₦airaland Forum

When I was leaving my home town in Nnewi in Anambra State for Lagos in search of work, my parents and relatives sang it into my ear that I should be wary of the Yoruba. I was told that some of our people who worked in organisations had been eliminated diabolically by their Yoruba colleagues out of jealousy. I was warned not to trust them because they were “double-faced”. But, I have worked with Yoruba, and lived in their houses: none poisoned me, none betrayed me. On the contrary, Yoruba people have played very important roles in my life.

In my last few weeks at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, a friend of mine from Edo told me she was very sad that since she had only a few weeks more to spend at Nsukka, it was certain she would not be able to learn Igbo language anymore. When I asked her why she did not learn the language all the four years she spent at the university, she told me sincerely that before she left home she had heard so many negative stories about the Igbo, and so came into the university with a dislike, distrust and fear of the Igbo. She hated everything about the Igbo, including their language, and never bothered to learn it. It was only late in her final year, after she noticed that her hosts were not as dangerous as she had been made to believe, that she crawled out of her shell, began to make Igbo friends and frantically wanted to learn Igbo.

Two of my friends — one Yoruba, the other Tiv – told me that when they were sent to Igboland for their one-year National Youth Service Corps scheme, their parents were sad that they would be killed and eaten by Igbo people. Months later, when they had wonderful stories to tell about the hospitality of their Igbo hosts, their relatives found such stories hard to believe.

There is deep-seated mistrust among the Nigerian ethnic groups, much of it baseless and unfounded. Each ethnic group has stereotypical conception of the other. But in recent years, rather than abate, such stereotypes have been accentuated by Nigerian comedians.

The comedy industry has seen a boom in recent years. No big event is complete in Lagos or Abuja (or any of the major cities) without a comedian to make the audience laugh. Comedy has provided employment for thousands of Nigerians directly or indirectly.

But while the provision of jobs and entertainment are benefits of comedy, the ethnic jokes that seem to be the major jokes of Nigerian comedians do widen the gulf among the ethnic and religious groups and help to create or sustain stereotypes. Granted, most of the stereotypes were not created by the comedians, but they have been worsened in recent years, no thanks to our comedians.

[b]To the Nigerian comedian, a Yoruba man is always cowardly – he rants and boasts but flees once there is trouble. It doesn’t matter that Yorubaland has been the headquarters of political activism in Nigeria for several decades. It doesn’t matter that whenever there is tyranny in Nigeria, the people that will march through Ikorodu Road (Lagos) and gather in Yaba (Lagos) are Dr. Tai Solarin, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chief Abraham Adesanya, Mr. Femi Falana, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, and others.

In the same vein, to the Nigerian comedian, every Igbo man is an illiterate and a Shylock. To the Nigerian comedian, Prof. Chinua Achebe, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumuegwu-Ojukwu, Prof. Philip Emeagwali, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and other professionals are Nigerians, not Igbo men and women. It doesn’t also matter that according to the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board statistics, since 1991 when Nigeria became 30 states, Imo, Anambra and Delta states (in that order) have consistently and persistently come 1st, 2nd and 3rd as the states that produce the highest number of university candidates. It doesn’t matter too that no Igbo man appears in the Forbes richest list.

Also the Nigerian comedian portrays every Hausa/Fulani (including every Northerner) as a daft and dumb “gworo-chewing,” dagger-loving “aboki,” who has only two types of business: cattle-rearing and security work. Every Northerner must speak English upside down with a ridiculous accent. Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, who speaks English better than the English themselves, is not a Hausa/Fulani man, neither is Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who is rated as the richest Nigerian by Forbes. In the same vein, Alhaji Umar Ghali Na’aba, former Speaker of the House of the Representatives, who helped to keep former President Olusegun Obasanjo in check, is not a Hausa man, neither is Col. Abubakar Umar, who sacrificed his career to protest the June 12 election annulment in 1993.

In the same vein, as far as the comedians are concerned the Warri/Benin area is peopled by only thieves and toughies. First-time travellers to that area would actually try to clutch their bags more closely to avoid loss. Parents would think twice these days before naming their children Akpos. It doesn’t matter that it is the same area that has given Nigeria some of her most prominent pastors, media moguls, technocrats, sports men and musicians.

Everybody from Cross River and Akwa Ibom States (described ignorantly as Calabar) must be a house boy or house girl, or a lover of dog meat (404), and must speak with a peculiar accent, pronouncing “J” as “Y”, while every “Calabar” woman must be a sex machine. People like former governor Donald Duke or actress Ini Edo and actor Desmond Eliot cannot be “Calabar” people.[/b] It doesn’t matter that this is a region where virgins are highly regarded, a zone where pregnancy before marriage is frowned upon seriously unlike some other Nigerian cultures where pregnancy before marriage is no big deal.

When these tribal jokes are reeled off on stage, we laugh and regard them as mere jokes. But the danger in them is that unconsciously, they create a wrong picture of other ethnic groups and make us relate with them in the light of these wrong pictures, thereby widening the gulf that exists among the regions, and doing serious harm on the way we relate to one another.

Such jokes and stories against the Jews created a repugnant stereotype of the Jews that culminated in the killing of six million Jews by the Nazis under Adolf Hitler. Centuries before the Holocaust, people like Reformation leader, Martin Luther, had written a treatise in 1543 entitled On the Jews and Their Lies, denouncing the Jews and asking that they be persecuted and even killed, while writers like William Shakespeare had created the vile character Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Today, especially in Europe and the United States, any Jewish joke is not regarded as a joke but as an anti-Semitic comment – a hate speech. Jews protest such a joke so vehemently that the joker is made to apologize and resign his position. In the same vein, any joke against Blacks or women is viewed as racist and sexist respectively. Nobody accepts them in Europe and the United States as a mere joke, because they know the harm inherent in it.

As innocuous as our ethnic jokes may sound and appear, it is time we started protesting any time a comedian comes on stage and starts telling such a joke. People can make jokes about professionals: lawyers, accountants, doctors, advertising practitioners, pastors, etc. But all jokes about ethnic regions and religion should be discouraged and rejected. Even though such jokes make people laugh, they are potentially dangerous and counterproductive to national integration and cohesion.

The nipp.le is missing and lost.
A 28year-old woman, Hawa Musa, of Kurudu village, Abuja, on Thursday told a Karu Senior Magistrates’ Court how her neighbour bite off her nipple during a scuffle.
Hawa in her evidence-in-chief said “I came out of our room that morning to throw away the water I used to wash my face.
“Mistakenly, I threw the water away in front of my neighbour, Anastasia Uche’s, house, who came out and started raining insults on me.
“I told her I was sorry and even swept the area where I poured the water. She then attacked me and tore off my cloths, including my bra.
“As I was trying to run for cover, she grabbed me and bit my nipp.le.
“I was immediately rushed to the hospital where it was discovered that my nipple was missing,’’ she said.
Lost nipp.le
Hawa said a team have thoroughly searched for the nipp.le but the nipp.le was not found.
The accused, Anastasia pleaded not guilty and could also noit account for her neighbour’s missing nipple.
Hawa may have to live without one of her nipples as a medical doctor at a hospital in Gwagwalada said that the affected part required disinfection – because it already had pus – before a surgery can be performed next year January.
The Counsel to the accused, Michael Ejeh, was not in court and no reason was given for his absence.
The prosecutor Pascal Njoku, told the court that the offence contravened Section 241 of the Penal Code.
The case was adjourned to December 10, for the defence to open its case.

solomon111: How is lagos, Nigeria's most developed city?
What do you understand by developed?
Have you been to Abuja or even akwa-ibom?

shymexx: How easy is it to buy properties in the state and are they as pricey as Lagos?

tpia1: that's unfortunate.


anyway, congrats to her, on her achievement.

" The challenges that  I ever came across during my undergraduate days and the stringent rules and regulations that Bowen University imposed on the students  as its policy had contributed to my success. I have seen that too much of freedom sometimes  can be inimical to academic success."

OkwaIfugo: Nigeria Ecomog is one of the best in africa.
but boko haram dey torment us here.

As part of efforts to make Nigeria the preferred foreign investment
destination in Africa, the Federal Government has disclosed that it is
working hard to make sure the country’s 9 industrial cities begin to
have 24- hour power supply from 2013.

Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga disclosed this on
Thursday at the launch of Products and Services Listing and Monitoring
Programme (ProServe) organised by the Consumer Protection Council
(CPC) in Abuja.

Following the charge by President Goodluck Jonathan that all ministers
must also sign Performance Contracts with permanent secretaries and
heads of parastatals under them, Aganga revealed that he would start
by signing performance contracts with Directors- General of Standard
Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC),
Joseph Odumodu and Mrs Ify Umenyi respectively.

According to Aganga, he would give the two officials till 2013 to
reduce the presence of substandard products in the market to at most
15 percent.

Aganga said that the move was in line with his resolve to implement
the noble policies of the Federal Government in his ministry.

The policies, he said, were aimed at making Nigeria the preferred
investment destination in Africa.

He noted that the Federal Government had identified the key challenges
troubling the investment climate, adding that Minister of Power, Prof
Barth Nnaji had promised the Federal Executive Council (FEC) that
uninterrupted power would be restored to the 9 industrial cities by
2013.

“The Minister of Power while signing the Performance Contract with the
President has promised to restore uninterrupted power supply to the 9
industrial cities by next year,” he said.

Reiterating government’s plea to Nigerians to patronize made in
Nigeria products in order to grow the local industries and create jobs
locally, Aganga pledged government’s determination to revive the
petrochemical and mining industries.
Nigerian consumers, he said, had the right to consume quality products
which they purchase with their money, charging SON and CPC to not only
back but also bite and wipe out fake products from the market.

Speaking earlier, CPC boss, Mrs Umenyi said Proserve “is designed to
introduce a listing regime that would require all genuine
manufacturers and certified service providers in all sectors of the
Nigerian economy to enlist their products and services for proper
monitoring by the Council.”

According to her, Proserve is also intended to be used as a strong
instrument towards ensuring the certification of all products and
services by the national standards body and sector specific
regulators.

2helpu: That is a good one coming from the government of Osun State.
That is a laudable action. Awolowo was a sage with great leadership qualities that should not be allowed to vanish.

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI, 21 NOVEMBER 2012

Abuja — The United Kingdom, yesterday, announced that it would provide needed support for Nigeria and ECOWAS in their bid to dislodge the group of face-less terrorists that have hijacked strife-torn Mali and made peace hard to come by.

A military intervention force of 3,200 troops, to be led by Nigeria, is set to storm Northern Mali, which is under severe attacks orchestrated by alleged Al Qaeda sympathisers and this had made life difficult for Malians and subsequently delayed the political transition programme.

Speaking, yesterday, in Abuja, Special Envoy to British Prime Minister on the Sahel, Mr. Stephen O-Brien, said Britain appreciated the role Nigeria was playing in the sub-region.

He said it was the same reason that made the UK government resolved to contact the country on what could be done to assist in the restoration of peace in Northern Mali.

O-Brien, accompanied by the acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Giles Lever, and two others, told newsmen that whatever assistance his country would give would largely be determined by Nigeria.

He also promised to seek further help from the international community.

Acting Minister of Defence, Dr. Olusola Obada, told the visiting Special Envoy that the ECOWAS Heads of State had resolved to send the troops to restore peace and security in the affected part of the troubled nation.

She said the menace of terrorism in the Northern Mali had been "a great concern not only to everyone in the sub-region but also to the international community."

She noted how the terrorists were making life difficult in the area and how the proposed election could not be held to allow every part of the country to be involved.

The minister was optimistic that the military intervention was an enforcement of the UN Revolution 2071 as resolved by the ECOWAS Heads of State in the region.

She said: "The resolution has been forwarded to the UN through the African Union."

She said until the crisis was resolved, the possibility of conducting election in the country was nil.

Obada said: "It would not be proper to hold election in the South, leaving the whole North out of it. If the election would hold, it has to be in the whole country."

Obada also appreciated the support pledged by the British government and further solicited for the international community.

The meeting was attended by the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, representatives of the Chief of Naval Staff, directors in the ministry and some top military officers.

BY SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH, 21 NOVEMBER 2012

After correctly spelling 37 words live on-stage, 15 year-old Ibukun Omoyeni of Prince of Glory College, Lagos, spelt the word myxomatosis to win the 2012 edition of Spellbound Africa recently held at Abuja. He beat children from 13 other states and the FCT to successfully defend the Title won by Gbemileke Oyefeso also of Lagos State in 2011.

In second position was 12 year old Hauwa'u Lawal of Jigawa State Academy For the Gifted and Talented, Bamaina. She spelt 37 words correctly. Adaeze Williams of Divine Mercy Secondary School, Abuja came third, while Olivia Okechukwu of Community Senior Secondary school Oyingbo, Rivers State, came fourth.

The children studied 3,000 english words for 3 months from which words were chosen for them to spell. Words like phantasmagoria, arteriosclerosis, neuroinformatics, discombobulated, higgledy-piggledy etc were spelt.

At this event, the Guest of Honour, the Governor of Jigawa State, represented by Alhaji Isa Audu, received the annual SUPER-DAD AWARD from organisers of the competition Ski-Hi Entertainment for his contribution to education in Jigawa State. He restated his commitment to education as a means of preparing the young generation for the challenges ahead of them. Aero Contractors also received the Most Supportive & Reliable Brand Award 2012 for consistently supporting this project.

Spellbound Africa is an annual spelling competition for children studying in the English-speaking African countries. It is for children between 10 and 15 years old and has run for four years now.

The Chief Executive of Ski-Hi Entertainment, Mr. Ifeanyi Ogbu, called on corporate brands and media houses to consider sponsoring academic events like this if Nigeria is to have any hope of prosperity in future. He also, pointed out that football, music or acting is not the only war to fame and fortune; but that everyone should cooperate to present academic excellence as a sustainable route to the top.

15 States of the federation as well as Ghana and Sierra Leone participated in the 2012 edition of Spellbound Africa.

BY CHINEDU EZE, 21 NOVEMBER 2012
In what seems to be a worrisome trend, another passenger has been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos while trying to travel out of the country with $320,000.

The Airport Command of Nigeria Customs Service announced the arrest on Monday of the passenger identified as Onwuekwe Anthony Chidi aboard a Qatar Airways flight bound for Doha, in the Gulf region.

Chidi was said to be checking in at the airline's desk, when he declared the money but he was arrested as he could not explain the source of the currency as well as show adequate proof of his business to justify being in possession of such a huge amount.

The passenger and the money have been handed over to officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigations, a statement from the Customs added.

According to the statement signed by the Customs Area Controller, Mr. Eporwei Charles, "About 1300 hours on November 19, 2012, a passenger by name Onwuekwe Anthony Chidi, with passport number A04086671, was checking in on Qatar Airways. He declared the sum of three hundred and twenty thousand dollars ($320,000) on both forms CDFIA and CDFIB but could not explain the source of the currency nor show adequate proof of his business to the Customs officer at the currency desk at the 'E' wing departure hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos."

Charles said it had become imperative for Customs at the airport to comply with government regulations as it affects foreign exchange in line with the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) CAP C 45 LFN 2004 as amended.

He explained that since September 24, 2012 when the office received a letter from the EFCC, it had put in place a collaborative working arrangement to ensure that officers are vigilant to detect those trying to use the international airport as a route for money laundering.

He added that the efforts have been paying off as many passengers caught were stopped from travelling and handed over to the EFCC.

"On September 27, 2012, two passengers - Mrs Hassan Ganiyat Oloruntoyin and Mr Oteh Prince Eminike - were barred from boarding at the currency declaration desk when they were unable to produce evidence of purchase of $270,000 and $1,040,000 respectively and they were subsequently handed over to the EFCC.

Bigdreams: 30 minutes gone.. Barca dominating...

jackpot: 55 champions league goal by Lionel Messi. . .1 behind Ruud Van Nistelrooy.