₦airaland Forum

Lonelypacifist6:
You see that rice is the one that is paining me now Elizabeth " House maid" came yesternight to inform me that rice has finished at home I gave her 10k, Next thing I heard is rice is 28k My head rang a loud bell . I no fit Cry make she no they talk say Oga is stingy.

You will find out that the inflation in price of rice is as a result of middlemen who bring it from the North where it is grown on large scale to the South, in just one trip, they want to double their capital. Same with most of the food stuffs. It's the reason why food in cheaper in the North.

helinues:
That's what average Nigerians are going through daily..

The problem is the average Nigerians themselves.

Cc: lalasticlala, Mynd44

Last July, while travelling from Onitsha to Oshogbo via commercial road transport, I was once again treated to the unsettling greed of the Nigerian people. That a driver would hike his fare outrageously without cause didn't particularly come as a surprise, in a country with no price regulation whatsoever, everyone has long since learnt to live under the tyranny of capitalist whims. However, the fact that the driver failed to deliver anything close to average service despite charging a treasonable sum came as a rude shock to me. My relative unfamiliarity with the perculiar dynamics of inter-state road transport in Nigeria was shamelessly exploited for the first time ever when I, not knowing that there was no direct bus plying the Onitsha-Oshogbo route, fell mugu to the voracious conductor who harried me into a Lagos bound bus, dutifully promising that the bus would actually make a stop-over at Oshogbo.

While I was still pondering in bewilderment how exactly the bus was going to navigate the unreasonable detour, more passengers came in, all heading for different destinations; some Ibadan, some Lagos, others Akure. Of course, prior to the journey, I had been warned about the duplicitous and seedy charisma of the Onitsha metropolis. Many of the indigenous friends I made during my stay in Anambra had even adviced me, with ominous ceremony, to clutch my luggage religiously, keep my phone hidden and shun strangers asking for help. However, no one seemed to have remembered to warn me about fraudulent transporters even in the registered parks. To cut the long story short, I was dumped at Ore, and with my travelling bag resting heavily against my feet and dust coating my sweaty brows, I must have cut a sad figure of helplessness amid the bustling industry around me. Confronting the driver proved to be a waste of time, my impassionate objections were chased right back down my throat by his curt rebuttals. To his credit, the driver was magnanimous enough to jam a thousand naira note into my pocket (supposedly as transport fare from Ore to Oshogbo) and bid me safe journey.

So with righteous fury seething coldly in my belly, I heaved my luggage and marched on to take the next Ore-Oshogbo bus, my deadly glare sending a gaggle of Fulani kids scurrying from my path. A similar pattern of event repeated itself when the Ore driver dropped us at Ife, announcing that he was going no further and loading us into another bus bound for Oshogbo. At that point, I had given up that there was any justice left in the world.

As it stands, I have come to the realization that the average Nigerian (if I can borrow that cliche term) is extremely greedy and selfish. The citizens are very irresponsible, yet we blame the government as if the political class are exclusive of the society, when in actual fact, it is the society that produces it's leaders. A society so rife with corruption and all manner of toxic habits can not experience any significant progress no matter the effort of the government. A prime example of our unruly behavior can be seen on display as the year rolls to an end; the prices of everything, from food to clothing to transportation will continue to increase without any reasonable cause, aside from the fact that everyone wants to make "Christmas money". The pepper seller will add an extra fifty naira to every plate of fresh pepper, same goes to the transporters, and even artisans.

Let us talk about the price of the most consumed staple in Nigeria. A bag of rice is now significantly costlier than a barrel of crude oil. Many Nigerians blame the closure of our land borders for the rise in the price of rice, but what about the unscrupulous middlemen who buy rice cheaply from local producers in the North and bring it down South to sell at jaw-dropping prices? What about the obnoxious rice millers who are taking advantage of the border closure to charge exorbitantly for the commodity? Are they not Nigerians?. It would appear that Nigerians have cultivated the habit of blaming everyone else but ourselves. We take selfish decisions, not minding the effect such decisions have on our society.

Oil marketers collect subsidy and proceed to divert the subsidized petroleum products to neighbouring countries where they sell for double the Nigerian price, making the products scarce in a country that actually produces crude oil. Landlords increase the cost of rent every year for no just reason other than the fact that it is their house, tenants who refuse to pay up have the roofing sheets dismantled and removed over their heads. All the hikes and artificial inflations sets off a chain reaction and culminates in a society where life becomes unbearable for everyone. Yet we blame the government.

Even children are not left out. The rampant habit of parents openly paying bribes for their children to pass exams or gain admission into government colleges is now taken as a norm. Oh, it happens in advanced countries too, but at least they know it's a thing of shame and are quite discreet about such things. Private universities churn out thousands of half-baked graduates every year because no parents expects his or her ward to fail after paying steep tuition fees, so they can't afford to fail anyone. The doctors and professors who we look up to and celebrate as shining examples of moral and academic excellence have been found culpable in the decay of our society, apart from selling compulsory handouts for the purpose of making ridiculous profit, many of them who are called to serve as Resident Electoral Commissioners and INEC ad-hoc staff, see it as an opportunity to collect bribes and abet electoral fraud. Yet we place our youths into their care to instill learning and character into them. The irony. Is it then such a surprise that those youths grow up to become bigger criminals?.

When we see pastors flying private jets and driving exotic cars with money contributed by poor church members, we pretend as if they are not part of the society. Afterall, the church isn't the government, right?. But the politicians are Christians and Muslims. They listen to sermons preached by corrupt clerics and follow in the footsteps of their spiritual leaders. How can a thief tell another thief to stop stealing?. It is no wonder that despite our religiousness, we are a race of wicked people. I remember vividly that Onitsha driver praying as we crossed over the Niger bridge, he was praying to God for safe journey, after cheating people of their hard earned money. Throughout the journey, he was playing one Christian song after another. It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so shameful.

These days, I can barely go anywhere without being harassed by SARS officers. Being a youth has made me the target of those distasteful breed of policemen who have transformed into bandits in uniform. Collecting bribes on the road is not enough, now they must intimidate and brutalize young people in the name of searching for internet fraudsters. Fraudsters that were pushed into that criminal lifestyle by the rot in our society.

Let's not forget those ones who call themselves business-men. They destroy our economy for their own selfish gain, importing toothpicks and pencils. They employ one or two small boys in a warehouse and pay them pittance while pocketing billions. Always importing for profit, never making any meaningful contribution to national development with all their wealth.

In Nigeria, almost everyone is corrupt. Everyone is culpable for destroying our society, only that we haven't realized that fact yet. We still relish in blaming the government. Wicked and corrupt people blaming their equally wicked and corrupt government. Perhaps one day, we will all wake up and see that our problem is not government, it is us as a society. I hope to one day see a Nigeria mostly made up of decent human beings.

© Edebhagba Justice

I am happy for you @OP, it is indeed a good thing that you found peace and purpose in religion.

I don't know the kind of people advising these Senators and even the Presidency, but with the fall of our judicial system, social media has become a bastion of succour to the common man, a platform where everyone can freely air their grievances and discuss critical issues, thereby garnering enough attention to force the government into action.

Now, when the government comes out to say they want to "regulate" social media, naturally, most people will resist it. It is an unnecessary bill, if we want to talk about punishment against fake news and such, then it should be captured within the hate speech bill. No need for a blanket regulation of the social media space.

Keyamo's analogy of activists unblocking their critics lacks intellectual substance, because it is totally unrelated to the issue at hand.

Government should instead focus on finding ways to get the social media companies(Nairaland, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc) to work out a way to filter unscrupulous contents. The social media companies should be the ones doing the regulation, not the government. It is not everything that the Nigerian government will always be using force and punishments for.

paradigmshift:
even if he gives u all d proof ur useless brain will think otherwise.
your brain needs an uplift

You are so pedestrian.

Ishilove:
I think I will be able to recognise someone I have been neighbours with for 15 years. Except she has a doppelganger somewhere

Do you agree that the person you saw may not have been your neighbor?

If yes, then do you agree that you may only be assuming it is her due to your brain drawing similarities between the person you saw and your neighbor at that moment?

What were you doing at the time when you saw and greeted the person you assumed to be your dead neighbor?

Have you ever been so sure of something, but later been proven to be wrong?. Like when you are so sure you kept an object somewhere (you can even picture yourself keeping it there), but later discover that you actually kept it somewhere else. Is it possible that your perception of that event is flawed even though you had lived with the neighbor for 15 years?. is it possible? If it is, then you have your answer.

Ishilove:
It did, but she wasn't in Lagos then. She was on her way back to Lagos that morning when it happened. Sadly enough she was the only one who died in the vehicle.

When you greeted her that morning, did you really identify her as the neighbor in question, or was it after you heard that she had died that you suddenly had the epiphany that you had previously seen her and even greeted her?.

I am asking because sometimes, our brain periodical experience a phenomenon known as the deja vu syndrome, where you suddenly have that certainty that you have seen, heard, or being to a place before, when in actual fact, you have never done any of that. These moments are usually triggered by failure of cerebral receptors or haywire electrical impulses in the brain that may cause a delay in the transfer of information from one part of the brain to another, thus making the cognitive part of your consciousness receive the information twice within a split-second, which would then make you assume you have already experienced the event before. This is the same for the hyponogogic jerk that many people experience sometimes when they are about to fall into deep sleep, where the body would involuntarily jerk or spasm into wakefulness, and you think you were just about to die.

So, it may be that it wasn't your neighbor you saw that morning, you only thought you saw her after receiving the news.

If you have more information, please do share. I am very interested in paranormal stuffs.

paradigmshift:
na so una dey argue wetin una no know.

Uncle, when you are told a story, you don't just swallow it hook, line and sinker, you ask questions to verify and corroborate the story. It is called logic, or common sense, if you will.

If you can't utilize your brain in probing issues, then what is the purpose of having the brain?. Start using yours.

The picture the OP used claiming it is one fictitious Pa Thaddeus is actually the picture of a Sierra Leonian Politician, Alhaji Alpha Khan. One poster initially pointed it out, so let me reiterate it again.

Ishilove:
I know what I saw and greeted, but the logical part of me pales and quails, and I therefore find myself hiding behind the safety net of absolute rejection.

Perhaps she travelled after you saw her. Didn't the accident happen in the morning?.

uncleteeh:
Don't know yet. I am in Lagos presently and would be going for the interview tomorrow.

How did the interview go??. I haven't gone yet.

DoctorAlien:
I don't believe these caricatures of the Biblical facts which you have listed. However, I believe every word of the Bible. Every word.

Is anything wrong with that?

Oh the irony

CaveAdullam:
Argument is the food of atheists, that's what you want and not the truth. Anyways let me fed you a little. Lol

Nope, I have no interest in gaseous arguments. I only savour intelligent debates.

CaveAdullam:
How dear you guess my answer? What makes you think I don't believe in Islam? Sorry for bursting your bubbles, yes I believe in Islam but do not accept all that it claims, and if all Muslims rightly follows the Quoran they will enter the LORD JESUS CHRIST. But however, it is a long process especially for the faithful ones.

By the way what is the metric for determining what is right or wrong?

Oh, good. Now I know I am dealing with someone who is confused, you believe in Islam yet you do not accept all it claims?, How can you believe something you don't accept?. Or don't you know the meaning of believe?.

CaveAdullam:
As shown in the pics below. There are others but this is just a tip of the iceberg.

whatever are your impressions I don't care. Is a norm, atheists always think they are intelligent than religious folks. Lol

Oga DikeDiMighty, Superman exist, it exists in movies, cartoons, in the net, on paper, in drawings etc.
Oh! I guess where the problem is, you want to see and touch superman, lol. It's just like Air, your mind, your emotions etc.

So tell me why we should believe the dictionary meaning of eternal, infinite, mystery and God?

Thanks.

God bless.

Yet more evidence of confusion here. You see why I think religion actually diminishes IQ?.

"Superman exists", I guess dragons, goblins, elves and unicorns exist too, because they are depicted in fantasy stories. I just can't feel, touch or eat them

As for your pictures, those texts have been debunked several times as fraudulent insertions made by Christians during the early days of the church, especially the one purportedly written by Josephus.

Neither Josephus nor Tacitus nor Pliny the younger were born during the time that this so-called Jesus was alive, so how do we even accept those fraudulent texts as authentic historical records?.

healthserve:
No matter how fae my dear lady, never allow any man of god curse you. Abeg.

Lol... No be only.

CaveAdullam:
But you agreed with the dictionary meaning of eternal, infinite, mystery and God.

Assuming there was no Bible, we can still discover God from our dictionaries. Lol

Oga DikeDiMighty, if the Bible/Gospel of Christ is a conspiracy theory, the Apostles and early Christians wouldn't have risked their lives for it. The Bible didn't only tell me this, Josephus, Tacitus and other great historians have something to say about this.

As a Christian, do you believe in Islam?, I will guess your answer is "No". Are people not risking their lives for Islam today?. Can you now see the flaw in your reasoning?. People will risk their lives for whatever they think is right, that doesn't prove that it is actually right.

Can you please tell me what Josephus, Tacticus and Pliny the younger said about "Jesus"? quote the texts let us see...

CaveAdullam:
Na only baby Christians at this age still dey fear atheistic claims...... LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

What doesn't exist does not have a name, and if GOD is a name given to a supreme being then definitely He exists. Or do you know of anything that doesn't exist but have a name?

Hallelujah, praise the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thanks.

God bless.

I don't want to have the impression that I am talking to someone with single digit IQ here. How does something having a name proves it's existence?. Superman had a name, does Superman exist?.

OLAADEGBU:
Did you hear about the witches conference at the UNN?

Quit being such a numbskull.

uncleteeh:
I hope this is real? I have an interview there by 10am tomorrow.
I just got the mail indicating the location of the interview.

Was it legit?, Because I got a mail too

Ctorch:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanguardngr.com/2019/11/border-closure-nigeria-too-big-to-be-threatened-by-benin-%25E2%2580%2595-prof-lumumba/amp/

One of the few last Pan-africanists. Just like always, he still has the myopic dream of a united Africa.

uncleteeh:
still waiting for the mail with address.

Did you later get it??

Nice. This would go a long way to strengthen the strategic alliance and bilateral relationship between humans and dogfolk. I am sure Conan has become a role model for other dogs all over the world.

For years, the tussle between theism and atheism as rival ideologies has continued to rage in this section. Many matters have been discussed and in some cases, over-flogged. Yet sometimes when I think about the life of a contemporary Christian or Muslim, I wonder how people can believe such atrocious lies and extol concepts that defy acceptable logic. Is it that the capacity for critical reasoning in systematically diminished by religious dogma?. How can people read those tomes filled with hallucinary events and believe those events with a straight face?.


On the Christian side, be truthful my dear friends...deep down, do you actually believe these things:

1. That Noah hid the entire planet in his crude leaky boat?. Really?, over 3 million species of creatures at the time; including the penguins which would have had to waddle all the way from Antartica, the Kangaroos hopping in from Australia, the Pandas from China, the Polar bears from Russia, even the odd sharks and whales, all came to Palestine to cozy up in Noah's rickety canoe?.

2. That Moses parted an entire sea with a magic staff?. Let's assume that this happened in a vacuum where common sense is a constant 0, what about the geological implications?.

3. That Joshua commanded the Sun and Moon to stand Still?. Well, there are many things fundamentally wrong with that scenario, but let's once again flush logic down the toilet on this one. Or not. One, the sun is not even in motion in the first place. Two,since the sun isn't a kinetic body, means the earth and moons were the ones "standing still", a gravitational disruption of this magnitude means that both bodies will collide and implode.

4. That Jesus ascended into heaven without a spacesuit. While I understand that this account may have inspired modern comic characters like Superman and Chinese movie mavericks like Jackie Chan, it simply isn't probable that any sole human can generate the escape velocity needed to propel away from this planet...and, err...is heaven meant to be in the sky?, how come we haven't discovered it?.

5. That hungry lions somehow found Daniel thoroughly indigestible, and hence, allowed him to leisurely peruse their den while they gazed on meekly. Of course, we have been treated to modern parodies of this event, which didn't really go as planned for the Daniel wannabes, it appears that modern lions are simply not as benevolent as their ancient Babylonian counterparts.

6. That a snake managed to convince Eve (perhaps through telepathic means?, Oh no!, don't tell me you believe snakes talked too?!) to eat a fruit which then made she and her equally fruit-loving husband find out that they were naked and fall out with God?. According to the account, God even had the time to sit busily, tongue between teeth, and sew up a pair of fur skinned garments for his wayward charges (or did he simply stretch his...err...wand(?) and, poof!, out comes a neatly pressed pair of deer-skin garments straight from the celestial laundromat. At this stage, it's hard to tell. Our pastors may be too preoccupied with preaching about tithes to come up with any logical explanation of what happened.

7. That Mary was impregnated by the holy spirit?. Look, I know how this works; Joseph probably sucked in bed, yet the husband's family was putting pressure on her to conceive a child, surely any woman would feel pushed to procure pregnancy from elsewhere in order to save the marriage. It's absolutely normal. There was no reason for her to tell lies. Or for people to tell lies on her behalf.


Let me stop at 7 for now.

If people have no trouble believing such comical delusions, why then is it so far-fetched to believe the African gods who were acclaimed to have wrought american wonders during their times on Earth?.