₦airaland Forum

I really like the song. It's composed, by the way, by Margarita Rosa de Fransisco. Spanish is always a sweet language. I don't want to guess how it will end - this director can do anything. But, of course, Hector will find out Gael has been the worm sucking him from within. How he will resolve it and whether he loses or retains INMEX is anyone's guess.

What do you think of the one they are advertising, Fish Port Princess? Sounds like another Mexican stuff. Those girls and their mother look like Occidental Indians to me.

Thanks Kezzy and Janace.

@Googler
I, too, am put off by Sergio's infinite patience. But some men do that. And I believe that letter he wrote to Elisa, that sort of thing doesn't work with women. I once faced a similar situation and asked her to make up her mind. She didn't! She simply continued with her mixed signals. I then stopped calling her. And she started calling. I picked her calls but since I am not Sergio I did not call her back.

That stunt Gael is pulling will work with an unsophisticated folk who lacks education and self-confidence. It might even work with some cultured people, but not a battle-hardened detective like Paula. Forget it. She should either have incapacitated Gael physically, or tricked him, or called the US, or gone to the US herself, or gone to the AG whom she doesn't know is the chairman of The Block and would believe him if he told her sharks don't bite.

I like Ignacio (Ari Telch) too. A tad wacky, but really just a nice guy in love. I admire his sense of duty and commitment to his friend Rodrigo. But I don't approve of men trying to snatch people's women in the manner he and his friend have conducted themselves.

Gina (Marimar Vega) is a brat who didn't know what to do with the gift of life, a slut who will spread her legs for an okadaman in payment for a short ride. I consider her the least likeable person in the whole story. As for Daniel (Eric Hayser), I have nothing to say except that if someone knocked me out and gave me drugs he will not live to tell the story. I am ambivalent about him, as those who say he is a fool and those who say he is love both have strong points. What I don't know, though, is the basis on which he makes the statement that Gina is a wonderful woman. I didn't watch from the beginning, so perhaps she was Princess Charming.

And Maria (Margarita Rosa de Francisco). I like her. Just a poor struggling woman the crazy Cervanteses came and ruined her life. I will say the director succeeded with her. So she and Sergio are the two non-villainous major characters who are successful. Elisa (Paola Nunez) is partially successful. Talking about Elisa, she has a strong character I admire. She did not marry Alejandro because of money, otherwise she would have gone back to him for the $150m inducement Don Lorenzo offered. I like the way she set Romina up and rescued Emiliana from her. A bit reckless just like the rescue of Rodrigo, but that is the kind of stuff protagonists did in the classical tragedies of old. Unfortunately her strong character doesn't show up when she deals with the men. Granted, many women are like that - they want you, they don't want you, but that is not good enough for your heroine.

Sergio (played by Andres Polacios), yes. The only non-villain that is successful as a character. He is actually my favourite character in spite of his occasional childish behaviour like the one at the church wedding. But then two things combined to make that happen. He is naturally impulsive and he is in love. He took a gun to INMEX to try to demonstrate to Hector that a real killer could not have missed Gael. But, of course, Hector didn't get it.

And Hector, oh yes, Hector. I am surprised an actor of Saul Lisazo's status agreed to play an implausible character. Hector Cervantes' stupidity is unimaginable. If you know of any billionaire who is half as dumb, tell me and we can continue to to talk about Hector.

But perhaps Hector's stupidity towards Gael can be excused on the grounds that he believes Gael is his son and no father would normally think his own son would betray him. But what, then, can we say of Alejandro (Tommy Dunstar)? Alejandro is the most failed character in this story. Like Hector, he can't be described the way I described Gael, Romina and Ofelia earlier. Is he intelligent? The deductions he made and aborted the US trip, saving everyone's life, says he is. The one he made at City Hall, that Rosara could not have put all that stuff together and that someone else may have done it and murdered her say so, too. But the fact that he has every clue and does nothing with his deductions clearly say he is not. I mean he more leads than he needs to know what Gael is up to, but he doesn't. Alejandro is implausible.

Paula too is a failed character. In the beginning, she was okay, but later, the director lost it. First she believes that cretin Jose Himenez, just because the AG says so. And then she lets Gael mess around with her. Since she trusts the AG, how come she did not report Gael to him instead of folding up like a piece of paper? Did she even investigate whether or not Gael is actually holding her parents? And why on earth would a police woman of Paula's smartness fall for crap like that, instead of getting on the phone to the FBI in US?

Of the major characters in this story, only Gael, Romina, Ofelia and Sergio are well-executed, believable characters. Gael (played by Hector Aredondo) is ambitious, smart, greedy and wicked. He reminds you of a guy you know or have heard of. You can usually tell how he is going to react to a situation. The scene when he was shot was particularly brilliant. From the choreographed nature of the whole business - he asking Ofelia to accompany him for a walk in that part of the garden, the gunman coming close like that and then shooting him in the torso instead of the head - you could easily tell he orchestrated it all, especially on remembering the tattoo removal incident.

Romina (Romina Gaetani) was ambitious, amoral, and never stopped for a moment to contemplate the consequences of an action. She carried on like she was God, believing she would always win. But there are people like that. She is believable.

Ofelia (Mayra Sierra) is probably the most successful character of all. From poor girl to big man's wife, it all went to her head. Did she make Gael bad or did Gael make her bad? There are different opinions. Well, I didn't watch the show from the beginning. The most brilliant thing Martinez did with Ofelia is the way she has unravelled. It is like this (1) Poor girl from the projects.  (2) Rich man's wife, about to realise her ambitions to become Empress Theodora or Queen Nefertiti.  (3) Becomes a soulless devil, the most wicked character in the story.  And then (5) Gael is shot.  (6) She loses her "son". (7) She is manhandled and raped. And so [8] She concludes God is punishing her and loses her head.  Brilliant!

No, she doesn’t. What we have is a directorial error. One thing I have learnt from this thread is that in spite of all the thrash being churned out by Nollywood, many of our people can still tell good stuff from bad one, grain from chaff. First let look at the characterization of the whole drama.

Hi everyone. Hi Googler. Yeah, I laughed a bit at that scene. It was good but it adds nothing to the story and I will explain why presently. No, I wasn’t condemning the story. I even like it. It’s full of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. What surprises me is that a director of the calibre of Victor Hugo Martinez sacrifices discipline for twists. For example read back on this thread and see how much people have cursed Elisa for giving that kiss to Rodrigo. In classical tragedies a hero or protagonist can be good or bad but never weak. That action made Elisa appear weak. Now a defence is that she kissed him out of pity. But I thought about it and that isn’t the reason. The only reason is that Martinez wanted to create a twist so as to create a situation that would have us guessing whether Elisa will marry Sergio or Rodrigo. It has never worked with me, anyway. The way I see it is Elisa is in love with Sergio and has never been with Rodrigo. A woman of Elisa’s character can never abandon the man she loves and go with a flight of fancy like Rodrigo. Therefore, Elisa cannot marry Rodrigo. She will either marry Sergio or she will not marry anyone, “walk alone” like she put it. For me, no much suspense in the whole Rodrigo business.

Me too. But I have made deductions and I read thread from the beginning.
To answer your question, the flaws are manifold. First off, the only plausible characters in this story are the villains. All characters in a story ought to be rounded but having a story in which only some of the villains are three-dimensional is, I think, a capital offence, and I think a kid of six would refrain from taping a script like that. The good guys in the story suck. And then there is another problem: this director makes it look as if all Mexican men live for is women. There are sparks of brilliance, yes, but the whole story is bad.
Sorry, got to leave now.

@Googler

Have you watched the soap from the beginning?

Kobojunkie:
If only you understood the IMPORTANCE of those low level workers to the overall functioning of a civil society, you would maybe appreciate and respect people who do those jobs.

Absolute truth.

AjanleKoko:
I worry about all these stats, especially the ones on GDP.
, 
[b]I think the $10bn is probably like 10-20% of the true amount. Most people send money through people, not through Moneygram and Western Union. [/b]Most of the people in Nigeria don't pay tax, especially people who run their own small-scale business. Any business that earns revenue from the consumer market may be indirectly making money from these remittances. If MTN sells recharge cards to someone who is not working or is dependent, possibly on a relative abroad nko? Many of MTN's 20 million plus customers in reality fall into that category anyway. Would you say that money was truly generated in Nigeria? If MTN repatriates these funds to SA,and it is ploughed into the local economy there, it basically means the Nigerians in the Diaspora are indirectly funding SA, adding to the GDP of that nation!

We need to be careful. 10-20% would bring the amount remitted to Nigeria to $50 to $100b! The World Bank employs professional statisticians and economists in arriving at these figures. These estimates are not the sum total of moneys sent through Western Union and Moneygram - far from it. That would not be scientific. Other means are employed to calculate or factor in moneys sent through other means - including illegal ones. The Bank says the figure is an estimate. It is possible for the $10b figure to an underestimate, it is possible too for it to be an overestimate.
I am not discountenancing the money sent from abroad, of course. Like I said in an earlier post, nobody picks money on the streets, even if it is one naira. Just correcting a fact.

Behind bobo:
Reading PUNCH is better than others cos they are not as serious and tasking as Thisday or Guardian,their news and quality of presentation is also better than most other newspapers.I relax with PUNCH any time i get back from work.That i cant say of others.ENJOYYYYYYYYYYY

I agree that The Punch is ahead of the others. Their reporters follow stories and their editors do their job which is editing. The Guardian still attracts the best opinion writers, though, and writes really good editorials.

otokx:
It appears most of the recipients of that cash used it in buying MTN recharge cards and china phones which means Nigeria as a country gained nothing.

You forgot to add chocolate from England, "designer" shoes from Italy and PMS from wherever. The way we are going, we will soon be importing ice from Iceland!

yeswecan:
There is nothing like freedom of information , we are made to believe we are free, no we are not. We are under programing and the media is their biggest agent.

We will never know what happened in 9.11
we will never know the real cause of Iraq invasion
We will never know of the Builderburg group (Meetings held every year, total black-out from the media)
We will never know who really killed JFK, MLK and so many others

The media is a tool to uphold lies and put out false theories like the magic bullet theory

It is one thing to lend weight to conspiracy theories. But is it prudent or scholarly to let them form the basis for ANALYSIS?

May God bless you my broda. They are trying to divide us and conquer us. Home based or Diasporan, we all feel the same pain for Nigeria. Selfishness has taken away our culture to be our brother's keeper. We must focus on defeating the forces of evil so that Nigeria can return to the average man like me and you.

Deserves a big Amen!

Facts:
1. The money sent by Nigerians in diaspora helps support the national economy in no small measure, but more importantly, it rescues many otherwise despondent Nigerians from misery - school fees, house rent, debt settlement, etc.
2. The Nigerians who receive money from relatives abroad are in the minority, so not everyone is primarily affected or would see the need to feel gratitude. But they may be secondarily affected due to spin off effects on the economy.
3. Nigerians living abroad don't pick money on the streets. Like home-based Nigerians most of them toil to earn money and this should be appreciated.
4. Nobody has any right whatsoever to feel superior to or talk down on anybody. Diasporans who have spoken in this forum to the effect that "those at home should not expect us to come back if they don't fix that country" or "is it our fault that you can't get a visa" are getting it wrong. Most common people are concerned primarily about bread and butter issues first. Nobody is going to fix the country for you and nobody is beating the drums for you to come back. What it takes to have a good country or a bad one is elite consensus. You can be based anywhere and think of the best way to effect changes to the country if you are so inclined, or simply do what you can as you are currently doing by sending money to your relatives.
5. If care is not taken, this argument can be diversionary. The enemies of Nigerians are the power brokers and treasury looters who have taken our natural right to choose our leaders while they lock themselves in the common safe, gorging themselves and vomiting all over their shoes. The real heros are those who work hard and this includes danfo drivers, truck pushers, teachers, cleaners, and the diaspora people.

[quote author=Negro_Ntns link=topic=349560.msg4891302#msg4891302 date=1257794635]I have a religion. . .my communication with my creator using the many encounters of my daily life as the temple of truth.

Every person I come in contact with is a mediary of exchange. In that exchange I'm sharing what is beautiful and noble in the depth of my soul, per chance the other person would respond with a more beautiful and radiantly divine blossom.

Anything else outside of that is hatred camouflaged as religion and falsely claimed as the voice of God.[/quote]This the true religion. It takes a lot of searching to get this far, but Humanism is the future.

AjanleKoko:
Thread has gone south as usual.
Time to move on.

Yes.

@nolongTing

Goodluck!

nolongTing:
Since when did:  "@Afam You are an old FAILURE stuck in Nigeria, its not our fault you cannot get a visa."   mean that every Nigerian wants a visa?  Is that dude your uncle or brother?  And that razor story WTF? You must be talking about your father not me you silly fool!

I see you can't talk without cursing. I do not engage in cursing matches, now with women on the streets, and not with them in an anonymous forums I will not reply you in kind.

Now let me help you reason, if you can do that without clapping your hands in the air and spewing out a stream of curses.

nolongTing:
You are an old FAILURE stuck in Nigeria, its not our fault you cannot get a visa.

The above statement, made without Afam having let on that he ever craved a visa and was denied one, accorded the most basic interpretation,  does mean that you think everybody who is "still in that country" is there because the embassies would not smile at them with a visa.

The razor story comes from a brilliant Nigerian family TV series titled Edge of Paradise, can't recall the direct's name.

CHALLENGER:
I wonder what this country is fast becoming when the literate are speaking as though they've got no proper mind to think. No doubt it may have appeared as though Ribadu was been used to "witchhunt" but I ask this question-WHO AMONG THE PEOPLE INVESTIGATED/PROSECUTED BY RIBADU BY WAS NOT CORRUPT (OR DID NOT EMBEZLE OUR MONEY)? I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO MENTION ANY OF SUCH PERSON. Is it the likes of Tinubu, Atiku, Ibori,Bode George who?
Suffice to say that yes he (ribadu) may have been perceived to be partial but, they stole our money and he went after them.

Can you compare anti corruption crusade under Ribadu to Madam Waziri - miles apart incomparable. How can you think of a situation where a culprit (an accused) makes the choice of EFCC lawyer to prosecute him. Why can't the EFCC lawyer handling the Ibori case be changed (bicos of his perceived closeness to Ibori), and the case be given to vibrant lawyers like--Felix Keyamo, Femi Falana, etc.

Please fellow Nigerians, let be realistic when we are posting anything here. Yes, Ribadu may have been partial but he did an extremely good work.

A word of advise to those benefiting from corruption, kindly change your attitude as time your time is almost up.

Please be informed that Ribadu-bashing has been elevated to a fad around here. It's at the level of mass-hysteria. Nigerians now prefer to believe the likes of Ibori. It beats the imagination to think of it. I guess the world is like that.

Afam’s argument since the beginning of this thread is spot on and there is hardly anything to add to it. The tendency by Nigerians based abroad to lump those who live within the country’s borders together as an undifferentiated mass of people who are content to wallow in misery while smiling and hoping to win a visa lottery is reprehensible in the extreme.
While there is no excuse for what the Nigerian elite have made of Nigeria and it is deeply saddening for all us, those who criticise must maintain a decent respect for facts.

@OP
The conclusion that ALL foreign based Nigerians know nothing about Nigeria is not entirely correct. You can live outside the country and know what is happening in the country, for like many have pointed out, we all get information from the media. But is that the same thing as living in the country? No. Media reports tend to exaggerate and we all know this. If you have never been to the United States, for instance, it is easy for you to think that New York and Los Angeles are full of kids running amuck with pistols and making mince meant of anyone in sight. But when you live there, you feel quite safe. True, those things do happen, but they don’t happen everyday. They don’t happen with such frequency as to put the fear of God into people.
In recent months, crime rate, particularly armed robbery, car snatching and car breaking, has plummeted drastically in Lagos metropolis. It is now virtually impossible for robbers to work unchallenged at a spot for one hour like we used to see in the past. Now, you simply don’t hear of bank robberies, in Lagos, that is. How much of that has the media conveyed across the ocean?
Recently a company offered to provide bullet resistant vests for German players when they go for the football tourney in South Africa next year. Now that is based on the media reports, as that country has hosted many international events without a single delegate being attacked.

@ nolongTing
So you really think everyone wants a visa? You remind me of the Lagos fellow in a TV series who took a razor to his own skin to produce visual evidence to impress a Belgian embassy official to give him a visa to enable him flee this vortex of torture where Neanderthals reign supreme.

This requires serious thinking before you go ahead.
(1) You two sit together and decide what you want. Put off the wedding if you two can't reach definite agreements or don't believe you have the discipline to follow them through.
(2) If you two can agree, there is no need to postpone the wedding - people don't need to be comfortable to get married. If you two can take care of yourselves individually, coming together should not increase your cumulative needs, right? And then you will have the advantage of pulling resources and having division of labour, allowing efficiency from each individual at home and should you decide to start a joint business.
(2) Make financial plans and projections. Is one of you or the both of you the working type(s)? Are you business oriented?
(2) I know of a church where they pay for the wedding. If that is not your church, you two go to the registry in the company of few family members, sign the papers and go home from there - if possible.
(3) Live low profile - small apartment, no expensive stuff and all.
(3) Postpone having children (unless you live in one of those villages where everyone helps everyone and the Local Authority PS or Ansar-U-Deen would do just fine for the kids).
Good luck!

@ OP

I feel your pain, brother.

_*sighs*

Deep Sight:
My God! This is literature at its best! Hats off to you, for a fabulous riposte to my scathing words.

,

_{Hats off again sha, to ya great writing skills.}

So you blinked a second walked slap into Jakumo! Oh yes, NL got a few wordsmiths outside of the religious section where you play mostly. Rumours have it the id is Soyinka's. Some say the fellow is not Nigerian, but is oriental, a samurai, hence the name. But yet others insist he is not human. They say he is Hermes, the eloquent envoy of the Greek gods, probably the same one known in closer climes as Eshu, who once deployed his eloquence to trick Oludumare into vacating the earth.

michelin89:
These bini people. The disgrace of Edo State.

Easy, auntie!

penix:
I have observed them to be Care-free and lacking in home training. I have one in our yard, whom I think came out from the hotel cos of her behavior

Prejudice.

This is a summary of my post on a similar subject else where.

There is a pervasive misunderstanding of homosexuality about, which is not surprising since they are the minority. Outright hatred and persecution, known as homophobia of heterosexism is still prevalent even in countries where homosexuality has been legalised. Homosexuality is not something anyone ever decides to take on. The idea that homosexuality is something people are lured into in all-boys schools is scurrilous nonsense. It is now taken for granted in the scientific community that people are born homosexual. Thus, homosexuality describes an attraction, an orientation, not just a practice. Homosexuality is pretty widespread in the animal world. Says American Psychology Association, "Sexual orientation is not merely a personal characteristic that can be defined in isolation. Rather, one’s sexual orientation defines the universe of persons with whom one is likely to find the satisfying and fulfilling relationships that, for many individuals, comprise an essential component of personal identity." Scientists are still trying to determine why people are born with their orientation and they believe certain factors are involved. These include genetic factors, environmental factors, prenatal hormone exposure and prenatal stress on the mother.

Religiously speaking, homosexuality is unequivocally condemned by the"holy" books. Thus while the Anglican Church and others have in the spirit of new age liberalism opened the doors to openly gay people, they are in violation of injunctions clearly stated in the Old and New Testaments.

Health wise, there are also inherent risks. The human anal canal, up through the rectum, is lined with delicate tissues which are easily ruptured when penetrated.  The chances of this happening during anal intercourse are high, opening up direct blood-to-blood infection channels. This is why the AIDS pandemic in the West decimated the gay MALE population, while having a substantially smaller impact on the straight population. In fact when the virus came to light around the early 80s, I think, it was known as "The Gay Plague."

Given that being a homosexual is not something one chooses, but one is born that way, is change possible? Several psychiatrists who believe that homosexuality is a disease have tried to change people and they have ALL had one result, FAILURE! Says the American Psychology Association, "Sexual orientation has proved to be generally impervious to interventions intended to change it, which are sometimes referred to as 'reparative therapy.' No scientifically adequate research has shown that such interventions are effective or safe. Moreover, because homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexuality, national mental health organizations do not encourage individuals to try to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Therefore, all major national mental health organizations have adopted policy statements cautioning the profession and the public about treatments that purport to change sexual orientation."

Does that mean there is no help for homosexuals who feel strongly about their way of life and would like to change? No. Right now, I can think of FOUR options.

1. You accept your situation and remain the way you are. Being gay does not make you less of a human being. But you don't want this, that is why you opened this thread. So that leaves you with three options really.
2. Sex change. Since you are a man who feels attracted to men, you can go for a sex change operation so that you become a woman, complete with a tear rubber pair breasts and a vulva. You can then have all the penile sex you want in the right orifice. This suggestion is radical and expensive. But many people have taken this option.
3. The third option is celibacy. Just as some heterosexual people choose not to have anything to do with the opposite sex, some homosexual people do it. I have read of priests who are gay by orientation but chose celibacy. Whatever anyone might tell you, it is possible to live without sex. Some Catholic priests who choose to stay faithful to their callings do it. There are people who maintain their virginity into their twenties and thirties when they get married.
4. Impractical as the fourth option may seen (if you are not bisexual) to anyone who has taken time to study this issue, I am including it because it is not impossible. You stop having sex with men and take on women. You marry a woman. The problem is that you are not attracted to women in the first place so you will find the sex unsatisfying. Your partner may notice this and leave you. You may live a "false" life for the rest of your life or find yourself sneaking out to find male sex partners. But if you try hard enough, and if you are lucky, it is possible for you to abandon homosexuality.

I people get a tad less judgmental about these things.

bawomolo:
no it's being replaced by one wife and mistress(es)

that's less stressful.

Looking at it from a utilitarian viewpoint, polygamy solves a lot of social problems. It is about women who would have no space for themselves finding succour in a man's home. Before you accuse me of Miss Ogyny, I am not recommending it for everyone. All I am saying is that men who can afford it should take in women who have no one to look after them or their little children. Socially, this is far better than the Mistress Model because the women and children involved actually have a home. The age-old practice of polygamy should be encouraged!

@OP
I have been wondering, too. He does the same things Chris Oyakhilomen and the rest of 'em do.