₦airaland Forum

Really an American Invasion. Please someone should tell me how that will go down with the American ppl. C'mon, America is just recovering from one of the worst economic crisis and you think the Republicans will agree to bring out a dime to support invasion? The speed at which it will be voted down will be faster that the speed of light. Oh America will be going in but not now. Libya still has oil after all. We will just have to wait and see how this plays out.

toytuns:
Hi Meddler, which particular product of Laura Mercier do you want.
I know an Avon Rep that also help in getting people other brands too. She is in US but ships to
Nigeria (Lagos) regularly.
you can contact her on help@stylebybike.com
this is her website www.stylebybike.com

Thank you. I need the Mineral loose powder. I'll look into it. But would have preferred if she shipped to abuja.

Anyone know if this product is sold in Nigeria. Specifically abuja? Thanks

I was wondering if anyone is familiar with this brand and if u know if it's sold in Nigeria. Specifically Abuja. Thanks

Pls don't tell me that I'm the only one here with a criminal justice and psychology degree.

Just curious as to how many ppl graduated or  are studying Criminal Justice as their major.
I graduated a couple years ago with a degree in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Forensic Criminology. I figured we could use this as an avenue to share ideas or frustration with the criminal justice system in our country.

I'm going with the citizens because I believe we have been infected with a serious disease and we are not aware of this. This disease is only cured when we leave Nigeria for a foreign country (and I don't mean for another African country. It is my belief that all Africans think and act alike). From the way we drive especially the "two stupid goats syndrome" (well the actual story is about two goats and at the end of the story, one of the goat end up giving way so the other can pass) which is what I call it because in our case both drivers want the right of way!!! I actually saw a driver get trapped in an in flow of traffic because he just had to cross the intersection right at the same moment he saw incoming traffic. I don't know if he was trying to test the law of physics of 2 matter occupying the same space .

Anyway, like I keep saying if we want to change our country, we need to change our collective thinking and the way we treat one another. Apparently, we love going to church but hate practicing what we hear.

OMG!!! this is the funniest shit I've heard. Is Dic.k Cheney guilty? hells yeah. Will anything happen? no effing way.
This is the same dude who shot his friend during a hunting trip and his friend not D. Cheney offered a public apology to Cheney. This is the same guy who created his own arm of government during the Bush administration and was impervious to any form of investigation. And believe it or not - Cheney ran that country for 8 years not Bush. Bush was merely a puppet.
So EFCC trying to flex it's little muscle is quite cute. That Waziri lady needs to have her head checked. U haven't removed the spec in our country's eye and u're looking for the spec in another country's eye so to speak.

Hotstepper:
@Meddler, I guess we are in the same batch, Batch C that just finished camp on the 12th of Novermber, Menh, I made up my mind to have fun in camp and I did. The organizational aspect at my own camp was good but the surrounding was just the same as your own. No washrooms etc that I dont even think for the 3 weeks I stayed dere that I pooed up to 5 times

It was great that I met alot of people with different characters and mehn, the military commandants killed me with laughter. Unless most foreign students that picked Abj nd Lagos, I picked somewhere in the south-south and I think I was the only foreign student in my camp. Overall, I had mad fun nd will go back if they asked me to,

Yep. Glad u had fun. Being a chick lack of facilities was a major issue for me and that kind of killed it for me. But the only day i can honestly say i had fun was the endurance trek. Once we reached our destination it was major party time. It was great. I was really looking forward to the camp fire and hoping it was gng to top the endurance trek but that was a major let down. The commandants were quite hilarious I have to say so. But the first week of camp was hardest for me. I don't know how i survived lol.
So are u doing ur PA in the South-South too?

Dis Guy:
LMAO was only wishing; I mean its 2010 after all,

I have always wondered why simple things are made difficult, going to Abuja to register then going back to collect just a letter is an absolute waste especially for people living far away in say Sokoto or Calabar

everything could be done online, including sending us the shirt and boot

Well let me not spoil the surprise for when u finally get to camp. U're going to think someone put u in a time capsule and transported you back to the dark ages

Dis Guy:
One more question to add to axeman's

Did you get the call up later delivered to you or you have to go back to Abuja to pick it up?

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! sorry i had to get that outta the way. And Naija to make anything easy or convenient? Yeah that will be a first. No u will have to pick it up in Abuja. I live in Abuja so that wasn't an issue for me.

Sorry my internet was down 
axeman85

thanks for shedding light on it jare. as for me after the 3weeks , i will be absconding sharp sharp. hope u were able to find your size as per di coper uniform sha and di booth abi na canvass no too small or big/. lol

Nope did not find my size in any of their clothing/shoes. I had to re-size my shirt and trouser and the shoes were too big for me I look like Bonzo the clown wearing them lol. Most everyone had to get their uniforms re-sized.


sorry just want to find out some info. when did u get to 9ja, when did u do your registration ? was it at abuja or lagos ? how many days did it take for registration ? and wen did u get your callup letter and also wen did camp open and wen did it close ?

arrived in Nigeria on August and registration started in September. Can't remember the date though. Registration takes place only in Abuja and it took me a day to complete it. There will be a lot of people there so be prepared. Makes copies of all your documents too. We got our call up letter in October. I believe camp started on 10/28 - the date was pushed up and we officially left camp on 11/12. They let us out early due to the Sallah celebration.
Hope that helps

Cosmass:
Thanks guys for the contributions though it's still a little difficult for me to decide and by the way what is the camp life like? Is it true, during camp, showers are taken outside?

Yep and every other bodily function hehe.

I just completed my 3 weeks camp on Friday and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I came back from US after being away for 10 years. The environment and surrounding were unfit for human habitation. Imagine having no facilities. Everyone had to get creative. The place smelled so badly. Honestly the place should be condemned and in any other country it would have been. We were leaving in our shit literally. The officials and the entire process was so disorganized it took hours to get a simple task completed. We had a lot of foreign trained students and not many ppl were excited about the whole camp experience. IMHO the whole NYSC should be scraped. It is completely unnecessary. The only positive thing about camp was that u met ppl from different backgrounds. Well I just collected my posting letter and about to embark on the remaining part of my service.

As a foreign trained student who earned their first degree/Bachelors outside the country u will get your first choice. That is not even an issue. I guess ppl confuse that. If u earned ur first degree in Nigeria and then did ur Masters outside the country u won't be given that same preference. So don't think because u just came back that u're considered foreign trained. According to NYSC they don't group you into that category. So if you just came back to naija after completing your Masters outside the country but earned ur first degree in Nigeria, I suggest u start working it.

Long story short I would not advise you against it or for it. U can only make that decision for yourself. I can only tell u that if you decide to do your NYSC just come prepared and ready for anything. I can bet u've never experienced anything like this in ur entire life . And become familiar with the word Otondo lol

does anyone know if they take corpers

Thanks a bunch!!!!! I have some sightseeing for this weekend.

LAX89:
Thoru u dey waka o! Next time I come Naija, na u I wan dey follow from now on

I know right . Abeg girl where Aguiyi Ironsi street. Is that in Wuse? I also heard that they have a really good bakery in town. Any idea where?

I'm amazed at what I'm reading. I feel like u guys are now missing the point of sex ed. Or maybe I have the wrong impression of sex ed. Sex ed should be about teaching kids how to be safe and protect yourself from STD and unwanted pregnancy. How did pleasure and everything else u guys have been talking about come into this? Again that's why we need a qualified professional to teach our kids about such important topic.
Sex is as natural as breathing but again it's how we approach it. They need to be taught that it also comes with a lot of responsibility. We all realize that kids are learning and experiencing things at a faster rate than when we were kids. They need the proper tools now more than ever.

I remember when I did my internship at a middle school. I was having a discussion with one of the female students who was about 11 or 12 years old and I was shocked when she told me that some of the girls were accusing her of performing MouthAction on a classmate. I about fell off from my seat.

At that age I still believed that storks still delivered babies to mom and dad's front steps.

LouisThoru:
Baby - i got more for you.

Transcorp - Night club, live band, swimming, bar/lounge, steak meat - etc- Nice but beware of ladies of easy virtue, and not to be seen as one, go with a man.

Crystal Lounge - Aminu Kano - Every Night - dance, drink and food - Beware of ladies of easy virtue, no entry if u are alone.

Soho Lounge - Aminu Kano - Nice and nice

The Dunes - Shopping, Restaurant, - Extremely nice place to be (Next to Aussie Embassy on Aguiyi

Roof Top Cafe - British Council - Nice, cool and classy

Eat.com - Aminu Kano - nice eatery and take away.

Play Night Club/Cafe 24 - Opposite Peniel Apartments- Classy, classy, classy Thursday/Friday. not good on Saturdays.

Nice!  Keep 'em coming. I've been to Roof Top Cafe @ British Council -They had really good pizza but hella pricey and the service was so sloooowwww.
Where exactly is The Dunes located? And Metro plaza ?

To all my Abuja peeps (and I know we are more than a handful here ) I was wondering if we could make a list of things to do in Abuja, places to see, where to eat, where to shop and the night life. Please if you could also include both day time and night time activities that will be great. I'll go first. I'm still new to Abuja but I have managed to find some interesting places. Places I've visited:

Silverbird - Movies, restaurants, Bar/lounge (Amber Lounge) bookstores, stores (Samsung & Nike stores and more stores can't quite recall their names), Standard Chartered Bank and mini boutiques.
A decent place to hang out, watch movies, window shopping, actual shopping, eat and drink. The stores and restaurants are quite fancy and very expensive.The Amber Lounge is a nice chill out zone but their drinks are very expensive.

Ceddi Plaza- Same as Silverbird but has more varieties. They have a Bar/lounge, Kilimanjaro restaurant and clothes & shoe stores. Again quite an expensive place to shop.

Grand Square Supermarket- A very expensive place to shop. But you will find a lot of Western products. Came across a Betty Crocker Cake mix . And don't forget their ice cream joint, they have good ice cream.

Amigos Supermarket - little bit more affordable than Grand Square but not as much selection as Grand Square.

Yahuza Suya- Very good suya. Beef, chicken, kidney, gizzard, and shwarma. There's one very close to Silverbird. Less than 10 mins walk from Silverbird

Shwarma Joint in Maitama- It is opposite or close to Transcorp Hilton. My friend told me that it was popular joint with very good shwarma. Still planning on checking it out.

This is what I have so far. Please feel free to add yours. I'm still looking for more things to do here

Well in a perfect world, sex education should begin with the parents. But we know we don't live in a perfect world and most parents don't know how to tackle that issue with their kids or only base their talk on one side of the issue. It's very important we begin to incorporate it in a child's upbringing. We are now in an information era and believe me these kids will learn about it one way or the other. As they say knowledge is power. If we continue to let them leave in ignorance bliss well we have seen the harm that can cause.
We can't continue to hide under the guise of immorality. The fact is that sex is an important topic and should be taught to kids whether in a home setting or school setting. But it is important to present both side of the issue. You cannot make it one sided because you are not presenting the topic accurately.

Thank you all for your replies. I'm just given into the fact that I should just sit my bum at home at stare at the ceiling. I've gone out myself and quite honestly Abuja is not as unsafe. Off course u never know when u enter the wrong cab or at the wrong place at the wrong time. Well kubwa also is relatively a lil secure as long as you are keeping close to where u know. We still have Okadas around here. I've been to the movie theater but after a while it gets old. I was looking forward to the library at the British Council only to find out that the library has been shut down.
Now please don't get me wrong b'cos as I said I'm not in the habit of gng out every night even when I lived by myself. I just want to know that they won't make such a huge deal when I want to. I'm definitely not going out at night by myself. I never did in the States don't know why I will start now. I just want to know that if I'm invited somewhere I don't have to give the lame excuse of gng home b'cos I reside in my parent's house.
I guess at this point I'm just bloody pissed, bored and tired. I haven't stayed this long without doing anything.

Believe me the traffic here during the daytime is horrendous but once it gets dark it eases a lil bit. Yesterday I managed to go to a friend's house during the daytime to hang and watch the 1st season of Dexter (love that show). Only to come back at 5pm and my sister told me that my mom was getting worried that I had been gone for so long. Mind u I told her where I was heading to.

Someone suggested connecting cable in my room. Believe me I already said I was going to do that and that idea was squashed. Go out during the daytime 2 days in a row and I'm already facing an onslaught of questions.

I remember being in the States and my sister calling and complaining about all this stuff and I kept thinking that she was overreacting lol.
I just can't get over the fact that everyone still treats you or look down on you like a child. I understand that your parents will always consider you as a child no matter how old you are and that's perfectly fine. But there's a time when they should feel comfortable enough to extend that leash and trust that they did a good job in rearing you. I've being in Naija for 3 months and I don't get that feeling of a youth culture or young adult culture like I did in the States or when I visited other countries. Then again where has my ass been to lolololol??

chaircover:
LoL it reminds me of when I came home on holiday from school and told my mum I wanted to go to an all night party. She didn't even glance up when she told me with a straight face that no problem; but be back by 9pm     

@poster, whether you like it or not, you are a baby in the eyes of your parents and their first instinct is to want to protect you. You will become a parent someday & you will have the exact same fears over your children.

You are a woman and at a delicate stage of your life & there are people out there ready to exploit your not being streetwise in Nigeria; even so called friends cannot always be trusted. A slipped tablet in a drink can spell trouble etc.

For now try and find ways to entertain yourself at home and most probably when you start dating and your parents feel comfortable with the fella, then I am sure they wont mind him taking you out.

You can try and talk to them about delaying the "must be home" time by an hour or so but quite frankly there is nothing much to gain by that extra hour cos you will just be looking at your watch and not be able to relax.

I think what they are also trying to do is to limit the likelihood of you being see out too much, so that when Mr Right does come knocking no one is going to be able to spread any nasty gossip/rumor about you. This is Nigeria and someone always knows someone else. Basically they are trying to protect your honor & keeping you clean

Just think of it as a phase and will pass. See your parents as only trying to protect you.

In regards to the bolded part believe me I am well aware of this. Everyone is in your business. Such is life in naija and i'm guarding my rep.

sms4health:
You are not over reacting.

It can be tough having to live by such rules when you have been independent for a while.

The truth is you have no choice, as long as its their house, they can make the rules.

Don't waste time being angry at them, use the time you have now to cement your bond.

You may never have this chance again.

I'm actually not angry and understand that they are only concerned for my safety but it irks me that this is something that has been going on since I was 16 years. Then It was I could not go out on a date in the afternoon because I might get pregnant. To me I see it as a control issue. If I go out two days in a row even in the afternoon I'm getting the 3rd degree. Yes Kubwa is not safe but I'm not consistently putting myself in harms way. Any way I've resolved to start looking for a place ASAP. That way this will not be a cause for me to hold any hard feelings against my parents.
I kinda hoped by this time they would have chilled with this. Anyway thank you all for your input.

ifyalways:
Why dont u get cable in the house as u are a tube-gurl 
Kubwa is not very safe too.

Believe me that's what i wanted to do initially. But my Dad hugs the TV and we don't usually have light everyday. That's why I got the internet thinking I could keep up with my shows but the internet here is so slow it's painful. And I'm using the fastest connection in Abuja according to popular opinion.

Ladyjide:
Their house their rules!! I would personally work hard in order to move out ASAP!! Just remain safe!

u're quite right. Oh well guess I'll just have to tolerate this a lil bit longer.

deniyor:
Get your own place. Abuja is a safer place. As long as you don't go telling everyone you are from abroad. Which part of of Abj do you stay?

I'm not looking to flex as they say in Naija. I want privacy and freedom is that too much to ask? I leave in Kubwa and I'm not very fond of it but I'm getting used to it. At least it has some very beautiful scenery - the mountains

ada24:
I feel your pain but I would listen to your parents - after 7pm don't go out.

I know your 27 but nigeria is not america

After 7 u're funny. They wouldn't even let me leave the house after 5pm hahaha. But if I had a function at church or had to attend evening mass at 6:30pm then no problemo. I quite agree that this isn't America but dang it 6pm curfew. Heck i remember when I had to take permission from my parents to go to an art showing with a friend. Well let's just say it was not a pleasant experience. And when I got there I saw people my age and even younger people there. I thought I was going to only meet mama and papa there.

kokoye:
A word of advice - you are now in the jungle.

There's no police or law to watch over you as a female.

Even as a guy, I do not stay out late whenever I am in Nigeria.

I dont know about abuja, but in Lagos, if you are out late on the island . . you stay there! That way you can stay out all night on the island but you dont leave until it is daylight again.

There is no such thing as 'grown' in Nigeria so your parents are after your safety. It has nothing to do with you being a female.

When you get your own apt., then you can decide what you wanna do . . but the rules still generally hold - for your own safety

I understand that. And know that they are looking out for my safety but damn at 6pm i'm at home doing absolutely nothing, No light, no cable (b'cos lord knows if we had cable this would not be an issue), i've read everything in this house. At this point I'm just asking till 9pm. Abuja from what I've gathered is relatively safer than other States. I've been to most places I can frequent during the day. I'm still new in Abuja and looking to meet like minded peeps like myself. I'm not sure how to meet them if most of them are at work during the day. If there is somewhere i could go during the day and meet people i'm open to that option. But what really gets me is that if I said I was going to evening mass which ends at 7:30 or told them I had a thing at church to attend that ends at 9pm no one would have an issue with that.

This is new for me. I have never sought for personal advice online but I would like to get real Nigerian peeps input on this matter.

In order to understand my situation a little background might help. I am a 27 years old single female (yes and I'm not in a hurry to get married thank u very much). Just returned from the US after staying there for 10 years. I schooled and graduated from college in the US and began working. I had my pad, my car, and paid all my bills. So yes I am/was very much independent. After staying in the States for 10 years I became home sick. So I quit my job, sold all my belongings and moved back to Abuja, naija.
At this point u're probably wondering why I just didn't visit and say hi to everyone and just go back to US. Well I actually had a plan when i came back to naija. Stay with parents for 3 months and then move out. Apparently, houses in Abuja are bloody expensive which I'm beginning to realize. I still have enough to rent a decent place though but haven't really started looking because of my parents.

Any way the problem is that I've been put on a 6pm curfew. Yes a 6pm curfew!!! I mean c'mon now I'm no longer a kid. I understand it's not safe in Nigeria but it was not safe in the US either and I survived. I mean in Naija do chicks not leave the house once it's dark. Am I exhibiting some abnormal behavior. I drink responsibly and don't do drugs. I'm not a wild child and have never had a wild moment in my life (I'm what u call a homebody. I'm usually the one people are dragging to go out on a Friday and Saturday nite. I'm a geek. I love watching animes and TV a lot). Lord knows that I've never done anything that anyone will see and say it's shameful behavior. I'm tired of arguing with my parents. At my age I'm still having to take permission from my parents to leave the house. Imagine that.
So my question is, is it outside the norm for chicks to hang out after dark I mean do people not have social lives in this country or are all female adults supposed to be caged at home Are female adults not allowed any freedom in this country Are all the females chilling with their friends after dark instantly labeled as prostitutes??

your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

If you have the manual it's should be on it.
If you don't then u have two choices
1) contact Honda directly ORk
2) Look for a Honda care dealership and they should be able to give you the code.

I had that happen to my Honda and I just went into my regular mechanic and he was able to provide me with the code. But that was in US. But the two options provided above are the way to obtain the codes

Do they have an office in Abuja and where is it located?

Nope i haven't tried it out yet. will be doing that today but i don't understand how that's supposed to make a slow internet faster. I mean I've tried internet connection in two different countries with my laptop and they all worked perfectly. I never had to tweak anything. and yet this is supposed to be the fastest? WTF?