₦airaland Forum

Hi Uju & Druss,

We should always remember that action/way of life that is not culture congruent can be seen as weird, immoral or even criminal. Different cultures allow/prohibit certaain activities. It has to do with history, custom, culture etc. Homosexuality has been known for millenia in EUrope: Mark Anthony, Julius caesar, Alexander the great, Octavianus Augustus Caesar, all were romoured or confirmed gay/bisexual.  We do not have such a long history of homosexuality. I guess if those girls in boarding schools were not reading Mills & Boon and aping western values, they would not be experimenting with lesbianism. .  For now gayness is not congruent with our culture. In psychiatry, in psychotic conditions here in the West, patients may claim that witches are after them and some claim that God is talking to them and giving them instructions to do miracles. This would be seen here as definitive symptoms of psychosis like schizophrenia. BUT in NAIJA, pentecostal people and some prophets claim to communicate directly with God and holy spirit and are not sent to Yaba, Aro or Uselu because it is acceptable in our culture.
We cannot just accept  a certain way of life because Europeans are doing it. The only thing we have left of African culture is family value. I cannot see how that can continue if Eze and Garuba, or Effiong & Gbolahan, Halima & Iyabo, Adesuwa & Ngozi start knacking each other. Our kids will totally lose orientation. Western societies look after their people and that conceals many of the ills there. We don't have such luxury. Let things evolve. 200 years from now, our descendants can review the situation. Shikena

People should not be discouraged. But tread carefully.
Tribalism is still a big problem. If a man is rich it may be easier. Atiku, Baba Iyabo, IBB, Danjuma and many more married outside their tribes.
Iya Basira running roadside bukateria marrying Emedolu , a vulcanizer from Orlu is a different matter.
Basically social class plays a big role. All those politicians holding Naija hostage let their kids marry intertribally to consolidate family business and connections. Apologies to Nollywood.

BUT in the past,  many women from my hometown who married outside returned home with nothing when widowed or divorced. They had woeful tales to tell about how their in-laws ganged up to drive them away.  Most brought up their kids alone. SAD. I hope things have improved now. I still have those stories very fresh in my memory.

This is a straightforward indictment of the FG  for incompentence, neglect, waste of national resources and wickedness,   In their quest to hold on to power at all cost, they have virtually held the states hostage.
Power that should be delegated to the states (who may have more reasons/incentive to look after their own people) are concentrated in the hands of FG. Though Governors may themselves be corrupt but at least a few have done something positive like Duke, Ngige (despite being election oleburuku) and Fashiola is doing something tangible.

In a tribalistic society like ours, what does an aboki from Dutse for example care about an old woman from Bonny or Orlu? How would a minister from Orlu care about an orphan from Ilaje LG of ondo state and vice versa?

If kidnappers and armed robbers are running riot in Aba, do you think a police commisioner from Kafachan really cares? Without a true confederation we will will just be postponing the inevitable: serious crisis, bloodshed and a very nasty and disorderly breakdown of the country that will set the whole of Africa back many decades. Anyway the Ghanians will simply deport Nigerians back to their devastated homeland. They did it before in the early 1970s.  Libya is doing its level best block land route to Europe. So no place to go.

Paddy-lo God bless you.

Let then name one thing the FG runs that has ever worked apart from from their well-oiled lootocracy.
I pray for all these mobile phone companies everyday despite their substandard service. Gone are those days when I used to try to call home for 5 hours non-stop without getting through NITEL.

The only hope is private sector. Even if they can just provide electricity/light to the extent MTN, Glo, Etisalat and co are providing communication now, Nigeria will be a different place. Charge your meter like you buy recharge card now. Let FG sod off any kind of services for the citizens. If possible let them also handover police, customs and all the other kangaroo pen-pushing departments to private sector to run since FG cannot even run a roadside bukateria as effectively as Iya Basira.

"Die Religion ,  ist das Opium des Volkes". Religion is the opium of the masses. That's the quotation by Karl Marx back in 1843.  All these things are not new.

Religion is  very complex. People become very passionate when you want a very simple discussion. That's why fundamentalists/fanatics are so successful using it.
In the Nigerian environment where every public figure from dictators/presidents to agbero legislators have failed us, people desperately need someone to trust. Life too is too uncertain with road accidents, kidnappers and armed robbers everywhere. People need fortification. When people go abroad, they will have been so programmed.

That's where pastors/prophet cime in to fill the yawning vacuum. Pastors/prophets don't have to fulfil any promise like providing free education, hospital, road, water etc. So they have the latitude to get their own "egunje" in the form of tithes indefinately. If they can "jazz themselves up" in India or Ijebu or whereever, even better. A Ghanian pastor was arrested in East Africa some years ago with a electrical device that he would strap to his arm and releases electric current when he touches people to heal and do miracles! Imagine touching somebody with a pacemaker or prone to severe heart dysrhythmia.

@ Osama10,

Na 4 Tora Bora you do the marriage? You try gan.
Dodging bullets and drones in your cave, your love is still waxing stronger.

@Kwasi & K4,

Congrats for Ghana win.  As for hating Ghana and so on, I feel more Nigerians are positive about Ghana than the other way round.

The rivalry between both is same as between so-called big and small neighbours: Germany vs Austria, France vs Belgium, England vs Scotland etc. Generally in my experience, Ghanians take it more seriously while it is mostly amusing to Nigerians.
I generally tell Ghanian colleagues, friends and in-laws about the flaws we have in Nigeria and praise them for their progress. Since I also know the flaws in the Ghanian system, they generally admit albeit reluctantly.
Fact is we stand to gain from each other's progress. For example, it was announced some months ago by Ghana  that 60% of foreign investment in Ghana comes from Nigeria. Not US or UK or Germany. Banking in Ghana has been massively boosted by Nigerian banks.
But at the heart of the rivalry is the "Ghana must go" issue of early 1980s.  There is considerable ignorance on both sides about this especially the under 30s. Most of my in-laws never heard that Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia (Ghanian prime minister- yes, Ghana once had a prime minster) deported 500,000 Nigerians from Ghana, many of them refugees who fled from Biafra war and many long established in Ghana and forfeited large amounts of money and properties, just a few years before Nigeria oil boom that saw Ghanians coming to Nigeria.  So we have treated each other bad enough. The funny thing is that no other people are closer to each other historically. My Ga-Adagbe friends are aware that they trace their origin to Benin Kingdom in Nigeria. Some who don't want to admit outright say yes  we travelled through Benin Kingdom during our migration. Migration from where? Egypt, Nubia or from Maya kingdom? Ga-Adagbe make up 8% of Ghanian population.

WTF are 62 senators going to do in SA? Are they going to hold a NA session there? Or are they going there to PLOT to remove their leader again? Chei!! Which other country has even 20 lawmakers there? They never get tired of jamboree and collection of allowance.

Some people no get shame. Dem dey go clap hand for who win (SA). SA does not have more resources than Naija and their fans don't like football more than Naija fans. Naija is not big enough to host world cup. Among those senators will be many retired military this and that. Those who helped various dictators to bring Naija to its knees. They just escaped the wrath of Ogun, Sopana and others this time. They should change their ways. First they must stay at home.

Many will now go and start doing thanks giving and rewarding prayer warriors when in fact it was a warning to change their ways.

The so-called court marriage is just another way of aping the Europeans. One funny guy said "you can damn the traditional marriage" .

I wonder when the Dutch, French, British and co will start discussing whether to damn their own way of doing things and copy African way for whatever reason. Does inferiority complex have no limit?

For the benefit of those who don't know: Nigeria constitution recognises both registry and traditinal marriage as equal. This replication epitomises our confusion. Of being neither here nor there.
If you are not in the West where paper work issue makes church or registry documentation imperative, traditional should suffice.   Except of course to please your pastor etc.
You think a piece of paper will stop a randy guy from bleeping another babe or even a housegirl if he really wants to? A piece of paper also will not change the manners of any inferior wife material.

Slippery ball ke,  Enyeama put sand paper for hand?  Yeye workman dey blame his tools. Selection too political sef. The press praise their people to high heavenss.  
Trust them, they can remove ladder from under their legs, fiam, dem no go waste time.

@blacksta,

Funkybaby will return home when she has collected her full share of colonial reparation fund .

Hey blacksta, I wonder how grateful they were to your ancestors when Lugard was brutalising, dividing and ruling them, and his bleeping LovePeddler naming Nigeria in a fit of or>ga>sm .

Maybe you are not African afterall. You think all those things have been forgotten.

I just followed Argie-Naija game on BBC. The condescending punditry by a bunch of mediocre footballer/ex-footballers and diving cheat is sickening. Despite all the touted strength of the Argies, they only got one past Enyeama. All those sellout people can keep licking oyinbo yansh and support them. May they have jedi-jedi too.   Ewu

@ Ololo,

It is actually quite a common problem although most don't admit it. But perhaps self-service takes away the "drive" to toast babes. That urge to do it is one of the things that drive guys to go after a babe. Forget about all the rap. Animals don't do self service. Have you ever observed a he-goat going after a she-goat? He will not stop until he gets it.

You will have noticed that your desire to toast "that delectable babe" kind of wanes after self-service. The desire builds up again until next self-service.

Try to analyse why you cannot approach babes. No confidence? Why? Feel not cool or "fine boy" enough? Work on it. I am by no means a fine boy like Mike Ezuruonye or Ramsey Nouah but I soon realised that you don't have to be. But again I cut my "toasting teeth" with white European ladies so I don't know where you are or if the story would have been different with Naija babes. But once you have confidence to toast, you toast any babe, black, white, yellow, even alien

@ Poster,

It can be quite tough trying to encourage a shy guy. You don't want him to feel emasculated if you take the initiative too much. Some people feel inadequate for various reasons. He would certainly sense it if you take the driving seat.

He feels you are probably too exposed and cosmopolitan for him. Rumours of flight attendants marrying/dating presidents and "big men" have been heard before. If he runs a shop at Alaba market, he may feel not exciting enough for you.

Show interest in what he does. Tell him you think people in his line of business are really ingenious, using their brains and skills, not relying on monthly salary and as many stuff as you can muster. Boost his ego. Don't go on about how you lodged in 5 star hotels with one minister or Alhaji in your flight attendant days or how you sh. gged a randy pilot on board, when you discuss with him .
am not saying you did these things but you get the idea)
Downplay how exciting your job was. You can say you missed people who really matter like your family, friends and him as you were away quite a lot. GL .

Poster,
There is this show off attitude of some guys visiting from home.  You work hard, sponsor even disatant relatives through schools, u r first to be asked for money in emergency, then they come telling you how much they like home and will never never stay in this horrible London where there's no rest.  Then they want to use your phone card, want one of  your cells phones to take back, stay for free, use things in the house/water/electric roughly etc.

One is not envious/jealous of anyone but people bragging about how they are making it  at home appear to be calling you fool for caring for those at home often at the expense of your own comfort here.  Last time, a relation occupying a minor political office was bragging about how he has built a 4-flat building after 18 months in office. This was in a family ocassion that everybody was relying on you to sponsor everything. How will you look at somebody bragging about his embezzlement and mocking your dedication and hardwok in London.

As for people suffering in London, if they had a better option in Naija, most would not be in London in the first place. London economy is based on people working hard not nepotism, contract-seeking and corruption. That must be Chinese to most home-based guys.

At Princek12,

Am not a bulldog to attack!

For sure we have many dialects  but many dielects are related. e.g. Ibo dialects: Ikwerre, Anioma and Eastern Ibo are Igboid people, Edos, Isoko, urhobo and some others are Edoid, and the Yorubas and Hausas/fulani are largely homogeneous. Idoma, Tiv and others still have a commonality.

We have only been so fragmented because we don't know otherwise.  What I mean is that Ghana also has tens of dialects but almost everyone  understands Twi. US was made of different Europeans speaking different languages: English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and some Irish-speaking and other minorities. English was only narrowly adopted over German as US national language.

If we had more unity, a language (indegeneous) could have been adopted post independence to be taught alongside English as official language with the agreement that teaching of other regional native tongues will be equally funded. Hausa (am not from the North) would have been  ideal beause of widespread use in West Africa. But the Igbos, Yorubas, Etsako, Nupe,  just name it,  will say why not their own language. English as we know it did not become intelligible to all Englishmen until Shakespeare's English became standard English. Before that a Yorkshire man could not understand the rambling of a Londoner! German and French people also previously had diffrent dialects. Danish & Norwegian were basically one language 150 years ago.

Then spare a thought for those raising kids in diaspora if kids growing up at home cannot speak mother tongue.

It is a big challenge trying to teach kids native tongue.  Back in the day, we were given strokes of the cane for daring to speak VANERCULAR at school. That's how efficient oyinbo brainwashing was even after on-paper-independence.

Ordinarily noisy boys would suddenly become as quite as deaf and dumb because they couldn't muster a lot in English!!
I am always perplexed when you call home, kids pick phone, you are talking to them in native tongue and they r replying in English. Terrible.

Somebody once mentioned here on NL that if you cannot do science & technology in ur native tongue, a country can hardly succeed in technology.

Does any know what LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY is called in their mother tongue?

@ SapeleGuy,

Don't bother to preach to those to biased to learn.  Historically, Urhobos/Isokos have been the best allies of the Edos in those days of war. Anyone with a basic knowledge of history will know that.

My grandpa gave vast areas of land to deltans in Edo state to farm and process palm oil on. Their children born on that land are successful people today.
I asked my dad how they came to be on those land, he said his own dad saw the urhobos/Isokos as bona fide people of Bini. The man believed that dialect and geographical location didn't change that. perhaps because my grandpa was well-travelled and knew history.
So I was not surprised when Gen. David Ejoor (rtd) said something similar in his book.

Again manifest in this exchange here is profound ignorance. Only few of you here can  boast of a better education or a more successful career (not obaship) than the Oba of Benin.  Most of you talking of modernity do not (because of tribalism that has ravaged  Nigeria)  know the history of Benin.
An Oba of Benin was the first Oba to become a Christian in West Africa. The oldest christian cathedral in Nigeria stands in Benin.  Even the so-called pentecostal thing that now has many goats and chickens starting up also began in Benin.

When you see the way ignorant Nigerians rubbish the culture of other Nigerian tribes, it is obvious that Nigeria as an entity has no future. No entity has a future has a future without mutual respect.
Today, you see Yorubas singing praises of Awolowo to high heavens. If at  all Nigeria has real heros, it must be Ovoramen, Jaja of Opobo and the like who knew that PRESERVING ONE's INDEPENDENCE is FAR BETTER OF HAVING TO GIGHT FOR IT LATER.
The discrimination that the British started against the Benis for daring to face the British has been continued by the so called-majority tribes. Many Binis do well abroad. They have to. Afterall they have no chance in a tribalistic Nigeria. Except you are one of the Obsekis and co known historically for leaking the A>R>S>E>s of the Yorubas.

What do Nigerians benefit from aping Western way of life? Racism. The Indians, Chinese and others are way ahead of us. They are not christian.

The fact is many other Nigerians just envy the stability and worldwide respect the Bini royalty has BUT they will rather mock it due to envy and tribalism. At least Benin princes are not fighting over the throne nor is Omo n'Oba beating his queen all over the place.  People go on about this religious thing as if they were in Jerusalem 2000 years ago.  They are just following a trend. Follow follow mentality. Maybe 25 years from now, Hinduism or Shintoism will be the in thing. Fela was really correct.

If i may digress, another funny thing you see on Nairaland is the claim that oba of Benin was selling slaves. In fact, Benin Kingdom was the probably the first to ban slavery. And the kingdom declined economically while nearby kingdoms prospered on slavery. Poor education in Nigeria and a curiculum biased toward pandering to ethnic majorities has produce many ignorants. Has anyone read the biography of Olaudah Equiano (an ethnic Ibo and citizen of Benin Kiingdom)?

Poster, I think you are just talking of your limited experience about what obtains here in the UK.  You cannot generalise like that.

My colleagues in health schools across UK, over 30% have a PhD, some 55%  an MSc so you can imagine how many have a BSc. I am talking of people in health schools at Oxbridge, Imperial College and University of Lodon (UCL, GKT, Queen Mary, Saint George's). That's people I know. I am one of those who left it late. But a superb (public) secondary education back home in the good old days stood me in good stead.

Things have changed here in the last decade. Certain areas are a lot more competitive and you have people who have reached the peak in other careers switching. Recent economic crisis has made many people who missed out on uni (either because of the belief that you don't need uni or didn't make the grade back then), to return to uni.
Germany is another country with a lot of mature undergrads. We all know that they are one of the most advanced countries. It is quite common for civil servants there to have several degrees.

Many of those people applying for 1st job at 28 in Nigeria only just managed to go to uni through sheer determination.  Many would have liked to graduate at 21 if they had been taken to London. Let those with opportunity realise that not every has it.
My niece graduated in Naija at the age of 19. She now works for an insurance company. Her parents were able to afford sending her to uni a year before she was due to finish secondary.

A program on TV 3 years ago in the UK showed that Nigerians, the French followed by Indians spend the longest time at Uni. Because they they do longer and more degrees. It is widely seen as an achievement.

In the future these well-trained Nigerians both at home and abroad will turn out to be the only true resource Nigeria actually has. Forget about oil that will dry up or become irrelevant one day when the West get a cheap enough alternative. Even the theory-trained people at home will be easier to teach practical if things fall in place.

What the Oba did is clearly not correct. Not a treatment fit for a queen at all. On the other hand I'd rather he did it in the public than within the walls of the palace. She could have been killed within the palace (even if not intended) and it could have been covered up easily. At least now it has started a debate about whether a man can mercilessly beat up his wife for any reason whether in  private or in public in Nigeria.
The Deji may be unwittingly helping to educate all of us about what's still happens frequently at home. That Olori Balanle of a woman was only one of many anonymous Oloris and Lolos holed up in palaces and harems all over Nigeria only a few days ago. Maybe she can now use her newfound media exposure to educate our boys about respect for women (I think it's way too late for the old school to learn).
But we must remember that underneath the crown and regalia, the Deji is just another Nigerian old school guy. Sadly for some of them, giving a woman a sound beating is just as normal as chewing cola nut or drinking ogogoro.
Despite the Oba's rather unregal public show, our Obas, Igwes, Ezes, Obis, Emirs and so on are not infamous for street-fighting as Nigeria is for 419. Let's assume that it's just an unfortunate one-off thing. A public apology to the Olori, his children, subjects, women,  Nigerians in general and fellow kings should be a dignified exit from this fiasco. It is, no matter how we see it, a domestic violence case, which in Nigeria can still be settled within the family. I hope the traditional prime minister, if he was quoted correctly, does not have an agenda of his own. Although his condemnation is commendable, he should be doing that privately. Loyalty is even more important in difficulties. Royalty and marriage/family are only few of the surviving institutions that we developed millenia b4 the Europeans came. They still have useful roles as custodians and some of them are pretty good.

@ chiogo

Bring up a child in the way he should go, if u r a christian u can complete the rest.
Proverbs 22:6

You send kids to school in the hope that they will learn there. A minority doesn't. You go to hospital for treatment hoping to recover. A minority will not return.
By and large you hope your kids will be among the majority that will listen to their parents and grow up to be the pride of family, friends and nation(s).

So teaching kids to respect elders, obey rules and laws, work hard is far better than leaving them to their own devices. isn't that so honey?

@ Poster
I wonder why you are surprised. Since every aspect of Nigerian institutions have gone downhill, why should the police be any different. Like someone already said maybe both guns are only half good. The equation might be that 1 semi-good + 1 semi-good= 1 good gun.   . I wouldn't be surprised if those illitrate big belly police bosses actually think so. I think the FG is even lucky to have illiterates to join the police considering how low moral is.
I think it is only due to high unemployment these days. How many driven, motivated people with other options will join the police these days?
If you are a criminal, it is the perfect job to do with esay access to guns that you hire out and take your cut of proceeds.
My aunt retired as a supritendent in the 1990s. Back in late 70s and early 80s when policewomen used to wear black skirt and white shirt, her clean smart appearance was enough to make you want to join the police . And then they distroyed it.
If state governors/lawmakers were not too currupt, maybe state police would be a good idea. Only Fashola cannot do it all.
Thank God the bullets in those guns didn't release accidentally and kill innocent passers-by. Those guns should by now be deposited in ogun shrines or give them to ojogun (blacksmith) to melt.

Poster don't bother giving yourself hypertension. We are already in trouble enough.

African culture is clearly under attack everywhere. It seems virtually everybody including Africans themselves have been clearly brainwashed to believe that African culture is inferior. It seems colonialism and neo-colonialism have done a terrible job.

While I do not expect my wife to kneel down and greet me, it doesn't mean that in certain situations it cannot be appropriate. Asians (particularly Indians) have managed to stick to their traditions in diaspora. In the UK, they are by far the most successful ethnic group. Law, medicine, engineering among others are dominated by them. They also have the most stable marriage/family. Oh their women are also the most successful.
The desire of the African person to copy western values whosale while westerners couldn't give a fc, k about our tradition is ridiculous. There are certain things in other cultures like indian, chinese and arab which their ladies may not be very happy about, but they do not use that to denounce their culture from the rooftop. Value what's yours and develop it and others will respect you. The Queen of England visited an asian temple in the UK and removed her shoes. I wonder when she's going to ever visit Sango, sopana, orunmila or Ogun shrine Nobody ever got anywhere by just imitation.

Someone mentioned dicapitating people when a king dies, killing people for worship and so on was not uniquely black African.  It was common in ancient Egypt. Depending on a Pharaoh's wishes, his queen, wisemen and other servants (those in a position to poison him for example) may find themselves buried with the dead king under the pretext to serve him in the afterlife!! In reality it was a "kind of if I die, you sef go die". In pre-Culumbian America, the Inca and some other ameridians regularly sacrificed people to gods and in funerals of kings. Archeologists have found ritual victims in recent years. Killing people for occult and worship of various gods was also common in pagan Europe. For some who were killed, they were actually volonteers to ward off diseases, famine, war etc in some cultures. Old style kamikazi one might say. Cultures continue to evolve. By the way, I train my kids to kneel down to greet elders. That way, they are unlikely to snatch a purse from an old lady at the bus stop or break into a house and torture an old couple somewhere in a quiet street in the UK as it happens here frequently.

@e36991

Mrs Fumilayo Kuti is one of our greats. You will have noticed that I said , and many more. I didn't even mention my mum who of course is one of the many great women (no nepotism).
I hope you are not a hermaphrodite yourself because your profile does not show your gender.

@Londoner

I do not particularly care is somebody decides to fancy the hairy bony backside of a fellow bloke!! Kele  can do whatever  pleases him. But you cannot condemn a particular culture simply because it doesn't pander to your individual lifestyle. Last time Elton John said they should do away with all religions.

As for 1967 and so on, considering that homosexuality has been very prevalent and widely known in Europe for millenia, both in ancient Greece and Rome, it took a pretty long time to be legally accepted. Britain gradually came under Roman influence and by extension Greek influence as since AD43! Before that  both Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar had male lovers, the Hegemon of Macedon (Alexander) was also widely rumoured to be have had at least one gay lover.  Yet it was only in 1967 that it became legal in England. I had the opportunity to be educated with middle and upper class Brits. I know what most think of gays.

Thus, the social evolution took a very long time. We in Africa should be given enough time too for our "gay evolution".  Let outsiders not force their new-found social norms down our throat. OH LONDONER, a British minister concealing his gayness just lost his portfolio!! So Britain  doesn't seem to be an El Dorado for gays afterall. LONDONER, a male who is 18 to 21 years old can be called a boy. So your paedophilia talk is bizarre. I relate daily with gay Brits and I know better.

I was about to start a thread on this last Friday but I hesitated because I thought nobody even knows Okereke outside of UK.

Okereke has again demonstrated the kind of self-loathing that only black people are capable of sepecially those who want to distance themselve from some negative views of their land of origin/motherland to please other people, improve personal profile or get some other percuniary gains.

Okereke probably doesn't know the history of UK well enough because until 1861, people were hanged for sodomy/buggery

Until 1967, people were sent to jail for sodomy in England. So he should not make it appear as if UK has always been gay-friendly. Oh Nigeria does NOT  have official history of hanging people for being gay. Talking about women's rights, there are still some countries where women cannot drive a car! Prominent people originate from those countries and they do not go to media houses and rubbish their land of ancestry.
Nigerian women can do any job, occupy any position (judiciary, civil service, government/politics, academia), vote, own properties, most can chose their partner/husband and more.
Historically Queen Amina, Queen Idia, Queen Moremi, Madam Tinubu, and later Margaret Ekpo and many more are well-known for their abilities and contribution and are our heroines. So Mr Okere we have known for centuries that our women are great.
Joy Ogwu, Alele Williams, Ngozi, Kema, Dora, Ifueko, Diezani and many more represent the modern Nigerian woman and what they can do if given  a chance. For a country jumbled together by Britain with the intention of perpetual subjugation, WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO but the Nigerian woman's condition can only get better. Problems Nigerian women face is just a reflection of the wider societal challenges.

What has Okereke ever done to EMPOWER a single Nigerian woman if he really cares If he's angry because he cannot go and sodomise desperate Nigerian boys, let him say so. He would be welcome in Phuket . There must be a more decent way to get noticed for MBE or OBE.

Good job there. But I have to say that oral English is poorly taught in many countries. It is also not our mother tongue. You learn a language by imitation.
You basically learn to pronounce things the way you hear people say them. If your dad has several degrees and still says SI NAIT, it's going to be hard to know it's wrong. Our schools don't have good language labs, so even English Language graduates, who go on to become teachers, cannot even pronounce things properly.

I know of a Nigerian lady here in London who used to believe that she had superb diction until she arrived in here. She said people could hardly understand her English initially.
Some of the things you mentioned like more better, more bigger, are actually used to emphasize and exaggerate things by Caribbeans and are not not meant to be proper English.
Social network culture is not helping things. With stuff like dunno, lemme, gr8t, c u, and so on, kids of today will struggle to spell things properly.

@ nicefella,


At 33 you are NOT too old. But you need to consider a few things. Are you married? Have kids? Responsibilities? Need to earn money? Full-time or part-time?. I was also a mature student though not quite as old then.

It is a big challenge. Not academic but social if you have other responsibilities. I graduated with a better degree class than most younger colleagues despite having to work and earn money. That does not mean that you are more clever but more focused because you know time is not on your side. Also having done  a few things in your life like work/business/being a landlord/husband/fiance etc, you may be able to manage both time and money better. If you are married, make sure your wife supports you before going ahead. Otherwise it can become very lonely along the way.

In fact  I still study now because I enjoy it.  However, I am in Europe and I do not know exactly how it compares.

@Odunnu,

Sorry honey 4 baptizin u wif anoda name!
Anyway, Odunnu by any other name would still escape da rare mistake of KREATION 

Sweety, ya mouth self. I nor no say dem don invent radio where dem 4 dey see celebrity 4 Gidi. Poor diasporian me. I must be missing out on that naija technology. Must be part of vision 20:20.

@ Kennyblues,

                       Well, where should I start. Please let's avoid all that pseudointellectual exercise in the name of trying to analyse something that is far more complex than you imagine.

I am not an Ibo. However, I believe Nigeria is so backward because Ibos have been sidelined in Nigeria in real terms. Forget about figureheads in certain positions like Ogbulafor. I do not claim that Ibo are saints but the proportion of principled intellectuals is still more among Ibos. Forget tribal sentiments and be honest. We are marginalising such innovative people at our own cost.

The S westerners and Northerners have dominated Nigerian politics and what have we got to show for it? Less than 3000MW electricity for 150 million people. I do not think an Igbo man could have done worse than IBB, Abacha and Baba Iyabo. Ibos are largely republican people and would not think twice before criticising "one of their own" if he begins to abuse power to the detriment of the majority.

Don't you think people's integrity should matter more than their tribe? Let me name a few Ibos who have written their names in GOLD: Emeka Anyaokwu, Ebitu Ukiwe, the late Dr Okapara & Dr Orizu and Prof. Humphrey Nwosu (of June 12 fame). Ngozi, Kema and Dora are proving their mettle. A certain Zik of Afrika happened to be Onitsha man.