@camnewton4pre. I didn't know you are allowed to call someone a fool on this forum. Well, I am not sure I belong here. Peace.

If apartheid returns to SA would you support your government to boycott the next olympic games in protest?

The government of Babangida established the peoples Bank in 1989 and Tai Solarin became the first chairman. The bank was created to disburse soft loans and other forms of credit to the very poor to start their own businesses. The people had high hopes, not because the government has any integrity, but because Tai Solarin was a man of the people and considered a man of integrity by many regardless of tribal or religious affiliations. However, the Peoples Bank was a failed project. I think because it was rife with corruption, favoritism and unaccountability.

The question was why would a man like Tai Solarin preside over a failed project like the Peoples Bank. Or rather, "why would a man like Tai Solarin succeed as the chairman of peoples bank in a corrupt government of Babangida. And by extrapolation, why should we expect Buhari to succeed in a corrupt country like Nigeria. Wouldn't he have to work with senators like Kashamu and many others that are much worst than Kashamu. The corruption in Nigeria is endemic and its in all facet of the society: entertainment (nollywood), academic, labour and its unions, military, police, judiciary, journalism, private and public sectors, including religious entities and it didn't just start with Jonathan. Although, Jona took it to a new high and unimaginable level.

The genius of Buhari would be for him to find a way to restore pride to hard work and integrity and restore shame to stealing. After all, "there is no honour among thieves". There are many Dora Akinyuli still living in Nigeria. He should find them and appoint them into public offices. While it may be difficult to believe, there are still good and honest people in Nigeria and people know them. He shouldn't rely on criminals and people also know them.

Unjustified slavery was abolished in 1865 in USA. Justified Slavery (JS) started immediately. JS is government wittingly or unwittingly create a set of conditions (legally and hence justified) that deprives simple minded people of their right to aspire for and live a full blooded life. Example: Every legal resident of US has a right to free k-12 education and if you are a low / middle class (95% of blacks) to free college (fafsa, state grants etc). A black girl or boy can become an attorney, doctor or engineer free of charge and therefore make good money to live a full blooded life, and may be, to extricate his/her family from the trap of poverty. Most black US citizens get money from colleges every semester after all fees and dues are paid. You can goggle US Census Bureau for full statistics on graduation rates of blacks. To summarize it in one sentence, less than 5% of black kids goes from k-1 to complete college. WHY Answer: JS.

The circumstances in South Africa (SA) may appeared different, but are the same. The subtle reason for apartheid was that black people in SA are not civil (pre 1948) and if left uncontrolled can be violent and dangerous, even unto themselves, like an insane person. Unfortunately, the world saw the fallacy in this school of thought (or so it seems) and apartheid ended in 1994.

When apartheid ended in 1994, blacks got political power but not economic power. Why? Economic power in earned in most cases, rarely given (unless you win a lottery or you are a heir to an inheritance). You also need some skill sets to sustain economic power, whether earned or given. Some of these skill sets are genetics ( Ijebus at managing money and Igbos managing business) and others are environmental (schools, apprenticeship etc) or a combination of both. While pre 1948 information on black SA is scanty or muddled, events from 1948 to 1994 are well documented and you do not have to be a rocket scientist (or a Nigerian prophet, lol) to understand why an average black SA would have better skill sets for conflict resolution than business management. Post 1994 political power has not helped black SA, because the leadership either did not understand their problem or are more interested in reaping the short term benefits of political power for themselves.

The consequence, black SA are poor, marginalized and angry. The danger is that their violent reactions (xenophobia, afrophobia, or nigeriaphobia) may embolden the proponents of pre 1948 school of thought and they may be able to find a way to institutionalize justified apartheid (JA). After all, these people still have the economic power, and it is said that "He who plays the piper dictate the tune" Or did justified apartheid began immediately? Hit the library and check it out for your yourself.

IF GMB (Buhari) would have the courage and guts to prosecute those who stole Nigerian money.Then their life would change fast from that of a thief with millions of dollars to being confined in prison cell. Within months of such verdict their political associates will realize that there will be no future trying to hang on to any of these thieves and they will be down the road trying to find an alternative. Family will stop taking food to these thieves and later won't travel to visit them in prison. In the end these thieves will be alone, only having the memory of their action while in office. Of course, only if GMB will have the courage to prosecute them. If he doesn't or maybe if he himself becomes a thief, then honor will also depart from his name, because "there is no honor amongst thieves"
Hopefully, Buhari will restore shame to stealing and remove the pride Babangida placed on it. I would rather be a slave than be a thief.

@Drabeey. Based on my experience here, I will suggest you find a way to ask your sister the following questions without being offensive:
1. Is this a human trafficking scheme (because every state is cracking down on perpetrators). A few weeks ago many human trafficking rings were busted in a nearby county. Result: deportation or jail before deportation. Some people have argued that American jail is better. I don't think so.
2. What kind of paper will you get after 6 months? Unless your sister knows what many people don"t know, there is no permit / paper that can be ready in 6 months. Unless you win green card. Not even if you marry a citizen. If it's that easy, there wouldn't be any nubile illegal here.
3. What happens during and after the 6 months? Be sure you have a clear picture. It can be very lonely and frustrating here. You will be at the mercy of your sister and any of her associates (glorified slavery). Nigerians, like many other clueless immigrants, are involved in lots of shits here.
Don"t get me wrong, I believe in miracle too. But I suggest you do your home work. Heaven helps those who help themselves and people can make wrong turns for lack of knowledge. Sometimes, a bird in hand can be worth more than a million in the bush.
May life be kind to you.

This is funny. However, I am trying to see if I can learn one or two lessons from the 10 - 15 minutes encounter between these two well accomplished Nigerians.
First, while the entire episode may have lasted for 10 -15 minutes, depending on how you watch it, the defining moment lasted less than one minute. Suggesting that, it is not how long you have the platform but how well you used it.
Second and perhaps more important, your demeanor and choice of words matters in public presentation. Most people think, it's a measure of your mental, physical (sometimes) and emotional stability. People see you as being coooool. Some people hire publicist for this purpose.

Nigeriaaaaa. Uhnnnn, Niger for show. The land of the chop I chop species of homosapiens. Land of the smart people who will exchange a loaf of bread or bag of rice for 4 years of misery. I am praying that people will not allow history repeat itself. BTW, it is alleged that some people got dollars this time around, including some Yoruba Obas. LOL. May be the $100 dollars will last longer than a bag of rice. LOL

I think it's still fun. Eleven years ago (2004), $1 was 135 naira, Obasanjo was president and Africa never hosted the world cup. Who knows what would have changed in Nigeria 11 years from today (i. e. Feb 21, 2026). Thanks reganvida for the initial post. It was fun.

My bad. I mean Rebarobyn.

Great observations, Ribarobyn and Blake. Unfortunately, that is also one of the reasons why some countries are developed and others are underdeveloped (I mean developing, lol). We got to appreciate little things, to engender bigger things. Its even in the religious books.

Carl von Clausewitz, a German theorist, opined that three elements are needed to fight a war successfully.

First, Good army: It is questionable whether Nigeria Army is good. No equipment, no apposite training and largely underpaid.

Second, Will of the people to support the war: Many theories exist about the people responsible for the attacks and their sponsors.What you hear depends on the tribal affiliation of the person you ask. Objectivity on national issues is a rare trait. Even the well educated are confused and make you wondered if it is true that "the educated people are the eye of the society"

Third, Solid government: Corruption (my bad. Mere stealing) has weakened the leaders. Shop-I-shop has been the order of the day for so long that most leaders have skeleton in their cupboard. Which in turn has made check and balances impossible. No rule of law. Justice is only for the rich and well connected. Nigerian society is like the "Animal Farm".

My hope is that Nigerians will have the balls to elect patriotic and selfless leaders like Thomas Sankara, Mandela or Tunde Idiagbon. Leaders who are able to differentiate between individualism and nationalism. I got to go.

Many thanks for the useful information.

Please advise. I am looking for a reliable insurance for a 2014 Toyota Sienna. I would like a policy that would offer full replacement value. I am grateful for info from people who are in auto insurance business in Lagos state or who have experience. Many thanks.

Nigerians need to know there is difference between national politics and international politics. In national politics your skill is measured by how "maradonal" you are. That allows you to benefit from your friends and not loose too much from your enemies. However, in international politics, you have to be as constant as the "northern star". Thus, you loose absolutely from your enemies and gain absolutely from your friends. Middle ground is a loose loose. I would have given some examples but for lack of time. Moreover, "a word is enough for the wise".

Thomas Sankara was a great African leader. His personality is a "rare find" among leaders. The only Nigerian that may be close to him in term of patriotism (not as a man of the people) is Tunde Idiagbon. Sankara was patriotic and a man of the people. Tunde Idiagbon was patriotic, disciplined, and fearless. I hope, I am not unfair to Buhari, because it takes a great and confident leader to allow his assistant have the kind of influence Idiagbon had during their regime.
I can't help but imagine what Nigeria will look like if Babangida's coup had failed. I think Nigeria would probably be like Malaysia today.

@Chaleee
I am tempted to try to answer your questions, but I wouldn't. What would I gain from doing that? Nothing. The answers would not contribute to knowledge. However, let us wait and see how this vote would benefit Nigeria in the next 4 years.

A word of wisdom: I was on the phone with a Nigerian aunty when she screamed " praise the lord, praise the lord!!! about 10 times. When I asked her what happened, she said "Its a Miracle. What miracle? The miracle was that the electric power company just brought light. The first time in 3 days, she said enthusiastically. She couldn't understand why I was not praising the lord with her even when she told me about the miracle. I quickly realized her point of view and I said " Oh my bad. Congratulation aunty, it is truly a miracle".

Here is the issue, in 12 years I have never experienced power failure where I live. So to me, it is not easy to see how power restoration is a miracle, nor good roads, nor adequate security, nor getting my paycheck at the end of the month. So, even though we were both Christians our definition of a miracle differs.

The bottom line in life (I think) is "our environment influences our world view and shapes our attitude to, perception and knowledge of things. All these constitutes our experience. That is probably why a computer based company would rather hire somebody with 5 years computer related experience over somebody with 30 years experience in Law.

Nigeria stopped the course of the Palestinians. Not because it voted No (becos it didn't), nor becos it abstained (other countries also did) but because it promised to vote yes, when it knows it would abstain. One rule of international diplomacy is that you do not put a resolution into a vote, unless you are sure it would pass the vote.

When there is a doubt, you negotiate your position until you reach a common ground where you are sure you have enough vote to pass. Sometimes that require you to reduce or modify your demands / position. The Palestinians may have withdrawn or modify the resolution if Nigeria did not promise the Palestinians a yes vote. It is even possible that some other countries could have abstained if they know the resolution would not pass. After all, why have enemy for a failed course.

Nigeria stopped the progress of the Palestinians because they promised to vote yes. US and Australia did not, neither did UK or South Korea, but Nigeria did. Nigeria deceived the Palestinians. Not the US or other countries that voted No or abstained.

Today Nigeria is not only against Palestinians, but untrusted by US, Isreal, Australia, South Korea and the rest of the world.

I understand there are many self acclaimed experts of international politics in Nigeria. Many may even claim to be privy to the discussion at the UN or understand the Arabs - Israel politics better the the Arabs and Palestinians. And being a Nigerian for the first 37 years of my life, I expect 90% to make this about PDP vs APC or about tribe or religion. This is a question of integrity. Not even politics or knowledge. Chad said yes and voted yes, US said no and voted no, UK said it is neutral and abstained. Nigeria said yes and did not vote yes.

Nigeria stopped the course of the Palestinians. Not because it voted No (becos it didn't), nor becos it abstained (other countries also did) but because it promised to vote yes, when it knows it would abstain. One rule of international diplomacy is that you do not put a resolution into a vote, unless you are sure it would pass the vote.

When there is a doubt, you negotiate your position until you reach a common ground where you are sure you have enough vote to pass. Sometimes that require you to reduce or modify your demands / position.

Nigeria stopped the progress of the Palestinians because they promised to vote yes. US and Australia did not, neither did UK or South Korea, but Nigeria did. Nigeria deceived the Palestinians. Not the US or other countries that voted No or abstained.

Today Nigeria is not only against Palestinians, but untrusted by US, Australia, South Korea and the rest of the world.

Thank You, oga Aventures. I am thinking of contacting him for an estimate.

Oga Aventures (Engr. Niyi), can you please give the phone number of the person who did you aluminium window.

Thanks Harakiri for your question. Yes for US, I am not sure for UK & Canada. But first, you have to be sure you will have appropriate visa to either visit regularly or a Green Card. Unless you can afford to have a mansion for vacation home. One other issue to consider is that every year you pay property taxes on your home/mansion in most states. If you owe 2 years (in my state), the city can foreclose on your house (take the house). The process may vary in other states. This idea just like every other idea may benefit everybody, but that are people that are sure bet:
1. You just won a green card or multiple visa that can become permanent, you don't want to rent in the US and you own a home in Nigeria.
2. Nigerians that are US permanent resident or citizen and vice versa
I appreciate your question.

Thanks OJ2010. You are right sometimes two in US may go for one in Nigeria and vice versa. It depends on the location. I live in the sub-urb (village) where houses are generally assessed higher than the city (except downtown). My worry is about the feasibility vis a vis the legal issues in Nigeria. It would probably work better for Nigerians that are also US residents or new immigrants to US. I appreciate your thoughts.

I am a real estate broker in the US and I just thought of an idea. Hopefully it's not stupid. If you have two houses in Nigeria and you need a house in the US. Can you swarp? This is done already in the US. For proof check real estate section of the craigslist. We have good laws in US that protects all parties and there is no problem with extended family. I left Nigeria about 10 years ago, and don't know the real estate laws in Nigeria (hopefully there is). I gues my question to property / real estate experts in Nigeria is: Is it possible to swarp houses. Let me know your thoughts.

Hello,
I am new to this site and I have a quick question, how much is a plot of land in Akobo area Ibadan. Thanks for your time.