₦airaland Forum

Hello people, any info about the dollar exchange rate today?

There's an offer to buy the dollar for N153; is that fair?

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There's some confusion about "parallel" and "market". Here, using your words:

- the Mallams make up the 'parallel market', so they provide the 'parallel rate'.

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Seven or so minutes of hell she gave them in that clip;

Fantastic lady!

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So, what has the Olu man done to disgrace Nigeria

Is it any surprise that religious types would extrapolate to a community of students from the behaviour of one man??

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EzeUche0:
Things Fall Apart is not actually his best novel in my honest opinion. It is a good novel, but that title should go to Arrow of God.

That cannot be understated! His novel was thee first to speak from the African Perspective.

I'd've thought we were up to something here, EzeUche0; but it appears you've disappeared from this discussion.
You state 2 two things that appear interesting, if perhaps contradictory:

1) that "Arrow of God" is Achebe's best novel
2) that "Things Fall Apart" was the first to speak from the African perspective (emphasis added)

Would you care to develop these thoughts?

And, furacao, any responses forthcoming?

Phillip actively encouraged this.

In a piece he wrote that was published in the Guardian, he couldn't resist adding a line with words to the effect that: ",  winner of the Gordon Bell Prize, the Nobel Prize of Supercomputing".

It's a fine point, but there isn't really anything called the Gordon Bell prize (emphasis on the definite article) . . .

bothfeet:
the annoying thing about this is the fact that people keep comparing the Gordon Bell prize to the Nobel prize, thats like comparing the Screen writers Guild award to the Oscars, its simply not that big,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Bell_Prize

the man is not guilty of anything but a lack of straitforwardness,  and thts the problem with most nigerians abroad, they seem to feel its not wrong to mislead folks,

i used to be a fan, i no longer am

igbobuigbo:
Emeagwali talks to people and gives lectures on technologies and how africa can tap into them for its survival

This does not make him a scientist, not anymore than talking to villagers about how villagers could improve their health makes you a doctor or health practitioner. Phillip does these lectures based on his "reputation" as a scientist; that reputation has no basis in fact; he's a fraud.

igbobuigbo:
I read where you called him a fraud? Are you willing now to recant since from your response I deduce that he has not committed a fraud?

He is indeed a fraud; that his fraudulent acts may not be sanctionable in court does not excuse his trickery. See for yourself here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud . . . Now, how many of those definitions don't apply to Phillip's activities?

1) Where're the names of the Western literary giants whose throats have been stuck by Achebe's criticism of Conrad?

2) Your description of HOD is - sorry - rather undeveloped, and quite self-serving: beyond storytelling and better-than-average competence in the English language, what makes TFA great and HOD not (in this context)?

3) As you would see were you to critically approach TFA, it does as much harm with respect to (post)colonialism as much as you may want to accuse HOD of. Any accusation levelled against HOD must be placed in context: first, the context in time, and then: exactly what did the Corad achieve? And what did Achebe's TFA achieve as a response to HOD?

4) You write as though TFA's only 'sin' is the position of women. . . that is the least of it.

furacao:
Mind you, TFA is descriptive of what a society might have looked like in those days, and the place of women in the book was something described as a societal norm in the book's setting. HOD does not even provide that level of "society" or "humanity", and is partly derogatory of that continent and all included (in comparison to the White man) and farther away from reality. TFA might not paint a rosy picture of women in its villages but it accepts that they have a place in their world, albeit suppressed by their paternalistic society.

l do agree that if TFA is sexist, then HOD can be considered bigotted.

igbobuigbo:
Can anyone at all, let alone a nikka like Emeagwali commit a fraud in the USA and be allowed to walk free since 1989 and not arrested and hauled into jail? The answer to this question is the answer to Emeagwali's dilemma in the hands of obviously envious supposedly fellow Nigerians.

Nimshi: Is a MS degree inadequate to consider one a scientist? If he is not a scientist, is he also not an engineer?

- As to the last question: well, in the broadest sense, anyone enging in activity consistent with the scientific method could be called a scientist, but the regular use of the term is reserved for those actively engaging in the use of the scientific method is some area of work or research; naturally, some advance degree is required (even then you could be a scientist with a first/bachelor's degree).

-But our friend Phillip isn't doing this; he's got no technical paper in his name, no publication, no patent, and, well, he failed his Phd; then went to court to challenge it, and the court upheld his failure. He could have gone ahead to prove his professors wrong: publishing, say, and engaging in scientific work, but no, he went on the Internet, made several links to redirect people to his website, published poems written about him, made tall claims for things he never did, he's proved his not worhty of the "scientist" title, quite apart from the fact that he's made no recognizable contribution to knowledge in any field.

- The only thing he's achieved recently is to disgrace Nigerians who believed his stories.

- Serious scientists have no time for Phillip.

His grand deception is in a grey area someplace between outright fraud - which he's avoided - and grand deception - which he's an expert in; telling people tall tales about your achievement is hardly a haul-him-into-jail sort of crime.

furacao:
ln my opinion, Achebe's critique of Joseph Konrad's Heart of Darkness still sticks in the throats of many literary giants in the West. If you know Konrad, and you've read the critique, you'll understand why.

You're invited to name these "many literary giants in the West"; name names.

If you do succeed, then we could examine those critiques of Achebe's response to Conrad's HOD and let's see how Achebe's specific critiques measure-up. And again, we could measure Achebe's objection to Conrad descriptions against the objections to Achebe's depiction of women in Things Fall Apart . . . There's something about stones and glass houses . . .  Beyond all that, a brief analysis of Achebe's storytelling trajectory in TFA (quite apart from the pedestrian praise heaped on the book) could perhaps reveal something far more telling than Achebe's objections to Corad's HOD. . .

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Phillip is not a scientist.

An no, the "oyinbo" didn't start his disrobing.

What Phillip tried to do is a well-known formula: seal his reputation as a "scientist", move on to comment and become an "expert" on other issues. . . Many people don't realise that one's status as a scientist does not confere authority elsewhere. Phillip made himself by 'internet marketing'; it is only appropriate that he's meeting his disgrace on the internet and elsewhere. He's a disgrace to Nigeria, and his attempt to tarnish the Igbo has failed.
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kettykin:
Little wonder smart people can only make it in America.

Oh yeah?! So what happened to Phillip?? Couldn't make it, then turned to fraud? He wasn't any good at that either: he's got himself caught and disgraced.

What's bad's bad; nothing to do with ethnicity. This man was reported to have claimed an achievement of Prof. Bart Nnaji. . . Even in 1989, he had't invented anything nor been responsible for making any lasting contribution; his US1,000 prize was supposed to be a beginning for him, he made it his signature achievement. He's contributed nothing to scholarship but shame and disgrace.

This Fraud had everything at his feet in the United States; he didn't become a Bill Gates, he became a Con Man.

kettykin:
Thank God Bill Gates is not a Nigerian other wise some nigerians would not only have stopped work on further develpoment of the Microsoft windows , but the innocent guy would have been in jail for fraud.

His fraud is that he does not have a Degree not to talk of PHD and he does not have a patent not to talk of a Gordon Bell prize.

Ever wondered why our bright brains don't make it in Nigeria no matter how much they try.

MzDarkSkin:
. . . but he's just trying to mentally control me while he can rip and run wild. . . (Emphasis added)

A smart lady has figured it out . . .

But, as is usual in these cases, figuring it all out seldom leads to the appropriate actions to arrest the development . . .

Humans . .

"Unconditional love"??

Even God does not love anyone unconditionally.
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jason12345:
i do agree that the current federal structure is not working and that we over depend on oil. so with that i support federalism.

what i mean by unity is for us to come together regardless of the ethnic background, and promote the greater good of nigeria.

- what is this "greater good of Nigeria"? Could you get specific?

Too tired of this embrace-and-be-one sentiment. What's the good of Nigeria? A senate where no one takes responsibility for anything? A House of Reps where they only share public funds? Reduce this behemoth to bits, let the centre be weak. . . this current arrangement will perpetuate the interests of those who've seized the means of resources; the country, the experiment, has failed. "This house has fallen".
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jason12345:
but you need to look past tribal sentiment. it hinders the progress of our nation!

ONE LOVE WAZOBIA AND ALL THE OTHER GROUPS

- first: there's no "nation", only a country, a geographical space called Nigeria

- second: what do mean "WAZOBIA AND ALL THE OTHER GROUPS"? (Emphasis added). This highlights the fakeness of this thing called "Nigeria": direct reference to supposedly the three largest - by population - ethnic nationalities, and the lumping of the others, no matter that the "small" others are the lifeblood of this disgraceful arrangement? Niger Delta oil will provide the solution to this "Nigeria". It's a house of cards, Nigeria, an arrangement based on predatory/oppressive relationships.
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jason12345:
its because of people like you nigeria cannot work! if you are not willing to sacrifice and work hard for the unity of this country, then it cannot work. if you go to "western nigeria" igbos own businesses all over. do you hear of yoruba killing igbos? NO,

i have a question, where do you want the mixed children to go?.

- Nigeria has not worked for the last 50 years; what makes you think things can begin to change now?
- Right from independence, from the first development plan, it was clear this forced marriage will not work
- Every ethnic nation have their own "national" character: ask the British who forced Nigeria on us
- Don't blame the Easterners; they've got their reasons; and no, you're wrong, Easterners do marry outside too
- Nigeria does not need to split now, but the current federal arrangement is a failure
- Remove Niger Delta oil revenues, then you'll see the true colour of so-called "Nigerians"
- "Mixed children"? You're confusing things: demanding for separate territories, or at least, separately administered territories, with a weak centre, isn't the same as asking others of different ethnic nationalities to leave. . .
- Sorry, but the British & German have more in common than a South-Easterner & a North-North Northerner, say: not the language, not the culture, not the orientation. What's the justification for corcing these people into one country
- You keep mentioning "unity"; what does that mean?

alj harem:
u are a very dumb person

just stay in dispora and do not come back to the country u do not believe in, ok

ethnocentric person

Very interesting response from a "Nigerian".

And, er, how would you figure I don't live in the geographical space called Nigeria?

And, how're those enslaved in your harem doing?

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Quality is certainly better than quantity; only that, since we're discussing the Nobel in literature, ", Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, here "Work" refers to an author's work as a whole." That's important.

As to 'positive' critiques, you're preaching to the converted: there's no discussion about the book, we're here talking about Achebe and the Nobel in Literature. Fro good comparison, a check of other African Nobel Literature winners ought to be instructive: Soyinka, Mahfouz, Gordimer, Coetzee (Camus has been deliberately left out. . .)

Achebe's response to Conrad's book was well received.

But "The Trouble With Nigeria"? Sorry, that would actually diminish. . . A better one would be the slender "Home and Exile".

Achebe is great, but his body of work is quite rather thin . . .

EzeUche0:
He is the "father of Modern African Writing."

How can you deny a man the prize in which his novel, "Things Fall Apart" is required in thousands of school districts in the United States, his book has been translated in 95 languages etc.

And the book has deservedly won awards; and, too, several other books meet the criterion of being widely read; this by itself isn't a sufficient condition for the Nobel in Literature. . . and, thinking of it . . . the Nobel in Literature, for one novel??

The Nigerian government will investigate allegations of fraudulent claims levelled against Nigerian United States-based scientist, Philip Emeagwali, the Minister of Information and Communication, Dora Akunyili, has said.

What a waste of funds and time.

"Scientist"? Emeagwali?

"Fraud" is a shorter and infinitely more instructive description.
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This issue is too obvious.Emeagwali is not a fraud.I think praises for his little achievement was over blown by the media.From all indications,it is a Nigerian of Yoruba extraction that is fighting tooth and nail to bring Emeagwali down.We should not let ethnic hatred or whatsoever lead us into betraying our own brother in another man's land.Especially if his name is recorded in Gold.

This is a lie.
The most effective exposé of this fraud called Phllip Emeagwali came from the Igbo.
The media didn't 'overblow' his 'achievement', he did himself.
He's lied his way to fame; it's payback time.
The man is a consumate fraud, a criminal, and a shameless pseudo-intellectual.
He has no PhD, he has no patents, he's got no technical papers; he's a liar and a fraud.
He's earned all the grief he's getting.


http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/history/emeagwali.html

jason12345:
i support you. thats why i joined NL at the first place! my campaign is to unite us. but if we keep going back to what our fathers did in the past, we cannot move forward. i am itsekiri by birth but i am more inclined to yoruba and i see what you are saying. i would not be seen as a yoruba or itsekiri by an outsider. i would be seen as a nigerian.

trying to unite us cannot be done by me alone, it has to be a collective effort.

A "campaign to unite", under what umbrella? The Itsekiri & Yoruba are close enough . . . And what an "outsider" thinks is irrelevant. Would you try something common with your "fellow countryman" from the North in Sokoto, say? What have you in common? What basis for unity? Invading Europeans made this geographical space called Nigeria; it is a curse to continue that failed project. This attempt to force unity has already failed; there's no nation, only a space called Nigeria.
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jason12345:
amen ooo!

as i told my igbo friends and as they have told me, " we were born nigerians, not as igbos or as yorubas". peace.

",  born Nigerians, " what a joke!

This lie is what's contributed to the rot in that geographical space called Nigeria. Could you tell what attributes of culture and language, say, that are distinctly Nigerian? You're first a member of your ethnic nation before you're "Nigerian"; there's nothing important that's "Nigerian".

lekside44:
what does it take to win a noble in literature or other fields?

The standard varies, but you could simplify it all if you excluded the Peace Prize. Much of good information may be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature (Swedish: Nobelpriset i litteratur) has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction" (original Swedish: den som inom litteraturen har producerat det utmärktaste i idealisk riktning).[1][2] Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, here "Work" refers to an author's work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize in any given year. The academy announces the name of the chosen laureate in early October.[3] It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine,

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Making a 3rd Class at the university isn't a confirmation of a "Third Class Brain".

Note:
- Soyinka attended the University College, Ibadan (now UI) from 1952 - 54 (that's 18 yrs old to 20)
- He earned his BA English Honours at the University of Leeds in 1957.
- By 1958, he had directed the Nigerian Drama Group in "The Swamp Dwellers", and an evening of his work (poems, songs, and play) had been performed at The Royal Court; that's no cheap thing.
- By 1959, he had returned to Nigeria and had won a two-year Rockefeller research grant to study drama in West Africa . . .
- Let's jump to 1962: Soyinka was only 28 and was already a lecturer in English at the University of Ife . . .

The picture of a lazy/inattentive student isn't consistent with the trajectory of Soyinka's career . . .

The original author wrote:

Nobel Prize committee has given every Tom, manliness and Harry from all the corners of our globe literature prize. But when they come to Honorable Chinua Achebe they skipped him because Things Fall Apart is not your father's literature, for it is a missive of rugged individualism, pride, heart break and mistreatment written by an African to the world that oppressed them and dislodged them from their humanity.

Who're those whom this writer labels "Tom, 'D-i-c-k' and Harry"?

Name names.

[quote author=kayci_d77 link=topic=548816.msg7129937#msg7129937 date=1289576419]Nobel Prize My A.S.S, is it not a white Nobel prize winner that said that "Black people are less intelligent'than whites "(JAMES WATSON), hey ACHEBE is bigger than that award, and any person that won does not mean he is superior in knowledge, afterall our man Soyinka graduated with a 3rd class in his 1st degree.

And for you Akigbemaru, Nobel prize is the same whether Laureate or not, infact more people have won Nobel Laurate than Nobel prize. Laureate is more of intellectual( intellectual and Academic).[/quote]This is a wrong trajectory in this discussion. . .

Soyinka's first degree isn't of much relevance here; his contribution to literary scholarship, human development, theatre (in Africa, Europe, and America) - even as of 1986 - remain breathtaking. Achebe ia a greta writer of fiction, but his body of work is rather spase . . . I'd wish the man published some more,
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Chinua Achebe is a great writer. . . but what would be the content of a hypothetical Nobel speech be? The Eagle has done a bit, but he's been silent for too long. The African writers who've been honoured with the Nobel Prize in Literature have quite an extensive body of work . . .