₦airaland Forum

I think it was Robert Greene that said: When you have to keep explaining yourself to get understood, you make it all the more impossible for that to happen. It appears so in my case. And I am sorry. Maybe I should just stop talking and begin to listen.

Opokonwa, thank you. I have listened to all you said. If the plan was to annoy me, it didn't work. If it was to sneer at my previous statements and show me to be unstable, I don't know if it worked, as that would depend on others and not on me. If it was to make me feel sorry for posting loosely, it did. I feel quite ashamed already.

Let me just ask you this: If you were me, what would you do? You once had your life well mapped out by means of a solid background; then all of a sudden, that solid background was wiped off. Completely. In its stead, a new backgroung emerged, and a dark, venomous relative, the owner of the new background, insists that rather than you become useful in life, he dies. You run, and begin to make what seems like progress; and then the moment you try to help others like you, trapped in the new background, you fail (for the first time after you ran).

You begin to ask: Was it not the same God that prospered all I did since the day I ran? Has he changed? What went wrong this time; or is it that He never intended me to help those others at all? What is He trying to say to me this time? And for lack of answers, you keep still. At a dead-end job; at an employment that you are most unhappy at. In a life where religion or God has yet to explain Himself, where faith no longer makes much sense. You cannot go back home (death awaits); you cannot help your brothers, because you are afraid; you cannot pray, because you have lost faith; you can no longer understand God. If you were me, what would you do?

You look at what you have: a job you hate; a job that whenever you wake up in the morning to go to it, you experience a migraine; your body is weak, you eyes are dialated. Yet it pays the bills, and you must go to it. You cannot go back to the 'home' people say you have; the owner of the new background hates you with all his heart and soul, and it is four years you swore never to see him again. You have no 'brothers'; no friends, no company; no God (for you no longer understand Him, and hence cannot pray); you have only the breath in your chest.

Many times you say to yourself: Were I not better dead than alive? Of what use am I? And then you open your locker: five literature manuscripts are staring at you. You know within you that they could become bestsellers, but as yet, none is published. The society in which you live does not seem to be a literary one. You look into your head, you see grand ideas in Communication theory; what universities around would appreciate them? It does not seem that any would as yet. And even if they would, you have not saved enough to go back to the university and train yourself in further studies; and it is hard to get a graduate assistantship on a first degree; though in the USA, one can get even a fellowship on a first degree.

You begin to wish you were in the USA. You say to yourself: If I were there, maybe I would more easily be published and read (because they are an intellectual society); you say to yourself: If I were there, my uncle would not have to bother; afterall, what does he want? That I end up worse off than his children; and I do not want to fight him; I'm tired. So why don't I go to where he cannot see me again? And because you do not want any trouble, you wish to go away, so that everyone can be at peace.

Again I ask: If you were me, what would you do? You know best. But I beg you: Never pray to be me. I am lonely; I feel deserted, unwanted, unloved; I feel endangered, insecure. I feel like going somewhere where I never have to be betrayed or rejected anylonger; if you were me, what would you do? I ask.

So please, spare me all this harshness of yours; spare me all the jibes; I don't need them; right now as I write this I am ill. I think I have come down with something. But please don't pity me; and don't pray for me. I do not believe in prayer anymore. Indeed, I think it is a waste of time. I don't say there is no God, but I don't say there is.

Adrian gives us a blueprint on the way forward. He says that we should concentrate our talk on issues. It seems to me that when we discuss healthy issues, and not persons, we may all have a nice time. Thanks a lot, Adrian. Could you suggest any issues at this time?

No, I do not think this thread is ready for burial, at least not from my end. It may need overhaul though.

And about revealing too much about myself; well, what's the big deal? I will finally write an autobiography that will reveal even more than I have done on this thread, and it will be read by all the world. Chei! I begin to yawn again; let me go and sleep.

My only joy is that no matter what that envious Nigerian writes about Emeagwali, he cannot go and steal the Gordon Bell prize from that emminent personality.

Later now, we would begin to complain about how the white man has done this and that to us; how white people impoverished us and all what not. When it is us who keep doing evil to one another.

You know one funny thing? The History professor that published the book: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (I cannot now recall his name) was sacked from his professorial chair by the ver African school that initially had him employed. Ha ha ha.

And when one African leader dared talk all sorts of rubbish about America, his own people destroyed him. So much for the greatest continent.

Anyway, make I leave story for tortoise. I begin to yawn. Let me go and do last minute reading for my TOEFL tomorrow.

And NLNG has taught me not to worry about things I cannot change, and not to fight unduly for what may not be mine to fight for in the first place. ABove all, it has reminded me that he who would travel far must travel light; and that your so-called friends may actually be your worst enemies. Out of envy and deceit. Not that I bother. I know that for the African, envy is the chief emotion.

Can you imagine that only today, I stumbled upon a discourse on Emmeagwali by one African schooling in the Netherlands; he was saying all sorts of rubbish about a man who has won the Gordon Bell prize, and who has been acclaimed by all the world as the Father of the Internet. He was saying that Emmeagwali was a fraud and all that thrash. Can you beat that? And the man rubbishing Emmeagwali like this was a NIgerian! Chei!


Read excerpts below:

Two days ago, an article was featured on this weblog which sought to address the issue of a prominent Nigerian-American scientist, Philip Emeagwali. The following question was thrown to the public: "Is Philip Emeagwali A Fake?" To some, and especially those who manage Mr. Emeagwali's website, he is a world class scientist and an inventor of the highest caliber. To others, like Jonathan Elendu of Elendu Reports and the writer of this article, Philip Emeagwali's so-called achievements are nothing but myths that cannot be verified.

Does this mean that Mr. Emeagwali has succeeded in fooling the mainstream media and the world at large? To a certain extent, yes. For instance, in 2004 the author of this article in the Nigerian publication ThisDay wrote:
"Very recently, a globally conducted poll by the Internet adjudged Philip Emeagwali the best scientist ever the world has produced in the last 50 years. Instructively, his feat is a credit to the present generation of Nigerian youths. Emeagwali is a Nigerian. He is not an American. He is not even from Japan, the country with awesome culture of technology."
Which poll? What was the source of the author's information? Philip Emeagwali's website, which happens to be full of unverifiable data? It is rather unfortunate that failure to take the pain to investigate the veracity and depth of information one may possess could result in sever misrepresentation of the truth. Philip Emeagwali can hardly be described as scientist in the real sense of the word, let alone the greatest scientist produced in the last 50 years – he has no known publications and no known patents. His website probably also served as a source of inspiration to thousands, who voted for him in the New African survey, causing him to be named as the 35th greatest African of all time.

What exactly has he achieved to be labeled a great African? He is adjudged to be the "World's Top Scientist" according to information his website. By training, he is meant to be a civil engineer who performed some work on a supercomputer at the University of Michigan while a graduate student. No mention is made of his training as a civil engineer and all references seem to be to the fact that he programmed a supercomputer to perform the fastest computation known to man in 1989 – another false piece of information. There are no references to Emeagwali's scientific research work on his website. Rather one finds links to radio stations and tons of family photographs. The website also appears cunning and deceptive, for it links to stories that praise Philip Emeagwali – stories that were undoubtedly born out of the preposterous pieces of information on his website in the first place.

It is rather unfortunate that a Nigerian-American should have indulged in fooling so many people this way. To millions of Nigerians, Emeagwali is an inspiration who has put to rest the claim that Africans are just as smart as any group of people on the planet (as though this needs to be proven). In reality, he appears more of a con – a man who makes bogus and fictitious claims to gain a wide following.

To Nigerian students, this writer leaves a caveat: Believe only in yourself and trust in your abilities. There are hundreds of Nigerians partaking in world-class research across the globe, some of whom lead prestigious research teams at prominent universities. Success is often not loud or boastful, and when one stands in awe of himself or his abilities, learn to question his motives. Philip Emeagwali does not appear to be the whiz-kid or genius portrayed on his website, and even if he were, there appears to be no evidence to prove it. Furthermore, his website is full of claims that cannot be verified, and which from all indications appear to be false. It is indeed unfortunate that so many people and organizations bought into the hype!

Labels: Fraud, Nigeria, Science, United States


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25 Comments:
Thanks for bringing this to light. Over the years I have wondered about this man - who he is and what exactly he has ever done? I think his greatest "achievement" if you can call it that is to construct himself as a "world class scientist" and a "mover and shaker". His website which is a reflection of himself, like many Nigerians including bloggers, shows an exaggerated sense of self-importance and an overworked ego.
Posted by sokari at December 23, 2005 10:16 AM
I wrote this article with sadness in my heart. I first heard of Philip Emeagwali while a fourth-year undergraduate student in Nigeria back in 1990. Practically no one knew his name then and he was popularly referred to as "That Nigerian." My suspicions began two years ago when I visited his website (the link was sent by a friend). Like most people, I believed everything on it initially but when things starting failing to add up, I began asking lots of questions.

I do some research work and find it quite easy to crosscheck information about people in the scientific community. There are hundreds of Nigerians across the globe involved in significant research in the sciences, arts and humanities.

I will find time to write about those in my field, hopefully within the first or second week of 2006. Positive stories also need to be brought to light.
Posted by Chippla Vandu at December 23, 2005 11:37 AM
Even if Philip Emeagwali has a thousand websites and all the publicists in the world to project is 'false achievements', you and I know that whatever is founded on falsehood and shaky principles will definitely not stand, achievements are like prgnancies, you can't hide them. He is a dreamer, lets leave by,
Posted by so-obscure at December 23, 2005 11:54 AM
>Believe only in yourself and trust in your abilities.

Yes! You will be noticed too. We all have gifts to contribute. It's folly to imagine that our gifts are unimportant. It's foolish either to hype them or to diminish them.

Thanks for your wonderful blog.
Posted by Kaunda at December 23, 2005 9:47 PM
Thanks for addressing this head on. The coming generation of African superstars shouldn't be overshadowed by this clown.

My little sister is 26 years old, she's still working on her PhD, and she has had five articles published already in the leading peer-reviewed journals of her field (microbiology and infectious disease), in addition to at least as many conference presentations.

*That* way greatness lies.
Posted by Teju Cole at January 6, 2006 6:34 PM
To Teju Cole:

Great achievements, like your sister's are what ought to be paraded around. She could serve as a source of inspiration to thousands of Nigerian youths, who feel graduate education is a waste of time.

Thanks so much for your input.
Posted by Chippla Vandu at January 6, 2006 10:29 PM
thanks for opening my eyes to the inner Philip Emeagwali. but it seems dude is going to be honoured via his picture being put on a Nigerian stamp. uhm, what do you think?
Posted by TRAE at January 30, 2006 10:25 PM
I also read that he is to be honored by having his face appear on a Nigerian stamp. The Nigerian Postal Service like most of Nigeria appears to have been fooled. It is imperative that the Postal Service be truthfully informed about this guy.
Posted by Chippla Vandu at January 31, 2006 10:30 AM
Did not Emeagwali win the Gorden Bell prize? I find it very sad that black people still spend there time tearing apart other black people. I wonder if the same rigorous scrutiny was adopted in researching the achivements of white scientists. However the scrutiny of white scientists is probably not required because if the predominately white science community recognises someone, it must be true then.
Posted by Anonymous at May 26, 2006 5:17 AM
Anonymous:

I find your statement about black people tearing other black people apart absolutely out of place. What has this got to do with the color of the skin of the man in question? The issues here are rather simple: are Philip Emeagwali’s claims true? Yes or No? Can they be verified? Yes or No? Has anyone been able to verify them? Yes or No?

We may choose to bask in the glory of ignorance and continue to believe every single piece of information available on this man’s website or scrutinize them to find out if they are true. This man is meant to be a model to millions of aspiring young scientists and innovators around the world—black, white, brown or whatever! Yet his website is filled with loads of information that no one has been able to verify, to the best of my knowledge.

When I choose to investigate, I am accused of tearing him apart because he happens to be black. How pathetic!
Posted by Chippla Vandu at May 26, 2006 9:08 AM
I have read a lot of positive and negetive articles about Emeagwali. If Emeagwali is fake, I wonder why Bill Clinton will Glorify him in that video with the Nigerian audience. I think we need to check our facts before we make these bad comments. I have not personally verified any facts about him. But I am one of those who have always not liked how he presents himself (if his Website is mainatained by himself), and sale of items with his pictures and wife etc. But when I listened to the Bill Clinton's Video from his Web site, I got coonfused. Could Bill Clinton have been fooled too? Is the Video fake too? http://emeagwali.com/video/president-bill-clinton/one-of-the-great-minds-of-the-information-age.wmv

Concerned, London UK
Posted by Anonymous at September 16, 2006 12:35 AM
If Emeagwali is fake. Are all these fake?

Inventing against the odds
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/10/sprj.bhm.innovators/index.html

Innovators who break barriers
http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/fyi/interactive/specials/bhm/story/black.innovators.html
Posted by Anonymous at September 16, 2006 12:46 AM
Inventing against the odds
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/10/
sprj.bhm.innovators/index.html

Innovators who break barriers
http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/fyi/
interactive/specials/bhm/story/
black.innovators.html
Posted by Anonymous at September 16, 2006 12:47 AM
Anonymous:

I believe Bill Clinton's speech writer, like the Nigerian government and New African Magazine were all fooled by the fraudulent information on Mr. Emeagwali's website. The video is however authentic. I wrote to New African Magazine a while ago, requesting for the source of their information on Philip Emeagwali. They are yet to reply. I made an attempt to contact Mr. Emeagwali himself, putting questions about the authenticity of information on his website before him, but was turned down.

Why don't you try tracking down Bill Clinton's speech writer and sending him/her an email requesting for the source of his/her information on Mr. Emeagwali? This could help clear a lot of your doubts.

As for the CNN links you quoted above, they appear to have relied on information presented by Mr. Emeagwali himself. Why don't you send emails to their authors and request where they got information on Emeagwali?

All information about Emeagwali as a great scientist or an inventor originate from his website. And I believe that in the article above as well as this, I have clearly shown that I have been unable to verify the claims he makes. And I am yet to come across ANYONE who has been able to verify them.

A few months back, I was contacted by the Wikipedia author on supercomputing (a researcher in Australia). He was surprised about Emeagwali being called the "father of the internet" and a significant contributor to the field of "supercomputing." In his opinion, Emeagwali was virtually unknown in these fields. He was trying to verify from independent sources what Emeagwali's contributions have been. In the long run, he too was unable to verify any of the so-called claims on Emeagwali's website.
Posted by Chippla Vandu at September 16, 2006 1:23 AM
yeah man and all the other black people know why yall are putting up this fus its because he's black and yall still think that all blacks are stupid if yall still think that yall are stupid because you and any other white person has another thing coming for you cause i have friends and we are on the rise blacks are getting smarter and smarter every day yall havent seen nothing yet/ and i know i didnt use any end marks its because me and all of the other blacks are going to get you bye surprise dont be scared we dont kill im saying we are the future that tomorrow holds not you
Posted by Anonymous at September 24, 2006 10:39 PM
Dear Anonymous. Whilst not wanting to insult you, have you asked yourself the valid question that the blog creator is himself black? And it is this backward mentality that doesn't seem to allow black people progress in the first place by making statements like this.

I have followed the fake Doctors achievements quite extensively. And like the researchers have made my own research and gained my own knowledge which shows beyond any reasonable doubt that the guys is a 419 scientist and can not be called that.

Like other contributors have stated, there are several unrecognised people doing great feats and they do not neccessarily have to create websits of themselves and what they have / have not achieved. The worst thing is that the gentleman has not achieved anything.

All the man has achieved so far is showing to the world that Nigerians can achieve anything by doing 419 i.e. lie there way to the top and make claims upon claims. You can apply for a job and saw that you are a pilot and be given the job without anyone checking your credentials; only to end up crashing the plane and everyone finding out that you were a taxi driver who has some knowledge of aircraft engines.

All this does is tarnish the image of Nigerians abroad. This fraud appears on our national stamps; has his named emblazzed on a popular Nigerian Magazine, which ends up pointing to the world that Nigerians are illiterate i.e. tell them that you have developed a simple program in SQL or VBBASIC or PERL and the ones that dont have a clue about computing will end up celebrating you.

Well, a lot of us Nigerians and like the blogger are educated and end up checking the facts.

This is not racism; This is about being proud of our National achievements and the only National achievement that Emeagwali has made is conning a whole nation as well as the educated types. I guess if this is how one can get away with it, then I guess its a pity that Nigerians, Africans and black people as a whole are being let down by this fraudster.

The more people know, then the better. But you know our people - they will end up saying 'wetin concern you', go do your own'.

One final note, why doesnt emegwali sue the blogger as well as the wiki encyclopaedia owners for perjury and slander. Why doesn't he even make an attempt to have citation placed on the wiki site for slander.

Its only a matter of time before one of the Americans decides to take him to court for making outlandish claims about being the father of computing.
Posted by Yemi at October 18, 2006 4:56 PM
God, do people really write this kind of rubbish. God, alot of Nigerian do really live in the dark ages.

I am a computer expert myself, brought up, study in the UK and live in the UK. MENSA is the world authority on human IQ, they have called Philip Emeagwali, the smartest man on the face of the earth, yet a primitive Nigerian is writing bile.

My God, alot of you belong to the dark ages, especially that slowpoke who wrote the main blog.

If any of you have gone to any university that worth it's name, in computing, especially computer communications and networks, once you begin the internet addressing system the first name that comes up is Philip Emeagwali. So is the internet synchronising and sequential programming, where he first archieve the 3.1 billion per second execution feet.

The software used to calculate, the oil flow under the soil is also Emeagwali patent.

The leader of the free world at the time and the most powerful man on the planet at the time Bill Clinton, have been called a liar by a primitive idiot who wrote the main blogg, probably mentally deranged. And some slowpoke are equally supporting his absolute stupidity. You are all still living in the dark ages, with a small mind unable crasp any logical advancement.

Lets put it this way: CNN is a liar, Bill Clinton is a liar, so is IBM, Philip Emeagwali built super-computer for, so is MENSA in the UK. Yet a primitive idiot in Nigeria, backward and stupid is correct.
Posted by Broderick at October 26, 2006 2:09 AM
That degree if at you got in 1990's is a degree that is not worth the paper it was written on. I wonder if your IQ is not of the same level, needed to bemused and totally confused.

When the BBC here in the UK, called Bernard Lee, the guy who coined www and evented the hupertext, the eventor of the internet, i wrote to BBC, to inform them Lee was a light weight when it comes to inventing the internet and reminded BBC to coin is different from to invent, that Philip Emeagwali's 65000 processors working together to share resources is what is today the internet. BBC did not dispute this claim.

Yet, a Nigerian that went to a Nigerian university, with a proper lab, book stock etc, can vomit crap.
Posted by Broderick at October 26, 2006 2:23 AM
Broderick,

Despite calling me a 'slowpoke', a 'primitive idiot' and a person of 'absolute stupidity', I have chosen to address the 'issues' you raised, not to convince you, but to aid others who might be interested in knowing more about Philip Emeagwali and his so-called achievements.

Before doing that, I must reprimand you for presenting logically flawed arguments. If you happen to be both well trained and schooled (in comparison to the 'primitive' Nigerian education I received), you must have heard about something called logical fallacy. Your arguments fall under what I would very much classify as argumentum ad hominem. Rather than addressing the issues in the write-up, you chose to spew out insults and vile language against not just the author of the write-up, but also individuals who left comments.

Hiding under the cloak of anonymity appears to bestow on you the comfort of saying things you most likely would be unable to in the real world. Cyber space does have a way of revealing different characters! Now, back to the real issues at hand.

Mensa called Philip Emeagwali the smartest man on the face of the earth? Could you kindly provide me with a verifiable source of this information? I did an online search for this and found no information about it with the exception of an article written by a Dr. Philip Chukwurah, which quotes a 2002 edition of the Sunday Herald, Glasgow as its source. The Sunday Herald article (if it exists, for I cannot find it) could pretty much have relied on information from Philip Emeagwali's website—a website filled with fraudulent and unverifiable information. I have written to Mensa to inquire if they ever voted for Philip Emeagwali as the smartest man alive. The moment I have their response, I will make it public on this weblog.

Mr. Emeagwali's 3.1 billion computations per second feat in 1989 had nothing whatsoever to do with Internet synchronizing and sequential programming. Neither was it the fastest computation performed that year. The Gordon Bell prize, which Philip Emeagwali won, was NOT for the fastest computation but for a prize-performance of an oil reservoir modeling on an EXISTING Connection Machine supercomputer. This was addressed in a previous write-up with a relevant link to the Gordon Bell website (read the comments section).

You claim that the software used to write the computer program was patented by Philip Emeagwali. Could you kindly provide the source of this information (apart from Emeagwali's fraudulent website)? As indicated in a previous write-up, Philip Emeagwali has NO KNOWN patents in the database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Where then is this patent held? In addition to searching the USPTO website, I have also been able to verify that Emeagwali has NO KNOWN scientific publications, by searching the global database of scientific publishers.

I also addressed the article on the CNN website about Philip Emeagwali in a previous-write-up (see comments section). And, O yes, Bill Clinton's speechwriter and the Nigerian government appear to have been fooled. I make no apologies for saying this. That's what happens when people fail to verify information at hand.

The Connection Machine supercomputer, which Philip Emeagwali used, had nothing whatsoever to do with the invention of the Internet. It was an existing computer at the University of Michigan. There is no basis for comparing Philip Emeagwali to Tim Berners-Lee when it comes to the Internet.

I understand the anger and pain one feels when one's view of reality is suddenly called into question. You have presented mere statements, with no evidence whatsoever to back up your claims. I have provided more than statements. I have provided evidence—the Gordon Bell website, a search on the United States Patent and Trademark Office and a search of the global scientific database using SciFinder. What these indicate is that Philip Emeagwali makes fraudulent claims on his website.

I do not know what sort of university you happen to be studying at in the UK. I ask this because for someone brought up and studying in the UK, your command of the English language is nothing to write home about. But then, should I be any surprised? Your university mentions Philip Emeagwali as the prima donna of computer communications and networking. And…what would the name of that university be?
Posted by Chippla Vandu at October 26, 2006 1:14 PM
If it's really true that he's fake, how he has been able to deceive thousands (or millions??) of people may forever remain a mystery to me. Afterall, for him to have made unsubstantial claims, there should have been people, who could have debunked them long ago. I mean, starting from the Science bodies, to the US government, and even other invstigative personnels. How come people, even top bodies, have not raised any refutations to this issue until now that a regular blogger just spilled it out? I'm really baffled.
Posted by Segun at November 28, 2006 10:48 PM
simple,

Because most people (like some of the people on this forum) do not have relevant & sufficient knowledge in computing (i.e.35 years of computing history)and seem to think the world of computers is all about your PC and Microsoft Windows.

Secondly, the majority of people (including Nigerians) never bother to check facts out and thats why any Nigerian can do any sort of 419 to unsuspecting indivdiuals.

Thirdly, ask yourself the question - why is it that 419'ers(fraudsters) rarely get caught by the system i.e. FBI, CIA and s called Science bodies? Simple - not enough resources to catch the multitudes of scammers, and not enough people to verify the facts (hence there is only one person verifying all of the Professors' claims, and its a crying shame that our fellow Nigerians even try and pull him down for asking a valid question - shows how sorry we can be).


Yemi (Imperial College, UK)
Posted by yemi at December 8, 2006 3:18 PM
The blogger much like Emeagwali himself (apparently), is overstating certain details to prove his conclusions. The blogger's flaw is he/she reaches a conclusion by negative implication: his claims such as inventing a supercomputing formula are unverifiable, thus the are false. To be sure, scientists are an ambitious lot and their own biggest cheerleaders but the blogger sidesteps one very critical FACT: the guy DID win a prestigious science award!! Now, is it the science nobel equivalent, maybe or maybe not. But if he thinks it is, perhaps that speaks only to him being narcissistic but not necessarily to him being a fraud.

The blogger does not bother to tackle his primary claim to fame, which is the prize. In a subsequent response, blogger highlights the fact that the supercomputer Emeagwali used to win prize was already EXISTING as if this undermines his claim that he is really smart. To be sure, that Bell invented the telephone does not mean subsequent technologies building on the original invention are not also brilliant--And that Clinton does not respond to your queries does not make your argument more or less valid. BTW, what is up with this piece of dime store psychology from the blogger:
**I understand the anger and pain one feels when one's view of reality is suddenly called into question.** LOL. Please.

Bottom line is this guy appears to be really exceptional at minimum (going on the prize alone), even if he is in fact somewhat delusional in overstating his achievements. Call him out but do so with a caveat.

In any event, I think the point Clinton was making and some previous posters have made is that NAIJA has a wealth of intellectual talent. The first poster (from my area no less--TIFIAKWA!) suggests this reflects an "exaggerated sense of self-importance." Uh-huh. I think Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka are rather unique in their achivements. Granted the West churns out a lot of "geniuses", the fact is in the West, bright folks can engage in intellectual pursuits without much distraction. You know--little distractions such as wars, hunger, robbery, corruption, lack of electricity, no computers or modern books etc. Little things like that.

Much like China and India, Naija has that "it" factor. For instance, Indians and Pakistanis are the same stock (though they would spit at each other in a moments notice) but Indians would appear to be better represented in technical fields/achivements, a result of the sheer number of Indians there are, I believe. More people, more talent. One thing that is true for these countries and our beloved Naija--they all have too many freakin' people!!! (Note U.S. is right there too with numbers which lends further to my theory). Nigeria simply needs to rise above its political/ethnic mess and things will indeed change.

One last thing though: who the hell in Naija is named Chippla Vandu LOL!! This dude's gotta be an indian posing as a Naijan. Funny stuff
Posted by 9jah 4Ever at December 20, 2006 2:17 AM
I find it interesting that exactly a year after this article on Philip Emeagwali was written, its content is still being debated.

To 9Jah 4Ever I have this to say: if you have any evidence whatsoever to back up the fraudulent claims made on Mr. Emeagwali's website, please bring them forward. The fact that there is no known independent body that has been able to vouch for or ascertain to the accuracy of the bogus pieces of information Mr. Emeagwali parades on his website leads to the logical conclusion that they are false—visit the Wikipedia discussion page and join the global debate about Mr. Emeagwali's so-called achievements by experts in the field of supercomputing.

If someone claims to hold [United States] patents, verifying such information—especially in the digital age—is as easy as ABC. There are patent databases on the web managed by the United States Patent Office. A man who claims to be the world's most searched for scientist must either have scientific publications or published books on a particular discipline. Emeagwali has NONE. He wasn't even awarded the doctorate degree he labored so hard to get.

That Emeagwali is smart is not being debated. He won the Gordon Bell prize, a prestigious computing award for university graduate students. But he went too far in calling this $1000 prize the Nobel Prize of supercomputing—that was preposterous.

While I leave you to draw your own conclusions, I stand by my earlier article. If you happen to be able to prove anything I have written on Mr. Emeagwali to be wrong, then do so.
Posted by Chippla Vandu at December 21, 2006 9:54 PM
I agree with Chippla. Emeagwali and another clown, Gabriel Oyibo, are in the same boat--pathetic fraudsters. Oh, yes, Broderick, before you go spewing the invectious bile that betrays your intelligence (or lack of) please note that I have no disclosures, I am a scientist seeking after truth, and (since this is of paramount importance to you) I have an excellent, well-respected Ivy League degree. Just in case you were wondering.

Vanda--your blog's brilliant.
Posted by Abid at March 12, 2007 9:25 PM
I am sure why the blogger has chosen to engage in this debate.I have read all the feedback and my impression is that you are probably taking this too close to your heart and one wonders why. I teach ecoomerce to 2nd and 3rd year SA university students and I have asked them to investigate who the father of the internet is. They have eturned with very interesting findings, which give emeagwali some credence. I inquired the source (s) of their submissions and perhaps about 2 or 3 checked out philips web site. many others got the info they presented from soem other sites. i will try getting round to them next week to essentially get the referrals from them. In the interim, think you should let emeagwali be. cheers. this is chux, SA
Posted by Anonymous at March 22, 2007 10:06 AM
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Well, in all honesty, biolabee, I must say that the NLNG saga as you call it has indeed taught me certain things. It reminds me of a joke. I will tell it here:

A certain woman was caught for a criminal offence, and she was put behind bars. She was very unhappy in prison and thought of how to escape. For years, she could find no clue. Then she finally thought of something.

In that prison, the warder was in the practice of burying those that die in the prison. He would take the dead body to the coffin, then go and fill the death register, then return to nail the coffin, and then take it for burial.

The woman planned with the warder to tell her when the next person died. She would enter the coffin witht he dead person, and then the warder would nail the coffin on the two of them. After burial, the warder was supposed to come and dig out the coffin under the cover of dark, and then get the owman out. The warder agreed.

It was a long time before the next person died. The woman got to find out, and she ran to the coffin when she expected that the warder had gone to fill the death register. She lay hidden in the coffin with the dead body; she heard the nails being hammered in, and she thought she was getting closer to freedom; but when the coffin was lowered and the sand poured in, she lit a match to see who it was with her;

It was the warder; he was dead.


NLNG taught me: do not get your life all planned out.

'I feeeel gooooood! Talalalala; I knew that I would now, talalalala. I feeeeeeeeeeel gooooooood, talalalala; Iknew that I would now; talalalala; so good; so good; I got you!'

That was by James Brown, a renowned African American singer. And coming online for the second time today I feel good. Someone has just said that my thread - yeah, my own thread - is the hottest on all of nairaland. And so it is. I see that someone else has replicated Which Way Nlng, perhaps in the hope that it will be as hot as mine. Let me laugh. But I do not guarantee that he will make his thread anything like mine. Anyway, I wish him well.

Kenosky my guy, wetin dey happen, now? See, my guy, you know say you be my personal person; everybody don talk say I dey mara, say I get issues; dem don talk am so tay I gree; if it makes them feel good, let them say I am mad and all what not. The end shall tell. I wish you all the best as always, as you travel to the United Kingdom to acquire knowledge. Though I am no longer a Christian, I shall say this prayer for you. It is the one that Yahweh told Aaron to use in blessing the people:

May Yahweh bless you and keep you
May He let His face shine on you and be gracious to you
May He defend you and give you His peace;

Then the priest will add:

And may the blessing of Almighty God, Pater, et filius, et spiritus sanctus come down upon you and remain with you both now and forever. Amen.


Okpoko, I thank you. I hope this means you will let me rest now. Phew! I am lost, as you say: accepted; we have nothing in common; accepted; you pity me; accepted; I have no privacy; accepted. All accepted. Can I be myself now? I hear you say yes; thank you very much. The truth is that I had to kneel down and beg Seun Osewa, a guy I admire a lot, to unlock this thread, and I do not want to throw tantrums again and get him to lock it again. I do not want to annoy our host. So please respect yourself. Okay? Thank you.

Oga mi Seun, eku asan-o! Se daada loji? S'owa pa? Kilonsele? I dey hail-o! You be my number one person, o jare; thank you for unlocking this thread. I have fallen in love with it, and I could not bear to see it locked. God bless you.  

All said for Okpoko.

For the rest of my people, how y'all doing! For those going to England, pray for me that I get to the US soon-o! God bless you all.

I love you all!

What I am saying in summary is:

1. For no fault of mine, I have fallen in love with a country that is not currently my own; it's like I am on drugs with that place called America, and I am prepared to do each thing possible to man just so as to end up there. I cannot help myself.

2. I wish you would stop picking on me so; I am tired of it, and this time around I cannot keep quiet and let you walk over me; if you attack, I will attack back.

3. Do not assume that you pick on me because you like me. I myself thought I liked you, but when I got to meet you in person, I found I did not like you afterall. Have I called you on phone since after we met? The only email I sent to you since then was to scold you for coming on the thread and spreading mushy propaganda about me.

4. All I ask is this: LET ME BE; PRETEND I DO NOT EXIST. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. RESPECT YOURSELF.

If yo keep attacking me, I will attack back. Please, for the sake of peace, people are not the same; let me be. Let me be.

Okpoko, you give yourself too much time to spend minding other people's business. And you give yourself liberties that most do not care for. In all the NLNG episode, I am thankful that all the hurt I have permitted myself to feel has never been directed at those who made it. They have been directed at myself. The exact semblance of the issue is a woman who is childless, and a co-wife of one who has children. When she locks herself and cries at night, she does not wish her co-wife falls dead or stop bearing children. On the contrary, she is happy that the other woman is fertile, and only gazes into the mirror, hands touching her abdomen, the place her womb should be, wondering what is wrong with her, that her own case should be so different. In my instance, I have never envied those who got NLNG; I have only turned it over in my mind why exactly it did not please God to give it to me.

Having mourned NLNG, I have transcended it. My worries now are not tied specifically to that company, because I realize that it is not the be-all and end-all of prosperity, and also because I realize that a person can never grow rich working for someone else. When I think of people like DBanj, who has been reputed to earn a million naira each day, and other people like him, the fact that one gets rich only by using his talents become all the more obvious. You, as well as every other person on this thread know that I have suffered very much, and I am not ashamed of sharing my story here. I am even determined to share it with the whole world. The only thing I am trying to say is that I am still searching for the reason I have had to suffer so much, and what my purpose in life is.

Your problem is that you never live and let live. In the post that made you respond so wickedly, did I call your name? Why then did you have to attack me so? If I come to my thread and speak freely from my heart, why take it upon yourself to antagonize? Are you the only one on this thread? Have I ever antagonized you? You claim you do all you do out of love for Nigeria. Are you the only one who loves the country, and so cannot see it for what it truly is, or at least what I feel it truly is? Please know that henceforth if you choose to attack me, I will attack you as well. I cannot stomach having to come to my thread and not be free to express myself.

In that post, I was not being proud. I was being sad. Do you know how it feels for you to be greeted by your mates as a Mr? Instead of hailing you Kuwena, they say Mr Kuwena, or big Kuwena, or oga sis, and act funny around you. Do you know how it feels when it appears as if you do not fit in, more like a bird trying hard to behave like a butterfly? I am not being proud when I say that I do feel limited being a Nigerian; call it perception, call it whatever you like, but I do feel that I will never begin to live out my purpose in life without one day denouncing my citizenship of this country in favour of that of America. You may call me a modern slave; you may call me what you like, but I do feel like an endagered species of man in this country. It is a country that has never helped me, and that much I have shared. You must know that no matter how you attack me, I cannot stop feeling that way. I love America. I adore America; I would do ANYTHING; I repeat, ANYTHING AT ALL; EACH AND EVERY POSSIBLE THING to go to the USA, and when I get there, like I have said, I will live there, work there, die there and be buried there. I will worship America and her people.

I recall that I told you that even if I had got NLNG, I would have stayed there for only a maximum of three years, before going to the USA. I recall I told you that with such a fat salary I would more easily save and cut out. I recall I told you that I wanted NLNG because I felt I could use the money to help my biological brothers, especially the youngest. I may also have married the princess I dreamed of. Now that I have not got NLNG, I did tell you that it appeared God did not even want it to be me to help them, and it was not His will for me to marry Princess. My reality now is that God gave me my current job to do all in my power to save up and cut out; and that is what I am currently doing. I recall I also told you that I hope to cut out by July, all things being equal.

You love Nigeria; I do not criticize you for that; I do not love Nigeria; why must you criticize me? Do you know that my mother died in active service of Nigeria? Do you know that the year I was qualified to sit for the Federal Government of Nigeria scholarship, it was suspended in IMSU. And was it not an American company that came to the rescue with a much-needed scholarship? Besides all this, I just do not like the country. Full stop. So leave me alone! The author of Black Boy, Richard Wright hated the USA as much as I love her, and he spent the latter part of his life in France, though he was born in the USA. We live in a global society; some people may be born somewhere, and then die elsewhere. If you feel you cannot understand that about me, then free me to say what I like and how I like it. But if you insist on attacking me, I will not behave like I used to in the past, when I kept quiet. No. This time I will talk back. Is that okay? Respect yourself. Respect yourself. People are not the same. Let me be. And don't pretend you're doing what you are out of friendship. I did think once upon a time that I could make a friend of you, but after meeting you in person, my spirit did not jell with your person, so I don't really like you, if you know what I mean. So just let me be. Okay? But if you attack, I will attack too. Free me. Mind your own business.

Methinks that this thread will not die. I will try not to let it die. Methinks as well that we should live and let live; speak and let speak; be and let be. Let us not pop our nose into other people's affairs and condemn them for expressing their heartfelt opinions. Afterall, Achebe has said, and I quote: 'Wisdom is like a goatskin bag; everbody carries his own.'

Thank you, my dear Seun, for unlocking this thread. This thread should go on. I do not see why there should be repeated fights over nothing seeming to necessitate its going into oblivion in the first place. And by the way, what is the cause of all the brouhaha? I did say certain things, and these things I can say again. In summary, what I said are:

1. I do feel that I have a non-Nigerian-compliant personality

2. I do feel that my perceived non-Nigerian-compliant personality contributed to my not getting into NLNG

3. I do feel that selections done in Nigeria are not entirely on merit

4. I do feel that compared to the rest of the world, Nigeria and Nigerians are severely limited

5. I do feel that for the very fact of my being a Nigerian, I am limited in all I can do where I not to be one.

I said all these before, and I am saying them again, and will continue to say them on and on and on, without fear or favour. Let me take them one after the other:

1. My personality in my opinion is non-Nigerian-compliant. Call me mad for saying so, but I will say so. In mass communication we say that opinion is free. It is only facts that are sacred. I am huge in size, like I have said before; and I am handsome. I also have a unique way of self-expression. All of these make me feel special. And they make me feel like something out of this world. Something way out there. And may times too, because of my unique artistic gifts, I dream of making a life out there in the US of A. Look at people like Shaquil O' Neal, or Michael Jordan, or Denzel Washington; these are the people I do not just want to be like, but simply want to surpass.

2 & 3. I have said in the past that my personality, in my opinion, contributed to my not getting into NLNG. This is my opinion, and you must recall that opinion is free. If I choose to see the situation this way, I know I am free to do so. Besides, we all are aware of the level of corruption in this country. We all know that Transparency International has described Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations on earth. I recall that during the Local government elections in a particular ward in Imo State elections were still going on because the ballot papers arrived late, when one man put on his radio and heard the announced winner for that very ward. How had he been elected then, considering that elections were still going on? But this is Nigeria, and any thing can happen. You see?

4 & 5. I have said in the past, and I am saying it again that Nigeria is severely limited. This is something we all know, even if we pretend not to. Many of us would have done better were we to be abroad. Adrian has said that certain people would kill to get my job. Perhaps. This is Nigeria, anyway. But why kill for a 14-hour-a-day job when you can work for less and earn much more? The simple truth is that you can never be rich working for someone else. This is a fact that many scholars and finance writers have identified. If you like work for ExxonMobil, you can never stay there and be rich. You know what paid employment does to you? It makes you slave for your boss and for your loved ones. It makes you get into debt by increasing your taste and making you shop for higher-priced goods. All this and more will you suffer in paid employment. Nigeria will never get far if her youth continue to seek the comfort of paid employment, and do what others do: marry, beget children, grow old and die, minding another person's business. People earn six-zero salaries, only to borrow from banks and fall all the more into debt. This is unbecoming, and yet it happens everyday. Singers like Bank for example aresaid to earn up to a million naira each day, and we here slave for donkey hours and are paid peanuts and we go home and kiss the reverse of our palms. Even Fifty Cent has said: Get rich or die trying. I have begun trying already; I pray I don't die at it. I do not intend to work more than this year, before I launchout on my own.

Keep being real. I love you all. As always. 

i wish u all d best at the test

@opokonwa

I am giving you a standing ovation. Thank you for putting kuwena in his place.

@all
Sometimes the only way for peace to reign is to go to war. If Kuwena at his age can not handle a little disappointment then a big shame on him.

Stalker, it is apparent that you are a fool as well. What do you know about place and putting? Fool.

Okpoko, The Fool, at the rate you are going, it is clear to me that you will die a fool. And when you do die, even the devil will be afraid to admit you to hell. He well will ask you to start yours.

Firstly, you were born in October, 1978. This does not make you one year older than I. If you know any mathe (though fools are not expected to), you will find that you are at least 2 years older than I am. Please, learn math; it will help you.

You are detestable. Sincerely, you are. Apart from the fact that you are an envious fool, you are a presumptous buffoon (have I not said this time and time again?) You need an overhaul, both mentally and physically. Maybe you need new eyes, to correct the deformity in one. You may also need to eat more carbohydrates and amino acids to grow fat. Lean people have been known to be exceptionally wicked. Do you recall Cacius? Caesar once said to Anthony, concerning him: Get me men that are fat. This Cacius has a lean and hungry look; and such men are dangerous.' Little did the our great Caesar know that he was being prophetic. It was cacius that engineered his death.

So when you talk of my being so psychotic that I kill you in the dead of night, I realize that you are telling me more of yourself. With your 'lean and very hungry' look, as well as your envious foolery, methinks you would qualify to be a serial killer, and far from wanting to live in the same house with you, I dread even ever getting to see you again.

Of course you won't talk of your father. he has always lived in the rural enclave of Enugu. You yourself have lived there all your life, climgbing trees and feeding dogs before that tolerant company of yours took you on as their paid slave and still keep you there out of the greatest compassion known to man. Who knows, your parents probably earned a keep through farming or petty trading, and still live in the shadow of what people wish would sooner or later become the African dream.

Was it not you who told me that your father's younger brother was so jobless that he had to cast a spell on your father and his legs began to swell like a person's who had elephantiasis. This is the realityof your family. Or is it news that you are the only one of all your family that has paid employment? You were thinking of bringing your sister to Lagos so that she can look for a job, though only God knows who would give that kind of person a job, someone who has stayed in Enugu all her life. I wonder if she can speak good English at all, considering that you can barely speak one correct sentense in queen's.

Is it not true that after working for two years with Globacom you were not able to boast of ten thousand naira, and had to borrow from a bank in order to buy the rented flat you currently live in? FOr two years of your working life with Globacom you squatted like a house boy with your anty at Lagos, washing her pants and bra every Sunday and sleeping on ute, the village mat, infested with bugs and worms? Is it not also true that you only started to think of your own apartment when your anty gave you a tongue lashing of your life? Is it not also true that far from having any money to buy a car you keep flying molue every day to work nearly fifty kilometers each morning and arriving late every time, so much so that yor superiors in the office give you countless memos to respond to? Is it not true that far from even having any money with which to buy a car you are heavily indebted to the bank that gave you money to rent a house that you have not finished furnishing as at tomorrow?

Did you not tell me that because of your overbearing foolishness you lost about sixty thousand naira to fraudsters when you went looking for a house after your anty had rubbed your nose in putty, before you finall y went to the bank to borrwo so that you could get a house, and nurse your father of his elephantiasis brought about by the evil witchcraft of an undeserving yet similar uncle? Are you not a fool?

Okpokonwa, grow up. You call me a 'jew' man? You are a psycho. Only a psycho talks like you do. Come to think of it, all those who have had nefarious dinners with you (what dinners anyway? I recall that you bought only two bottles of Fanta and two rolls of dry N30-naira beef for our so-called dinner, which was the most boring I have ever had in my 27 years). You ended up telling me psychotic stories like wanting to have your first round of fornication, denuding the girl, only to see an angel with a sword telling you not to do it. Is that not a psychotic (mad, in plain language) 'jew' man? Who tells the kind of stories you do? Are you in nursery school or something. And because you are a big fool that cannot come to terms with his spending culture, you went ahead and framed a story that the reason you cannot boast of ten thousand naira in your account even after donkey years of working with Vmobile, sorry Adenuga's Glo (wherein you are a paid slave) is that your ebemies had dug a rift for all your money to be falling in. Please grow up!

I have said it here over and over again that you are a fool. You will never go anywhere in life at this rate. A fool at forty is a fool forever. I have more to say to you, but I will wait till you have foolishly responded to this; then I will give you a taste of my verbal wrath.

Kamanozuzu mafukwe gi ishi! Anu mmpama. Ani blot you out!

One last thing: My faith in God has nothing to do with getting NLNG or not. Okay? Can we let that matter rest? ship the Unknown in his own way. I had faith before I even knew there was NLNG. Yes, NLNG probably was a point in my journey; but to say I only believed in God to manipulate him to give me NLNG is to be a Fool, like him whose foolery will take on the whole wide world.


A million of you guys will not break me; nor will a million other Fools. Peace out!

Kenosky, 'silence is the best answer for a fool,' especially one not as foolish as The Fool.

Opokonwa is a fool; there is no truth greater than this. Opokonwa is a fool, and there can be no human being whose foolery surpasses his. His foolery stretches to the end of the world. The guy is a foooooool. May God help him.

It is when a man is a fool that he cannot see the truth; because the truth blocks his sight, and try as he may, he cannot see beyond it. Is it not a fool that behaves the way he does? There was a time I used to keep quiet for him, but now, I will answer him bumper to bumper. The guy is a fool, and I pray never to set my eyes on him again. This thread will not die because of him. It was not founded on fools, and it will not die because of them, so let him go to hell for all I care. He is the biggest fool on the planet.

King Solomon said: Answer a fool to reprove him of his folly. He likes to drink an overdose of Panadol Extra for another person's headache. Poor fool. Let him go and marry, and get a life, and make it work. Fool. Olojokokoro.

'The whole world is envious of Kuwena.'

Adrian, I want to believe that you are not a fool. There are at least 9 billion people on earth, and concerning me, the majority could not care less what happens.

If you tell yourself the truth, you will realize that we live in a limited society. That fool, Opoks, refuses to admit it, but the whole world knows that Nigeria is a relatively limited society. In this Nigerian society of ours that is so limited, everyone knows that majority of the people are living below the benchmark. What this means is that the greater percentage of the people are dissatisfied with their lives. This dissatisfaction in itself is cause for envy. And we all must agree that envy is a big factor in the typical Nigerian setting, whether you like it or not. Except you want to delude yourself, like The Fool.

The Fool in his misplaced love for the limited country called Nigeria will never admit that there are problems here. These problems always frustrate our best minds, making them leave the country. You and I know that our greatest geniuses were all - all - made abroad (including Soludo that schooled here). We all know as well that rather than encourage our best minds, we frustrate them so much that they have to walk. How many footballers played Higerian league and ended up in the Super Eagles? Do we not wait for them to go abroad and make fame before we welcome them 'home' to play? Who was that female footballer that was playing in Europe only to be enticed to come 'home' and play for the falcons to become injured, and Nigeria refused to treat her properly. Do you know that the person that designed the National flag was shown in a documentary languishing in a village? I could go on and on and on.

The Fool says I am not handsome, and you have concurred. The truth is that (like it or not) I am. And I have always been, and will continue to be. I truly am a Romantic. That's just the way it is. Simple. I do not need you to acknowledge it. I am also 6ft tall (183 meters). That is something you cannot deny. It is a FACT. And I do have very broad shoulders and push-out chest, and built to the size of what foes have called 'giant'. All the above is true, and try as you may, you cannot deny it.

The Fool says no one knew my father. He has to be a fool to say so. Does the Fool know that as far back as the seventies and eighties, my father was a compare of names like: Chukwumerije, Atiku, Ofonagoro and so on? Does the Fool know that were it not for death, popsie would have been Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs? Does The Buffoon know that my father's death was reported on front page of Champion Newspapers with banner head lines proclaiming him Custom Chief? Does the Fool know that his burial was a National Custom parade ceremony, with guards stationed to receive his body as it flew in from Gongola? Does the Fool know that my father was a permanent face at ECOWAS Technocrats committee together with aristocrats from all the other 16 nations?

Opokonwa is an envious fool, and he will die a fool and go to hell, and even there be a fool. God has made him a fool at forty, for he is even older than that. And that is why NLNG did not take him.

when a dispute arises on the thread,peeps as usual call for peace without trying to apportion blames.

much as this may be a good practise in some cases, but i feel there is a need to point out some salient facts.

this may once and for all put an end to some stupid behaviours and attributes noticed on the thread through some comments made.

i have done everything humanly possible not to respond to kuwenas posts ,no matter how annoying they may be(and i must confess dt quite a number of them have been annoyingly so).

my reason lies in the fact that i think the guy is a genius in his own right.

i originally thought i could write,but when i read kuwena's posts,i only realised i was an apprentice in comparison.

i was also deeply moved by his "unshakable faith" in God(which as stubborn opoks noted was all because of the golden fleece called nlng).

how right the poor boy(opoks) was.

and thirdly i was afraid that in his usual xteristic manner ,kuwena would accuse me of being jealous and envious like all africans are.

having said this i think it would be unjust keeping quiet considering kuwenas penchant for speaking like former president obasanjo who sees and believes only what he wants to at every point in time.

kuwena has over a long period of time assailed our ears with talks about being handsome.

much as its good to appreciate yourself(even when its a lie),it becomes irritating to the ears when it becomes hackneyed and over-emphasised.

i have seen kuwena.

not in a crowd,but one-on-one.

kuwena,u are not handsome,at least in the way we mortals understand it.

tho i believe all things created by God are good.

i still do not understand all the nonsense about chest pushed against the wind, being big, and having an aristocratic father.

is dt the reason y nlng refused to take you.thats a most stupid comment to start the new year

my irritation with kuwena in this case arises from the circumstance in which all his bragging started from.

opoks had praised wandel for not only being a genius but for having got all the best jobs since his nysc.

for the records,wandel served in intercontinental bank and shortly after service moved to kpmg.in less than two months he got this nlng job.

the guy who should even be proud and arrogant in turn gave all the glory to God and not to his famed intelligence.

enter kuwena.

kuwena enters next by saying he has realised why he would not be able to survive in the nigerian job industry and why companies may not take him.

he wishes he were not handsome, big, with a late aristocratic father, bla bla and all sort of rubbish u hear in a psychiatric home.

i have asked myself, "what is the realationship between opoks and wandels post and the trash posted by kuwena".

i might sound too harsh but God would be so upset with me if i did not make kuwena understand his tom-foolery.

we must also not forget that all the madness about making a first class on the thread started with kuwena.

surprisingly,some other guys who made a first class on the thread(i happen to know about 5 of them) purposely kept quiet and refused to blow their own trumpet.

as usual i am expecting him to accuse me of being envious.

d whole world is envious of kuwena.

i think the time has come for kuwena to understand that when people keep quiet just to let peace reign on the thread,it should never be equated with stupidity.

we have heard enough of all these trash concerning being handsome and all what not(especially when those of us who have seen know its only a figment of the imagination).

and especially when it comes from the same person.

if the thread is going to die, let it die but please until then,if we can't go on congratulating the successfuls, then lets discuss issues.

as a law student,the motto of my law society was " fiat justitia ruat coelum" which simply means "let justice be done even if the heavens fall".

i hope i have done justice here.and i know the heavens will not fall.

I thank you for the above. I will respond shortly.

Okpoko or whatever you call yourself, you are a fool. A very big fool. Far from realizing that you are old, at least eight years older than everyone on this thread, you go ahead making it all the more glaring that your foolery can never end. The exact reason you did not get into NLNG was that you are very old. They were frightened that while they would be talking about contributing to the bottom line, you would be talking about the ancient excavations of LSB Leakey in the Neanderthal Valley.

Okpoko, go and marry. It is nearly seven years you have been working for Starcomms or what is the name of that tolerant company that took you as a paid slave out of compassion? How much have you saved up in all your years of working? Can you boast of ten thousand naira in your account? Do you have a car? Do you have decent accommodation? Okpoko, realize that you are old, much older than you care to admit. This realization will make you start to think like a man. It appears you are jobless. Maybe you should resign and sit at home and begin to mind other people's business. Far from having a family of yours to tend, you busy yourself pop nosing into other people's own.

I had been keeping quiet with you even after I realized that you are the greatest fool on earth, because I hoped that you would one day outgrow your foolery, but no! A leopard can never change its spots and you have grown old in foolishness. Now I must reply you, to remind you of your great age, and your idleness that makes you an irksome busybody.

Okpoko, go and die. Who knows, that may be the saving grace for you. When you are dead and with your father, what you Christians call devil, then you will stop washing your mother's underwear in public to the shame of all your clan. Die, so that we shall never have to hear or read anything of or about you in life, nor get to ever see your face the colour of overripe oranges.

You are a huge indiscretion to the human race. Ah! But Ani is a tolerant god, it is amazing he lets you breathe the air in your lungs.

Beast of no gender!

B U F F O O N

I advise you not to go on picking on my expressions and using foul language at me, okay? Mind your own business. Guy, you suck! You tire me out. Who are you? You are a sucker!! You tire me out. Mind your own fucking business, buffoon!

Mind your own business, you buffoon!!!!!

And by the way, why do you relish taking an overdose of Panadol Extra for another person's headache? Opokonwa, or whatever you call yourself, go and get a life. Get a life, and make it work!! Phew!

And besides, you did not meet me: you met your perception. Think about it for a moment. You saw what you permitted your mind to see.

A man was having his bath, and he left his clothes outside. A mad man came and stole them and began to run very fast with them. The man who was having his bath was provoked, and he began to chase the mad man. Everybody watching began to shout: 'Look out: two mad men are on the prowl!'

Opoks! be guided, lest you become the only mad man in the house.

Let us, anyway, keep rejoicing with those the system favours. I repeat: Never let envy eat up your soul. Use your mind. All the answers are there. 

Let your head rule your heart, then you may go ahead, like Glo would say, and rule your world.

Wandel my dear, I couldn't agree with you more. You know that at Ofada I had the opportunity of mingling with your classmates, people like Joseph, Omolola, Adeyinka, Kenneth, Ibrahim, Nneoma, and so on. I even got to watch your graduation video. Your classmates told me of your impressive outing back at school, including all the awards and the exchange programs; all these show you are a whiz, and I congratulate you.

You also have a pleasant personality, the exact type that sells here in Nigeria (if you know what I mean). Sometimes I feel I would have done much better in the job industry here if I were half my current size: if I were shorter, say 1.4 meters; slimmer, say 65 kilos, and if my chest did not push at the wind so much. I also wish I were less handsome; spoke without the British accent people say I have, and walked with a more common panache. I also wish I did not have an aristocrat for a father. If I had the personality I just described, but retained my intelligence in tact, then I guess I could do better here.

The other day I was watching a local beauty pageant over the tee-vee. The girls that were on show were all very pretty, and there were some I expected would win easily. But when the final results were called, the very shortest girl was pronounced first. She was the shortest of the 26 girls on show, and she was not as beautiful as most, and she was called first. I nearly died of shock. Could it be? My God! The shortest and ugliest of the lot was pronounced first. My good God!

There are too many insecure people throwing weight around, especially among those we could call privileged. My greatest challenge in the office even today is that I can never be humble enough. I bend over backwards; I say only pleasant things; I refrain from causing trouble, and yet I am as conspicuous as a goldfish. It's amazing. But somehow, I get to manage. When I think of this, I somehow thank God I did not get NLNG. It seems to me that for no fault of mine, I do not have the Nigerian dream personality. For no fault of mine.

It's all God's fault.

My Igbo name is Onyenachiya. In full it means: Onye obula na chi nkeya, mu na chi nkemu. Or, in English: Each person has a different destiny; you have yours, and I have mine. What this means for us is that those who did not get NLNG should not attempt at all to envy those that got it. No, no no. Personally, I have mourned NLNG well and good. I did cry, like I said; I also was pensive for a whole week, if not more. But now that I have returned to normal work life, and have evaluated the scenario, I can confidently say that my not getting NLNG was the perfect plan of God. Considering the state of family and self, NLNG would have been 'too hot to handle, too cold to hold' for me. I think I should do what I really want: leave on admission to an American university to study more in my field: communication. And that is what I am doing now.

My advice to you all who did not get NLNG is this: mourn it (if you have not done so already), be pensive for a week, and then understand why God did not let you get it. Then, go back to the drawing board of your life and find exactly what your real purpose is. You may also be thinking: But they will be richer than I; let me tell you this: life is like a cup of coffee; it does not matter in which cup you drink yours. All that matters is that you drink anyway. Besides, who says one cannot be richer than they? If I get to the USA (allow me to use myself as an example) and publish all my books (each of which is at least 220 pages typed) and sell them with the marketing skills I have learnt here in Intercontinental, I dare say I could be far far far richer than any of my NLNG contemporaries; not to mention my regular salary as a lecturer in communication; the hypotheses converted to theories and all the awards I may receive if my books prove to be as good as the Soyinkas and Achebes.

What am I saying? Far from just blowing my trumpet, I am saying to those who did not get NLNG: pick yourself up and do what you really were made to do.

I love you all: Wandel, holla; I love to hear your voice.

Wandel, Annify, Kenosky (dearest of them all), Kenosym, Ahononai, Pgm (procter and Gamble, ha ha ha), Zhia, everyone that made it, I say:

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.