Before you start itching to rush and comment, read to the end. First, watch this video.

This official PS3 advert is the one that instigated writing about Nigeria and scams again (as I have touched on this topic previously.) I actually found the video hilarious and posted it on my Facebook.  I was actually surprised at the anger expressed form both my FB link post and the YouTube comments. People were angry that SONY/PS3 called Nigerians scammers. I listened to the video again and the man (in a poorly constructed sentence) clearly said

“Bernie, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet otherwise; I’d be a Nigerian millionaire by now”. This statement neither says nor implies anything about Nigerians being scammers. All it says is that there is false information online, which would make him a Nigerian millionaire. He could have got the false information from anywhere. But amazingly, we all “knew” he “meant” Nigerians are scammers.

If you are not convinced with my analysis, fill in the gap with any other country and sees if it “means” the country’s people are fraudsters. “….you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, otherwise I’d be a________ millionaire by now” (e.g., if you put Brazilian there, your mind will go to Football and you will be wondering “how?”)

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink: The Power of thinking without thinking. Here, he explaines how our mind worked when we quickly made  the assumption that the man called us scammers, it is called thin slicing. You should buy Blink, and read it.

The question now is, how did we get to the point where it is so easy to fill in the blank and we become scammers? I belie why we were able to come to the assumption so quickly is that it has become a “known fact” that we are a nation of scammers. In my previous post about cleaning Nigeria’s image, I explained that my one of the Tutors (An IBM Security consultant) was explaining about security risks online and ranked “Nigerian Scam” number 2; higher than viruses. Please note, not “Scams”, but “Nigerian Scams” (I do not remember if I rose to Nigeria’s defense as I had got it from over five tutors in about two weeks of lectures). Almighty Google has also referred to “our scams” in an official blog post on April fool’s day, not to talk of the insults on eBay. I have been trying to get my Internet banking for my NatWest working for almost five months after I forgot my PIN. I kept wondering why there was always a hitch. I got the answer when the person always attending to me said one day, “Oh, you are Nigerian? That must me why…” It is simple, the pin was never sent on purpose.

I believe we are as guilty as the foreigners in branding ourselves so negatively. Do I talk tinge of pride we feel when we hear of a Nigerian being on a most wanted list or suspected of duping people of millions of dollars (“o boy, Naija no dey carry last”), or the respect we have for convoys of the criminals in our midst, or the joy we feel when yahoozee / Maga go pay/ I go Chop your dollar plays on air. Almost every Nigerian movie has we have allowed it to become a norm and this is destroying us gradually. We found it hilarious when kokolette Rita said “we do demons”, and “he heff c c his hunder yahoo” and called her names for “falling our hand”. You see, the branding of a nation is the responsibility of its nationals as media company can spoil our image solely if we do not give them a helping hand. We have to start removing the negative image that has been brought upon us.  I know Nigerians are not the only ones that perpetuate fraud online and we obviously succeed with the connivance of the foreigners. But you see, we were the ones that were used in the PS3 ad, Google’s April fool and a documentary.

  • We have to abhor fraud in any way shape or form, it is damaging us. I personally will stigmatize any yahoo boy that comes my way; I will NOT dance to any song that glorifies fraud (I really liked yahoozee). I will NOT ‘hail’ my guy that ‘hammers’. Enough is enough!
  • We have to stop churning out movies that always depict fraud and jazz. We have to show the other side of Nigeria (ns). For every gangster American movie Hollywood gives us, there are three movies depicting the strength of their marines, sports, and country. They ensure that Bernie Madoff does 150 years in jail for fraud while we ensure that our big crooks go scot free (“Is he the only one that stole? This is a Northern/Southern agenda”).
  • We also have to tell the world at every opportunity about the Soyinka’s, Achebes, Adichies, Okonjo-Iweala’s, Ribadu’s, e.t.c that we have. We have our people representing worldwide. (My next project will work on showing our good side on a grand scale). We do not need government money to “rebrand Nigeria”. We are good people and we will show it. It all starts with the owner of the brand which is YOU.

To those that are shouting boycott PS3 should remember to add Google too. Of course I know we do not have the will power to do that. What happened to our British Airways and #LightUpNigeria campaigns? We just don’t have the stamina to fight for ourselves.

So let us do our best and clean up the mess in everyone’s subconscious (whether we like it or yes, it is in the mind. The only difference is that some people speak up) so when we hear “…..you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet otherwise; I’d be a Nigerian millionaire by now”, it will not ‘mean’ Nigerians are scammers.

God Bless Nigeria

Oo Nwoye, KCOB.

I’d like your comments and suggestions pls.

Update: I heard that the Nigerian government has demanded am apology from SONY. They have now changed the ad. Problem solved right?

76 thoughts on “How all Nigerians Became Scammers.

  1. Em I agree with most of what you said but for the Okowonjo Iweala and Ribadu part. They are not in the league of legends sorry.

  2. Em I agree with most of what you said but for the Okowonjo Iweala and Ribadu part. They are not in the league of legends sorry.

  3. I wasn't actually mad at this ad. I think it was an ad done up by a rather lazy ad strategist, looking for cheap publicity and laughs.

    Having dealt with so called intellectuals at the workplace with the 'highest educational credentials' by Western standards, and gotten into many a tiff about who/what a Nigerian 'is'; the ad further reinforced the image that's seemingly implanted in the mind's of Americans (at least) of all walks of life.

    I would like to believe that essentially every none Nigerian who's come across me has a different and hopefully lasting image about the country and it's people – simply done by being myself. I don't believe in 're-branding' either by the government, or by setting out to convince people otherwise.

    I once volunteered my serves to an anti-fraud committee at work to help fight '419 scams' with the FBI, and I am of the firm belief that person X who ran that committee has nothing but the highest regards for Nigerians after spending time with me and having meaningful conversation – simply by being myself and without an agenda per se to 're-brand'.

    Good stuff.
    ManU

  4. I wasn't actually mad at this ad. I think it was an ad done up by a rather lazy ad strategist, looking for cheap publicity and laughs.

    Having dealt with so called intellectuals at the workplace with the 'highest educational credentials' by Western standards, and gotten into many a tiff about who/what a Nigerian 'is'; the ad further reinforced the image that's seemingly implanted in the mind's of Americans (at least) of all walks of life.

    I would like to believe that essentially every none Nigerian who's come across me has a different and hopefully lasting image about the country and it's people – simply done by being myself. I don't believe in 're-branding' either by the government, or by setting out to convince people otherwise.

    I once volunteered my serves to an anti-fraud committee at work to help fight '419 scams' with the FBI, and I am of the firm belief that person X who ran that committee has nothing but the highest regards for Nigerians after spending time with me and having meaningful conversation – simply by being myself and without an agenda per se to 're-brand'.

    Good stuff.
    ManU

  5. It's really quite simple: it's a big world, and people's attention spans are small. Most people out there would take a long time to find Nigeria on a labelled map, and if they have heard about it it at all, it's because of scam emails and perhaps oil. They simply have never heard the name of the country in any other context (or so rarely that it gets drowned out).

    If you want to change this, it doesn't actually matter whether you stop glorifying the scammers (though it might be good for other reasons) – the percentage of non-Nigerians who've ever seen a movie or heard a song from Nigeria is negligible.

    Indeed, all you have to do is to provide alternative, positive publicity. But this is very hard to do, since you'll be competing with the scammers' mass email output. Still, in the internet age, anything original can spread quickly and widely.

  6. In nowhere does it say or imply that ALL nigerians are scammers, but that there is some that are scammer. I never thought, and regardless of what you say, will never think that all of nigeria is in on the nigerian scam, just only the prince of Nigeria.

  7. My man, good post. I actually had a little commentary for this as well but it definitely wasn't as in-depth as yours because I find it hilarious that Nigerians are offended by this. Were we offended by “I go chop your dollar”?

  8. It's really quite simple: it's a big world, and people's attention spans are small. Most people out there would take a long time to find Nigeria on a labelled map, and if they have heard about it it at all, it's because of scam emails and perhaps oil. They simply have never heard the name of the country in any other context (or so rarely that it gets drowned out).

    If you want to change this, it doesn't actually matter whether you stop glorifying the scammers (though it might be good for other reasons) – the percentage of non-Nigerians who've ever seen a movie or heard a song from Nigeria is negligible.

    Indeed, all you have to do is to provide alternative, positive publicity. But this is very hard to do, since you'll be competing with the scammers' mass email output. Still, in the internet age, anything original can spread quickly and widely.

  9. In nowhere does it say or imply that ALL nigerians are scammers, but that there is some that are scammer. I never thought, and regardless of what you say, will never think that all of nigeria is in on the nigerian scam, just only the prince of Nigeria.

  10. My man, good post. I actually had a little commentary for this as well but it definitely wasn't as in-depth as yours because I find it hilarious that Nigerians are offended by this. Were we offended by “I go chop your dollar”?

  11. I wonder how many of these things we'll go around demanding apologies for. There's another one in District 9 about a Nigerian Catfood scam. WE need to do some serious work on ourselves as Nigerians. Like you said we are the ones who have created in our minds, and probably in the mind of any right thinking person alive today, the association between internet disbelief nigerian millionaire, and scams. Can we really say thats not what is in just about everyones the mindspace now. Whose fault is it that we glorify songs like Olu Maintain's Yahooze, Nkem Owoh's I go chop you dollar, Maga don pay etc etc etc. We can fool ourselves by demanding apologies from whoever expresses what is currently everyday reality. We need to create and propagate new realities. There are other things people believe about Nigerians, Africans, Calabar girls with Kindness, Respect, X Performance etc. We should be thinking of positive images which we can use to outpropagate the negative viruses out there. There's an adage which says “use your tongue to count your teeth”, I guess then you'll know how many teeth you're missing and won't go around demanding apologies from anyones who points out that you are missing some.

  12. I wonder how many of these things we'll go around demanding apologies for. There's another one in District 9 about a Nigerian Catfood scam. WE need to do some serious work on ourselves as Nigerians. Like you said we are the ones who have created in our minds, and probably in the mind of any right thinking person alive today, the association between internet disbelief nigerian millionaire, and scams. Can we really say thats not what is in just about everyones the mindspace now. Whose fault is it that we glorify songs like Olu Maintain's Yahooze, Nkem Owoh's I go chop you dollar, Maga don pay etc etc etc. We can fool ourselves by demanding apologies from whoever expresses what is currently everyday reality. We need to create and propagate new realities. There are other things people believe about Nigerians, Africans, Calabar girls with Kindness, Respect, X Performance etc. We should be thinking of positive images which we can use to outpropagate the negative viruses out there. There's an adage which says “use your tongue to count your teeth”, I guess then you'll know how many teeth you're missing and won't go around demanding apologies from anyones who points out that you are missing some.

  13. You tried but you made a serious mistake by adding useness ribadu name among the good people of nigerian, he is a criminal and a pretender, he was there and he pave way for this present dead presido we have now, ribadu is a fool and a criminal.

    1. Hi Frank, like I said before, one man’s hero is another man’s villain. I do not know the Nigerian you admire, but I am certain that there are those that despise them. Let us not loose momentum by fighting ourselves, it is a distraction. I like Ribadu, but I believe he made several mistakes. This does not change the fact that the political class have ruined our country. If we spend our time debating Ribadu’s rights and wrongs, we stand to loose. Let us focus and pull our nation from the brink of collapse.

  14. SH has stop my comments many times because it hit hard on their pay master RIBADU. When other insulted present president and other individuals they won’t remove their commets but when i said what EVIL RABUDI stand for they will delete my comments.

    We are watching how animal ribadu will rise with fake position to that stage he want to be, not here in Nigeria, never again

  15. I agree with Shehu and Frank Williams. RIBADU is not in the league of the names u mentioned. He is one of those that brought us here. I like your fill the blank approach. As the saying goes, who the cap fits let him wear it. A Mexican millionaire for instance? I see nothing wrong with people singing music or producing films that potray a country in negative light. Creative works are based on reality. Besides, artists will only produce what their patrons will buy not what Dora Akunyili likes. She can use NTA, Radio Nigeria, Rebranding, New Nigeria, etc to produce positive films/videos. But as we have seen, nobody wants to watch falsehood. They don’t watch NTA themselves. Besides the worst negative potrayal of Nigeria is by our “rulers”. They’re worse than 10000000000 District 9s. Thanks.

    1. @FRANKWILLIAMS: I can’t believe that SaharaReporters will block/delete threads for any reason. That will be tragic. Quite frankly, I find hard to believe but I have advised them several times to avoid undue attachment to Ribadu. Ribadu will destroy that brand if they continue. Mark my word. They should just remain neutral and open to all. Let we their patrons decide which side to follow. Anyway sorry about that and pls hold on to ur view.

  16. You tried but you made a serious mistake by adding useness ribadu name among the good people of nigerian, he is a criminal and a pretender, he was there and he pave way for this present dead presido we have now, ribadu is a fool and a criminal.

  17. SH has stop my comments many times because it hit hard on their pay master RIBADU. When other insulted present president and other individuals they won't remove their commets but when i said what EVIL RABUDI stand for they will delete my comments.

    We are watching how animal ribadu will rise with fake position to that stage he want to be, not here in Nigeria, never again

  18. I agree with Shehu and Frank Williams. RIBADU is not in the league of the names u mentioned. He is one of those that brought us here. I like your fill the blank approach. As the saying goes, who the cap fits let him wear it. A Mexican millionaire for instance? I see nothing wrong with people singing music or producing films that potray a country in negative light. Creative works are based on reality. Besides, artists will only produce what their patrons will buy not what Dora Akunyili likes. She can use NTA, Radio Nigeria, Rebranding, New Nigeria, etc to produce positive films/videos. But as we have seen, nobody wants to watch falsehood. They don't watch NTA themselves. Besides the worst negative potrayal of Nigeria is by our “rulers”. They're worse than 10000000000 District 9s. Thanks.

  19. @FRANKWILLIAMS: I can't believe that SaharaReporters will block/delete threads for any reason. That will be tragic. Quite frankly, I find hard to believe but I have advised them several times to avoid undue attachment to Ribadu. Ribadu will destroy that brand if they continue. Mark my word. They should just remain neutral and open to all. Let we their patrons decide which side to follow. Anyway sorry about that and pls hold on to ur view.

  20. Yes, SH deleted my posting several times because of ribadu, I really do not know who they think ribadu is. Ribadu is a liar and a fraud because he brought us to this stand-still because he did everything with bastard el-rufua to make sure this dead man was made president by wicked OBJ who slept with his son’s wife.
    Ribadu was after all the good politicians for one crime after the other just to make he remain in EFCC chair position. I said never again will ribadu test power again in Nigeria except he will create his own Nigeria with Pius at SH

    1. Frankie, so Ribadu is the problem with Nigeria? Can I ask you a sincere question, do you have anything personal against Ribadu? I have no problem with you attacking him but what I ask is this. What do you propose is the way forward? How do we clean up our image around the world?

    2. I can tell you sincerely ribadu is our present problem. You know why, during the last election after the destruction of OBJ Nigerians were hoping to go on with their life and hoping for better but because of ribadu greed he forght every other politicians just to create way for their anoited fake servant leader and here we are with half dead man as our president.

      ribadu and co never acted the way they did because of Nigerians but because they wanted to remain in the power not knowing other are working too, here Ibori came because he knew too the battle ahead.

      ribadu crimilized every other good politicians before the election hoping to use Yauadua as their ladder but God said NO

  21. Hi Frank, like I said before, one man's hero is another man's villain. I do not know the Nigerian you admire, but I am certain that there are those that despise them. Let us not loose momentum by fighting ourselves, it is a distraction. I like Ribadu, but I believe he made several mistakes. This does not change the fact that the political class have ruined our country. If we spend our time debating Ribadu's rights and wrongs, we stand to loose. Let us focus and pull our nation from the brink of collapse.

  22. Yes, SH deleted my posting several times because of ribadu, I really do not know who they think ribadu is. Ribadu is a liar and a fraud because he brought us to this stand-still because he did everything with bastard el-rufua to make sure this dead man was made president by wicked OBJ who slept with his son’s wife.
    Ribadu was after all the good politicians for one crime after the other just to make he remain in EFCC chair position. I said never again will ribadu test power again in Nigeria except he will create his own Nigeria with Pius at SH

  23. If Sony did not see anything wrong with the advert will it apologise? So Sony apologised yet you dont see anything wrong with the commercial? I see something wrong with you.

    1. It is improper to start attacking me personally. This is a personal blog for personal opinions. I put this up so we can discuss on the way forward. I NEVER said there was nothing wrong with the ad (I could say that if i wanted to). I said that since we cannot control the views of people (quite a large number), how do we solve the problem ourselves? Try to be constructive. What is the way forward?
      About the apology…SONY has lots of contracts with the Nigerian government. Even if they did nothing wrong, they would apologise. So the apology is not proof of wrong doing.

      By the way, you should watch the first 20 seconds. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-september-16-2009/one-year-anniversary-of-lehman-brothers-collapse

      be there waiting for apologies instead of solving the problem

  24. If Sony did not see anything wrong with the advert will it apologise? So Sony apologised yet you dont see anything wrong with the commercial? I see something wrong with you.

  25. It is improper to start attacking me personally. This is a personal blog for personal opinions. I put this up so we can discuss on the way forward. I NEVER said there was nothing wrong with the ad (I could say that if i wanted to). I said that since we cannot control the views of people (quite a large number), how do we solve the problem ourselves? Try to be constructive. What is the way forward?
    About the apology…SONY has lots of contracts with the Nigerian government. Even if they did nothing wrong, they would apologise. So the apology is not proof of wrong doing.

    By the way, you should watch the first 20 seconds. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-september

    be there waiting for apologies instead of solving the problem

  26. Frankie, so Ribadu is the problem with Nigeria? Can I ask you a sincere question, do you have anything personal against Ribadu? I have no problem with you attacking him but what I ask is this. What do you propose is the way forward? How do we clean up our image around the world?

    1. @ooTheNiija: So are you saying that Ribadu is the answer? B/w you and FranW and FrankW is more creative for being able to thiNk outside the Ribadu box. What has Ribadu done to justify/earn his rating. It annoys me that young men like you are all mouthing Ribadu all over the place without reason. If are asked to justify u will mention Balogun, Alam, etc. But u 4got like FW said that it was Obj, Ibori, Ribadu, Iwu, El Rufai and others that imposed UMYA on Nija with the hope of remaining in power 4ever. Why are we condenming others while exalting others. I am sick and tired of all these silly Ribadu talk. Nija needs fresh ideas from youngmen like u and to recycle children of the caliphate. have a good day.

    2. “So are you saying that Ribadu is the answer?”
      NO! I never said that. If you look at my blog post I said, “We also have to tell the world at every opportunity about the Soyinka’s, Achebes, Adichies, Okonjo-Iweala’s, Ribadu’s, e.t.c”
      Ribadu is only one out of five people mentioned. Why do we Nigerians like distractions?

    3. O boy I sorry for you to say I never give reason when I said mad ribadu chase all other politicians to get this half dead man as our president. What other reason you want, I should tell you ribadu accepted oil allocation from devilish OBJ before you know.I was thinking you are serious I never knew you are here to praise one man as your dead hero, I agreed with Nwanza, he is a toy hero, bye, don’t ever write me because you are fakers like your ribadu hero, nonsense

    4. Mr Frank Williams,
      This post was NEVER about Mr. Ribadu, you made it so. His name appeared once out of 1,027 words in my blog post. If you have a problem with Ribadu, sort it out. If you EVER want to be listened to, articulate your arguments and maybe you will get an audience. I wish you the best.

    5. I don’t know ribadu from anywhere, he was my jenior before mad dog OBJ shot him up but he came down as he does up.
       
      You and SR sound the same and its too bad, SR has just blocked my comments /posts again today, I wonder what they want, if for people like me to sing their praises they have failed.

    6. I don’t know ribadu from anywhere, he was my jenior before mad dog OBJ shot him up but he came down as he does up.
       
      You and SR sound the same and its too bad, SR has just blocked my comments /posts again today, I wonder what they want, if for people like me to sing their praises they have failed.

    7. Mr Frank Williams, I will block you too if you to not focus on the topic at hand. Look at the title of the blogpost and comment based on the topic. If you hate Ribadu for being promoted ahead of you, let be give you an idea. Create a website http://www.ihateribadu.com and do what you like with it. Do not turn my blog to a place where you pursue personal vendetta. I have had enough. One more distracting comment form you and I will block you from ever commenting on this blog. I have had it. I have given you the freedom to comment, but you are taking it too far. Enough is enough!

    8. You are hopeless and moron, who need your blog, coward.

      It is sad that Nigerians, especially those who claim they have been to school and are the educated elite keep repeating the same mistake of seeeing things from the tribal and ethnic prism.

      
That may be the reason why we keep failing as a nation. Else how does the matte of an inept and heartless leadership end up being discussed by otherwise sane individuals in such terms as we see here? That Obasanjo is Yoruba and that he stole Nigeria blind and moved us back to the stone age in the field of failed power generation ought not to make a Northerner, a Hausa or Fulani, a Muslim or even a non-Muslim Northerner to paint all Yorubas the same evil colours as Obasanjo. That Obasanjo sadistically manipulated the INEC and all the instruments of State to impose a sickly and unwilling Yaradua on Nigeria will not make us, Northerners Muslims hausas and non-hausa and non-muslim northerners to apportion blame on the tribe of yorubas or southerners. No!

      That Ibrahim Babangida as military dictator ran a government only superceded in corruption and malgovernance and abuse of power by the Obasanjo PDP disaster of the past 10 years (inclusive of Yar’aduas two) doesn’t mean all hausa fulani or northerners are to blame.
      Writers and commentators on the respected saharareporters should be honest enough and reasoned enough to blame those deserving of blame, even if they are of their own blood. That will lead to the new beginning we all hope for Nigeria, even if it includes going our separate ways, with those of us in the Muslim North forced into the contraption slapped together by Lugard in his evil 1914 conjoining of the unhappy bedmates that make up the sad Nigerian Union.

      We, in the North especially, the Muslim Hausa Fulani, in case you don’t know are only suffering this union in silence and waiting for God’s will to be done when we either learn to live together with peace and mutual respect or go our different ways in peace. This union that we are being unjustly abused over — and because of — has hurt us much more than any gain. It has lost us our independence and steady, sustainable growth. It has lost us our innocence. It has taught many of us unnecessary hatred. It has diluted our highly cherished moral values and virtues.

      We have in the excessive unitarism of the union opened our gates to people who live with us and off us while undermining us. The many ill-advised central government initiatives from the NYSC, to numerous economic and government policies have flooded us with people who consider themselves foreigners in our midst, no matter how accomodating we try to be, with little or no reciprocity for those of our people who find themselves on the side of their home communities. How many northerners get jobs, plots of land, business opportunities, political opportunities in the south? Check out any state or city, or even village in the north, among the Hausa Fulanis and you will see expansive accomodation of non-indegenes, including the recent appointment in Kano state, the heartland of the Hausa Fulani, of yorubas, igbos and other tribes as members of the cabinet, as advisers by the state government that the sentiments expressed by some commentators here lump as the problem of Nigeria. Mark you Kano even practices Sharia Muslim Law for Muslims which it doesn’t impose on non-Muslims.

      For God’s sake while we are together in this unpalatable union lets try to make it work as best we can, by being truthful and honest and sincere in our critique odf issues. I am here referring to the leading elite, the intellectuals that are the breeding ground for leadership, who comment on such blogs as this.

      I know for a fact that even katsina had never voted for yar’adua from 1999, when he first became governor. It was the PDP rigging machine that made him governor. It is the same machine that made him president. It is the same machine that made his protege, Obasanjo’s anointed governor after him, even when they had to use the most brutally repressive tactics ever to have their way in 2007.
      It was a southerner, in fact a Professor, who is a disgrace to education, a disgrace to his clan, Maurice Iwu who connived with shameless Obasanjo and such shameless people around Obasanjo from the North and south, Muslims and others, such as Nasiru El-Rufai, such as Nuhu Ribadu, such Ibori, such as the then police boss Ehindero, with such shameless governors as Peter Odili, Adamu of Nasarawa and many more, with a lot of behind the scenes help from the ANPP and the many mushroom parties such as AC that played into the PDP’s hands to install yar’adua, an Yar’adua who was propped up by the machinations of the leaders of the tribal groups that were corralled by the crooked Obasanjo PDP apparatus to support him as amply revealed by El-Rufa’i in his exposee on the making of the failed Yar’adua presidency.

      And the toothless bulldog of a judiciary led by weaklings posing as tough guys, from the North and eslewhere such as the CJN Idris Legbo Kutigi and his sidekicks who ended up legitimising the travesty of an election, the shameless sham, the dummy sold Nigerians in 2007 which we are now all suffering for. It is not a tribal tghing to be good. It is not a tribal thing to be bad either. It is a human thing. It is universal. In all nations of the world in history, from antiquity till date, tribalism and racism has never helped growth. It will not do so in Nigeria either. it will only cause us grief and more grief. God frowns at racism. The tribalist rumbles over the Yar’adua mess will lead us nowhere but to grief, now and in the future. After all did we not have Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeougwu and his raving lunacy as the result of the tribalist nonsense of the day that truncated our First Republic?

      After Nzeogwu had unleashed that monster assassinating his boss and mentor Ahmadu Bello Sardaunan Sokoto did not the monster swallow him and eat up his tribe, setting our most enterprising and likeable Igbo community back by a centruy orr more? What of the madness of Gideon Gwarza Orkar, another Majopr in the Nigerian Army who decreed parts of the Muslim North out of Nigeria? Did he live to tell the tale? Did he help matters then, at a time when even most Northerners were themselves full of hatred for IBB and his maradonic bullshit in governance? All he did was to force us back into IBB’s embrace against our personal wish and desire!

      FOr positive change we should use the instruments of the modern world. We should look to the blacks of the US and learn from them and Obama. We should learn to tolerate one another, and as I said if we have to split we should do so with peace, honour and respect. In the interim we should work together to identify the crooks of the Union, the Obasanjos, the Yaraduas, the PDPs Anenihs and Bode Georges and the David Marks and Aondoakas and Iboris and ElRuafis and Ribadus and all of those who have a hand in the mess we are saddled with this past ten years and flush them out of the system from our localities. The elite in sahara Repofrters and out their in the real world should be always Just and Truthful, for being Just and Truthful is Godly. THAT IS THE WAY OUT. NOT TRIBAL HOGWASH, PLEEAAASE!
BY MUHAMMAD DANKANO
([email protected])

    9. Mr. Frank, You insult me and expect me to reason with you? You want to force me to have your views and see things your way? You see, your attitude will NEVER win you allies. I was at first starting to see things your way then you lost it…

      Good luck in your crusade!

    10. @ OO: Why are you bothering with this insignificant gnat called frankwilliams? He is the typical Nigerian personified: Attacking old problems because they cannot come back to bite him(Ribadu is a devil cos he is no more in power), highlighting all problems except the main one and showing no desire to move forward and solve any problems.

      This sort of guy enjoys sitting around fried yam and potato joints/ free newspaper reading stands and making noise on how he’d kill everybody if he were head of police. I don’t understand how someone could come to a forum like this about moving nigeria forward and begin to quarrel with the moderator. i see his type on nairaland everyday…

      And he has the guts to call someone else a coward…lol..

  27. I can tell you sincerely ribadu is our present problem. You know why, during the last election after the destruction of OBJ Nigerians were hoping to go on with their life and hoping for better but because of ribadu greed he forght every other politicians just to create way for their anoited fake servant leader and here we are with half dead man as our president.

    ribadu and co never acted the way they did because of Nigerians but because they wanted to remain in the power not knowing other are working too, here Ibori came because he knew too the battle ahead.

    ribadu crimilized every other good politicians before the election hoping to use Yauadua as their ladder but God said NO

  28. @ooTheNiija: So are you saying that Ribadu is the answer? B/w you and FranW and FrankW is more creative for being able to thiNk outside the Ribadu box. What has Ribadu done to justify/earn his rating. It annoys me that young men like you are all mouthing Ribadu all over the place without reason. If are asked to justify u will mention Balogun, Alam, etc. But u 4got like FW said that it was Obj, Ibori, Ribadu, Iwu, El Rufai and others that imposed UMYA on Nija with the hope of remaining in power 4ever. Why are we condenming others while exalting others. I am sick and tired of all these silly Ribadu talk. Nija needs fresh ideas from youngmen like u and to recycle children of the caliphate. have a good day.

  29. “So are you saying that Ribadu is the answer?”
    NO! I never said that. If you look at my blog post I said, “We also have to tell the world at every opportunity about the Soyinka’s, Achebes, Adichies, Okonjo-Iweala’s, Ribadu’s, e.t.c”
    Ribadu is only one out of five people mentioned. Why do we Nigerians like distractions?

  30. O boy I sorry for you to say I never give reason when I said mad ribadu chase all other politicians to get this half dead man as our president. What other reason you want, I should tell you ribadu accepted oil allocation from devilish OBJ before you know.

    I was thinking you are serious I never knew you are here to praise one man as your dead hero, I agreed with Nwanza, he is a toy hero, bye, don't ever write me because you are fakers like your ribadu hero, nonsense

  31. Mr Frank Williams,
    This post was NEVER about Mr. Ribadu, you made it so. His name appeared once out of 1,027 words in my blog post. If you have a problem with Ribadu, sort it out. If you EVER want to be listened to, articulate your arguments and maybe you will get an audience. I wish you the best.

  32. Brillant,Like I always say change is coming,Choatic times brings forth Heroes,this piece needs to be spread because rebranding Nigeria,can no longer be left to our government or with the old failing ways,is in the hands of us the youth,we have to do our own part towards achieving what we want,Well Done

  33. Brillant,Like I always say change is coming,Choatic times brings forth Heroes,this piece needs to be spread because rebranding Nigeria,can no longer be left to our government or with the old failing ways,is in the hands of us the youth,we have to do our own part towards achieving what we want,Well Done

  34. I don't know ribadu from anywhere, he was my jenior before mad dog OBJ shot him up but he came down as he does up.
     
    You and SR sound the same and its too bad, SR has just blocked my comments /posts again today, I wonder what they want, if for people like me to sing their praises they have failed.

  35. I don't know ribadu from anywhere, he was my jenior before mad dog OBJ shot him up but he came down as he does up.
     
    You and SR sound the same and its too bad, SR has just blocked my comments /posts again today, I wonder what they want, if for people like me to sing their praises they have failed.

  36. Mr Frank Williams, I will block you too if you to not focus on the topic at hand. Look at the title of the blogpost and comment based on the topic. If you hate Ribadu for being promoted ahead of you, let be give you an idea. Create a website http://www.ihateribadu.com and do what you like with it. Do not turn my blog to a place where you pursue personal vendetta. I have had enough. One more distracting comment form you and I will block you from ever commenting on this blog. I have had it. I have given you the freedom to comment, but you are taking it too far. Enough is enough!

  37. You are hopeless and moron, who need your blog, coward.

    It is sad that Nigerians, especially those who claim they have been to school and are the educated elite keep repeating the same mistake of seeeing things from the tribal and ethnic prism.

    
That may be the reason why we keep failing as a nation. Else how does the matte of an inept and heartless leadership end up being discussed by otherwise sane individuals in such terms as we see here? That Obasanjo is Yoruba and that he stole Nigeria blind and moved us back to the stone age in the field of failed power generation ought not to make a Northerner, a Hausa or Fulani, a Muslim or even a non-Muslim Northerner to paint all Yorubas the same evil colours as Obasanjo. That Obasanjo sadistically manipulated the INEC and all the instruments of State to impose a sickly and unwilling Yaradua on Nigeria will not make us, Northerners Muslims hausas and non-hausa and non-muslim northerners to apportion blame on the tribe of yorubas or southerners. No!

    That Ibrahim Babangida as military dictator ran a government only superceded in corruption and malgovernance and abuse of power by the Obasanjo PDP disaster of the past 10 years (inclusive of Yar'aduas two) doesn't mean all hausa fulani or northerners are to blame.
    Writers and commentators on the respected saharareporters should be honest enough and reasoned enough to blame those deserving of blame, even if they are of their own blood. That will lead to the new beginning we all hope for Nigeria, even if it includes going our separate ways, with those of us in the Muslim North forced into the contraption slapped together by Lugard in his evil 1914 conjoining of the unhappy bedmates that make up the sad Nigerian Union.

    We, in the North especially, the Muslim Hausa Fulani, in case you don't know are only suffering this union in silence and waiting for God's will to be done when we either learn to live together with peace and mutual respect or go our different ways in peace. This union that we are being unjustly abused over — and because of — has hurt us much more than any gain. It has lost us our independence and steady, sustainable growth. It has lost us our innocence. It has taught many of us unnecessary hatred. It has diluted our highly cherished moral values and virtues.

    We have in the excessive unitarism of the union opened our gates to people who live with us and off us while undermining us. The many ill-advised central government initiatives from the NYSC, to numerous economic and government policies have flooded us with people who consider themselves foreigners in our midst, no matter how accomodating we try to be, with little or no reciprocity for those of our people who find themselves on the side of their home communities. How many northerners get jobs, plots of land, business opportunities, political opportunities in the south? Check out any state or city, or even village in the north, among the Hausa Fulanis and you will see expansive accomodation of non-indegenes, including the recent appointment in Kano state, the heartland of the Hausa Fulani, of yorubas, igbos and other tribes as members of the cabinet, as advisers by the state government that the sentiments expressed by some commentators here lump as the problem of Nigeria. Mark you Kano even practices Sharia Muslim Law for Muslims which it doesn't impose on non-Muslims.

    For God's sake while we are together in this unpalatable union lets try to make it work as best we can, by being truthful and honest and sincere in our critique odf issues. I am here referring to the leading elite, the intellectuals that are the breeding ground for leadership, who comment on such blogs as this.

    I know for a fact that even katsina had never voted for yar'adua from 1999, when he first became governor. It was the PDP rigging machine that made him governor. It is the same machine that made him president. It is the same machine that made his protege, Obasanjo's anointed governor after him, even when they had to use the most brutally repressive tactics ever to have their way in 2007.
    It was a southerner, in fact a Professor, who is a disgrace to education, a disgrace to his clan, Maurice Iwu who connived with shameless Obasanjo and such shameless people around Obasanjo from the North and south, Muslims and others, such as Nasiru El-Rufai, such as Nuhu Ribadu, such Ibori, such as the then police boss Ehindero, with such shameless governors as Peter Odili, Adamu of Nasarawa and many more, with a lot of behind the scenes help from the ANPP and the many mushroom parties such as AC that played into the PDP's hands to install yar'adua, an Yar'adua who was propped up by the machinations of the leaders of the tribal groups that were corralled by the crooked Obasanjo PDP apparatus to support him as amply revealed by El-Rufa'i in his exposee on the making of the failed Yar'adua presidency.

    And the toothless bulldog of a judiciary led by weaklings posing as tough guys, from the North and eslewhere such as the CJN Idris Legbo Kutigi and his sidekicks who ended up legitimising the travesty of an election, the shameless sham, the dummy sold Nigerians in 2007 which we are now all suffering for. It is not a tribal tghing to be good. It is not a tribal thing to be bad either. It is a human thing. It is universal. In all nations of the world in history, from antiquity till date, tribalism and racism has never helped growth. It will not do so in Nigeria either. it will only cause us grief and more grief. God frowns at racism. The tribalist rumbles over the Yar'adua mess will lead us nowhere but to grief, now and in the future. After all did we not have Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeougwu and his raving lunacy as the result of the tribalist nonsense of the day that truncated our First Republic?

    After Nzeogwu had unleashed that monster assassinating his boss and mentor Ahmadu Bello Sardaunan Sokoto did not the monster swallow him and eat up his tribe, setting our most enterprising and likeable Igbo community back by a centruy orr more? What of the madness of Gideon Gwarza Orkar, another Majopr in the Nigerian Army who decreed parts of the Muslim North out of Nigeria? Did he live to tell the tale? Did he help matters then, at a time when even most Northerners were themselves full of hatred for IBB and his maradonic bullshit in governance? All he did was to force us back into IBB's embrace against our personal wish and desire!

    FOr positive change we should use the instruments of the modern world. We should look to the blacks of the US and learn from them and Obama. We should learn to tolerate one another, and as I said if we have to split we should do so with peace, honour and respect. In the interim we should work together to identify the crooks of the Union, the Obasanjos, the Yaraduas, the PDPs Anenihs and Bode Georges and the David Marks and Aondoakas and Iboris and ElRuafis and Ribadus and all of those who have a hand in the mess we are saddled with this past ten years and flush them out of the system from our localities. The elite in sahara Repofrters and out their in the real world should be always Just and Truthful, for being Just and Truthful is Godly. THAT IS THE WAY OUT. NOT TRIBAL HOGWASH, PLEEAAASE!
BY MUHAMMAD DANKANO
([email protected])

  38. Mr. Frank, You insult me and expect me to reason with you? You want to force me to have your views and see things your way? You see, your attitude will NEVER win you allies. I was at first starting to see things your way then you lost it…

    Good luck in your crusade!

  39. @ OO: Why are you bothering with this insignificant gnat called frankwilliams? He is the typical Nigerian personified: Attacking old problems because they cannot come back to bite him(Ribadu is a devil cos he is no more in power), highlighting all problems except the main one and showing no desire to move forward and solve any problems.

    This sort of guy enjoys sitting around fried yam and potato joints/ free newspaper reading stands and making noise on how he'd kill everybody if he were head of police. I don't understand how someone could come to a forum like this about moving nigeria forward and begin to quarrel with the moderator. i see his type on nairaland everyday…

    And he has the guts to call someone else a coward…lol..

  40. Ogaga, if it was not my blog, you trust your guy. But it is different when you ‘own’ the medium of discussion so as not to be accused of bias. I guess some causes are lost!@Ogaga

  41. Ogaga, if it was not my blog, you trust your guy. But it is different when you ‘own’ the medium of discussion so as not to be accused of bias. I guess some causes are lost!@Ogaga

  42. So O.O. why didnt the guy use any other country..?Afterall there are get rich quick schemes in the U.S.A too…why use Nigeria?Why didnt he use his own country? ….Its the message and intent behind the statement that has got eveyone screaming blue murder and I can understand that…….

  43. So O.O. why didnt the guy use any other country..?Afterall there are get rich quick schemes in the U.S.A too…why use Nigeria?Why didnt he use his own country? ….Its the message and intent behind the statement that has got eveyone screaming blue murder and I can understand that…….

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