₦airaland Forum

^^^ Felabration

Aboki wettin u dey suspect?

@Jason12345, dude please, don't mention Orji Uzor Kalu,s name when the forum is discussing serious issue concerning Ndi-Igbo.

Wasting Our Money On Pilgrimage.

(1/1)

okstol:
When Pa Akinsiku  tried to perform  this year’s Hajj, he came face to  face with the stark reality of pilgrimage in Nigeria. Efforts to obtain  the Hajj form from Ondo State where he hails from failed : he was  told that all the forms had been bought by the state and local  governments for hundreds of sponsored candidates. Out of the over 1.6
million foreign pilgrims that are in Saudi Arabia  for this year’s Hajj, 85,000, or 5.3 percent, are Nigerians. Similarly,  over 25 ,000
Christians are taking part in this year’s pilgrimage to  Israel and other holy sites in Italy adored by Christians across the  world. Altogether, 110 ,000  Nigerians will be fulfilling a religious  obligation that many have come to see as an annual ritual. Visiting the holy land, at least once in a lifetime, is one of the five  pillars of Islam. The others being, testifying to God’s oneness,  fasting, giving alms to the poor, and upholding the five daily  prayers. Similarly, visiting Jerusalem for pilgrimage, though not a  biblical injunction, has become an important event for Christians.  Today, many Nigerians see pilgrimage as a status symbol and so  Christians add the initials J.P. (Jerusalem Pilgrim) to their names,  just like muslims add Alhaji, Alhaja of Hajia, to theirs, proof that  they had been to pilgrimage. Government sponsorship The whole twist to pilgrimage in Nigeria is that many now see it as  patronage, and government sponsorship has now become a campaign tool and a means of democratising the culture of corruption and  settlement in the system. Only last month, Governor Alao Akala of  Oyo State seized the opportunity of the send- forth organised for the state’s Hajj contingent to campaign for re-election next year. Over  1 ,000  of the 1 ,500  pilgrims were sponsored by the government. Said Mr Akala, “If these 1,500 and another 1,500 that will be going  to Jerusalem bring along 10  each to vote for us, then we will be here again next year to do this kind of programme for another set. As you are going to the holy land, you will pray. Pray for the peaceful co- existence of the country and that of the state. Pray for us to return  to power in the next election, and encourage another 10  people to  vote for us in the election,” he told the crowd. This is a familiar scenario across the 36  states and Abuja, and the  entire local governments. The federal government also has its  sponsorship list, which include military personnel that go on  pilgrimage under full government cover. Yet, according to the  Constitution, pilgrimage is supposed to be a personal spiritual  journey. Cost implication In an October 12
circular, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said  the government has approved the purchase of Saudi Riyal Travellers’ Cheque (SRTCs) equivalent to $ 750.00  as minimum and $1 , 500.00  as  maximum personal travel allowance (PTA) for individuals at a  concessionary exchange rate of N 135.00  to the US Dollar. “For pilgrims buying SRTC above the $1,000.00, the difference shall  be bought at the prevailing Naira exchange rate to the US Dollar on  the day of the purchase,” the circular added. Similarly, on November 5 , the CBN issued another circular in respect to Christian pilgrimage. “The government has also approved the purchase of a maximum of  $1 ,000  at a concessionary rate of N135  to the dollar by each  intending pilgrim, as personal travel allowance.” With official exchange rate at N150  and N152  at the parallel market, it means government is subsidising this year’s pilgrimage by over  N1.54  billion. This is in addition to the over N14.93  billion, which is  the full amount that the 110 ,000  pilgrims will expend on the annual religious obligation this year.

okstol:
Nigeria is really sick.

texazzpete:
The only wasted money i see here is all the funds spent on your education.
So many years of study and you still don't know that paragraphing long articles is the proper thing to do to make it easy for people to read.

okstol:
texazzpete:
The only wasted money i see here is all the funds spent on your education.
So many years of study and you still don't know that paragraphing long articles is the proper thing to do to make it easy for people to read.    The write up was culled from 234next.com. So, don't be silly. Even if u want to correct someone, must u sound like an oaf? Ewu!

Horus:
Stop wasting your Money on pilgrimage. One of my muslim friend traveled throughout the Middle East and North Africa; he shared with me with sadness how dark skinned Africans were treated negative in Mecca , Saudi Arabia during Hajj. Islam has become more Arabism than Islam, but most Africans Muslims want to overlook the Arab racism in Islam. In Islam you will always find the dark skinned Africans people subservient to the Arab light skinned ruling class.
My anger is the money that govt. is wasting in the name of sponsoring people to pray for the nation. Where as Saudi and Israel are making money via tourism.

texazzpete:
The only wasted money i see here is all the funds spent on your education.
So many years of study and you still don't know that paragraphing long articles is the proper thing to do to make it easy for people to read. The write up was culled from 234next.com. So, don't be silly. Even if u want to correct someone, must u sound like an oaf? Ewu!

Nigeria is really sick.

When Pa Akinsiku tried to perform this year’s Hajj, he came face to face with the stark reality of pilgrimage in Nigeria. Efforts to obtain the Hajj form from Ondo State where he hails from failed : he was told that all the forms had been bought by the state and local governments for hundreds of sponsored candidates. Out of the over 1.6
million foreign pilgrims that are in Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj, 85,000, or 5.3 percent, are Nigerians. Similarly, over 25 ,000
Christians are taking part in this year’s pilgrimage to Israel and other holy sites in Italy adored by Christians across the world. Altogether, 110 ,000 Nigerians will be fulfilling a religious obligation that many have come to see as an annual ritual. Visiting the holy land, at least once in a lifetime, is one of the five pillars of Islam. The others being, testifying to God’s oneness, fasting, giving alms to the poor, and upholding the five daily prayers. Similarly, visiting Jerusalem for pilgrimage, though not a biblical injunction, has become an important event for Christians. Today, many Nigerians see pilgrimage as a status symbol and so Christians add the initials J.P. (Jerusalem Pilgrim) to their names, just like muslims add Alhaji, Alhaja of Hajia, to theirs, proof that they had been to pilgrimage. Government sponsorship The whole twist to pilgrimage in Nigeria is that many now see it as patronage, and government sponsorship has now become a campaign tool and a means of democratising the culture of corruption and settlement in the system. Only last month, Governor Alao Akala of Oyo State seized the opportunity of the send- forth organised for the state’s Hajj contingent to campaign for re-election next year. Over 1 ,000 of the 1 ,500 pilgrims were sponsored by the government. Said Mr Akala, “If these 1,500 and another 1,500 that will be going to Jerusalem bring along 10 each to vote for us, then we will be here again next year to do this kind of programme for another set. As you are going to the holy land, you will pray. Pray for the peaceful co- existence of the country and that of the state. Pray for us to return to power in the next election, and encourage another 10 people to vote for us in the election,” he told the crowd. This is a familiar scenario across the 36 states and Abuja, and the entire local governments. The federal government also has its sponsorship list, which include military personnel that go on pilgrimage under full government cover. Yet, according to the Constitution, pilgrimage is supposed to be a personal spiritual journey. Cost implication In an October 12
circular, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the government has approved the purchase of Saudi Riyal Travellers’ Cheque (SRTCs) equivalent to $ 750.00 as minimum and $1 , 500.00 as maximum personal travel allowance (PTA) for individuals at a concessionary exchange rate of N 135.00 to the US Dollar. “For pilgrims buying SRTC above the $1,000.00, the difference shall be bought at the prevailing Naira exchange rate to the US Dollar on the day of the purchase,” the circular added. Similarly, on November 5 , the CBN issued another circular in respect to Christian pilgrimage. “The government has also approved the purchase of a maximum of $1 ,000 at a concessionary rate of N135 to the dollar by each intending pilgrim, as personal travel allowance.” With official exchange rate at N150 and N152 at the parallel market, it means government is subsidising this year’s pilgrimage by over N1.54 billion. This is in addition to the over N14.93 billion, which is the full amount that the 110 ,000 pilgrims will expend on the annual religious obligation this year.

At main market Onitsha.

Omo just forget dem and focus on ur studies which is more important dan d two.

Nope.

If our literary icons can emulate Achebe, the sky will be our stepping stone.

Achebe: Celebrating the Iroko at 80.

On November 18, Africa’s foremost novelist, essayist, erudite scholar and one of the fathers of modern African literature, Prof. Chinua Achebe, turned 80. This is, indeed, a great milestone in the life of the literary legend described as one “who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.”

In terms of personal accomplishments and contributions to society, by all standards, Africa’s renowned man of letters and highly acclaimed literary icon, stands remarkably tall.

For almost six decades and still counting, his works have attracted wide readership as well as lots of critical attention in the literary scene. Achebe is known for his rich literary style, profound intellect, resilience, wisdom and sobriety. Achebe stormed the literary scene like a typhoon with his masterpiece novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958. Written when he was 28 years, the classic, which undoubtedly remains a reference point in African and world literature, shows how a writer can effectively combine his intellectual fecundity and the mastery of his cultural environment to depict an enthralling story of conflict and change within a communal African setting in the colonial period.

Unmistakably, the novel, which was essentially a direct response to Eurocentric view of the Africans as portrayed in such works as Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson launched Achebe into the world literary stage. The novel has since then become an awesome inspiration for generations of writers in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.

Apart from Things Fall Apart, the master story teller and the literary Iroko of African literature has churned out other great works, which include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1960) and much later, the The Trouble with Nigeria (1983) and Antills of the Savannah. His other literary outputs include Beware Soul Brother and other Poems (1974), the Sacrificial Egg and other Stories, and Girls at War and other Stories. Most of his works dwelt so much on the encounter between the Africans and Europeans in colonial and post-colonial periods as well as political tensions that engulfed the independent African states.

Achebe has traversed the world of literature, journalism, academia and political activism. He has taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and many universities abroad. As a lecturer at UNN, he discovered and nurtured a generation of students to preeminent heights in their career paths. Currently, he is resident and teaching in the USA.

Born in Ogidi in Ananbra State, Achebe has over time, shown how patriotic and compassionate he is, especially to the causes of the downtrodden in the society and socio-economic affairs in his home state, Anambra. He loathes bad leadership with a passion, which, perhaps, makes him an ardent critic of those in power. No doubt, he was one of the loudest critics of military and civilian governments in Nigeria.

During the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he turned down a national honours award to protest the perceived bad policies of the government. Achebe was pained by that government’s tacit approval of political brigandage and utter lawlessness unleashed on his home state.

One of the interesting things about this literary icon’s works is the reality of their vision. His political treatise, The Problem with Nigeria, portrays with prophetic accuracy the crisis of leadership in the country. Up till today, that point is still relevant.

Achebe’s intellectual contributions have earned him tons of awards across the world and professorial chairs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA and at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Considered morally upright, the good family man has not allowed his present state of health to unfaze his spirit.
Achebe has received so many literary awards and honours.

The latest is $300,000 Gish Prize invested on him on October 27, this year at Hudson Theatre in New York City, USA. He is a role model, whom the youths should emulate. While we applaud his many achievements at 80, we wish him many more years of fruitful engagement with the muse. Happy birthday to the literary giant.

Dame Jonathan is far better than arrogant Tuwo Yaradull. She's a Nigerian and not a Brit, so don't expect her English speaking to be like the Brits.

I'm still recollecting the way and manner in which OBJ fights his enemies like a wounded lion. So, what on earth could have made OBJ to spare IBB? Please help me with a reasonable answer.

wether u are a victim or a patient of june 12, the only reason u have for making all these noises in nigeria today is because of obasanjo's foolishness.
if obasanjo and ribadu were fighting corruption as they claimed, will a devil in the name of ibb be free as to come to context elections in nigeria.
obasanjo's failures are the reasons for the freedom of ibb today. Gbam! Na you be d real genius.

Seriously, dis company dey sick. Had it been they were strong enough, MTN would not be messing up Naija people.

What baffles me is that, these almajiris Haka Nai and alhaji Boko Haram (u dey ur dey answer alhaji-visitor) or whatever ur dumb name is no get shame at all. Your people have held sway to the government for decades without a single achievement. Disease, poverty, illiteracy etc are more prevalent in ur so called "born to rule" region. Take it or leave it, without Ndigbo in this sovereign called Nigeria, Niger republic will be better than us.

Its better we seek for France, USA, or Germany's expertise rather than this controversial entity called Russia. Apart from that, Russia is prone to unnecessary accidents in building stuffs like this.

Odi egwu.

An average Yoruba man doesn't want the progress of an Igbo man. Most of us had already removed that stereotype against the Yorubas. A good example is the recent super falcons victory in SA, some folks said that, the team was made up of Igbo women but forgetting that the region were at best with female soccer because of the secular nature of the region. Coach Yemi Tella of blessed memory won the under 17 world cup without any Igbo in his first team, none of us complained, rather we cheered the team to victory. Yoruba man will always criticise the achievements of Igbo people in there fields of endeavour. Make una give us some breathing space bikonu.

Nonsense!

Money miss road. I don't know the problem with all these rappers (niggaz to be precise). Few days ago, 50 was gloating over his wealth, tomorrow go be another person. Someone should tell these dudes to grow up.