By Femi AribisalaSOMEyears ago, I visited Angola. On a sight-seeing tour around Maputo, my guide took me to an area of the city where the powers-that-be lived.The houses were obviously more elegant than those in other areas. The streets were tarred and the gardens manicured. He then said something that caught my attention.He said: “There are no power-cuts in this part of the city.”Negatively egalitarian:For some reason what came immediately to my mind was that Nigeria is an egalitarian country. Don’t ask me tojustify this questionable distinction, but I thought: “There are no parts ofLagos where there are no power-cuts.” All Nigerians enjoy power-cuts. Even the powerful are not denied this benefit.While that might suggest there is little discrimination between the rich and the poor in Nigeria, it is not intended here as a compliment.It means we have not been able to define exclusion zones to power-cuts. Let me put it this way: Nigeria seems to be currently incapable of identifying an area, city or region where there would be no power-cuts for whatever reason?Nigeria Football Supporters ClubThere were power-cuts in the middle of the African Cup final football match between Nigeria andBurkina Faso. Given our current romance with power-cuts, is it possible for Nigeria to define an area of excellence with regard to something as basic as electricity?The President of Nigeria is the Patron of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. In that capacity, he gives an annual speech on the state of Nigeria’s foreign policy under the auspices of the Institute. I recall one of those speeches when General Ibrahim Babangida was Head of State.The venue was the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. In the middle of the president’s speech, there was a power-cut that lasted thirty minutes. The back-up generator failed to come on. Everyone remained there in the dark in silence, waiting for the light to come back on. The security implications were not lost on me. Given Nigeria’s checkered history, there might have been a coup d’étatat that very minute and the president could have been attacked.Democratisation of power cutsMy problem with that incident lies in our inability to guarantee electricity even when the president of the country is giving a major speech. In other countries, heads would roll for such a blunder. In Nigeria, it is par for the course. Weare not bothered because power-cuts are “democratised.” Nobody is excluded. Today, I bet there are power-cuts even in Aso Rock. The only thing will be that standby-generators are turned on when theyoccur.Mediocre presidents:Nigeria is a country of mediocrities. Anybody can be anybody in Nigeria. A carpenter can be appointed as Minister of Health. A doctor can become the Minister of Mines and Power. Qualifications matter little. It is “Turn-by-turn Nigeria Limited.”An indolent man wakes up in the morning, has a long stretch and then comes to a sudden decision: “Iam going to run to be President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Two weeks later, he is interviewed about his candidature in one of the country’s major newspapers, after having given a bulging brown envelope to a strategically-placed journalist.Does anyone really believe this nincompoop has a chance of becoming president of Nigeria? Yes, indeed! In Nigeria, all things are possible. Even a blind man can become the goal-keeper of the Super Eagles. Nigeria is a democratic country in a truly Nigerian sense of the word. Just about anybody can be president of the country.Chris Okotie was a musician.Then he morphed overnight into a pastor. From there, he received a divine call to run for president of Nigeria. Nobody seemed to be bothered by this. Nobody laughed at his presumptiveness. He filled the newspapers with adverts proclaiming his divinely ordained candidature. He never thought it necessary to start off by running as a local government chairman.He overlooked his state legislature. He refused to consider running for membership of the Federal House of Assembly. He considered the Senate to be beneath his aspirations. He clearly felt running as the Governor of his state would not cut it. In Nigeria, experience is irrelevant.Presidents don’t get much done anyway. Therefore, the first choice of a political neophyte by name of Chris Okotie was to run as president. Presumably, as president, he would run the countryby prayer and fasting.Nigeria is a country where true presidential materials never get to be presidents. Many are celebratedin death as the best presidents Nigeria never had. On the contrary,we have many examples of men who glory at becoming presidents unexpectedly, without plan or purpose. Obasanjo became president and claimed: “Not My Will.” Shagari became president when all he wanted was to be a Senator.Goodluck Jonathan became president essentially as a result of his good luck. That means people become president who don’t have a clue what to do when in power. When they become president, they register in a school and start to learn the ABC of public policy. By the time they reach JSS 1, their termis over. Then they might shoot for athird term.Challenge of leadership:Different countries define their areas of specialisation; not Nigeria. When you think Brazil, you think football. When you think of Cuba, you think Olympic boxing. When you think of Jamaica, you think of world class sprinters.When you think of Japan, you think electronics. But when you think of Nigeria, nothing of excellence comes to mind. When you think of Nigeria, you think of corruption, kidnapping and armed-robbery. When you think of Nigeria, you think of 419; “yahoo yahoo” and other scams. We only specialise in the negatives. We have not yet decided as a nation to be good at anything or to be known for anything good. In 52 years of independent existence as a country,we have still not even decided to be a nation.And yet, it is a decision that can very easily be made. All it requires is a leadership that can challenge Nigerians to excellence. There is no question that Nigeria is full of remarkable people who are exceptional in virtually every area of human endeavour.You will find them all over the world, in key and strategic areas of the economies of foreign countries.But you will struggle to find them in Nigeria. The same Nigerian who fails to pull his weight while working at the Federal Ministry of Education, undergoes a metamorphosis when he moves to the British Council where he puts up a stellar performance.“We choose to go to the moon,” declared John F. Kennedy as President of the United States in 1962, “We choose to go to the moonin this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” By 1968, United States had landed a man on the moon. That is proof of leadership. A decision is taken and resources are marshaled to bring it to fruition.By the same token, Nigerians can and should choose to excel in something for a change. We cannotcontinue in the current pattern where we chose to go to the Olympics and are determined to win no medals whatsoever. The last Olympic outing was nothing short of disgraceful. We tried our very best to fail and succeeded. The best sprinters in the world are naturally produced in Nigeria, the same way the best middle-distance runners are naturally produced in Kenya and Ethiopia. Nevertheless, we continue to watch on the sidelines as a small country as Jamaica, with only 6 million people, dominates the sprints in the Olympics.Football prodigies:Nigeria is a nation of footballers. Visit any major Nigerian city on a public holiday, and you are likely to find that many streets have been converted to makeshift football pitches. However, since our local football league is still under mismanagement, Nigerians adopt clubs of the foreign English PremierLeague. The London clubs are the most favoured, especially Arsenal and Chelsea. As a matter of fact, the European Champions League is hotly contested in Ibadan and Enugu.Comparative advantageThere is no reason why a Nigerian team cannot win the World Cup in football, and yet, we even fail to qualify for participation. Nigeria has a comparative advantage in producing excellent footballers. For some reason or the other, we produce quite a number of world class footballers who give good accounts of themselves all over the world.Nevertheless, we fail again and again to put together a world-class national football team. When we manage to qualify for the World Cup, we choose our coaches four weeks to the competition and train a ragtag team for no longer than a fortnight. Is it any wonder why we always come back with eggs on our faces?Finally, after a 19 year hiatus, we won the African Nations Cup this year in spite of ourselves. We did our very best to ensure failure as usual. But somehow, we succeededmost unexpectedly against the odds. The coach, Steven Keshi, claimed he only had five weeks to prepare.He refused to include some of the country’s best players in the squad. By the quarter-finals, word had reached him that he would be fired,something that must have been very good for team morale. Having won the cup against the odds, he immediately decided to resign before the Minister of Sports successfully prevailed on him to stay on.Something needs to be done about this failure-driven Nigeria. Something needs to be done about our penchant to be mediocre. We need to stop squandering our riches. Nigeria needs to become a serious country. A country where achronically sick man is “selected” President and then dies in office is not a serious country.A country where a man like Alao Akala becomes the Governor of a state is not a serious country. A country that cannot increase its power output in eight years, in spiteof spending 16 billion dollars for that very purpose, is not a serious country.

Police robbery gang?

Wetin no go happen 4 naija? The lord is my police!

They are so guilty..girls with more than one earing hole, or eye lashes is a piss off 4 me.

I have continued to wonder the new trend among ladies these days. Personally, it is a piss off for me, seeing a girl perforating more than a hole for ear-rings.
If i have an intention of talking to a lady, seeing the girl with more than one earing, i become so discouraged. As a matter of fact, i consider it immoral or a bad girl. Though i like a girl being bad, but i hate knowing it beforehand, as i condiser such as a label for being bad.
I know many nairaland ladies are guilty of this, so i will want to know if i am the one living in the past because i even saw a lady with three holes in church today and I was like, am i the one in the mideaval island.
Guys, whats your opinion about this. Sexy?

when will Ayotollah moderator of Nairaland be captured?

smoothcrim2014: 1) Only team to allow Tahiti to score. Remember Tahiti's team has only one professional footballer. The rest are like you and me.

2) Exit in the group stage.

3) Less respect for African football.



Grade: E

You need a terrible slap. Does your country Ghana has these? And besides, what is african football, when we play beautiful game. Disqualified at group stage, but why was Ghana not represented? Be respectful to your elders, if not, you will be stunted.

Not only foreign coach, na foreign president we need. what even prompted your reasoning?
What did Betti Vogt left us with.
We just need improvement in our goal coversion rate. Only spain can prove of better possesion than NIGERIA. Even at that, they had their lowest ball possesion rate of 53% in the first half against us, as against their usual trademark.
Our goal creation chances is impressive, just conversion is the problem. Above all, we play beautiful football. Even at other levels too.
We need to stop penchant for foreign goods, 'support local content'

To be candid, the display of the nigerians speak volume. Almost close to perfection
Musa is not to blame, players losing possesion of ball in midfield is normal. Its Enyeama that is to blame. He has developed this poor positioning habit. Starting from the Tahitian goal to the two goals scored by the Uruguans.
With this display we just need a goal scorer. We are times better than them, they had their scarce chances to score and we play them like underdogs.
Honestly, Keshi is the best we have. Very intellient a coach and he already knows the team problem of the team cos he too was evidently frustrated with Ideye and the correction will come b4 worldcup.
Keshi needs to play other keepers to rival this sinking ENYEAMA

It's a 41-member crew with Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola serving as the train driver. Destination is PATH- Power, Agriculture, Transport and Housing - and the passengers, 20 million people. Having spent two days watching the"driver" as he piloted the affairs of the state, Olawale Olaleye presents Fashola at close range
The index: The train is herein referred to as Lagos State conveying an estimated population of 20 million people (as often quoted by the state). The train crew denotes the cabinet members, and of course, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), is identified simply as the "driver".
It was a structured assignment ab initio - a two-day task. Day one was the roadwork and the second, participant observation at the state executive council meeting otherwisecalled exco.
The first day, May 9, was a Thursday and not a typically crowded day even though Fashola was unable to heave a sigh of relief until evening.

Read full text here, this guy is just an exemplary leader

http://allafrica.com/stories/201305240870.h

iheneme: Listen to good radio/TV stations such as BBC. I never miss any edition of HardTalk usually presented by Stephen Sackur.

For where? listen to Patrick Obahiagbon, former House of Rep. member. Sharply, you will understand English pass dictionary, i swear

Every_LadY:


olodo! u no see say princess did not use veil?was that ur wedding pix u are indirectly showing us?

are u okay? u dey mad ni

Super Frankie...amazingly super!

just at the back of the guy leg

Dagrin...see lyrics

won ni mo kuru
e she modupe mokuru, but i be guru. Ni suru, tori mo buru. Ti o ba fe ta bi guguru, ko ya gbenu dake bi nuru. Cos ma ba e ja bi eran kuuru, to ni iwo to niru

too much

tope3x: IDI*OT OLORIBURUKU, OMO ALE, KO NI DA FUN IYA EEE

Guy, u dey vex o!

how dare u compare olamide with dagrin. That one with a child voice. To me, dagrin is like 2pac, heavy voice with overflowing lyrical combination. That olamide that like cursing people, his cursing chemistry too high...

Anyway, he gives us sumthing to fill our mind. That reminisce guy too is not doing bad, he has the voice but the flow is not there yet

why must it always be the people in their best keep dieing and not the corrupted folks
*MJ- king of pop
*2PAC- king of rap
*Baba Awo- a model politician
*dagrin- nigerian rap legend
I also love obj, Tinubu, bamango togo, jona, i want them out ASAP

IYA NGBALI: Chelstink is losing dis one,no top 4 for chelstink dis season

hope u are okay? don't let me ban you here o

Guy, as far as u believe it, that settles it. Stop giving attention to these bunch of occultic group of terrorists called religion.
They find it difficult to mend their problems, and they go on rampage with any slight provocation saying they are fighting their so called allah's course.

What of Nairaland, i bet there is a lot of fake gals here e.g. Badoo

When i saw a small coffin hovering on the hands of Nigerian supporters on which they write 'Burkina Faso, R.I.P.

If i don't comment on this is a sin, coz hardly is there a day that i dnt wish these people are still alive:

*2pac..greatest of all time. Av song 4 every situation (love dat his song, Dear mama)

*Dagrin...lyrically heavy, left 2 soon at d peak of his career. Almost wept at his passing. So love every song 4rm dis guy

*Gbenga Adeboye... too talented. Can mimic any person's voice, a great entertainer...

...sobbing profusely

Hurray! 1st to comment.
I think there is no political will

24-year-old Ibrahim Shoheeb, is recently cooling his heels at the State CriminalInvestigation Department(SCID) Yaba, Lagos, following his arrest bymembers of the Lagos State Neighborhood Watch at Oto Awori community.
Saheed, in the company of two others, reportedly attacked a customer who had gone to withdraw money from one of the second generation banks around Ojo area at the weekend.
The trio of Yusuf Ahmed(35), Chinedu Okafor (28), and Shoheeb reportedly positioned their motorbike opposite the bank and immediately they sighted their victim, report said they trailed him to Alaba International market and while he(victim), was about to board a bus, they snatched the money from him and zoomed off.
They reportedly ran into a hotel in Ojo community and booked for a room.
But unknown to them, a motorist said to have been chasing the motorcycle saw them entering into the hotel and alerted leader of the vigilante group who coinci-dentally lives on the same street the hotel is located, consequent upon which theywere apprehended.
In his confessional statement, Shoheeb said, “ I knew it would result to this but I did not know it will be this soon. The new Lagos State Traffic Law pushed me into this because I had my motorcycle seized by the Lagos state task force. I made efforts to get it back but to no avail.
“Since then, I have been feeding from hand to mouth.Do you know what it means for someone to beg before eating?
“Just when I was contem-plating on what next to do, a member of the gang, Chinedu, introduced me into this. I hesitated at first. But when I went to beg him for money, he refused. Thus, I was tempted to join”, he stated
His partners in crime on theirparts,confessed to have beeninto the crime for three years. Their modus oparandi included, driving their motorbike along routes where banks are located. On sighting a customer coming out from the bank, they would reportedly trail him or her to a convenient place, from where they would snatch the withdrawn money.
Asked how they were able todetermine anyone with money, they revealed that formen, their pockets were usually bulky, while the women usually clung their bags in a manner that arouse suspicion.
The suspects as gathered, were handed over to policemen at Ajangbadi police division from where they were transferred to SCID. Sources at SCID said they would be charged to court soon.
Meanwhile the sum of N50,000 snatched from theirvictim, was reportedly recovered while the gang was at the verge of sharing it.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/lagos-traffic-laws-turned-me-into-a-pick-pocket-ex-okada-rider/

We need to flush out this Igbo people from south west.
fash is leadin the way...

Information at Crime Guard disposal revealed that seven members of the gang would board same bus with their target while another would pose as a sachet water hawker. Unknown to their target the sachet water have all been sedated. One of them would then pretend to buy a sachet water from their gang(hawker), offering N20 note, only to be told there is no N10 note for his balance. Pretending to be nice, the buyer would take another sachet water and offer to their target, with the explanation that he did not want his money to be left with the hawker. And immediately their target drinks the water, he would fall asleep and in the process,have his valuables dispossessed of.
But the gang met its waterloo after a foiled attempt to sedate one of its victims in Ikeja area of the state recently. Consequently, three members of the gang were apprehended.
A Police source at SARS said “We have been on their trail for two weeks now. We got information that the same gang had robbed someone on his way from Ikeja to Yaba and the case was reported at Sabo police station. Driver of that bus and his conductor were initially accused of conniving with the robbers but after proper investigation, they were released with stern instructions to be on the look-out for members of the gang.
Unfortunately for the gang, they boarded the same bus last week Tuesday and the bus conductor who was vigilant noticed them and raised alarm. They were about seven but three of them were arrested while four others escaped. But during interrogation those arrested provided information that aided the arrest of two others. We are currently making effort to apprehend the gang leader who is currently at large”. Heexplained.
I joined the gang because I was not making money from my phone business-suspect
One of the suspects, 24-year-old Chibuike Mbakwe, a native of Orlu, Imo state, said he joined the gang because he wasn’t making enough money from his phone business.
Hear him: “I came toLagosin 2003 after completing secondary school . I went into phone accessories trade at Alaba International market where I met Chioma, the gang’s leader. He introduced me into this crime and in the process I abandoned my trade.
I don’t know how Chioma picks his targets but he always had one. On the day of our arrest, the man Chioma had targeted was carrying a paper bag with him which we concluded contained money. We were six in number including the pure water seller . So far, I have gone on operation withChioma five times”.
We dissolve 15 talin (sedative)into a sachet water
Asked what was the name ofthe sedative drug, he said, “ it is called talin . Fifteen tablets are dissolved in one sachet. This will make our target sleep for three hours. I have no idea how the drug is procured or where it is packaged into the water. But the water is usually brought to the park for the gang member to sell by Chioma.
My role is simply to get into the same bus and cover up Chioma’s activities, so no onewould suspect us”
Asked whether any of their victims had died in the process, he shook his head: “No, the drug is not harmful. I have mistakenly taken a drugged sachet water and had to be taken home by mycolleagues. I woke up after 3 hours”
For 24-year-old Ifeanyi Okeke, a native of Anambra State who plays the role of the hawker, he has this to say: “ I came to Lagos in 2007 to work as a houseboyfor my brother but went back to the village shortly after his shop was demolished at Oshodi by thethe Lagos state Task force.
I returned toLagosin 2011 and went into smuggling of rice and other food items between Seme border and Iyana- Iba. I met the gang about a month ago when they attempted to rob a victim in a bus I was working as a conductor. When I attempted to raise alarm, the gang leader Chioma, signaled to me to keep quiet and gave me his phone number, promising tocompensate me. I did and hegave me N500. We later met at a designated place where he talked me into joining his gang and assigned me to behawking for the gang.
Before boarding any bus, Chioma would call me to meet him somewhere and would give me the bag of thealready drugged sachet water to sell. All I have received since I joined them is just two visa phones and N8000.
I regret joining the gang because Chioma has been cheating me since I joined. More painful, is the fact that the money I realised from the business is poor compared to what I was getting as a bus conductor.” He lamented.
I operated between Cotonou and Togo – Eze


see full content
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/police-arrest-robbers-who-sedate-and-rob-victims-in-commercial-buses/