₦airaland Forum

Parboiled rice consumed in Nigeria are mostly tasteless. The local Abakaliki rice is more tasteful and nutritious. Friends in Europe couldn't eat enough of Abakaliki rice i brought when i visited Nigeria. It tastes more like Basmati or Jasmine rice. Some of the imported rice in our markets have spent almost a decade in silos in Asia waiting for gullible Nigerian consumers. A well de-stoned Abakaliki rice is my 1st choice any day.

Billyonaire: Does that look like a brand new 2013 model ? That's a 'Used 2010' model. Check the tail light.

Ok, but don't complain when your first lady places order for 100 units to host African women. Nigerian politicians never buy used vehicles for official duty.

Billyonaire: The problem is that you do not know the cost of the car. What I am seeing there is an older model that goes for as low as $57,000 and can be cheaper if purchased at Auction. How much do you think a new Landcruiser cost ? Yet, thats the official car that politicians use. People think its cheaper but its more expensive. Nigeria is not poor, believe me, as far as you are doing something, you are bound to be a millionaire.

If giving a green light, Nigerian politicians will go for the most expensive model that costs over €100,000. Dude, that's taxpayers money! Is such luxury really necessary for public servants in our clime?

engineerd: Whats the big deal? its just an $85,000+ car.

Wrong, a brand-new 2013 Porsche Panamera GTS model with 430HP costs over €100,000 in Germany.

Billyonaire: Whats wrong with having Porsche as Official car ? Are we in recession in Nigeria ? Last time I checked, this is not Cyprus. We are an oil nation goddamnit. It time we start living large in this wonderful country with near-zero tax regime and stop lamenting, some some South African and Ghanians keep messing with us cos we are too humble. Let us show them we live beyond forking $2 per day. LOL!!!

Toyota loving guy, you are wrong on this one! In Porsche's homeland of Germany, it would be a political suicide for a German politician using any Porsche models as an official car. Why should it be otherwise in a 3rd world Nigeria? We must learn to live within our means..

More Porsche in Nigeria means more money for the Stuttgart based company. Porsche earned so much money last year and paid every employee a bonus of €7,000. Shall we allow our politicians to continue wasting our money on luxury goods?

RaRa is evil that shouldn't be touched with hand gloves. Why the hell is NL calling raRa "molestation"? It makes it a simple issue. Many women are traumatized for rest of their lives after raRa. Call it what it is - raRa.

I often hear how expensive things are in Britain. Here in Germany, things are relatively cheap compared to other European countries. Rent in Munich is in the high side, but companies there are paying well.

Population pressure on Enugu is just starting; as the population of Ndigbo(40 million?)increases so will the number of Ndigbo in Enugu. As the choicest city in Igboland, Enugu's cost of accommodation will continue to rise more than anywhere in Igboland. The only thing the state govt. can do is to build accessible roads to nearby villages. Town or village unions of nearby villages should encourage its inhabitants to build and rent houses in those villages for workers and students. Often i wonder why do someone from Ozalla or Amodu Akwunanaw prefer to live as a tenant in Achara-Layout,than living in his village and commuting to work? Although such attitude is gradually changing. Multi-storey buildings are being built in towns like Agbani, Ozalla, Umueze, Obe and 9th Mile. If such positive trends continue, it will offer workers at UNTH, students of ESUT and Law School alternative accommodations thereby relieving Enugu off some pressure. Amechi-Akwunanaw was the first village that took advantage of it's proximity to Enugu. Today thousands of people found cheaper accommodation there. My prediction is that greater Enugu by the end of the century will expand towards Agbaogugu, Ngwo, Umulumgbe, the entire Nike town, Agbani and some parts of Akpugo on the border to Ugwu-Aji. There are ample lands in the state to offer Ndigbo homes.

From the above figures, it seems Alams was competing with Mrs Cicilia Ibru on who would use stolen money acquire most choicest property around the world. The man stole Bayelsa state blind.

The Kenyans should better find a way to Calabar, before Lagos mosquitoes unleash havoc on their body. NFF doesn't care if their training pitch is in Isale Eko.

The Daimler-Benz designers in Stuttgart are trying hard to leave the 3rd spot MB currently occupy in German premium vehicle segment, but the current number 1 BMW will definitely not lay low. Audi's 2nd position is equally secured. The Schwaben(MB)still have to come up with more selling designs which offers driving experience and style that can equal BMW and Audi's appeal. Jetzt geht los....

I saw it on Bloomberg Television this afternoon. Nigerians must get ready for another rollercoaster ride with unpredictable repercussions. A Spanish type of economic austerity is coming near your home with hikes in electricity tariff and possibility of gasoline price of about 150 Naira a litre. It's a sign of tough years ahead.

If it's hot as folks write here, does it mean most ladies in 9Ja are moving about without underwear? Just as Western ladies prefer doing during hot summer. I guess many Nigerians will still put on suits sweating like pigs in 30+ degrees weather, all in the name of being 'gentleman' - apology to Fela Kuti!

In view of what Gov. Chime has accomplished in Enugu State, i was expecting to see the Coal City state among the heavily indebted states. But no, Chime seems to have combined financial prudence with a Midas touch of a Wall Street CEO's management style. I'm highly impressed....

A forced federal union has never survived the test of time in our modern world. Nigeria is gradually going the way of former USSR and Yugoslavia. The central government is weak and helpless to salvage the situation. For how long shall we continue to live in denial? May God grant the departed souls eternal peace!!

omonnakoda: You are guessing obviously you are too young to know the history. Goods were imported through PH which was a very active port relatively in those days. Nigeria's Population was less than half what it is today and virtually no express roads existed any where, No PH -Aba express which was single carriage,in short no express. The transport of containers did not happen in the same scale as we have today.Igbos open several warehouse in PH and whilst Aria was a bigger market than anything in PH there were big markets too.Another thing that happened was Ibo importers sold to each other at warehouses in PH.More importantly though in those days Ibos did not dominate importing .Rather it was foreigners ; mostly Lebanese and Indians and many Igbos bought from them.There wer no Tokunboh parts but new parts . Ibos imported second hand clothes but this was banned . They shifted to other things . I am talking PH here. Lagos is another story. Ibos started to emerge and replace Lebanese/Indians by the late 70s

My take has been mainly about 80s and early 90s. Ndigbo started big trading and importations after the oil boom of the late 70s. Most Igbo traders were about recovering from the civil war during the late 70s.

omonnakoda: I fail to see the relevance of That;
many Beninoise and Togolese are Yoruba, many Northerners too(millions of them) are Yoruba and many from the SS too are Yoruba
Austrians are Deutsche but not Germans.etc
I am talking about SW and SE two specific Geographical spaces and their derived benefits from the FGN
not Yoruba and anything else

Austrians speak Deutsch but they are Austrians, while Germans speak Deutsch and they are Deutschen. Have you ever been to South East?

omonnakoda: i disagree with you .How did the goods get to Aba in 1975 and from which port on which road

90% of goods sold in Enyimba City and Onitsha were imported through Lagos. Even when some goods came in through Onne, the containers were often taken and offloaded in warehouses in the two Igbo cities. Those were shrewd Igbo businessmen who understood history and its impact on people. In those years i never saw an Igbo trader going to PH to buy goods for his shop in Enyimba. Those Igbo businessmen knew what was up....

omonnakoda: Not true. Immediately after the war the ibo returned and cotinued trading in the areas known as "man must wack,Mile 1 and 3 ,Ikoku etc . Why is it it only Ibos in conflict everywhere?

Those were small traders and start-ups. Anybody who lived in Port Harcourt in those years knew that importers and wholesalers for most goods were in Aba and Onitsha. I personally knew business activities in Aba and PH very well in those years. You aren't telling me what i knew about Enyimba City, dude?

It seems Ndigbo are loosing their sense of history. Due to the terrible loss Ndigbo suffered in Rivers state during the civil war, Igbo importers and traders were shy setting up big businesses in Garden City. Inhabitants of Port Harcourt were somehow forced to do their big shoppings at Aba and Onitsha during the 70s and 80s. By so doing they felt the pain of mass exodus of Igbo traders from Rivers state after the civil war. A trip to Park Rd. or St Michael Street in Aba in those years showed thousands of PH inhabitants buying electronic appliances. Same at Kent Rd. and School Rd, where fabrics and clothes were sold. It was equally same at Onitsha. Ndigbo must strive to creat those trading hubs in Igboland. The rest of the country will be forced to travel to Igboland if they want to buy quality and cheaper goods. It will also be to our geo-political advantage. We must learn from what happened to Jews in Germany during the Third Reich.

It's good if Factory Road is coming on stronger as it was in the 80s. As an addicted lover of NB's once popular Greensands Shandy, i wish Enyimba City a new industrial renaissance. Enyimba people are talented and very very industrious. May the dreams of Onwuka Kalu and other pioneers of industries in Aba live on! If only Abia govt. will provide the necessary infrastructure to usher Enyimba to the upcoming industrial boom.

Maintenance has always been Nigeria's weakness. It's a culture i never heard one mention during my school days in Nigeria. Unfortunately, decay is brazenly displayed everywhere in our society - at homes, Schools, hospitals, public buildings, roads, vehicles etc. Architectural masterpieces and national monuments are decaying across the country. Isn't it time for us to start imbibing maintenance culture in our kindergarten, so that the young ones may rescue us from our shameful neglects someday?

gbosaa: by the way ...Jude Agada's nickname is not surugede....it is Benedict Ugwu...we lived opp each other at akpo st.achara layout.

Yes, you are right! You can't blame me sha, Jude Agada and Benjamin Ugwu were like twins in Rangers defence of those years; just as Mike Ogbodudu and Kenneth Boardman were before them. Thanks for bringing Louis Igwilo back to my memory! Ndubisi Nda and Charles Nduka were other fine players i forgot yesterday.

I've always been a fan of Enugu Rangers International. Though, the Rangers i watched playing and winning matches were the second best Rangers of all times- the 80s/90s teams. From the melody of Rangers supporters club drums to the unmistakable dancing steps of 'Uno-enu Rangers'- i saw it all during those glorious years of the team. Enugu Rangers of my years had in the line-ups: Patrick Okalla, Jude Agada(Surugede), Ikechukwu Ofoje, Justus Enwendu, Chibuzo Ehilegbu, Mike Emenalo, Okwuchukwu Obiora(Agarimojo),Kingsley Onye, Charles Okonkwo, Christain Ogbodo,Benjamin Okorogwu,Toti Toti,Davidson Onwumi and many more whom i can't remember at the moment. They thrilled us at then Temporary Stadium,and later at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu. I watched Enugu Rangers beat Spartans and Nationale at Owerri, trashed Udoji United at Oba, Sharks in PH and Stationary Stores at Onikan. Up Enugu Rangers International!! Rangers,mma mma!!

You talking about a Bank loan for your business in Nigeria? A Lebanese chap will get a loan from a Nigerian bank before a Nigerian businessman. The fact that Nigerian banks sometimes get their fingers burnt by those Lebanese men doesn't change the dynamic.

I nearly missed this one. Anyway, it's the Münchener(BMW)all the way. Mercedes-Benz is a boring drive, hardly good in handling and on the curves. Over the past three years, BMW has sold more vehicles in North America than the Schwaben(MB). BMW has been posting more profit than MB as well; this trend is more reflected by the stock prices of the two brands at Frankfurt Börse where BMW has been trading over €65, while MB goes for over €45 per a share. The Bundeskanzlerin Mrs. Merkel, uses BMW(Customized 7er)as her official car. German ministers often cruise in BMW. Mercedes-Benz is regarded as pensioners favourite in Europe while BMW and the Ingolstädter(Audi)are for the more active folks. In German luxury segment, Porsche leads, followed closely by BMW. Münchener forever!!!

oniwo: During that time 1985 my father bought his own Volkswagen Santana brand new at a rate of #45000 only in volkswagen company Lagos. The funny thing about it is that when he brought the car to our compound everybody ran inside and shut the door including my mum.

They probably thought Anini and Osunbor had arrived town! Stories of Nigerian policemen running for their lives wherever they sight a white Santana was popular. I no blame your family members sha, even then Bendel military Gov. Useni, was rumoured to be scared of Anini's gang.

Afam4eva: In the 90s i liked Jetta and Daewoo Racer while in the new millenium, i wanted to own a Bora and it's twin(can't remember the name now).

Daewoo Racer was the first Korean 'Akpati' used in confusing Nigerians to drink more sugared Coca-Cola, Pepsi and 7Up. And it worked....

VW Santana - Lawrence Anini and Monday Osunbor gave it a near James Bond image car during their terror years of 1985/86 in Benin City. It was a speedster then and terrified Nigerian Police like hell....

Bilfinger Berger AG known in Nigeria as Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, is the second largest construction company in Germany, after Hochtief AG. Berger has constructed first class Autobahns, major roads + bridges running thousands of kilometres in its native country . Berger has also built major roads and bridges in UAE. Corruption and lack of setting of standards for road construction by Nigerian authorities have ruined Berger's image in Nigeria. Nevertheless, it's still the best of the pack, and should be the one to build a new bridge across the Niger at Onitsha.

chino24: You have some illusions coverd up your eyes. That Ojukwu didn't win an election does not take away the fact that Ikemba and Obi made the talkative, potbellied Roches to bcom a gov.

In 2011 I could see Roches in Awka on daily basis, he was virtually living in Awka when he was kneeling and beggin Obi to help him get APGA ticket and make him governor. I was also seeing Omehia of Rivers state in Awka when he came for APGA ticket. That was the reason Obi said that Roches was an ingrate. Read between the line nwokem..

Chino, you're truly APGA's 'Karl Rove'. I really like the way you tenaciously believe in your man Gov. Peter Obi. To you, Obi is as pure as the word comes. Are all that just politics for you?