₦airaland Forum

I am among the minority who viewed Nkrumah as less than an ideal head of state. Do some research about him and come up with your conclusions. I aint gonna follow the bandwagon and eulogize him as the best African head of state.

Patrice Lumumba? I am not familiar with his policies. But yeah, Sankara was great.

I am referring to any African leader, alive or dead.

Just found out that Faison is not of Nigerian descent. His name was given to him during his family's visit to Nigeria.

Na English I go chop? Please dont overlook the redeeming qualities of your girl that you have described as a "ruby among ladies" because she cant speak English. Why dont you enrol her in school to be acquainted with the queen's language if you really love her?

Interesting topic. I am always curious to know the salary range in naija. I graduated from college in the early 90's and moved abroad, so I am not at all conversant with the pay structure back home. However, at the time I lived in Naija, the pay for graduates was about 5k a month in the banking sector. I am talking about the early 90's period which was good money. So, you could imagine my surprise when my cousin told me in 99 that she was making 50k a month for some bank in Nigeria. As of the time she left for yankee, her salary had more than doubled. I don't know what my salary worth would be back home, but me and my brother were discussing on the merits and demerits of moving abroad and having to struggle from scratch. But the environment in yankee ameliorates the challenges. For a car, you can just make car payments monthly for five years instead of bothering to save what? 5 million naira to buy one, which may be a herculean task for wage earners in non plum positions.

I had this erroneous assumption that all blacks were friendly with one another. I thought if you saw a black person and said "woz up", that's cool. Imagine my surprise when I walked into an elevator of my aunt's building and saw a black woman. I greeted her amiably but she turned around and looked surprised. Chei, and this was when homesickness was beginning to take a hold of me and my aunt was telling me to avoid Nigerians at all cost. There was nobody to turn to, if you turn to Nigerians, aunt might be unhappy that you are breeding problems for yourself, and you are considered an outsider in America. Plus the chilly weather in Virgina did not help.

At least, the weather gets warmer in California.

My taste varies and changes regularly. Today it could be fufu and afang soup, tomorrow, Rice and stew with plantain could be my favorite. But I love beans and ripe plantain though.

For a change, who has been the best leader among the pack of African rulers? Nelson Mandela presently carries the torch as the best African leader. His exemplary leadership in abolishing apartheid through self discipline, denial of self and a willingness to forgive his enemies has made him one of the world's favorite leaders. But his glowing attributes has been besmirched by his divorce from Winnie Mandela, who stood by him during his life in prison. My former co-worker told me that he could have forgiven her, if he could have forgiven his detractors.

Julius Nyerere was another favorite leader, who would be listed as one of the few African leaders who voluntarily stepped down from office. He was a modest man, eschewing flamboyance and a proponent of communism


But my favorite has to be Thomas Sankara. Unbeatable, charismatic and a visionary leader of Burkina Faso. Sankara was admired for his stellar political leadership as much as he was admired for his charisma. The day he was assassinated by his dear 'friend', Compaore, Africa mourned a great leader. During his lifetime, he declared his assets publicly, which comprised of a few material goods. His trips around the country was without fanfare, he drove in a Renault 5, banned female circumcision and opposed polygamy.

There are more than a few other great leaders of Africa, but Sankara stood head and shoulders (in my opinion) above his political contemporaries in Africa. His death was a tragic loss to Burkina Faso as well as to the world because his revolutionary leadership was a stepping stone for the reformation of his society.

Praise be to God in the Highest for this good news, Amen.

Congratulations, SirKay.

Jesus Christ is the Only Way to God, so Allah and God cant be the same.

But isnt it ridiculous at the same time that a married woman would still bear her maiden name professionally the prefix, "Ms" attached to the name? Come to think of it, why would you go by "Ms/Miss" professionally and privately, be a "Mrs"? Something is wrong there. Combining your pops last name and your husband's last name is ok with me. My mom did that and pops did not have a problem with it.

Nna, this discourse about colonialism has been rehashed on this board.

Druscilla, yeah, the colonial masters treated our forefathers better than our leaders. Hmm, there is too much. How about the killing of twins and the abolition of human sacrifices? Colonialism put an end to this inhumane practises practised by our forefathers.

@Raldsfield, I was cracking up when I read your post.

We Nigerians have found a creative way of keeping our spirits up, even in the midst of adversities.

You forgot to write about the lack of change in some molue and the ingenious ways of bus conductors in combatting this dilema. Pairing up people, usually a man and a woman passenger to split the change. In some cases, the man would forego the change for the woman, or at unfortunate times, a fight will break out, or then again, this imaginative way is the path to a new relationship forged by two strangers.

Chei, Nigeria, I think of no other place that has brought me so much laughter in my lifetime. Yankee can't just compete with the comic arena of Nigeria.

Tough question!!!

Hmmm, all this corruption existing in Africa is old news. Why keep browbeating a discourse that has outlived its usefulness?

Job performance should not be tied to one's gender. I have worked under male and female bosses that have been both nice and not so kind to me. So overall, I would want an understanding and compassionate boss.

@Druscilla. Tomorrow now, you will blame colonialism

Look before you leap.

This topic has been debated over and again on this board.

And yeah, I do agree that Nigerians are generally happy people.

This topic has been rehashed over and over again on this board. But here are my views.

Singling out colonialism as the root of problems in Africa is akin to calling a dog a bad name. Colonialism has its merits and demerits. We have been independent since 1960, and what do we have to show for gaining independence? You complain of foreign embassies giving our professors the cavalier treatment. But how come? What efforts are our government putting in place to stem the exodus of our competent brains from leaving the country? Why can't we just focus on our problems, blame our leaders instead of blaming foreigners? Look at Darfur, mired in famine. What are AFrican leaders doing to curb this heart rending episode in Sudan, other than embezzling money, while subjecting their citizens to a lifetime of misery and hunger. Visit some states in Nigeria and you will weep at the stories that some civil servants will narrate to you. Non payment of salaries, compounded by a high cost of living. The conflict in Congo, was it started by the white man? I doubt it.

While I applaud Nkrumah for his attempt to foster unity in Africa, at the same time, his regime was dogged/besmirched with stories (true or false) of torture against his opponents, juju involvement and corruption.

So, lets forget about the ills of colonialism at the present time and work on how to achieve peace and prosperity in our continent. Lets stop blaming the white man for past faults. Our 'brothers' in government, some of them are worse than these imperialists that you have singled out for your diatribe.

who is fanning the flames of pan africanism? How is it viable to the sovereignty of Africa? Has it run its course, or does its merits still exist?

I never asked, neither did they tell me. I found out on my own in elementary school.

Could you expantiate on how the colonial powers have installed puppets at the detriment of the country?

Is Obasanjo a puppet of the western world?

How about we forget about the inglorious chapter of slavery for a moment and gear our mind towards developing Africa, beginning in our family? To be honest with you, I think that the colonial rulers treated us better than our present leaders

The recent cancellation of our foreign debt was applauded in close quarters. Some people hailed this landmark as a positive step towards development in Nigeria. Iweala spearheaded this debt cancellation and for some, she is seen as a contender for the President of Nigeria. However, while I applauded this generousity by the west, I would have to ask this question that is also mentioned by some pessimistic Nigerians, "Who really benefits from the debt cancellation'? Do kids in the village ever enjoy the fruits of this labor by the Minister, or is it some gimmick spinned around by some eminent Nigerians to gain the sympathy of the western nation. Already, news reports have surfaced that our vice president Atiku Abubakar is closely linked to a bribery scandal involving some politician in the United States of America. So, again, that is a blow to our image, because several weeks ago, when CNN aired our dirty laundry to the world, some Nigerians offered a rebuttal to this damaging document, decrying that the western press is only attuned to negative stories surrounding Africa, while casting a blind eye to the positive ones.

But where are the positive ones? Why is Africa still mired in the bondage of starvation and corruption, while their counterparts are spearheading a new wave of developement that is beneficial to the society? I live in America and I notice the relatively good life of her citizens, as opposed to the squalid life in Africa. What will be the contribution of our present generation to the lives of our people back home? Our politicans have failed us immensely, thus creating a nation of instability, separating families all in the quest for the American dream.

But that aside, do you see any justice for the cancellation of our debts, or do you think it was just a ploy to extend our corrupt legacies to the present generation?

You are welcome

Actually, I posted several other posts, one of them about childhood memories in Nigeria. For some strange reason, it is not uploading.

But yeah, the picture of the little boy crying on your blog really touched me.

It was for a school assignment, that's it


Queenzy, that is a very informative website you have there on poverty. Keep it up!!

Mine is

www.nigerianamerican..com

Driving at?

That perhaps, there was no justification for NIDO (that Nigerian organization) to rebut CNN's documentary on the corrupt practises of some Nigerians in the state.

How can you reconcile their rebuttal with the present exposure of a whole vice president? Now, CNN might even decide to shove this to our face. And what of the AID that was given to our country some months ago, enabling us to pay our debts? Was there any justification to it? Nope!!!

Eventually, we will all die, so what is all this obsession with "healthy food" and "unhealthy food"?

Please educate me.

Rep. accused of trying to bribe Nigerian

By STEPHEN MANNING, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 6, 6:33 PM ET

GREENBELT, Md. - Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) called the package he allegedly delivered at midnight to the suburban Maryland home of Nigeria's vice president "African art." Authorities say the "art" was meant to be cash — lots of it.
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Court documents filed in the bribery probe of the Louisiana Democrat allege that Jefferson told an
FBI informant he took the "art," which authorities believe was code for $100,000 in $100 bills, to the Potomac home of Atiku Abubakar on July 31.

The money was allegedly part of $500,000 the Nigerian vice president sought in return for helping smooth the way for a technology venture in Nigeria that was arranged by Jefferson. Abubakar also reportedly wanted a large stake of the profits from the new business.

The day after he was to have delivered the money, provided by an FBI informant, Jefferson was recorded telling the informant: "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased."

The conversation and details of the alleged deal were included in an affidavit filed in August in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to secure a warrant to search Abubakar's house. The affidavit was unsealed Monday.

It is unclear whether any money was given to Abubakar, who is identified only as "the vice president of Nigeria" in the affidavit.

According to another search warrant affidavit for Jefferson's congressional office, released last month in Washington, $90,000 in cash was found in a freezer at Jefferson's Washington home. A briefcase similar to the one Jefferson is alleged to have used to carry the money was found in a later search of his New Orleans home, according to federal court documents filed there.

The 39-page affidavit released Monday in Maryland, some sections of which remain sealed, identifies the Potomac home as the residence of Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar's wife. Although the search of the residence was mentioned in documents previously released by the courts, names and titles were blacked out to keep them secret.

A lawyer for Abubakar, who is running for president of Nigeria, said Abubakar is cooperating with authorities. Edward L. Weidenfeld said Abubakar's relationship with Jefferson did not extend beyond standard diplomatic meetings.

"There is no relationship or any kind of arrangement of any sort between them," Weidenfeld said.

In Nigeria, where Abubakar kicked off his campaign last week, his spokesman Mohammed Yakubu said they have yet to see details of the allegations. "We don't have anything to say until we have seen these reports or allegations," he said by telephone from Abuja.

Jefferson has strongly denied wrongdoing in the alleged scheme.

The informant was a northern Virginia businesswoman identified by law enforcement officials as Lori Mody. She is said to have gone to the FBI when she believed Jefferson and others were defrauding her on the business deal. Jefferson discussed with her the "payment of bribes to high-ranking foreign government officials," including Abubakar, according to the affidavit.

Jefferson approached Abubakar, claiming he wanted to help an American firm invest $50 million to run Internet services over the wires of Nigerian telecom company Nitel. The venture was to include Mody, a Kentucky telecommunications company called iGate Inc., and the Nigerian firm Rosecom.Net.

The affidavit states Jefferson wanted a stake of 5 percent to 7 percent in the Nigerian venture for his five daughters and one of them, lawyer Jamila Jefferson, to be retained to help set it up.

The congressman met July 18 with Abubakar in Potomac and the vice president "agreed to help secure the necessary approvals" for iGate to begin work in Nigeria, Jefferson said. In return, Abubakar wanted at least 50 percent of the profits from Rosecom.Net and a payment of up to $500,000 before the deal was completed, the documents alleged.

Jefferson, who represents most of New Orleans, has served in Congress since 1990. The raid on his Capitol Hill office sparked outrage from congressional leaders who claimed the Bush administration was violating the separation of powers doctrine.
President Bush later sealed FBI files on the raid for 45 days.

Former Jefferson aide Brett Pfeffer has pleaded guilty and was given an eight-year term for his role in the bribery scandal. He is cooperating with authorities. Vernon Jackson, chief executive of iGate, also pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson.

Culled from www.yahoo.com

Does it really matter where the next Nigerian hails from? All what we want is a competent leader.

Flee from her before it is too late.
Dont let anybody coerce you into doing that blood covenant stuff. It is eerieeeeeeeee!!!!

Dont be surprised if the man is our next 'democratically' elected president.

Anything can happen in Naija, remember that

Lagos is the one of the worst places to live in the world, while another survey states that Nigerians are happiest people in the world.

Something is wrong here. Reiterating another poster here, what of war infested countries, what are their rankings?