₦airaland Forum

'Good' thing about kidnappers is you are worth more to them alive than dead, that has a slight effect on this story but nevertheless bravo to anyone who can hold their own, gun or no gun.

For those crying to legalise guns in Nigeria, a term you should keep in mind 'Stray Bullets'.  Bullets are not homing missiles, they don't bend, they do not find targets for you, they pretty much go in a straight line, regardless of what Hollywood may potray. Same reason i don't trust the police with weapons (accidental discharge and so on) i definitely will not trust ordinary citizens, who will most likely lack any weapons training, armed to the teeth. When my father applied for a gun permit, about 15 odd years now, the only training he received from the police went like this;

1- Load gun (Double Barrel)
2- Correct stance
3- Aim to the Sky
4- Shoot
5- License!

Finito!! 15-30mins

Not sure what the procedure is now but hard to imagine much has changed since then.

I dont think anyone here will like the death of a passer by on their hand or potential court cases and compensations.

Nigeria can be a frustrating country, the heat does not help abate the red mist that can descend on us, adding guns to the mix will only open a can of big, massive worms. Remember stories of workers in the States going on a killing spree cuz they are not satisfied with events at work or got canned at work! And most recently in the UK Moat who shot a police officer, his ex-girlfriend and killed her boyfriend cuz she left him!! Remember the Columbine massacre, the list goes on.

There are more frustrating issues in Nigeria than what this lot cope with yet they snap and reach for the gun,

We definitely need tighter controls on arms and a more structured, efficient and effective law enforcement agency to help solve our security issues.

Still 3 cheers for the General for pointing out potential occupational hazards in the kidnapping business, 

@ poster- regardless of what the topic was about, i found your write up quite an interesting read and would love to chat with you more even about the weather if possible, i would love to go on about your write up but i don't want to sound like some retired english language teacher,

Regarding the topic, personally i don't care what the view of the west has or portray about us or other developing countries, they will always make themselves out to be superior/saints/heroes. Besides, i don't think the views of their citizens will be affected much, the citizens fall into 3 main categories as far as i am concerned;
- clueless of developing countries
- don't care
- the clued up.

There is a joke here in the UK some white people use ' that was the *insert product, car/clothes etc* that Africa sent back' there are other variants of that line some people might have come across,

I still fail to see why the likes of Bono and Geldoff still organise Live Aid, after so many years, Where has all the money raised in the past gone? Why cant our own leaders (Africa) take care of their own? We are all humans, the west don't have some superior intellect that we are not privileged to, right? As long as the situation permits, we will always be viewed through lens similar to that of this documentary.

I reckon people who are shocked or displeased about this documentary never sat through an episode of Live Aid or comic/sports relief or any other fund raising activity for Africa and other 'developing' countries, *seriously how long are we gonna be referred to as developing*

I would have issues about the documentary if;
-it was untrue
-It was a minority i.e. a few hundred of people live in conditions shown or similar,

Besides, no media profits from good news, look what the UK media do to their own people and you will start to see a pattern,

What i will like to know is the reaction or comment of our government to such documentary I will find it hard to accept that non of those in power know this programme aired. As you can see from my location, i am not a full time resident of Nigeria so if there has been, please enlighten me, *spare me the diaspora rod*

My frustration about Nigeria is that we have enough resources and intellect to avoid conditions portrayed by the documentary, exaggerated or not!!

tboy1:
All 450 workers will not come to nigeria, only 20% max of the total employed in india will come to nigeria and would probably stay for a short period (usually 6 months) & rotate with other employers, the rest will sit their azz in india. The thought of some companies in nigeria going offshore is so silly. At least we know why UK & EUR companies do it, but nigeria  

Exactly!!! Its at this point we need to b.slap our so called leaders/government!!! We should not be losing jobs to another '3rd world country', I dread to think what we will do when we run out of oil or the demand for crude oil plummets, Even the oil we proud our selves on we cannot do it right, I get excited at the possibilities that lay before Nigeria if we had LEADERS, If an organisation like Dangote can flourish in Nigeria, take a min to think what other organisations/industries will be capable of under better leaders, Giant of Africa would be an understatement,

Back to reality now,

tboy1:
Some of the workers in india will be relocated onshore and work Nigerian hrs & most will stay India.
Depends how big the company is, where i am now about 85 offshore guys are here & the rest in india

Yeah, all MCNs in Nigeria have foreign workers in ADDITION to their Nigerian workforce, retrenching 450 to be replaced by 450 foreign nationals, physically like some posts suggest is something i will hesitate to believe,

Jcob:
Gosh, it's time Nigerians learnt that working for someone makes you prone to one of the 3Rs (Retrenchment, Resignation or Retirement).
I know it's not easy for the month to end without your bank credit beeping you. Well, life is not fair. . . .and we should stop blaming the management of the MNCs. We got what we deserved: negative branding and poor governance of the image "Nigeria". To those to be affected, just pray God leads you aright; better days are ahead better than whatever !

This post infuriates me!!!

You must be a one man army and you provide everything you use or own by yourself, right? Even the machine & software (it cant be a pc/mac) you used to write the above comment must have been constructed and made by yourself, right? I mean, surely you cannot be using goods and services produced by an organisation consisting of group of people, right?

Your comment insinuate that people, not just Nigerians, who work for others are fools and everyone should be their own boss, Even Jesus had 12 disciples!!!

Maybe what you were trying to say was 'Nigerians should have more home grown organisations like Dangote & the like and not depend so much on foreign MCNs', i hope your comment was meant to be something along those lines and the answer to that will be something to do with our government cuz you come across like a part time 1st yr HR/Management student!!!

That 'me me me' and 'everybody wants/should be the boss' mentality wont get us far, Easy example, Steve Jobs moving back to Apple did wonders for Apple as a company etc,

I hope you will take some time to explain your point clearly and its connection to the thread,

I dont think my fingers can type as fast as my mind dictates, Several words come to mind but i'll keep it civil (try),

1. I believe it needs to be pointed out that the jobs are going to be outsourced to India, i.e. the jobs are going to India NOT Indians coming to Nigeria, that will make no business sense. Relocation, Housing, Transportation, Security and other additional costs etc,

2. You can bet your bottom dollar/naira/pound/yen, that this will not be the last example of MNCs moving their services outside Nigeria or Nigerian projects contracted to foreign companies, it certainly is not the first. A business is about maximising profit at the end of the day and shareholders rule stakeholders make noise ,

3. Anger should not be directed at Ericsson/Zain, but our 'leaders' who have caused the circumstances we find ourselves. No business in their right mind will operate in conditions where profit margin is slim, that's exercise in futility, It is definitely an executive decision after comparing numbers, albeit in favour of the organisation,

4. Dont expect any changes as long as our 'leaders' are still infatuated with Oil money/greedy/old recycled pieces of $%*!/backward thinkers/thinkitstheirgodgivenrighttoembezzlemoney/believe they are untouchable & unaccountable, I suppose an argument you will expect from them is that 'Nigeria is not the only country having services outsourced to India', UK & US have fallen victims to that, fair enough, But Nigeria to India?

5. I believe the South African government fought against the outsourcing of its jobs by Ericsson/Zain and won, surely there would have been some form of 'give-n-take' agreed there the details elude me. Still, actions of a forward thinking government and hope that we still have a slight chance to keep the jobs in Nigeria, if our Government can be bothered/knowledgeable/can stop counting money in their offices,

Its a shame tho,

I have all sorts of theories why people cheat but primarily i believe its down to lack of respect, for oneself & the partner, willpower and lack of taste,

How the person who got cheated reacts can discourage or encourage the behaviour,

Our ppl will say their is no smoke without fire (unless its a smoke machine or smoke screen of course ), trying to find out the reason why the partner cheated might be very civil of me but i suppose it can help the cheated trying to get their head round the act/shock,

I disagree with people who say 'i'll never cheat', everyone has a price, I have never cheated on any of my partners, not because i am that good is just cuz my price is very high, . No way i will settle for someone less than my partner, that is certain. If Gabrielle Union/Kelly Brook happen to know my number & want to come round & 'discuss important matters', well as they say the rest is history,

But seriously tho, i think it's quite something to suggest all married men cheat, even if all the married men you know or heard of have cheated they still do not represent a fair sample of men (married or not) out there,

MsTom:
Fortunately for me, I have never used BB. I am a nokia person to the core.

Hence the BB craze! Btw, I tot that feature was available in yahoo msn if logged in thru your phone. I might be wrong though.

hhhmmmm, Wrong thread I am with Nokia all the way when it comes to regular phones, the ease of use & similarity of the software is a big tick in my book. You only have to read a Nokia manual once. When it comes to smart phones then the choices multiply & i flirt with other phones

saxywale:
well, that is not good for someone like me that likes being in control of messaging facilities. Why would I want to leave a messaging facility like the BB messaging online all the time even when I am busy and can't be bothered to reply, hence it's not robust enough like the yahoo and msn where u can control your privacy. It's also very similar to text messaging.

I think the origin of the hype is using a smartphone for the first time. It's like someone upgrading from a nokia series 30 or 40 to a smart phone that runs windows mobile OS, Symbian, BlackBerry OS e.t.c

Yup, i agree with you on the bbm front, i would rather just text than check my contact list to see if they have a bb or not, So the bbm is not the reason for the hype and i dont think it is for the reason you mentioned either. The bb hype has been around for quite some sometime, 2002/3 if my memory serves me right & they were UGLY with limited phone features, not the kind of thing you even considered. The hype behind the bb is cuz of what it does best, its email & security function, the rest of the features on the bb is an afterthought to appeal to a wider audience, It really depends on what you require & how you want your requirements delivered. As long as its not a choice made by following the trend, you cant go wrong,

Obama is the first US president to use a mobile while in office, the only reason he is allowed one is due to the security which comes as standard on his bb! Product endorsements don't get better than that, Not saying that is a reason to get one or why i got mine,

adconline:
4  out of 10  blackberry users would dump their phones  for an Iphone.
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=527369

Quite possible they chose wrongly in the first place?

Lawalmd:
I dont see the reason why people are crazy about bb all my life i've been a nokia fan and always will be, if you want a good phone go for E72 the phone make sense

MsTom:
Beats me! that was the only reason I could think for the craze for blackberry.

I assume you've at some point used a bb, not just glanced over one Why have a BB without a data connection

Why is bbm different from aol, msn, yahoo? You don't have to wait for the other person to sign on to msn & co before you can send or recieve messages. Disadvantage? Only available between bb users,

For top business functionality, security, excellent email connection-Blackberry (would vote 9700 but if you require some media enhancements then storm2)
For a fair mix of business & pleasure - Nokia E71 (E72 if you fancy the 5mp camera & trackpad)
For max pleasure with business on the side - Iphone,

If emails & messaging are not in your top 3 (ok 5 if you will) requirements then a BB is not for you,

Still have my E71 as a back up tho

I trust you have considered other handsets on the market & decided on a BB, right?

I generally find touchscreen phones a hassle with the exception of the Iphone, so if you are on the look for a good touchscreen give the Iphone a thought,

Re main issue, will suggest a Bold2, i currently own one & the assurance of a physical keyboard is hard to beat, in my humble opinion. Will suggest you lay hand on both phones, after deciding the specs are right for you, and see for yourself.

On another note if you are a mac user you will find syncing with your BB a bit of a hassle, also give the Nokia E71/E72 a look,

*Smartphone history: Nokia 6630, Nokia E90, htc tytn2, Iphone, HTC touch, Nokia E71 and currently BB9700*

Ps, I think the storm2 looks better on the ladies, less geeky

tensor777:
^^

You are going off topic. But if you would be so disgruntled in Nigeria why are Indians, Chinese and Lebanese flocking to the country on a daily basis?

You make it sound like all these nationalities have come to contribute positively to Nigeria as a whole. If i'm correct the Indians/Lebanese import generators, Chinese import other things   with less regulations to adhere to (than they would when exporting to the west) & there was once talks to contract our rail industry to them. With all the engineering professionals across the globe Nigeria can lay claim to i don't see why we need to give out such contract to another country. Some foreign company was implicated in investigations to what happened to the supposed regeneration & rebranding of NEPA/PHCN/It-doesn't-matter-since-we-won't-get-light-anyway plc,

In summary these people you have mentioned have come to feed off our misery, one way or another! They are not "flocking" to Nigeria for a better life or from the share goodness of their hearts,

On another note, because our fathers or in this case our great great grand fathers grew up in similar conditions & are happy is no reason or excuse to suggest we should do the same. Why are we crying about education if we just want to remain in the same rut Why did we bother with independence in the first place then

Ghana celebrated 365 days of uninterrupted electricity supply last year, right? Foreign companies & multinational companies have started pulling out of Nigeria, right? With the coming age of renewable energy, less need for some crude oil products & possible discoveries of oil fields in places other than Nigeria how long will it take for Shell & co to see operations in Nigeria as a hassle & pull out? Yes the possibility of the later is still far off but must we wait till then to get our house in order?

I love Nigeria tho,

Excuse my lack of actual evidence or source on my claim(s) but i hope you get my drift?!

You are only as great as what you encounter, cant remember owner
win through actions, never through argument,

-stable electricity- this will most likely trigger a rise in manufacturing industry & output of existing ones, increase in profit margins (less spent on running & maintenance of generators), more jobs, more taxes paid by individuals & companies alike, which feeds back to the economy as a whole, likely to encourage investment by the government. Improvement in the quality of life of every Nigerian, ie money spent on gens & less noise, The effects of a better quality of life is something that cannot be quantified, i think,

-good roads- less time getting to work, more time getting work done, improve family/personal life. Likely to cut out one of the many everyday Nigerian stress factors, increase in efficiency of our logistic & transportation industry, more jobs blah blah blah,

-Good education system- i don't think i need to explain why this necessary, do i?

So why this 3? Well, i think the people who are currently outside Nigeria, well qualified or at least able to contribute a lot more than they are currently able to (racism is still alive, they just got smarter concealing it) would not mind returning to a country with potential in growth, economy & otherwise, where you don't have to pay taxes & bills for things you still have to provide for yourself, which i think fuels our 'everyman for himself attitude', and a good education system for their young ones, something that took most of us out of the country in the first place, thereby knowing there is a place for them in their own country in future,

*assuming we have a forward thinking government in place*

Not sure where this idea that the Ipad is here to replace or challenge your everyday pc, comes from? Some posts mention that it will be a threat to Microsoft, in what way? i read mentions of smart-phones in the same sentence as Ipad, why? i don't remember Mr Jobs & his goons mention the Ipad to be substitute to a pc, laptop or smartphone, do you? The Ipad is designed to be a better way to surf the web & web related stuff, a lightweight in terms of hardware & software. How well it does this? I don't know cuz i'm yet to see/touch/use one,

This product is something users of net-books will get, if you primarily use a pc/mac/laptop then the concept of the Ipad will be lost on you . i don't get it myself, so not trying to insult anyone, holster your weapons, As usual it is an apple product, nothing from that side is cheap, it is claimed that over 300,000 units have been sold already, kudos to Apple & their marketing skills,

Nehuu, in summary
- Ipad not a smartphone/pc killer just Apple trying to create a market/niche for itself, pointless exercise? 300,000 units & counting will suggest not.
- Everyone has different needs/wants in taste & technology, one mans meat blah blah, if its not for you, no need to get mad at Mr Jobs & his goons.
- Would i get one? HELL NO!!