₦airaland Forum

kafanchan:
See your mentality, misfiring like arsenal fc , is it Ibru s fault that children are dying across the country? I dont know why these Idiots called EFCC are trying to divert our attentions from stealers of trillions of naira to stealers of billions. And we sef dey fall mugun. I have a dream that one day Nigerians will wake up to realise that EFCC and co are not after our interest. I am not pro -corrupt MDs, only that I am not convinient with SLS reform just because of the kind of people he uses to achieve his aim - Aodoanka and Waziri. ? Ko si omo 're ninu ibon.

SLS appointed a former MD of a failed bank as an ED of one of the 'troubled banks'. This is totally against the law and standard he claims to uphold.
The man refuses, among popular demand from Nigerians to publish the list of debtors of the banks that passed the test. Is that one transparency and fairness he preaches?

Nlanders, SLS has a hidden agenda, and those good for nothing EFCC are trying to win our heart by exposing people that stole just less that 0.001% of the total stolen money.

Unity bank has been operating with capital base less than the 25BN prescribed by law, is that one not enuf to sack the MD?

SLS said it categorically he didnt want one man bank, yet ovia of zenith and elumelu of uba were not fired. Kai, we don suffer for this country

No be im fault sha , na d sickler president wey nominate am i go blame.

Point of correction, Soludo saw all these things but refused to expose anybody because he knew ALL the banks were guilty and he knew the implication the exposure would have on the economy. He knew all those borrowed money would come back when oil market rebounds. He is futuristic unlike Sanusi that is short sighted. Shey una dey see wetin dey happen for the economy now as a result of that SLS that should rather be in National mosque leading prayers as an Imam? Atleast that is what he read in school.

After reading your post I shuddered. The logic that we must first aprehend the perceived ''big time looters'' or allow the ''0.001%'' small fries to walk is at best warped. In the first place mr. Kafanchan, Sanusi is not on trial here neither those percevied big timers within the spotlight of contention so your assertion is dissmissible. I should also say that the qualification of Sanusi is also not in question here, wether he graduated after studying ''Arabicnomics'' or ''Imamnology''is also irrevelant and inadmissible. I hold brief for none and when Sanusi like Soludo goes if the incoming CBN governor unearths scams covered by Lamido then I'll be here to discuss same. I think it will be better for the accused MDs to come to equity if there hands are clean and state their cases to the hearing public. After all na our money make up those banks! And please learn to address people without abusing them cos it tells how mature one is when their mouth is opened in public. Let's deal with what is at hand: a bank capitalised to the tune of 300 billion gives 235 billion loan to one person and you harp on about 20 thousand employees! Efcc, Aondoaka, Sanusi, Soludo, et al are possibly corrupt parastatals or persons but they certainly are not on trial. Their time will come Mr. Kafanchan, and we will bring them before the people's court.

Hmm! The puzzle is now falling in place, largest shareholding in Aero Contractors by the Ibrus. Did they say jets? Could it have anything to do with ACN trying to sell 500,000 seats at reduced rates? Smells like recoup in my ears.

The small sunshine in our difficult lives, thanx 'mamanda, perhaps Pete Edochie & Olu Jacobs.

What can one say? Tripple AAA ratings, best bank this and that; the same banks that hardly will grant a loan to an SME gives billions of depositors' money to their own. In a short while some warped-up commentators will enter and ask, ''what of so-so-so-and-so?'' failing to treat the scourge at hand. Cecilia Ibru, gallivanting the world, telling whoever cared to listen this-and-that about a bank she knew within herself was being run aground. EQuity and clean hands as they say. I rest my case.

@ poster,

There are no hard-and-fast rule to this phenomenom that happens in nearly all marriages[sub][/sub]some may disagree[sup][/sup]. The examples cited may work for some relationships and not so for others. Like most folks have said correctly, whichever anyone herein needs apply they should be able to evaluate and call it before it gets out of hand. In other words, KNOW WHEN U ARE AT THE PEAK OF SHAKARA AND CLIMB DOWN RIGHTAWAY. It is such a lovely way to whip ones spouse into line without resorting to barbaric means. I  hear one or two commentators talk about sitting down and communicating right-away, surely if that does it for both of you, fine. For me it will be dry to be serious all the time and a little variation in that appraoch will surely help. After all the folks wey do shakara dey communicate, only in a playful and yanga ish way. Na d style me I dey use win my sweeet Omalichanwa aka Hegovini back o!

@ poster,

Inlaws and relatives who find it hard to accept the changes that result from their kin getting married are often eager to buck pass responsibility to their son's wife who in the first place they hardly welcome. No be magic, a man who use to give them 30K/month can no longer do so because responsibility don increase for his side. They know it too well but accepting the loss of a once-free revenue naim b the crux of the matter. So u when the man suffers a slight set back the wolves come hunting in pack and u hear, ''after all na since wey im marrying dis im wife naim things change for'the worse''. This is why a woman should understand that in the african nay Nigerian setting a husband's love while ultimate in the business of family making may not be sufficient to keep the 'tigers' away from her back. She must understand these minds, get to know their game and see if it will be worth all the trouble to go with. I should also say that it is hardly the case if the woman was their pick.

So ladies hear! hear!!, ask yourself before going in, what kind of in-laws are his people? If you like the answer u get luv am jeje if not ossiso otherwise na HELL!

@ Poster

To each his own.

^^^^Bidemi12

Thanks for helping chaps here keep a perspective before leaving.
Anyone without a focus won't survive even in a place of perceived bread and butter.
Hard work and persistence will help the focused. NOthing good comes easy folks.

^^^^^^Rosabelle and The blessed:

I am a man and while I agree that we live in a world where man has garnered all the undue advantages to himslef it still remains in the power of the other single woman to zip up and keep adultery in check.

Yes men are evil is a common creed amongst women but the solution isn't in shouting about a bad and evil sex it's in being proactive by zipping up and working for what one desires while keeping their self-esteem simultaneously!

A woman desires to be loved and a man craves respect, both unconditionally as it seems. The problem is EGO in the man and woman turns up the crazy-cycle and near-fist cuffs are experienced in varying degrees of sampled marriages. Sometimes I wonder if it is ever worth the trouble, that a man should make a home with a woman in obedience to the creator. What do NLers say, Keep ones peace by staying away or srtrive to find a path that is all-too narrow and near inadmissible, a foray into 'katakata' and shared strife?
At least with one alone no inadequacies matter, ones voice can't be too loud in & for self-decision makings-no hullabaloo, neither over the shoulder comments.

But the story changes when one has to live according to prescribed tenents of the thou shall nots, so to keep the acts of loving and respecting going. I dare say the line of stray is too thin, of acts of loving and respecting.
Imagine you used to take decision on the go, no frowning nor scowling faces to consider-just simply you. No hassles, no worries.
Now a shipmate comes aboard, doesn't share in your like and a compromise has to be reached-a 50-50 deal that keeps the loving and respecting going. Sometimes it's doable, other times the rift is palpable. Reminisce, singlehood vs what you have now, ha! The acts of loving and respecting. Make una yarn.

Whoever is on their way out, am just saying keep your expectations realistic and work to better yourself. Competition for employment places won't be easy as good ol' USA is on the path to recovery. Keep that in mind and do your home country proud.

jay bee:
Spot on

Jaytee67:

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I am not too sure there is aerocontractor in Nigeria then. I served in 1992/93 service year in Enugu. We camped at Awgu Camp. May be poster has forgotten the airline she used. What do you think?

Aero has been in Nigeria since the 59's. Currently celebrating their 50th anniversary. If dem no dey how dem come be 50 years in 9ja?
Anyway, let the chronicle continue. We dey wait for the end.

martinosi:
DONT BE DAFT, DO U THINK THE 6000 PLUS PEOPLE THAT WON DONT HAVE DEGREE'S OR EVEN POS-GRADUATE DEGREES THEY ARE ALL HIGHLY TRAINED NIGERIANS THAT THE US GOVE WHATS TO GIVE TO COMPANIES
AT A RATE OR SAY 20% BELOW THEIR EQIVALENT GRADUATES IN THE USA!!!

Not daft Martinosi, only needing an allay of my fears. In an economy that is losing jobs more than it is creating is it wrong to ask about the acquired skills of the Nigerians going over? For all I know new technologies are needed to create lost jobs and get the economy back on track, how will my 9ja bros and sis dem fair and fit in in the coming reshuffle of things. Give to what companies? The ones folding or needing reviving?
And it will be helpful if we can answer another's question without resorting to the usual name-calling in the absence of anything useful to say.
Not every thing US must be shoved down our throats.

Theblessed:
[b]Hi Young lady, God bless you for sticking to your principles and refusing to bow to these shameless bastards! You did the right thing and I wish other young Nigerian girls would respect themselves just as you had.

You see generally, Nigeria men are known CHEATERS at least 98.9% of them! Yes, some people on here would say that I am generalising but I challenge them to show me a Nigerian man who had never thought, dreamt and ACTUALLY, done it! What percentage of them, I demand to know? Yes, men are prone to cheating irrespective of their status but some how African men are worse than their contemporaries from other parts of the world - the worst are Nigerian and South African men. These lots have no respect for their marriages or women in their lives - they are damn and damn SELFISH bastards, period! That's why Nigerian women here in the West are giving as good as they get and obviously the men don't like it.

My advise, if you had made up your mind not to marry them, good - DON'T! They would only cause you HYPETENSION, ok! THEY ARE NO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD at being faithful - just a handful of them and as you'd said the good ones had all been taken. The few good ones are gone and na only YEYE ones remains, period! Imagine him explaining to you the lengths he would go to hide his relationship with you from his wife, what makes you or anyone else think if you would go along with it and he marries you, he wouldn't do the same? eh!!

This behaviour runs in a Nigerian man's BLOOD including the young ones of your age because they are learning from what they see their elders do, and get away with. They get away with it because, Nigeria has no laws that protects women therefore, Nigerian woman does as she's told. In addition, poverty, unemployment, lack of social provisions - free healthcare/education and other benefits people can fall back to are not available to empower Nigerian women to seek independence from such ugly and unhappy marriages. Therefore, since you are poor you'd do any thing for survival and this makes Nigerian women (married/unmarried) more VULNERABLE than they should be. Thus, a Nigerian wife is a DOCILE wife, she can only shout but she can't BITE. She would accept anything in her marriage because she has no REMEDY at law and, no one would listen to her even if she complains. Thus, a Nigerian man has field days in his marriage - to do as he pleases and getting away with it. Should Nigerian women both married and unmarried be empowered and have access to these resources, our men would respect their women because, Nigerian women are as wise and clever as their men (if not more) - and they know it.

Here in West, women are protected by law and men knows the boundaries they MUST NOT cross else, they get their BALLS squeezed and crushed and they know it, DON'T THEY?? They don't mess with us here as simply as that. Yes, any man or woman can mess with a partner if they're millionaires or Billionaires like Bill Gates. And if you are their partner at least, you have a CHOICE - to go or to stay! If you chooses to go, there's a sure Banker, a GOOD HAND SHAKE would seal the deal for you - you have good settlement and laughing all the way to the BANK - Hurray!!!!!!!

At least their partners would not bother any more who they sleep around with and they have their peace of mind for GOOD! So, my young-on stick with your principles and for any reason please, don't lower your standards and also teach your friends the same and how to respect their DIGNITY. but since there's no law protecting women back home, most Nigerian women would continue to put up with this hopeless and nasty situation and, I for one would not.

You cheat and get caught, you're history. No, nonesense here!

And for my young lady, I hope you find the right guy that would make you happy one day. God bless you!! [/b]

An old wound that regenrates with the younger generation. The crux of the matter seems to be a request and refrain one.
Marriage all too well is a platform for pros and cons. How to manage and keep side-by-side what one loves and what they detest is a big challenge. We have seen in the West many practice various off-shoot as a result of the failure of this time-tested institution. Gayism, Lesbianism, Bisexualism, all-what-nots. All in the pursuit of happiness.

Na Nigerian man cheat pass? We will never know. Only ones bias and remonstration of the pain received at the hands of a philandering male Nigerian. I would rather say a good percentage of men cheat but they hardly do it with themselves.

So it takes two to cheat- a testerone-filled male Nigerian and a happy all-too-easy bimbo.
There's no use trying to be more christain than the pope here in swearing and naming-calling, if a BIMBO ZIPPED UP AND WALK EVERY TIME SHE'S APPROACHED like your friend ALL the women in the married men will have their husbands for keeps. That's the power women/ladies have but do they utilise it? We know the answer. Why is that? Most can hardly work for what they desire and see men as an easy reach to their destination. If truth be told the other woman hardly ever counts in their pursuit of happiness. So a promiscuous man moves form one to another conquering and forging on knowing in his hands lay the desire of most women. Is it right? Never. But it takes only an approached woman to stop this ill.

Women e dey una hand.

okeey:
THE United States (US) Mission in Nigeria has said the country ranked second in the number of winners of the US 2010 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery. Nigeria had 6,006 winning entries as against Ghana, with 8,752 winning entries, topping the list across the world.

Disclosing this, on Wednesday, was the Chief Consular Officer/Acting Consul General, Mr.Richard Walsh, who also announced the commencement of the registration for the 2011 DV lottery.

Walsh, at a media parley held at the Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate General’s office, Broad Street, Lagos, further disclosed that Bangladesh came third with a total number of 6,001 just as Ukraine came fourth with 5,499 winning applicants.

He, therefore, said for interested applicants for 2011 DV lottery, registration would hold between October 2 and November 30, adding that entries for the 2011 DV lottery must be submitted electronically.

He warned that paper entries would not be accepted by the United States government. Walsh emphasised the need for the applicants to ensure that all information provided on the entry form must be complete and accurate, adding that “applicants who provide false information about themselves or on behalf of others will be disqualified.”

All successful applicants, according to him, would be notified by electronic mail, adding that “applicants who keep their confirmation page information will be able to check their entry status online.”





http://www.tribune.com.ng/08102009/news/news19.html

I just hope they have better skills to compete in a land struggling at the moment to create job for her citizenry. Otherwise na Afghanistan and Pakistan

@topic

Why I am not a Christian
I was born in a nominally Christian country, and at an early age attended "Sunday school", where well-meaning people tried to indoctrinate me in the Christian religion. It never made any sense to me.
My parents were not religious. My mother occasionally attended church because she had a good voice and liked to sing in the choir. As I recall, my father never set foot in a church except for the occasional wedding. My paternal grandfather had no time for religion, but my paternal grandmother was a devout Protestant. When I was about nine years old she gave me books with many pictures illustrating biblical themes. Being a curious lad I read these, but they made no great impression on me. My grandmother died when I was thirteen and her religious influence upon me, such as it was, promptly ceased. Thus the religious indoctrination of children by their parents, which warps the minds and blights the lives of so many innocent children, was not practiced upon me as a child, thank God.

The nearest church to where we lived (in a large city) was just down the road — it was a Methodist church (though even now I have no idea of what distinguishes Methodists from, say, Presbyterians, and really couldn't care less). Since it was the closest, I was sent (at a young age) to church there each Sunday, until at the age of twelve I announced that I wasn't going anymore. My mother was only slightly scandalized, and after a token objection said no more about it. My father only smiled at my announcement and, I suppose, felt pleased that his son was no fool.

Thereafter I had only the usual exposure to Christianity that anyone coming of age in a modern, largely secular, Western society has. The occasional visit at the front door by a Jehovah's Witness, earnestly seeking to save my soul, produced in me only disdain for that sect. I did feel a yearning for spiritual truth but found nothing satisfying in Christianity, except in the writings of the Christian mystics, in particular, Meister Eckhart (who was regarded as a heretic by the Catholic Church in his time). But the more I learnt of Christian doctrine the less that religion appealed to me (not that it ever did), and I can truthfully say that I was never a Christian.

A good word, however, should be put in for some forms of art of a Christian nature. Renaissance Italian art is full of Christian scenes, and much of the music of J.S.Bach (e.g., his St. Matthew Passion and his exquisitely beautiful Cantata BWV82, "Ich habe genug" has explicit Christian content. But, of course, the beauty of the art created within a particular religious context does not imply the truth of the doctrines of that religion. The artists would have created their art with or without benefit of religion, provided that they were not prevented from doing so by political repression (as happened in Stalinist Russia).

Unfortunately much of Christian art consists of depicting the sufferings and agony of Jesus on the Cross. This reflects the obsession of Christianity with the Crucifixion, so much so that Osho referred contemptuously to Christianity as "Crosstianity". The obsession with "our sins" having been "washed away by the Blood of the Lamb" would be regarded as evidence of a serious mental illness in an individual within any sane society, but when this is an obsession of millions of people it becomes "religious faith", held by many others (curiously) to be something that should never be criticized.

My (fortunately) few conversations with Christians about their faith usually left me with the impression that (a) it was desperately important to them for some reason that others shared their beliefs and (b) that they were insane. Their favorite strategy is to assume that the Bible is literally true, and then justify their beliefs because "God says so in the Bible". If so, God contradicts himself, as in the inconsistencies in the Gospels regarding the birthplace and ancestry of Jesus. Christians conveniently forget (if they ever knew of them) many passages in the Old Testament which are repugnant to ordinary moral sense, such as that if a woman marries and is found not to be a virgin at the time of her marriage then she is to be killed (Deuteronomy 22:13-21). But you can't argue with someone who has faith because for them there can be no possible refutation of what they believe, so rational argument is entirely useless. They cling to their belief so strongly that they make no distinction between who they are and what they believe.

If a Christian were to suggest to me that the only way to save my soul from eternal damnation was to embrace the Christian Faith, I would not point to all the murders and genocides which have been committed in the name of the Christian God (and there are so many that it should be enough to make anyone who is aware of them ashamed to call themselves a Christian). Rather I would reply as follows.

Christianity these days comes in many varieties, but all trace their roots to the Nicene Creed, which was produced by the Council of Nicaea. If a person does not subscribe to the Nicene Creed then they are not a Christian, in the sense of being a member of the Christian Church, although someone who admires Jesus Christ greatly might call themselves a Christian, just as someone who admires Richard Wagner greatly might call themselves a Wagnerian.

The Nicene Creed is:


I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

What evidence is there for any of this? Only the first sentence (minus the metaphorical "father" and "maker" might contain some truth, insofar as it makes some sense to posit a source for all existing things, a "ground of being".

But the remainder of the Creed is ridiculous. How can any sane person believe this stuff? It has not even be established to the satisfaction of modern historians that the Jesus of the Bible even existed as a person. Even granting that there was such a person, the claims made regarding his "being of one substance with the Father" who "came down from heaven", died, "rose again" and now "sits on the right hand of the Father" are (if they make sense at all) highly implausible assertions with absolutely no supporting evidence. That many millions of people have believed these absurd claims provides no evidence that they are true.

Furthermore the Creed explicitly asserts what is repulsive, namely, that we are all inherently sinners (in other words, criminals in the eyes of God), that we are in need of salvation, and that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself (in a most horrible manner: crucifixion) so as to save us (why was such a sacrifice necessary at all?). Implied is that anyone who does not believe this will be condemned (after death and subsequent bodily resurrection, despite one's body having rotted in the grave, if not destroyed entirely by fire) by Christ himself to eternal damnation and torment. Such a doctrine, which is clearly pathological, can only have been formulated and propagated by sick minds (foremost among whom was womanizer-turned-"saint", Augustine of Hippo).

There is no point in examining the curious details of the Creed (e.g., that Christ was "begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father" because the Nicene Creed is simply a statement of faith (as it was intended to be) and there is absolutely no reason to suppose that it is true (in fact, since it is absurd it is very likely to be false). One is asked to believe but no reason is given, or evidence presented, for why one should believe. (Understandably not, because there is usually an ulterior motive underlying any admonition to believe something. In the case of religious belief the ulterior motive is usually social control or the financial benefit of some part of an organized religion.) Believing with no evidence to support belief is not a virtue but rather a sign of stupidity. Anyone who says, as Barack Obama did in August 2008 at a "Faith Forum" in California, "I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, [and] that I am redeemed through him", or as John McCain said at the same event in response to the question of what his Christian faith means to him, "It means I'm saved and forgiven" (for bombing, strafing and terrorizing Vietnamese peasants?), is either mendacious or intellectually deficient.

It is true that there are people whose intellectual abilities are such that we cannot say they are unintelligent and yet who regard themselves as Christians. This is because, although there may be no reason to believe the Nicene Creed, there are conditions under which a person will accept and cling to it. This may be the occurrence of some emotional "crisis" but mainly results from childhood conditioning, in which parents with Christian beliefs inculcate these beliefs in their innocent and unsuspecting children, before the minds of those children have developed to the point where they can intelligently decide about the truth of what they are being told. (The same thing happens, of course, in all religions.) If a person values their upbringing by their parents then they will be inclined to maintain the faith taught to them by their parents, unless they are sufficiently intelligent to be able (upon mature reflection) to distinguish between the love and support that they received from their parents and the false teachings that were given to them before they had developed the mental ability whereby to accept or reject those teachings.

Oh , about prayer. A scientific study (reported in the American Heart Journal, April 2006) discovered no beneficial effect of prayer, but rather the contrary: that sick people who know they are being prayed for tend to fare significantly worse than sick people who are either not being prayed for or who are unaware that they are being prayed for, with no difference between these last two groups. However, like paranormal phenomena, the efficacy of prayer is unlikely to be demonstrable in the laboratory. But many people claim to believe their prayers are answered, and that they believe in "God" because (they assume) "God" answers their prayers. But even assuming that their prayers are answered, this does not show that the biblical "God" answered them. Fact is, the universe is a magical place, although this is denied by the modern scientific view of the world, which assumes that reality consists only of atoms, molecules, radiation and their interaction. But this view, known as physicalism is a false view of the world. The universe is more like a vast, super-intelligent, living being (on many levels) — call it (with Einstein) "God" if you wish, just don't confuse it with the Christian "God". Sometimes the universe, or some part of it, in its limitless artistic creativity, mysteriously accords with our wishes, and desirable things happen which were rather improbable. To attribute this to a biblical "God" answering one's prayers is not only unjustified but also displays a lack of imagination and a very limited mentality.



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Why I am not a Jew
The main reason I am not a Jew (apart from the fact that I would never wish to be one) is that I was not born a Jew. The Jewish religion does not seek converts, and for orthodox Jews there is no way to become a Jew without being born a Jew. Conversion to Judaism does occur, but such converts are regarded merely as sincere imitators, not real Jews.
Judaism is an "ethnic" religion, in the sense that one has to have been born into the religion. But it is more — it is a racist, supremacist religion, which holds that Jews are superior to non-Jews, pejoratively called Goyim (a word which has associations with "cattle". Every orthodox male Jew recites each day this prayer to his God: "I give thanks that I was not born a goy, was not born a woman and was not born a slave."

Racism (the belief that members of one's race or in-group are superior to all others) has always been endemic to mankind, but modern thought regards it as indefensible. Orthodox Jews, however, are immune to the influence of modern thought, and persist in their racist, supremicist attitude to all others. No-one of moral sense, then, could consider becoming a Jew, even if it were possible.

That orthodox Judaism considers Jews to be superior to, and to have no moral obligations toward, non-Jews is shown by the words of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook (1865-1935):


The difference between the Jewish soul , and the soul of all the Gentiles , is greater and deeper than the difference between the soul of a man and the soul of an animal.
Those seeking a fuller understanding of Talmudic Judaism should visit the website Come and Hear (from which this quotation is taken).

A word of defense shoud be added for those unfortunate enough to have been born of Jewish parents (and thus regarded by many others as Jewish) but who have freed themselves from their childhood conditioning and from the Jewish assumption of superiority over others. A man may have been born a Jew but have come to see the defects of the religion, and perhaps feel something like shame for his former close, if involuntary, association with it.

The principal defect of the Jewish religion (apart from its assumption of the racial superiority of Jews over non-Jews) is that the God worshipped by the Jewish people is a jealous, vicious, bloodthirsty, psychopathic tyrant. Richard Dawkins (in The God Delusion, Chapter 2) has well described YHWH as follows:


The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty, ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.
The following, from Deuteronomy, Chapter 12, reveals YHWH as a psychopath:


20:10 When you come to a city to fight against it, then first proclaim peace toward it.
20:11 If it answers for peace, and opens its gates to you, then all the people found therein shall be your slaves, and they shall serve you.
20:12 If it won’t make peace, but will make war against you, then you shall besiege it.
20:13 And when the LORD thy God has delivered it into your hands, you shall kill every male inside with the edge of your sword.
20:14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the fortunes inside, shall you take for yourself; and you shall eat all the good things of your enemy, which the LORD thy God has given you.
20:15 Thus you shall do to every city even faraway which are not among your chosen nations.
20:16 In these cities, which the LORD thy God gives you for an inheritance, you shall leave nothing left alive ,
What sort of person would worship such a God? The person who worships such a psychopathic God must surely believe that the qualities exemplified by that God are in some way admirable (after all, he is the creator of the world and the giver of laws to those who worship him), and thus that it is excusable (even obligatory) to deceive, enslave, steal from and kill all who do not worship that God. Can such a person be held to possess any moral consciousness? Are those who identify with this religion not rightly to be regarded as themselves psychopathic?



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Why I am not a Muslim
As a young man, since I was a seeker after spiritual truth, I read much about religion and the various religions. Naturally I discovered Sufism (or at least, that there was a spiritual tradition of that name), and read about the Sufi quest for union with the divine, which appealed to me (and which is considered heretical by orthodox Muslims).
I also discovered the beauty of Islamic art. The geometrical designs found in Islamic art and architecture are a wonder, and some grand mosques (especially when illuminated at night) appear sublime. However, as noted previously, the beauty of the art (and architecture) of a religion is not evidence of the truth of its doctrines.

When one examines how Muslims live and act there are are good and bad features. The good is that there is a strict code of ethics, according to which good Muslims are honest, reliable, fair, generous and considerate of others; they do not lie, cheat or steal. Fine. I wish everyone was like that.

On the other hand, Muslims act this way (if they do) because they are are following a strict code of conduct (not just a code of ethics) which tells them how to act in all situations. There is not just a Muslim way to pray (which, in the case of the Sunnis, is the same in all mosques from Casablanca to Jakarta) there is also a Muslim way to do anything (including defecating). This code of conduct, which regulates the behavior of a strict Muslim in every way (Islam is thus a totalitarian religion), is modeled on the life of the Prophet Muhammad and subsequent Muslim religious leaders. If Muhammad did something in a certain way then that must be the right way to do it and as a good Muslim one must do it that way. Thus in Muslim societies cats are looked upon with favor but dogs are not (consequently cats far outnumber dogs) because Muhammad supposedly liked cats but disliked dogs.

As another example, in September 2008 a Moroccan mullah approved the marriage of a man to a 9-year-old girl, on the grounds that one of Muhammad's wives was nine years old when he married her. So if Muhammad is to be taken as a role model for all Muslim men, then it is OK for them to marry 9-year-old girls (presumably for reasons other than the welfare of the girl). In fairness it should be mentioned that other Moroccan mullahs condemned this decision. However, this example shows that it is (at best) ridiculous to model your life upon the behavior of someone living in 7th C. Arabia, as if the world had not changed in over a thousand years.

A characteristic of all contemporary Islamic societies is their repression of women. Drawing attention to this can be fatal. In 2008 an Afghan student of journalism, Parwez Kambakhsh, was convicted of blasphemy, and sentenced to death, for asking questions in class about women's rights under Islam and for distributing an article on this subject which he had obtained from the internet. In October 2008 an Afghan appeals court commuted his sentence to 20 years imprisonment.

The repression of women in Islamic societies is most clearly apparent in the attempt (by strict Muslim women as well as men) to force all Muslim women to wear the head scarf (hijab). Supposedly Allah has decreed that women should cover their hair and wear clothing that conceals any indication that they possess breasts (and thus are women). Wearing of this attire is said to be an "obligation to Allah", and women who wear this attire are said to show "gratefulness to Allah" (for what? for living in a society where they are not free to do as they wish and must continually conform to the demands of others?). Thus women who do not wear the head scarf, or who wear clothes revealing, not the form of their breasts, but any sign that they even possess breasts, are considered by strict Muslims to be breaking "an obligation to Allah" and to be "ungrateful to Allah". This would be merely ridiculous (since Allah is a fictitious entity) were it not for the fact that women in Islamic societies are, if not forced, then seriously enjoined, to conform to this custom. It is sad to see a society in which no women are permitted to reveal their hair (they have to keep it covered entirely with the hijab) and are afraid to wear any clothing which reveals that they are women. This prudishness (this enforced prudishness) is one of the qualities of Islam which make it less than admirable.

But you don't have to be a Muslim to view the tendency of some Western women to flaunt their breasts (there's a saying, If you've got 'em, flaunt 'em) as a cheap way of attracting the attention of men as little short of shameless.

No danger of this in Muslim countries. Even in "moderate" Muslim countries such as Malaysia it is not uncommon for a man never to allow his wife to leave the house unless she is covered from head to toe in a black chador, with only a narrow slit revealing her eyes, so she can walk. Does the husband look upon his wife at home naked, and gloat that he, only he, can ever view any part of her body apart from her eyes, hands and feet? In Afghanistan, and in some parts of North India, Muslim women are generally not allowed out in public unless they are wearing a burkha which does not even have a slit for the eyes; instead the woman must view the world through a small mesh. This is an inhumane, barbaric, disgraceful and shameful imposition upon women in Muslim countries, and (since there is no distinction in Islam between religion and society) reveals Islam as a religion which degrades women to mere property owned by men.

Muslims generally are presented in the Western media in a bad light (in contrast to the taboo against any criticism of Israel). This says less about Muslims than it does about the Western media, namely, that is is controlled by Zionists (who wish to demonize Muslims so as to whip up American hysteria for Middle Eastern wars against countries perceived to be a possible threat to Israel). Muslims, as with Jews, Christians, etc., should be free to practice whatever religion they wish (or none, if they can finally overcome their childhood conditioning). My observations concerning Islam presented in this article are not meant to encourage anti-Muslim sentiment; they are presented simply to explain why I am not a Muslim (and would not wish to become one).

Muslims believe that the prescription for an ideal human society has been revealed by Allah in the Koran. Thus there is, and can be, no distinction in Islam between "sacred" and "secular" or between "church" and "state". This distinction is fundamental to modern Western society. Thus the political values of the modern West and of Islam are irreconcilable. It is not possible, e.g., to uphold the values of French society and to be a Muslim at the same time. By allowing millions of Muslims to settle in Western Europe (at the behest of Western capitalists wanting an ongoing supply of cheap labor) European governments have imported a time bomb which may ultimately destroy European society.

Muslims often claim that Islam is "a religion of peace". This is not true. There are some passages in the Koran which suggest this (presumably in the suras delivered before Muhammad's new religion ran into significant opposition) but later passages suggest that recalcitrant unbelievers should be dealt with harshly. And it should not be forgotten that Buddhism was destroyed in India around 1300 CE largely as a result of wholesale slaughter of Buddhist monks (with destruction of monasteries and burning of libraries) carried out by fanatical Muslim invaders from Afghanistan.

"Islam" means "submission", more exactly, submission to the will of God (Allah), and a "Muslim" is "one who submits". One who submits has thus given control of his life over to something else, in this case, to the decrees of the mullahs who interpret the Koran and to the social customs characteristic of Islamic societies. A Muslim is thus not a free person. It is thus hard to see how anyone who values their freedom could remain a Muslim, still less convert to that religion.

Muslims are fatalists, since they believe that everything happens according to the will of God, and nothing happens unless God wills it (Inshallah). This is a prescription for the abrogation of personal responsibility. Strictly speaking, one cannot be held responsible for one's actions if everything happens because Allah wills it to be so. (Of course, this does not prevent thieves being punished under Sharia Law by having their right hand cut off — actually quite a deterrent to potential thieves.) And if something doesn't go according to plan, well, it's the will of Allah. Maybe tomorrow, Inshallah.

Islam is a grim religion. Of the five religions considered here, Islam is the most intolerant and the most puritanical. (A puritan is someone who worries constantly that someone, somewhere, may be having a good time.) It is not just the Taliban that seeks to ban singing and dancing. When Muslims gained political power in the Malaysian state of Kelantan in the 1990s they banned several forms of traditional performing arts, including costumed dance/drama and shadow puppetry (mostly based on themes from the Hindu Ramayana), on the grounds that these were non-Islamic, thereby depriving a generation of Kelantanese of their own cultural traditions.

Then there is Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan a Muslim must not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. This is especially burdensome when Ramadan occurs during the summer in hot countries. This religious requirement forces Muslim families to get up at 4 a.m. in the morning so they can have breakfast before the sun rises. It disrupts whole societies for a whole month. The reason, it is is said, is so Muslims can appreciate the plight of the poor who have little to eat. While fasting for a day or two from time to time may be a good thing, this month-long self-denial of food and drink during the daytime is imposed on everyone (except those excused due to ill-health). Muslims do not have a choice whether to fast during Ramadan; they must do it, or else face censure from other Muslims. This is an example of the totalitarian nature of Islam. There is no place in Islam for individual freedom. A Muslim's every deed, word and thought is determined by his submission to the religion. To someone who values the idea of individual liberty, this is repulsive.

The preceding is sufficient to explain why I am not a Muslim. But basically I am not a Muslim because to be a Muslim it is both necessary and sufficient (regardless of which Muslim tradition a person belongs to) to believe two things: (i) There is a God (Allah) who created mankind and who decreed how people should live their lives. (ii) Muhammad was the messenger who conveyed to mankind the decrees of Allah. I believe neither of these.

There is simply no evidence of the existence of Allah beyond the assertions of Muhammad and the claims of all those since him who have believed what he said. It is said that Muhammad received revelations, claimed to be from Allah. These were spoken to Muhammad by an entity named "Gabriel" and subsequently codified in the form of the Koran. (Actually, on his first appearance, Gabriel showed Muhummad a book, and asked him to read. But apparently Allah was not aware, or had forgotten, that the future Prophet was illiterate. So Muhammad had to memorize what Gabriel said to him.) But if all who hear voices were to found religions then we would have more religions than we could count.

And assuming that Muhammad actually did hear a voice speaking to him, one which was totally convincing to him (so that his level of conviction was enough to convince others), what do we know of the origin of this voice? It might have been some malevolent spirit, who actually wished to do harm to mankind by subjecting humans to limiting and stultifying beliefs. It might have been an extraterrestrial intent upon foisting upon mankind an ideology by which to control humans (as has been suggested by William Bramley in his book The Gods of Eden), to make them into little more than manipulable robots whose programmed behavior is entirely predictable. Thus even if Muhammad was a messenger, and even if the source of that message was something outside of Muhammad's own mind, we do not know what the source of that message was. Would you believe just anyone who came up to you and delivered the contents of a "revelation" that they had received?

But, of course, Muhammad was not "just anyone". But then neither was Jesus (if he existed), Zoroaster, Moses, John of Patmos (Revelation), John Dee (Enochian Keys), Emmanuel Swedenborg (Heaven and Hell), Baha'u'llah (Bahai), Joseph Smith Jr. (Mormonism), Aleister Crowley (Thelema), Alice Baily (Ascended Masters), Benjamin Creme (more Ascended Masters), L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology), J. Z. Knight (Ramtha), Ken Carey (Starseed Transmissions), the authors of the Urantia Book and many others who have claimed to have received messages from a supernatural source. They can't all be right.

But even assuming the existence of "Allah" — the entity who authored the messages delivered to Muhammad (which were later written up in the Koran) — there is reason to believe that this entity is not great, supremely intelligent, all-powerful, merciful and compassionate, as Muslims believe. Intellectual incompetence is suggested by the nature of the Islamic Calendar (traced back, as all things Islamic, to the Koran), whose years (each consisting of twelve lunar cycles) are shorter than seasonal years. In every 100 years of the Islamic Calendar the summer solstice occurs only 97 times. This calendar is (to put it kindly) seriously flawed.

That "Allah" is either incompetent or malicious is suggested by the fact of the sectarian division between Sunnis and Shias. If everything happens according to the will of Allah, then it was Allah's will that the third Caliph, Uthman, be murdered while at prayer. And it was Allah's will that Uthman's successor Ali (the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet) be murdered by one of his own soldiers. And it was Allah's will that Ali's sons, Hassan and Hussein, be killed at the Battle of Karbala. And it was Allah's will that these murders (and related events) gave rise to a split within Islam which has resulted in centuries of hatred and conflict, and in recent memory the Sunni vs. Shia Iraq-Iran War of 1980-88 (somewhat inconsistent with the idea of Islam as "a religion of peace". Every year at Ashoura Shias conduct hate-fests in which they remember the murders of Hassan and Hussein and denounce "the treacherous Sunnis". If all this was Allah's intention (and since he created and ordains everything then it must have been) then it seems he is not the great and compassionate being that Muslims believe.

But lest I should be misunderstood, I wish to make it clear that I do not regard Allah as either incompetent or malicious. Rather Allah is a figment of the Prophet's imagination which has been propagated down through the centuries through the minds of millions of believers — with huge (and unfortunate) effects on the societies in which most of those believers lived and live today.

Of course, something very similar is true of the Judeo-Christian God, the main difference being that this figment of the imagination did not originate with just one man but with many over a period of centuries.

Culled from serendipity.li

Make una yarn.

ThoniaSlim:
Well I guess it depends on the girl and man your dating. . .whoever am dating needs to understand me. . . I do not necessarily dress anyhow but I love looking good. . .not because I wanna look good for him or anyone. . .but because I know when you look good. . .and you know you look good. . .you feel good. . .and luckily my man understands this. . .Also I believe there's a difference between looking sexy and classy. . . and a difference between looking sexy and trashy. . .

So a lady doesn't have to be trashy to look good and sexy. . .

Thoniaslim, that line in between classy, sexy and thrashy is confusingly thin and gets thinner by the day. It is relative to many eyes, the modern man is confident in his wify's classy and sexy looks. But there's the other woman who is sexy but thrashy as well loved by her man, who loves what he sees beyond the fabric at the time. He veers close and hopes to change the Cheer in her in time but knows not how in his approach. He falls short and yakata starts. What can we tolerate. The 80/20% rule treats such matters. Anyone who cannot tolerate the 20% they don't like in their relationship should consider leaving otherwise they are most bound to hit it rough at some junction.

@ Poster, d bobo no like am after 2 weeks e no go like am after 40 years! We all hope to change something in our relationships, his is her dressing, another's could be, whatever discontentment we hold let's remember to put ourselves in the other person's shoes and picture whatever is their struggle. twele twele dey go.

otukpo:
he took a wise decision. because if he didnt, its definitely gonna be worse for him.

While it is welcoming the big picture none is talking about is how will Ateke function in a society in which he has killed or maim indigenes from other tribes in this course of his illicit plundering and killings. While it may be a relief to the life-blood/mainstay of nigeria, plenty people children wey im kill dey wait for am for revenge when im come out from the creeks. Perhaps Yar go kukuma keep am for Abj under im wings, him and his followers. Otherwise he'd become a sitting duck watching over his head every night and day waiting for a bullet to severe his neck from his body. That naim b d fear. The fear of being killed by an unkown many-the unseen multitude. The arena is clear, let's watch the parade.

I have weighed the pros and cons in this matter and have come to the conclusion that why so many differ is because of CHOICE. The consequence of which we can hardly persuade each other. A guy sees a chic and becomes attracted, most of the times to the features of the chic, helped undeniably by her enhancers( clothes, jewelries, perfurme the whole shebang). He goes in thinking, ''I can change the way she dresses(for eg)'' without as much as giving into the alternative. So hope fails to materailise and instead replaced by grief and chaos, the relationship weakens. The same is true for women too. They go in thinking, " I will change/stop his smoking habits'' and when it doesn't happen grieve. Wholesale changes can be dramatic and relationship breakers. Like someone, Felix30 said, u can pass lovingly your desire( not as a law) of how u'd like your spouse/bf/gf/wife to appear without coarsing them. WE NEVER CAN CHANGE A PERSONIF THEY DON'T WANT TO, ONLY THE PERSON HAS THAT POWER. wetin i sabi, make we dey go twele twele o!

bidemi12:
@honeyguy   well i must say that your arguement is well composed and somewhat logical but in some areas you made conjectures based on hearsay and not from direct experience. First of all i believe the Nigerians that are complaining are very much justified in doing so. There is no reason why we should be living in abject povery as we are right now. we are too blessed for that. 2) Granted America is owing money but at least we know what they are using the money for. Can you say the same of our county? I have lived here for years and i have never witnessed a minute of power failure. 3)Why in the first place will i want to live in another man's land if not for a better life for me and my family? And why wont i when the leadership in my country is stiffling me? 4)Apart from the value of the currency which is a goldmine back home, America represents the opportunity to become whatever and whoever you want to be. The whole society is structured in such a way that whether you like it or not you are encouraged to advance yourself to succeed. can you say the same about our beloved country? The credit system you mentioned applies only to Americans because that is their culture. I am a Nigerian with a background which taught me to save up for whatever i need. so why should i take credit? why should i buy a house when i can build one back home? why should i buy a new car when i can buy one cheaper at an auction. My point being that because a Nigerian lives abroad does not mean he forgets where he comes from. 5) the reason why people come here and achieve nothing is simply because America is not a lawless
country. People come here with visitor visa and decide to stay. Big mistake. with that kind of visa nobody will employ you or rent an apartment for you or allow you to open an account. Ask anyone who has papers if he has achieved anything and see the answer you will get. Abject lesson, do not come here if you do not have the correct papers. And like i said before why would i want to come here in the first place if not for the situation back home. The investors you mentioned are business men. If we as Nigerians cannot see our potential does not mean others cant. When they make their profits do you think they keep it in our banks? of course not. They take it back home. No one in their right minds will ever compare Nigeria to a place like Ghana not to talk of America. God punish all those leaders who have put us in this situatuon

uc nduka link=topic=331238.msg4651678#msg4651678 date=1254472007:
@honeyguy,I agree with u. The fact that nigeria has not achieved anything at 49 is OLD NEWS.I believe like me, most people here have been complaining about the state of the nation since they could talk but for me I have quit complaining cause nothing has changed. The problem and solution of the situation naija is LEADERSHIP but how can we have good leaders when we don't have good people. Our nation is filled with civil servants who are corrupt, students who indulge in exam malpractice instead of reading their books,people who encourage lying and stealing(Yes! we encourage stealing because if your brother becomes the local govt chairman and does not build a mansion in 6 months you would consider him stupid. Yes! we encourage stealing because we all see this nation as a cake and are waiting patiently to get our own piece. We have the mentality of NOW NOW, SHARP SHARP the man who steals the most is the big boy .So, ask me why we will not have youths in prisons abroad when our mentality supports stealing and everything corrupt). The fact that we are not in leadership does not make us saints as we all share the same mentality. Whether we like it or not, it is the citizenry that would take up the leadership so if we don't start changing our mindset now, we will continue suffer under bad leadership as an ordinary citizen today would become a leader tomorrow. GOD BLESS NAIJA.

Bidemi and Uc Nduka, both have spoken well.  Nduka you hit it right on the head with your '' Yes! we encourage stealing because if your brother becomes the local govt chairman and does not build a mansion in 6 months you would consider him stupid. Yes! we encourage stealing because we all see this nation as a cake and are waiting patiently to get our own piece. We have the mentality of NOW NOW, SHARP SHARP the man who steals the most is the big boy .So, ask me why we will not have youths in prisons abroad when our mentality supports stealing and everything corrupt).'' Mentally a lot of us Nigerians are fighting this battle of Sharp-sharp and Now-now, some conscious others don't even recognise until totally drawn in.
Our leaders are a reflection of the kind of people we are, so we can't demand quality where we are short. That simple. We can't want/demand good infrastructure and simultaneously desire our kin loot the treasure to meet our aspirations. E NO GO WORK DAT WAY. That's the crux of the matter.
It is easy to point at the leadership because that is who we see. But the followership is equally guilty of conniving either conscietously or indifferently.
No body likes a pot-holed road but and why it is good to shout how many of us are not playing with the pipper? Enough said.

kalabi:
Nobody is supporting corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, infact whosoever does all theses should be purnish but what we are saying is that EFFC should not be selective or politically motivated or wait till when someone them for his or her own selfish gain. we have so many companies in Nigeria that are guity of this tax issues. why is at this time when airline operator are protesting against some of government decision that EFFC now remember they are not paying tax or Arik airline just start operation last month?

God will save us in this country.

Kalabi, think about this: There will be no cry of selective nor political witch-hunt if those whose hands are currently found in the till kept them away. Please let's not be seen to hold brief for the corrupt punished or otherwise. If ya own never come reach u now, e go reach u soemtime. Na twele twele the wheel of justice maybe delayed but it will surely come full cycle. Arik may just unhinged Ararume and the canker worm from there who knows, like I said, make we dey twele twele and help whenever we can to reduce significantly our country's mess from spiraling further.

kalabi:
Nobody is supporting corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, infact whosoever does all theses should be purnish but what we are saying is that EFFC should not be selective or politically motivated or wait till when someone them for his or her own selfish gain. we have so many companies in Nigeria that are guity of this tax issues. why is at this time when airline operator are protesting against some of government decision that EFFC now remember they are not paying tax or Arik airline just start operation last month?

God will save us in this country.

Kalabi, there's a sore to be healed, weda na native doctor or a trained surgeon wey bring d healing is irrelevant. EFCC can not and should never have a priority listing to go against people in the society. If your hands are clean it doesn't matter weda dey come after u in the morning or night or whatever time. Keep the skeleton out of your cupboard and when dey are selective or politically motivated like you say den e no go reach you. Please now is not the time to prioritise how to catch a thief, now is the time to move in on whomever dey steal from our commonwealth. enough said.

Dale1:
Does it not make sense for at least some agency in Nigeria be doing something to at least bring some sense of decency to an already chaotic country? The argument that EFCC should have nothing to do with tax evasion/avoidance is not as important as which agency is ready to do it anyway? I mean is it true that this company is breaking the rules? But that does not appear important to some posters as much as "oh, is this what EFCC is meant to be doing?" I'm sure if someone kills one of your family members and the nigerian Police does nothing (as usual) but some agency, even a foreign one like Scotland yard steps in to help (an unlikely scenario), you wouldn't be arguing about the legitimacy of that help you are getting, would you? Pls guys wake up and be aware that this country needs all the help we can get to start moving in the right direction. The problem is most Nigerians are not invested in their country, maybe only in word of mouth. Thank you.

No room must be made for the parvenus in our midst. All of dem make our country dis rotten Their sad sorry lot must be hounded till they realise that the country is not only for them and their kin. Imagine IBB preaching decentralisation now! after looting from a skewed system that allowed him create local governments from his 50-room palatial mansion. We must RISE people against this lot and celebrate when like the Egyptians in the red sea chaos is thrown into their midst and they fight each other unto rebirth-a cleansing that is long overdue. Lord, long may this continue till all of our stolen wealth is recovered from they and their grand children, everyone of them.


Thanks Dale1. Femilangy u 2.

rasputinn:
[size=14pt]This incidence has the signature of Wale Babalakin of Bi Courtney written all over it,at least the honorary adviser to Yara dull,who has been winning ridiculous concessions from Yara weak's government is just trying to keep Arik busy running up and down so they'll be distracted from their quarrel and objection to the FGs concessioning of the general aviation terminal (GAT) to bicourtney

From the benefit of hindsight,I dare say,the matta just dey start,more pebbles are sure to be thrown in Ariks way till they back off Wale's back[/size]

Yap all you want. Person wey get case make e go answer chikena. We are at that point in our nations history where we must be not concerned about weda one person na small thief relative to the next but what is right and honourable. If Arik hands are clean let them go to equity and stop this ''dem dey persecute me because I no gree wetin dem talk attitude'' Afterall who no no say Sir Johnson Ararume( Airk Air & Rockson Engineering) and Odili connived to rip off Rivers state while pretending to be building Gas turbines fo the state. People MUST rise above ethnic sentiments and face head-on our problems. This is not a time of catch-dis-one first! Arik over to una.

Arm-chair criticism has never moved anybody anywhere in the world forward.

You know what, an American, Larry Flint on the Sea drill West capella made me visit calabar for the first time. You know what he said? God bless whoever the governor it was that made calabar that clean and beautiful. He said more opportunities abound in Nigeria and if the people will work hard then they can fulfill their potential. I asked him about corruption and he pointed me to monies which where earmarked for building water levies before Katrina came and how it was diverted. He said every country has their fair share and that how the populace checkmates the people in governance play a key role in minimizing it. In essence if you allow thieves in the system they will be their, meaning it falls on both me and the critique to prevent such from getting into the system, not an outsider. Hear him, ''there was a period in the US when blacks weren't allowed to vote, now they have a black president because people remained in their country and fought for it to happen''.

How accountable are we making those in power to work for our common good? We must start immediately even if it means sacrifcing our all for the betterment of our children to come. Beknown, Walata, BabaTony, tpia kudos.

BabaTony, what more can be said? I FEEL U DIE.

ZOmby

Obviously, it looks easier in writing than actually getting it done, but I have confidence that when the entire country starts crying and fighting together as one for stabilizing power supply in Nigeria, the Fed Govt will sooner or later get the message and do what is right for this nation.
But jubilating that Tinapa water park looks lovely will not solve any problem, but makes us look even dumber

While your summary of the problem is apt I think it will be beneficial to also highlight how our inability to manufacture serviceable parts when needed for any of the model of our choosing means of power subsistence. This can hamper our desire. My observation has been that we will need to copy or modify/develop what works for us as a country instead of staying with a technology whose manufacturers have moved on. I don't have the figures but a good percentage of the transformers in the country are colonial and need replacing. We failed to learn how to make the colonial ones <still not knowing makes us dependent, room for learning> and the makers have since moved on! So we are left with ailing structures with no necessary technology to fix them when broken. SO AS A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY whatever mode we choose we must not fail to modify to suit us when the makers have long gone. The chinese are doing it, so too the small asian countries.

There's a program in Indonesia that ensures that every household has at least a light bulb lit at night. It is powered by solar mechanism, it is cheap, effective and sustainable at that small scale level and can be transfered down here as well. A private initiative can make it happen as it doesn't require transmission lines and power is generated by the user directly from sunlight.

As for unbundling NEPA/PHCN, the telecoms sector has shown us it will work perfectly and can be done. Each state or zone can look FODI and fashion what works for them based on there chosen model and comparative cost advantage.

Another problem will be getting the docile citizenry to demand for their craving, how we'll achieve this I frankly don't know.

Nevertheless, I'll be glad to learn from chaps who've got the statistics to back up any plan being made. I go even work for free to see any workable plan come to fruition.

By the way, Tinapa, maybe a mispriority but would be an added bonus if we get the power running like you said. Maybe the roads too, let's work together not break apart.

Okay Zomby, the Federal govt. apparently have failed us, what in your plan would be a fashionable way to get us to stabilising power supply? I mean give us something concrete instead of harping on the failure of the current leadership. At least that way we can follow your blueprint and fix our problems according to our priorities like you said. Oya over to you.

That's the spirit Beknown. Bravo!