₦airaland Forum

OK, now I understand your point.

I was referring to Linux+ in terms of the knowledge you gain, not the guy who memorised material for exams.

This is like saying "don't start a business unless you have an MBA".  What you should say is, "don't go into ISP business unless you are good at using Linux.

No.  I mean don't go into ISP business unless you have Linux+.

There are a lot of things you miss when you're self-taught.  The books you read cannot make up for a teacher's experience, and the knowledge you gain from other classmates.

When you're an ISP, you don't want anything to catch you off guard.  There are guides and howtos on how to do stuff, but I believe it's best to be able to create your own stuff without following some guide verbatim, or at least understand why you're doing certain things, and also be aware of alternative methods in case one method doesn't work.  Assignments at school force you to pay attention to things you may not like to deal with if you were learning on your own.

How about CCNA?  I don't see how you could get good at configuring a cisco router without going through the coursework.  In the course, you get your own router to play with.  These are routers that cost tens of thousands of $$.

You also get to take a tour of Internetwork hubs that cost hundreds of millions of $$. Check out the price tag on Cisco Line Card routers.   Just reading a book won't give you the experience of knowing what's out there.

Anyway, you wouldn't understand the point I'm trying to make, unless you've taken these courses I'm referring to.

Don't go into ISP business unless you hold at least Linux+ certification.  Otherwise, you'd need to pay a linux expert a lot of money to manage your setup.  While taking the courses, ask your teachers and colleagues the question about how to become an ISP.  Also, if possible, go through cisco networking academy and obtain at least a CCNA.

You need Linux because in the long run, it'd save you millions of $$ in software purchase, and licensing costs.
You need cisco knowledge because as an ISP, your routers should be made by cisco.  Little sissy routers are okay for small operations only.

Bill Gates made $9.6 million A DAY last year!  Why?  It's because most people don't know Linux.  There are applications that cost hundreds of thousands of $$, but that happen to have free linux equivalents.

How long does it take to obtain Linux/cisco certifications?

Well, I don't know about Nigeria, but there are accelerated versions of cisco networking academy, which you can complete in 9 months to be ready to sit for your CCNA exam.  I would advice against the accelerated version though, unless you already hold Network+ certification.  Many things are identical between Network+ and CCNA, e.g. OSI model.

CCNA is good for an ISP, because you learn not only about LAN setup, but also MAN and WAN.  WAN networking involves routing, and that is an ISP's main challenge.  You must have a thorough understanding of subnetting, netmasks, etc.

If you take the regular version of cisco, it'll be about 2 years to complete.

The bottomline is, if you're thinking of going into ISP business, lay a solid foundation for yourself.  Or else, it'd cost you in the long run.

gbengaijot, I'll let somebody else offer advice in the ms windows area.

I believe icecast is offered in Windos version too. But don't hold me to it.

You can also look into Realserver, Windows media server, etc. Windows stuff will cost you lots of $$ though.

Are you into Linux?

If so, icecast is your answer.  Icecast is available under GPL license, i.e., free to use and distribute.
More info at http://www.icecast.org/.

Overview,

Make sure your soundcard works on your linux machine.
Install the icecast server.
Install libogg, libvorbis, libxml2, libshout 2.  These are needed before the next install below.
Install the icecast source client.

Nothing special about these installs.  You simply download the file:
# wget http://filelocation/filename.tgz

Untar file:
# tar -zxvpf filename.tar.gz

Enter new directory:
# cd filename

Configure:
# ./configure

Then make the executable:
# make

Very easy.

Next, you configure the source client to read audio data from the soundcard.  The sound card on linux is /dev/dsp, just as the floppy drive is /dev/fd0.

The audio data input on your soundcard can be anything: CD player (line-in), microphone (mic), pre-recorded audio, etc.

The source client reads from your soundcard, converts it to a format the icecast server expects.  You can also tell it to resample/downmix the soundcard data, depending on the bandwidth of your listeners.  For example, a 16kbps stream is small enough for anybody on dialup to enjoy without being choppy. On the other hand, a 512kbps stream is only possible for listeners on broadband connection.

The processed data is then sent to the icecast server for streaming.

Your listeners can connect to http://yourip:port/mounpointyouspecified.m3u.  E.g. http://81.28.154.10:8000/mystream.ogg.m3u

Here is a clearer picture:

microphone-->soundcard-->source client-->icecast server-->internet radio listener.

Note: The source client, and icecast server can be on the same machine, or on different machines.

This stuff is easy to set up, and you can do it without spending a penny other than the cost of your hardware, and of course, the cost of internet connection.

Let me know if this works for you.

There are other interesting stuff I've done in the area of media streaming. 
See http://www.oasisoflove.com/african.music.php
And read: Setup your own Online Radio Station at http://ffa.oasisoflove.com/

If you want an online jukebox:
http://www.ampache.org/

Make una give the boy chance to defend himself o, before una throw tire for him neck!
But that's surely not a template though, he created his from the ground up. He still has skills, and like i said before not anybody can design that site, though i'm not in support designing exact.

Tommyruns, keep up the good work.

Birds of the same feather,

It doesn't appear as though dual citizenship is common.
The main advantage that I see is, like hotstepper said, cost of visa ($100), and the time wasted applying.

If one travels often, I think dual citizenship is really worth the while. Besides, it may also make some type of difference in entry into Nigeria if one is carrying a Nigerian passport, compared to say a foreign passport. I know that Nigerian employees don't always follow the rules. Same thing with entry into the US. If you're carrying a US passport, you encounter less hassle.

Are we talking about physical qualities, or behavioral?


Rational - must be able to take positive criticism, without malice.
Hard-working - Must have a drive to succeed in life.
Friendly - Must be my lover, as well as my best friend.

Do you hold US/Nigerian dual citizenship?

If so, what is the process for applying?
What passport do you use to travel from the US to Nigeria, and vice versa?

The one I get most often is to visit home. This coming from the same people who want you to sponsor their kids in school, and send them regular stipend.

I agree with comments already made that someone abroad is viewed as a goldmine, and of course, goldmines bring out the gold diggers.

I always tell them I have many people on my assistance roaster, and that my financial resources are finite. You console them by promising to keep them in mind. We all know that's not what they want to hear, but if you're not bold with them, you'd find yourself working your butt off for them to enjoy. I know of a case where somebody I was sponsoring in the University, was able to afford 2 GSM lines. The rules of the game changed after that revelation.

My Observations.

Or is this the case of the identical twins .

What you're seeing is the downfall of purchasing templates, and designing websites from them.

Originality is scant among web technicians these days, even moreso among web programmers.  Most of these guys simply grab other people's code, add some custom verbiage, and call it their work.  It's pitiful indeed.

Learning to do your own thing requires very hard work, but the reward is everlasting.  Learn to build a solid foundation for yourself in anything you're involved in.  Don't give in to the temptation to quit in midstream.  When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. If you can walk that thorny road and make it to the other side, suddenly you'd be among the 1% that knows what they're doing in that field.  I've been there, done that.

@sibli 06, is anyone fighting with you. just take it easy. afterall we have the right to voice our opinions.

Yes, you have the right to voice your opinion about him, just as he has the right to vioce his opinion about your opinion. So, stop whining.

And just like oasis you are on my rubbish list and i wont reply whatever trash ya'll write again.

You' must have thick skin to duel with people who are more knowledgeable more than you. You tried your level best to turn this discussion into a mudslinging, in your childish manauever, but I know all those tricks. I also know the trick of a coward who's been beaten to a pulp, who rather than concede, would always say something like you are on my rubbish list and i wont reply whatever trash ya'll write again.

Bottomline, is this:

If you want to successfully market a website in an aggressively competitive environment:

1. Stay off the flash. Search engines can't read flash. The more ascii text the better.

2. Watch the heavy graphics, like the monster on christopherkalu.com. That is a no no.

3. Don't use frames, like the poor design on christopherkalu.com. Search engines can't read inside frames.

If you're serious about web work, show it in your coding. You can put out any junk that you consider attractive, but as long as it's not search engine friendly, you're gonna be dubbed a rookie.

Try xtopherkalu.com and the 113k monster. When it's convenient, you sure know how to dodge facts. They don't make you look good, because everybody can see beneath the surface.

I agree about being in a niche market. But how many niche markets are there in dating? And what good is a crowded niche market? Some of us have to brave it and go all out.

I hope you do take over Nigeria. Lofty goal as it may, seeing that your site is featureless, but Nigerians probably don't expect much, since you don't have 419'ers to contend with. 419ers love foreign hosts, not other Nigerians at home. Also Russians and Bulgarians don't have a use for your site, since they can't perpetrate their scams there. Huh, it looks like you've got it made in the shade, running a dating site without all the obligations in the real world. That's why you don't appreciate the efforts of some of us who have to work hard.

Next time you talk about images, we don't need to hear about 1px images. The discussion is about heavy graphics/flash. The tactic is that if you can muddle the waters and obfuscate the issues enough, then it'd become pointless dragging the discussion further. But you're wrong, I'll always be here to straigten you out, and keep you on the straight and narrow.

Go ahead and concoct some more of your lies and misleading info. I'll be here waiting.

I did not dispute what you wrote 'cause i realized that there's no point in doing that with you. For example plentyoffish.com does not have all that crapy design as compared to oasisoflove.

You have no choice than to finish what you started.  If you think I'm just going to let you off the hook, you've got another thing coming.
As for your comments about plentyoffish, come back when you're ready to be ojective.

You talk about selling other keyword, so what keyword would a person think of to be able to find your site? All the ones i tried didn't show oasisoflove any where close to the first few pages.

Exactly.  You won't find it under "online dating", :free dating, etc, because the competition is extremely strong, and I've only been around 6 months in a sea of veteran sites.  You either don't understand my point about this, or you're simply grasping at straws. 

About flash community site check out:

http://www.habbohotel.com/
http://www.there.com/index.html
http://www.fusion-city.com/
http://www.mokitown.com/mokitown_prehome/home_en.jsp
http://www.jabbatown.com/

Of course you'd say but those are of their kinds and so they don't have fierce competitions, but that's what flash is all about. They are mearnt to add something to it, and not just produce the same thing you do with HTML.

I'm glad you knew what I'd say.
Once again, give me a dating site, with flash/heavy graphics, then we'd talk.
I don't need any more flash sites, I can find them myself.

Your text right there really shows that you have no clue when it comes to graphic design, and i don't even want to talk to you about this topic no more. Who ever is reading this should take note of what he just said and what i will point out.

You will talk about it.

Talking about Nairaland.com, he said the design has no flash, no graphics, nothing at all. Well i guess you don't know what graphics and design is. If you notice the color combination, the placement of objects, the 1 pixel border and their colors, and you have the smilies and you still say there are no graphics! You see the well designed buttons, but you over look them.
Even on your site you have graphics there, well just incase you don't know.

Correct, those graphics are there that you mentioned.  But I still don't see the flash/heavy graphics.  I thought the discussion was about that?  Funny you should mention 1px border in a discussion like this.  My main logo is 8k.  Compare that to yours that is 113k.  I rest my case.

You are talking about content is king as if you are the only one that know that. We've all read about articles over that. But what you don't know is that there are more than just one type of content.

Content is all there is as far as the search engines are concerned.  A point I've made a dozen times now.

Well you need to remember that slow-loading flash/graphics is something of the past people in developed country. The only thing bad about a slow-loading site these days is if the site is wack. But if it has great content, like dope animations then we will wait for it to load and enjoy ourselves, and many people will end up linking to them.

I agree to a degree. 
However, in a tough market, where a site faces major competition, you've got to always make your site search engine friendly.  No buts or ifs about it.

http://www.christopherkalu.com/ has a PR of 3.

I'll let you know when I see it. Currently, I see 0/10.

It's highly doubtful that a site with high graphics to text ratio, without inbound links, and never updates can have a PR3. Besides, Seun is not somebody I'd exactly call credible in my books, based on past utterances/actions. But, everybody is entitled to own opinion. I carefully analyse everything I see, read or hear, and therefore not easily fooled.

And i know that no matter what is said, you'd still think you are so right. So it's pointless talking to you about it.

Yep, take it or leave it, the web is about the search engines.  Period.  You did not dispute the examples I gave you, even though I debunked every little comment you made.  That attests to the validity of my statements. 

A case in point is nairaland.com.  While the design has no flash, no graphics, nothing at all, it has good ratings in the search engines.  Do you know why?  I know why.  Content is king.  Not slow-loading flash/graphics.    Any SEO person would tell you flash is a ratings killer, because the search engines cannot read flash.

So keep beating the drum of your bloated pages, and your framed pages.  One day, you'd thank me for being so hard on you.

Once more, optimize your site or die.  I've seen them come and go.

First thing on my firefox browser here and other computers i've check www.christopherkalu.com gets 3/10 on google rating.

C'mon stop lying.  How can a site that only has 19 inbound links have a PR of 3?  If you want to know how I know that fact, ask me.

And you know what? On my firefox oasisoflove currently has 0/10, though i've seen a different rating in the past, so how much can you also count on the google pagerank,

Yes, google may be in flux when you checked.  But my point about google rating is that it carries more weight than your alexa, since google has a much higher market share than all the other search engines combined.

and yes i do know that alexa ranking is based on visits you get from people using alexa toolbar, but it still gives an indication.

The four main search engines that matter are google, yahoo, msn, and dmoz.  All the others are bullshit.

It's www.sexynaija.com that i know that still rates 0/10, but some how we are on google's first page if you search for "naija dating", while "oasis of love" doesn't even show your page in the first page.

Correct.  oasisoflove.com is not selling naija.  It's selling other keywords/keyphrases.  Nigeria dating is a niche market with no competition.  oasisoflove is facing global competition with thousands of sites vying for the same keywords that I'm chasing.   So if your argument were to be valid, then Match, yahoo personals, true, etc should also show up for "naija dating".  But they don't.  Kabbish?

I know you don't want to concede that you're wrong.  But c'mon buddy, you're getting really ridiculous in your desperation to prove something that doesn't exist.

If i were to do all those hustle you do, with all those self review you post for yourself on other sites www.sexynaija.com would be rating a lot higher.

Yes, you need to.  Otherwise, you're just a kid playing with a toy in the online world.  That is how online marketing is done. 

Ok this is what i got from godaddy

Registered through: GoDaddy.com (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: OASISOFLOVE.COM
Created on: 27-Jun-03
Expires on: 27-Jun-08
Last Updated on: 06-Sep-05

So from that i can say oasisoflove has been on since 2003, which exactly what you said about www.christopherkalu.com and www.sexynaija.com. You forgot that name registration is one of the first thing done, while launching of a site is done a lot later.

Yes, name was registered in 03.  But it wasn't launched until last year.  I wrote evey bit of my own code, including the chat system, unlike you that purchased an off the shelf solution.  So, to reiterate, oasisoflove is only 6 months old.  How old are your sites that have 0/10 PR?

Here are well designed sites that are not more than 1 year old that rank the same or better than oasisoflove:
http://www.marazdesign.com
http://www.websitedesignawards.com/flash.html
http://www.mondayz.com/

and the list goes on.

You're missing the point.  It all depends on the competition they're facing in their various markets.  You need to give me dating sites designed in flash, or heavily graphics-laden.  That would be a true measure of what we're talking about.

Another thing you try to make it look like it's all about years of existence, but www.milliondollarhomepage.com was just created on on 23-Aug-05. It currently ranks 7/10 on google pagerank. And that site is not a fast loading one neither.

That was a new concept.  People always voluntarily flock to new concepts, just as I explained in my last post regarding tokyoplastic.  Go back and read that post more thoroughly, rather than in anger.  Other milliondollarhomepages won't do as well now.

But i now know it's pointless talking with you over this, since you have no clue about the impact of design, so you just eliminate it and think that all your SEO hustle will do all the work.

The thing is that i know that search engine friendly sites have better chances of rating higher, but you are totally wrong to think that it cannot be combined with nice designs.

Yes, optimize your site for the search engines, or die.  Unless you have millions of $$ to spend on advertising.

And none of the top 100 most visited site has crappy designs, and when i say design it's not only about graphics but position of things, sizes and color combination.

Seasoned web pro? Well, you don't sound like one. You'd rate higher than 3/10 if your site was visually well designed and attractive.

I must be doing something right if I'm getting paid top salary in web programming. I'm a seasoned pro because I've coded the following from scratch: dating site, real estate site, jobsearch site, accounting package, video distribution system, etc.

Anybody can grab a template like you do and modify it.  But that won't do you much good with the search engines.  You have to understand SE0.  One example I've given in the past is plentyoffish.com.  5th largest dating site, but look at the design.  It's top 5 because of aggressive seo.  Show me the flash on that site.  Show me the heavy graphics on it.  Let me hear your argument about that.

In a highly competitive market like "global online dating", the web is about the search engines.  Adapt, or stay at the bottom of the barrel where you currently are.  Period.

Taking shots at me. Oasis talks as if his most visited site can compete with some of the nicely designed sites online. 
 
  You can try it yourself and go to www.alexa.com and check for the rating of www.oasisoflove.com and later check for www.tokyoplastic.com and see who has more hits.  And you know what, www.tokyoplastic.com takes a lot of time to load if you are not using broadband. But some of us just prefer to view and link to sites like tokyoplastic than oasisoflove. So my brother it has a lot to do with target audience.

I knew the truth would hurt you.  But it had to be told nevertheless.

It's dumb to compare tokyoplastic to oasisoflove in terms of alexa rating.  That is comparing apples and oranges.  Here's why:

1. oasisoflove was officially launched barely 6 months ago.  Tokyoplastic has been around since 2002.  Of course older sites have higher ratings.  Give me 4 years, and I bet I'd leave tokyoplastic in the dust.

2. Tokyoplastic most likely was the first of its kind.  Hence, it needed no marketing when it first launched.  People voluntarily linked to it at the time.  The same site today most likely won't fare as well.  oasisoflove on the other hand is in a jungle of thousands of other dating sites.  Hence all marketing strategies must be employed to gain visitors.  I hope you're taking notes, rookie.

3. Alexa rating is based on people who have the alexa browser toolbar installed.  As you know, alexa toolbar is considered spyware, meaning only dummies actually use it.  Therefore, alexa rating doesn't count on the web.  What does count is google rating.

Oasisoflove.com has a rating of 3/10 on google.  Remarkable for a 6 month old site that is facing fierce competition.
Tokyoplastic with hardly any competitors is rated 6/10.  It could do much better without the flash design, since search engines cannot read flash.

I could go on and on.

So, rather than carry on like a raving lunatic, listen to what seasoned web pros are saying to you about web marketing, as it relates to design.  It's not about bloated graphics and macromedia flash.

christopherkalu.com - 0/10 rating on google.  Been around since aug 2005.
sexynaija.com - 0/10 rating. Created april 2005 (older than oasisoflove).

Do you get the point, or do you want more schooling?

This topic has reached an impasse. There is nothing more to say that hasn't already been said.

I suggest it be closed.

What chris's designs?

If you want to succeed on the web, you must step away from graphics-laden/flash sites. They do not do well in the search engines. I've repeated this point time and again, but nobody seems to understand what that really means.

The primary objective of most websites is to attract visitors. But how do you attract visitors? By designing websites that load quickly, are search-engine friendly, and has content. Anybody who tells you otherwise is a newbie on the web. Having an eyecandy that is slow to load will not win you repeat visitors, period.

Always remember the popular maxim KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

Sony Pictures' Response to Open Letter About 'Tears of the Sun'

Dear Ambassador Agada,

Thank you very much for your letters to Sony Pictures and Revolution Studios expressing concern about the motion picture, TEARS OF THE SUN.

We would like to assure you that we have been careful to make certain that all marketing and publicity materials made it clear that the events portrayed in the film were fictional and not fact based, and do no reflect life in modern day Nigeria.

http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/071703_1.shtml

http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/tearsofthesun.shtml

The film and Sony webpage painted a very gloomy and dangerous perception of the country's environment, politics and society giving everyone the impression of a jungle inhabited only by savages. The film concorted a Nigerian scenario of violence and civil war dominated by rape, mutilation by machete and child soldiers.

The Embassy strongly condemns this negative portrayal of Nigeria in your film. While your film "Tears of the Sun" is allegedly a fiction, we do not need to remind you that the name Nigeria is not a fiction but a sovereign entity made up of over 120 million proud and hardworking people, some of whom have made tremendous contributions to humanity. The picture painted in your film is definitely not that of the Nigeria the world knows. The Embassy considers the film an abusive portrayal and affront to the dignity and self respect of Nigerians worldwide. To produce a fiction solely on the basis of drive for commercial interest and sacrifice the sensibilities of over 120 million black people is to say the least utterly incomprehensible and most uncharitable.

A nation earning well over $1 billion a week, wants to obtain $200 mil loan. Don't we have enough unpaid loans plaguing the country at the moment?

There is nothing inherently wrong with obtaining an interest-free loan, but it has to be paid back. And we all know that paying back loans is never easy in Nigeria. In addition, the loan would never be utilised for the purpose for which it was obtained. Instead, it's going into a few people's pockets.

-----

NIGERIA is negotiating a $200 million (about N26 billion) interest-free loan from the World Bank for environmental development in Lagos State.

Finance Minister, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed this yesterday just she described Nigeria's first-ever Sovreign credit rating by two of the world's leading rating agencies - Fitch and Standard & Poor, as a major breakthrough.

Speaking in Lagos at a breakfast meeting organised by Corporate Nigeria, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said the facility would be specifically used for enhancement of solid waste disposal, drain clearance as well as slum development in Lagos State.

According to the Finance Minister, the development of the infrastructure was now a major challenge in the country.

She further stated that new efforts were now on to improve security and electricity supply, adding that government was building seven new power stations for which money had been provided.

On the favourable rating of the country by two international credit rating agencies, the Minister said the development was on indication of the progress made by the Federal Government in its reform efforts.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200602280390.html

http://www.tribune.com.ng/280206/news07.htm

NIGERIA realised $4.408 billion from crude oil production, including condensates and natural gas liquids, in December, 2005, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its monthly report for December, 2005.


The CBN disclosed that Nigeria’s crude oil production for the month was estimated at 76.6 million barrels, while the product was sold at $57.55 per barrel.


The report indicated that Nigeria produced 2.47 million barrels of crude oil per day with an estimated daily revenue of $142.14 million from the sale of crude oil.


The revenue realised in December, according to the CBN, was much higher than the $4.11 billion realised from crude oil production in the preceeding month, having produced 72.23 million barrels in November, 2005 at $56.93 per barrel.


According to the CBN report, the price of Nigeria’s reference crude, Bonny Light, rose by $0.62 per barrel or 1.1 per cent over the price recorded in the preceding month.


Similarly, the prices of other competing crudes, namely the West Texas Intermediate, Brent, Arab Light and the Forcados, increased by 6.0, 2.1, 1.0 and 2.1 per cent to $59.29, $56.24, $51.88 and $57.74 per barrel respectively.


CBN attributed the rise in price to the high demand in the United States of America, occasioned by the cold weather in that country.


Meanwhile, non-oil export earnings by Nigeria’s top 100 exporters in December 2005 amounted to $59.58 million, indicating an increase of 12.4 per cent over the preceding month’s level.

building a date website is totally different from building a national data base

Building a dating site is different from building a national database!

Wow! What an ignoramus you are. Totally clueless what is going on in the world of computer programming.

Thanks for clarifying that.

I just thought that in this atmosphere of tension between Nigerians, effort toward strenthening relations should be between warring factions.

What are you doing Seun?

You're getting really childish now, spamming your own forum.

I'm aware that there have been successful inter tribal marriages which have been quite sucessful.

Sure, you'd find a sprinkle here and there.  I didn't say it doesn't exist, I said "inter-marrying freely".  That means when it comes to marrying someone, you simply pick a partner regardless of tribal affiliations.  Are we going to see that in Nigeria?

I met a south eastern muslim who resides in the south east some years ago. His house was set ablaze and his family tormented and sent out of his village simply because he became a muslim. To an average south easterner, any one of them who becomes a muslim is not regarded as one of them.

I generally stay away from using isolated incidences as basis for an argument.  It's no secret that there is deep-seated animosity between tribes in Nigeria.  Igbos were probably reacting to what Hausas do to them in the north.

I do agree with you whole-heartedly that education of Nigerians would solve a lot of problems.  Education doesn't necessarily mean academic.  It means enlightenment of the people. 

Unfortunately, you can only enlighten people who are willing to listen.  At this time, Hausas aren't listening.

Assistant Secretary General of the Baath Arab Socialist Party , Abdallah alAhmar met in the Nigerian capital of the north , Kano, the Syrian community on Friday.
AlAhmar conveyed to the Syrian community President Bashar al-Assad’s amity and best wishes.

During the meeting alAhmar reviewed the current development in region and the steps of overall reform and development in economic, social and political spheres in Syria.
AlAhmar called on the Syrian community to exert efforts for boosting friendship between their motherland Syria and Nigeria.

http://www.sana.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=18672&newlang=eng

Nigerians, you do know what is happening here right? Nigerians are now joining hands with countries known to be hot beds of terrorism. What does that tell you?

Shouldn't Kano be trying to speak with christian leaders in Nigeria instead? I mean, if peace is the real motive, wouldn't it be realized much more quickly via negotiations with fellow Nigerians?

1. America was originally a christian nation and was built on christian values.  While they believe in giving immigrants the opportunity to live happily in their country, they do not change their laws to please immigrants.  Nigeria is neither a christian or a muslim nation. We have to consider both religions in planning almost everything, and this isn't a very easy task.

America has more christians, but you're free to follow any religion, or lack of it thereof.  Atheists have successfully changed things in America related to religion.  For example, schools don't say prayers anymore, a response to pressure from atheists.  Atheists are fighting to remove in God we trust from the currency, etc.  Would that be possible if America were a christian nation as you put it?

2. Religion DOES have a place in America, but Americans are generally not as religious as Nigerians. Nigerians are probably the most religious mixed society. By mixed society I mean where both christians and muslims are allowed by law to practice their religions.

It's not about being religious.  It's about keeping religion and the government separate.  There are very religious people in America, and then there are agnostics who prefer to believe only things that are palpable, not spirits.

America is a free land.  Religion has no place in government whatsoever.  In fact, look up this statement on the Internet: separation of church and state.  It's the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  If it's the law, it must be true, right?

I'm certain that if you take these northern trouble-makers to America and give them a good life there, they'll be very calm)

True.  More importantly, the American society is a positive atmosphere where people think of nothing but progress.  That kind of disposition rubs off on people.  Nobody talks about religion here, unless a catholic priest molests a boy, or muslims blow up something.

4. You can't compare the diversity in Nigeria with America, or any Western country. We've got over 250 different tribes, each with their culture, beliefs etc. In many cases, you can tell a person's tribe just from his/her physical appearance. That's how diverse we are. It isn't so with Americans - with exception of immigrants from other countries and these are usually very willing to become Americans. They traditionally have one religion, we have hundreds. You can't tell an American's state by his looks - only by accents.

You keep harping on the immigrants point.  The whole of America is a nation of immigrants.  You can't stake a claim to America anymore than the next guy.  The distinction is usually only in first generation, second generation, third generation, etc.  But all Americans are immigrants.  The true Americans are the native Indians.  All Americans are equal.  The only thing a naturalized American can't do is become the president.  But even that is going out the window very soon.  Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger: Austrian -> rich movie actor -> governor of mighty California -> and maybe American president one day.

You couldn't be more wrong about diversity.  Every tribe is represented in America.  Every country, every tribe.  Go to Los Angeles, you'll find mini cities of: spanish, chinese, russian, afro-americans, africans, caucasians, middle easterners, native Indians, jews, mixed races, etc.  The diversity in America is astounding.  You only have 250 tribes in Nigeria, America has every tribe.  

With the exception of gangbangers, this mishmash of people get along just fine.  We're all black in Nigeria, but we can't get along.

Thus, I don't think u should compare the case of Nigeria with the US. I think Nigeria is doing a better job dealing with diversity than most other countries.

Ah c'mon now.  That is an absurd statement.

When it comes to a diversity, America is it.  No question about it.

Religion, tribalism, greed, selfishness, etc, is what is dividing us in Nigeria.  Learn the facts.

If religion is de-emphasized in Nigeria as it is in America, things would change drastically.  That means no more Sharia in any state.  Every citizen in the counry would live by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

But who's going to make that happen?  A strong leader.

Listen, people are people.  Be they Nigerian, American, Iranian, Chinese, whatever.  There is a trick to making things work.  America is a shinning example of a society that works.  All we need to do is ask how they did it, and be prepared to adopt those principles.  I've got you started.  Take it from there.