₦airaland Forum

kobojunkie

Smartness has more to do with how we apply what we learn, either from the west, from our experiences, or our culture to bettering our lives, and the lives of those around us. There are so many common sense solutions that we refuse, outrightly refuse to apply, for the weirdest reasons.

@kobojunkie

You are very correct and that is the crux of our problems which is deep rooted. We are certainly a "conquered" people hence everything we do is for the benefit of "outsiders" or "others" never for self. We have no excuse whatsoever not to be able to actively reconstruct and transform our society given that there are some capable members of our various cultures sophisticated and knowledgeable enough to think and design new robust liberating educational system appropriate for our times and place. There are so much so called "common sense" or "knowledge" still left in our society we can use for social transformation and nation building benefit. Positive thoughts and actions do not happen in a vacuum but within a cultural milieu/context. For one to be able to benefit from so called external exposures etc one has to be comfortable and seated in their own culture/skin. So called Nigerians are not even close to that hence some in this forum have rightly or wrongly declared that perhaps we are "not yet mature" enough or that we are suffering from "inferiority complex".
"Immaturity or inferiority", after all do not just happen but are symptoms of general malaise within the context of a perceived incapacity brought about by our total "defeat" and "enslavement" . We have been "zombiefied" hence the almost total absence of creativity, choices or positive outcomes. I am rather hopeful that with the kind of people on NL or on this forum at least , all hope is not lost. We are yet to have a nation let alone a national culture to be proud of or draw from hence our chaotic state of being. In the case of Nigeria, we are all alienated somehow, vengeful and lacking any sense of belonging even at the village level too. It is a terrible state of being. Being "Smart" or "Smartness" in the proper sense, does not happen in such an environment because the overall value system [/b]is already [b]dislocated [/b]and [b]distorted e.g. by nouveau riche, soldiers, police, customs and excise men/women, other uniformed men and women even traffic wardens, professional politicians and even hustling traditional rulers who hand out 'titles' like cheap sweets to delinquents/miscreants like Balogun(former convicted police IG) etc no exception and our inadequate historical and cultural knowledge.

cap28

very well said bro

^^ Thank you bro , I was in Paris for about seven days last last week and no time did I notice any national debate or write-up about the French war in Libya . It's shocking. There was over two hours of documentary on DSK, as usual sexual titillation and the new craze topic in France- Sex addiction etc.

aribisalaO

In my view the smartest groups in the diaspora are jews chinese and indians by any measure [/b]and there appears to be an inverse relationship with success and the noise they make.
In IT, science arts etc most notable achievements by migrant groups are from those groups mentioned above. any trifling achievement by a nigerian when not eventually discredited as fraudulent,is blown out of all rational proportion and accompanied  by the usual "he is yoruba,he is igbo" polemic.
what is the reality? we are a nation in decline;

Are we a nation yet, let alone in "decline"

The groups in diaspora like the Jews, Chinese and Indians as mentioned above ^^ in your view, are the smartest etc but I'll rather you omitted them in this discourse because in my view it's [b]unfair and there are no basis for any national, cultural and historical comparison whatsoever between them and the so called "nation" 'Nigerians'.  To appreciate the enormity of such a discourse/topic, a fair knowledge of Cultural history and social diffusion of values etc must be understood- Education in it's full implication for shaping worldview and national/personal values. Cultural Education is important in constructing social cohesion which "Nigeria" ruling elite, have never bothered to think about hence the collective mess, embarrassment coupled with the ludicrous assumption that we can acquire "education" by any means and still be innately competitive/successful like the other groups you mentioned. We never bothered to wonder why it is that we are the only group who are farmed out to be 'educated' everywhere else, without adequate cultural base input educationally? Most of our people can barely speak, read, write in our mother tongues, let alone conceptualise and appreciate the world around us adequately enough. It's no wonder that empty vessels make the loudest noise . There is a lot about us that we have not dealt with and I have not seen any indication that we shall be doing so any time soon. There is a total psychic dislocation in our national sense of self(personal/group) from the local government to the centre(Abuja) no exception, hence we seem to always make the wrong choices and decisions. At times we dignify it by calling it "tribalism" etc but it is not, because these bad actions or decisions are even done on local village levels.
Living together for as long as we like will not change anything if we do not consciously, purposefully, design and implement processes/system that will effect positive outcomes we so desire/want. The other groups you mentioned above have their own processes e.g.schools, temples, values etc intact. Nothing ever happens without purposeful thought and action. The groups you mentioned above have a huge library of cultural history and antecedents to draw from which gives the average individual even with little formal education an edge without trying too hard like us despite our so called relative language(english) affinity or proficiency. Culture is the base for survival and competence in every sphere of human endeavour. "Nigerians" as a group do not have it because we have not actively designed and implemented any yet. Nollywood and Musicians are trying fairly hard to construct something close to an identifiable national culture etc but are they really "aware" of the power and impact of their output in moulding a national value system/psyche

Most people under the age of 40 in Nigeria have gone to school in a culture where it is normal to cheat and now  nigerians with 150million troop to ghanaian universities and instead of being grateful to them we say they are not smart.
On balance foreigners take more out of Nigeria than nigerians bring in from their fraud,drugs ashewo and legitimate businesses combined.

That's what happens when a people have no cohesive sense of history let alone cultural awareness of self and one's place in the world around ., hence the bluster and constant hollow headed misplaced assumptions in relation to our encounters with "others" including fellow countrymen and women. The crisis in our worldview or lack of national culture and values from the onset have never been discussed nor planned for hence everyman/woman for themselves like most things in our national life. We are all renegades and cowboys/girls . We are not even aware that Education is a weapon of war like anything else. It can liberate or enslave you hence foolishly the ignorant are not aware of their enslavement even in Ghana . Our ruling elite send their children to Ghana too so that illustrates our 'lost' , confused and pitiful condition. It's total anarchy.
Being caught easily more than other groups is but a reflection of our general lack of awareness of our environment because we are generally not grounded enough in our own culture and values enough as to be discerning and more thoughtful when encountering others outside of our cultural domain. Gra Gra and loutish behaviour is not cool but an indication of far deeper social insecurities/dislocations etc.

Op,
What ever happened to the concept of ¨No Victor No Vanquised¨? It precludes no appologies nor triumphalism

Haters will have to deal with the reality, full meaning and import of the above slogan

@Op
I thought Ukraine is purely secular and Orthodox European etc? Are the so called muslims immigrants from other states further East where Islamic sympathies are tolerated or home grown converts?

namfav

i did not say all, most southerners are family orientied its in african culture, but some of them put the hustle first,m[b] sometimes you find a man going to the west leaving his family behind that will almost never happen with a northerner aybe there are rare cases but not that i heard off, the average northerner simply does not put money ahead of family[/b]

@namfav

Haba! Do you sincerely believe the above?^^ Why do the very rich export their "wives" abroad and the ordinary hustling northerner leave their spouses behind in the north and only visit 'home' occasionally? Did Mutallab's alienation come about because he was leaving in a very close knit family where mummy and daddy were at hand to listen to sounds of little feet and child bedside stories? I sincerely believe that you are extremely sheltered from reality hence some of your comments appear very naive and uninformed about your immediate environment let alone the rest of Nigeria south of Zaria. Do you think that the Northern men who leave their spouses behind while they 'hustle' in the South are any different from Southern emigrants abroad? They are all at a loss and incomplete too. Perhaps, you think that living faraway from home even within the same country is not like living "abroad" or the "unfamiliar"? Well, think again, especially in the Nigerian special circumstance with the stark physical difference between the North and South.

@pleep

No obsession at all only to disabuse some self delusion about Fula babes in Naija .  It's a light hearted commentary .

namfav

lol a pure fulani girl who messes around with you guys, from katsina hahaha, have never heard of such, stop making things up, fulani girls are the hardest to get even for a fulani guy so share your secrets hahahahahaha rubbish

@namfav

Do you sincerely believe that ^^?   .  Is Nigeria the only place you have Fulani and Peuls(Mali) etc in West-Africa? I hope you realised that the majority fulani are in Guinea Conakry.  it's no big deal let alone self delusional . Take a trip to Niamey(Niger) or north Cameroons too, maybe you'll come away with a different viewpoint. If you desire wholesome Fula woman, you'll be better off going to places you'll have more choice. Their number in Nigeria is relatively insignificant and not exactly as attractive as people you are most likely to encounter in other West African countries. Trust me on that .

Sagamite

There is nothing wrong with polygamy if you can afford to raise and support the structure but this man is popping kids he possibly can't take care of.

@Sagamite

I agree that there's nothing inherently wrong with polygamy if done according to proper traditional guidelines but somehow the institution has been abused by men in contemporary society(Africa)/towns and cities.
I guess the DCO is a victim of his own 'indiscipline' coupled with the pressure and lure of quasi custom of polygamy beckoning to the "Big" man in him to live up, demonstrate and affirm his manhood/ "Bigmanhood", especially in the perception of his immediate community and colleagues . It's sad.

2muchlogic

The bottom line is that most Nigerians have become corrupt as a means of survival and and the politicians are corrupt to maintain their greedy grip on power - its a stalemate     Oh well, it will get worse under Jonathan Badluck

@2muchlogic   ^^

Well, mutual dependance and hegemonic control by the ruling elite, . Chaos is profitable for a few despite being very costly for nation.

Sagamite

How would he not be corrupt?
All due to his own fault.
Then he will send his subordinates to terrorise other Nigerians on the streets by extracting money from them.

@Sagamite

In the light of the information about his life style , can we rightly assume or conclude that our Culture is to blame . It is manifested - in polygamy, belief in "non counting" of offsprings, sexual rapaciousness/laxity by our men, indiscipline and general tolerance for professional mediocrity or corruption and Inertia in Nigeria. There is a serious need for an enduring long lasting attitudinal change by every Nigerian. The actions of the soldiers and police men are a reflection of the "Nigerian" culture of impunity and slackness. Our Educational system need serious Review and Transformation if we are to enthrone general cultural order or Discipline.

Sagamite

“He[b] has two wives and many children, five of them are undergraduates in the university[/b], you know in Yoruba culture we do not count children,”

^^ There lies some of the root causes of our social malaise i.e. Corruption. How does an honest civil servant or DCO in the police force meet their personal responsibility adequately in the light of the above ^^ snippet/info ?

May his Soul Rest In Peace .

2muchlogic

cctv [/b]monitoring will help to solve the problem

@2muchlogic ^^

You are a very optimistic person indeed . You obviously do not understand the underlying socio-political dynamics of our society. Cameras are not even [b]tolerated in some public places like airports, around banks, near military and police depots etc. There is no law against cameras per se but arbitrarily the so called security agents have imposed such 'laws' on us. Corruption is mutually beneficial to every public office holder in Nigeria. Nobody wants to be recorded or photographed . Try holding your mobile phone to film incidents in public places and see what happens to you . It's not nollywood my friend. Most public policy decisions in Nigeria are guided by very narrow self interest. How do you finance, service and sustain the cctv equipments knowing the "Nigerian factor"? In any case, sooner or later the equipments will be sabotaged, destroyed or deliberately made obsolete like our traffic lights and bad roads.

chagga

DON'T KNOW WHATS WRONG WITH THESE BUNCH OF backside HOLES, INSTEAD OF DEFENDING US THEY ARE KILLING US MAY GOD HELP US

@chagga ^^

Have you ever wondered why such trigger happy incidents happen often in the Southern part of Nigeria? Well, let me be blunt with you, absolute police "CONTEMPT" for citizens of the south. There's an inherent belief amongst our uniformed men that Southerners are COWARDS or soft touch who will never be provoked enough to react or retaliate whenever a lone or handful of rogue police men abuse or kill any Southerner. You'll never hear of such incidents in the North of Nigeria because they(Police), know the immediate consequence and response to such bad behaviour by citizens within the vicinity.Police impunity and rogue behaviour seem to be peculiar to the South of Nigeria. We should not continue to tolerate and pretend that all is well. There is a difference in Policing standards and behaviour- North- South .

Ileke-Idi

Abegii. Give this people as much opportunities as you give the Southerners, and they'll be just as competitive.
Bad leadership and religion is their problem.

@Ileke-Idi ^^

I am surprised at you . Were Southerners given much opportunities really? Are you not underestimating northern competitiveness? Is bad leadership and religion not Our collective problem?

Onlytruth

I have also come to understand why Achuzia was kept in detention for 7 years after the war. He knew too much about what
happened!

@Onlytruth

Now you understand my conversation with you longtime ago about the War on 'Applause' etc where I reminded you that he was the last man to be released from detention and also I made No Comment.
Now you realise that I know a thing or two that's not in the public domain .
History for National cohesion is not what the ruling elite are about. Deliberate ignorance and chaos is profitable. Pls remember the huge sum of money Danjuma made out of oil blocks in the Niger Delta that he shamelessly declared that he does not know how or what to do with it . Have you ever wondered why the former retired head of NNPC was given a Rolls Royce as a gift by so called anonymous friends? Don't forget that NNPC is a government department/ civil service technically yet the conspicuous consumption of some  the hierarchy will shock you ,  The battle for Nigeria is beyond simple "democracy" slogans etc.

ola olabiy

By the way, I fit get one Hausa babe from your end so ? I dey beg. Hausa b pretty people oo.
No vex.

@^^ he's told you that Hausa is a national/an official language in Niger. Pls don't beg , just take a trip to Niamey. Nigeria is not the only place you can hear nice Hausa spoken or perhaps encounter lovely Hausa speaking damsels if that's your desire. Many of the Governors and spouses in some of the Northern states have Nigerien connection.

Katsumoto

If na oyel you want, i fit introduce you to some Ijaw babes.

@Katsumoto^^ No comment

BIGER BOY

its sad shouldnt we be glad that we have one our languages up there, would u guys rather have the ghanian or zulu language upthere jus because its HAUSA.

@^^Gbam
Besides, there has been written greetings in 'Yoruba' on Oxford street for years.
Buying power or numbers shopping in their establishment may have informed their decision. Majority resident Londoners(Naija) don't usually shop on Oxford Street. Debenhams is a departmental store that has facilities for VAT processing etc for tourists no different from Selfridges. It's a good marketing ploy .

@Op

Silly protocol demands that he will be protected and perhaps recalled unfortunately* the story ends . Bad behaviour amongst our so called diplomatic representatives is as old as Nigeria. There has been a case of manslaughter etc, but for diplomatic immunity, such cases were swept under the carpet and the personnel recalled back home.
I am rather puzzled that some posts are criticising or doubting the government's ability to do the right thing or appoint competent diplomats etc .
Have we forgotten so soon the case of the "poor pass" female ambassador who failed woefully but was approved by the senate? . Mediocrity is our way especially amongst the so called ruling elite. Our indignation is in order but rather misplaced.
We deserve the leadership we have . It's a true reflection of Nigeria sadly. The diplomats are part and parcel of Nigeria.

Sagamite

When something is stubborn, you have to use brutal force to annihilate it.

@Sagamite ^^

You are actually advocating a coup d'Etat . The head is Rotten so the rest of the body follows . In a country where nothing meaningful is manufactured, the President acquires four(4) presidential jets in less than twenty four months in power, what does that say to the rest of the followers? Our priorities are misplaced. Profligacy and inherent tendency to live beyond our means informs our actions usually negative. It's almost like a national culture. A thorough transformation of all our institutions (A-Z) is needed. Backwardness is very costly but unfortunately in our domain it has become naturalised and seemingly normal. It's shameful and disabling. It manifests itself in general [b]indiscipline [/b]and [b]tolerance [/b]for all manner bad behaviour by so called 'gatekeepers' or 'moral guardians' even the religious zealots amongst us are part of the social decay/problem.

Sagamite

Easy logic if we have any leaders with a fcking brain cell in their heads.

The government will be sending people on public transport around each city. Anywhere they see any policeman taking money, they will send in an arrest team after the undercover federal agent has passed.

For every team of officers caught doing that:

- The second time, the Corporal/Sergeant/whatever in charge of that team will be dismissed effectively the next day.

- The third case in the area and the area DPO will be dismissed effectively the next day.

- The fifth case in the state and the State CP will be demoted effectively the next day.

Then see how quickly it will stop.

@Sagamite
They have such undercover inspectors within the police system but our system is Rotten that Inertia on every level of our society is the norm. Infact, they are running a racket and a good Hustle. There has been numerous directives and executive orders against police, customs, immigration, forestry inspectors, area boys etc check points but they are blatantly ignored. Corruption at the highest level feeds fat on the back of the corruption of the foot soldiers and police men menacingly on our roads. Nigerians are supposedly smart but problem solving solutions are not our forte because of deliberate ignorance, inertia and bad choice. I admire your optimism and support your solutions but our people are lazy and not about solutions but "chop and quench" .

@critics of Al Jazeera et al

Whatever happened to AIT and other so called media channels in Nigeria? Pls don't shoot the messenger or else make your own video about wherever you wish to depict.
I wonder why some Nigerians think that VI or even Ikoyi of today are lovely places? Our standards, values [/b]and [b]expectations must be very low indeed . I guess that informs our general insensitivity and awareness of our condition.

@Op
Police check points have severally been abolished many times on that route and many parts of Nigeria, yet they continue to ignore the directives since OBJ's era.
I am not surprised that this conflagration between our so called 'gate- keepers" or 'protecters'. I have stated many times without number that our national security have been compromised and not even the President is assured of security despite the numerous gun toting security men around the ruling elite.
The soldiers and their cohorts in the police, have ruled Nigeria longest so "justifiably", strut around in public places like they 'own' us with impunity. It's the Nigerian way . Nobody knows their boundaries, limits nor briefs for the job they do. These incidents seem to happen often in the south of Nigeria. It appears to the casual observer, that the South of Nigeria is highly militarised or occupied by the ubiquitous money extorting policemen and soldiers roaming around aimlessly everywhere.
Why are the idle Soldiers not being utilised to build roads, rails, village clinics etc? Besides terrorising the rest of us in "peace" times what else do they do? I think the "Police" got their come-uppance . They are victims of their own addiction and bad habit of terrorising ordinary Nigerians who pay their wages.

virtual78

1. The Beninese Men? What kind of job would u hope to get in a country whose official language is English? The video only identifies them as foreigner, we don’t know what sort of degree they have if any? Or maybe i missed that part.
I believe people on this forum who live/lived abroad especially in Non-English speaking countries would understand better, it is not right to ask migrants to leave though, even the English speaking countries we used to hear the sweetest gist until you see things for yourself……where are the jobs, hey stop complaining (Have you lost your passport)

@virtual78

Do many of the expats in Nigeria especially in our oil industry have English as "official" or "first" language ? I think they chose to use French for ease of communication/video producer etc. You'll be surprised to know that perhaps they are skilled craftsmen/artisans in the building trade better than the equivalent average Nigerian artisan. The Nigerian building market is huge but lacking [b]skilled [/b]artisans etc and the tailoring market also is huge but lacking skilled professional artisans too. They do not need English language proficiency but a smattering of pidgin English and some Yoruba if need be . They are not exactly foreign in Lagos otherwise they'll be unable to run a fee paying and functioning school. I commend their enterprise and dignity in the face of squalor and despair in Lagos.

LeoMax

Nothing wrong with the VIDEO, all I see are illegal immigrants leaving in illegal slums and learning francophone.
I also saw the normal hustling of Okada riders and the demolition of illegal settlement as its done in India this last week.
I didn't see the video Victoria Island where I live.
I see mischief.

@LeoMax

I did not see any illegal immigrants in the video. ECOWAS citizens have freedom and right to live anywhere within the region. You may want to know that the so called 'illegal immigrants' from Benin may actually have better quality of life in their country despite your negative view of fellow Africans or whatever perception Nigerians may hold of them.

playmode

The fault is not that of Fashola but that of our leadership since our independence.Unfortunately in an effort to clean up Lagos ,some of these people will fall victim to the LASG bulldozers.

@playmode ^^

The video was no different from the BBC documentary "Welcome to Lagos". I was not exactly shocked but a little puzzled that you "excused" Fashola, while in the same breath rightly faulting "leadership since independence. Is Fashola not part of the "leadership" now? I sincerely  empathise with the "essence" of the video and your 'outrage'. Where is the place of contingency forward "Planning" by the local and state government of Lagos(Fashola), knowing fully well the hardship and trauma such demolitions will cause citizens. We cannot continue making excuses for lack of vision, ineptitude, wickedness and corruption. I admire Fashola but the random demolitions without alternative provisions etc is shocking. It smacks of the usual lack of tolerance and insensitivity of the plight of the underclass by the ruling elite in Nigeria. Perhaps, Fashola in his skewed wisdom does not see it fit to plan wholistically. There's no excuse for bad and poor judgement in this regard.
The gentlemen from R.P Benin(french speakers) made very insightful point about Nigeria(Insecurity), which also should worry us, that is the shocking rampant abuse of office by our so called police or security agents. I have been to many places, but nowhere else will you find police, immigration, road marshalls and customs officers behave so badly like in southern Nigeria. Even the ECOWAS and UN are complaining about our state of security and unfriendly business environment for fellow Africans and Nigerians alike .
I don't believe that the 'size' of Lagos is a handicap but rather an asset if conscientious and purposeful people oriented planning/decisions are implemented humanely. Lagos draws a lot of revenue from all manner of sources so Lagos also belongs to the so called underclass or poor. Of what use is a city without the heart and soul - the People? I share your outrage bro .

Eko Ile

1. Rivers state budget for 2011 is 411 billion
2. Rivers state's population is 6 million
3. Lagos state's population is 18 million
4. Lagos state's budget for 2011 is 441 billion
Based on the above, I have 3 questions for you.
If rivers state with a population of just 6 million is posting budget numbers very close to Lagos state's with 18 million people, are they getting all that money from the 6 million people?
1. Are all the 6 million folks paying taxes including kids and the unemployed?
2. Obviously, you made a bold face wayo statement without even using your head to put these basic facts together.
3. If Lagos with 18 million people and larger infrastructural demand is doing so much with almost what Rivers is spending on just 6 million people and smaller infrastructural demand, shouldn't Rivers be looking like Dubai? What are they doing with all that money, at least we see what Lagos state is doing with their money?
Please show us,

@Eko Ile

Bros, why do you bother to set it out like ABC like above ^^. It's obvious ignorance is bliss even when facts are spoon fed to them or staring on their face.  Some of our people are so disingenuous that they jettison [b]critical[/b]thinking because of parochialism and ethnocentric sentiments. They'll never understand the "economic" implications and difference between 18million and 6million population .

Gbawe

Jang has hailed him as "the best Governor in Nigeria setting the pace  for others" . Another PDP Governor (can't remember who) stated openly that "Fashola is better than all of us" . Things are less rancorous now than in the OBJ and yar Adua days. Fashola would probably have gotten the position if interested . Most of us must know , with all we are seeing , that things are changing rapidly as per politics - and rightfully so. Below , Aliyu is waxing lyrical about Fashola . I genuinely believe that Governors would probably have looked beyond partisanship and made Fashola Chairman of their forum if the lagos Governor was actually passionate about the position. Afterall , the Governors forum would gain massive credibility ,in the eyes of Nigerians if, and goodwill if led by the most popular governor in Nigeria locally and Internationally.

@Gbawe
Those inept politicians may be heaping glowing praises on BRF but when push comes to shove, like taking serious populist decisions, which usually might elicit sympathy from BRF, the inertia prone PDP loyalists and governors are unlikely to step up to do the right thing. Dissent is not exactly welcomed nor tolerated by the PDP cohorts. BRF has more insight about the "devils" he is dealing with. Never mind their endearing hollow sounding praises for him. It is better to dine with a "long spoon" when dealing with unpredictable and mediocre characters of the PDP. Discipline, integrity and loyalty are attributes they very much lack, even when they are professing 'love' to their concubines. They do not know the power of words, hence they glibly open their mouths to say things they don't believe in let alone wish for their own people. Sophistry is their speciality and BRF know them too well, hence his disinterest and not wanting any close association with miscreants of the PDP if he can help it.

Gbawe

Thank you. When [b]some folks fail to read and comprehend , why will they not fail exams?

Gbam! they can't help cramming hence they can't comprehend let alone understand