₦airaland Forum

As a student of language, I come to speeches not for entertainment but for information. I am therefore not particularly impressed by flowery, yet empty, phrases. The hallmark of a good speech is sincerity. I regret to state that the present speech is at variance with the Nigerian reality and riddled with political doublespeak.

The claim that "We have in the last year achieved a lot in terms of the positive transformation of vital sectors of our national life such as public infrastructure, power supply, oil and gas, transportation, education, health..." is one such example of variance with reality. "We remain resolutely committed to the rule of law, due process and fair play in all circumstances. Our democracy continues to grow, and the scope for human freedom continues to expand..." Is yet another instance of the same failing because democratic growth and expanding scope of human freedom are each at odds with unbriddled corruption in government quarters and ever-increasing acts of terror and thriving criminality which came very close to the corridors of power through the kidnap of the finance minister's aged mother.


"Let us all therefore resolve as we celebrate the new year to place the higher interests of national unity, peace, stability and progress above all other considerations..." Governments in civilised climes know that no interest, not even the national interest, is above the individual well-being of the ordinary citizens of a nation. Unity, peace and stability are qualities that only the content can foster.

Whoever writes the president's speeches should please note that the audience of these speeches is not foreign and that the aim of speeches of this calibre is not entertainmet. This piece reeks of cheap student-union, grandiose, yet empty, sloganeering.

The president should get better speech writers. And give them something worthwile to write about through his performance in office.

Your disc drive being faulty shouldn't be a problem. You can use an external USB disc drive. I wonder, did you try using the esc key when the password prompt came up. Sometimes this gets rid of the prompt. I'm not aware of any default password that may be used.

Will someone please ask the dude with the cowboy hat to sh.ut up already!

So, OP, in a nutshell, what is Christianity? (attempting an answer might help you come to grips with the confusion you're in about what Christianity is)

My Nigerian of the year is that man or woman who has toiled endlessly and honestly to make ends meet against the odds of extremely irregular power supply, constant harrassment by tax agents, flagrant disrespect and exploitation by government agents, cold indifference from a popularly elected government, totally dysfunctional public health system, glaring abscence of the most basic of social amenities and the ever-increasing prices of household commodities. To that Nigerian, I say, 'Well done'. You are a saint not to have resorted to illegal short-cuts like you shameless elites in Abuja, your blood-sucking law enforcement agents and your comfort-loving religious tradesmen.

The only reason you're not famous is because you're not a thief and it is for this very reason that the State preys on you. But, remain honest still. That's the honourable thing to be. Never mind that honour has no place in a nation of thieves.

Peace.

What's with the cheap and downright irritating attempt to generate undeserved traffic for some down-in-the-doldrums site? What stops you from completing your pseudo expose here and thereafter invite us politely to your site if we think the read was wortwhile rather than seek to blakmail us into visiting your site?

Sorry bro, no deal for you. I ain't clicking no link. Finish your gist here - if there's gist, that is.

You may have to boot your system from a bootable windows xp cd and reinstall your operating system. I suspect that the software enhancement you made requires a licence which you don't have. You have to be careful with Microsoft software. Microsoft is fighting software piracy and illegal use in Africa viciously.

Reinstalling your opreating system won't harm your data. But don't format while reinstalling. Just reinstall the OS.

The dumbest thing anyone can do is to seek a sectarian or tribal interpretation for this thievery. Is it that such a person is so daft as not to see that the composition of these thieves defies ethnic boundaries. Or that the person is too blind to see that these are men and women united in robbery?

You see, while the political elite have managed to transcend the borders of religion and ethnicity in their thievery, some downtrodden citizens have clung on to same as the only meaningful association. Better wake up and see that there's no tribe or religion in corruption. A thief is no more (or less) a thief because he comes from a particular tribe.

What worries me about all of this drama is that it is so reminiscent of the past. We seem to be following a damning pattern. The military interventions of the past were caused by the brazen display of avarice by politicians which got ordinary citizens disillusioned and created a fertile, receptive ground for the coming of the military to power. At the inception of such interventions the masses usually welcome the military with open arms if only to put a stop to the reckless pilfering of the politician. But alas, the soldiers turn out to be worse than the civilians they displaced. This has always been our story and it doesn't at all look like we are about to break out of that cycle.

There is nothing to say to Jonathan. He is simply not worth talking to.

Such emptiness really shouldn't make the news. How is it that we are so backward that the construction/rehabilitation of roads is considered a great achievement by political office holders? Are these governors never ashamed of their content with tasks as meagre as road construction considering the enourmous resources at their diposal? Road construction is nothing, the real task of government is to make life comfortable for the majority of the populace as governments in other oil-producing climes have done for their citizenry. In those places, nobody talks about roads and road construction because it just doesn't make sense to do so!

I must say that your post, Sir, leaves one glarring question in the mind of your reader: who are you and what's your stake in the conflict you have so painstakingly outlined? Furthermore, what are we to make of this post, what's your intent? You clearly give no background information as to the genesis of the conflict neither do you furnish us with any facts with which to draw our own conclusions. Rather, you would have us accept that your stance on the matter at hand is justified and right even when you provide no basis for your position.

Since you know so much about this issue, do you mind telling us why you hold the views you have expressed here and why you think that this conflict is relevant to the Nigerian public.

"Severally it has been said that no matter what the administrators of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may coerce us to believe, the nation’s apex oil concern is full of glaring aberrations some systemic, most deliberately dubious. It would be recalled that both the Association of Petroleum Products Marketers and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria in December last year petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan and alleged that the NNPC is the source of the sharp practices in kerosene marketing and consequent high cost of the product. According to the group, “The sharp practice is attractive, because while NNPC which was supposed to sell kerosene at the subsidised price of N50 per litre, now sells DPK as aviation fuel at about N152 per litre to airline operators."

I find it really hard to make any sense out of this rather reckless assemblage of dicordant clauses. I wish we'd show more respect for readers by being thorough in what we write. This sense of this write-up is choking in a sea of poor construction. It diminishes its relevance and credibility.

I agree with you Dominique but to take legal action, there is the burden of proof to bear. First you have to prove that what you allege actually happened.

One would think that as professionals, doctors have seen enough nudity to make them immune to any sort of temptation towards taking advantage of their patients. But, on the contrary, I have had a series of reports from close female relatives and friends on doctors soliciting intimacy from them and in some cases being less efficient as a result of such distractions. I consider it cruel and most unethical for doctors to do this especially when one considers that their responsibility to patients is sometimes a matter of life and death. This act is cruel because a female patient is not in a good position to firmly decline such advances for fear that the doctor concerned may harm her deliberately in some way.

Considering how wide-spread this phenomenon appears to be, I'd advise that husbands, boyfriends, parents and all whose responsibility it is to look after any female person make it a point to ensure that NO male doctor sees their ward in seclusion. They should make it a point to be present at all times or to have some other person present at the point of interraction between male doctors and their women.

Furthermore, I think the guild of medical practioners should take steps to protect female patients from harrassment by male doctors by either installing cctv cameras in consulting rooms or making it a point of the rules of engagement that no doctor of the opposite gender sees a patient alone.

This has been my experience in some public hospitals in Lagos. Let's hear from you if you've suffered same.

But have you also noticed that Jedi Jedi has a million symptoms in Yoruba land? The symptoms range from belly ache to difficulty in passing stool and even pains around the waist. Some fellows even ascribe impotence to this ailment. Jedi Jedi seems to be nothing in particular and all things in general!

Better than what it is called, what is it in the first place?

Here's thanking the mystery lady who saw my post and called a guy who called another guy and arranged an inspection visit for me. Just when I was beginning to think my visit was a waste, we stumbled on what I precisely had in mind. I have since paid for the accommodation and I'm currently in the process of moving in. I wish therefore to officially declare this thread closed. Thank you all.

An ivy-league boys-only secondary school located in Lekki Phase 1 is in need of the services of a teacher of English Language.

The preferred candidate should be no more than thirty years of age and possess excellent speaking and writing skills in addition to a near-perfect understanding of the rudiments of English language grammar. It is also pertinent that the candidate demonstrates a clear understanding of the workings of English phonetics and phonology especially as it concerns identification and teaching of segmental and suprasegmental aspects of oral English.

Furthermore, the preferred candidate should be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office packages. He should also demonstrate a good dress sense and be personable and refined in his general comportment.

Remuneration is attractive and also includes other perks.

Interested persons should call me on 08026715991.

This is just the sort of drama that fools Nigerians blind. We seem to feed fat on this sort of propaganda time and again and strangely fail to see that there's someone scripting this performance to keep us 'happy' and entertained albeit hungry. Neither of the two actors in this episode is daft to be so cheaply exposed. This is the government's ploy divert attention from real issues, create confusion and perpetuate inaction in the so-called fight against corruption.

Why can't we stay focused on the real issue: what is the moral justification for our continued purchase of fuel at 97 naira per litre in the light of recent revelations and current show of shame of men in high places? And how long will it be before the one who claims to lead us sees the need to reverse his subsidy removal decision in the light of current events?

If the government will not right the wrong of subsidy removal, what the heck are we all getting excited about?

Still interested.

Hello there, I'm urgently in need of a two-bedroom apartment for rent in the Ajah area covering Shongotedo, Lakuwe, Abijo, etc. However, the closer to Ajah; the better for me. I have a budget of N300,000.00 and prefer to pay one year rent. I'm willing, however, to stretch my budget a little further if I get an attractive apartment. Basic amenities required: running water, parking space and accessible road. You may call me or send me a text on 08026715991. Thank you.

Kudos to the few who made the effort to dress up.

Seriously, why don't we just cut the strip tease and simply show up at these events STARK naked? Methinks it'll make for easy appraisal of who's who and who's got what and in what proportion and colour and shape. It disgusts me to see us like this: baring breasts and half boiled legs. I look at these photos and I don't see any people; I just see boobs and legs! What's up with that? Thought we were Africans with a culture?

Seriously, I think our politicians should show more respect for institutions that are bound to outlive them. An ivory tower is a hallowed temple of learning too high for any politician to toy with.

Besides, Making UNILAG, MAU, might just create a chink for ridicule if you insist on smuggling in 'Lagos' into the acronym: MALU (Moshood Abiola Lagos University). Scrap the new; stay with the old, please.

If you ask me, I'll say spiritual spouse is as real as ogbanje. I remember that not long ago, every light-skinned girl was purportedly an ogbanje and had to go through some ritual to rid her of the 'spirit'. I think it is interesting that in present times nobody seems to bother about ogbanje anymore. And so I ask: what happened? Did the spirit suddenly give up on us?

Listen people, this is ridiculous. We're all slaves of our imaginations and spiritual husbands (or wives) are as real as our imaginations are real. I think we should start taking this seriously the day we hear that a spiritual husband got someone pregnant or that a spiritual wife bore a child.

While the rest of the world is grappling with real-life challenges, Africans choose to manufacture 'spiritual' problems for themselves. What is the value of what happens in a dream if it has no bearing on reality? Who ever got pregnant from sex in a dream; or got filled from eating in a dream? the day you wake up to find a piece of fish in your mouth from the food you ate in the dream, please sound the alarm so the rest of us can join your banquet in the dream.

Can somebody please explain to me how the withdrawal of subsidy puts the infamous cabal out of business if the price of the commodity that the cabal deals in has more than doubled?

@ golamike
Please read my post again - with a clear mind (and eye) - and pay particular attention to the words in capital letters.

I wonder if Christians know that Christianity came into existence before the bible. And by the bible, I mean the new testament because the old testament IS NOT a Christian text. The early Christians, therefore, did not have a bible to refer to and argue from. Yet they were not worse Christians than us. How do you think they got doctrine? And as I said earlier, the bible is silent on the issue of smoking. Why is it that many protestants accept that it is a sin? And if we must live and act ONLY according to the bible, why do you call your head pastor a G. O.?

The concept of sola scriptura is one vexed issue that protestants can't possibly convince anyone on. Even when our Lord categorically said in scripture that except one drank His Blood and ate His Flesh one would not have life, we brushed that aside and pretended it didn't matter. Just how much of the eating of the flesh and the drinking of the blood are we doing? Arguments of the bible and the bible alone come into focus when it suits us.

@italo
Well done, man.

people must know that until a child attains the age of reason, it has no will and no conscience and no belief. Its will is the will of its parents. So is its conscience and its faith. Otherwise, why does God punish children for the sins of their fathers?

We must also understand that not all that is relevant to life and morality is to be found in the bible. Where does scripture talk about smoking? Yet many Christians consider it a sin to smoke. Where does scripture say: unless you accept Jesus as your PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOUR, you can not be saved? Yet we preach these words as though they were scriptural truths.

And for those who find it convenient to say, 'I don't believe this' or 'I don't believe that', please note that belief, or lack of it, does not alter truth. I may not believe that snow can fall from the sky because of where I live. It doesn't alter the reality of snow. Personal belief is immaterial to truth.

As I congra2L8 fellow Nigerians on a successful presidential election, I wish 2 advise dat we celebr8 wth caution as victory in an election is not d same as victory in a football match: d latter is an end in itself; d former, a means 2 an end. If the end of electoral victory fails 2 justify d means, den d euphoria of victory is much ado about nothing! D means is nothing; d end is everything.

For the avoidance of doubt - just in case there's any child reading - Obahiaghon's language is sheer foolery and is not at all to be taken seriously or as a model for anybody. This is NOT grammar but a grandiose and excessively bogus assemblage of anachronisms pointing only to the ridiculous rather than to the intelligent or intelligible. The essence of language is communication. Why speak if you're determined not to be understood? Simplicity, they say, is the mark of genius. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Zain valuMax subscriber, pliz be warned that Airtel has withdrawn the free night call benefit WITHOUT prior notice to subscribers! In effect, they have ripped off many unsuspecting subscribers (poster inclusive). They also appear to have scrapped the customer care unit - U just can't get through to noboby on Zain customer care right now to lay any complaint. This is just cheap fraud!