets and plastics are made.

Aside helmets and a wide variety of plastic products by Innoson Technical, another member group, Innoson Nigeria Limited produces motorcycles in Nnewi, while a plant that will make commercial vehicles of various types, is being set up, also in Nnewi. All the products and factories were rated high by the visiting American don who described them as “plastic and automotive products of international standards”

Prof. Brautigam also lauded the foresight, vision and investment acumen of the Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, OON, saying that his ventures in the productive sector which have impacted on the economy and the society, should be emulated by other Nigerians.

The American researcher spoke further: “I have come here myself and what I saw was very impressive and commendable. Chief Chukwuma is not only a big investor, but has successfully taken great advantage of (the existing cordial) Nigeria-China business relations. I hope more Nigerians would copy his vision and business ideals. He has demonstrated to a large extent that something good could be realized from the partnership”.

Professor Brautigam observed that in all the Innoson factories she visited, she saw hundreds of Nigerians actively employed. “Chief Chukwuma has created employment opportunities for many Nigerians. He is indeed a gift to Nigeria; he is not only hardworking, but very innovative”.

She, however, noted that Innoson, like most investors in Nigeria, has been wrestling with many daunting challenges. “The acute shortage of electricity supply in Nigeria is very challenging and capable of discouraging willing investors. The federal Government should provide energy if your hope of being among the best 20 economies by the year 2020 is to be realized. My visit has given me an insight into the enormous challenges facing Nigeria’s entrepreneurs of which Chukwuma is included. Here is a man with wonderful commitment to giving jobs to Nigerians, but is faced with energy problem, insecurity, poor road network and multiple taxation”.

The researcher said she was stunned to read newspapers which reported the injustice meted out to Innoson Nigeria Limited some years ago by the Customs , which auctioned away 25 containers of motorcycle CKD (completely knocked down) sets, without convincing reasons.
She urged Chukwuma not to allow his spirit to be dampened by the set-back, stressing that despite the obstacle on his way, he is destined to be a great industrialist.

“I read in the newspapers that the Nigerian Customs seized and auctioned his 25 containers of automotive goods. This is an aberration. It cannot happen in the United States of America… if Chukwuma is an American, he would have gone higher than his present level because all the assistance he needed would have been provided by the government. But, I want him to continue the struggle because God wants to use him to better the lot of many people”.

Responding, Innoson Group Chairman applauded the visitor for finding time to come all the way from the US to his factories, a selfless effort which he said was worthy of commendation. Urging her to keep her intellectual work alive, Chukwuma also lauded her on-going effort to expose industrialists in Nigeria to the world.

“You are a servant of the world. May you keep the effort alive in spite of obvious challenges”, Chief Chukwuma remarked.

Brautigam who lectures at the American University, Washington DC, has been researching into the Nigeria-Sino business relations with a view to finding out if the interaction has had positive impacts on the Nigerian economy, especially the automotive sector.

She said she visited Nigeria in 1991, but lamented that some of the companies that were doing well then have either died or are having stunted growth today, adding that most of those making progress have Chinese technical partnership. A good example, according to her, is Innoson.
Brautigam also identified Nnewi, a commercial town popular for its numerous auto-related ventures, as having the fastest growing industrial cluster in Nigeria.

The increasing influence of China on the Third World, especially Africa and Nigeria in particular, has been positive and salutary. And predictably, other super economies, especially the Western powers, are watching, but very uncomfortably, Brautigam said.