₦airaland Forum

@Rocktation: pls explain. In over 70% of the cases I've seen, extreme manipulation is involved. I know one such case where the guy's gf sent a stinker of an email threatening someone she considered her rival. Then she and her bobo went off fb to get away and reconcile and they got engaged. I spoke to the rival, who hadn't even contacted the guy in over 6 months, had moved on and I found out that the gf used the rival's fb name to open the email address she used to send the stinker. Everyone now suspects the gf also used that email address to impersonate her so-called rival to "check" her bf. But reading that gf's fb wall is like attending church. What she did is what I've seen people recommend partners do in their rels, and it's manipulation. The gf "played her cards right". It works short-term but longterm...

First Nigerian to see a final in any sport at this Olympics. She ran against the best, and she's got 4 years to improve. She's a slow starter but fast finisher, so maybe she should concentrate on 200m.

crowaddy: What politics? Do you think its football we are talking about here?

I know someone who has competed at African Games as a cyclist and qualified. He's training in the US under good coaches and he's showing promise, so he's working towards the next Olympics. Yet he didn't make the Nigerian team. why? Soon, we'll see him competing for the US if we're not careful.

I think people don't know what's good for them. My older sister told me this: the day you realise, accept and learn from your mistakes, is the day almost everything in your life improves. It is no-one's fault and no-one deserves to be treated badly based on past problems they had nothing to do with.

If you meet a girl/guy who treats you right, abeg, don't be disgusted, find out whether the behavior is real (beacuse now I see a lot of people faking it and them after marriage, wow, ugly reality appears. It's why I no longer recommend the 6-months meet and marry and no sex, your eyes tend to be a bit clearer) and cherish it.

Blessing needs to accelerate from the start. She's fast, but she has to go from the start and get faster. Let's hope she has a strategy. I think the women's athletics will yield something, Female sports in Nigeria has less politics involved, so they actually pick talent.

Goshen360: To my graduate friends who had insulted me as if I don't know what am talking about.

Let me help your "ego/pride" in this matter. I attended Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State and graduated in 1999. I did my Industrial Training (I.T) at Administrative Staff College of Nigeria - ASCON in Badagry, Lagos State. While I was serving, I met a colleague and we became friends. After completing our I.T, my friend went back for his H.N.D while I went for B.Sc in Lagos State University.

I engaged in a family business while I was in school, started a Grasscutter farming that now turned out to be one of the biggest Grasscutter farm in Nigeria today. How? Just in a little way. Today, this Grasscutter business has now grown so big that it became a source of income for my family while am away in abroad. From that little Grasscutter business, I was able to create another business - a Cybercafe business which I started in 2002/03. I started my Cybercafe business after my friend finished his HND and he was looking for job. My thought was that, we could work together creating job instead of looking for job, we should rather create job for ourselves. My friend had this mentality of looking for white collar job as he always wanted to work in an office environment but I had a different mentality of creating job because I understand you will only be helping someone to make money when you work for them.

I make bold to tell you that, I left Nigerian since 2008 for the U.S and my friend is still searching for his white collar job. Alas! he hasn't got one even as we speak. I do not intend to mock my friend anyway, just citing an example. Ladies and Gentlemen, the fact that we're all graduates doesn't mean we'll start with a white collar job. My advice is very simple and clear, if you are a graduate and you feel you can do this job offer from Dangote, kindly put your pride/ego aside and start from somewhere. Like I said, you can take this job and build capital from whatever income you earn to start your own business. In my years of business administration and management studies/Economics, I have come to know that YOU WILL ONLY BE MAKING PROFIT FOR YOUR EMPLOYER when you work for people while you are only paid "token" as wages, you being the one doing the main job. How then do you become your own boss? You either start from somewhere to build up capital or start your own business if you have your own capital.

Thank you for proving my point.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this man above did NOT need a University B.Sc to improve his life. He went straight for Business. However, if he had given into Naija mentality, he would have spent millions and would be at a Masters' level earning a salary or applying to Dangote as a Truck Driver. He is what is classed as a Skilled Worker. He found his niche and went for it, and when you find your sweet spot in life, you succeed.

Reason No. 3,579,460 You need to teach your child Basic @#$*0! Economics and Social Studies, so they can make informed decisions and not run off to College to be an Educated, then fight for the same jobs a Skilled worker is applying for.
The Dangote job should be targeted at people LIKE THIS FELLOW.
Because some of us are Educateds, some are Skilled Workers and some of us are Unskilled Workers. There is NO SHAME in being in any of those groups, as we need a diversified Society to survive. Stop chasing the money and find your niche, the money will chase you like it is a Uni babe and you are D'banj

Actually, the reason we're in this mess is due to bad governance and our daft mindset. Nigerians are like dodos or Lemmings, one person does one thing, everyone follows, regardless of if it's the wise decision.

In the 70s, someone woke up and said "I will only hire bank tellers who have university degrees". So everyone left their School leaving Cert and Grade 6 and ran to Uni. They now went "only masters holders" sharp sharp, we all applied for student visa. We found oil, and no-one farmed again. One person imported clothe, now all our clothes must be imported and we refuse to sew in Naija unless it's lace or ankara, Tara became a makeup artist, now every chick is painting face (90% don't know what they're doing), Tuface made money and Don Jazzy bought a nice car, no young man is studying anything else except music production and singing rubbish. Someone did oil and gas, now we are all fighting to get a share of an oil field (yet the wells are drying up).

We don't diversify. If we did, there's plenty to go around. Wake up and be different. My friend was a millionaire at 25 in Lagos because he woke up and realised there were too many architects and he didn't want to work in a bank for a lousy pay and he liked to draw. Today, he's a Creative Director. Pastor Taiwo Odukoya says "I've seen people go without phones, but I've never seen them not eat. Agriculture is the way".

Do you know how many countries don't grow enough food, that Nigeria has soo much land and waste to produce organic fertilizer, that can be imported? Things that need Engineers and Scientists. But hey, you wanna be a Graduate Truck Driver earning... what was it again...

Not much wrong with the offer, but knowing naija, next thing you know is that Access Bank will be hiring B.Sc holders as security agents at the front door. Then Patience Jonathan University, Yenagoa Bayelsa state will be opened to offer a B.Sc in Banking Hall security. Complete with Masters in Jamaica.

Olodostein: Quite remarkable of you.

Need an Engineer that can come up with a system that filters used bath and kitchen water that will be used to water plants and gardens.

Also interested in biodegradable packaging.

Anyways, I commend you for your work. There are lots of heavy metals out there since Nigeria has become a dumping ground for all kinds of substandard and dokunbo goods.

Keep up your good work. The field is very versatile.

Let's talk, I can help out with this. Especially the biodegradable packaging, was already doing small work on that.

It won't let me reply you. Arrrghh, email is ---, pls send asap, so I can delete this before the spammers start telling me they Love me

Wallie: I initially skipped most of what you wrote but decided to read it because someone else quoted it. You miss me with your economic talk.

What you posted above will only be true if the law of supply and demand no longer works (Economics 101). As a person or businessman, you can demand whatever you want but are only going to get it if there’s supply for your demand.

In other words, if there are enough skilled jobs for graduates, then no graduate will accept Dangote’s offer and he would need to rethink his demand.
Moreover, why do you think Obama is advocating more training and education for out-of-job workers? Because low skilled jobs are forever gone and are being replaced by demands for a more skilled workforce. Just a decade ago, people with high school degrees working in manufacturing where earning middle class salaries but today, you will most likely need a college degree just to get by.

As the society becomes more advanced, the level of skill the society needs becomes more advanced. Think about what life would have been like in the 50s for engineers with no computers and what their life is like today. What was once considered advanced skill will someday become “no-skill” or norm because even a 5 year old can now do it (see computer usage).

What you are saying is very true. But Obama encouraging umeployed workers to go back to school was also an economical tactic: students cannot be on the Dole (social welfare). Social Services was over-burdened at that time with massive numbers of umeployed people, stretching USA's already stretched economy thin. So their president tried to get them off it "Go back to School", and he followed it up by fighting to cap increases on student loans' profits. So you're unemployed, stay off the dole (leave the welfare check to crazy mutha.fucker with 4 babymamas and 30 kids, I kid you not), take a loan that will resuscitate banks who are being given government money to stay afloat, make sure the loan interest doesn't over-grow and ride out the recession, until it improves and you go back to your skill level. The person who suffers the most in the Government, who has to borrow a lot from outside so that it can bankrole all this. He did this successfully. Hence, the US economy is improving, unemployment numbers are down, people have more skills, and no the jobs still don't require more skills, so most of them are applying where they left off, and the US government owes China a lot of money. It's why the Republicans and Tea partiers are fighting Obama, he has a very high deficit. But his plan worked.

In Nigeria, if you and your foreign masters get employed as a bank teller at GTB, then I go do masters, then all of us now have masters, people now start doing Ph.D to work in bank (already happening). However, no matter the technology being used behind the till, the job is basically still paying out cash and recieving cash. No special skills required.

Low Skilled jobs will never disappear. Who sold you oranges? Who sold your mum oranges as a child, who is going to sell oranges to your child, where did your great-grandparents take their excess oranges to? Heck, who takes care of your cows to produce beef, and how long can you say the Cattle rearing business has been in existence in the world (Hint: go read your bible). What special skills do you need for that?

And you should read more. If I had been discussing my se.x diary in detail above complete with nude pics, you'd have paid attention to my original post

To all of you saying degree this, degree that, this is a good thing, quick question: If a H.ND holder from YabaTech applies for this job and a B.Sc in Mech. Engr. from UNILAG apply for this job, what do you reckon the Yabatech student's chances are? Whom do you think they'll give more weight to? Now multiply that by 200, for every School of Tech student who applies, Some B.Sc holder applies to. Do you really want me to believe that I won't accept a B.Sc over a H.ND, unless the H.ND guy is more amazing than everyone else? The only way the H.ND holders will win is if they are facing educated people who know that vehicular mechanical engineering is better taught at College of Technologies rather than Universities. It's the same reason why a masters of University of Tennessee is not as regarded as a masters from University of Michigan.

And you think is an equal and fair opportunity.

Olodostein: Nice write up. But let us put theories aside.This is Reality we are talking about here.

I saw that you mentioned Agriculture. Let me give you a clue.

Apart from my other businesses, I saw an opportunity and went into waste management. Got some almajiri's around and employed them into collecting waste from people's homes and helping them tidy up their compounds while raking in the bucks. We use these waste and turn them into compost manure and supply to farmers. We help the environment in the process and help rid off farms and our foods chemicalized fertilizers. These young chaps go to market to learn machine ,bicycle parts after and use their savings to start up their own shops. They have practically taken over these line of business.

I could go on an on about potential things these "graduates" can go into but may be too proud to bend down and pick the money.

Been looking for a good engineering graduate that can do some design and that i can invest in. But is either they don't have in depth knowledge of Engineering Design,let alone calculations or they want to work in the bank or some obscure oil company.

Now because of my love for real engineering , i study environmental engineering on the side - this is why i am online most of the time reading up materials while tendering to my businesses out there.

Hello, as an Environmental Engineer who was into Waste management, worked for a waste management firm and is still studying international standards of waste management policy making (please clap for me ) , I applaud your efforts. I tried supporting communities like yours and tried getting the government to support you guys. It didn't work out. What do you need in an Engineer? I'm sorta free right now...(yep I'm jobless)

Wallie: Where will the money for starting a business come from? How about those that started a business and lost all their money; where will they get money from? Do you have any idea what your turnover in a business needs to be before you can have enough money to pay for your necessities and bills while maintaining or increasing your principal investment?

My point is that in extreme circumstances, the educated took whatever job was available in order to survive. Once they had stabilised, they usually branched out. Your friend Chris owns a truck which he most likely uses for personal side jobs. The Dangote truck drivers don't own an equity in their truck and can be fired tomorrow, leaving them where they were, unless they have enough money to start their own trucking business. And if they had that money, well, why are they then being employed by Dangote?

If it was a Drivers' managers' scheme, sure, I'd support this. If Dangote is trying to use this as a platform to show that not everyone needs to attend tertiary educational institutions to succeed in this life, I support. Because there are too many graduates competing for the same jobs and the same resources, when there should be an even number of educateds, skilled workers and unskilled workers. But is he?

Anyone wanting to fight this, don't kill yourself. On the anniversary of Fela, we are still "suffering and smiling". A country where foreigners will treat you badly on your own soil and you will be silent, where they will deport you from another country and no-one will do more than rattle a sabre in a newspaper and be silent. Go and apply for UK or US visa in Ghana or Gambia, that's when you'll know how low Nigerians are taken by foreigners.

Yet we are all suffering and smiling.

payless: I have met a bachelor degree holder form University of Ibadan who happens to do menial job in New Jersey. At the same time, I know of many Nigerians with bachelor degrees from various Nigerian higher institutions that do menial jobs.


My point is that, Nigerians who refuse to take a cleaning job in Nigeria wouldn't mind taking the same job in western countries. I guess everyone like to wear shirts and ties.

A Bachelor degree holder from University of Ibadan is not employable in the US. Trust me, even your UNILAG degree is not employable fresh off the boat. Why else do you have to write TOEFL for masters, if they assumed your degree was on the same level as their own degrees? Don't they know you speak English? Do you know you have to take English as a Second Language class for one term if you come from Nigerian secondary school and want to write SATs? They don't respect your education, hence nigerians started running there and hitting the ground doing masters so that they would be considered employable after that in the US. My brother is an engineer trained in the US, when he went to see his peers in UNILAG, and saw their coursework, he laughed. Even Mexico is ranked higher than a Nigerian degree without international masters to back up. Tell your friend to apply for anything more than Teller at Bank of America, let's see what happens.

payless: We have problems in Nigeria. Some bachelor degree holding Nigerians are in the U.S driving Taxis and trucks everyday. Why do we always show pride in everything we do?

All the naija boys I know doing unskilled labour abroad for long periods of time are hustling either because
1. Dem no get paper, so they can't get a legal paying job
2. Dem no get education, so they are unemployable and if they were in Nigeria, they'd be selling spare-parts in Alaba
3. Dem need 3 jobs to support mummy, daddy, sister, brother, wife, 4 children, 2 girlfriends, numerous friends and hanger-ons that they have to show off to when they come for christmas in Naija

I am yet to see any engineer or doctor in the US driving truck without the above reasons. Most will start their own business. Even at the height of the recession, when they were firing all of us, was when people took those unskilled jobs. Unemployment increased, and everyone is finding their square-root. It's why the US govt monitors rates of Unemployment quarterly. If you live in Sweden, or any other country and you realise that the govt's job is to create a steady environment for its citizens to live their lives, you will hate every nigerian politician, PDP, ACN, ANPP, whatever.

The highest paid driver in Zenith and it's companies earns N55,000 monthly. Only 4 are paid so. If Dangote's paying N200,000, it's because he's not planning on hiring more than 20 drivers max. So, nope, this will NOT save the millions of unemployed people. This offer hurts more than helps. But I'm speaking chinese to people who only speak latin. Carry on.

BTW, truck driving in the US is a grade C or D license. Me and my degree cannot apply for that job, I'm a grade A (personal car only) because you must have clocked a certain amount of driving training time before writing that driving test. Which is why they don't have a lot of truck accidents there, because they train them, not because they're graduates. In Nigeria, last time I checked, getting a license was as easy as a passport photo and N5000. I didn't even go to VIO to fill the form. So, sure I could apply for that truck driving job. But don't complain the day my truck falls on your family because I lack the skills for the job (skills like endurance, detail-oriented, long levels of consciousness). I'll leave you to pray that "may your name never be on any list of people who truck fell on this year..." or some other stu.pid crap.

Shrug.

Goshen360: See pride in the hearts of some so called "graduates". Which kind book una don read wey another person never read before?I don't mean insult anyway. If you can apply for the job and be employed, why don't you take it for now UNTIL YOU GET A BETTER OFFER TO A BETTER POSITION/FUTURE. A clear picture of pride and despising the days of little beginning. You can even get the job just to save/build capital to start your own business. It doesn't diminish anything from you neither does it subtract anything from your future. As some graduates dey do yanga, some graduates don apply same job chap-chap.

Hello there. Let me explain how Social policy and Economics work. Please take a seat.

In every society. there are small jobs and big jobs. Society is balanced by a proportionate amount of each. What happens is that a CEO hires Managers, who hire employees. Then the educated hire the skilled workers. Skilled workers hire unskilled workers. When that happens, money and wealth is spread round, because everyone is employed, at their own unique level, and has spending power. Thus the country has a good Cost of Living.

So when someone dumb slowpoke decides to hire the educated to do the jobs of the skilled workers, he deprives the skilled workers of jobs, which in turn make the skilled workers compete with the unskilled workers for their jobs. And no, contrary to your Pastor's optimism, manna will not fall from Heaven to feed the now unemployed unskilled workers. Who take to robbing, anarchy (that's a big word, so look it up) and kidnapping and whatsoever to survive. Sound familiar??
Yup, that's what happened to Nigeria. The truck driver is now at home hungry because a graduate is doing his job and the CEO, who then deprives the graduate the ability to earn his worth of years of schooling back from society, is CHEATING the graduate of that. Yes, we can all start business, but that would take more jobs away and increase the competition amongst skilled sellers. Go to Balogun, for every Kuddy Cosmetics (a big distributor), there are 30 small shops who barely sell one lipstick. Yet the owners have to pay dues, rents,
schoolfees, eat...

"Well, they can go to Agriculture", I can hear you say. Absolutely. How many farms exist that can pay unskilled workers enough to live on more than $2/day (Nigeria's current Cost of living)? And those farms also are now accepting job resumes from skilled workers, who might have been driving trucks in the city, but graduates are too busy (with your encouragement) applying for secretary, customer service representative, salesperson and truck driver.

A society must have a blend of graduates, skilled workers and unskilled workers. That way, everyone gets a fair chance to survive. The rest is upto them.

Think about the points I raised above. Thank you.

signed, a humble female engineer, without a job, whose Dad made sure she watched (amongst several other educative programs) CNN Business with him as a kid (while her peers were dating and pinging) because he knew that the schools would NEVER teach her Economics, Social Studies and Policy making. He was appalled at the low level of education amongst the best graduates he was constantly being asked to hire.

Dear Ladies who believe all men are dogs, guess what? You settled for the wrongest of dudes
-signed someone who has seen men married more than 9 years, who fight daily not to cheat on their women. The rest of you, feel free to date my exes and my friends'e exes. Hey, at least, you'll be crying into your expensive silk sheets, living in your nice Lekki house, amirite, ladies??

My cousin's hubby comes to Nigeria and stays in my house and lets us know his movement, he's not hiding to go meet some gal. He's a good husband. My cousin comes to Nigeria and stays in hotels or my other cousin's house (because my mum threatened to expose him the next time he brought a girl to our house while his wife is in the US with his kids).
Most of the people I know with cheating husbands fought to marry those men, in spite of the red flags they saw before marriage, heck some chanced the man's long-term gf to be his wife (my friend did that, she at first didn't know he had even proposed to the girl, she found out, shouted a bit and played her cards right, the other babe got chanced and she bagged her a rich dude. He's cheating). We are forever saying "don't be desperate" but will encourage you to marry the man that on paper is great, but the reality is different. So we chase after people who we are not meant to be with. Then we get it, and whaddya know, the tomato we priced has become agbalumo, with no refunds. Then the cheating starts (for men) and the obsession with shopping and kids starts (for women). It makes me laugh, our parents had no choice, we have all the choice yet we are still making the same mistakes. Are we not stu-pider? We ask God "send me my own", but determinedly go for what we want, not caring if it is right for us and certainly not waiting on God. We want to make our choice and God should approve it, not that God sends us his own.
How else can you explain why a man knows he's gonna marry you, and knows you're not sufficient for him, so he will plan to cheat?? They say marry your friend, because if you and your friend fight, friend gets fat, gets broke, moves away, a richer/finer/more classy friend shows up, guess what? You still remain friends. You made a commitment to that friendship, yet you are budgeting your allowance to ensure you have enough for wife + mistress + girlfriends. And someone how, we are to respect Men for that decision?
Men want lunch, se.x and a peaceful home. Your job is to find a man who's definition and vision of all those coincide with yours, not find a guy with a nice car, a job abroad and make your vision his own. He'll eventually return to what he wants.
Le Fin.

it's trade by barter. Pay her and have her body. Isn't that the agreement you made with her?

My friend wanted to settle down, instead ended up dating one animal who was immature and insecure. When he met her, he went on about how she was a good girl and different and this girl (who really is a nice girl) wanted to be the best chick for him. He dealt with her as if she was the one who hurt him in the past or chopped his money. She became frantic trying to please this disgusting creature. He was selfish, he would demand intimacy then get angry and accuse her of causing him to almost cheat on her, tell her their rel was never exclusive (even though he was the one that insisted on exclusivity), get mad at her if she wanted to see him to hang out, though they had not seen in 3 weeks, she got him a gift on val's day and even bought him credit on her small salary, he never bought her anything or took her anywhere that cost him more than N1000 (and he worked for an oil company, she worked in government). He never praised her for anything and when she complained about it, said it was her fault (everything in the rel was her fault to him) because he would want to say something nice, but she would "do something to annoy him". She eventually gave into his demands, and guess what? He broke up with her for having low self-esteem and being too emotional. Had she been as selfish as all the girls guys come on NL to complain about, he would have loved her. Mschewwww

Yes, guys are really that bad. I just found out that one of my family friends is sneaking behind his wife's back to tell one of my friends "he was forced into marriage". That one was innocently thinking the guy was showing up at her house for counselling, I had to open her eyes that he was looking to cheat on his pregnant wife.

There are many men out there, very few husbands.

DJmally, send me a message please.

Both were different.
Chinese culture is very old and perfect, Asian cultures crave perfection in all things. Japanese have a (cherry-blossom) Sakura viewing ceremony and the Chinese invented the Tea Ceremony, events which emphasize spectacle, detail and perfection and balance. So the Beijing opening reflected that.

The British have a culture which is very cutting-edge and groundbreaking, they are usually the first to absorb something new from any place and try and make their own (talk to an American to understand this, a brit will travel to naija and eat naija food, an american will ask for his type of food in Nigeria, they're like nigerians, very unadventurous spirit). The Brits are adventurous, naughty, fun-loving people when they let loose and conservative when they're in trouble. So the London opening reflected wit, humanity and cheekiness.

If you like perfection and a glamorous display, you'll love the Beijing. If you crave wit and a offhand sense of humour, you'll love the London.

I love wit and humanity, also, the chinese replaced a girl for having crooked teeth and used her voice with a better-looking child. And their volunteers were grim and unsmiling (probably not volunteers). The London volunteers, well, I saw a young black male volunteer hug an elderly white female volunteer at the end of the games, everyone was cheering each other.

Make what you will of that.

Nigeria was okay, but that Senegal's yellow damask they wore, mehnn, even the commentators had to say it was nice. And internationally people are saying Senegal was amongst the best outfits. Maybe we should try something new...

The National Anthem was sung by a choir of disabled children with Down's syndrome, blindness, and hearing impairment. Nigeria would have killed those children, gone "olorun maje", and bring out D'banj and Wizkid to come and sing while PDP officials dance in expensive lace.

No. I am NOT looking forward to us ever hosting. This had warmth and beautiful moments. Well done, Britain.

the music tribute started from the 50s all the to the 90s, my mum sang and danced all through the music tribute, we were all singing, depending on your age, so it was lovely. the movie tribute was from Charlie Chaplin to Hugh Grant, over a 100 years of film. If you're not exposed to british culture, you won't get it. They had Mary friggin Poppins, Cruella deVille and Capt. Hookum and those spooky things from Harry Potter. How could you not get that? They had David Bowie, the Beatles, Lollipop, Frankie goes to Hollywood (Relax, just do it), Annie Lennox...
Very british.

The theme of the Games is "Inspire the Next Generation". So no, it wasn't about England, Ireland or Scotland, it was about the youth. Hence reading bedtime stories, a child being comforted after the loss of a loved one, the industrial revolution (a movement driven by the youth and the future), and the lighting of the flame done by young athletes nominated by old athletes as a baton-passing. Lots of Pop-culture and british tongue-in-cheek humor. It felt very personal and real, and I cannot remember any comedic parts from any other Olympic openings, do you?

Score: A+ (because it felt human, unlike the fake perfection of the Beijing Olympics, where they changed a child singer because of her looks).

shymmex: Sir Paul McCartney! - but the realist Beatle ever was John Lennon..

It's a shame no-one remembers Ringo Starr and George Harrison, like Paul and John.

Sir Paul McCartney, singing "Hey Jude", nothing more british than this moment

Very good lighting, all the copper pots that the kids carried with them for each country is what they lit. Nice emotional touches.

This was all about Culture, especially the multi-ethnic feel of London. I have been to major cities and NONE feel as multi-cultural as London, New York is the closest, but is still far from London. THEY DID WELL. Their torch relay race was the best, old to young, all cultures and athletes and non-athletes.