₦airaland Forum

arojamanja:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=145932

I spent most of last week in Washington DC and the days were well spent. Everywhere I went, the topic was always Nigeria. Nigeria seems to have become a major burden for most of its citizens. Wherever two or more Nigerians are gathered, there is usually nothing else to discuss than the failure of leadership, and our steady slide into apocalyptic state. To say everyone is worried is an understatement.
There is nothing to suggest that Nigerian politicians appreciate, or even care, about the dangers that ominously hang over us. The way they are carrying on suggests that these reckless fellows may once more endanger the democracy we suffered so much to attain. When a nation is incapable of transferring power from one civilian to the other, in an atmosphere of peace, then we are all doomed.
Politics for us is a matter of life and death. Elections remain a theatre of war, and opponents must be crushed without mercy. If a whole BAT (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) could cry out so stridently about the manner some powerful forces in Nigeria have been threatening him with EFCC, then we are indeed in trouble. This confirms what we heard during the electoral malfeasance in Ekiti State, that the federal government had warned Tinubu to stay away from causing trouble for the ruling party in Ekiti.
Failure to heed this blackmail may lead to his files being revisited at EFCC. What nonsense? We thought we had seen the end of this type of abuse of power. While some files are being closed, the underprivileged ones like Tinubu have theirs being kept for regular oiling in the cabinets. The brave man had to outsmart the foxes by taking the battle to their doorstep, and exposing the shenanigans of vindictive politicians.
We’ve never been lucky with most of our rulers. It is no longer news that we have very weak, incompetent, ineffectual, corrupt, wicked, ruthless, visionless politicians in Nigeria. What is news is that Nigeria parades some of the brightest people on the surface of the earth and yet cannot elect such people into office. The few good people who manage to get into power are never allowed to make a difference. They are often suffocated by those who joined politics for personal gains. We tend to complain a lot, but without visible results.
Every Nigerian knows what is wrong with us. Even theoretically, we all seem to have the solutions. Why then is it impossible to apply our knowledge to finding lasting answers to many questions begging for attention? How come we are so used to “suffering and smiling”? Could there be a spiritual dimension to our problems? It is baffling that we can endure so much pain. It is amazing how we simply shrug our shoulders to very serious issues, and move on with our lives as if nothing happened.
There is not a single thing that we can point at that our rulers have generously done for us. We lack good roads, yet we drive the most expensive cars on it. We build houses we cannot maintain in the most expensive slums in the world. We all have our individual boreholes at home to serve as private water corporations. Generators fight loudly for attention in every single home or flat. There are no sacred neighbourhoods.
Abuja, our brand new city is already collapsing. Nowhere is our rulers’ lack of vision so palpable than Abuja. It is obvious we have again missed an opportunity to build a city that can rival Canberra in Australia, or Brasilia in Brazil. We seem to suffer irredeemably from poverty mentality and can never copy the right things that we are so used to seeing elsewhere.
This was the platform on which we rested our discussions during a beautiful brunch which was hosted for me last Saturday by a young 26-year old Nigerian, Bankole Omisore, at The National Press Club, on 14th Street, Washington DC, a very historic edifice that has played host to the crème de le crème of American politicians and showbiz personalities. For me as a journalist, it was the perfect environment to enjoy the best of American burgers, and jaw-jaw on the issues of serious concerns to all of us.
I had struck a beautiful relationship with Bankole last year, at the Annual Nigerian Reunion Summit in Baltimore, where I gave a talk, and interacted with thousands of Nigerian youths. Bankole had chaperoned me on that occasion, and demonstrated his incredible love for Nigeria even at that tender age. He would later introduce me more forcefully to Facebook, a monster that has now taken over the world.
Today, I have the privilege of over 4,000 friends, with another 4,000 waiting for me to confirm them. Interestingly, Bankole controls the Ovation International magazine (loud for a purpose) group on Facebook, and has already attracted over 5,000 members, and growing at an average of 100 new members per day. This whizz-kid has opened my eyes to the awesome possibilities of technology. He was able to register and tutor me on the latest craze in town, Twitter. The generation of Banks, as we all fondly call him, is so determined to change Nigeria through technology. They have vowed never to allow Nigerians to be slaughtered on the streets while campaigning for enduring democracy and good governance.
Their strategy is to use the Internet to reach as many enlightened Nigerians, at home and abroad. Believe me, these guys are winning, slowly but surely. They post my column on Facebook every week, so that those who may not be interested in reading newspapers on-line can have access to the serious issues we tackle these days.
I cannot thank these Nigerians enough for their selfless contributions to nation-building. They have contributed largely to my unbounded optimism lately. We must pay special tribute to these unsung heroes who are working round the clock to achieve positive changes for Nigeria. These are guys who combine their regular jobs with sitting on their Blackberries to send messages at the speed of light. We must encourage them to carry on for they are the salt of our world. One can only hope that more Nigerians would also take advantage of the many stunts that technology has put on parade today.
Back to our brunch, Bankole was able to hook up his group with the older generation by attracting the famous Professor Bolaji Aluko of Howard University and Mr Muyiwa Sobo, a distinguished Attorney in the Washington Metropolitan area. It was a meeting for about a dozen people and we had very useful insight into the problems of Nigeria through Professor Aluko. He was of the opinion that the decision of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to move from the Western Region to the center robbed Nigeria of the opportunity of every region developing at its own pace.
According to him, the South-west would have become like the Singapore of Nigeria, while offering the other regions the spirit of competition. He lamented that all the enviable legacies of Awolowo and his vibrant team have come to ruin in the hands of the carpetbaggers who have taken over the whole place. He wondered why nothing concrete has been added to the innovations brought into governance by Awolowo.
We talked about the dearth of good people in politics. It was agreed that that decent people have allowed themselves to be intimidated by political upstarts and thugs. We have inadvertently transferred the levers of power to most of the certified crooks that are ready to play the game by any means necessary, while we are busy running away from what we call the dirty game. The simple analogy is that of beauty contests. We always complain that Miss This and Miss That are very ugly, yet we keep our own pretty daughters under lock and key. It is the same with politics.
We cannot continue to complain about the poor quality of politicians we have when none of us is ready to join the fray. As for those of us who may not be ready for elective office, there is always a positive role to play. We can start to effect change by helping to mobilize voters for good candidates. We can also help to recruit foot-soldiers who would help to protect the votes of the right candidates. It is very clear that useless candidates would always spend huge fortunes to amass guns and cutlasses but there are lessons to be learnt from the past. You can only rig where you are popular. That is the main reason PDP amassed all its votes predominantly from one zone.
In the future, we must never allow ourselves to be caught unawares. Since we know Maurice Iwu is a beautiful leopard who can never change his skin, all hands must be on deck to beat this master at his the game. We must put a lie to his brazen propaganda. Everyone must come out to vote. After voting we must stay around to ensure no hanky-panky is introduced. We agreed at our brunch to take this campaign to all our friends and families.
Nigeria cannot afford another four years of this dangerous drift. All over the world, Nigerians are crying. Most people want to come home. But they are worried about the state of affairs. They hardly receive good news from home. A friend said he was trying hard to cajole his young kids to visit Nigeria, and where they refuse; he may have to apply pressure. All the kids are complaining about lack of steady electricity.
The news that the ruling government is pumping more money into that sector is being scorned at by most people. They are of the opinion that the problem was never that of funding. It is that of a perpetual sabotage by those satanic profiteers who are benefitting from our collective misery. There is also the issue of awarding contracts to those who will never get the job done after collecting full payments. Examples of such unexecuted contracts abound in our country. Yet the contractors are usually untouchable.
There is also a consensus on the issue of getting rid of our traditional politicians who have failed us so woefully. After ruling us for about 50 years, we must begin to ease them out of the system. Most of them started their political careers when they were in their twenties. Now some of us are nearing 50, yet we are being looked at as “small boys”. When are we going to mature enough to be able to serve our dear country? The same politicians are being recycled over and over again, as if the rest of us are idiots. We must challenge the retrogressive system that makes it possible for the worst politicians of our society to force themselves on us.

Self adulation and cheap promotion.

It's expected for Indian women to pay dowry to their men to marry them. Some of them even get burnt to death if they default on the dowry payment.

Not true that behind every successful man, there is a woman.

Which has served Nigeria better? The military regime or the civilian regime? Babangida and his cohorts milked the country dry, but really were they worse off than their civilan predecessors, Shagari and the other guy who crowed that Nigerians are yet to eat from the dustbin? Buhari and his partner, Idiagbon's attempt to restore order and dignity in the lives of Nigerians were met with strong criticism and allegations of abuse of civil rights. There, Nigeria went downhill with the regime of Abacha who pilfered the country so badly that his death was met with celebration from some quarters. Obansanjo, hailed as an agent of change descended into ignominy when he tried to run for a third term. Yaradua, whose ascent was also greeted with aplomb and dismay has managed to stay away from the limelight. But governors like Fashola and Duke, all products of the civilian regime have done remarkably for their home state.

Which regime is suited best for Nigerian? To me, it's irrelevant (though in an ideal world, democracy, which is the govenment of the people by the people ,  Guess America does not live upto that idealized image it portrays with the electoral college in part), as long as the right person rules the country. He could be a military guy, a civilian guy, or even a socialist guy!

I will never ever send my child to a primary school boarding house.

Mactao, I am impressed by your writeup!

debosky:
There is no picture of Jesus that we know of that is correct. Even in the bible, people gathered to locations when they knew Paul would be there to preach or minister. The key here is that the motive behind using the pictures is to draw people in and reveal the truth of Christ to them. Human beings respond to name recognition - as always, the final aim is the key, if it will bring people to Christ, there is nothing wrong with it.

Great answer!

davidylan:
I'm split between two things - the fact that the bible also encourages us to gather together in worship as often as we can and the fact that like kunle said . . . a lot of the churches of today are simply monuments to greed.

I grew up reading the "religious" books of the likes of Robert Liardon, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland . . . men i once revered have turned out to be no more than salesmen in cassocks. Hawking prayer cloths, stealing from the poor to finance their luxury and promoting sins like homosexuality in the name of "love".

Does it mean that the church as a building is no longer relevant? No. Even Christ prayed with His disciples, the early apostles also fellowshipped one with another . . . the bible says iron sharpeneth iron so as much as the church is the people, the building is also important. The purpose for attending church is now more important than ever, are you going there to be fed a balanced spiritual diet or you are going there because it is the finest building in town and you'd like to be a part of the religious social club? Are you going there because they have a solid music band? Are you going because the pastor is the flashiest in town and the best babes abound there?

Much more than bashing the church, i think we need to do an introspection. Some churches will never be 100% perfect but so long as God is there and is the Lord crucified is preached . . . i will pitch my tent there until the Spirit guides to some place else.

Applause.

How can we raise the profile of the slave trade in America just as the Jews have suceeded in creating a lasting legacy of the Holocaust? Look at the Jewish writer, Ellie Wiesel, who has appeared on Oprah's show, and his book was choosen by her club. Yet, I dunno if she's devoted the same attention to the black holocaust as she has to the Jewish Holocaust.

The black holocaust is swept under the carpet in America. Life is not fair at all. If the Jews have been paid for by all the sums of money stolen by the Germans, the same ought to be done to Africans.

Read this link.

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Classroom/9912/blackholocaust.html

When one hears the term, "Holocaust", they almost indirectly think of the near extermination of the Jewish race by Adolf Hitler. The Jewish Holocaust has deservedly garnered so much attention, particularly in the USA. I recall earlier that money looted from them by the Swiss were promptly returned back to their descendants or thereabout.

But what about black holocaust? Why is it that there isnt so much attention focused on it, even though the number of blacks killed in slavery was over 10 million, a conservative estimate?

My first experience as a boarder was at Lutheran High School, Obot Idim. I was 10.5 years old and was homesick.

First, I was assigned to Luther House, part of the old colony. I absolutely detested the house, and quite frequently used to dodge morning duties. My name was not even on the rooster, which meant, the seniors did not even know of my existence in the dorms. Fortunately, the son of a family friend from my village brought me into his hostel, Ekong House, where I lived till I finished secondary school. The guy was very kind to me (he even used to wash my uniforms, and the money that my parents would give him as an appreciation, he earmarked for my care, how can I even thank this guy)

This house change was illegal, and they were some students who changed dormitories, either to escape a brutal senior student or to be with friends. Then came interhouse sports and some of the prefects were coming to various hostels, urging the 'relocation' (LOL) of roommates back to their dormitories. I was absolutely terrified that I will be forced to leave my new dormitory to my former dorm. Ekong House was known for being very liberal with students, rules were hardly enforced, including siesta, while Luther House was notorious for brutalities. I stayed in this house for six years, and grew attached to my dormitories, that the place still evokes sentimentality in my psyche. One of my friends as of last year, was asking me via email (and we are in our thirties) why I was so attached to the dorm (and as God knows, e no be my papa's house). But that's just me, I refused to let go. After my bucket got stolen in my first year, I lived in the hostel without a bucket for years, until my mother got me another one. Then, there was the issue of plates, I mean, even if your plates were missing, you could share a meal with a roommate/friend. Boarding house invoked a spirit of camaraderie amongst some students, but I tell you also, there was pure malice that bordered on the paranormal there.

Man, boarding house instilled a spirit of independence in me. I knew how to iron my clothes with box iron filled with hot charcoals, and even preferred it to electric iron, (unbelievable but true). I learnt to be independent, to study under harsh circumstances (remember reading your book with a lantern after lightsout), or drying your clothes at the generator house.

College: I lived off campus with my elder brother. At first, I would have loved to live in the hostels, but gradually realized that I was better off living off campus. Granted, there was the free water supply, the social activities in the hostels and all what not, but overall, I was better off living off campus.

Black soap, I also heard is good for pimples. My mom used to make soap (gosh, I should have learnt how to do this) and quite honestly, our housemaid told me that a girl in my village, who was suffering from skin diseases (scabies or rashes) bought the soap, used it, and the disease vanished.

Very sad though, Mom is dead, and the secret is gone, unless my sisters know about it.

Image123:
@nikky23
What you lack is a thirst for God. What you need to do is stir up that thirst. The most natural way to stir up the thirst is to become a child of God by becoming born again. This is done by realizing your sins, then calling on Jesus Christ to forgive you and save you from them. You simply and sincerely tell that to God in a prayer. He's everywhere, you could do that now.
Also, it's possible that you've given your life to God earlier. If so, all you need to do is to re-commit/re-dedicate your self/life to God. That's all. It's possible your love has 'waxed cold', but you could retrace your steps, and come boldly before God's throne of grace.
   That step should start you on the right gear to loving and benefiting from the Word of God(Bible). You need to keep that love burning and growing, because there's a lot of 'wind' around us that is eager to blow us cold. Exercise yourself. Do it i.e read the Bible, and do it until it becomes an habit. With the Spirit of God dwelling with you, you will overcome.
Lastly, let me add that its best for you to read the Word as your spiritual food, for your own self. Don't get into the practice of just reading to show something to others, or to fault something/someone.

Thanks for the writeup, myself, I need to take this advice into practise.
Cheers

Ndipe is a man!

Theblessed:
Yes, I repeat - there is a difference between forgiving someone and feeling comfortable with them. Yes, Christ was never comfortable with Judas after the betrayal and the other disciples also, were never comfortable with him either - no one would be comfortable with someone who betrayed them, ok! As for welcoming Judas back into the fold, I meant Christ doing business with him as he had always done prior to the betrayal and the Bible didn't tell us that Christ spoke to him again after that event.  Again, the same thing happened with Peter.  He was not comfortable with Peter when he denied him at his trial.   Peter denied Christ three times as the Cock crowed and Christ told Peter 'Get thee behind me, satan'. If he was comfortable with these kind of people, how could he use such words?  No one is comfortable with anyone that betrays them, period.  It's human nature, Christ showed his human side when he was here on earth with us. In the context of the prodigal son's story, I would say that your arguement is out of context.  The prodigal son was someone else's son and parents can forgive and take their children back any time however, Judas Iscariot was the 13th disciple - a servant not Christ 's son though, Christ forgave him, the Bible did not say they were good friends afterwards, did it? Well, that's the difference. Excuse me, Mr, you are not the only one with a bible, every Christain has one I suppose, and should read it and make their own interpretations.

I dont understand why you would even contemplate putting God in the same pedestal as human beings. God is forgiving, and took back Peter to the fold, after his betrayal, because he had repented. So, all these stuff that you are making up about Judas Iscariot being the 13th and all that, is wrong!

The man is not your husband for heavens sake, so why are you having a problem with his decision to take care of his mother? It would have been a different scenario if both of you are legally married, and he abandoned his responsibilities for the upkeep of his mother. You cant dictate to him how he can spend his money, the best you can do is to leave the relationship.

Both parties are at fault: Your relation refused to settle any medical bills that she incurred during her miscarriage. And, she did not comfort him when his mom was on her dying bed. But, I'd say, she is willing to make amends for her misdeeds. Let your relative have an open heart and reconcile with her. Let them talk to their pastor over this issue. Though the situation is painful, it can be overcome with prayers, love and forgiveness.

I wish them well.

Man, Fashola is on a roll. If he succeeds, man, he might go down in history perhaps, as the best governor of Lagos state. The man is doing big things for Lagosians. A big applause to him.

Who's been to Ho and Keta? The author of the novel, "The Narrow path", Franis Selormey was from Keta.

Primary school:

We are happy boys and girls from Unical staff school, happy boys and girls, happy boys and girls, we are happy boys and girls, from Unical staff school, happy boys and girls, we are.

tunku:
How about the woman that stabbed her neighbor in the heart in front of that woman's daughter? Abi that happened in another country named Nigeria?

Dude, dont digress, the topic is about women killing other pregnant women to steal their unborn foetus and parade them as theirs.

You would think that in a country like the USA where adoption is not a taboo, such incidences wont occur, unlike Nigeria, where adoption for the most part is still conducted in secrecy. Yet, I am yet to read of a Nigerian woman, no matter how desperate she is, killing a pregnant female and running off with the baby in the womb. But this bizzare and ghoulish/devilish acts persists in the USA, a country where adoption is accepted.

Go to God in prayers for direction.

Easy answer, the boy belongs to the biological father.

Ore. investigators: Woman cut open, baby taken
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Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print AP – Korena Roberts, with her lawyer Jim Glover is arraigned in Washington County court on Monday, June 8, …
Slideshow:Baby taken from pregnant Ore. woman By RYAN KOST, Associated Press Writer Ryan Kost, Associated Press Writer – 24 mins ago
HILLSBORO, Ore. – A pregnant 21-year-old newcomer to Oregon who was found dead in a crawl space of a home had been cut open and her baby taken from her womb, investigators said Monday. It couldn't be determined if the infant son of Heather Snively died before or after he was removed, the Washington County sheriff's department said in a statement.

A 27-year-old Beaverton woman, Korena Roberts, was to be arraigned Monday on a murder charge in Snively's death.

Investigators have said Roberts claimed Snively's infant was her own. Police were called to the home Friday because a newborn wasn't breathing. Doctors were unable to revive him and told officers that Roberts had not given birth. Police then found Snively's body at Roberts' home.

A medical examiner said Monday that Snively died of blunt and sharp force injuries.

"At this time, it has not been determined if she died because of head wounds she received or as a result of cutting injuries she received to her abdomen," the sheriff's office said.

Investigators said Roberts had been telling friends and family members for months that she was pregnant. They said Roberts may have been in contact with other pregnant women.

Snively had recently moved to Oregon from Maryland because her boyfriend and father of the child had found a better job. He reported Snively missing Friday night.

Snively's mother, Heidi Kidd of St. Albans, W.Va., said Snively met Roberts a few weeks ago through Craigslist, the online classified service. Roberts told Snively she was pregnant and wanted baby clothes, Kidd said. They befriended one another and kept talking online.

Kidd told The Associated Press on Sunday that her first grandson was to be named John Steven.

"I'm still in shock; it hasn't hit me," she said. "I mean, that initial phone call; I just couldn't believe it. I just could not believe I was talking about my own child."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/ap_on_re_us/us_pregnant_woman_killed

Have you heard of the talk that it takes two to tango?

Absolutely, if he is found wanting of his calling, like stealing, prostituting, abuse.

The bottom picture on the left is very funny!

Absolutely!

Vanity of all vanities!

Pepeye:
I don’t think I ve seen an impoverished man who’s childless, it would just be double jeopardy

Neither have I. Have you all noticed the irony that it is mostly the rich men/women who suffer from infertility/barreness, while the poor have multitudes of children, why is that?