₦airaland Forum

Justice Aguda also headed the committee that selected Abuja as the new federal capital. Justice (Sir) Udoma was later appointed a Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court.

Political influence.

Nigerians have served as top government officials in several countries, including:

1. Justice (Sir) Egbert Udo Udoma – Chief Justice of Uganda
2. Justice Akinola Aguda – Chief Justice of The Gambia
3. Brigadier General Maxwell Khobe – Chief of Defence Staff of Sierra Leone
4. Chief Oladeinde Fernandez – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Central African Republic

And many more.

French Olympic team rocking to Psquare’s “e no easy” during their parade down the Champs Elysee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCK7CbFouRI

Cultural influence

Psquare in Zimbabwe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diLWb7ZS3_4

Psquare in Uganda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOR0vRYOnBI

Cultural influence. Aki and Pawpaw in Sierra Leone


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p6ZEJ8ez5U

Military influence.

naptu2: August 7, 2003, Chaotic scenes as war-weary Liberians celebrate the return of the Nigerians
https://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/58746_472219892789_2658079_n.jpg

I'll give another example. In fact, I'll give two.

1) Tina Turner was one of the most influential women in the world in the 1980s, not because she was the best singer or anything like that, but because of the sheer number of women who wanted to have the "Tina Turner" hairdo. She influenced the way they made their hair.

2) Goodluck Jonathan could be said to be the most powerful Nigerian in Africa (courtesy of the sheer number of armed men he commands and his ability to enforce his will), but it could also be argued that Enoch Adeboye is as influential or more influential than him, because of the sheer number of Africans that are ready to do what Adeboye says.

Even nairaland acts as a tool with which Nigeria's influence in Africa increases. During Big Brother I heard Meryl (from Namibia) tell Lerato (from South Africa) about nairaland (the site where she goes to get the latest info about music, etc).

[quote author=mondi_cheeks]they are fine with where they are, it influences other African countries but build themselves to that extent[/quote]Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Most influential country (note: influence includes both positive and negative influence) or best country, which are we debating?

Behold the "Kenyan P-Square". (Another example of influence)

http://haposasa..co.uk/2013/01/kenyan-psquare.html

In 2008 NewsWeek magazine listed Enoch Adeboye as one of the 50 most influential people in the world.

Oops! I forgot to mention another aspect of culture. Our pastors! People like T.B Joshua, Enoch Adeboye, Chris Oyakhilome and David Oyedepo have massive influence over millions of Africans across the continent, such that heads of state of African countries come to seek their opinions on issues ranging from electoral fortunes to healthcare.

[quote author=mondi_cheeks]please explain how movies wit titles like "rihanna vs beyonce" have more influence in africa or the world as a whole ...how is lacking originality more influential? I'm intrigued[/quote]

naptu2: some are mixing up the questions "which is more influential" and "which is better".

An example of influence. In the mid 2000s I listened to a BBC radio programme in which their Uganda correspondent said that kids in Uganda were trying to speak with a Nigerian accent in order to imitate their nollywood stars. That's influence.

However, the question of whether there's 24 hours electricity or 2 hours electricity a day in Lagos has no effect on the life of the everyday man on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Eze Promoe: [color=crimson]You must be high on tea.
Hausa language on its own has influence many minority languages in Middle Belt, Nigeria, Northern Cameroon, Niger Republic, Northern Mali, Burkina Faso etc. Same for Yoruba but not on minorities but has been able to transport its culture to Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin etc.
Igbos do theirs through what you see in Nollywood.
Go to East Africa today, most of them refer Nigerians to as, "the Chukwus".
Even Ekoi, a minority has influenced Southern Cameroon.
NIGERIA IS JUST TOO MUCH FOR A NATION! Ask U.S.A why they want Nigeria's split.[/color]

There's even a town called "Bekuta" (from Abeokuta) in Brazil and Hausa has often been recommended as a potential lingua franca for West Africa.

Eze Promoe: [color=crimson]For the second time, "who's more influential" not "who's better than" , South Africa may be better than (arguable though) but Nigeria is more influential (unarguable). All aspect of Nigeria tends to influence all other African countries.
Example, Africa Magic which is viewed by all Africans and owned by South Africans looks like "Nigeria Magic", i'm talking of Nollywood now.
Africans are proud that they are able to produce rivals of other hit movie industries like Hollywood and Bollywood, but today Nollywood has overtaken Hollywood in quantity of movies produced per year, and is coming second in the world now after Bollywood.
I happen to watch MUVI TV in my decoder, which is a Zambian TV station, but you'll hardly note that because of its Nigerian movie content.

What of music, Nigerian artistes hang around with the world's biggest artiste today e.g Wizkid who taught Chris Brown how to dance Azonto hence making Chris Brown give the credit to Nigeria instead of Ghana where the dance originated from, you hear of Akon, Rick Ross & P-Square, Davido & Akon, 2face and R-Kelly. Do you ask yourself, what makes these high calibre artistes find Nigerian artiste worthy to hang out with.

In Military, Nigeria has been able to support countries like Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burkina Faso and even this same South Africa that are comparing themselves to Nigeria.

I won't say further until the need to do so.[/color]

+100

Is it impossible to have a debate devoid of insults

some are mixing up the questions "which is more influential" and "which is better".

An example of influence. In the mid 2000s I listened to a BBC radio programme in which their Uganda correspondent said that kids in Uganda were trying to speak with a Nigerian accent in order to imitate their nollywood stars. That's influence.

However, the question of whether there's 24 hours electricity or 2 hours electricity a day in Lagos has no effect on the life of the everyday man on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

misterh: I would say Nigeria is more influencial on the continent. Militarily speaking, we have made more impression in peacekeeping in Africa tha SA. Take a look @ Liberia, Somalia and presently, Mali. Nigeria has always been at the forefront of peacekeeping. Politically speaking, Nigeria has more influence in the AU than SA. We have also influenced politics in Togo(when Eyadema died), Sao Tome(when there was a coup there), even SA(during the apartheid period). Culturally, we also have more influence. This is evident by our entertainment industry. Nollywood has gone far. This is proven during the twitter war between Nigerians and Kenyans (in East Africa) when they mentioned a number of our actors. I doubt if any Nigerian knows any SA actor/musician. Economically, i don't know who's more influential.

I agree with most of what you wrote, apart from the AU part. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma (Jacob Zuma's ex-wife) is the current Chairperson of the AU Commission, despite Nigeria's strong opposition to her candidacy.

Oops! I forgot to add.

Militarily: Nigeria is more willing to use her military power to solve issues across the continent, but South Africa has the stronger military force in terms of technology, platforms, etc (happily, Nigeria has woken up to the need to have more and better platforms and a strong domestic military industrial base).

Economically: I forgot to add Debeers/Anglo-American and the Dangote Group to my list of companies.

Politically: Nigeria's influence was stronger with regard to issues in Libya and The Ivory Coast. However, South Africa still got the AU seat and looks good to get the UN Security Council seat.


Culturally: Nigeria has the performers - Tuface, PSquare, D'Banj, Genevieve, Nollywood, etc, while South Africa has the platform - DSTV. We are also African Champions in football, although we don't have as many world famous footballers as we used to have.

Economically: South African companies such as MTN, Multichoice/DSTV, South African Breweries, Shoprite, etc have a strong reach across the continent, while Nigerian brands (Glo, Zenith Bank, Oando) are still coming up.

Reminds me of Peter Ogaba who played at Canada 87 when he was 13 years old and retired from football when he was 18 years old.

Obasanjo (1976-1979 & beyond) - "big fat stomach", "northern stooge", "killed his wife", "oil money is missing", "used juju to swear an oath in court", etc.



Shagari - "idiot", "grade 2 teacher", "incompetent".

Buhari - "ruthless dictator", "52 suitcases".

Babangida - "maradona", "homosexual", "richest man in the world", "drug trafficker", "cocaine addict", "evil genius".

Abacha - "ruthless dictator", "ritualist", "stupid", "retarded", "slow", "daft" (although a unilag professor asked "if Abacha is stupid and he is the ruler of Nigerians, what does that make Nigerians" )

Abdulsalam - ok, Abdulsalam didn't rule for long.

Obasanjo (1999-2007) - "womaniser", "very corrupt", "extremely stubborn".

Goodluck Jonathan - "retarded", "daft", "slow".

So you can see, most heads of state of nigeria have had their fair share of criticism/personal attacks and the next head of state, if he rules for a long time, will probably have his own share of criticism/attacks.

I don't think Nigerians "hate" Jonathan. It's just in our nature to vigorously criticise our leaders. Apart from Murtala Muhammed (who didn't rule for long), I don't think any Nigerian Head of State has escaped this level of criticism.

It's also possible that it seems extreme because more people have access to the internet and it's easier for people to pass across their views.

[size=14pt]Motorcades[/size]

Tony Blair (Prime Minister’s Jaguar)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTYIJPlD8kM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFg37lC7dVg

Blair leaves, Brown takes over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpZNzkW62VU

Gordon Brown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVM6zj_ikOw

David Cameron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV5iwyiyb5I

Barrack Obama (The Beast and its Escorts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCj57Fk67qc

Goodluck Jonathan (The S Guard with the National Flag and Commander in Chief’s Flag)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFKtQGHL1Mw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btbuFFjFuH8

The Queen (Bentley State Limousine)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjQ1_XeOkFE

Note: The views expressed in these videos do not reflect my views.

ocelot2006: And that is not the job of the NSCDC but the damn Fire Service.

That's the job of the NSCDC as first responders before the fire service arrives.

naptu2: From wikipedia.

However, the traditional response to massed attack on civilian population centres is to maintain a mass-trained force of volunteer emergency workers. Studies in World War II showed that lightly trained (40 hours or less) civilians in organised teams can perform up to 95% of emergency activities when trained, liaised and supported by local government. In this plan, the populace rescues itself from most situations, and provides information to a central office to prioritize professional emergency services.

In the 1990s, this concept was revived by the Los Angeles Fire Department to cope with civil emergencies such as earthquakes. The program was widely adopted, providing standard terms for organization. In the U.S., this is now official federal policy, and it is implemented by community emergency response teams, under the Department of Homeland Security, which certifies training programmes by local governments, and registers "certified disaster service workers" who complete such training.

It is even stated in the NSCDC act (section 1 o and q).

(o)   Assist in the provision of emergency medical services, including first aid, during any period of emergency.

(q)   Assist the Federal and State Fire Service in Fire-fighting operation.

https://www.nscdc.gov.ng/pagedisp.php?id=34

I remember a Civil Defence training session I attended in the 1980s. It was so fascinating that it stuck in my mind.

They constructed a multi-storey building out of wood and other materials. They then set it on fire. Members of the NSCDC had to rescue people in the building and putt out the fire while their superiors watched. This was when the NSCDC was a volunteer/part-time organisation.

That obviously is not the primary job of the police.

From wikipedia.

However, the traditional response to massed attack on civilian population centres is to maintain a mass-trained force of volunteer emergency workers. Studies in World War II showed that lightly trained (40 hours or less) civilians in organised teams can perform up to 95% of emergency activities when trained, liaised and supported by local government. In this plan, the populace rescues itself from most situations, and provides information to a central office to prioritize professional emergency services.

In the 1990s, this concept was revived by the Los Angeles Fire Department to cope with civil emergencies such as earthquakes. The program was widely adopted, providing standard terms for organization. In the U.S., this is now official federal policy, and it is implemented by community emergency response teams, under the Department of Homeland Security, which certifies training programmes by local governments, and registers "certified disaster service workers" who complete such training.

Don Willy Baba: Let us go 2 each of dis organization 's history 2 kno much about dem/dia achievement. dia is no duty/investigatn/operatn/controling etc dat police r nt doing. d rest organization was removed from police & use it 2 create new org; police: dis ppl r suffering, yet dey r tryin 2 do dia daily duty, no rest, post 2 anywhr in d nation, no better salary, no allowance, no kit, no leave, no tym 4 family or 2 celebrate etc yet, dey r doing d work. plz stop dis criticizing, NPF is trying. wu kno ncdsc in abroad?

We inherited the Civil Defence from the British. The Civil Defence have a wartime role and a peacetime role.

During world war two, most of the able bodied men had gone to the war-front. The question then was, who would protect the civil populace from spies, quench fires that were set off by bombs, guide people to air raid shelters, etc. That's where the civil defence came in. It was a civilian force that's trained to protect the civil populace from hazards (fire, medical and security). My grandfather was a member of the Civil Defence during the second world war.

It was also used during the cold war because of the fear of nuclear attack (who would protect the civil populace/guide them to shelters, etc if there's a nuclear attack?) This is the origin of the NSCDC.

It was Sani Abacha that signed the law to make it a permanent force (like a parallel police force). They have now been given the rights to bear arms (which is very strange).

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_defense

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Defence_Corps

Let me give you an example of the duties of the Civil Defence.

When the Dana Airplane crashed recently, there were no fire fighters to ensure that the plane did not burst into flames. There were no security agents to prevent looting and control the crowd. There was nobody to administer first aid. The civil defence are supposed to be trained first responders.

They'll be the first responders because they live in the community. They do not need to come from some far away barracks or station, they are members of the community who have received training in fire fighting, first aid, unarmed combat, etc and they have their first aid kits, fire extinguishers, etc with them at home. They do not receive a salary, because they have other jobs. It's a part-time, voluntary service that they perform. They only receive training at weekends and receive a little allowance/stipend when they show up for training or complete a task.

I beg to differ. I believe that Afam is only explaining what he has observed. I've observed the same thing to and I think anybody who has been on nairaland for a while would understand what he meant.

They always have an excuse. I saw them on tv. One of them was weeping, crying that he's not an armed robber. He said they told him to drive them to the airport, but he refused. He later introduced them to someone who did the job with them and they paid him only 1.5m.

1) Why didn't he report them to the police?

2) Why did he receive stolen money from them?