@ Delegiwa (u still dey alive??lol). I totally understand your point of view and cant deny that there is prejudice sometimes aimed at Naija people. My own point is that knowing how the law works in this country, it will be almost impossible for that man to receive the treatment he received for just saying "please dont kill him". There must be more to that story. Your right to complain to BA is well respected and I hope they respond to your complaint in due course.

I have read this post and comments with keen interest. @Elosela,you are a very intellegent woman(drop us a line when next you in London and we should do coffee, Nigeria needs people like you). I am very surprised Mr Omotade is a British citizen(I wonder how he got that status) as the very first lesson of BRIT101 is that never interfere with police business. I have been on several trains, planes and buses where the police have had to enforce an arrest/deportation and have never for once seen the civil population try to interfere. If we have no respect for the laws of our own country, we cant blame the Brits for enforcing their own laws. Although I am yet to hear BA's side, I am 99% confident that no UK policeman would arrest a person for just saying "please dont kill him"(UK police wey dey give illegal immigrant cab money to go report himself for Home Office Lol!).

Nigerians, if we continue thinking the way some of us do, no one is ever going to take us serious! Maybe Mr Omotade wan show off to him fellow Naija say im be Britico.

@Sweet T
@Tope_Fl

I think these guys have completely answered my question. Nigerians are indeed our own worst enemies. Does a handful of persons caught every year for fraud, and a few hundred unemployed idiots sending out silly emails to some other desperate idiots all over the world mean that an entire country of 150million is full of thieves ? I don't think so.

See the UK House of Commons speaker spending more than N400 million to renovate his house and the country is playing it down and quietly investigating it . Did Bush not rig election ? (please ignore this; it is another matter entirely ) If it is Nigeria we will all go to CNN to broadcast it so that the world can know that we have become civilised . we always think that the world is looking at us . For where ?! Most people outside Nigeria don't even know where Nigeria is !! In fact many still ask if Africa is a country !! They are only laughing at us , taking our money and insulting us. They know that crime has no colour or country , but if you want to claim ownership they will give it to you and make it your property. Let us stop bringing ourself down and let us start building a nation.

@Tope_Fl
BTW the link you sent is highly unkind and destructive.



Guys, please lets get our facts right before making statements. The House of Commons is being investigated for £4,000.00 expenses claimed for cab charges and not N400 million for house decoration as stated. If this was our only problem in Naija, then we all wont even be having this conversation. Yes, we are a country known for scams and its not unfair but a true reflection of the rot we all live in. The earlier we accept this the better for all. Even our govt is a fraud or how else can you explain govt awarding major contracts to non existing companies. Never compare our situation to the UK or US.

Funkybaby, NAS is not Naija, that cat that was saying Oludare is as ignorant as can get. Please go on wilkipedia and type in Nas. His dad is the legendary Olu Dara, Jazz artiste who changed his name from Jones on one of his spiritual sojourns to Africa (An African Ifa priest actually gave him the name Olu Dara- God is Good). You know one of those trips Afro-Americans take to reconnect with the mother land. The guys not Naija and that was one of my agros with the awards show. In this age of info tech, can these cats who claim to be leading the way in Naija entertainment not be bothered to do a little bit of research before opening their mouths? I just wonder.

Out of my new found interest for events in Nigeria due largely to info tech and AIT (or is it Random Independent TV - RIT) as one of my mates cheekily suggested, I stayed up to watch this award show that was hyped as the best thing to happen to Naija since MKO won June 12 election. First of all, I would like to state that the idea is good  but being a critic, I couldnt help but notice a few worrying things and I hope the organisers take this as contstructive and strive to improve standards.

First, the ceremony was long and sooooooo boring (Having a couple of plasma screens and some lights on stage dont equate to glamour). The screening of nominees was delayed on several occassions and the whole event just seemed rowdy and ill thought out. Also, can someone please tell me who the heck is that clown called D-BanjThis sweaty armpit (lol) clown literally single handedly ruined the show with his overkills and undeserved feeling of celebrity. I spoke to a couple of contacts in Naija and understand he is the hottest thing on the bloc. Not really surprised as like every other facet of modern Naija, we have allowed mediocrity to creep into our entertainment scene which should be judged on creativity and talent (sadly most of the cats on parade had neither of these). I understand the guy made his fortune by singing for PDP and getting corporate endorsements from the GSM providers. Abeg, can someone please show me another society where celebs rely on government patronage? For the GSM guys, I believe they have a lot of explaining to do to the shareholders and subscribers as to justifying the sums paid to these cats when they are unable to provide Nigerians with a reliable telephony service (but this is a topic for another day).

Another point I disagree with was the hype sorrounding NAS. This cats a businessman and if possible will play a show in hell as long as he's paid to do so. While I have got maximum love for the cat, I think Nigerians will be misled if the impression is that he loves Naija music so much as to attend the award show (How much was he paid?). The cat even said and I quote "I love you black people" (the intelligent mind can figure out what that means). I have met some of these cats in the UK and the US and they dont have any interest in Naija music or what happens in Naija. Please stop using them to hype your events and look inwards rather than to them for endorsement.

Also, the cat Tic Tac could have done with a bit more love from the audience as he's a great cat who I have also met.

Generally, I think we still have a lot of work to do and most of the cats (with exception of people like Asa,Jimmy Jatt e.t.c) who went home with awards shouldnt start poppong the shampoo just yet.

I know I will get slaughtered by some for my comments, but like our elders say please dont throw the baby away with the bath water.

Peace and God Bless!

Men, the guys just on fire. Check out his new hits and you can tell he's someone to watch out for!

Hi Guys, I just thought to put this teaser out there to gauge the response of our brodas back at home in this global career race. I am a 28 year old Naijaboy currently living and working in Finance and Real Estate in the city of London. Several of my contemporaries in Nigeria seem to believe the golden age has come for Nigerian professionals and I have recently had several requests to bring back home some of the skills I have acquired abraod. I am a realist and will make decisions based on a number of factors including the exisiting or potential quality of life, income and social security.

Please help, should Andrew start thinking of checking back to Naija?









CityBoy is a Nigerian born and bred blogger who works in the city of London

No its not KSA! More like a way people like you make a living. Our culture respects moderation and socialism not showing of wealth (ill gotten in most cases). Stop this madness!











CityBoy is Nigerian born and bred blogger who works in the City of London.

I have read with great interest the threads on this topic. I would not normally drop a line but this is one topic too good to miss.

To the die-hard Lagos patriots, I say good luck to you but I seriously worry that with this type of views, Lagos will not be very much different in 236 years. Every successful society in the world today has succeeded through criticism,harsh or gentle. A society that cant criticise itself will never succeed. You dont need specsavers to see that there are serious environmental and social issues that needs to be immediately addressed if the population of Lagos is to survive. Our young people rather than blindly defending the status quo, should be ready for a radical psychological and social change of attitudes. The world is moving too fast and we cant afford to continue thinking in this "Zombie" ways. Calcutta,Bronx,suburbs of Paris, Peckham and co may be the eyesore of some developing/developed countries but with the exception of India(too many people), these cities are located in Countries that have the resources and mentality to deal with these problems ( A careful observation of these places will also reveal that they are populated by a high number of unskilled locals and immigrants which in itself has its problems, but why we should even think of comparing Ikoyi, Festac and co to these places beat me. These are areas populated by the middle class hence no excuse for the squalor which is the case).

And to those saying the critics are those Lagosians who have not succeeded in diaspora, I think you should get a reality check. I think it takes guts for people to say NO to a life of filth,oppression and insecurity and try their luck somewhere else. When I see the middle class Nigerian looking lady at Waterloo station sweeping coaches, I look at her with respect as I know what she is feeling. Betrayal by her people and her nation!

We all need to wake up and realise that the world is moving at an incredible pace and take advantage of the availability of information and ideas to make our society cleaner, healthier and a better place to make a living (and I'm not talking about yahoo boys or working in a dumb bank).










CityBoy is a Nigerian born and bred  blogger who works in the City of London