₦airaland Forum

yes,but that still doesnt excuse the fact that keyamo is still part of the proverbial five fingers that make up the leporous hand,one thing i caught in your comment was that you "are waiting fir a revolution "to come sweep these people away,in my opinion,that is not only a defeatist attitude,but arrogating responsibilities to others,its something i have always said on here that if we are not willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with the average nigerian in nigeria, on the revolution we are quick to call for while living abroad,then why should we expect anyone to die for us??

in the piece you have posted,the only answer i ahev for it is that,as long as we nigerians have the same attitude to politicians we currently seem to have,then we will be getting the same results,while politicians are not saints we push them to spend billions by demanding bribes before voting and then turn around to complain he/she is feathering his/her nest,he has to recover all the money he has spent while campaigning.

SAVING MY OWN COPY!!!!!



Quote from: kainos76 on October 24, 2007, 10:26 PM
Comments Regarding Article


19/09/2007 11:07
I am shocked Oprah made these remarks. I would be very insulted if I was Nigerian. It's just the same as some people say all blacks are criminals and all whites are racists! There is no place in a society for people who harbour these views! - Mr Reddy


Good on Oprah
19/09/2007 11:15
Well said Oprah. Corruption in Nigeria is crippling the country and Nigeria's leaders are not doing enough to stop it. Some extra pressure won't hurt. - Attie


Most of them are criminals
19/09/2007 11:27
I have seen a few good Nigerians and most of those I've met are a total chaos. Met them in church and social gathering and they all speak the same language, drugs, and fraud, if you follow.


- Andile aww, c'mon!
19/09/2007 11:34
So when Oprah does a show on the Holocaust, do Germans all demand an apology? If she does a focus on blood diamonds, do all the Congolese jump up and down? People who watch Oprah must be superhuman, as that stuff is idiotic, lame, painful and frightening! - Tom



generalisation sucks but if the shoe fits,
19/09/2007 11:55
I guess we have a better understanding about the risks and wrongs of generalising and stereotyping because of our political history (South Africa), but the constant scamming attempts by SOME Nigerian citizens is a reality and we should not hide it.

There is no wrong in calling a shark a shark, if it is a shark!

Forget about Oprah and worry about why the west thinks you are a shark. - leon


Oprah Apologise?
19/09/2007 12:00
This Arican American can do anything I please, doesn't understand how much we do not actually like her!! -



Kevin OH PLEASE!
19/09/2007 12:00
Oh PLEASE!!!Cry me a friggin river.It's high time that all Nigerians woke up+realised that in this case it's not OPRAH supposedly dragging the country's reputation through the mud, but in fact it's all the fraudsters in their own country!


THEY, NOT Oprah, are the ones guilty of that. And that's not even taking into account their drug dealing shenanigans. So please, everyone was thinking it, Oprah just had the courage to say it. It's simple:Stop the fraud and restore your national reputation. - Ca55



Oprah and the Nigerians
19/09/2007 12:02
If the Nigerians feel they need an apology for being called fraudsters, the whole world needs an apology from them as 99% of all fraud, drugs and prostiution committed in other countries, are done by the Nigerians. So please, get real and hang your head in shame for being part of this nation of thieves. - Frank


What?
19/09/2007 12:02
Apologise for what? It's a well known fact that a large portion of criminal activities in SA and abroad is indeed run by Nigerians - Theana



THE TRUST HURTS
19/09/2007 12:03
The truth hurts. Just look at the Nigerians in South Africa. They are up to no good. Get rid of them -



Anti Nigerian 419 Scam
19/09/2007 12:12
There is a very interesting history about this scam and although not all Nigerians are involved and not only Nigerians the majority originates from them today. Oprah does NOT have to apologize. It has to be exposed as many people have been left destitute and some even dead. See 419eater.com - QuintS



Let's face facts
19/09/2007 12:14
I don't understand why all the noise, the truth is these internet scams are rife and alarming and are mostly done by Nigerians.

There aren't many Nigerians with day jobs, how do you think they leave? Some even say they can never work, they do a "business" as it gives them quick money. the "business" is obviously illegal and involves taking people's money. Oprah merely pointed out an issue that is of concern, rightfully so. Nigerians are generally corrupt and they know this - Zinhle



Nigeria
19/09/2007 12:26
So, if Nigeria is such a fun place to be, why are Shell and BP pulling out of the delta?

Why are there so many Nigerian "entrepreneurs" in SA? Its s because they know a weak target if they see it. - ChrisS


Oprah's researcher used an unrepresentative sample
19/09/2007 12:27
I an African and have met good and intelligent Nigerians. Most Nigerians like most Africans are intelligent and me, Oprah and Brian Ross cannot take that away from us. How on earth does holier than us people of America get duped by the Nigerians. I think Oprah's researcher (Brian Ross) fed her with wrong and unimpirical information and she believed him/her. Brian Ross' sample was not representative of the Nigerians and I think it should be discarded. What research method did you use MrRos? - JR



I don't see the difference
19/09/2007 12:44
Nigeria sounds just like South Africa or any other African country!!! Lets blame the white people. Its so much easier than accepting responsibility for our own actions. - deev



Andile you are a VERY DANGEROUS PERSON!
19/09/2007 12:52
How would you respond to "Most South Africans are violent". DON'T generalise have the basic intelligence to back up a statement with the modicum of fact. Eish!!!!!!!!!! - Alice Selman



The truth will set you free
19/09/2007 13:04
It's kind of true though, isn't it? - CSB


Nigerians
19/09/2007 13:06
are bad news. If you've stayed in central Jozi you can attest to this. They are the most corrupt and have a don't care attitude when it comes to ripping people off.

They are the biggest pimps out there and unfortunately South aAfricanwomen love them.

O yah, Oprah should not apologise for telling the truth. Aluta continua, - Fresh



Nigerians
19/09/2007 13:29
Oprah dragged before a queen That in itself is one of the most bizarre statements I have heard. The next must be for her to apologize to the Nigerians for calling them crooks?? have I missed something in the last decade? They are a bunch of crooks and the queen was probably the head of the Nigerian mafia. Get a life!!!! - morecats


Africa, wake up and get honest!!
19/09/2007 13:33
Nassir Abbas - Your last paragraph is true! Africa has a reputation for corruption, Nigeria in particular.

It is unwritten policy in many companies not do any deals with Nigerians, and every contact I've had with Nigerians in business as an international agent for Africa has been proved to be a scam.

The business ethics in Africa are generally poor! - Barry


I have received one of their
19/09/2007 13:39
I don't think Oprah would have generalised like that, anyway some Nigerians are crooks,
get out of South Africa, and take your drugs and fraud with you. - Kubeshni


JR, you idiot
19/09/2007 13:48
If you think most Africans are intelligent, you are the stupidest of all Africans. Most Africans use the little intelligence they have to think up scams, that is the only creativity most Africans show. - Ice


Well said!
19/09/2007 13:50
Why must Oprah apologise? The truth hurts, doesn't it?

MOST Nigerians are crooks in my eyes. If they're not committing fraud with their scams, then they are pushing their drugs all over the country. - Tracey


The truth hurts
19/09/2007 13:51
If the cap fits then wear it !! Ask the SAP what they think of people from Nigeria. I may start to watch Oprah after all !! - SPOT



Shocked!
19/09/2007 14:00
Am shocked that someone of Oprah's calibre could be so silly.I'm a 26yr-old African (born and bred in SA) and even I am not that ignorant to think that all Nigerians are crooks.I've met a lot of SA crooks -lazy tsotsis. Nigeria's population is large and if SA population was as big, then I know SA people would be criticised like Nigerians are. For every 1 bad Nigerian, there's million good ones. SA, wake up! - Presh


I HAVE BEEN TARGETED THREE TIMES
19/09/2007 14:02
Just like the Americans, SAs have also been receiving these communications from Nigeria. As SA banks won't deal with Nigeria ie won't accept funds unless it is from a big corporate with links to SA, then the argument is purely factual -Nigerians are crooks. Its as simple as that! My brother emigrated to the Uk and the only time he was targeted by fraudsters - you guessed it, was by Nigerians, but being from Africa he was too sharp for them and they were arrested!! Go home Nigerians! - jenny


Utterly nnonsense/b]
19/09/2007 14:18
[b]We all know Nigerians are crooks,Fraudsters and drug pushers. a couple of my friends have been corned by Nigerians. i do not think Oprah should apologise - Zinhle


Nigerians
19/09/2007 14:40
Well said Kubeshni! I have NEVER heard of a Nigerian doing something worth while or good in South Africa, it is always drugs , illegal guns , prostitution etc.

We are trying to make our country a better place and you are just of our problem! Get out of our country, or is your country too rotten and banged up by yourselves that you need a new place to spread your crime and worthlessness? - MO

Lol
19/09/2007 14:52
"the queen was probably the head of the Nigerian mafia" That was funny. Most Nigerians are crooks but not all of them. Just like most black people are criminals and most Indiansand whites are racists and coloured people low llives Should Oprah apologize? I don't think so. It's just facts. - KitttyKat


CROOKS
19/09/2007 14:54
IT CANT BE ALL OF THEM PLS OR 99% OF ALL DRUGS,PROSTITUTION,FFRAUDIS DONE BY THEM. - alchemist

Culled from news24.co.za





Uninformed ko! Uninformed ni! Una no dey shame? Can still use you leprous cyber fingers to type unapologetic crap here? Shameless buffoons! See the whole world knows us---Yahoozers and Yahoozees! I did not even understand it was this bad. These are coming from South Africans oh! You can imagine what the rest of the world think. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! We owe Dr. Watson an apology---Big time! We stink even in the back yard of SA---No hope!

Some of them are smart enough to know that the "Queen" is the head of the colonial 419 subjects! We don die finish--rotten and dey smell all over the world with no burial place as "global osus"! Tufiakwa!

NIGERIAN BUSINESSMEN AND WOMEN GO TO SCHOOL AND GET PROFESSIONAL JOBS OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YAHOOZING IS NOT A BUSINESS OR PROFESSION!

@ALMONDJOY

maybe im missing something here,what exactly is your point??
out of 150million nigerians,a minority are committing frauds and oprah does an articler or whatever which was seen by many to be biased and this is the best you could come up with??

did the brian ross interview the nursery,primary,secondary school students who against all odds like no seats,no blackboards e.t.c manage to get educated?

did they interview young nigerians who made something out of nothing like the 2 face,dbanj and the young entrepreneurs?

why is south africa not been villified by south africans or their citizens in spite of the high rateof crime,rapes e.t.c going on there,lucky dube was a victim yet their citizens dont go online pouring vitriol on their country,same as brazil and the crime in the favelas e.t.c
unless what you r advocating is for nigerians both home and abroad to hide their cultures,identities and pride because of an oprah piece

irrespective of what our individual opinions of him are,the constitution stipulates that he has a right to vote and be voted for untill he contravenes the laws

@nwakuche
having read you whole comments in its entirety,i must say that i agree with most of it,but absolving festus kayamo of any wrongdoing is totally and utterly wrong in my opinion,the fact is that he is as guilty as all the others and the fact that he stayed to fight will not negate that fact,so what if he stayed?has he not gotten more than enough rewards for that?
remember tinubu fought as well,does it now excuse his looting?i could go on and on about political/moral civil rights crusaders who have fallen by the wayside,pls let us leave base sentiments aside and address issues objectively!!

yes we know ribadu erred by not investigating obasanjo and his co horts,but there are some pertinent facts you musnt fail to grasp
1.so far till today,ribadu's records has neither been matched by the waziri led efcc,the governors under trial are not only walking round freely,but thumbing their noses at the efcc which keyamo is a part of these are the issues.

2.seeing as governance in any capacity is about continuity,i think enough is enough about the ribadu villifying,which i must admit i was a part of,where is the continuity?where are the efcc prosecutions??
why is the efcc getting weaker under the waziri woman with several allegations hanging over her head?yet keyamo has resolutely kept quiet?

please if you know him,tell him nigerians are no fools and he should get his head out of his rear end,and stand up for what is right

@post
so what if adeboye meets with ibori or other corrupt politicians??
if ibori in his own wisdom or otherwise hustles and tries his best to get a photo op with adeboye,thats left to him,as long as the man has not gone to ibori's house to beg for money or favours,like its been said here already and in the bible,the job of a man of GOD is not being in the midst of people who are already saved,but the sinners who are yet to be saved

@poster
typical nigerian!!!you have destroyed an initiative that tens of millions of nigerians have not only identified with, but applauded with a few erroneous words ,why do we just talk for the sake of it?rather than making wild and unsubstantiated allegations,i think your time should be spent more productively looking objectively at the initiatives and how this will translate to a positive thing for the average lagosian,then conclude if it is good or not,i can bet my last pound that you are a diasporian,did obama that you are quick to compare with a state governor meet the same problems fashola met??
does fashola have the same powers,funds as obama??
or are you just making your own conclusions that federal allocations is given out on the basis of age group,seeing as obama and fashola are in the same age bracket??

theres nothing like moral justification in world politics,the ideology guiding world leaders is that of "bottom line"

even though i dont know much about the legal goiing on s in nigeria,i v always wonderred if there was a comprehensive list of all the judges that are upright and the ones that are crooked,especially in the tribunial and appellate courts, cause the honest ones like the ones that did the edo and ekiti state judgement should be recognised and aplauded

hmmmn, im not quick to knock initiatives or schemes of these sort on the head,but the combination of souless shylocks like the world bank and nigerian officials dont give me much room for hope,i see the world bank up to their old tricks and nigerian officials out to feather their nests never mind we ll be paying twice or thrice the money back

ElRazur:
Whoever had the idea clearly haven't left the shores of Nigeria. A government official like Jack Straw is manned 24/7 either by body guards, GPS tracking and constant monitoring in one way or the other as he is a potential terrorist target. Hence there will be NO way he will be stuck in one part of the world and needing money.

I suppose the writer of the email was viewing it from a Nigeria's mentality where we can ask people to "borrow" us money in time of need. Things are done differently here. Government officials can not run out of money while abroad - especially high profile one. The author of the email should have done a bit of research.

;Dexactly,plus its not even in a typical british person's psyche to call friends much less constituent members up to ask for money,not even pounds which is the logical currency he would have asked but dollars

@poster
its good to be balanced,not posting one side leaving the other out, kalu's reply

FOR the second time in two weeks, the former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has again taken former Vice President Abubakar Atiku to, the cleaners, describing him as “an inconsistent politician”.

He alleged that the former vice president dumped some former governors who supported his presidential ambition against his boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Kalu, who spoke in Abuja through his media assitant, Mr. Emeka Obasi, condemned what he called Atiku’s lily-livered approach to leadership, a quality, he concluded made the Turakin Adamawa unsuitable for the presidency.

His words: “Atiku is a chameleon. A man who cannot keep to promise. That was why I refused to follow him to the Action Congress (AC). I knew he would abandon the cause midstream, just like he abandoned some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors prior to the 2003 presidential election.

“It was Atiku’s chamelonic attitude that gave birth to the Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA). I could not have followed him. He failed us in 2003. He has done it again in 2009. It is a question of time before Nigerians choose between both of us who is credible”.

Citing several instances to back up his verdict on the former number two man, Kalu insisted that Atiku would always continue to betray his followers.

He said: “When former President Olusegun Obasanjo made life difficult for Atiku, some of us stood by the oppressed. Senator Bola Tinubu and I backed him.

“Atiku’s House (the Vice President’s resident) in Aso Villa was like a graveyard. He was begging me to visit him. I challenged Obasanjo in House Seven, Aso Villa, telling him that even as a sitting president, he was corrupt and not marketable.

“Obasanjo threatened to walk me out. I wrote the media that the president was corrupt. You can imagine the shock when Atiku went back to his tormentor. He also promised Tinubu the AC Vice Presidential ticket, but reneged on that”.

Kalu praised some Northern elders for avoiding Atiku.

He said: “I now know why Northern elders keep away from him. After being Vice- President for eight years, he wanted to become President for another eight years.

That was why he failed us 2003”.

Kalu prayed Atiku to sort himself out with the over 140 million Nigerians who neither have regular supply of power nor constant source of water to show for his years in the infamous Obasanjo/Atiku years.

“Nigerian youths are jobless. The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) report is with the Senate. Atiku knows he can never be President of Nigeria.

“I never said he used the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) against me. What I said was that Obasanjo used EFCC to fight me because he felt strongly that I supported Atiku, a man whose PDP presidential nomination form was paid for by a former President

even if its a thirty seconds flight,why wont a passenger complain about the food?didnt he pay his hard earned money for the flight?thank GOD white people dont have the same mind set,hence richard branson himself replying the man and offering to show him round the catering division
na wa for nigerians and our funny way of approaching issues, if you dont complain,thinking its only 45 mins then blaming yourself that you should have eaten from home how will the airline improve quality and customer satisfaction?

no wonder our route has the worst customer satisfaction in the world from all airlines

i have to agree with others that i think air france is one of the best,i have flown them several times including the last year to nigeria and i have had no complaints,i flew manchester-france-lago lagos-france-dublin-manchester and a single piece of my luggage or any of the others from what i can see wasnt missing

debosky:
@ Luca

Do you mean South West?

This marks a second candidate foisted on a state against it's will - Osunbor and then Agagu. Akala might be getting jittery now, though I think in Oyinlola's case, he has a pretty solid base in Osun.

yes i meant the southwest,it was a typho but thanks
akala might be getting jittery if there was any strong opposition,i dont see ajimobi as that strong of an opposition especially as anpp is in disaray,maybe this might ginger them up,or knowing tinubu he ll just get the anpp to merge with ac, worked so far, i share your opinion on osun state as well,even though oyinlola didnt win

seems tinubu is slowly becoming one of the strongest power brokers both in south east and nigerian political circles,especially with the dynamics of ac and fayose in ekiti and osun state seemingly shaky for pdp

I'd expect better comprehension from you, but let me restate:

1. The population 'census' measured people living in given states and did not record states of origin, so it cannot be used as a sufficient basis to determine the population of a given tribe, especially one as perspicacious as the Igbo.

2. Lagos is more populated than Bayelsa no doubt, but that is irrelevant for the most part because majority of the people IN Lagos do not claim to be FROM Lagos.

3. The statistics being quoted are reported STATES OF ORIGIN, not states of residence. It is entirely plausible that there is a higher population of Igbos living outside their geographically defined 'home zone' than other tribes.

4. 'Igboland' or the South East remains one of the most densely populated places in Nigeria, apart from Lagos or Kano. It is this extremely high population density (in addition to other factors) that has led to the massive migration to other parts of the country/world. In fact, the three states with the highest population density in Nigeria are Abia, Anambra and Enugu states

5. Are there demographic differences between the tribes in question? Do Igbo families have larger or smaller number of children compared to others? Was there a 'baby boom' at some point in the past that could be (partly) responsible for this trend?

6. The census figures have been disputed by many groups as representing a politically acceptable result (to the North that is) rather than the true state of things.

7. Rates of completion are not included in the data, neither are drop out statistics. All these different measures can give a more accurate picture than admission stats alone.

8. A more useful number could be the proportion of applicants from the respective zones, vis-a-vis the admission numbers. Another useful term could be the proportion of the eligible populations in the different zones actually in school, such measures are more indicative of trends that the ones used here.

In conclusion, this data is insufficient to make any far reaching determinations. It is what it is, showing higher enrollment numbers than the South West.

THE ONLY SENSIBLE AND TOTALLY OBJECTIVE COMMENT IN THE WHOLE THREAD!!!

debosky:
name names jo!

back to topic.

You disagree with the leadership notion - what if that is the agent of 'change' causing a difference in Rwanda? Should that be disregarded?

People collecting 'billions' from candidates is a bit wide of the mark IMO, most of that money goes to the riggers/thugs, not to the electorate. In any case, doesn't it show a failure of leadership, at least in the political organs/structures/parties we have? If the candidates that keep coming out are these money seeking ones, why can't our political organs correct this and begin to produce more credible candidates like Oshiomole and Utomi?

dont even start any rumble in the jungle here o,they attack in packs and i dont want wahala

you are right but remember nigeria and rwanda have different sociological and pshycological issues,before we even look at the different politics,i am saying a buttom up approach will be catalytic in not only solving the problems of patriotism and real committment from us average nigerians,but been united in our resolve to fight the powers at the top.

you think so,i implore you to follow an electoral aspirant around for a week and see how much they spend on campaigns,presently now if you want to be a governor and you dont have billions,forget about it,most of the money goes to the riggers and thugs,but the 500 nairas goes to the average voter as well,they have the mind set that they want their reward here and now and not waiting for the leader to emerge,dericas of rice every week,cows,rams  e.t.c i could go on,once we start to reject this and actually vote our conscience,why would an aspirant need to do deals with the devil/godfathers when he/she know that they dont need to break the bank to contest.

there should be ibternal democracy and parties should sponsor candidates rather than candidates having to sponsor themselves,this will make them more accountable to the party members who sponsored them in like the system practised in the uk

debosky:
@ BOSS

focus on the subject matter, not Abati.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way we are doing things if we can't even seem to make progress given all our inherent advantages. Why can't we get things straight? The article posits that it is due to poor leadership - is that the problem?

Is poor leadership the reason why okada men in Lagos defecate by the roadside? Or is it the cause of so many people not paying tax?

lol lol i tire o,what has abati got to do with the situation in nigeria

however back to the topic, i disagree with the over used notion of poor leadership,while we are quick to blame the political leadership,when they are campaigning,we will collect billions from them before voting , so why wouldnt they get there and start looting to recover their losses?

how many of us both home and abroad obey simple traffic rules while in nigeria,throw rubbish out of the window e.t.c
how many of us are truelly patriotic without aligning with our various tribes at the hint of any debate or argument?

lastly how many of us abroad are truelly committed to seeing true change and not grandstanding all the time and patronising us including my way or the highway syndrome, they know themselves and are lurking around lol

debosky:
@ Luca

I apologise if my 'juvenile preambles' offend you, it was not the intention.

Right back to the matter. I ignored your demographic analysis, not because it doesn't hold some validity, but because it was focusing on why certain yoruba people were not 'included' or not. That to me, means you had an issue with the tribes of the selected movie stars, and that smacks of tribalism to me.

You may say I am wrong with that assertion, but that is my perception of the underlying motive of your 'demographic' analysis.

Now on to 'marketing'. I do know a bit about marketing, but let's not get distracted. There is no way any single campaign can appeal to every single demographic at every single time. You need to always select at each pertinent moment which PARTICULAR demographic(s) you want to target.

Sunny Ade was selected to appeal to a given demographic - Older people who prefer the 'classic' Nigerian music



First of all, there is no denial that this ad campaign is not representative of the entire country. But that in no way makes it incorrect or unsuitable for the aims of Globacom at this present time.

no worries sir,same here

i mentioned the tribe of the chosen ten because it was wayy too obvious,and ill repeat and prove beyond any shadow of doubt that i am speaking from a putrely economic/marketing point of view why the ten chosen was wrong,if i am writing comments based on ethnic bias,which tribe would you say i am supporting?

the yorubas for highlighting the fact that only one representative was mentioned and who doesnt even represent a large bloc of older yoruba men and women who are also glo subscribers?

the hausas for the same reason,and worse without any single representative in a supposed nationwide marketing campaign?

or even the ibo for the same reasons for ignoring the older generation,the illiterates?

what tribe exactly am i supporting here lol
im still struggling to see the marketing rationale behind 7 young men and women from same ethnicit,y under the guise that they are the most popular in nigerian movie industry at the moment which u and i both know isnt true,and then a single yoruba girl who doesnt represent the people she is supposedly representing in the nationwide marketing campaign,it doesnt make any sense

ill simply tell you why it is incorrect and unsuitable either now or at any time, it is because the marketers who are in charge of choosing the 10 didnt utilise the money made available to them to its full potential,its simply economics that if the same amount of money with the target ten artiste's can appeal to every glo customer and most important potential customer/subscriber,isnt it logical to do the latter?
while i am saying it might not be glo's fault but the marketers, who do not know what they r doing,you are advocating for them just on the strenght that,they had to have known what they r doing based on the fact that they have used yoruba muscisians before.

debosky:
Sunny Ade was selected to appeal to a given demographic - Older people who prefer the 'classic' Nigerian music

Dbanj - urban young people, Okposo - Delta/Christian music followers. Get the drift?

P square was selected only after the Dbanj deal went sour. The aim was to have ONE mainstream artiste promoting the brand and Psquare only came in when Dbanj fell out with them.

Now back to your demographic treatise
Ol boy why not ask me to explain my 'thesis' before jumping the gun?

I'm glad you used the term 'peculiar' demographics. The aim of the movie star awards is to cater to a 'peculiar demographic' not the WHOLE demographic. Going by the logic you put up there, are Hindu, Pashto and Polish the ONLY foreign languages spoken in the UK? No, but the languages chosen are done in a manner to make an impact on the desired demographic.

In the same manner, the GLO thing is targeted at certain people, hence their sponsorship of the artistes.
Defining 'adequacy' in this case would be very tough. She is definitely the MOST popular and upcoming Yoruba artiste at the moment, so a very good relationship can be built with the GLO brand as she grows. I am a bit unclear about what you are asking here - she represents a sizable chunk of the Yoruba demographic, but like any other artiste, no one can cover everything.

First of all, there is no denial that this ad campaign is not representative of the entire country. But that in no way makes it incorrect or unsuitable for the aims of Globacom at this present time.

thank you very much for explainingnthe peculiarity lol so going by what i was trying to say,if the british government used pakistani,indian,polish e.t.c languages in their various public places to represent the majority of minorities in the uk,isnt it peculiar that a fone provider with a supposed across board national appeal will be seen to have more representation in one ethnicity than others?

imagine having just the the pakistani dominating everything without the bangladesh,chinese e.t.c

ok,now i understand,going by your comments above,glo are not concerned"at this time"with all the other subscribers,at least as far as this nollywood thing is concerned,but only the people represented by the ten,so lets see, the only people they r concerned with will be
1.young,upwardly mobile,educated,mostly from the east and young men and women,educated from the yoruba side.
going back to the jenifa girl,she only represents the young,hip yoruba boys and girls,mostly university graduates/undergraduates who can identify with what the humour is all about,an illiterate panel beater cannot get the funny side of "oush" even if he is yoruba.

hausas-not interested
older yoruba men and women-not interested
older ibo men and women-not interested
illiterate yoruba,ibo and hausa-not interested

neither are glo as a phone subscriber/a company interested in the maximum profit in a competitive phone service provision interested in including them in this scheme, hmmn

debosky:
There are no 10 artistes that represent all glo customers and potential customers. The definition of 'adequate' is also quite flexible. As I mentioned earlier, where is it defined that this particular campaign is focused at reaching the entire demographic? I don't think it is, and it definitely isn't. It is a FOCUSED campaign at a PARTICULAR demographic.

GLO cannot cater to EVERY section of the demographic, no matter how hard they try. You will always find groups and subsets that have peculiar tastes that will require a inordinate effort to 'reach' them.

All the company can do is 'TARGET' it's desired demographic per ad campaign. It will be folly and financially ruinous to attempt to appeal to each and every demographic at the SAME TIME

Two more things - you 'presume' the marketers did a shoddy job because they didn't appeal to the entire demographic. I disagree. As previous evidence has shown, campaigns are progressive, targeting DIFFERENT demographic groups in succession. This PARTICULAR move might not cover the whole demographic or 'majority' of the demographic, but I do believe it covers the 'desired' demographic for THIS campaign.

Sunny Ade's sponsorship was not aimed at capturing 16-35 year olds, Dbanj's was. The two did not run concurrently but one came after another.

if what you mean by glo reaching their target demographics is, excluding the above that i have highlighted in a competitive business, where all companies aims is for maximum profit,then i agree with you,

they can definitely cater to every demographics,especially with a scheme such as this,they dont need to increase the number of artiste neither do they need to increase the amount of money,all they will simply do is re shuffle the artistes maybe 5 artistes from the mainstream igbo/english movie genre jim iyke,rita dominic,uche jombo,the calabar dude,genevieve or whoever including the jenifa girl.
two artistes representing yoruba mainstream,older generation,2 for the ibo mainstream and 1 for the hausawood simple!!

again,seeing as i dont know,fpr all we know you might be the marketing co ordinator/director for the whole scheme,so i will accept your reasons not because they seem right but because im at a loss as to why any marketing executive woth his/her salt will make that sort of error

debosky:
The main issue I have with you is that you have concluded that it is over at this point. Without having access to the initial brief given to the marketers, you are unable to state that they have failed. I know I do not have access to that either, but I have at least been able to show that various campaigns have targeted various demographics without attempting to cover AL in one go. In that light, this could simply be another in a line of adverts.

To reiterate, my reason for 'going off' was Funmi's initial claim of 'tribalism', you bringing in 'tribalism in nollywood' (something not pertinent to the main issue as such) and the like.

This campaign should be seen for what it is - a TARGETED campaign at a particular demographic. It may appear to you that they aren't getting the 'bang for their buck', but then again, if it is a successive/step wise targeting of different demographics, then it doesn't matter.

Is 8/9 of artistes from a particular tribe now the standard to judge an ad campaign. Why is the tribal identity being picked up as an issue? Ok they must focus on the 'full' demographic. Is it only Igbos that like Rita or Ramsey or Desmond? In that light, I disagree completely. Some Igbos will not even like Desmond because he doesn't act in Igbo only (i.e speaking) movies. the same way Yorubas at the other end of the spectrum will not appeal.

Giving their tribal origin as a basis for saying the campaign is slanted doesn't fly for me.

while you have hurriedly shielded yourself from contradiction by the comments in the first paragraph justifying your stance,you have failed to see an obvious point,which is that, even going by your own assertions without question,this is the very first initiative of this kind,nothing to do with musicians and a group of ten, not one,not two,not three but ten.
second obvious point is that,if their aim was to use the most popular,these ten,even by nollywood standards are not the most popular and we both know that.

i brough tribalism in because that is the perception shown from the initial line up,i brought tribalism in the context that line ups like that is re intrenching the existing tribalism in nollywood industry,practitioners from hausa and yoruba are complaining of tribalism and glo who have prided themselves on having a nationwide across the board appeal brings out an initiative to appeal to the whole nation,and what do they do?they use 7 from the ibowood industry 1 from yoruba and none at all from the hausas,highlighting the general perception,you get it now?that is why tribalism cropped up, not tribalism against yoruba,but hausa and in addittion excluding a major bloc of their subscribers which i ahve listed above,i am supporting this stance becaudse like i have explained in detail,it is elementary economics and marketing anyone given this job should have known,stating the reasons why with my analogy above.

you accuse me of jumping the gun,and ascribing reasons for what doesnt exsist,but here you are doing the same thing,my reasons for saying the marketers are wrong is simply because it is very bad economics to under utilise funds -placed at your disposal and i have proven a simple way what i am advocating can be done without spending more or including more artistes,and you are saying the fact that sunny ade and the other guy had been used,is enough reason to conclude that they must have nown what they r doing,pls objectively check both reasons and see which is logical.

of course but what we are talking about here is something in software testing called boundary value analysis, that is while not getting the exact appeal,you are working to use someone who will appeal to the most people.

while tribalism was just an aside i used, but which you magnified over the majority of my posts,the main body of my comments which is, the marketer doing a bad job of not utilising the funds available fully hence elementary marketing and economics blunder on their part.
lastly,i hope you realise that,in marketing and protecting your brand,perception matters even more than anything else,again you can ask any marketer or advert person you know this,if the perception is that your company is racist,rightly or wrongly people will troop to the next company especially in a competitive market.
im sure you remember when procter and gable were accused of worsjipping the devil,what happened,even though it wasnt true?

same thing with the rumour that deodorants cause cancer what happened,even though it wasnt true?

it can go either way,knowing how camelionic our justices are in their behaviour and moral judgement,

@post
yes but it will be extremely difficult due to the pervading air of gerontocracy being part and parcel of our culture,the first step for the youths is to hijact the relevant pressure groups and machinery from the old guard and then go on from there,i read in one of the dailies about afenifere renewal whic is a youth wing of afenifere independent of the old ones,this is the attitude nigerian youths need as the elders are not ready to give up without a fight,the igbo youths should endeavour to take over the relevant ikenga or whatever theirs is called and hausa youths should endeavour to wrestle the arewa forum and we will start to see changes

what do you mean by our political and cultural awareness today?


Three major tribes. Two major religions. Alliance by tribe and religion.

Perceived imbalance of leadership (among other things) by tribe/region. Thus, one very enormous clash.

Chaos.

Minor tribes suffer.

Chaos=disorder=opportunism=corruption=coup=counter-coup=chaos=disorder=opportunism=corruption=decay=sh*t. From top to bottom. From the government to its agents to the people. Pretty much Nigerian history, if you want it bluntly succinct.

Cultural/personal/political mistrust rooted in riots, war, envy. Survival, play-hard, under-the-table tendencies. Igbos hate Hausa. Yorubas hate igbos. Northern leadership subdues southern leadership (perceived or real?). Favoritism. Further detachment from real issues and needs.

Everyone suffers.


Now, as to your question about our political and cultural awareness today, I'd still say it's about the same as the first minute in post-colonial times. Tribal.

Here is what I think: Nigerians (and majority of Africans) are still very much rooted to their ethnic groups and will better communicate and co-ordinate along those lines. In a south-south village physically and culturally miles away from Nigeria's center in Abuja, what will better guide the people to self-sufficiency, higher standards of living, peace, confidence, education, and security in the knowledge that their interests are very much protected and not abused? A south-south puppet state government trudging under the command of a centralized, psuedo-westernized, God knows what? A government much too distracted by political bruhaha and the pay-to-play protocol we're so familiar with?

Or a south-south government that is politically, economically and culturally autonomous from a weakened center? A south-south government that isn't even that centralized itself? Apply the same question to the south-east, the North, the west. I'm not asking for Nigeria to split, mind you.

Solution? Democracy, of course. But as decentralized as we can get without ushering disorder - and with as many checks and balances as sanity will allow. But I think you knew that. The smaller the units, the better the chance that everything and everyone is accounted for- our money, our welfare, the system, hungry-mouths to feed, policing, citizen-to-government relations,etc.

Some matters will still be of inter-ethnic, national interests. Our binding glue might be contained, for instance, in the issues of national security, national trade, foreign relations, etc.

The above is only a suggestion from a lay-person's point of view. I might be bullcrapping myself, but it is what I think. Any better suggestions


@NNENA1
what i can garner from the first part of your comment which i presume was a general comment right?is that tribalism/ethnic distrust is a major problem,and you are asking for a democracy that will address this pertinent question,if that is what you mean,then i think you should look at china,the hans are the largest with 91 or so percent while the other ethnicities all make up the rest,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_China

the question,why have there not being insurrections or any war between them or one trying to wipe the other off?

this is my personal opinion from my own perspective,true and enduring patriotism.irrespective of what anyone has against china and their form of governance,one thing you can never take from them is their identity,and love for country,this is what i believe is lacking amongst nigerians,if we have a genuine love for our country,then we would cease from having ascerbic opinions of other tribes or ethnicities,the civil war has been about 30smthing years now(not sure)and the deep emotional wounds suffered by both victor and vanquished has never been adequately addressed,of course that will ingarin bitter fee;ings and mutual distrusts, that isnt the fault of democracy but not addressing a festering wound,we have allowed to deepen and worsen over the years.
as for politicians,pls dont blame them,we are also at fault in this,if we refuse bribes first we would be voting who we want in a particular post and second an aspirant will not have to sell off his property or make deals with the devil in order to attain a post,thereby having to corruptly amass wealth to pay off his debts and recover.

while the form of governance you have suggested is probably the best for us,with federalism emcompassing it,the fact of the matter is that if the underlying sympthomatic issues are not properly resolved ,then we will be left with a couple of smaller states,sabre rattling and fighting each other for superiority,with the same cabal in abuja dividing themselves along ethnic afiliations and resuming duties in their various regions,so you have an ibori and co still doing the same thing they r doing in anbuja now in the south south,you have the ibbs and co doing the same thing they r doing in abuja now in the northern region and the ngiges,egwus in the east and the yoruba akalas and co doing the same in the south west e.t.c recipe for chaos and disorder

@sauron
the end result still follows that democracy is not on trial here,if ou are given a dose of aspirin to use for an headache and you decide to grind it into powder and sniff it and it doesnt work,will you blame the aspirin for being in effective and proceed to look for another brand?
that is simply what blaming democracy in africa is,which ever variation or shade of democracy we want to practice, the fact of the matter is that the basic tenents of democracy which is government of the people by the people needs to be upholded and everything will change for the better,rather than blaming democracy,we should be blaming ourselves for allowing the wrong doctors to prescribe the aspirin or give us directions on how to use the aspirin ,not making the tablet the scape goat
@bawomolo
true,china has loosened up but they are still very far from capitalism,the state regulates and is involved in production,finances ,everything,most of the production factories are state controlled and dominated so i dont really see it as capitalism as such

debosky:
Expose your ignorance - how can you be 'cock sure' about something you know nothing about?

I have read the argument you put forward, but it is nothing but poppycock.

Sunny Ade was the ONLY artiste sponsored at the time, they painted his house/studio at Jibowu in Lagos GLO colours and he received EXCLUSIVE sponsorship for singing '0805 is my number'. NO ETHNIC 'spread' was carried out.

When D'Banj and Sammy Okposo were selected, they were the ONLY ones selected, with NO ethnic spread. They were the most popular in their genres and that was that.

i hope you realise these verbal barbs isnt helping your stance,while ill totally ignore the rest of your juvenille prea mbles,pls direct me to any website where it was written that sunny ade was the only artiste chosen,as for painting his house,he wasnt the only one go to lagos country club,ikoyi club including several public places, i hope you realise sammie okposo isnt yoruba?just thought ill make thast observation

debosky:
When D'Banj and Sammy Okposo were selected, they were the ONLY ones selected, with NO ethnic spread. They were the most popular in their genres and that was that.

I am not saying other consumers should wait, but it is the height of presumptuousness to sit there and tell GLO they should 'represent' their client base in a way YOU deem fit.

If NO OUTCRY was raised in the case of a PRIVATE organisation sponsoring Sunny, Dbanj and others, why should any be raised now?

Even if Lagos is cosmopolitan, is it in the geographical North? I simply gave that example to show the ridiculous reasoning behind your post. You can equally argue - are all football supporters in Nigeria based in Lagos? Why not host the event in the National Capital? Why not in Ogun state or Abia State?

dbanj and sammie okposo were not the only ones selected,p square were selected as well,with assertions inn some quarters that d banj was dumped for them at some point,i dont know if there was something in this or not,but pls dont tell me what i know,all you have done at this point is make general assumptions to suit your case,please show me anything to prove it and ill apologise for this, as far as im concerned you are speaking from a realm of speculations.

do you know the meaning of marketing at all?do you think we r talking here of the right and the wromng way of doing things??
this isnt an option,it is a right more for globacom's sake than either the subscribers or the peotential subscribers sake,in a competitive market where subscribers have multiple choices,anything you do has to be seen to appeal to the whole demographics,show a qualified marketer what i ahve written and hear his/her views,i know what im talking about dude!

the last paragraph has clearly shown how clueless you are about how marketing works,lem me explain it to you in a way you ll understand, why are there signs in pakistani,indian ,polish languages in public places in the uk like job centres??
according t your flawed thessis,is the uk part of india or pakistani or poland?you see how that sounds??its simply called catering to the peculiar tastes of different demographics,

why do universities,fone and manuals generally have different translations of the directions??

you see why im struggling with all you have written?

debosky:
What thesis? All I've said is that they've chosen people who are popular at the moment to promote their brand. That's the reason they chose Sunny, Dbanj, Sammy and now even Jenifa. She's obviously the most popular Yoruba actress around now, so there is every reason to do that.
It is irrelevant whether you have had previous posts on tribalism, it doesn't remove the flawed and obviously tribalistic reasoning you've displayed here. I am not imputing anything from previous arguments, the tribal glasses comment was directed primarily at Funmi.

the theis is that going by your comments that they v chosen to use the most popular artistes at the moment,mentioning the jenifa girl,is that adequate representation of the particular demographics she represents?
seeing as you are totally fixated on this sunny and sammie i hope you realise you r on about two dinstinct and different ethnic groups here?
dont bother about my comments on me being a tribalists as i really dont give a monkeys what you think one way or another,most people on here will tell you i dont have friends neither do i seek friends so its no issue irrespective of what you think of me,the fact is that you dont know me,neither do i know you and theres no chance of both of us knowing each other past nairaland,so shy should i care really?
i honestly dont know who is funmi,but im glad thats cleared out of the way

debosky:
Your cloaking your own tribalism (in this case, and not any perceived 'previous' meeting) under 'demographics' is flawed. Not everything in Nigeria must be done on 'quota' basis.

Maximum publicity at this moment (for Globacom) refers to the artistes listed. This can easily be seen from their previous actions, which have not been based on tribe, but based on popularity.

You are the one going off on a tangent about tribalism in nollywood. Glo is not charged with achieving equality in the movie industry - they are looking for publicity or popularity and have gone for that. Simple.

again you dont seem to understand or have the faintest idea of what im on about demographics, this is not quota like we know it of representing just ethnicities,this cuts across everybody glo are reaching out to
1.the ibo man or woman who doesnt understand english or of an older generation who might prefer someone older of same tribe(mentioned this to show you how absurd your bleating of tribalism is) or are they not glo customers?
2.yoruba men and women who prefer one of their own stars not the jenifa girl,unless you r saying she is more popular than many yoruba artistes,the fact that theres a jenifa hype amongst the youths doesnt make it representative of all yorubas.
3.hausas who might have a preference for their own movies(which i have been told and read on here are legion)are they not glo subscribers?

demographics represented with the ten artistes are the young to middle aged up to mid 40s, the older generation of all tribes were not represented,the illiterate panel beater,mechanic,carpenter e.t.c were not represented,and there was an overrepresentation of a particular ethnic group about 90smthing percent,if you ignore everything i have written but read and understand this partucular comment/para,3 sets of demographics i have listed which cuts across tribes who are globacom customers or potential customers were not represented,in my very first comment i mentioned pete edochie,amaka igwe but trust a typical nairalander you totally ignored that part and ll rather go off on one.

in case you havnt noticed the trent of your comment,you are actually the one ascribing here,you have concluded that irrespective of whatever reasons glo marketers might have for these choices either right or wrong,these ten are the most popular like you have decreed and so are adequate representations of NOT THE NIGERIAN ETHNIC GROUPS,BUT GLO SUBSCRIBERS AND POTENTIAL SUBSCRIBERS, TWO DIFFERENT THINGS!!

lets assume for a mili sec glo are looking for artistes who will appeal to both their existing subscribers and potential subscribers ,which im sure you agree with right?
in your opinion as a nigerian,are these ten an adequate representation of all glo customers or potential glo customers?bearing in mind that like any private business like you have highlighted earlier,they are spending money with a view to achieving the greatest value out of it as possible, in this case the most amount of appeal/subscribers,

debosky:
It is not their job to correct YOUR perceived grouses with the movie industry.

No one is saying those people should go and jump into the lake, I doubt if they will ask why Yoruba artistes or Hausa artistes were not chosen. There was no hue and cry then when previous artistes were chosen, so why should the tribal knives be brought out now?

you are totally right,its not their job as they are a private entity concerned with their profits and subscriber base e.t.c however in case you didnt read my first comments,before jumping in to attack i mentioned this as a moral aside not glo's responsibility in view of what they r trying to achieve,thank GOD the poster himself agreed that he thinks they should have had 2 from each demographics while you are busy shouting tribalism.

first of all,let us remove all this assumption that the fact that people dont shout means something must be right,dont we have our own sense of right and wrong??
my comments were made from a marketing and economic point of view but you had to steer the whole thing to sunny ade and sammyand whose house was painted and what not,the fact of the matter is that the marketers who i presume handled the contract did a shoddy job because they didnt account for a major bloc of potential glo subscribers ans existing glo subscribers especially as glo is in it for the money, secondly either u like it or not,there is tribalism in nollywood and when there is a noticeable slant of the people chosen towards a single ethnic group,then eyebrows start being raised,out of ten people only one is yoruba and no hausa is absurd to say the list, im still trying to see where glo or any company for that matter came out with 8/9 out of ten artistes coming from one single tribe, u can help me out if you know any

[quote author=~Sauron~ link=topic=236077.msg3489791#msg3489791 date=1235071980]I thunk the Ranka Dede mentality has been with our people before the era of bad governance.
Africans love what i call the big man syndrome. It's me and nobody else.
I think it's a curse on the black race. My toy is greater than yours, my shoe was bought abroad while yours wasn't. I get to hear this on children's playgrounds when black kids are playing so these things are genetically programmed in our system.
Sir Alex Ferguson(a British knight) still drives himself around while it's common to see a 25 yr-old banker in Nigeria with his/her drivers, gatemen and dozens of housemaids. We love the master-slave mentality. U gotta admit that.[/quote]while you are totally right,isnt the reasons obvious?few examples

when guys/sugar daddies go clubbing in nigeria,its easy to entice girls with a few thousands because of poverty,they cant do the same here not because british girls dont have lose morals but because they have every basic need,you can walk into a mercedes dealership and drive any car you want out,my neighbour who is a taxi driver just got the latest 2008 s class, imagine one nigerian governor telling his wife to come take a ride in his s class?

sir alex fergusson wouldnt drive around in nigeria because its not safe for him,and the banker in nigeria is doing so because of the added stress of 8 hrs hold up,cheap labour as a result of poverty e.t.c
lets be honest,how many times have you gotten home and wished there was someone to cook for you because you r too tired,you think white poeple dont love these perks like drivers,househelps if not for the cost?

a nanny in the middle class to above average income areas earn about 200pounds at least per day
imagine how much a driver would earn,
how old is russel brand and he has a full time driver?the australian paparazzi guy has a full time driver,there are many celebs in uk not hollywood who have drivers,are they suffering from ranka dede mentality too?

the point im trying to make with all my preamble is simply that,if the focus is on practicing democracy the way it should be,we wouldnt have all these issues,and advocating for an alternative form of democracy when we have not been sucessful in one we have been grappling with for well over 40 years is a recipe for disaster, a country like cuba can have a referendum or whatever to argue for an against communism,even venezuela to an extent because they have had some form of sucess in the form of governance they r using

[quote author=Busy_body link=topic=236077.msg3489638#msg3489638 date=1235069212]The only reason they are crying foul is because Mugabe is no longer willing to dance to their tune, do you really think they'd give a hoot if he remained for a further 60 years if he hadn't stepped on their toes by sending the farmers packing


If you are talking about African kings, Queen Elizabeth nko, how long has she and her family been there feeding off the taxpayers [/quote]thank you jare,you r too much,need i say more?NO!!!!
HOW LONDON AND THE WEATHER
[quote author=~Sauron~ link=topic=236077.msg3489669#msg3489669 date=1235069702]I understand the theory of muppet dictators but who thrusted Abacha and IBB upon NIGERIA?? Queen Elizabeth or Margaret Thatcher??

Africans understand how democracy should work and reh reh reh. It's not rocket science.
However, when it comes to the nitty gritty schitzos, we fall short because of the way we are.
It's only in Africa a man wants to be an eternal leader for life and have people serve him until the day he dies.[/quote]no,queen eliza didnt install abacha but have you ever asked the same way fela asked in beast of no nation(if u r not a fela fan,go n listen to it on you tube)
why didnt they tell us that we made a mistake and dis isnt the democracy they gave us at independence?
they almost crippled libya with sanctions,same as cuba,why not nigeria?imf,wto,un


now you are entrenching the assertion that black people have challenged over the years of the way white people see them,what do you mean the way we are?
so we are not capable of ruling ourselves because we r africans?are you advocating for the view of white slave owners that we are being enslaved for our own good?

i bet you also think its our fault that we r suffering from famine and poverty,
the reason the african leaders wants to die in power is because if you take a mad man on the street,bath and cloth him and then install him as president,what do you expect he wll do?should you now blame the country or democracy?the question should be why are the western democracies not being the moral authority they profess to be ,or the america we see in hollywood movies when it comes to upholding the people's wills, i dont see them saying anything during the abiola saga,even though some have said  madeline albright knew abiola would not be let out alive if he didnt renounce.
[quote author=~Sauron~ link=topic=236077.msg3489669#msg3489669 date=1235069702]The master-slave relationship is genetically indoctrinated in Africans and i am not talking about political leaders alone. . . .even ordinary men in the community believe the world should start and end in their domain. Are those ones too controlled by the western world??
Letz face it. . . . .Democracy is not CUT for us.[/quote]i dont agree with that as well,you are looking at politics while ignoring sociological issues, if you ask an average nigerian for instance,he/she will tell you the government has not been responsible for his electricity,water e.t.c for years,an average nigerian is a local government or island on his or her own,taking care of themselves without govt intervention for years,so its logical for that kind of feeling or attitude to be ingrained in their psyche over the years,the western democracies dont have the same thing because they run a welfare oriented government,they are responsible for providing some basic infrastructures,welfare package e.t.c while the people have to obey specific laws,pay taxes e.t.c

if i generate my own electricity,my own water through my own borehole,i and my other neighbourhoods pay for my own security e.t.c wont i be right in thinking the world starts and ends in my own domain?

Dede1:
What has Biafra got to do within the diplomatic mission of Nigeria in USA? Olowule Rotimi, to the best of my knowledge, introduced the ethnic sentiment and Biafra issue in the correspondence he had with foreign minister. This ranting about out of context is very childish and typical. If this tribal bigot had no intension of casting any aspersion on ethnic community in Nigeria, how did the country that ceases to exist found her way into the diplomatic matters of Nigeria in far away USA?

i hate to say this and i never knew a day like this would ever come but i agree with this comment,i have read both accounts and its clear that the man was totally wrong and out of order in his comments,its just a template of how arrogant so called nigerian leaders are,especially an arm chair officer who didnt even fight on the frontline,as much as i dont like madueke i agree with his memo to the president,tribalists same as racists shouldnt have any place in a modern society

unlike us,a criminal is presumed innocent untill adjudged guilty in a court of his peers,and he wads smart enough to cover his tracks,im just sceptical about any news that emanates from either the nation or compass as gbenga daniel and tinubu r both using it as a slanging tool rather than objective news reporting

[quote author=~Sauron~ link=topic=236077.msg3489372#msg3489372 date=1235064407]But what brought about the thirst for power in the first place??
Are you saying these African leaders wanted to leave power but the western countries forced them to stay??
I know you are African but you have to admit African leaders want to rule for EVER.
Same theory applies to polygamy.[/quote]here r some few examples we can ponder on,where was the western world specifically britain when robert mugabe was cosying up to them?

where was america and britain e.t.c when hitler started killing jews(i intentionally added this to show this attitude transcended just african politics)

who killed or planned thomas sankara's assasination?

who supported and encouraged the late sha of irn for 47 years before the revolution?

who tried removing castro by force?

which nations have been behind almost every coups including the nigerian civil war?

same thing in somalia presently,the british government are directly paying the salaries of the top govt functionaries including the police chief,the former somalian interior minister is a british citizen yet they have closed a blind eye to the atrocities happening there
i could go on and on,and this is me,an ordinary individual not privy to the cia,fbi and mi5 and mi6 records




to answer your question,western countries foisted these leaders on us simply because they will dance to their tunes, and as soon as these leaders rebelled against them,that is when they use their media,neo liberal agencies in economic warfare,united nations e.t.c
the thing is that if we add 10 plus 10,we will always get 20,no other figure,untill we change the figures we r adding up,we complain about democracies and bad leadership,while all of us watch the same cabal replacing themselves with each other or their children and rather than tackling that we r blaming democracy

bola tinube-ex drug baron
ibori-ex credit car fraudster and convicted criminal
the late honourable ibekwe-419
wife of a known 419 kingpin ajudua-an honourable

e.t.c e.t.c tinubu is just one serpent in the nest of serpents,they r qall the same thing

@poster
what about trying an honest and morally upright nigerian?