Hi LagosNIV

I just realised that the 1 year anniversary of applying via dropbox expired 2 days ago. My question is simply, is there any chance I can still apply via dropbox and not have to go through the interview process?

Thanks.

Please note this is not for those who do not like to read. In addition, I wrote this shortly after Mandela died but only decided to post it now.

Yesterday was the 5th December 2013 and the day we lost Mr Nelson Mandela. He died at the age of 95 after a long battle with a lung infection and increasingly frail health. He left this world quietly, peacefully and the world broke out in response. The world is mourning a great man, and generations to come forever will do so. Rest in peace Mandela.

There is a popular quote that says, ' when you were born you cried and the world rejoiced, live your life in such a way that the when you die the world will cry and you rejoice'. Beautiful. Nelson Mandela embodied this quote, probably more so than any person in recent history. What has made his death more poignant for me at the moment was a birthday wish which I just saw printed in the Punch newspaper for Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida on the 17th August 2013, the page was taken our by Alhaji Arisekola Alao on the formers 72 year old birthday. The felicitations started off saluting an icon, loved by everyone, firm and just, who had done soooo much for Nigeria. The most notable of these achievements as listed in the congratulatory address was the building of the Third Mainland Bridge, and I quote, 'who knows where Nigeria would have been if this bridge had not been built'. I was shocked. Essentially Alhaji Alao was trying to say that building a link bridge (yes it might be the longest in West Africa but that's not an achievement, considering all our neighbours are poorer and as corrupt as we are)entitled dear old Babangida to claim a place in the annals of history as one of the best leaders ever. Luckily, history isn't so kind to liars and thieves.

A bridge as a noteworthy contribution to a nation's development is simply absurd. I won't bore you with a history lesson but Babangida's time as a military dictator was the straw that shattered the camel's back into millions of unrecognisable pieces. He introduced a culture of nepotism, bribery and corruption which is so rooted in governance today. Our schools, hospitals, roads, values, security and well being were eroded under his watch. We had little debt before Babangida came on the scene, now our finances as a country are in free fall. I say this and I know it to be true, Babangida single handedly ruined this country and paved the way for his successors like Obasanjo and Jonathan to finish stripping off the carcass of the dying animal that is Nigeria. I would so love to talk about the money stolen under his dictatorship, the billions of dollars, but we have heard it all before. Eventually, the more we talk about it the more we forget and as has become the case, one more '0' in the $230000000 starts to lose its meaning.

Shortly after Mandela's death was announced, the foreign news reported that flags at the Royal residence, Downing street and the White House would fly at half mast today for Mandela. Undoubtedly he will be given a state funeral where 99% of the world leaders that count as well as 100% of those that don't count will be in attendance. Most likely, dull Jonathan and frumpy Patience will be there perhaps trying not to appear too intimidated by the dignitaries and the outpouring of love on that day. It will be hard not to look intimidated when a single one of the countries gathered (no guesses which that may be) can blow Nigeria off the map. I wonder how they will feel when they see how Mandela was respected and loved, knowing fully well that if they were both reborn 50 times over again they could never hope to get the same affection. I hope that day will be a sobering lesson.to some our African leaders. I know quite a few will be unable to understand what I am trying to say, if they haven't after all this time its probably too late. The question is what legacy will they leave behind? Dr Doyin Okupe might try and deceive himself that Jonathan is Nigeria's Mandela...well, this is not the first time he has come out with such a delusion so I needn't say any more. I know for Babangida, his only legitimate legacy is the Third Mainland Bridge, and as far as legacies goes that's a very irrelevant one indeed.

Mandela only ruled for 5 years before stepping down as agreed beforehand. Shockingly enough there are still some African leaders that have been ruling for the past 33 years. Our own dear Obasanjo once asked Mandela why he stepped down, to which he (Mandela) referred to his advanced years. The fact that Obasanjo had to ask that question, as if it was inconceivable for him to fathom why anyone would do that, shows the kind of leaders we have had so far. If Obasanjo was in that same position we know he would have ruled and only stepped aside when he absolutely had to. We all know how he tried to come back for a third term and when that was unsuccessful, how he hand-picked his successor Yar'ardua. This is why when Obasanjo finally goes the way of his ancestors state media will devote some days of mourning, foreign media will devote a paragraph and world leaders of the most powerful nations will record one or two lines of condoling messages. You see,Mandela embodied a true son of God, compassionate, honest, just, fearless, courageous, loving and most of all forgiving. The leaders of Nigeria have all exemplified the opposite,liars, thieves, hateful creatures full of hatred and if you don't agree with them then expect a visit from hired assassins. They make contradictory policies that are totally immune to the sufferings of the masses. They steal our money and pay lip service to fighting corruption. They throw our differences against us and use it to divide us. Whatever they say must be taken with a pinch of maggi. They do not care about us at all.

This article is about the Nigerian problems and the South African hope. South Africa with decades of hatred and brutality has managed to pull itself out of the festering pit of social ills and produce a man whose legacy is enduring. Nigeria can do it too but we need to get rid of all the dead weights in our governance framework. It will require honesty, soul searching, unity and courage, for 2015 is coming and it will be our last chance for a long while. The Jonathan's, Obasanjo's, Buhari's and the Tinubu's need to be checked and tested, their personalities, promises and previous actions. Nigerians let us make sure we are not swayed by sentiment or desperation or poverty or fear, we need to call a spade a spade and choose wisely, men and women that are wholly for this country not solely out to enrich themselves. We Nigerians should not be moved by handouts, amala politics, a bag of rice during election campaigns or the promise of N10,000 for votes. There is nothing sweeter than rewards gotten from hard work as opposed to handouts. The only free and good gifts come from God, any other gift is almost always conditional.

Do not be swayed by the evil ones, do not be lured by the promises of evil. There are some that will read this article and ignore, I am writing for those that will read and be moved. Take a stance and interest in Nigeria's governance for example, compile the list of local government, state government and federal government projects that you are aware of, or were launched in your area. With your first hand knowledge report on the goals of these projects, whether any work been done, how much was reportedly spent on the contracts, who are the contractors, take pictures and spread the word on sites like Nairaland. Our leaders should be held accountable and as we gradually hold them accountable then we will also gradually begin to see a difference. We should not sell our birthright as Nigerians for a plate of amala, pounded yam, eba or tuwo. May God help us as we take back what is rightfully ours. South Africa fought and although they are not far from perfect, they are miles better than we are.

As the world continues to mourn Mandela and rejoices for a life well lived, we Nigerians are condemned to wait a little longer for our human saviour trusting that nothing last forever and a brighter tomorrow will come, so help us God. Amen.

I live on a street in one of those developing areas in Lagos. The roads are unimaginable with pot holes the size of craters. During the rainy season the roads become impassable; we live at the very end of the street so by the time we get to our house we would have navigated 30 different potholes of varying sizes. Trust me. I count. Sometimes, some misguided but well- meaning resident will pour concrete boulders and all types of items on the road just to fill it. This usually makes it worse because the car is constantly bouncing, the galloping is incredible and cars are constantly getting stuck. I know with this brief description I just described half of the roads in Lagos state. My story isn't finished yet though. The crux of the story is that we recently got a new resident and this man who lives on one of the side streets off the main road has placed interlocking blocks all the way down his long stretch of road (about 1km) and is in the process of putting these interlocking blocks on the opposite side road to his road. I was flabbergasted. I was impressed. There are so many other residents criticising his actions, describing it as not well planned (due to lack of gutters), deriding the use of interlocking blocks (which according to them are already weakening) etc. I agree that in repairing a road a more thorough evaluation is called for but nonetheless I still applaud his efforts. I was humbled when I saw the work being done by 1 man in an estate of more than 300 families over a problem that has been in existence for more than 15 years!

Although I realize that his motivation to repair the road was less altruistic and probably more self- serving. The goal is still the same, in some minute way he has transformed the face of the estate which is a microcosm directly and indirectly of our country Nigeria. In Nigeria we are all talkers but very few are doers. This man is a doer. He decided he was not going to wait for the largesse of a government that is unsympathetic and unaware of the plight of its citizens. He took matters into his own hands and with mostly successful results too. Now I realise, and herein lies the meat of my opinion, that Nigerians just talkers, who shirk our citizenry and patriotic duties and responsibilities, everything about being a Nigerian is someone else's duty, and another's responsibility. I was guilty of that myself until I heard about THAT MAN that single-handedly repaired his road.

His story got me thinking about the laissez-faire attitude of most Nigerians, myself included. Whether its the rate of armed robberies, kidnappings, road traffic accidents due to bad roads, cars, trailers and illiterate drivers, the story is always the same. 'God dey' is an often used and abused phrase of most Nigerians accompanied by a weary shrug, hiss or shake of the head. I am utterly convinced that our leaders know this hence they continually treat us like fools. It is commonly said 'fool a person once, shame on you; fool them twice, shame on them'. Shame on us Nigerians! We watch our politicians tear apart our country for their own selfish ends and we let them. The truth is the love that we Nigerians should feel for our country can never be replicated by going to another country and as they say 'east or west, home is the best'.

I didn't write this with righteous indignation and a pen spitting fire and brimstone ink or with a holier than thou attitude. I just write with a heavy heart because the kind of freedom we crave and need in Nigeria comes with a hefty price tag. The question is are we willing to pay? Voltaire sums it up by saying 'man is only free at the moment he wishes it'. Are we willing to love our country a little bit more at cost to ourselves even when the government is so determined to make us hate it? Patriotism is a choice, it is a lifestyle change to love our country by standing up for it when things go wrong, accepting our faults and shortcomings, trying to make it better instead of heaping the blame on anywhere else apart from ourselves. The most famous quote on love 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says ' Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,it is not proud. It does not dishonour others,it is not self-seeking,it is not easily angered,it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,always trusts, always hopes,always perseveres. Nigerian Christian or Muslim, this is the definition of patriotism for one's country. It cannot be delegated but can only be shared.

Patriotism...whose responsibility? Ours.

So I was watching Sunrise the other day and a guest came on. During his interview he made a comment which I found hilarious, and forms the basis for this thread. He said, in defining democracy, 'democracy is for the rich by the rich to make laws for the poor people to suffer'. It got me thinking about Nigerianizing definitions, idioms, proverbs etc, and how far we can go. For instance, the phrase 'oga at top' now means something different in everyday Nigerian language lol. If the moderators have no problem then to make it more interesting we can use people's names, names like Farouk Lawan or Oduah should make great proverbs if you catch my drift...I've already said mine above but I'll repeat it below. Please fellow nairalanders lets make this fun, imaginative and interesting...

Democracy (the Nigerian version)-

'democracy is for the rich by the rich to make laws for the poor people to suffer'

In Nigeria money can buy an illiterate woman a PhD.

Nairalanders please list all the incredibly crazy things you've heard/seen money buy in Nigeria especially.

So there are many famous/popular/well known Nigerians that would really suit each other in terms of personality (or the little we know about their personalities) and looks. I thought it would be fun to start a thread matching them together. Matches could be male/male or female/female or male/female. Lol it's not a way to insinuate same sex stuff though oh. Please note that people can continue on a previous post and add on to that. Once again abeg no tribalistic comments. Thanks for participating and let the matchmaking begin!!

Match: Obasanjo and Tinubu
Reason: They look 'somewhat' alike, claim to be reformed, 'obtained' lots of money during their respective tenures and after...

This thread is to complete the phrase, 'If you were President for a day...'.

If I were President for a day I'd probably arraign all Nigeria's enemies of progress for a firing squad.

Want to hear your ideas but please no tribalistic comments as much as possible.

Thanks

Now that's what I'm talking about- all new phones and thanks, I actually forgot to mention that it applies to the police force only.

I check Nairaland every single day and I have noticed that its such a great tool for social change in Nigeria. Some actions that the government takes is in direct response to Nairaland posts.(See the thread on the Lagos killer bridge) shortly after this was posted and discussed steps were taken by the Lagos state government to demolish it. In that vein I would like all Nairalanders to suggest in two sentence, a practical and feasible idea that can be applied in states (you can mention the specific state) or country as a whole, to improve it. It could be in any sector, and to improve any condition, hospitals, roads, security, crime etc.
The only thing I ask is that please respectfully agree to disagree. I really detest the tribalistic comments I read sometimes. If there is something a fellow Nairaland says that is inoperable or impossible then simply state why with supporting reasons. Thanks, in advance guys!
Without further ado I'll start.

Problem: Nationwide security
Solution: Tracking and recording devices in phones?

The only thing I can add is our leaders, and those in positions of authority are truly not smart. Some of their remarks/comments demonstrate ignorance, illiteracy, insensitivity and plain stupidity. What makes me happy is the fact that from every single reply to my original question there has not been a stupid, insensitive or tribalistic/personal response from nairaland users. Everyone's banded together to make this topic witty, interesting and poke fun at a common enemy. There is hope guys definitely.
If its okay i'm going to take the craziests comments and post them on my blog- thestoutlady..com.
In the meantime please keep those comments coming

I am just laughing hysterically!! Our leaders really are a piece of work!! Please keep the comments coming, the only thing I ask for is the quote, name (plus any personal analysis of the comments). Quotes can be from anyone at the local, state or federal levels and could be from judges, politicians, IGs, you get my drift.

'At 50 Britain was still battling with King Arthur and the Knights of the round table, so Nigeria is not doing too badly (or something similar to that effect)- Diezani Madueke

Fellow nairalanders I have come across a couple of silly comments made by our leaders. Unfortunately I never thought to write them down (especially considering how baffling they are). So I thought we could have a thread on that, so pls post as accurately as possible and let us know who said what. Thanks