₦airaland Forum

Ishilove:
Emmm...please, what exactly is the purpose of pre-wedding pictures?

Pictures that will appear in the wedding programme, souvenirs, etc.

Ranchhoddas:
You are very dishonest. How pathetic! The guy you quoted- Lovat clearly said Arabs and mentioned Arab Christians as well. It's you who is making it about Muslims. You are even desperate enough to mention Nigerian Muslims. These names you think you know are few and far between and when it comes to the grandest of stages-The Olympics, they are usually nowhere to be found...So you can either face the truth or continue playing the victim.

The guy who posted this (which is the first mention of religion in our exchange) is accusing me of making it about religion! He is accusing me of being dishonest!

Ranchhoddas:
I am not trying to shift anything. Isn't it bizarre that these are the only names you can come up with. Even stranger is the fact of all the names, only one is not out of Africa. Like it or not these guys are terrible at sports and their religion is a huge contributor to this.

I have listed several arabs that have won gold medals at the olympics (Aouita, Boulmerka, El-Ghouredj, Morcelli, Sarah Ahmed, etc), yet he says that arabs are nowhere to be found at the olympics! You must be joking!

I know that you are just trying to run away when you've been caught out with facts and trying desperately to have the last word. I don't consider you to be a serious debater because you haven't been able to disprove any of the facts that I've presented. You just keep throwing red herrings and trying to shift the goalpost (talking about africans, women and religion). I know that you desperately want to have the last word, so I'll leave you to it. Enjoy.

Ranchhoddas:
I am not trying to shift anything. Isn't it bizarre that these are the only names you can come up with. Even stranger is the fact of all the names, only one is not out of Africa. Like it or not these guys are terrible at sports and their religion is a huge contributor to this.

Aha! I see that you've found out that Boulmerka is female.

You are desperately trying to shift the goalpost. First, you tried to make it about females and now you are trying to make it about africans. What if I list all the fantastic pakistani cricketers (Imran Kahn, Waqar Younnis, Mohammed Hanif, etc)? Would you shift the goalpost again?

You are also trying to make it seem as if the people I listed are the only arab or muslims that are good at sports, when I specifically stated that I made that list on the spur of the moment, without really thinking about it.

I'm sure you know that if you are talking about religion, then there are very many muslims that are good at sports. Egyptian women regularly beat nigerian women at swimming at the All African Games, there are very many muslim US athletes that are good at sports and Fatimah Yusuf of Nigeria regularly destroyed other african women 400 metres runners in the late '80s and early '90s, even while wearing a full body suit.

Go and do more research before posting nonsense. There are people around the world that are good at sports and there are also people who are not good at sports. It's got nothing to do with religion or ethnicity.

Ranchhoddas:
But these are male names. Mention the successful females.

Are you saying that Hassiba Boulmerka is male?? Please re-read my post and actually try and find out about the people I mentioned.

He didn't specify sex. He asked for successful arabs in sports (don't try and shift the goalpost)

lovat:
I didn't mention Muslims There are Christians in the arab world but I'm saying what sport are the arab mofos good at? I call them mofos because the arabs hate my black skin than the whites

This is just from my memory and without thinking too hard. Google these names.

Noureddine Morceli
Hassiba Boulmerka
Said Aouita
Hicham El Guerrouj
Saeed Al-Owairan
Egyptian national football team
Camel racing

Olalekanbanky1:
How come Daniel born Kalim and Nazim?

cyberdurable:
As Usual our Religion of Piss have taken over... He is a Convert

successinlife:
That is why his children are signed by turkish club,he married to a Tunisian,to marry to arabs you have to change to muslim and he has turkish passport with muslim names.Okocha and Uche Okechukwu did same but trust ibo man,it was just for the ego and contract then.Daniel no gree wise up.Oliseh also got married to a Tunisian but i don't know his stands on the name/names of his child/children.

It's got nothing to do with religion and everything to do with work permits and quotas.

In some countries only three foreigners are allowed to play in a match at a time. In some other countries, foreign players have to meet very strict conditions before they can get work permits.

This is why John Mikel Obi became a british citizen in 2015 and Jay Jay Okocha and Uche Okechukwu became turkish citizens in the 1990s.

In many cases, before you can become a turkish citizen, you must take on a turkish name (especially if your name contains the letters Q, X and W). This is why Okocha took on the name Muhammet Yavuz and Uche Okechukwu took on the name Deniz Uygar. Note, they did not convert to islam

dominique:
Was the hospital originally built by him?

The maternity section (Ayinke House) was built and equipped by Sir Mobolaji in the late 1980s. He donated it to the Lagos State Government in either 1989 or 1990.

christejames:
What is Ayinka house? , who knows Ayinka?

Ayinke was Sir Mobolaji Bank-Anthony's mother. He built the complex and donated it to the Lagos State Government in the late 1980s.

God bless Sir Mobolaji Bank-Anthony. He didn't want anything named after him (he actually stated this in his will, though the government eventually named Airport Road after him).

This was the only thing that he named after someone related to him. He donated it to the government and named it after his mother.

And Peter Rufai is the hero.

I could not sit and watch, yet I could not get up and leave. It was that bad. My dad had left, "Come and call me when it's over", but I knew that he was listening to commentaries on his radio.


Every outfield player had played a penalty. Then the goalkeepers also took their penalties. This video begins when the score was 7-7. You get to see Uche Okafor, Peter Rufai and Augustine Eguavoen's penalties. You can see the Eagles huddled together, praying.

Then, you know what they say about your biggest star missing a penalty. Algerian legend, Lakhdar Belloumi steps up to take his penalty and Rufai tips the ball round the post and sends Nigeria into the final to play Cameroon for the second time at Maroc '88.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsO5CeJAktQ

Charles Ojugbana's commentary is hilarious!

"And Egboigbe" (Egboigbe dribbles the algerian), "That's a good one from Egboigbe and RASHIDI YEKINI A OH! AND OH! OKWARAJI OH! AND IT'S A GOAL!!!"

More videos of Okwaraji.

I remember Maroc '88 very well. The ladies in the house could not get enough of the princes (the crown prince of Morocco and his brother represented King Hassan at the opening ceremony). Parachutists displayed their skill at the opening ceremony and one of them got caught on one of the floodlight towers.

Okwaraji played an important part in some of the most memorable scenes in that nations cup. He scored the fastest goal in nations cup history (I now have NTA's footage of that goal. I.e. english commentary) and he scored during that insane semi-final against Algeria.

That semi-final was crazy. Okwaraji forced an algerian to score an own goal and the match was tied at 1-1 after extra time. Then followed the longest penalty series in nations cup history. Nigeria eventually won 9-8 when Rufai saved Algerian legend, Lakhdar Belloumi's penalty. (Stephen Keshi joked that he told Rufai that he had been diving in one direction all evening and urged him to dive in the opposite direction).


Nigeria vs Cameroon (Your commentators are Fabio Lanipekun and Charles Ojugbana). You can see Stephen Keshi, Henry Nwosu and Samuel Okwaraji singing the anthem.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KGHZiud_Y8

Nigeria vs Algeria


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdcYaOxWtvo

Okwaraji's death was especially painful because of the nature of the man. At that time there was a dichotomy between the professional players and the home based players.

The professionals made a lot of demands before playing for the national teams. They often arrived camp and training sessions late (in flashy cars) and were always involved in one scandal or the other (eg Etim Esin).

Okwaraji was the opposite. He never caused any problems, often paid his own travel expenses, was always the first to get to camp and was never involved in any scandals. He was a devout christian and was studying for his law degree at an Italian university. He was actually playing in Italy (which most nigerians felt had the best league in the world at the time).

My dad and others were at the stadium, but I watched the match on tv at home. I saw when Okwaraji collapsed, when one of the players (I've forgotten who) put his hands on his head in alarm and when Okwaraji was stretchered into the ambulance. I assumed that he was alive and expected to read updates on his condition in the papers the next day.

I also saw as some fans were being carried over the fence and stretchered to the athletics track where Red Cross officials were attending to them. The stadium was too full and it seems that the gates were opened during the second half and there was a scuffle between people who were trying to get into the arena and people who were trying to get out. Some people suffocated, while others were trampled.

But my uncle (who played for Nigeria in the '50s and '60s) showed up at the house after the match. "Where is ****" (my dad). "He's not back", I replied.

"They've killed this boy o!", my uncle exclaimed. I asked who and he replied that Okwaraji was dead. I didn't believe him. "But they put him in the ambulance", I replied. My uncle grew angry. "Which ambulance? Which ambulance? The boy was dead on the pitch. The ambulance was just for show, so that the crowd wouldn't panic".

I still refused to believe him, but I didn't argue, because I could see that he was upset. Instead, I went to my room and prayed, hoped and wished that Okwaraji was still alive. But unfortunately, it was reported on the NTA News that Okwaraji was dead.

This is my favourite goal by Okwaraji. I searched YouTube for a video of this goal from 2008 till 2016 before I eventually found one. That's because most people on YouTube prefer to post videos of the final, which was also between Nigeria and Cameroon.

This is a group stage match at the 1988 Nations Cup (Maroc '88) between Nigeria and Cameroon. Okwaraji scored in the second minute via a rocket shot from outside the penalty box (this is the kind of shot that Ernest Okonkwo would describe as an "intercontinental ballistic missile). It was the fastest goal at the Nations Cup at that time. Roger Milla equalised in the 21st minute, via a bullet header that beat Peter Rufai and it ended

Nigeria 1-1 Cameroon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY9ZYHyTVwU

Today is actually the 11th.

My dad and others were at the stadium, but I watched the match on tv at home. I saw when Okwaraji collapsed, when one of the players (I've forgotten who) put his hands on his head in alarm and when Okwaraji was stretchered into the ambulance. I assumed that he was alive and expected to read updates on his condition in the papers the next day.

I also saw as some fans were being carried over the fence and stretchered to the athletics track where Red Cross officials were attending to them. The stadium was too full and it seemed that the gates were opened during the second half and there was a scuffle between people who were trying to get into the arena and people who were trying to get out. Some people suffocated, while others were trampled.

But my uncle (who played for Nigeria in the '50s and '60s) showed up at the house after the match. "Where is ****" (my dad). "He's not back", I replied.

"They've killed this boy o!", my uncle exclaimed. I asked who and he replied that Okwaraji was dead. I didn't believe him. "But they put him in the ambulance", I replied. My uncle grew angry. "Which ambulance? Which ambulance? The boy was dead on the pitch. The ambulance was just for show, so that the crowd wouldn't panic".

I still refused to believe him, but I didn't argue, because I could see that he was upset. Instead, I went to my room and prayed, hoped and wished that Okwaraji was still alive. But unfortunately, it was reported on the NTA News that Okwaraji was dead.

This is my favourite goal by Okwaraji. I searched YouTube for a video of this goal from 2008 till 2016 before I eventually found one. That's because most people on YouTube prefer to post videos of the final, which was also between Nigeria and Cameroon.

This is a group stage match at the 1988 Nations Cup (Maroc '88) between Nigeria and Cameroon. Okwaraji scored in the second minute via a rocket shot from outside the penalty box (this is the kind of shot that Ernest Okonkwo would describe as an "intercontinental ballistic missile). It was the fastest goal at the Nations Cup at that time. Roger Milla equalised in the 21st minute, via a bullet header that beat Peter Rufai and it ended

Nigeria 1-1 Cameroon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY9ZYHyTVwU

OrlandoOwoh:
On number 2, I guess the visit of some Commonwealth heads of government in the meeting that held in January 1966 in Lagos could be regarded as a working visit. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Head of State wasn't in the country while Tafawa-Balewa, the Head of Government on ground during the meeting.

Exactly.

Reyginus:
Yeah. I've read it all even the redirect but still didn't see it. What do you think is responsible for the secrecy? Or is it a document signed by some Nigerians for the British? Are you even sure there's anything in the content of the back cover you saw? If there's who reasoned it and when? So many questions begging for answers.

1) Personally I believe it's because it's not that important. In politics and administration there's something called "the ecology of politics". What this basically means is that before implementing any policy or programme, you have to look at the context of the particular place. That determines if the policy or programme is workable. What worked somewhere else might not work in the particular place that you want to implement it.

In this particular case, the declaration of independence is not as important to Nigerians as the 1957 and '58 constitutional conferences and the 1960 and 1963 constitutions. These were the means by which nigerians decided how they wanted to live after independence and these were the means by which they exerted their independence. Remember that the conferences and the 1960 constitution were in place before the declaration was signed. This is very different from the situation in the US where the declaration of independence was the first means by which the 13 colonies could independently decide how they wanted to live.

So, for example, the US declaration of independence was an agreement between the 13 colonies. No representative of the British Government signed it. The nigerian declaration of independence was signed by Princess Alexandria on behalf of Great Britain and Tafawa Balewa on behalf of Nigeria. Now the 1957 and '58 constitutional conferences resulted in agreements between the three regions (each region sent 10 delegates and five advisers. The composition of the delegations reflected the ethnic groups in each region), the Federal Nigerian Government (Balewa and his ministers) and the British Government.


2) General Nigerian incompetence and laxity.

There are tons of important nigerian historical materials that are not on the internet and are difficult to find. That's one of the problems I have on nairaland, because there are a lot of things I've seen in the past that are not on line (to young people today, if something is not online = it doesn't exist). A few days ago I was telling a nairalander how a lot of videos about Nigeria's history have been wiped off by officials at the NTA.

I'll give you another example. I personally saw President Babangida sign the order to move the Federal Government from Lagos to Abuja in 1990. He signed it with a golden pen and gave everybody present gifts of golden pens. Good luck finding that document. I've even read seasoned internet historians say that there were no ceremonies to mark the movement of the capital (they say that Babangida fled Lagos in a hurry and without ceremony because of the SAP riots and Orkar Coup). I watched those ceremonies and attended some of them (the carnival on Catholic Mission Street, the commissioning of 3rd Mainland Bridge, the tree planting ceremony at City Hall, the state banquet at City Hall, the signing ceremony at Dodan Barracks, the flight around Lagos, etc). Good luck finding videos and pictures of those events.

Reyginus:
You mean this site http://www.suninternational.com/federal-palace/

Nope. It's the parent company's website (Sun International). You can also see other links below. I'm still going to try and find the picture and video I saw, but it's a long time since I saw it (more than ten years ago).



http://www.suninternational.com/stories/travel/legend-of-giants/
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/sunday/index.php/business/576-nigeria-is-good-investment-destination-but

https://hotels.ng/hotel/29298-the-federal-palace-hotel-lagos

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Palace_Hotel

Here is a picture of the Independence Hall (President Carter of the US and General Obasanjo signed another agreement here in 1978).

www.nairaland.com/attachments/3291595_1042158115951175674122118703552695996407887n_jpeg41bde9686de579a602498519b7c8f82e

Reyginus:
Do you have any link to this so I can verify and possibly know more about it?

I watched a video of the 1960 ceremony and saw a picture of the document a long time ago. I'm still searching for the picture and video, but the information is also presently on the Federal Palace website and on other material about the hotel.

I haven't seen any evidence of the 1963 document, but I was told about it.

Reyginus:
When was Nigeria's Declaration of Independence signed?

1) 1960. Signed by Princess Alexandria and Tafawa Balewa at the Independence Hall of the Federal Palace Hotel (I can't remember if it was on October 1st or 2nd).

2) 1963. Another declaration was signed when Nigeria became a republic. This was in tandem with the 1963 constitution which made Nigeria totally independent (the Queen was no longer our head of state and the Privy Council was no longer our highest court).

Some people also make the mistake of saying that nigerian dignitaries are not received at the airport by the host head of state because Nigeria is a "lesser" nation. This is obviously false.

US President Jimmy Carter came to Nigeria in 1978 and he was not received at the airport by the head of state (General Obasanjo). It wasn't even the chief of staff (General Yar'Adua) that received him at the airport. He was received by Colonel Garba (the foreign minister). This did not make America a "lesser country".

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Nigeria in 1988 and she was not received at the airport by General Babangida. It was Admiral Aikhomu that received her at the airport. This did not make Britain a "lesser country".

President John Atta Mills of Ghana came to Lagos on a private visit, to see Prophet TB Joshua. He did not see President Jonathan during that visit. This did not make Ghana a "lesser country".

The VOA journalist that interviewed Mrs Buhari was very clever. He asked her how the trip was being funded. Why did he ask this question? Because he knows that the trip is a private trip. Should a private trip be funded by the government?

That's why Mrs Buhari said that she paid for the trip (with the assistance of donors). She further stated that she also paid for the government officials (Abike Dabiri, Binta Massi-Garba, etc) to make the trip.

The government would have borne the cost of the trip if it was an official visit. In fact, Mrs Buhari and the members of her delegation would have been paid an allowance.