₦airaland Forum

Emmmm! roasted rats Vietnamese style.

TayoD:
@omonozozo,

A say Amen to your prayer!

I have an additional prayer for the terrorists. May they become impotent in their Allah's heaven. May they never have any erection to do anything with that supply of virgins. And may no amount of Viagra help them fulfil the dreams for which they are so quick to shed innocent blood.

Can anybody shout Amen.

Amen!

They do not need your charity, they are actually well feed. Thank you please!

To the Terrorists; may their stomachs roast in hell.

scary cat.

Even if you think you are better than us you are still wellcome, it is just an opinion.

I believe the women are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside.   

I just felt like singing for a minute.

Thanks for your input, nilla and iice.

I can see that you seem to be the only bold people on this forum willing to discuss this topic,
This is what I personally believe to be responsible for Africa's stagnant cultural development:

-Fear
-Inferiority complex
-Selfishness
-Oppression, misuse of power

These are the factors I would like to go into right now, although there are more.

-Fear of the unknown, of the future, of new things. Also, fear of their ancestors punishing them for changing their customs. This is like a bondage.

-Inferiority complex towards the Western world. Africans don't want to be seen as giving up their traditions/customs in favour of the supposedly 'better' customs of the Western world. Because of this, they are reluctant to contemporarise, or just leave it altogether. Thus the tendency of some people to laugh at others and criticise them: "Look at this one, wanting to be like an oyinbo!"

-Selfishness in the sense that certain customs are upheld because they benefit certain people. Example: child abuse continues because many people are profiting from the exploitation of children through child labour. The same thing goes for people having many children in order to exploit them, or families giving their daughter's hand in marriage to a rich man who already has several wives, simply because their family can gain from this. The list goes on and on.

Oppression: people in power have access to knowledge and technology, but they don't want their subjects to have the same access so that they can continue oppressing them. This can be found in the history of the great African kingdoms such as the Benin or the Mali Empire. This is one of the reasons that such great kingdoms crumbled: their rulers had access to knowledge, but chose to keep it to themselves or just share it with a few members of their elite. Additionally, secret courts were created to further subdue the subjects. Nowadays, this practice is still rife in Sharia: although it is outdated, the elite (who will never be tried) wants to continue to use Sharia as a tool of oppression.

These are the main reasons, in my opinion, for Africa's stagnant cultural development and the reluctance to change.

Just imagine, in this day and age when man has gone to the moon and to outer space searching for E.T., there are still places where one village will fight the neighbouring village over a cow or a goat

It's a consolation for me that at least Nigeria have launched a satellite and are planning to launch another one next year.

Nigeria - natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land

Congo DR - cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber.

If it wasn't for Mobutu and internal strife who knows what Congo DR might have been.

Have you heard of the gold belt that has just been discovered in Nigeria which rivals that of Ghana, or bitumen, of which Nigeria has one of  the highest deposits in the world?

Can you list Congos resources and I will list Nigerian one.

By the way South Africa is a giant economically, bigger than Nigeria and Egypt put together.

South Africa do give help to other African countries in need,[I stand to be corrected] .For me there is nothing Nigeria as done that South Africa as not done[Even better].So I leave it for You Guys to tell Me,Who is Really the Giant Of Africa?

If only you know the prize Nigeria paid that lead to the fall of Apartheid you will not have asked that question.

please you may have to clear this one up for me, first is witchcraft exclusive to Africa? it is a popular practice in the most modern countries in the world, there are many traditional practices european countries hold on to from way back, does this make them primitive? Like you said progress does not mean losing identity. I think there is more to what you want to put across, am i right? if so then please put me in the picture because from what i read the only thing i take issue with is the circumcison thing, otherwise what else is the reason you call african nations primitive?

Eurphoria:

First of all, thanks for your reply.

I need to clarify this: I am not saying that African people are primitive. I want to start a discussion on whether the reluctance to move with the times is due to a so-called "primitiveness", or if it is because a lot of Africans are conservative and therefore unwilling to move with the times.
My view is that many Africans are conservative, but their conservatism is outdated, and not in the best interests of African society and development.

Take the Masai, for example. Why won't they change from being nomadic cattle-rearers to being modern farmers, which would be sustainable and thus make more sense? This is a case of counterproductive conservatism.

A lot of customs practiced in Africa today go as far back as the stoneage. Examples of this include tribal marks, wearing animal skins like in parts of South Africa.

Let's get this clear: I am not saying that Africans should abandon their traditions and completely succumb to Western customs and practices. But I do believe that Africans need to contemporarise their traditions and customs so that they will better fit in todays's modern world and not hinder Africa's progress.
Fashion, again, is a good example. The Ashanti traditional garment, which has been worn for hundreds of years, is still worn today by many Ashanti at important international televised events. It just looks totally inappropriate! An even better example are the Zulu, who insist on wearing animal skins at important events because they believe it makes them look more distinguished, when in fact it just looks extremely outdated. WTF?? It's not just a question of taste; it also results in the Western world viewing Africans as "primitive".
Some Nigerian ethnic groups (e.g. Yoruba), on the other hand, have done a brilliant job of putting a modern spin on their traditional garments. That way, they preserve their culture without looking outdated - in fact, traditional dress looks very distinguished and far superior to the standard suit and tie.

This mindset of holding on to outdated customs, come what may, hinders Africa's progress because it stops Africans from aspiring to become better and compete with the rest of the world economically. The revolution needs to begin in the mind. Africa should endeavour to constantly improve and update, in order to keep up with today's modern and competitive world.

I hope I haven't offended anyone with my views; this isn't my intention. It's just a thought. I'm interested in what other people have to say about this.

Those who don't evolve will soon become extinct - it's a law of nature.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

another thing to keep in mind is the french are racist so they have terrible service on air france.  i would pick british air or lufthansa before air france.  heard too many bad stories about the worst service.

You are quite right. this is an appeal to all Nigerians, please boycott Air France in other to restore African dignity. They are racist.

Thank you please!

I find it interesting that in this day and age, most African nations actually choose to preserve their outdated practices (e.g. witchcraft, female circumcision, etc.). It seems there is a reluctance to move with the times and to progress.
I wonder whether it has something to do with the fear of losing one's identity. However, progress does not mean losing your identity. Even the forefathers created this identity through a gradual process (i.e. progress). So why become stagnant now?

And,  good grief, someone started a thread why are Nigerians so backward? this is pathetic.

If you do not know, one of Nigerians problems is that she gives too much to Africa rather than concentrate on itself. you claim Nigeria is selfish; nothing can be further away from the truth. I will not go into how much Naija has given and is still giving to many African countries, including Ghana. But concentrate on the topic at hand. Before I left Naija there was this influx of fake oyibo children everywhere holding your hand, begging for kobo kobo. But nowadays, black ones are coming in, they blend in easily, so you think they are Nigerians. The other day on CNN seven American children were found in Nigeria begging for food. This has to stop. 

There is nothing better than eating pkomo.

@babaibadan

baba meguard u na well don o!

I hear my brother, , oops! my oyibo oga de blow horn make I go open gate for am. talk to una later.

I am achieving my dreams here in Oyinbo-land, because here I am a gateman, and I always dreamed of being a meguard (don't know if I spelled that right) as a child! Although I have two degrees in my pocket.
I prefer this job to being in Nigeria as a doctor or an engineer. At least, being a meguard here, I earn £15 per hour, which is more than a doctor and engineer in Nigeria put together! So ask me if I am happy, and I will say yes. I am always smiling when I get my paycheck!

Gollum (aka Smeagol), a character in the Lord of the Rings

MY PRECIOUS

Personally I  think Nigerian moves are not too bad, I appreciate it because it brings me closer to home. The actor are one of the best in the world, for people that do little or no rehearsal. quality wise: naija movies of cause is not of world standard but there are improvements. Moreover it is always good for a laugh. If you are not laughing because of it humor you will be  laughing because it is bad. ether way it brings you to laugh.

asked him to bring his wife to live with him for a week so he can cure her.

That is exactly why I said they portray primitive people.

What ya see?

On channels like Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, History Channel etc. they frequently depict how rich Africa is in terms of its resources. South Africa, for example, is the largest exporter of gold in the world. Africa has the largest deposits of diamonds in the world. There is an abundance of Uranium, which is used to generate nuclear energy, in Niger. I could go on and on. People all over the world would see this as Africa being wealthy. Wealth is not only defined as a country's economy, but also its resources.

As for beauty, Africa has some of the most beautiful landscapes and locations in the world. The Seychelles, for example, are unsurpassed in terms of its beauty. I think they do show that on television, don't they?

As for primitive, most channels focus on rural areas with native inhabitants, which has the rest of the world believe that the whole of Africa is primitive.

The bottom line is this: the media conveys the picture that Africa is beautiful and has all these resources, but doesn't know how to make the best of it because its people are primitive.

yes I do, do you?

What tv do you watch?

the finest woman in this world is Beyonce! If you put all the female celebrity on one side and Beyonce on the other and ask me to make a pick I will choose beyonce before you finish talking.
kai na somebody dey bolo that chumor, Jay-z you dey enjoyo.