₦airaland Forum

This is a useful and informative thread, @indigene, thanks, and well done.

And it's attracting some other quality contributors too.

P34c3

Double post...content therefore deleted.

P34c3

networkgenuis: My bad, #300 airtime.
Ok, send 2 to 131 and tell us the message you received.
I've tried what he said on two diff lines.
I'm open to ideas, working ones.

I'm sorry, but you're still misunderstanding & misrepresenting the guy; His condition was that he had exhausted his said data bundle, but that it's expiration date was still in the future. So, he complained to CC, using the logic that their data plan was too expensive. CC then asked him to send 2 to 131. This action then granted him the extra MB he got, (and was apparently able to use while the period of his original subscription had not lapsed.)

I think the guy was being sincere. He was just unfortunate to have caught unnecessary flak from those who not only missed the import of his message, but were also not facing the same scenario he was in. Such uninformed critics were thus not only unable to check out the guy's story, they could not have been able to benefit from his experience, anyways.

P34c3

Good luck with your papers, @directonpc; all the best.

P34c3

Thank you, OP, for this heads up; but why are you presenting this set of rumors as facts in your thread title?

The title clearly proclaims that an official announcement has been made, which is far from the truth. This, in fact, is a potential credibility hit against you.

I sincerely hope this doesn't make it to the front page, if anything.

P34c3

It is unpardonable that these supposedly elected leaders lack a basic understanding of, or respect for, the Constitution of the country.

With the myriad of advisers the President is privileged with, this type of gaffe shouldn't keep reoccurring - it was a similar gaffe with the unfortunate pronouncement of the renaming of UNILAG by the President - before the consent of the National Assembly was ever sought, for instance.

Come on, this type of lack of seriousness on the part of our leaders just has to stop, please. Or are these gaffes just cases of mischief-making... to distract us, and give us always something to yell over, to the detriment of the development of our society?

P34c3

Dear Nairalanders;

The following has just been published by at least two major news publications:

[size=14pt]Court voids appointment of Service Chiefs[/size]

Posted by: Eric Ikhilae and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja in Featured, News 5 hours ago 0

Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday voided the appointment of the nation’s three Service Chiefs.

He declared illegal and unconstitutional the appointment of the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff by the President without “first seeking and obtaining the confirmation of the National Assembly”.

The judge granted an order restraining “the President from further appointing Service Chiefs for the federation without first obtaining the confirmation of the National Assembly”.

The judgment was in a suit instituted in 2008 by rights activist Festus Keyamo.

Keyamo argued that side-stepping the constitutional requirement of the National Assembly in the appointment of Service Chiefs began under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He stated that subsequent administrations have adopted the illegal practice.

By implication, such appointments made before now without the confirmation of the National Assembly were unconstitutional.

Keyamo sought a determination of the following questions:

•Whether by the combined interpretation of the provisions of Section 218 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Section 18 of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, the President can appoint Service Chiefs without the confirmation of the National Assembly first sought and obtained; and

•whether Section 18 (1) and (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 is not in conformity with the provision of the 1999 Constitution so as to fall within the category of existing laws under Section 315 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, that the President, may, by order, modify its text, to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.

The lawyer also sought a declaration that:

• the appointment of Service Chiefs without the confirmation of the National Assembly is illegal, unconstitutional and void;

•Section 18 (1) & (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, is in conformity with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution so as not to fall within the category of existing laws under Section 315 (2) of the Constitution that the President may, by order, modify its text to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution; and

•an order restraining the President from further appointing Service Chiefs without first obtaining the confirmation of the National Assembly.

Justice Bello upheld his arguments; answered the questions in his favour and granted his prayers.

Source: http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news/court-voids-appointment-of-service-chiefs-2/

It's interesting that there has been no other comment regarding this subject.

Hmm.

P34c3

Dear Nairalanders...

The good aspects of having ADEQUATE sleep are immeasurable o...

Please endeavour to live by it from rightaway, even if you're young. Proper research has shown - and is continuing to show - that one will not regret having adequate sleep consistently...

Click on the like button of this post as you practice having good AND adequate sleep.

P34c3

Dear Nairalanders;

I read, appreciated the following aspect of existence and will live by it, and thought to share.

Enjoy.

Personal Health June 17, 2013, 12:01 am

Cheating Ourselves of Sleep

By JANE E. BRODY


Think you do just fine on five or six hours of shut-eye? Chances are, you are among the many millions who unwittingly shortchange themselves on sleep.

Research shows that most people require seven or eight hours of sleep to function optimally. Failing to get enough sleep night after night can compromise your health and may even shorten your life. From infancy to old age, the effects of inadequate sleep can profoundly affect memory, learning, creativity, productivity and emotional stability, as well as your physical health.

According to sleep specialists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, among others, a number of bodily systems are negatively affected by inadequate sleep: the heart, lungs and kidneys; appetite, metabolism and weight control; immune function and disease resistance; sensitivity to pain; reaction time; mood; and brain function.

Poor sleep is also a risk factor for depression and substance abuse, especially among people with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Anne Germain, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. People with PTSD tend to relive their trauma when they try to sleep, which keeps their brains in a heightened state of alertness.

Dr. Germain is studying what happens in the brains of sleeping veterans with PTSD in hopes of developing more effective treatments for them and for people with lesser degrees of stress that interfere with a good night’s sleep.

The elderly are especially vulnerable. Timothy H. Monk, who directs the Human Chronobiology Research Program at Western Psychiatric, heads a five-year federally funded study of circadian rhythms, sleep strength, stress reactivity, brain function and genetics among the elderly. “The circadian signal isn’t as strong as people get older,” he said.

He is finding that many are helped by standard behavioral treatments for insomnia, like maintaining a regular sleep schedule, avoiding late-in-day naps and caffeine, and reducing distractions from light, noise and pets.

It should come as no surprise that myriad bodily systems can be harmed by chronically shortened nights. “Sleep affects almost every tissue in our bodies,” said Dr. Michael J. Twery, a sleep specialist at the National Institutes of Health.

Several studies have linked insufficient sleep to weight gain. Not only do night owls with shortchanged sleep have more time to eat, drink and snack, but levels of the hormone leptin, which tells the brain enough food has been consumed, are lower in the sleep-deprived while levels of ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, are higher.

In addition, metabolism slows when one’s circadian rhythm and sleep are disrupted; if not counteracted by increased exercise or reduced caloric intake, this slowdown could add up to 10 extra pounds in a year.

The body’s ability to process glucose is also adversely affected, which may ultimately result in Type 2 diabetes. In one study, healthy young men prevented from sleeping more than four hours a night for six nights in a row ended up with insulin and blood sugar levels like those of people deemed prediabetic. The risks of cardiovascular diseases and stroke are higher in people who sleep less than six hours a night. Even a single night of inadequate sleep can cause daylong elevations in blood pressure in people with hypertension. Inadequate sleep is also associated with calcification of coronary arteries and raised levels of inflammatory factors linked to heart disease. (In terms of cardiovascular disease, sleeping too much may also be risky. Higher rates of heart disease have been found among women who sleep more than nine hours nightly.)

The risk of cancer may also be elevated in people who fail to get enough sleep. A Japanese study of nearly 24,000 women ages 40 to 79 found that those who slept less than six hours a night were more likely to develop breast cancer than women who slept longer. The increased risk may result from diminished secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin. Among participants in the Nurses Health Study, Eva S. Schernhammer of Harvard Medical School found a link between low melatonin levels and an increased risk of breast cancer.

A study of 1,240 people by researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland found an increased risk of potentially cancerous colorectal polyps in those who slept fewer than six hours nightly.

Children can also experience hormonal disruptions from inadequate sleep. Growth hormone is released during deep sleep; it not only stimulates growth in children, but also boosts muscle mass and repairs damaged cells and tissues in both children and adults.

Dr. Vatsal G. Thakkar, a psychiatrist affiliated with New York University, recently described evidence associating inadequate sleep with an erroneous diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. In one study, 28 percent of children with sleep problems had symptoms of the disorder, but not the disorder.

During sleep, the body produces cytokines, cellular hormones that help fight infections. Thus, short sleepers may be more susceptible to everyday infections like colds and flu. In a study of 153 healthy men and women, Sheldon Cohen and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University found that those who slept less than seven hours a night were three times as likely to develop cold symptoms when exposed to a cold-causing virus than were people who slept eight or more hours.

Some of the most insidious effects of too little sleep involve mental processes like learning, memory, judgment and problem-solving. During sleep, new learning and memory pathways become encoded in the brain, and adequate sleep is necessary for those pathways to work optimally. People who are well rested are better able to learn a task and more likely to remember what they learned. The cognitive decline that so often accompanies aging may in part result from chronically poor sleep.

With insufficient sleep, thinking slows, it is harder to focus and pay attention, and people are more likely to make poor decisions and take undue risks. As you might guess, these effects can be disastrous when operating a motor vehicle or dangerous machine.

In driving tests, sleep-deprived people perform as if drunk, and no amount of caffeine or cold air can negate the ill effects.

At your next health checkup, tell your doctor how long and how well you sleep. Be honest: Sleep duration and quality can be as important to your health as your blood pressure and cholesterol level.

This is the first of two columns on inadequate sleep.
A version of this article appeared in print on 06/18/2013, on page D5 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Harming Our Health With Eyes Wide Open.

Source:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/cheating-ourselves-of-sleep/?_r=0

In a sense, reported improved economic growth figures have not translated into the development of the people. And that, instead, Nigerians are being further improvised...

It's high time the government of the day, sat up, really.

P34c3

Dear Nairalanders;

The following just got published by Premium Times...

World Bank indicts Jonathan’s government, says massive poverty, unemployment killing Nigerians

The number of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing significantly, the World Bank says.

The number of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing significantly, revealing a perplexing contrast between the nation’s economic statistics on rapid economic growth and minimal welfare improvements for much of the population, the World Bank has said.

“Poverty rates remain high in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas. These rates declined between 2003-2004 and 2009- 2010, although not nearly as fast as would be expected from the pace of economic growth in the country,” the World Bank said in its ‘Nigeria Economic Report’ May, 2013.

“While the officially reported growth rates of GDP well exceed population growth in the country, the pace of poverty reduction does not, this implies that the number of poor Nigerians living below the poverty line has grown measurably,” the report stated.

The World Bank said the first Nigeria Economic Report is designed to give some attention to longer term trends in the country, including the puzzle of why a decade of rapid GDP growth by official statistics, concentrated in the pro-poor areas of agriculture and trade, did not bring stronger welfare and employment benefits to the population.

Aside from the increase in poverty, the organisation said progress towards a number of the other Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria has also been disappointing , stating that Nigeria was ranked 153 out of 186 countries in the 2013 United Nations Human Development Index, as unemployment rates have been steadily increasing and younger Nigerians are encountering increasing difficulty in finding gainful employment.

The organisation said available data on unemployment suggest a similar story.

“Job creation in Nigeria has been inadequate to keep pace with the expanding working age population. The official unemployment rate has steadily increased from 12% of the working age population in 2006 to 24% in 2011. Preliminary indications are that this upward trend continued in 2012.

Another issue the report highlighted was that the official definition of employment in Nigeria (less than 40 hours worked in the past week) is unusual, and is therefore not comparable to that in most other countries. The negative dynamic is very consistent, however, with perceptions of the population of increasing difficulties for finding gainful employment. Going by this, the problem in Nigeria might best be interpreted as underemployment in contrast to unemployment proper.

Variance in reported statistics and reality

Reports over the recent years have continued to highlight the concern that the Nigerian economic statistics reveals a puzzling contrast between rapid economic growth and quite minimal welfare improvements for much of the population.

Nigeria’s annual growth rates that average over 7 per cent in official data during the last decade place the nation among the fastest growing economies in the world. This growth has been concentrated particularly in trade and agriculture, which would suggest substantial welfare benefits for many Nigerians.

“Nevertheless, improvements in social welfare indicators have been much slower than would be expected in the context of this growth. Poverty reduction and job creation have not kept pace with population growth, implying social distress for an increasing number of Nigerians. Progress toward the fulfillment of many of the Millennium Development Goals has been slow, and the country ranked 153 out of 186 countries in the 2013 United Nations Human Development Index” the World Bank said.

The Organisation said further data collection and investigations will be necessary to clarify this picture of what factors are responsible or explain the disparities between economic growth and the welfare indicators of the nation.

“Given the seeming inconsistencies between the national accounts data summarized above and statistics based on other surveys, it is imperative to conduct further investigations and statistical tests to uncover the true growth and development story in Nigeria” the World Bank said.

http://premiumtimesng.com/business/138525-world-bank-indicts-jonathans-government-says-massive-poverty-unemployment-killing-nigerians.html

My God...some of these governors are worse than street urchins in character. How can this Jang of a man, someone who is above 70, be acting like such a minion and simpleton?

P34c3

eGuerrilla: Source

http://sundaytrust.com.ng/index.php/top-stories/13197-how-jonathan-shot-himself-in-the-foot/

Those that have ears, let them pay attention to this view/treatise from the North.

A word is enough for the wise, and there's limited time, actually.

P34c3

nuclearboy: Whoever or whichever it is, matters little!

What really matters is that most voted for Jang but will turn against Jonathan at the "right time" - as Koruji said, this election was to give a false impression of "support" for someone who is mostly detested across the land right now.

To avoid suspicion, those who have been most verbose voted against whist the true GEJ look alikes (who wait till you are down then tread upon you) will bide their time and mirror to him what he did to the north at the right time.

My only concern is that GEJ is setting up the SS for a real fall. He has deployed a SoE in a specific manner and with Dokubo's noise etc, when the night of the long knives comes, (and those thugs try to cause problems) the next president already has a precedent set by their own son to do same to the SS (searching for weapons and disarming them)

Whoa, this is the most thoughts provoking and complete post I've seen on this issue in a while...and it will probably come to pass. Hmm.

We'll done, nuclearboy.

P34c3

SMH...I thought Paul just yesterday or so formally denied ever having an affair with the girl, adding that the girl's story of him being associated with her must have been an April fool joke?

On the other hand, this picture could easily pass as a pose with/for a fan. However, if other pictures can further show them together under other circumstances/in other setting(s,) then the lady's side of the paternity claim becomes more plausible.

Still, only a DNA test can conclusively prove whether or not Paul is the father of the baby.

P34c3

by taharqa: 12:23pm
Good Move....long overdue. Time to beta track
d Boko ijiots and oda terroists electronically..
The law shld howeva be tiltd to beta protect d
Privacy of ordinary law abiding persons b4 d 2
year time lag for the full actualisatn of dis
move

Someone like you can afford to bite your nose in other to spite your face, abi?

Aino-nga. We dey here na.

P34c3

My immediate reaction to this is...Is this true?

It certainly seems well researched...

And, if true, why does this administration have the magnetic tendencies to get mired in this type of shenanigans, thereby distracting itself?

P34c3

Dear Nairalanders;

The subject story appeared on the website of Premium Times about an hour ago, and is reproduced below for our information, and, of course, mature discussion:

EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan awards $40million contract to Israeli company to monitor
computer, Internet communication by Nigerians

Ogala Emmanuel - 1 hour ago

NATIONAL, NEWS

Here is a very important information from PREMIUM TIMES for the 47 million
Nigerian Internet users. Big Brother, in the form of the Jonathan administration,
is watching you, and your communication is no longer safe.
It is one of the most far-reaching policies ever designed in Nigeria’s history to
invade the privacy of citizens.
The Jonathan administration secretly, and in open violation of lawful contracting
procedures, has awarded an Israeli firm, Elbit Systems , with headquarters in
Haifa, a $40million contract to help it spy on citizens’ computers and Internet
communications under the guise of intelligence gathering and national security.
Elbit announced the contract award Wednesday in a global press release but
was silent on the Nigerian destination of the contract. Its general manager,
Yehuda Vered, opaquely announced that “Elbit Systems will supply its Wise
Intelligence Technology (WiT) system to an unnamed country in Africa under a
new $40 million contract announced on 24 April… for Intelligence Analysis and
Cyber Defense,” but effusively claimed, in the statement, that his company is
“proud to be selected to supply this unique system, which is already field-
proven, fully operational and customisable.
“Elbit Systems is a world leader in the fields of intelligence analysis and cyber
defense, with proven solutions highly suitable for countries, armies and critical
infrastructure sites. We hope that additional customers will follow in selecting
our highly advanced and cutting edge systems in these fields as their preferred
solution,” Mr. Vered added.
Multiple and very reliable sources in the administration confirmed to PREMIUM
TIMES that Nigeria is indeed the “unnamed African country,” and with details
from the Elbit statement, our sources say the contract will now help the
Jonathan administration access all computers and read all email
correspondences of citizens in what is clearly, an infringement on
constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.
No single policy of this administration has so far affected, in one fell swoop, the
lives of 47 million citizens, a third of the Nigerian population and about four
times the number of voters who brought the president to power two years ago.
Nigerian netizens, the horde of active citizens that use the computer and
Internet, are the 10th in a global ranking that make them 27 per cent of Africa’s
total Internet users, far ahead of Egypt [19th global ranking] and South Africa
[37th in global ranking].
The growth path of the Internet in Nigeria has also been dramatic, rising from a
mere 200,000 Internet users in 2002 to 47 million this year, according to data
from the Global Internet user, one of the Internet audit groups.
This development has not always gladdened public officials in Nigeria many
who have expressed open displeasure at the use of the Internet by social media
activists and the power of its possibilities as an empowering medium for
popular communication. The calls for regulation have been loud in both the
administration and in the Nigerian legislature.
The earliest hint that the Jonathan administration had desires to invade privacy
of citizens surfaced ealy April when researchers at the Munk School for Global
Affairs at the University of Toronto alerted the world that Nigeria, Egypt, and
Kenya were deploying Internet surveillance and censorship technology
developed by an American company, Blue Coat , which specializes in online
security. Blue Coat’s technology will allow the government to invade the privacy
of journalists, netizens and their sources. Its censorship devices use Deep
Packet Inspection, DPI, a technology employed by many western Internet
Service Providers, to manage network traffic and suppress unwanted
connections.
Civic groups kick against DPI because, they say, it makes it possible for
censors to look into every single Internet Protocol packet and subject it to
special treatment based on content (censored or banned words) or type (email,
VoIP or BitTorrent Protocol).

(End of Page 1 of 2.) |

Page 2...

DPI not only threatens the principle of Net
Neutrality and the privacy of users, civic
groups say, it makes single users identifiable
and, in countries that flout the rule of law and
violate human rights, often exposes them to
arbitrary imprisonment, violence or even
torture.
While details on the Blue Coat contract
appears to have managed to evade scrutiny up
till this point, PREMIUM TIMES sources say the
Elbit annunciation of the contract, opaque as it
was, terribly rattled top administration officials
– from the presidency to the National Security
Adviser’s Office, and the National Assembly.
“The presidency had wanted this contract to be
a top secret,” said one of our sources. “The
presidency did not envisage that Elbit was
going to make it public. Monitoring computers
and Internet use is a contentious issue and
the National Security Adviser had tried to keep
the contract secret.”
Elbit says it will take it two years to complete
the project, by which time it claimed, the
administration will have “a highly advanced
end-to-end solution, [to] supports every stage
of the intelligence process, including the
collection of the data from multiple sources,
databases and sensors, processing of the
information, supporting intelligence personnel
in the analysis and evaluation of the
information and disseminating the intelligence
to the intended recipient…[that] will be
integrated with various data sources, including
Elbit Systems’ Open Source Intelligence
(OSINT) solution and Elbit Systems’ PC
Surveillance Systems (PSS), an advance
solution for covert intelligence gathering.”
The administration had indicated in the 2013
budget that it would procure a Wise
Intelligence Network Harvest Analyzer System,
Open Source Internet Monitoring System and
Personal Internet Surveillance System at a
cost of N9.496 Billion ($61.26 million).
Now that the contract has been awarded to
Elbit for about $40million, it is unclear if the
National Assembly will raise questions as to
what becomes of the extra $21million
earmarked for the project.
Investigations indicate that in awarding the
contract to the Israeli firm, no tenders or calls
for bids were made just as there were no
public announcements. The contract was
awarded following a proposal from a single
vendor who dictated the contract sum and the
terms of the contract.
The procedure for public procurement of
services as stipulated by the Bureau of Public
Procurement (BPP), the Nigerian agency
charged with the duty of ensuring
transparency in all matters concerning
government contracts, were largely ignored. In
addition, there are no public records indicating
that the BPP approved this contract.
The manner of award directly contravenes the
2007 Public Procurement Act. While the Act
gives room for single source contracts, the
Elbit contract met none of the requirements
under which such special contracts could be
awarded.
Section 47 (3) (iii) of the 2007 Act stipulates
that single source contracts are to be awarded
in emergency situations such as “natural
disasters or a financial crisis”.
Presidential spokespersons, Reuben Abati, and
Doyin Okupe were not available for comments
Wednesday. They didn’t answer or return calls
seeking comments.
Calls to Elbit’s headquarters in Haifa, Israel,
were also unanswered.
Shari Clarkson, a spokesperson at the
company’s subsidiary in the United States
declined comments on the contract saying
only Dalia Rosen, a spokesperson based in
Israel, could comment. Rosen’s phone was
unanswered.

(End of Page 2 of 2.)

Source: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/131249-exclusive-jonathan-awards-40million-contract-to-israeli-company-to-monitor-computer-internet-communication-by-nigerians.html

P34c3

General Yakubu Gowon has now added his voice to the controversy, and I quote:

Civil War Genocide Allegation: I’m ready for ICC trial, says Gowon
Posted by: Our Reporter Posted date: October 28, 2012 In: Featured, News | comment : 40

• ‘Awo and I have no regrets
• Says Achebe is ignorant

Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, told critics yesterday that he is ready to face trial anywhere over allegation that he and Federal Government under him starved millions of Igbo to death during the Civil War.

He said Professor Chinua Achebe whose latest book ‘There was a country’, triggered the current frenzy over who played what role during the war, wrote out of ignorance.

“It was the Igbos that objected to the creation of corridor for movements of medical aid and food supplies to the civilian population at the period and on this I am ready to face the International Criminal Court of Justice at the Hague for prosecution over roles played by me when the war ended,” he told journalists in Minna, Niger State after a courtesy call on Governor Babangida Aliyu.

“Fortunately, some Nigerians are still alive to bear witness to the roles played by both the leadership of the secessionist group and the then Federal Military government under my leadership.”

Gen. Gowon who was in Minna for a two day prayer session organised by Nigeria Prays, said the secessionist leaders, more than anyone else, caused the massive deaths recorded in the defunct Biafra. He said contrary to allegations his government had no war policy to starve anyone to death.

The high death toll in Biafra, according to him, was caused by their own propaganda machinery which claimed that the ‘Northern invaders’ were coming to their camps and that caused panic and pandemonium among their people because some people were trying to move from one location to the other out of fear of imaginary attacks by the so called northern invaders and without foods.

“In fact, if there was no secession by the South Eastern part of the country, there would have been no civil war because right from the beginning of the crises the war would have been averted if not for the secession. It was something I believed we could have stopped,” General Gowon said.

He cited an attempt by the secessionists to smuggle in arms in a ship named “Josina”. He said when the ship which they had claimed was carrying Agricultural Implements was captured by the Federal Troops and was subjected to a thorough search it was arms and ammunition that were found in it.

He said he and the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo have no regret whatsoever for playing the roles they played in the war.

On Achebe, he said: “What role did Achebe play in the secessionist plans? Achebe must have been outside the country during the war and probably did not know what happened at the period otherwise he would not have written on what he was not sure of.”

Achebe in his book had said: “It is my impression that Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself and for his Yoruba people. There is, on the surface at least, nothing wrong with those aspirations.

“However, Awolowo saw the dominant Igbo at the time as the obstacles to that goal, and when the opportunity arose – the Nigeria-Biafra War – his ambition drove him into a frenzy to go to every length to achieve his dreams.

“In the Biafran case, it meant hatching up a diabolical policy to reduce the numbers of his enemies significantly through starvation – eliminating over two million people, mainly members of future generations.”

Unquote.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news/civil-war-genocide-allegation-im-ready-for-icc-trial-says-gowon/

...

Come to think of it, the claim by the prof that the cause of the Igbo being able to attain their "cultural superiority" and leapfrog the other ethnicity and nationalities was due to a "sudden burst of energy...in a space of about 10 years...," is not only myopic and childish, it is laughable at best. Someone should inform the prof, that a people's cultural bent does not change, most definitely not the fundamentals of a culture, and certainly not in a space of a mere ten years!

In any case, if the prof would stick to that funny view or belief or claim, what happened to/where were these people of which he writes centuries before this "sudden burst of energy?" And what makes him (the prof) so sure that that "sudden burst of energy" would not soon wane/fade/out-developed, et cetera, thus allowing other ethnicity/nationalities to, in turn, "leapfrog" his own clan, so to speak?

Funny man with this he is, this prof. Moreover, the only permanent thing in life, wisdom has taught us, is change.

He traced the origin of “the national resentment of the Igbo” to its culture that “gave the Igbo man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots in securing credentials for advancement in Nigerian colonial society.”

He observed that the Igbo culture’s emphasis on change, individualism and competitiveness gave his ethnic group an edge over the Hausa/Fulani man who was hindered by a “wary religion” and the Yoruba man who was hampered by” traditional hierarchies.”

Woah, this is precisely the sort of thinking that got Hitler and his collaborators to where they led their people and their part of the world: self destruction.

The rest of Professor Achebe's writing, as used in the said article, is essentially of the same mindset - that of the tendency to look down on other people and races, and think you're of a superior race, just like the "superior" Aryan race that Hitler so believed in, that led him to his eventual humiliation and destruction. The prof even thinks the white man is superior to his own race! In that sense, I'm beginning to think that, it's either Prof Achebe is naturally delusional, or bitter out of the war, or he's trying to shape his own legacy among his people.

Whatever, it is just sad that this is the type of thinking that the prof is passing down to his younger listeners and followers. Absolutely sad. One thing the man is further succeeding in doing with this sort of writing, though, is not to necessarily just re-write history, or re-define what truth is, but to further drive a wedge between his people and the other ethnicity or nationalities in Nigeria.

One other possibility came to my mind when I realized that Prof Achebe was in fact a Minister of Communication of Biafra during the civil war: That he is just trying to deflect from himself and the then other leaders of Biafra, criticisms of of the war, as fought by them. Such criticisms include that the leadership of Biafra ought to have been tried for acts of genocide against their own people actually, for one, because they insisted on fighting, and senselessly continued with the war, even after it was clear that that their children - on their land - were starving, while their ill-equipped soldiers were feeding fat.

I honestly don't think Prof Achebe and the rest of the war-time Biafran leadership will ever know peace on account of what they did to their own people, due to their misplaced belief of they being a relatively superior race, or even with their definition of what self-pride was.

In any case, "those that fight and run away, live to fight another day."
...

...Sorry, double post.
...

The following appeared in today's online edition of The Nation newspaper, and I quote:

Why Nigerians hate Igbo, by Chinua Achebe
Posted by: Sam Omatseye Posted date: October 20, 2012

Nigeria’s foremost novelist Chinua Achebe has claimed that Nigerians, especially of the Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba stocks, do not like his Igbo ethnic group because of the southeast’s cultural advantage.

He made this claim in his new book, There was a Country, which has generated controversy for his onslaught on the role of Obafemi Awolowo as the federal commissioner of finance during the Nigeria civil war. He accused Awolowo of genocide and imposition of food blockade on Biafra, a claim that has drawn rebuttals and contradictions of emotional intensity from some southwest leaders and commentators.

“I have written in my small book entitled The Trouble with Nigeria that Nigerians will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo,” he wrote under the heading, A History of Ethnic Tension and Resentment. He traced the origin of “the national resentment of the Igbo” to its culture that “gave the Igbo man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots in securing credentials for advancement in Nigerian colonial society.”

He observed that the Igbo culture’s emphasis on change, individualism and competitiveness gave his ethnic group an edge over the Hausa/Fulani man who was hindered by a “wary religion” and the Yoruba man who was hampered by” traditional hierarchies.”

He therefore described the Igbo, who are predominantly Catholic, as “fearing no god or man, was “custom-made to grasp the opportunities, such as they were, of the white man’s dispensations. And the Igbo did so with both hands.”

He delved into history with his claim, asserting that the Igbo overcame the earlier Yoruba advantage within two decades earlier in the twentieth century.

“Although the Yoruba had a huge historical and geographical head start, the Igbo wiped out their handicap in one fantastic burst of energy in the twenty years between 1930 and 1950.”

He narrated the earlier advantage of Yoruba as contingent on their location on the coastline, but once the missionaries crossed the Niger, the Igbo took advantage of the opportunity and overtook the Yoruba.

‘The increase was so exponential in such a short time that within three short decades the Igbos had closed the gap and quickly moved ahead as the group with the highest literacy rate, the highest standard of living, and the greatest of citizens with postsecondary education in Nigeria,” he contended.

He said Nigerian leadership should have taken advantage of the gbo talent and this failure was partly responsible for the failure of the Nigerian state, explaining further that competitive individualism and the adventurous spirit of the Igbo was a boon Nigerian leaders failed to recognize and harness for modernization.

“Nigeria’s pathetic attempt to crush these idiosyncrasies rather than celebrate them is one of the fundamental reasons the country has not developed as it should and has emerged as a laughingstock,” he claimed.

He noted that the ousting of prominent Igbos from top offices was a ploy to achieve a simple and crude goal. He said what the Nigerians wanted was to “get the achievers out and replace them with less qualified individuals from the desired ethnic background so as to gain access to the resources of the state.”

Achebe, however, saved some criticisms for his kinsmen. He criticised them for what he described as “hubris, overweening pride and thoughtlessness, which invite envy and hatred or even worse that can obsess the mind with material success and dispose it to all kinds of crude showiness.”

He added that “contemporary Igbo behavior(that) cab offend by its noisy exhibitionism and disregard for humility and quietness.

Unquote.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news/why-nigerians-hate-igbo-by-chinua-achebe/

Dear Fellow Nairalanders;

The following appeared in today's online edition of The Guardian newspaper of Lagos:

Ofeimun , Adebanjo stoke controversy over Achebe’s comments on Awolowo

PREDICTABLY, more diverse reactions are pouring in over renowned author, Prof. Chinua Achebe’s new book – There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra. While Chief Olanihun Ajayi would not like to comment until he had read the book, a prominent member of the Pan-Yoruba organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo suspects that Achebe had been quoted out of context. He told The Guardian yesterday that he was preparing a treatise to put what really transpired during the Biafra war in proper context.

However, to a prominent poet and author, Odia Ofeimun, Achebe should not have thrown his weight behind the justification for the war in his book, because what the Biafran leaders did, he insisted, amounted to genocide against the Igbo people.

Ofeimun, who spoke at a Book Party organized by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), to celebrate the 10 authors shortlisted for the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Prize for Literature in Lagos at the weekend, argued that Achebe had the opportunity to set the records straight in his book but failed to do so.

Adebanjo wondered why anybody could have reported that Chief Obafemi Awolowo started the Biafra war when he (Awolowo) was in prison. He said: “How can any one report that Awolowo started the war? He was in prison when all this (Biafra war) began. Ojukwu started the war. Even against all odds, Awolowo went to Ojukwu with Chief Samuel Mariere and Prof. Sam Aluko to try to persuade him to avert the war, but Ojukwu insisted.”

However, Ofeimun insisted that the Biafran leaders should have been compelled to face the Nuremburg-Type trial, organized by the United Nations, similar to the one conducted by the Allied Forces in respect of the Nazi Germany war criminals.

He said: “All leaders of Biafra should be taken to Nuremberg-type Trial for committing genocide against their own people and made to face genocide charges. They knew they had no guns; they knew they were unprepared for the war but took the Igbos to war. And because the rest of us were angry, we allowed ourselves to be misled by propaganda. What happened to the Igbos was very bad; it was wrong. The leaders committed genocide. And the rest of us are being made to feel guilty for their crimes. And I expected Achebe to correct the story in his book, he merely took the jelly out of the jar”.

Ofeimun, who, as a 17 years old, was ready to sign up to fight on the Biafran side, lamented that the Igbo leadership that took the war decision misled the rest of the world and the ordinary Igbo people with the propaganda that was mounted. The poet stated that even a Biafran commander, like Hilary Njoku, warned of Biafra’s unpreparedness for the war. He insisted that they couldn’t fight the war.

Achebe’s book, like other various accounts of the bitter Civil War (1966 – 1970) before it, has lived up to the reputation of sparking off controversy.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101066:ofeimun--adebanjo-stoke-controversy-over-achebes-comments-on-awolowo&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

To me, Mr. Ofeimun has delivered the most logical and sensible treatise on the currently raging views expressed by Professor Achebe in his "personal history" of the Nigerian civil war. It is simple: If you're NOT prepared for war, don't fight it; tactically withdraw, or back off, or eat your pride, and live to fight another day. It was indeed the leadership of Biafra that actually committed genocide against their own people, and it was that leadership that ought to have been tried as war criminals after the war ended, just like the then leadership of Nazi Germany that survived their war, was so tried.

I hope those that goaded the Biafran leadership and the good people of Biafra into that war, and, more tragically, into not surrendering soon enough ONCE they realized they had no control over something as fundamental and as basic to survival as their own supply of food, will live with their actions and conscience for as long as Karma allows them.

It was an unfortunate leadership.

P34c3

Hmm... is this in the wrong column/section? If so, a moderator should be kind to move it to the section meant for the economy, say, as I could not recognize one.

P34c3

Dear All;

The following is one of the lead stories/articles on today's online edition of the Nigerian Guardian newspaper. I find the story real and depressing. For me, the fact that this story made the headlines on one of the most conservative - even pro-government - news outlets in Nigeria, is further indication that our economy is in real dire straits. Wither Nigeria?

Quote:

It’s the Nigerian economy…so so![size=12pt][/size]
MONDAY, 25 JUNE 2012 00:00 BY ADE OGIDAN (BUSINESS EDITOR), BUKKY OLAJIDE AND FEMI ADEKOYA NEWS - NATIONAL
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ALTHOUGH the Nigerian economy has not been out of the woods since the 1980s, it’s present state is even more precarious. While the Federal Government paints a picture of an economic boom with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yearly growth rate of seven per cent, the reality is that the economy is in a shambles.

Whether it is Boko Haram, kidnapping, armed robbery, corruption, poverty, poor infrastructure and any other vice, the root cause is the same: It is the economy…period.

The phrase: It is the economy…stupid, was first used by James Carville, the campaign strategist for Bill Clinton, in the build-up to the 1992 United States (U.S.) presidential election, to capture the depression in which the American economy was.

While in the American situation then, it was plausible to say stupid, in the Nigerian scenario today, one can only say So So!.

And at the weekend, the government and its National Economic Team received knocks from experts who argued that the managers of the economy were clueless on how to transform the nation’s economy.

Commentators on the systemic failure of the economy at the weekend queried the credentials of the managers of the economy, who they accused of lack of focus, alienation from the people, poor decision-making, whether monetary or fiscal, and poor responses to grievances expressed by Nigerians.

The 24-man Economic Management Team is led by President Goodluck Jonathan with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy.

Nigerians are more worried that the economic team generously features businessmen, who allegedly feed fat on the economy.

The data below on the state of the economy, which The Guardian obtained at the weekend, would shock anyone, who is interested in the future of the country.

The poverty index in Nigeria is 60 per cent (placing the country 156th out of 187 countries), current exchange rate of the naira to the dollar is N162, foreign reserves below $38 billion while inflation stands at 12.7 per cent from 10.3 per cent level in 2011. The lending rate is 22 per cent, unemployment 37 per cent (over 40 million Nigerians jobless), domestic debt is N5.6 trillion, foreign debt $5.9 billion while allocation to the states from the Federation Account in the first quarter of 2012 was N705.77 billion.

More worrisome to analysts are the business-unfriendly high interest rates, the rising domestic debt profile and phenomenally-parlous state of infrastructure.

Consequently, the analysts and business operators have passed a unanimous verdict: Nigeria’s economy is cascading with concomitant unsavoury consequences on the populace.

Like the proverbial Roman Emperor who was playing the tambourine while the empire was on fire, the economic managers are singing aloud tunes that are discordant with reality on the ground.

Besides, the state of insecurity in the country, being accentuated by the Boko Haram phenomenon and the consequential loss of business opportunities in the North have put strain on the fragile economy.

Significantly, the analysts told The Gaurdian that the continual receding profile of the nation’s industrial estates, which over the years had been accorded lip service, might further compromise the nation’s quest for a diversified economy, planked on a productive base.

But perhaps, of no less significance is the phenomenal corruption within the economic system, being perpetuated by the ruling class and their private sector cohorts.

The Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, lamented that “the Nigerian economy presents a curious paradox.”

Yusuf said “the citizens have waited in vain for decades to see the translation of the proverbial huge potential to reality of prosperity for the country and its people. We have seen policies, fiscal and monetary, many with good intents and contents, yet, the impact is not felt.

“Fiscal and monetary policies most often work at cross-purposes and have therefore not adequately impacted the prospects for the economy. The democratic structures and institutions, and the key players in the political space, rather than offer a hope for a solution, have become a part of the problem,” he said.

Chairman of the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Nigeria, Dr. David V.C. Obi, bemoaned the business-unfriendly monetary and fiscal policies being foisted on the economy by the rulers.

Obi, who is also a long-term serving council member of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), declared that no economy could grow on a sustainable basis under the current interest rate regime, which hovers around 22 to 24 per cent.

He described as anomalous the authorities’ machinations that are propelling the sliding fortunes of the naira in the foreign exchange market, when viewed against the fact that the economy is import-dependent.

“The Economic Management Team is a big disappointment to the nation. The pursuit of a trading economy, with poor productive base, gives no bright prospect for the country.

“I have said it times without number that academic excellence does not make one a good manager of an economy. It is now clear that first class graduates from universities like Harvard in USA may not be relevant to economic issues in the country, more so when such people are not well grounded on socio-economic realities of the economy. Being a good manager of an economy has more to do with the person’s disposition to the welfare of the people and the management of resources to achieve that,” he said.

The Lead Director of Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, affirmed that a review of key monetary and fiscal policy indicators reflect discomforting scenario of the nation’s economy.

“The naira is depreciating by the day and currently exchanges for over N160 to the dollar while the growth of foreign reserves has stagnated and is even being diminished.

“Lending rate to the real sector of the economy is also in double digits and indeed in excess of 20 per cent. The real unemployment rate is alarming despite statistics churned out by the National Bureau of Statistics. It should be in the neighbourhood of 50 per cent of the population who are qualified, willing and able to work. The growth statistics is also troubling.

“Essentially, with no concrete and visible human and material development, coupled with a falling naira value in an import dependent economy; it has become extremely hard to believe the growth figures that are in excess of six per cent being churned out by NBS. Indeed, the finance minister recently warned Nigerians of the possibility of deep recession.

“Since money that should have been used for human and infrastructure development is being stolen and frittered away on a daily basis, the bottom is knocked off the implementation of fiscal policy,” he said.

The Managing Director of Lagos-based Marina Business School, Olayinka Odutola, said ample evidence abound that the economic managers are falling short of expectations.

Ikem Isiekwena, reacting on behalf of a group, “1000 Points of Light,” lamented the mortgaging of the future of younger Nigerians.

He said: “That majority of Nigerians are disillusioned and despondent is not state secret. That many generations to come will suffer anguish is a source of collective shame. That the two phenomena are somehow linked is the first realisation to be reached about the current state of Nigeria.

“One needs only to look out through the window to see exactly how waste and mediocrity has sustained a generation starved in the circle of poverty of hope, ideals and the basic necessities of life”.

A generation that has no business in the pursuit of a good life can but only worry about daily survival from a short, nasty, and brutish end.

“Our population, in the overwhelming majority, lives on less than a dollar a day. Decaying and obsolete infrastructure left by the colonialists is being replaced with redundant white elephants. The railways built by Lord Lugard and his compatriots have served generations of Nigerians far better than the budgeted trillions we read have been “invested” in our railways by our recent leaders.

“With a crumbling educational system, our children will not compete with their Chinese, Indian, Botswanian or Ghanaian counterparts. A nation with abundant energy resources, yet its people lack power supply.

“In extreme poverty, the ignorant are nurtured in social and religious intolerance - our diversity becomes a brutal burden, and a harvest of distrust, hate and blood. Our resources are a curse to us, yet prosperity for a few. This few, the ruling class, will ensure this blind prosperity is sustained, while the young majority will complain, again and again. But that is today. What of tomorrow?

Exchange rate of naira 162 to the dollar

Foreign reserves less than $38 billion

Inflation rate 12.7 per cent (from 10.3 per cent in 2011)

Lending rate 22 per cent

Unemployment rate 37 per cent

Domestic Debt N5.6 trillion

Allocation to states from Federal

Government in first quarter of 2012 N705.77 billion

Poverty Index 60.9 per cent (156th of 187 countries)

Next >
Author of this article: By Ade Ogidan (Business Editor), Bukky Olajide and Femi Adekoya
Comments

http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90353:its-the-nigerian-economyso-so&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Faheedat:
SEND A SHORT  SMS TO THIS NUMBER: 08077446699 & 0810255581 ONLY
CALL  01-7267611

Thanks for posting these numbers, but what are they for?

P34c3

[quote author=Okija_juju link=topic=784574.msg9389472#msg9389472 date=1319204883]How did I miss hearing about that?[/quote]I think it is probably because they know it is not for everyone, and publishing such rates on their everyday website would further cement their expensive image as perceived by the general public. It is their HyConnect service, and you would need to specifically inquire about it before you'll get a quote for the bandwidth you will require. To prepare your mind, the high-end entry level of 1Mbps would set you back about 64k/mth for the 24/7 unlimited download variant.

You could also look up Swift's high-end 4G offerings.

P34c3

[quote author=Okija_juju link=topic=784574.msg9387571#msg9387571 date=1319187933]Mr. Duwdu, Please stop being selective about what you read from my posts. Congratulations on your Dual citizenship, I'm very happy for you, but the point I was making wasnt about "who has more visas on their passport" but simply pointing out that the Telecom operators in the west and places like India and the U.A.E dont face the same challenges that operators in Africa especially Nigeria have to face. Abroad you can walk up to a telephone stand, buy a modem and viola, you are hooked up to the internet and with good speed as well.

[size=14pt]COST OF OPERATION[/size] is the key word you should be focused on. Try running a business where you have to pay several millions of Naira to the regulatory bodies, Several Millions on Diesel for your numerous generators that would require constant and efficient servicing and maintanance, Paying workers (atleast Minimum wage plus benefits) and at the same time provide WORLD CLASS service at rock bottom price,  We are not talking government now, we are saying yes we know that the system is fuc.ked, but if they can still do it, how much are we willing to pay for it. Hope you have got it now,

Now I wasnt trying to imply that I am super rich or dont acknowledge the situation on ground with the country, but when next you reply me, remember the topic of this thread "HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY FOR UNLIMITED PLAN", emphasis on unlimited,  Some people use this internet services for their businesses and company's and are willing to pay top dollar as long as the service can be compared to what applys abroad. Presently many company's spend millions annually just so they can get top notch Internet service. How many times have you been to the banks in Nigeria and heard the song "THE SERVER IS DOWN"?! If these large coporations who have money to spend cant find good reliable service, na your 15'k go give you unlimited worldclass service?! Nna biko be realistic here.

I will relate it to say electricity,  How much are you willing to pay for uninterrupted, steady (in terms of voltage) and reliable electricity in Nigeria monthly,  Yep!! We know that NEPA and PHCN and Government and NERC are all corrupt and blah, blah, blah (the usual song which we all know very well),. But despite all that, if a company comes in and says we can do it at a price, how high are you willing to go for it,  Thats the point of this thread!

Maybe if we had the same amenities as some countries, then they can put it at 1 kobo/kilobyte, no qualms.

P.S: I noticed your feeble attempt at sacarsm with the Playstation line, you will need to try harder next time,  Being an a'ss  dosent make your posts sound more intelligible than they are, it only makes you look like an a'ss. Just saying. 


May the gods grant you the wisdom to reason rationally and not emotionally.

Best Regards


Alusi Okija^TM[/quote]You calling me names and being uncouth towards others, won't cut it. No one should try to be a half-baked gangsta here. Kindly keep it clean.

Yes, I was being sarcastic in a way, but I was also being realistic. For the same requirement, someone in this same thread said with conviction they would pay 2.5k, I estimated 15k, you are standing on 40k, MTN is saying that, in the real world, it is 90k, and we are offering it already. So, at the end of the day, we're all giving our own answers to the original question posed by the OP, so please do not pretend only you understood the question. TBH, the debate henceforth should be, is any of us four broad groups any more correct in their estimation than the other? I would give a benefit of the doubt to all.

What I do know is that, the situation would be sorted out, eventually. Even that would not stop some from having it / coping with the situation better than others in the mean time, tho'.

BTW, like I said in an earlier post frow what I've read on here, I think Mobitel may have started to force a downward review of prices (more towards my price point,   ) for unlimited Internet access at, say, a normal DSL speed, here in Nigeria. It is left to be seen though how much this will hold, considering that unlimited Internet - at least at currently insane speeds - is increasingly being constricted even in the US.

P34c3

[quote author=Okija_juju link=topic=784574.msg9383458#msg9383458 date=1319128080]Erm!! Maybe you are the one loosing the point,

Everyone who has com on here to say I pay 25 pounds or 30 dollars or 50 rupees all stay in countries where the infrastructures are already in place thus the operating cost of these operators are not as high.

When I first got back to Naija in 2008, I started with Swifttalk as my ISP and they were quite good until their bullshit started and I was paying 18'k a month for that crap. I now use IPNX as my service provider and I must say they are quite good (8gig/month for 9'450). But everytime I go there, they have their generators running 24/7. Same with the banks, same with the likes of MTN and all other service providers (voice and data). So you want tham to run at a loss and provide you with world class service? I'm sorry dear it dosent work like that. I am an internet addict. Wether it is work, downloads, gaming or whatever. Having lived abroad before returning home, you can imagine how hard it is to adjust to the kind of crappy internet services we get here, I understand if your arguement is based on the standard of living in Nigeria and that should the price of their services exceed a certain level, then it would be unaffordable to alot of people then thats fair enough, but until such a time as when we have steady power and infrastruture in place to support businesses, then we should be ready to either pay a high price for premuim services or keep mute and wallow in mediocrity.

I am willing to pay as much as 30,000 - 40'k Naira for good quality service, Even if it will be only 20 gig per month sef, Do you know that my PlayStation 3 and X-box have been dormant because I cant find stable internet to play my online games?! Dont get me started on downlods,[/quote]Hmm, If, as you seem to be suggesting, your having once lived abroad gives you the impetus or a right for you to live above average in Nigeria, good for you, go ahead and keep throwing your good money after substandard service. Be mindful though, that some of us even hold dual citizenships, still, we don't feel that we should be throwing your kind of good money after substandard service, and would make the noise to back up such an assertion. Besides, quite honestly, you can't get good service with crappy or non-existing infrastructure which can only be provided by the government.

In any case, I have NOT advocated that you should not spend your money anyway you want, I was just pointing to the flaw I feel in your one liner that:

[quote author=Okija_juju link=topic=784574.msg9379517#msg9379517 date=1319097323]Thats why we are still surffering mediocre services when people are not willing to pay good money for top services[/quote], and I offered my own take on the root cause of the problem, and posited that "paying good money" does not guarantee you good service here at home. I then offered what a long-term solution could be.

If you noticed further from my response, I, too, would be willing to part with as much as N15K/mth for the same reasonable level of service, so it is not that I would want this for free. In the end, we are probably saying the same thing. The main difference just happens to be that, whereas I would want to see more efficient providers for my N15k/mth in the present state of our nation, you can tolerate more than double that, and are willing to put your own break point at about N40K/mth. A Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would easily accept a ceiling of about N1,000,000/mth for the same level of service! So to each their own,

As for your PS3 and X-Box adventures, may be you can raise your ceiling to N90K/mth? I know that MTN would provide you with unlimited downloads at about 2-4Mbps. No kidding. That would also qualify as "good money."

It's all good.

Good luck!

P34c3