This is ridiculous. Why should we let SA buy such a large stake in one of our oldest, and most prosperous companies??

Would they return the favour? Would they allow us such latitude in their own country? Granted that its the world is a global village these days, there should be limitations. The recent story of how Canada blocked BHP's $40bb proposed acquisition of a Potash (a very large resource company)- is a case in point.

Does our Government even have any clue?? This is depressing!

Interestingly, if the North completely backs Atiku, it'd be a landslide at the PDP primaries, and at the elections too.
They simply have more votes and more states.

Its surprisingly, how GEJ has failed to win the incumbent Governors over. That's the key!

Personally, I think SR did a sloppy job on this one. I have no problem whatsoever with journalists holding public officials to account. What could be better anyway?

Firstly, the fire issue was unwarranted. Apparently, the fire was caused by a collision due to the Police's illegal stop-and-search. The LASG doesnt control the police, so why hold the Guv to account. If at all, the question should have been directed at the Emergency services (fire & ambulance) response time.

Secondly, the reporter did a shoddy job of asking questions of the Guv's integrity and payments to the Tax consultants- ABC. If you're going to accuse someone of stealing public funds, and a lawyer at that, you'd need to come up with facts. Of course, the tax consultants would be paid for providing a service (better question would have been do we need that service when there's the LIRS); SR should have come up with figures to put the payments in context.

Finally, all that ranting about "not being BBC", "the Guv being annoyed", was utter bollocks!

Here's the link. Check out the video and react accordingly,

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/governor-fashola-spars-saharareporters-london-%E2%80%93-denies-tinubu%E2%80%99s-financial-windfall

Personally, I think SR did a sloppy job on this one. I have no problem whatsoever with journalists holding public officials to account. What could be better anyway?

Firstly, the fire issue was unwarranted. Apparently, the fire was caused by a collision due to the Police's illegal stop-and-search. The LASG doesnt control the police, so why hold the Guv to account. If at all, the question should have been directed at the Emergency services (fire & ambulance) response time.

Secondly, the reporter did a shoddy job of asking questions of the Guv's integrity and payments to the Tax consultants- ABC. If you're going to accuse someone of stealing public funds, and a lawyer at that, you'd need to come up with facts. Of course, the tax consultants would be paid for providing a service (better question would have been do we need that service when there's the LIRS); SR should have come up with figures to put the payments in context.

Finally, all that ranting about "not being BBC", "the Guv being annoyed", was utter bollocks!

@Rare- I haven't read previous postings, but I assume you live in Canada.
I think if you're looking to work here, choosing an Ontario school would be a safe play as most
recruiters visit all these schools.

@Cuddlemi, to be honest, its important to know your long-term plans before deciding on a programme.
It seems you have an IT-bias. If that's the case, you could do an MSc IT/Comp programme, get a job,
get some solid experience and return for your MBA in 4-6 years. That's a safe bet, seeing that the MSc
shouldnt be very expensive. Furthermore, there'd always be plenty of IT jobs. There's the view that you
get more mileage out an MBA when you have mgt-type experience (>3 yrs). You might want to take that
view.

I don't know about deadlines or what steps you've taken thus far, but for IT in Canada U of Waterloo takes the cake.
They've sure carved a niche for themselves in IT in North America. But seeing that you're considering IT as a
stepping stone, any decent school would do. Cant suggest any other names as thats not my line.

@tosinosho and cuddlemi, nice one oh.
I work in Toronto, and deciding on an MBA programme is a big decision.

A lot depends on what you want from an MBA, seeing that most B-schools (here in Canada) have carved a niche for themselves in diff areas- finance, consulting, marketing,

Also, do you also want to work here after schooling, or return home right away? If you're staying back here, choosing the right school
could go a long way in getting a decent job.

I'm of the opinion that rather than rush into a second-tier MBA which Cuddlemi is obviously avoiding,
its better to get it right first time (you've got only one shot). There's no point, spending all those $$$ on an MBA without
get the best bang for your buck.

Its true that York & McGill are pretty competitive but a lot depends on your GPA, GMAT and work experience.
Don't forget you're competing against '000s applicants from India and China for a space, in addition to domestic students!

Truth be told, Naija attitude wouldn't work abroad.
Most readers might not appreciate the poster's sentiment about "disgracing the black community", if they
haven't lived, and more importantly, worked abroad before (no insult intended).

Its difficult enough to be black, in a predominantly white community,

Anyway, I'm not blaming Olu for whatever he did, but a sober reflection would reveal that Olu's
story is at the heart of problem with Nigeria.

Finally, I think all the ethnic sentiments being bandied around is absolutely uncalled for!

My people, no be small thing oh!
Bottom line is both parties must see themselves as being special/unique.
I'm in Canada, and if my gf wasn't exceptional I would have shifted base long time.

NOt that there are no hot chicks here, its just that I'm convinced my chick is extra-special.
We've been through serious drama--there are many hungry wolves in Lagos, btw-- but we've survived.
Largely because I trust her deep down- I'm taking a risk because she's human, anyway.
But its a risk worth taking.

Good thing for us is we dated for like 2 years before I travelled, so we've got good memories of us being together.
We text, bbm and talk frequently, any other ideas folks?

Different strokes,
The problem me I have is when people leave Naija without a proper visa, that one get k-leg oh.
To dey play hide-and-seek with police abroad- not nice!

Naija get too many issues, no doubt. The biggest problem is with Nigerians ourselves.
Its like corruption is in our DNA. Are we willing to change??
From the lowliest clerk to the biggest leaders, greed and corruption is pervasive.

Back on track, bottom line is the only place the grass is greener is under your feet!

Two issues spring to mind here:

1. Maintenance culture- Kenya is not one of the richest countries but obviously they have a maintenance culture. Most of the buildings in those pictures are not new, or built with petrodollars, rather they were built from taxes from the ordinary kenyan--who probably grows coffee, or works as a tour guide, or runs the 1,000km marathon

2. Apparently their leaders are not as corrupt. Big-manism is one of our biggest problem. The typical Nigerian local council chairman wants a convoy of brand new cars, escorts, and all possible paraphernalia of office.

@gameaddict: I agree with you jare. The fisherman might just be content with the rustic life he leads. He doesn't want to pursue vanity, and miss out on the finer things of life in his youth. Ironically, the I-banker ends his tirade with suggesting that the fisherman would return to retire in his village.

The poster calling the fisherman is slowpoke is unwarranted. Big question where would the fisherman get his kicks from-- being a rural fisherman or a wall street colossus.

If you have seen "The Devils Advocate" and "The Family Man", that'd give you some insight.

The self-interest conflict Obasanjo + Atiku had while is power is now manifesting.
They ran our educational system to the ground while they both set up their private universities.

That was enough reason to even impeach those folks,

~Bluetooth:

Are you sure it's logic you have have here ? This guys think say logic na for olodo.what you have here is pure fallacy !

Another way of putting it is 85% of Nigerians are crooks.
If I think of the policemen who cant help but tax you, the conductor who wants to cheat, the artisan who wants to make a fast buck off you, your neighbour who is planning to rob you, politicians who want to starve you, the producers of pure water who want to dupe you, the list is endless.

Point is corruption and "crookedness" is almost a way of life in Naija. You can almost cut it with a knife!

@invisible--your heart is your handle, treat it as you may,

Interesting!
Using the same logic, 85% of Nigerians in Nigeria are crooks, shikena.

Very controversial post.
Understandably, this is a very emotional topic for folks on both sides- @ home and abroad.

I left Nigeria exactly a year ago, and so far I have no regrets.
Tho, I've started missing Naija big time, I'm not in a hurry to return.

The way I see it is this: its a wonderful experience to live abroad.
You see things from a different perspective- how things actually work!
You also experience different cultures.

There are millions of opportunities waiting to be exploited back home, but the environment is not where it could be
at the moment.
As for me, sooner or later I'd have to return home, not right now, but sooner or later,

Omo, leave story.
Was pleasantly surprised to see her again, as I worked briefly alongside this chick a few years back.
Lost contact with her, and out of curiousity I googled her name a few hours ago and came up lovely hits.

Quite frankly, she's got game.

Check: she's humble, got class; dress sense; brains, a wicked sense of humour, can hold a decent convo on every imaginable subject,

Haven't met many like her in my time. Btw, I've met many girls in my time  
Hardly surprising she's making waves,


Morale of the/her story, If you've got dreams, follow them. Don't you ever give up on them!
If she had settled for a high-flyer job in Investment banking or Consulting (which she would have gotten in a heart-beat), we wouldn't be seeing her on CNN/Oprah.

Nice one jare, Horayce.
Love it or hate, its here to stay. FB simply reflects the times we live in, and the kind of people we really are.
The upsides are endless; the downsides- that's pretty much up to you!

Horayce:

word has it that zuck and his friends - your typical college geeks who werent getting any - started facebook as a play thing at their dorm so that the cud get laid. Fast forward a few years, fb has become this multi billion dollar global phenomenom with 500 million users++ easily outdoing behemoths like google as the new net kid to beat. And the geeks are still getting laid On that score alone, fb gets my vote, love it hate it u cant deny that it's here to stay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSnXE2791yg

55%. Dont forget I mentioned OBJ had serious conflicts of interests.

But there was relatively better security, the economy moved forward, foreign investors indicated interest, we got a huge chunk of our debts cancelled, and saved a huge portion of our earnings. Abeg give OBJ some credit- he put some serious reforms in place, and obviously, successive Presidents have hardly built on these.

My biggest problem with him was his conflict of interests- selectively pursuing corrupt leaders, not taking the educational system seriously while setting up his private univ, And you can't exactly pin the murder of Bola Ige on OBJ- what would have been his motive??

I can't point at any IBB achievements in his 8 years. Clearly, he's involved in Dele Giwa death, saddled us with enormous debt, devalued our currency, frittered $12bb, made corruption official, crippled the manufacturing sector and cancelled the June 12 elections.

~Bluetooth:

since you want to rate them,i will supply ibb's crime and you do your rating anf see who is worse between the two

Ibb crippled nigeria economy through his SAP programme , making naira worthless.

I've missed Reuben Abati's Friday column in The Guardian!
Whatever happened to good ol' Reuben??

Does he still write, anyone??

Wayo man jam cunning man!
To pick the lesser of two evils- I'd pick OBJ.

In retrospect, OBJ performed creditably well. I'd score him like 55%, though he had several conflicts of interest.
Give it to him- he stabilised the country and moved us some steps forward.

I'm not sure we've made any progress since 2007.

I tire for this guy oh--- you be 007?
Its almost ridiculous "cafe" owner got interested in your cv??
Cyber-cafe or Coffee cafe, LOL??!!
Abeggi

Instead make you open up, make we wey get local experience give you the 411,

goldplated:

Abeg make una nor crucify me!

I guess you guys just want to know how i got arranged employment.

My cousin in Ottawa helped me get the job.He knows the owner of a cafe who got interested in my c.v. so thats how i got it (small job though). Reasonable enough right?
Please lets focus on the real issue here:

Guy, your question is too broad.
What kind of work? What kind of business?
Just like asking how is life in Nigeria in terms of working and doing your own business

You'd need to be more specific if you want hits. Better still, this would already be covered
in another posting,

Laajman@yahoo.ca

There are two sides to this coin:

1. You don't want to live abroad, and all the people you relate with are Nigerians.
That's like living in an "ethnic silo". Its a terrible idea to want "kinship" with only Nigerians. Might as well stay back in Nigeria.

2. Its great to meet with Nigerians from time to time. Was at the Oct 1 party last friday, and it felt good to be among many of my peeps again. I think the main problem is naturally Nigerians are cautious when they meet Nigerians here- owing to many funny tales.
I've come across many Nigerians in my time here. If anyone is acting funny, I'd just bone the person. Its not like I'm asking you for favours or something. More importantly, like Sophy09 mentioned- its a good way to network. These indians + chinese tend to help themselves. Why shouldnt we?

You'd need to learn to speak Canadian- and I dont mean forming an accent.
For me this was more pronounced as I got a job with a small firm, and had to constantly
interact with colleagues and clients.

You'd get over that one though during your time at school.

Kidnapping don reach Lagos sef??
This is some scary ish oh!

Two sides to this coin:

1. These white folks need to reassure themselves that they are pretty normal. My yeye white boss keeps asking questions to confirm that they (whites) live better, and that the quality of live in Nigeria is poor; people starving, govt looting etc.

2. We sef we get issues. We need to work on our issues seriously. There is hardly any good news coming out of Nigeria. Na so so looting, bombings, killings, kidnappings dey happen everyday. The average Nigerian is unhappy, aggressive and ready to cheat without blinking an eyelid
The streets are littered with policemen who blatantly extort everyone, and even kill for peanuts. LASTMA is ready to tow your car at the slightest excuse, Truth be told: Nigeria would rank as one of the most unlawful and disorderly societies- but I'm still proudly Nigerian!

Good for him.
Those billions would have def done him more harm than good.

Na wa O!
I'm not insecure or lonely at all.
And dont have a problem meeting people- time to mingle sef na problem.

Tis all good. QueenQueen and others who'd like to keep in touch, kindly mail
me at Laajman@yahoo.ca

Cheers,

@Hotstepper,
I'm somewhat new in Toronto, and could use some of your local expertise.
'll be great if we could connect via email.

Cheers,

Abi o!
Any serious folks, make we connect?
Been here for like a year now, could use some good naija friends.