₦airaland Forum

darellrivers: Thanks a whole lot. I will contact all three offices. I got into three schools- 2 in the UK- Oxford University, University college London and 1 in the US- University of Notre Dame (the only one i applied to. I love the looks of the Prog at NotreDame but its quite expensive! I'm thinking of going to the UK instead- Whatdya think?

Those three school are excellent schools, and I mean really top notch based on their overall reputations. However, the ultimate decision rests with you; the decision should be carefully weighted based on all available options such as financial aid, programme, and future prospects. By and large, weigh all your available options before choosing because in all honesty those are all top tier schools by most measures and standards anywhere in the world. Good luck!

darellrivers: I just got into my top choice University and got part scholarship - for Masters! Please i really do need advice on how i can get more funding as the tuition scholarship was just $10k and i still need about $30k which i cant afford now! Should i contact the graduate office, financial aid office, international office or the Program director?

Contact all the those offices you listed above(in bold); they would all provide useful and accurate information.

rowlandoo: @ ALL

Since there is no one to respond to my last post I guess everyone is a jambite on this thread lol .
Please everyone its time to make a right decision and I want people
in the house to help me make a right one too , I have 2 admission now , the first tuition is $25000 per year and was not giving any scholarship or student grant but was told there is going to be available student grants for international student in the second year . MY second school is costing me $38000 but I was giving internationals student grant marking 50% off from the total cost of attendance . Now I that I have interview in June I am wondering on which I-20 to go with for my interview that will earnestly approve me for visa. . And also the first school is affordable for me but since I have been denied visa 3 times I don't know which one should go with . Please evryone just help me make right decision , both people that already gone tru this and wise NLDRS

I really can't state to a certainty what the right choice here is, but I would probably take the take the second option if it were a short term programme, such as a Master's degree. Since the school would cover half of the cost while you can take care of the remainder; however, if it is a long term one I'm not quite sure. Because under the first option(availability of grants), you have to be very careful because that is what is usually being said, but the reality on ground is that these grants are very limited as there is a preference for Americans over foreigners.

I also believe I can fly and touch the sky, but that doesn't mean it will happen.

What a load of bollocks! Sahara reporters are really losing it. Make I go drink beer jare!

@ uberino : I would like to contact you; how do I do so?

In my opinion, the Military incursion into politics,especially since the 1960s, and the democratic system currently being operated in Nigeria is like being caught between Satan and Lucifer. Military rule since the time of Gowon to Abacha completely set us back a century of progression, while the current politicians under this democratic system have taken looting and irresponsibility to a staggering level. However, there is no doubt that a democracy is still better than a military system of government. Granted, democracy has given us pilfering legends like Ibori, but military rule also gave us Abacha and Babangida,who alongside Ibori would go down in folklore as the greatest looters this country has ever known. What we need in Nigeria right now is a total reformation of our institutions in order to strengthen our democracy, especially law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. If our institutions are strengthened, it would be easier to check the excesses of these rogue politicians as opposed to containing the highhandedness and plundering nature of the military should they ever come into power again.

dayokanu: I hope this money is getting to the common man in Niger Delta

I think we both know the correct answer to your question.

In a country where laws hold meaning, this man(nothing short of an area father) would have been behind bars .

McAdem: [b]Oh! How I miss those days in Naija. Thinking about it makes tears well up in my eyes and bring laughter to my face. I was born in 1988 in Naija but there are some moments i remember and my face lights up. I miss this days:

• The days where Choco Milo was the best chocolate ever.

• The days of Tales by moonlight, speakout, new masqurade, papa ajasco

• Days of Christmas where we all looked forward to wearing our mama- tie- me -for back dresses and mother care socks.

• I miss the days of Christmas when we take food to our neighbors and they gave us money in exchange

• The days of Christmas when we dress up, wear our cute outfits and visit family and friends one after the other

• The days when Christie Ogoli, Shina peters, Onyeka onwenu , funmi Adams sang and brought tears of joy to our faces

• The days when “Nigeria, my beloved country” was the best song ever

• Days when birthday parties was fun. Cake and red jollof rice

• The days when actors and actresses were natural in their movies.Liz benson, Dolly unachukwu, regina askia, Antar laniyan, etc. unlike
this age were they are all so fake trying to form Americana. Tonto Dike and her likes

• The days where ladies wore long skirts that had slits up to their laps

• The days of love letter. Were we sent love letter to boy and girls and await their reply

• The days of father chrismas

• Days when we went for people’s birthday and danced to “hoo yay, I wish u hapi buyday” “hoo yay, very merry merry hapi returns”

• The days when rice was the best food ever

• The days when cousins, neighbors all lived and related well unlike this age where evrione is on their own. Aka OYO

• I miss the days of Akwa-oche, cloths made from chair materials

• The days when we went to school , lined up and the headmistress and teachers inspect our nails and uniform and then we march to our classrooms

• The days of “papilo, I know say one day, you go make us proud”

• The days of Mother care socks and socks that has lace round it

• The days of rashidi yekini, Daniel omokachi, Sunday oliseh, peter rufai, etc

• The days of pinafore school uniform

• The days of black and white Tv

• The days where only one person in that neigbourhood had that round phone and neighbors had to come receive calls in one’s house

• The days of sakobi the snake girl, Nneka the pretty serpent, Igodo, Living in bondage, Sharon stone

• The days of Maclean, Tura soap, dudu osin, okin biscuit, ribena, lucozade, tomtom, etc

• The days when MKO was the main man

There are still many more days that I cannot remember, but feel free to post some of your fun filled days in Naija. [/b]

Oh, the good ol'days How I wish we could go back to the days when we all had a strong sense of commonality as opposed to the individuality we have nowadays. Nigeria might be better today

tioluwani: Nigeria is a rubbish country, it is only God that deliver us from all this task master......

[quote][/quote]Another poster also said God will judge these people.
---------------------------------------------------------------
In all honesty, when I hear the above quotes,I really get angry . For God-sake, God will not judge these people until the afterlife; in fact, the continuous gang-raping of the treasury by these gangsters and bandits is sending more of the common men on the street to early judgement The scale of looting currently going on and the resultant effects would continue to send more of our people to God for judgement long before these guys. In a sane country a la China, the only judgement these guys would be facing would be death by hanging or a bullet to the back of the head. But then again, Nigeria has never been sane anytime in here history. Make I go drink beer jare

@ niddamugu

In summary:

1. revisit the constitution
2. create regional governments
3. Allow for resource control
4. The center should policy formulator not revenue "allocator"

1. Great point. In my opinion this should be the first step towards redemption for our country. In fact, I think a parliamentary system of government would be better for us to operate because it would be less expensive compared to the presidential system we currently operate.
2. Also great. This is because it would devolve the enormous powers currently possessed by the central government.
3. Another good point; however, taxes should be paid to the centre in direct proportions to the earnings made by the regional zones various states.
4. Also very good.

Now to what I think would be the most important step towards progress in our country would be a vigorous reformation and strengthening of our democratic institutions, especially the judiciary. Currently, what we have as the judiciary is an embarrassment to any democracy in the world; the magnitude of corruption in the judiciary stinks to the high heavens. This is the same judiciary that dismissed all charges against one of the greatest looters/criminals this nation, perhaps the continent(Africa) has ever known. This is the same judiciary that would sentence a man who has stolen a tuber of yam to about ten years in jail, while gangsters and rogues like Bode George and Tafa Balogun were sentenced to a few months in jail(This is despicable ). If we are to progress as a nation, there is no question that the judiciary must be reformed because it is our last hope in checking the excesses of men of questionable characters in governance. Abeg I wan go drink beer sef

@ niddamugu : na true you talk o, but as Abe Lincoln said : the way to test a man's true character is to give him power. But make no mistake, we still have a lot of men of true character well capable of leading this country to glory, it's just that they would not be given a chance due to the current system we have in Nigeria.

Let me tackle our area of disagreement: Why it is easy for a black man to work against the interest of his people. I take this to be your point of disagreement with me.

As you said, there is something inherently amiss with the black-man. This is no other thing, other than our conquering by the "White Race" - The Arabs and the Europeans. The facts is that because we were conquered, we lost our past and the essence of our being. Our conquerors were fast to brainwash us into believing that we are inferior. Even our educational system was structured as a tool to further enslave us. Everything about us was painted as bad while everything about them was painted good. The things about them that would have been obviously bad, if we are to know them were hidden from us. Our adopted Religions of today (both Islam and Christianity is part of these). {Note that I am and will remain a Christian}.

So we are in a state of "inferiority complex" in our relationship with the West

In addition to this, they have been making continuous effort to keep us down. These efforts are not really carefully planned just to keep us down. They plan them as a way to better their own economy. Keeping us down comes as a side effect and not necessarily a consciously planned result from this.

A simple scenario, they sponsor coup to remove our leaders that fail to "co-operate with them"; they wire-tap our leaders phones to know our secrets, they weep up lies and sentiments agianst Leaders they do not want; they move money during elections to support stooges against our "true leaders", etc. Have you taken time to observe Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe? I see him an unintelligent big stooge of the West. While believing that Mugabe is not forthright, I also think Tsvangirai does not represent Mugabe's opposite. Have you thought on why Tafawa Belewa was empowered over Zik and Awo among so many other things?

You can see that we are already down, owing the past activities of over 400 years ago. Our masters know how to manipulate us and this they have been doing. In any group of people, you can always get someone to use to destabilize them, if you have the money and the power. Today, the West have the money and the Power; and that is why it is easy for them to destabilize us, for their own gain. If we have the power and the money, we can destabilize even America. Let us take God for example. Despite being God, Satan was able to get Judas among the twelve for his chosen role. I prefer saying that in every twelve, their must be a Judas.

But the fact also is that there are natural laws, that will turn the table against the West. Their intellectuals know this, and can only try to stop it, as they have been doing. That is why today, China, Brazil, India, Old Russia is gaining a voice. That was why America rose over Britain. That was why Britain rose over the old Roman empire; who at a time in the past, called the British a timid intelligent people that can never get civilized. Yet these British rose to build an empire that at a time controlled a third of the world.

If you can read the old testament very well, you can imagine, how many hundreds of years that old Egypt was the biggest power on Earth. And for you information, the then Egypt was a Black Empire, that was conquered by the Arabs. The Blacks of old Egypt which extends to parts of the present Sudan and beyond were massacred and driven out of Egypt. Remember this same Arabs would have done same to Europe but for the Crusades lead by the Catholic church. Of course, there were the Babylonians Empires, and the Greece before the Romans, the Ottoman Empires. So the world, civilization and super power status, are in a constantly changing cycle. No one can predict them; and no one also can stop them. The factors that drives this cycle are as natural as man; to change them is to destroy our very essence. I call them natural laws.

The way we organize and run our society is one of the factors. The way others organise theirs, allowing us to "cheat, steal, etc" from them is another factor. Our relationships with other countries, our resource base and so many other things that we cannot dictate are all among the factors that can influence the emergence of "Super power".

Now, they have created in Africa, states in pepertual conflict. With this, we cannot organise ourselve. With it, they can ever manipulate us. With it, our intellectuals will never develop. A man that is hungry will never think well. A man that is hungry, that has a history of poverty will always be easily bribed. Also note that poverty breads ambition; and ambition makes one easily corruptible. These are the factors that make us different from the whites.

Years ago, the white race never believed we are "genetically" the same with them. Those scientist among them who share this belief must have ran several experiments to prove this, to no avail. So we can agree that we are biologically the same with the white. Also from what I know of culture and psychology, and from observation from the migration of people; we have black raised in Europe and America who has excelled far better than average white. We also have whites who grow up here, that have got used to our corrupt lives. So the present characters we attribute to the blackman is a matter of culture. It is a product of nurture and not nature. Given the right kind of government and effective implementation of our laws, our people will change.

I will say that given a disciplined government like that of Buhari/Idiagbon for 5 years, an average Nigeria will become disciplined and less corrupt. That we are corrupt today, is because our government through wrong policies and ineffective implementation of our laws, made corruption a norm. When you live in a society where the corrupts are the better-offs, you will have more tendency to be corrupt. Over a long time, every one will take to corruption. That is what happened to the black-man. If a government can punish enough of the law breaker and compensate those that work hard enough, the right culture will emerge in us. The say, that where comfort, money and power is, is where the human minds go to. We are corrupt because corruption brings comfort, power, money and sex in our today's Nigeria. It is the fault of our government; it is the fault of whoever gave us ineffective and corrupt persons as leaders. The West obviously gave us these leaders if you look closely. From Tafawa Belewa, to Gowon, IBB, etc have a not too hidden hand of external influence. Idi Amin, Mobutu, Compare are all products of Western manipulations.

So what we are in, is an accident of history that will self-correct whenever the factors are right. Our is to play our role; and pray that the other factors adds up.

Our role is to find a way of installing "the right kind of leaders on top". Believe me, if we do not have a good President, a good governor will find it extremely difficult to operate and will fail. A good minister will either resign and fail with the President. So will any other officer under him. You can only operate within the framework allowed by the man on top. The actions and inaction of the man on top will always restrict the man below.

So I support any action that can produce our most intelligent and most humane as our leaders. If a million Nigerians can die (including myself), as Chukwuman Kaduna Nzeogwu was quoted to have said in 1966, for this to happen, so be it. Needless to say, that I have observed that in the West and every other progressive country in the world, they have a system that produces their best (I call them 1st eleven) as leaders, while we have be left with a system that prompts, the criminals and never do wells among us, as our leaders.

These are my honest thoughts.

Once again you have you have presented an excellent argument, and I agree with all you have said. I'm not for foreign interference in solving our national problems; but given our history as a people(race)in general, and Nigerians in particular, I just don't see any significant progression made anytime soon. Let us take a look at Egypt : Left to the Americans, Mubarak would still be in power now(perhaps, the might still put one of their stooges in power), but due to the unyielding Egyptians they had no other choice that to call for his resignation. Heck, look at the recent subsidy protesst and how we were sold out by the leaders of the NLC. My point is that ultimately, power rests with the people, and not until we as a people begin to challenge the enemies within, we would continue to be at the beck and call of the external forces.

^^^
"My dream for Nigeria is a super power that will stand to represent the much marginalized black-man in the committee of Nations. If we cannot achieve this, we are a disgrace to nature and God. And there is no way a tiny Oduduwa, Biafra, Arewa etc republic can achieve that.

The masters that destroyed our land and put us into slavery five centuries ago know all these."

You have spoken well in your last post, and presented some facts to back up your argument. But I only have a few things to say in reference to the quote from your post above. What I have to say is this : Your dream can NEVER be realised, at least not in our lifetime, or possibly in this century. I say this because it is my fervent belief that there is something inherently amiss with the black man; although, there is no logical explanation which i can provide for this position(but i just believe there is something wrong somewhere). You mentioned that we were enslaved by force(which is very true), but don't forget that we also had brothers who colluded with the invaders to capture some of their brethren. In fact, let us not go too far back in time: take a look at those we call our leaders all over sub-Saharan Africa and any other nation that is populated by a black majority and tell me if what happened during the era of slave trade is different from what is happening now(complete disregard for the welfare of brothers in pursuit of material gains. We have gained independence since 1960, yet we have managed to regress(and continue to do so) with no end in sight.
It is time to stop blaming foreigners and acknowledge that we have big problems, and that they won't go away until we address them properly.

Flygeriana: I was abouto go and take a dump, and she asked: "without tissue?" I replied: "There is tissue in there. Besides, I dont like using tissue to wipe my as$ after I finish takin a dump. I prefer using water to wash my nyash." And she replied: "Eewww! Disgustin." And I replied: "Your fada disgustin! Ajepako oshi."

So I decided to ask, which do u guys prefer usin after takin a dump?

Make una no shame talk o [esp, the girls] Lol

My guy I feel you jare.Nothing fit compare to using water to take clean nyash.

zinosleek:
This democracy is costing us too much. And to think these pple are d ones probing subsidy and pension mismanagement. I see no hope.
And before we start saying PDP, what abt d oda parties members there,they also aCcepted d gift too, abi. Demonstration of craze.

I feel your pain. Over the course of our history since 1966, I think we have been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea( Honestly it is between Satan and Lucifer ). On the one hand, we had the Military jackboots(few)  who looted and plundered the treasury; totally disregarded human rights, and committed other atrocities. On the other hand, we have a democracy(pseudo-democracy) where the current politicians have taken the word 'looting' to an unimaginable and staggering magnitude, thereby dwarfing that of the Military era. From the way these politicians act, it seem they've sworn an oath to bring this country completely to its knees. The way these men go about their pilfering crusade is so vexing because they are so bold in doing so knowing that nothing will ever happen.

vanstanzy:
[color=Black]But come to think of it, what evil did we (Nigerian masses) ever do to this senators/ reps.?
Men, i have said enough. [b]GOD ITS OVER TO YOU! [/b][/color]

My brother, God is not going to do anything so please stop using God's name in vain We have been weeping, wailing, and praying to God for most of our lives yet nothing positive has happened; in fact, things are going form worse to worstest(if that is even a word ). These hegemonic barons will continue to plunder the treasury with reckless abandon   . It is so painful to watch these criminals continue this way without consequences. I would have said only a revolution would change this scenario, but that line is getting really old knowing ourselves(Nigerians), and knowing that it can never happen. In fact, it is physically and mentally exhausting to keep complaining(I don tire to dey vex sef, but the thing dey vex me gannnnnnnnnnnn .Make I go drink beer jare )

^^^
What's up? contact me at oforozi@yahoo.com

davidylan:
Keep it for your records. You dont have any taxes to file since you didnt have employment.

Thanks.

@ davidylan, Elpeida et al, here's my issue/concern:

I got a form 1098T stating how much I paid in fees for 2011, now here's the thing: I have not been able to get an employment so far(omo the thing hard no be small), therefore I have not worked or paid any income taxes. How does this apply to me, am I supposed to still fill taxes? and if yes, how do I go about it?

N.B: the 1098T is still with me.

^^^^.
I'm single, but I don't know if I'm smart.

I'm not quite conversant with the constitution of of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but this topic is bothering me. What right does Jonathan, or the executive for that matter have to probe the judiciary? Under normal circumstances or in a sane society, isn't the role of the judiciary to keep the executive arm of government in check? Please, someone should educate me.

"Speaking through his media assistant, Tony Eluemunor, who told reporters that James Ibori pleaded guilty to money laundering charges because he was trying to protect the integrity and image of Nigeria; a move to prevent a prolonged and further dragged matter after 9 years legal battle with authorities and also in order to enable the former Governor to start a life rebuilding process."

I didn't even bother to read further. This man, whose actions alongside those of his family members(wife et al.) have further battered the remnants of our bludgeoned national image is as shameless as ever. I'm not trying to sound judgmental, but what the hell has happened to the adage: a good name is better than riches? What a tragedy!

Who cares whatever you want to call it? He has pleaded guilty to criminal offences, which he would otherwise have been celebrated for in our own country.

@ OP and other contributors: great thread, as the Americans would say: This is exactly what the doctor ordered. Abeg make all of una continue to the drop beta advice. Me i be student for community college for Maryland; any of una wey dey around here make una try buzz me o.
@ Strict : Hw far?

@ strict: No, I haven't, but I'm an international student at a community college in Maryland. Normally when there is a long holiday or the end of a semester, the international student office usually places a hold on the SEVIS of the F-1 student in order for the student not to be deemed out of status(there are usually 3 semesters: spring, summer,and fall. But I only take classes in the spring and fall). However, your own case seems different; so I think you should go to ISO at your school  immediately and discuss the circumstances of your case extensively with the advisers there.  Good luck!

@ strict: Try and go to the international student office at your school and see if they can place a 'hold' on your SEVIIS. I'm not 100% sure about this, but this is likely the immediate solution.