₦airaland Forum

The trendiest aftermath phrase after every failed adventure in Africa’s most populous nation is ‘getting back to the drawing board’. From Nigeria’s national soccer team- the super eagles, to the recently failed and ambitious space project- NIGCOMSAT1, everyone’s got a T-square plotting straight and crooked tangents on an already overcrowded national drawing board, perhaps the most crammed up board in existence. But who’s fooling who? The country’s national development rolling plans have been abandoned for nearly 3 decades but even then where at best subterfuges-white elephant projects moving in an unending cycle of pretentious motion. My concern today isn’t with the amorphous board of carpenters acting as ministers or hairdresser s and cosmetologists teaching us about the dynamics of the crude oil market or democratic governance. It is unfortunately about an ailing schizophrenic Nigerian leader who is lost in touch with the Nigerian reality. True he may not possess the charm, guile and evil mien of military despots like Babaginda and Abacha, but even the crudest of the ilk; Olusegun Obasanjo at his worst –like when he feigned ignorance that a bottle of cooking oil was more expensive than a litre of fuel or when he publicly whipped a security operative for assaulting an overzealous political enthusiast -would win a popularity contest by a landslide when pitched against Umaru. Nigeria’s Leader President Yar ‘Adua more than a year in office still can’t find his voice in the conscience of Nigerians. Sometimes I think he is surprised at the sound of his voice, flabbergasted at the insincerity of his dreams. His press parleys if they ever happened are best described as stifling and lack-lustre. This pervasive immobility runs thick through the President’s cabinet; twenty ministers dropped meant twenty new-fangled ministers to thinker Yar’ Adua’s vision 2020 but the list of ministerial nominees after it took more than an eternity to materialize left sawdust in the mouths of not a few political watchers. What does Rilwan Lukman for example have to offer after more than 40 years in Government?

Last weekend another nauseating event played out, I watched in stupefaction the NIPSS graduation. The story however was the missing former Anti-corruption tsar, Nuhu Ribadu from the ceremony, though he had met the requirements necessary for his graduation, the Institute preferred to play the hard ball. No certificates and no explanations; and like has become the norm, mum is the word. This stultifying aloofness is redolent of the Abacha years of ‘NO COMMENT’ –for the President has suddenly found it economical to keep silent on all issues. The truth lies in this; this president doesn’t score. His pallid look and bogus babariga wearing knights have failed to inspire confidence in a very impatient electorate. Before the bubble burst on high crude oil prices-Nigeria’s external foreign reserves is near $70 billion-there was never a trickledown effect on its impoverished populace-inadequate infrastructure and social services, unemployment are still rife. The Government isn’t talking because it is caught in a vicious cycle of inactivity; this government is slumbering and is snoring shamefully loud. Ribadu was a good man, during an interview last year he’d told me that there were bad people threatening to scupper all he’d done. Brutus considered Caesar’s goodwill ambitious and Dante remarked the road to hell is laden with good intentions consequently Ribadu was exiled to Kuru, but then this woolly Government performed a ‘Usain Bolt’ rebuttal denying any vindictiveness in Ribadu’s removal. Its silence so far is a pointer to the mendacious diabolical political system that has and continues to hoodwink this nation’s quest toward greatness, http://connectafrica./2008/11/25/an-aloof-king-and-his-misfit-knights/

okay okay we now know that are no fishes in space and who the real blockheads are. from the stars to the mud we have finally been told the truth that NIGCOMSAT1 is beyond repairs. kaput, finished, end of movie. All subscribers are being relocated. this is a DISGRACE!!!!. now i hear that Nigerians may have to secure a loan to rehabilitate this satellite. only in Nigeria can such a shambolic charade happen and the Government is going on as business usual. we will not accede to any loan that would eventually yoke us and our children. No way and may God punish Obasanjo and the Chinese!!!!

i beg there was no wrestling match. ive watched the clip several times and i do not consider 3 un-aimed taps at a security aide as anything sensational.its simply making a mountain of an ant-hill.watch the clip again dude.

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the United Nations special envoy for eastern Congo, met Congolese President Joseph Kabila late on Friday and will fly east for talks with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
Obasanjo is trying to avert a broader regional war breaking out after battles between Nkunda’s Tutsi guerrillas and the Congolese army forced some 250,000 people from their homes in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, http://connectafrica./2008/11/15/obasanjo-meets-kabila-over-drc-crisis/

did a doubl take when i saw this story on page 8 of saturday sun; nov.15,2008. why iwu is man-of-the year-NANS. the greatest of the greatest gbogos and gbabas and Nigerian students dared to say that Iwu was chosen because of his exemplary leadership of the electoral body at a significant time of Nigeria's history. Hear Martin Igwe, the national secretary say some more; it was the platform under which the roots of our current political dispensation are blossoming. it is because INEC stood firm, inspite of many political vicissitudes that we have celebrated one year of success in the transition from civilian-to-civilian government. Its sickening that this highly EVER-CONSCIOUS body- NAN of the past has been reduced to this mockery

his real name is mike obama okiro, just wondered if this obama could mirror the american barack and cause a change in the nigerian police force. surprisingly Nigeria's IGP has been mute about his namesake's victory, http://connectafrica.

that's a hoax doesnt sound like an original quatrain.and many of nostradamous predictions like john's revelation in patmos have been taken out of context. do u know that most of the predictions made in the man who saw 2morrow were doctored. and d narrator of the movie asked that his voice be expunged from the work after reviewing the final work.

who cares

well, mama africa transcended culture she was first a politician, freedom fighter and her political stance won her more recognition than her unforgettable tunes, for your information she spent thirty years in exile for preaching the gospel against apartheid ,that why this thread is situated here. so spare me, she deserves more. alutua continua avictoria acerta, besides did you hear Mandiba's elegy.

The music world, Africa and most especially South Africa has lost another legend Miriam Makeba who made African music universal.Makeba died after a concert in Italy from a heart related illness, she was 76 years. Almost a year ago the legendary Lucky Dube was gunned down in Johannesburg. And many all over the world cried ‘what a great loss for Africa and the world of music’ especially now that the whole world is coming to Africa for the world’s biggest soccer event- the ‘world cup’ in South Africa, http://connectafrica./2008/11/10/mirian-makeba-dies-at-76/

Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has reiterated a threat to overthrow the Democratic Republic of Congo government unless it hold talks.

The renegade general also told the BBC that his forces were still observing a ceasefire and had only retaliated when attacked last week, http://connectafrica./2008/11/10/laurent-nkunda-threatens-to-topple-drc-leader/

Exactly thirteen years gone by and the spirit of environmental rights activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa’s spirit has not been appeased but then i’m sure like the pessimistic mantra of Dandy in his popular work ‘bassey and company’, he’d chorus ‘ I should have known that’.

For a start, the splat between oil major, Shell and the Ogonis-ken’s kinsmen- is far from over. A bogus committee set-up by erstwhile Nigerian leader, Olusegun Obasanjo received a rude shock when the committee’s arbritrator, Rev. Mathew kuka was heckled by a large crowd during a clandestine make-up party between both parties, this contrary to ‘Madam’ another character in ‘bassey and company’ was not a matter of cash, http://connectafrica./2008/11/10/letter-to-ken-saro-wiwa/

i am very distraught and this the reason why, https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-188849.0.html, worse still is when the creator of a forum as absorbing as nairaland embarks on harakiri, leaves me wondering his objectives for starting the forum in the first place

i beg ur pardon when did disemination of information become your responsibility to censor, whether anything could be done about isn't your kettle of fish. citizen journalists are agenda setters not necessarily agents of change. nairaland is a community that discusses issues open-mindedly. whether it directly affects decisions taken in government is an open-ended discussion. so your advice dear sir will not be obliged, the issues affecting the african continent are real, important and most be discussed

i thought he was kenyan not 'niger or naija'

i had to do a double take this morning after i read a story on the daily sun, october 28th, jerry useni justifying the hanging of ogoni environmental rights activist, Ken saro wiwa and 9 others, simply unbelievable that this beer belly jostling pepper soup langtang general could offer such a nauseating statement, simply mind boggling, but then i guess its simply Nigerian , http://connectafrica./

see what happens where religious extremism is carried out to the till, http://connectafrica./2008/10/28/somali-woman-stoned-to-death/

this is indeed sad and very distasteful.the militants, including MEND, corrupt ex-niger delta governors and several clandestine military officers are in this potpouri of mess called the niger delta, each party also culpable, directly and indirectly for the several acts of lawlessness witnessed daily. Rape isn't any different from abducting toddlers or the aged. all in all this vicious cycle has gone one full circle. Niger Delta has now become 'the tyranopolis'. these militants i must reiterate do not truly represent the interests of the Niger Delta, yes they speak of the gross neglect of the region but are not the heroes or liberators of the people. ken saro wiwa and isaac adaka boro never wore masks. they were widely acclaimed wherever they went. Nairalanders, MEND and the remainder of the factions are insurgents and terrorists and should regarded as such, http://connectafrica.

A US-based Nigerian news blogger is being held without charge by Nigeria’s secret service. Jonathan Elendu was taken into custody on Saturday when he arrived in the capital, Abuja, on a family visit.

The State Security Service (SSS) has refused to allow his lawyers access to him and denied him a medical visit. Elendureports.com is one of a number of diaspora-run “citizen reporting” websites about Nigeria and is known for publishing controversial stories, http://connectafrica./2008/10/23/us-based-nigerian-blogger-arrested/

Just as the adage goes when two elephants fight the grass suffers. Such is the case of the conflict in the DRC where women and children have become helpless victims; young girls are being raped while 7 year olds string AK-47’s to fight in battles they know next to nothing about.
The main culprit in this more than 2-decades meaningless war is renegade General Laurent Nkunda whose rag-tag army is accused of recruiting several children across central Africa in its raids on several DRC towns. Engaging child soldiers isn’t a new phenomenon; wars in Liberia, Sierra-Leone and Rwanda were predecessors to this ugly trend, http://connectafrica./2008/10/23/african-child-soldiers-on-the-increase/

Police commander of Kahama district Shaibu Mohammed said the attackers broke down the door to her home and dragged her outside and cut her throat.They chopped off her lower legs and some hair which they made off with.About 30 albinos have been killed in Tanzania this year, their parts wanted by witchdoctors for "get rich" potions. this incident happened on sunday night hours after president jakaya kikwete had promised to clamp down on these mendacious ritualists, http://connectafrica./2008/10/21/albino-girl-murdered-in-tanzania/

Have you attended a wedding ceremony recently? Did you take a second to observe the celebrants? Did you notice the gaily dressed up bride grin from ear to ear and dance spiritedly from pillar to post. But I am asking if you really watched the groom. How he sauntered absent minded to the altar, his voice almost cracking up as he recited his vows; for better for worse. Even the jokes of a brilliant stand-up comic failed to win his smile. A frozen smirk-smile played on his lips as he danced blandly in stark contrast to his female companion to the beats of a hired drummer. His grave look is borne more from the huge debts incurred in organizing the wedding ceremony than anything else. Though this is exaggerated to an extent the picture isn’t much different for several Nigerian bachelors-turned husbands. The prospects appear bleak as he grudgingly carries his bride to a honey-moon with sour beginnings, http://connectafrica./2008/10/21/where-the-worlds-most-expensive-weddings-happen/

SO IF THE GOVERNMENT WOULDNT FIGHT FOR YOU, WHY NOT TRY FIGHTING FOR YOURSELF, http://connectafrica./2008/10/19/tanzanian-albinos-stage-protest-over-ritual-deaths/

stop talking nonsense, im tired of atiku's lame political talk, as far as im concerned atiku a lot to answer on the ptdf saga, whether he is in PDP or AC its the same potpourri of sewer, he is not the stuff nairalanders or nigerians need, http://connectafrica.

When Samuel peters, the first African heavy champion sat bum- stuck in the corner after the bell rang for the commencement of the 9th round, it was obvious that this was a defeated man, German spectators after the fight had called him a weak champion as he received foray after foray of hooks, uppercuts and jabs from the born again Vitalis Klischiko. This bruised, battered and harassed man bore no resemblance to the braggadocios fellow who’d mouthed he’d send the vacationing Ukranian giant back to retirement, http://connectafrica./2008/10/15/still-on-peters-klitshiko-fight/

well tpia looks like uve got a personal score to settle, im a pacifist

richyblack resides in the world's most roguish city, howz mogadishu bru,

STUPID NIGERIAN NEVER HEARD THAT BEFORE, MORE OF FAST PACED AND HUCKSTER NIGERIANS AT WORST. SLOPPY, SLACK AND STUPID SOUTH AFRICAN SOUNDS MORE SUCCINCT , http://connectafrica.

its day 2 of unprovoked attacks on AU forces by islamist militants, so tell me what defines somalia as a country, i think its time africa began the call for a somali shut down, http://connectafrica./2008/10/13/somali-insurgents-attack-au-troops/

yes the disease may have emanated from Africa but still doesnt make mpeles claim true that most diseases take their roots outside South Africa. the ill fortune facing mpele's south Africa have more to do with socio economic illneses, like rape and crime. this my bru and angel heart are more devastating than any congo illnesses or west african virus, http://connectafrica.

bastardio, hes playing the prostitute true to type, http://connectafrica.