₦airaland Forum

Brilliant and well written!

@luvtbaby, As a Nigerian, I must apologize for some of the ignorant responses you've gotten in this thread. I live in New York, and after experiencing the plight of some AA folks, I think I may understand why you have a yearning to move to Africa (I've always wondered why more middle class AAs don't consider this move too). Of course you know Nigeria's not as developed as the US or Europe, so why are people still saying crap.

The truth is you can really have a valued and fulfilling life in Nigeria (I bet that's what you're looking for), you can have the type of openness, community and status that you desire. With your qualification and experience, I think you have a good chance of getting a job in the many International non-governmental organisations in Nigeria (e.g PATH), you could also reach out to multinational corporations with branches in Nigeria. I worked as an auditor when I was in Nigeria and I met a lot of foreigners who work in Lagos as top executives in companies over there, they all seem to be living at a higher standard than they would in their countries and some of them actually stated that fact!

Just my two cents!

@bandiejay, it's not right for you to generalize people's perception. Although I have heard some references to scam emails sent by Nigerians, I have also heard a lot of good things said by Nigerians. When I was interviewing for my current job, one of the things the interviewer said was that she knows a Nigerian Doctor who lives in her home-town and she loves him very much because of his friendliness and humility. Now, that I have the job, I haven't disappointed either and I'm sure she will continue to have a positive perception about Nigerians.

I also take the bus everyday to work and there's this woman who openly admires the way I dress (not like the stereotypical New York black guy, with sagging jeans etc). One day, we got into a conversation and she said most of the women in the bus always admire my business casual dressing, then she asked if my girl friend tells me this, I told her my girl friend lives in Nigeria and she was like "ohhhhhhhhh that explains why you dress so well, Nigerians are always well educated before they come over here, that's why they get all the top positions meant for other black people". "They are very focused and humble, I know many Nigerian doctors" (she is a nurse). It's true that we have a bad reputation, but the truth is, if people see you in a position that doesn't fit that stereotype, they would only look at the positive.

I kinda agree with Pleep. That's why Middle Eastern countries and American corporations are buying up arable lands in Africa by disguising it as "investment". It's a pity that we're feeding ourselves the short-end of the rope on this issue too. I just hope history won't repeat itself, after all, the first Europeans that came to Africa where merely traders (or investors), but they later took advantage of our hospitality and used their superior weapons to subjugate our empires.

Imagine if the world runs out of food and most arable land in Africa belongs to foreign countries and corporation? What will happen to the people of Africa? Will the government reclaim the land, hereby risking war? Or will they collude with their "masters" and watch as history repeats itself? Maybe I'm over-thinking this thing, but there's no universal law that says things that occurred in the past can't happen again, and despite what most of us think, we're only a major disaster away from a "second invasion" of Africa. I read some online comments on Yahoo! in response to an article by an aid organization that was pleading for donations for children starving in Africa (they made it look like the entire continent was starving), what shocked me was that most white Americans still see Africa as a price that they can claim! Comments like: "we should nuke them all, and take their land", or "Africa's so blessed with resources and these people are wasting it, let's just go back and claim it back". These comments are definitely coming from jobless white trash in America, but we really shouldn't doubt that their leaders, or the Chinese, or even the fucking Indians are not thinking the same!!!

@chambers, so now u're proving my point for me. They behave that way in nigeria because they know the country's in chaos. So, by inviting more people to come for the feast (regardless of the small economic gains) without fixing the inherent problems with the polity, then we're not actually developing but being exploited!!!

@bliss4lyfe, my comment was for "chambers" but in response to your comment, all I have to say is that we also have "business presence" in the Niger Delta, what has that done for us? Besides making money for the oil companies and our corrupt government, and employing a few of us in middle-management, how has that solved any of our problems.

This is the problem when you don't put your house in order before inviting foreigners to "come and chop": they will exploit you! Imagine how different the Niger Delta and/or Nigeria will be if we refined all the oil we used and even sold to neighboring countries. Have you ever asked yourself who's benefiting from the lack of refineries in Nigeria? The oil companies are having a field day exploiting us, and the same thing will happen everywhere else if we don't put our house in order.

Look at every other so called "investments" in Nigeria and tell me if they're really adding value or just exploiting us!!!

^ You're being rude mister. If you read my post clearly, I never said we don't need investments, I'm only advocating that we should focus on fixing ourselves first, then we will attract responsible investors who are willing to fund long-term and sustainable investments (just like in the BRIC countries). And please forget the US comment, because it's not relevant to my logic!

Follow the link to 234next: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5738300-146/okonjo-iweala_meets_us_investors_over_nigerian.csp

Here we go again, putting the cart before the horse. When are we going to realize that these guys are capitalists not charity organizations, if they see $$profit in Nigeria, THEY WILL FREAKING COME! Instead of fixing our issues and building infrastructure that promotes business, we're calling them to come do the same thing the oil companies have done in Nigeria: Make humongous profits, pay their staff and the "monkeys" in government peanuts, destroy the environment, then move on to the next well.
The only "financier" or investor who would chose Nigeria over the BRIC countries is one with sinister motives that involves making money in chaos.

For those who think owning a private airstrip and four jets = "spreading the gospel"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-cocca/ending-poverty-with-globa_b_904436.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=072111&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BlogEntry&utm_term=Daily+Brief&ref=fb&src=sp

WTF, why would anyone want to go to Belarus?

Dude, my advice for you is to go back to school and get a second Masters degree or Ph.D (esp if you're in the sciences and engineering). There are tons of scholarships available and you also qualify for FAFSA since you're a citizen. I understand that you want to get your feet on the ground and start moving forward, but on the long term I think your best option is to find a very good Masters program and enroll.
I don't think people here give a siht about your Masters degree from Nigeria, you'll have to prove yourself in their system before they consider you for the type of job you want. I'm sure you'll get a menial job soon, but keep further education in mind. All the best!

I have to take you on this one Cap28.

1) Laughing all the way to the bank: Isn't that what business is meant for? I really don't have to talk about this.

2) They pay their employees starvation wages and offer mainly part time work: Haha, dude, it's a retail store not an investment bank! Back in 2008, as a fresh graduate, I worked for a Nigeria owned company in Lagos. I had an official car (for sales calls), wore a suit and a tie, but was paid about N25K/month! Take a quick survey among young graduates in Nigeria who don't work for banks, multinationals and oil companies and you'll be shocked at what they earn. I'm not in support of "starvation wages", but it's not a new thing in Nigeria and I'd rather have secondary school graduates work for N20K/month at Walmart than be a bus conductor or rot away at home for years while waiting for JAMB (this really happens btw)!!! Besides, not all the jobs at Walmart are low paying ( I know that for sure)

3) They take out life insurance policies on their employees known as "dead peasant's policies: Yeah, I saw the documentary too. This is a really evil policy, so I don't have much to say about it. However, worse have happened in Nigeria;  the Julius Berger white man who abuses his employees with his dog, or the lebanese/chinese manufacturers who locks you up with poisonous fumes in the factory, then fire you if you get injured, or the oil companies in the Delta and all their atrocities? Truth is, if this were the States, you could make a documentary out of each story, but in Nigeria, this sort of stories only command 1/16th of a page in the back page of The Sun! Bottom line, this is not half as bad as what we already have in Nigeria and it doesn't mean they'll do it over here.

4) None of their stores have union representation: Really dude? Where do you think this is, Detroit? What have the unions done for even Govt workers in Nigeria? not to talk of the private sector? Even if Walmart allows unions in Nigeria, what will the employees gain? Bottom line, we don't have strong unions here, so Walmart will not start or stop anything.

5) They put local retailers out of business: What do you mean? Can you change your perspective from a suburb in LA county to Iyana-Ipaja? who are the local retailers there and what do they sell? 100s of people with "shops"  attached to their houses all selling the same crappy stuff, 100s of people with roadside stands clogging-up the streets, wheelbarrow merchandise, and the "shopping plazas" containing exuberant traders grabbing your arm as you pass by. Really? you prefer walking for miles in mud covered markets than doing your grocery in one superstore with standardized prices? Did you even think of the economic impact that 3 Walmart stores would have in a place like Iyana-Ipaja for instance? How many jobs will be created for kids who would otherwise become street urchins? What about graduates that can work in logistics (Walmart has one of the best in the world), accounting, management, etc. Or what about the local suppliers, distributors etc. Put it together, one Walmart store in Iyana-Ipaja can have more economic impact in terms of jobs etc than 20 banks combined!!! How much tax will go back to the state coffers? You think those "shops" pay tax? haha! (except to the agberos) How many of the things in those "shops" do we even produce in Nigeria? Walmart will not change anything regarding importation in Nigeria, we already import everything!!!

Okay, I'm getting late for work! More comments later!!!

Oh yeaaaaahhhh. U nailed it. I get that all the time but save for my ultra assertive who-the-hell-do-you-think-you-are nature, I would've been shredded to pieces by those people.

Generally - and a lot of people don't know this but, asians normally have a superiority complex when dealing blacks. Well, the whole world does too. Only the very assertive can play such games with them. I've met many black folks who just "withered and dived into the inferiority mode" though.

@ dempeople, you're absolutely spot on. You gotta be assertive with these people. I'm in school with Indians, Asians and whites and at first, they all wanted to look down on me, but when I got into my assertive mode and my " i-don't-give-a-@#$%-who-you-are-I'm-smarter-than-you-mode" they backed-off and now respect me like crazy.

I guess that's why some people say Africans are arrogant. Truth is if you play it too cool, these fools will automatically think you're stupid and try to put you in their perverse pecking order. Smh

Yahoo also has an article about stereotypes or misconceptions about Africa http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6160384/5_misconceptions_about_africa.html

@poster, these pics still don't mean all is well. If we look beyond the beautiful pictures we'll see the true pics of Lagos. Over 90% of the people that work on those lush streets cannot afford to even live on the Island. And even the so called rich ones in Lekki and V.I don't have access to basic needs like water, electricity, security and health facilities. We all run our own local goverments in this place and have to provide all the basic amenities for ourselves.
Yeah, the pictures are fine, but I dare say if some journalist from the BBC digs into the lifes of people living and working in this pretty streets, there still wouldn't be much to be proud of.

Suicide mission
• Desperate man sneaks into Delta Airline plane’s tyre
compartment with the aim to be smuggled into the US, but
arrives
Atlanta as mangled dead body
By CHIOMA IGBOKWE




Saturday, April 17, 2010

The family of a Nigerian, who wanted to play James Bond and perhaps, shock the world with his plan, is currently gnashing its teeth,
as the venture has ended in tragedy.

Saturday Sun gathered that a young
Nigerian, Mr.
Emeka Okechukwu Okeke, recently wanted to do the
impossible by smuggling
himself into the United States, but ended up arriving not
only in
body bag but also as mangled body.

Impeccable sources at the Murtala Muhammed International,
Lagos,
revealed that Okeke had beaten all security at the
airport, traced
his way to the tarmac and sneaked into the tyre
compartment of a
Delta Airline’s plane scheduled to depart for Atlanta,
United
States.

It was gathered that the plane had departed Lagos, without
Okeke
being detected, and safely arrived Atlanta. Ground staff
of the
airline, in the United States, were said to have
discovered pieces
of flesh and blood smear on one of the tyres of the plane
and raised
an alarm.
A check on the plane revealed the mangled body of Okeke in
one of
the tyre compartments of the aircraft. The check also
revealed a
bag and a mobile phone on what remained of the body of the
young
man.
Saturday Sun gathered that shocked
officials of
Delta Airlines, in the US, had put on the mobile phone and
scrolled
through the numbers. To find out the identity of the man,
they were
said to have called the last number dialed and made
inquiries. The
man, who received the call, was said to have revealed that
the owner
of the phone had travelled to the United States.

Delta Airlines officials in the United States had
transferred the
case to Nigeria, where it was discovered that Okeke, who
is married,
had confided in some of his friends and relatives that he
was travelling
to the United States on the night he sneaked into the tyre
compartment
of the aircraft. His family has been contacted and its
members have
identified the corpse of Okeke.

According to our source, Okeke is from Anambra and had
tried unsuccessfully
for years to get a visa to America. Owing to desperation,
he decided
to embark on the risky venture, which eventually claimed
his life.
Although, he told his family that he was travelling to US,
he never
revealed that he was going to sneak into the tyre
compartment of
the aircraft.

According to our source, Okeke colluded with airport
officials to
gain access to the tarmac, before finding his way to the
plane in
the dark. He was said to have wrapped himself in a
blanket, not
knowing that the aircraft tyres would get to where he was
and kill
him.

Meanwhile, Delta Airline staffers, who guarded the plane
at the
airport on the day the incident happened, have been
arrested by
the police, to explain how Okeke sneaked into the tyre
compartment
of the plane.
Saturday Sun gathered that Delta Airline
has a
security policy, whereby its plane at the Murtala Muhammed
International
Airport, is guarded from the time it arrives Nigeria, in
the afternoon,
till when it departs with passengers in the night.

With such security arrangement, the airline is, therefore,
shocked
that somebody could have access to the plane undetected
and embarked
on a suicide mission, which has caused the airline a
scandal.
The police at the airport command are currently battling
to find
out how security was breached at the airport that day.

An airport official, who pleaded for anonymity, told Saturday

Sun, that many people had been smuggled out of
the country
by sneaking into aircraft.

The source said: “That route is for people who have guts
and
all efforts to leave Nigeria have failed. The man has bad
luck;
it is not his destiny to leave Nigeria. Maybe he did not
follow
the instructions given to him on how to survive under
there. This
is not the first time people are sneaking out of Nigeria
through
that means. Sometime last year a woman travelled through
that means
and arrived safely.
“If this man arrived safely, we would not be talking about

this. He was careless with his life. Now innocent staff of
the airline
are going to suffer for his mistake. Those who guarded the
plane
that night were arrested.”

The racket at the airport
The question being asked by people is, how possible is it that somebody
would gain access to the tarmac undetected, considering
the tight
security in the airport? Our source explained that such
illegal
movement is being coordinated by a syndicate at the
airport, which
also works with airlines’ workers.
It was gathered that people who need such services pay as
much as
N800,000. They tutored on how to survive in the aircraft
compartment.
For one, it was learnt that they are given blankets and
winter clothes
with which they would keep warn while the plane is in
flight across
the Atlantic.
In the country of destination, the illegal immigrants are
received
by agents in the syndicate, who smuggle them into the
country.

Our source blamed the level of corruption at the airport
on poor
working condition, alleging that some of staff are paid
N30, 000
monthly.

“In this present day, how can one survive with such an
amount
of money? We have to survive; that is why there can never
be a cure
for the level of corruption at the airport. There is
nothing like
absolute security; the people at the helm of affairs
smuggle things
into the plane also, despite their fat allowance,” an
airport
worker said.
When contacted, officials of Delta airlines refused to
comment.
However, a policeman at the airport command confirmed the
incident
and said investigation was going on.

i can understand why a 40yr old FBI agent will chat undercover with a cradle-robber, but what I don't understand is why the american millitary intelligence or congress like you put it will want to tarnish Nigeria's image via 419? What's the connection?
PLEASE DON'T SAY OIL!

@JNdupu, Nicely said.

@poster, why did you use the above topic? because a bunch of students (cultists i presume) are involved in this doesn't make it an INTER-VARSITY CAMPUS WAR!!! HABA! You make it sound like the VC of both schools is leading a batallion of students against each other. Why bury our already dead schools?

love this article.


Cheating our way to World Cup

Kadaria Ahmed



November 16, 2009 03:21AMT
print email





I have looked at this issue six ways every side of Sunday and cannot but reach one conclusion; we cheated our way into the final of the U-17 World Cup.

Yesterday, in front of thousands of fans and many other millions watching on television, the Nigerian U-17 national team lifted the second place trophy in the competition. Ordinarily, this should be a time of celebration, euphoria even. After all, it appears that football, so beloved by many Nigerians is defying the rot that has settled into many aspects of our national life. From our educational system to our infrastructure, nothing works. We should therefore be thrilled that our football is at least giving us one thing we can all be proud of.

But our journey to second place is tainted. It appears we fielded over age players, some as old as 25. For example, Fortune Chukwudi, a central defender and captain of the U-17 team used to play for Sharks of Port Harcourt, according to the former chairman of the club, Adokiye Amiesimaka. The former chairman says in 2002 when Mr. Chukwudi played for the feeder team of Sharks, he was 18 years old. Logically therefore, it was a 25 year old man, rather than a 17 year old boy that captained our team. One national newspaper went as far as providing proof by publishing on its front page, a picture of the young Chukwudi during his time with Sharks.

Questions have also been raised about another player. Deji Joel did not initially make the squad because according to our football governing body, the NFF, he failed the MRI test that was administered to verify age claims by players. Between that announcement and the competition, the young man somehow found his way back to the squad. No official explanation was proffered by the NFF for this about turn. It is possible the test was faulty, but the NFF in its wisdom didn’t think Nigerians deserved an explanation.

There is definitely something fishy about the way we handle age grade competitions. In other climes, they provide breeding grounds for national teams and produce players who go on to have brilliant careers internationally and professionally.

Football powerhouse Brazil has won the competition as many times as Nigeria. A look at the youngsters that helped the country win the competition thrice is a list of who is who on the football world stage. Brazil’s 1995 squad though not winners, produced the likes of Julio Cesar, Juan Silveira dos Santos and Fabio Aurelio, who now respectively play for Inter Milan, Roma and Liverpool and are still regulars in the national team.

The 1997 tournament was won due to the extraordinary skills of Ronaldinho de Assis Moreira, who now plays for AC Milan. The young man who claimed back-to-back FIFA Player of the Year awards in 2004 and 2005 while playing for HIS erstwhile club, Barcelona was also a member of the 2002 World Cup-winning Brazilian side.

In 2001, current Juventus playmaker, Diego Ribas da Cunha featured at the U-17 World Cup while in 2005, the trio of Marcelo da Silva Junior of Real Madrid, Denilson Pereirra Neves of Arsenal and Manchester United’s Anderson Oliveira were part of the Brazilian side which finished in second place behind Mexico. Two years later, in 2007, twin brothers, Fabio and Rafael da Silva appeared for the Brazilians and they remain integral members of Manchester United team.

But what has happened to members of our winning squads? There are only two so far that have stood out professionally- Mikel Obi of Chelsea in England and Chinedu Obasi of Hoffenhein in Germany.

So could it be that many members of our winning squads fade into obscurity because to begin with they were old men and can realistically therefore not have a long shelf life in football?

Regardless of what your answer is the time has come for us to insist that we do things the right way. When we cheat, it is ourselves we deceive. We deprive our nation the possibility of grooming youngsters that may one day take us all the way to a senior World Cup final. When we perpetrate a sham, our image is tainted and our victories are hollow and fraudulent and should be a source of shame for any sane, responsible Nigerian.

Those who have found these truthful words hard to swallow have accused people like me of being unpatriotic. We have been accused of been disloyal to our country for insisting cheating is wrong and that the result does not justify the means. It is those who insist on victory at any cost that are destroying this country.

This is the same mentality that allows parents to buy exam papers for their children. It is the same principle that makes us lie on job applications. It is the same thinking that means we can dip our hands into public coffers with no thought for the damage the theft is doing and the consequences on the country and its people. Cheating and stealing are two sides of the same coin. By cheating in this competition, Nigeria has stolen victory from other teams. So it is fair and just that the ultimate prize eluded us.

The Access, a new weekly publication of the Special projects unit of the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication with the publisher being the minister of information; madam rebranding, hit the news stands today for free. Browsed through the stuff and it was all about rebranding, amnesty and post-amnesty. I believe the next edition will be about the gains of deregulation!
Is this neccessary?

Yeah, we keep complaining abt the same things and Abati keeps writing the same kind of articles. I'm sure he published "exactly the same article" ten years ago!

WOW!!!!! I never knew my question will generate so much discussion. Sorry, I've not been on NL (esp the career section) for about 2 months now, hence my silence.

I chose PwC based on 3 factors:
a) Very useful advice from professionals (on this site and outside)
b) The client profile of both firms
c) The conduct of the staff during the recruitment process (I think PwC sold themselves well).

Yeah, I'm there now and I've not been disappointed. Except for the fact that I need to get used to the amount of tax I pay to the LIRS monthly; PwC's a fun place to be.

Thanks guys.

@nex I understand ur patroitism, but can we please be objective? That article was written in 2004 and since then things have only gotten worse down here.

ECONOMIC FACTORS: Level of income, economic decline and dependence on natural resources.
These three main factors that the writer highlighted have only grown worse in Nigeria over the couple of years and if u indeed read the article, u will see the connection between these three factors and the emergence of liberation forces (rebel groups, freedom fighters e.t.c), the funding of these by highjacked natural resources, the seemingly laxity of the govt in power, the spiraling corruption, the rent economy e.t.c which one of these factors point directly towards the amount of citizens in possession of weapons?

The most painful truth in that article is this and i quote "Yes, Africa is riven by ethnic differences, so that where civil wars flare up they will invariably be fought along ethnic lines. But this does not mean that the ethnic differences are ‘causing’ the conflict."

Which is more like the situation of MEND bombing Atlas cove and yoruba elders calling for an apology or something.
The same sequence happened in Congo brazaville, same in Liberia, sirrea leone and same in ,

Isn't it scary that just a little keeps this country from civil war (frankly I don't know what that little is). I came across this article on the web, all the factors of civil war are in place.

http://www.crimesofwar.org/africa-mag/afr_04_collier.html

Dude, i pay over 20% of my income to Lagos State Government. even though i work on the island, i leave in ipaja and it's crazy down there!

House please help. I have a job offer each from PWC and Deloitte (associate positions) and I'm kinda confused.
Your posts will help a lot.