₦airaland Forum

emofine:
I don't hate Christianity or Islam but I will admit I hate the fact that it took outsiders to “spread the good news”.

I wonder why it effectively took another people to show us “the way, the truth, and the light”. I’m slightly taken back that God in [I]his infinite wisdom[/I] used the same messengers that would later oppress us to ‘enlighten’ us in between "thou shall not steal"-ing our treasure and "thou shalt not kill"-ing our people.

It also makes me wonder if there was something even wrong with our native gods. I know nothing in this life is static so there was bound to be alterations in our culture/spiritualism but to substitute them altogther is a pretty big transition.

It is one thing to adhere to these Abrahamic faiths and follow these God(s) but is it necessary to look down on other gods - like the ones our forefathers served? Today some Nigerians mock what they consider the foolishness of their ancestors bowing down to worship graven images that had been carved by man. . . .well perhaps it was their symbolic depiction of God akin to how the bible alludes to the Christian God.

Again, how comes the God that these people brought is largely considered as the “right” one?
Nigeria has numerous ethnicities adhering to their own spirituality thus there are a plurality of gods in the country. Surely at least one of those gods must have been "right"? Why must it be the God of the Israelites or Allah that is considered worthy of that title “the one true God”?
And yet some Nigerian Christians/Muslims complement their religion with native rites.

Finally, I feel I must clarify that I am by no means proposing that Nigerians should revert to their ancestor’s gods neither am I planning to myself. . .I just wondered whether it was fair to demonize and marginalize our ways and our gods?

Well, i the way you think. I believe the whole demonizing thing was part of the enslavement and colonial process.i.e "make them feel like they are bad, dirty, barbaric and worthless". The white men sold us a lie. All they needed do was simply sow the seeds of distrust and inferiority complex in order to achieve their aims.
Today, if u are caught serving ur ancestors gods, people will look at you as immoral and unrighteous. And by the way, why do they make us spell the christian God with a capital, and ours with a small letter?

hmm, its high time we start thinking and open our eyes!

MSItachi:
what are your needs apart from speed?

Basically cost efficiency, and larger download capacity? Thanks

Please guys which is the best and fastest internet service provider, especially in abuja?

Wow, this is the kind of news i love to hear!

I am a product of bells secondary school, and i can assure you that there was no foul play. I remember how strict and ruthless our principal was during our days in school. And mind you, this is when OBJ was in power. The results were obviously not the best in the country, but at least they were genuine.

So, if the school can finally pull it through to become the best in programming, then it is more honour to them!

One way or the other, this country is moving forward. It is only a matter of time! I forsee nigeria overthrowing South Africa as the giant of Africa in the nearest future!

its in situations like these that i miss OBJ, this Governor shld has been thrown out of office long ago. Since OBJ left power, we have steadily witnessed the rise of the power of the Governors over Federal Matters. How dare he say "in the interest of Abians." This is the federal republic of Nigeria, not "the Federal Republic of Abia." The constitution says you can not discriminate against people based on their place of origin. Why is the NBA dragging its feet? This government shld be taken to court asap! And federal high court, not state, cos the governors control their state high courts!
And why is Jonathan pretending to be unaware of this development? For God's sake, this is a serious threat to our federalism! Is he waiting till every other state adopts the same position?
NIGERIA, what the hell is wrong with you?

SMH

chaircover:
Maybe . . . , one day

One day when there is more patriotism, more accountability & more transparency. One day when we judge a man not by the amount of wealth that he has amassed but by his integrity. A day when wrong is seen as wrong and right is seen as right with no middle ground.

Well said, the fastest way to achieving this is through a brutal no-nonsense government, which specifically goes after erring public officials, and makes scapegoats of them.
The National Assembly also has to wake up to its responsibilities by making corruption a capital offence. Punishment for corruption should range from life imprisonment to death by hanging. Public officers who are found wanting should be automatically barred from any remote contact with public office. Dubious businessmen should be publicly shamed, summarily tried and thrown out of the country
The Presidency shld refrain from interferring with EFCC and ICPC investigations, and should also met out the gravest punishments to those found wanting

Nigeria seriously needs a swift and radical change of the mindset and mentality of the populace. Let pple entring govt be scared of even losing a single kobo!

The situation as it stands now is ridiculous! Infact it encourages people to steal!

Its easy to castigate him because he has been caught. But the truth is that the same thing is going on in the police force everyday. Corruption is rife, and the Nigerian police force has been noted as the most corrupt institution in the entire country.

Yet, we never hear culprits being dealt with or any of the commissioners or officers being taken to court

That simply says, the system of corruption must come from the highest quarters of the force! There are no reform measures being implemented by the current Inspector General, to specifically tackle corruption in the force. Could it be that he is also a beneficiary of the system?

Not to mention the rudeness and outright wickedness of some of the officers!

I think somewhere along the line she lost her way. If only she had kept up with the spirit and conviction of her NAFDAC days, but alas, dirty politics, greed and pressure finally dealt her a nasty blow! She needs to go back, rethink and retrace her footsteps. Nigeria needs the old Dora Akunyili back!!

Good Intentions

Future President

may god punish these bastards!

The answer is a no-brainer, WE SPEND MORE TIME IN OUR CARS THAN IN OUR HOMES! THOSE LEAVING IN LAGOS WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN!!

Dalai Lama visa blocked 'over S. African trade fears'
(AFP) – 23 hours ago  
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa refused to give the Dalai Lama a visa to visit for Desmond Tutu's birthday because the foreign ministry feared his trip would jeopardise trade ties with China, a newspaper reported Sunday.
"The People's Republic of China is South Africa's largest trading partner and was key in avoiding the last recession, among others," read a secret foreign ministry document, which the weekly City Press said it had obtained.
The document said that South Africa's "strategic relationship" with China depended on Pretoria unconditionally supporting Beijing's "one China" policy, which rejects Tibetan independence.
China regards the Dalai Lama as a "splittist" and frowns on overseas travel by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
"The issue of Tibet is high in China's priority and is seen as posing a threat to sovereignty. South Africa respects the quest for China to protect its sovereignty," the document said, according to the paper.
"In dealing with the Dalai Lama, the government is sensitive to the need to uphold the right of association espoused in our constitution but must balance that with the real or imagined role of Dalai Lama," it reportedly said.
"The government, in pursuit of South Africa's national interest, has sought to balance these two issues," it said.
South Africa never publicly announced if it would grant a visa to the Dalai Lama, who was scheduled to give a speech in Cape Town on Saturday to mark Tutu's 80th birthday.
The Dalai Lama cancelled the trip, saying he had received no news about his visa, provoking a furious reply from Tutu who called President Jacob Zuma's administration "worse than the apartheid government" for bowing to China and ignoring the values of the liberation movement.
South African media also reported on Sunday that in the midst of the visa scandal last week, a top-level delegation from the governing African National Congress -- led by the party's secretary general Gwede Mantashe -- quietly flew off to China.
"It is about understanding the political system and how to take lessons from the Chinese on governance issues," one party official told City Press.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ii_URefczc4NFCD89RLNz94tixeA?docId=CNG.ed074b0c4c62f1cf20ba9837fe4f1ee2.4c1


During the libyan war debacle few months ago, South Africa accused Nigeria of playing puppet to western world, especially as Nigeria was one of the first African countries to recognise libya's transitional government. However, these days it seems the "accuser" has finally become the "accused", even as China continues to play a huge role in dictating South africa's foreign policy.
This further goes to show how the big international economic and poltical giants have chosen africa as their playing fields, and continue to manipulate us against ourselves and each other, in order to achieve their own selfish motives. The worst part is that instead of identifying our common enemy, we continue to point accusing fingers at each other, while the powers that be laugh at our backs!

Forget census figures, Northern Governors are useless. Infact the entire system of government in the north is so pathetic and has no bearing with the realities of modern day life. While their judiciary continues to amputate more and more of their local citizens, you need to see the way their governors and political leaders throw away money and resources on frivolities.
I believe the north is seriously dragging development in Nigeria backward! For every one step Nigeria takes, the North takes ten steps backward!
When you cut off a human beings arms for stealing, and you dont provide any means by which such a person can survive, what else do you expect?
these amputees have responsibilities, families to take care of. There is no amount of western education that will see to these needs and thereof keep him off the streets.
And what is the result of this: poverty, begging, more crimes, diseases, boko haram, etc

Welcome development. Once again the govt of lagos state has proved its worth by enacting such initiatives that cater not only to the present deficiencies, but also to the future yet unborn

I hope same laws can be enforced in Edo state, which is the major wood manufacturing state in nigeria

smoothlips:
My Point

I can't tell u how chilly if felt when another Man asked me out on a flight from Abuja to Lagos, he even had the gutts to tell me he is a shy person, Dude if we don't stop it now by 2015, your Kid broda will bring another Man Home for traditional marry, then you will konw

Em, and after they marry what will happen. Will the world come to an end? Will i stop breathing? Pls enlighten me, i need to know the disadvantages of same sex union to the society. I need practical answers, not answers based on sentiments and subjective opinions on what is simply popular deemed to be "normal".

Maybe we shld even have a fair debate here sef, on NL and save the useless lawmakers the time and energy

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=770699.msg9243239#msg9243239 date=1317297498]That change will never come as regards homo-sexuality in africa and nigeria specific.the fact that atheism is not an african thing also contributes to it's opposition cuz you will either find a nigerian that is either a muslim,christain or traditionalist and all three religions forbids homo-sexuality.so what else are you going to spew out ?[/quote]Here again u have ventured to spew utterly baseless and unfounded comments. Nigeria is a secular country, and there is no where in our constitution where it says you must be either christian, muslim or a traditionalist. In fact there is a growing population in nigeria of pple who do not belong to any of the above. What has religion really contributed to the nigerian society. Is it the ridiculously rich and corrupt business men who cloak their activities under the guise of being a "pastor" or fake imams and traditionalists who wld do almost anything for money and power? Upon all the church and mosque we are attending, we are still one of the most corrupt nations in the world! See the lavish cars and properties our public servants acquire, all in the name of serving the masses. Are these pple not christians, muslims and traditionalists?
But aside from that, sexuality has nothing to do with religion. There are many homosexual christians, muslims and traditionalists all over the world.

smoothlips:
oya
1.If they don't take a stand now, soon our streets will be filled with all sorts of thight pants wearing guys and gals demostrating for right to f@#%k and marry same sex.
2. we all saw this boko haram bombing thing coming, but because nobody bothered before hand to take a stand, now we have Mad pips wit bomb and finance,
conclusion
if you pretend is not a threat now, soon u be either buying metal pants or wondering why your husband left you for his best male friend

Ok, this is one of the dumbest posts i've read on nairaland. The premises just dont add up. What has boko haram got to do with same sex marriage?
By the way, in case you dont already knw, the streets are already filled with pple wearing tight pants! While am not a fan of it, i also know it has little to do with sexuality. David beckam wears, tyson beckford etc. Are u saying they are gay too?, With regards to marriage, wld u allow ur sister to stay married to a gay man. Is it better to "force" the marriage, meanwhile the guy is trooping in and out with male lovers?
Pls do more research b4 posting op!

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=770699.msg9242992#msg9242992 date=1317295654]I would have cared less if boko harams were killing our useless politicians ! Oya ko,sango ni.
Homo-sexuality is not a Nigeria thing and it will remains so.if you are looking for enlightenment,use google ![/quote]Well, i dont intend to engage in a lengthy argument with you, because frankly i dnt have the time at the moment. But, the fact is homosexual are here, and there is nothing any law or the govt can do to change that. Sexuality has nothing to do with skin colour, nationality of race. You, my friend should be the one making adequate use of google.
It was only few ages ago that our forefathers also argued that twins were "not a nigerian thing". Today, many families know better and will do anything to get twins.
The only constant thing in life is change, u either adapt or be swept away into the dusts of historical oblivion!

smoothlips:
[ Seriously? They won't debate poor infrastructure, but they will debate man-lover marriage?]
are you guys saying they shouldn't debate it?, i will take it that u don't know how real a threat HOMOSEXUALS are to our society

Please enlighten us, how are homosexuals a THREAT to society?
Oya,

FASHOLA FOR PRESIDENT 2015!!!
This man is light years ahead of his peers, he just continues to outdo his previous achievements!
Alas, blacks are not always dumb!

Na wa o! Inspite of all the campaign on women empowerment! lol
Anyhow, let me not judge you because i dont know the specific situation in your family.
But ask yourself, is it really worth it? Do you believe that by having a male child you will prevent your husband from going outside?
A man who will cheat, will cheat whether or not you have 10 boys for him. I am a product of a broken home, and in my family we are 90% male.
Is it really worth risking your life and plundering your finances just at a futile attempt at tieing down ur husband, when he may not even be bothered about such things in the first place.
This is the 21st century o! Please put all these into consideration before risking your life for nothing.
Besides, have you heard that the future belongs to women. Take a look at world events and see the tide of change that is coming.
In my opinion, it is best to focus on raising your girls and giving all your love to ur family rather than giving into paranoid insecurities. You may even be surprised that getting pregnant again may be the catalyst that will drive the man outside.
Also remember that all these new scientific breakthroughs with regards to conception are not 100% fullproof. What happens when you have the fourth girl? Or God forbid, ur enemy develops complications as a result of the pregnancy?
A word is enough for the wise o!!
All the best

THESE SO CALLED "SENATORS" ARE BIG FOOLS! Sorry to say
First of all, same sex relations are already criminalised under the criminal/penal code respectively, so the issue of marriage should not even arise in the first place!
Secondly, i dont see any same sex movement clamouring for marriage rights, to warrant the senate "pretending" to be engaged in a debate on the matter.
Thirdly, there are no special benefits attached to marriages in nigeria, in the first place, so who gives a damn if the prohibit a goat from marrying a hen?!!!
On the other hand, Nigeria is pressed with serious burning issues that need urgent attention, rather than wasting time n a bill that is not beneficial to anybody on the long run.
Further, if the claim to be engaging i a "debate", i hope they are able to hear from both sides of the coin, Otherwise this would just be a venture of wasted energy, manpower and resources.

The fact is Nigeria is generally a homophobic nation, which prefers to rely on unsubstantiated assumptions and subjective opinion rather than cold hard facts.
I wish i can be given the opportunity of communicating with these morons who loiter the corridors of power, claiming to be serving the people.
Mtscheeew !!

ideylaff:
@ , bro don't get me wrong, I don't despise Pidgin English at all , All I said was if you start to teach a kid Pidgin which no one taught me (I just picked it up) you have a chance to confuse d kid

My bro if Yoruba was a Globally accepted  language, same for Hausa and Igbo, id gladly use it as a means/medium of conversation, but it's not

That's all we are saying, I can speak those languages 4rm here to Honolulu, if the medium in which I want to pass the message on to cant understand it,

I'm the fool then. Just imagine I fly into London and start to speak Yoruba to the immigration officer at his desk @ Heathrow, push comes to shove ,he'll say can I get an interpreter, so if im ready 4 an interpreter to do the job, fine, but whats all that stress for, when i can just say a few lines,
other way round as well an English guy lands at Murtala Mohammed International (MAM) and we start to speak to him in Hausa,

it's all a bit complex, unless we grow our language globally/make it accepted it wont work

well u jst pointed the flaw in ur own argument. if they require an interpreter for u in uk, then why shldnt u require an interpreter for them in murtala mohammed airport. Dnt get me wrong, am not saying pple shldnt learn english, what i am saying is that we must not also forget our own native language. It is our duty to pass on our heritage

freecocoa:
I don't see anything wrong with kids speaking pidgin english,I grew up speaking pidgin and it hasn't affected my english,some people say their kids should learn french,spanish etc instead,if these other languages don't affect their use of the english language why should pidgin? As far as I'm concerned I'd want my kids to learn whatever language they can as long as its not foul.

God bless you. This is the kind of thinking we need in order for our dear country to regain its former glory. We are a country of vast diverse and interesting cultures. We are not english or british, we are nigerian! And we must be proud of our dialect

ideylaff:
@ blackpanda Face it like or lump it English language is a worldwide lingo. its got nothing to do with Colonial Mentality,

I don't see you typing in Hausa, or Ibo or Yoruba,  if you really want to be Pro Nigeria with turning a blind eye to reality.

Bottom line is Pidgin English can be picked up when a kids grows up, whats the point of messing them up with confusion on which word is right and then they grow up with "yes oooo yes ooo yes oo, how u dey naw" every 5 minutes in a conversation.

Whether we like it or not English is here to stay, yes you can teach your kid Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba as you so wish but to teach a kid Pidgin English which is really an aberration to the proper language is just not on.

When we were in school years back people spoke both native and other languages in a well balanced manner, these days its just a crying shame to see things like,     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwEUR_RnUg4

Please do me a favour bro, Speaking English does not make you a slave bro,

.

You see, this is exactly my point. In other countries they type, speak and write in their own language. Unfortunately its the reverse here, where children are taught to shy away from their local language. If i was given the opportunity, today i would be typing everything u are reading in esan, And you are wrong, pidgin is NOT an "aberration". It is our own form of english. Its the same as they speak American in the USA.
No matter how hard we try, we can never speak english like the british. One day, you may find that this pdgin which you despise so much may be the only thing that will save you. We must learn to abandon this culture of importing everything importable.

cicero:
Any language in the world that will last for long must have relevant product, service or some value that it is attached to represents. Now with the world becoming a global community, the product, service or value must have global appeal and relevance.

I love my native language, infact I love igbo, hausa and yoruba. Yoruba language particularly will go far because it is more advanced than igbo and hausa and yoruba scholars are fighting hard to sustain it, pidgin english will go far too. However, if we still got 100 hundred years than the line, what do you think will become of these native languages?
Besides I like to see my children speak very correct english.
They can survive without speaking pidgin english or my native tongue, but can they ever be relevant with speaking correct english looking to the future?

I sorry for you. Your children will join the line of those have been considered "lost". I know this because i am there too. I live abroad and unfortunately my parents didnt have the sense to teach us our native language before we left; all in the name of "English is the future". As a result i feel so ashamed whenever there is a nigerian gathering here, as i cant mutter a word in my own local dialect. When i speak with my mum on the phone, its always in english, and even the foreigners here are usually surprised when i do that.
The fact is when the going gets tough, its to ur tenth o israel. Who will ur children run to. It will be easier for me to get help here form my fellow nigerians if i could speak the language. Even when i tell pple i am a nigerian they dnt believe. They always have to go check my passport first. Infact i m considering switching nationality.
Did you know that even in America, they dont speak English. What they speak is "AMERICAN" which is totally diff from english. The same thing goes for most of the developed world, brazil, germany, france, china, spain, sweden, etc. Everybody is aligning themselves with their own native dialect. Shamefully, nigerians a busy looking for the nearest foreign language to adopt.

cicero:
No pidgin english
No native language

It's english first
Maybe french second
Spanish third

Shame on you! Go to england or spain and see whetehr they say it is yoruba or ibo or hausa 1st. We have simply refused to drop that silly colonial mentality. Part of our problem in this nation is that we have been brain washed to believe that anything foreign is the best. In south africa, the use of local dialect and mother tongue is widely accepted. Infact, in some schools, children are taught in their mother tongue. In universities, you are allowed to write ur exams in ur local dialect! In our case here in nigeria, its the other way round. I weep for our children yet unborn, slowly we are wiping out our entire history, culture and very existence! GBAM!

Another good means of reducing our exploding population hahaha

It seems there is nothing this govt does that will seem rights in u guys eyes
Please stop being cynical, the fact is that this govt is wrking and doing all it can to ensure we have a better society. I f you dont have any positive input or suggestions on how to grow the economy, then pls tie ur tonguw to ur throat! Stop being prophets of doom. Plsss, let us all join hands to lift ourselves out of poverty, not sitting in front of computer to lambast every govt initiative. If ur going to be a clog in the wheels of progress, i promise u will eventually be flushed out of the system!!

maclatunji:
The INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL POLICE ORGANIZATION (INTERPOL) is not an organisation?

You are very high on ignorance; must you post?

Let me take it easy with you (but you have managed to spoil my good mood this morning). Now click on the following links and learn to shut-up unless you are sure of what you are typing.

http://www.interpol.int/public/icpo/default.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpol

If you are foreigner reading this, I sincerely apologize. Not all Nigerians act like this.

I dont know what witch or wizard pressed u during the night, but please direct ur anger to smthing inanimate.
This forum is for sharing opinions and discussing generally, not throwing hate or anger at people. Please keep your frustration in your closet. Your name is not "Google", so please dont claim to know it all.

maclatunji:
Wonderful, now the US can spy a lot more effectively on the member-states of this new organisation. What happened to INTERPOL? Strengthening INTERPOL would have been a more pragmatic approach to counter-terrorism in my opinion.

Interpol is not an organisation. Its more or less simply an agreement by countries to share information.