you have to be corrupt to get ahead anywhere in the world, and im not doubting that, but some seem to think the more corrupt the further ahead you get, which isn't true.

when anyone thinks of rich nigerians we think of Dangote, who made money being productive
the guy who runs Oando Oil, who made money being productive
and the guy who runs Glo, who made money being productive.

there's another billionaire that rivals Dangote but i can't remember the name.

all these military men that steal billions, what's the point?
Everyone knows your rich, if you steal 100 million or 1 billion, ppl know your rich. the difference is you can't be recognized on a global stage or a historic stage for you wealth, all you can do is literally hide it. i mean, you can barely spend it or you'll get caught and that's why these guys are just stashing way currency with no meaning in swiss banks.
in this world the rich are the rich and the poor are the poor, if you have 100 million or 100 billion you will be look at the same, rich. Now if you want to be a step ahead of the rest by being able to say i have billions while that guy has millions, what's the point of stealing money you can't openl y announce.

like, Abacha is porbably richer then Dangote, but for the next 500 years Dangote will be remember as the frist billionaire in nigeria. He'ss be known as Nigeria's Henry Ford while Abacha will be known as a thief. only and illiterate can lack the foresigth to see there's no point in being THAT corrupt, you don't even get celebrated as a rich man because your just a stealin ass nigga

You really don't know much about Nigeria, do you? Yet you are quick to tag others as mere armchair critics, even as it becomes more and more obvious you probably don't know your left from your right when it comes to Nigeria. Dude, what exactly is all this about?

by ALL GLOBAL RECOGNIZED ACCOUNTS the richest man in nigeria is Dangote.

Anywhere he goes, he will always have this title
there's ppl in government with 'more money' then him. but they're not on Forbes, or the Goldman Sachs' list
why? cause they have to hide their illegal money.

IM NOT SAYING ANYTHING THAT ISN'T COMMON SENSE.

Nigerians act like nigeria is this 'special case' where the rules don't apply. Ok cool. You can continue to believe that but the face of nigerian wealth now is private industrialists and investors.

Look at that governor that had to sneak into the UK in a dress and wig. A public official of the giant of africa, wearing a dress and wig so that ppl wont catch him stealing money. Im sure he's a rich man but he's the laughing stock of the globe all in a quest to be respected as a rich man. he has money but he failed,

like Abacha. Ok you stole money, but nobody can acknowledge you as the richest nigerian of your time cause you had to hide that money.

Its like winning an olympic gold medal that you can't display or claim so they give it to someone else. what's the point?

infact, if the corrupt former governor of Edo state leaves nigeria, nobody will know who he is. He will go to england to do this and that but in the eyes of everyone around him he's some immigrant.

If Dangote leaves nigeria someone is likely to say "Dangote, the first african billionaire, good to meet you" mind you that Edo theif probably has more money then Dangote.
Nigerians have the game half figured out.

Obama isn't a rich man by comparison to his peers. But for his ACHIEVEMENTS he will always be a notch above those with more money then him cause he's OBama, he's known for something. The Governor of Edo state probably has more money then Obama but Obama will always be treated as more prestigous then the governor of Edo State.

Or look at Fela Kuti. He wasn't rich by any comparison, but He's so acclaimed for his acheivements that if he were alive and in the same room as the former governor of Edo state, he would be the most adored and praised in that room and will be treated as a more prestigous individual then that governor.


same with Chinua Achebe. Nigerians don't understand the object of wealth is PRestige, so why are you letting your wealth decease your prestige?

Ikengawo

You have been sounding very hopeful in the last one week about Nigeria.

My wish for you is that you remain steadfast and continue to feel this.

My hope is that you do not get disppointed about Nigeria sometime soon.

thanks bro
its what i like to call realistic optimism
i know nigeria will be one of the worlds largest economies in the future
i know the world has a major and dire role reserved for a strong nigeria
and i can see things from a perspective nigerians often can't cause i've lived one 2 sides of the world.

I find that a lot of the time nigerians think that cheating is intelligence or a quick way to get ahead when really you're just killing yourself in the long run and feeding yourself in the short term.

like my own village. Most of my uncles sell goods in Alaba. One of them is notorious for selling inferior items, and one is notoriously strict about his item quality. The one that is strict about his item quality was hungry for a year cause his stuff was pricey, but after some time he is now openning 2 shops and has built a middle class house and bought a car. My uncle that sells inferior stuff was eating well for that first year but he has been surpassed in income by my more honest uncle.


my dad does politics and has been hindered by his refusal to accept or give bribes because now the politicians think he'll snitch them out and don't trust him cause he's not a thief. But as PDP is crumbling in our local government area for pissing the [people off, they are now offering him big bucks to join them cause they need the prestige his honesty and integrity has gained him to revive their image. If he joins or doesn't join he'll still be more influencial and poppular then the party heads in the local gov.

Any discussion that starts with "you have to be corrupt to get ahead anywhere in the world" already tells you that it is thinking like this that makes Nigeria what it is today.


This one is telling us Dangote is productive. No doubt. . . but in any civilised society, Dangote would be in jail for the AP share-manipulation scandal alone.


Whats next? We're soon gonna have Nigerian economists proposing theories about the best way to harness corruption for the public good. Some are already telling us we should ignore basic risk management practices and International banking standards because "Nigerian market is peculiar".

Ikengawo:


If Dangote leaves nigeria someone is likely to say "Dangote, the first african billionaire, good to meet you" mind you that Edo theif probably has more money then Dangote.
Nigerians have the game half figured out.

I understand your lofty idealism about Nigeria, but try to get your facts straight.

Who told you that government-backed and government-funded Dangote is "the first african billionaire"?

Seems some people only learnt about Forbes' list when Dangote's name appeared there.

RichyBlacK:

I understand your lofty idealism about Nigeria, but try to get your facts straight.

Who told you that government-backed and government-funded Dangote is "the first african billionaire"?

Seems some people only learnt about Forbes' list when Dangote's name appeared there.

he is the second black african billionaire if that will make you happy lol. Motsepe and supposedly Mobutu Sese Seko are supposed to be the first documented black billionaires

"you have to be corrupt to get ahead anywhere in the world, and im not doubting that"

And you said your father is a politician?

No wonder you think the way you do - Please do not follow in your fathers footsteps for Nigeria's sake!

@RichblacK
I pity u already. The next time Ikengawo, who is not Igbo at all, quotes you, your words would be edited to say you completely agree with him. He is a robot his Ogas sent ahead to claim what they have not done and probably have no clue how to do.

Facts don't bother him one bit - he has no space for those up there.

RichyBlacK:

I understand your lofty idealism about Nigeria, but try to get your facts straight.

Who told you that government-backed and government-funded Dangote is "the first african billionaire"?

Seems some people only learnt about Forbes' list when Dangote's name appeared there.

you have to be corrupt to get ahead anywhere in the world

Corruption is Every in the world- So its needed.

America and england have the most corrupt people in the world, and all americans & brits benefit off of corruption.
When Oil was $150 a barrel yehhh-  In yankee Oil was sooo scarce it was like naija - no one had money to put gas in their car, the lines were sooooo Long, food prices went up. On the news people were fighting over who was at the  Gas pump first.

Now that Oil prices are down obviously from America invading Iraq and getting priority on Oil contracts, Angolan conflict Oil like naijas own (Corruption), Everyone is happier in America.

So Nigeria needs to play the game of corruption but do it intelligently.

Sun of god:

"you have to be corrupt to get ahead anywhere in the world, and im not doubting that"

And you said your father is a politician?

His father is a politician? So that's what all these 'patriotic' threads popping up like boils are for! To think I thought these threads were out of ignorance of Nigerian issues, not knowing somebody is merely trying to protect their trust fund!

You're an Igbo man who has "Sokoto Empire II" under his name and im suppose to take you seriously lol?
my father's a politician, you're father is a palm wine tapper lol useless

Ikengawo:

You're an Igbo man who has "Sokoto Empire II" under his name and im suppose to take you seriously lol?
my father's a politician, you're father is a palm wine tapper lol useless

So are you saying that it's true that you're securing your trust fund, or do you lack the mental agility to reply properly? I don't know, let me know.

ezeagu (m)
Sokoto Empire II

It's not a myth, its is the usual excuse that people give to justify their interest in crime or lack of success in life.

Afam:

It's not a myth, its is the usual excuse that people give to justify their interest in crime or lack of success in life.

I really think it is the lack of originality amongst other related and unrelated factors that is affecting most Nigerians from getting ahead. Below is an article by Reuben Abati of Guardian Newspapers


I ONCE wrote a piece about the character of the average Nigerian. To be added to that, by way of update is what seems to me to be the Nigerian's lack of originality. It is a controversial point, but there is no doubting the fact that the average Nigerian is greedy; functioning very close to the state of nature. Aristotle it was who had said that "a child learns by imitation"; there is something child-like about the Nigerian lack of originality. As a people, we like to imitate; we lack the capacity to write our own stories, even if as individuals we are among the most gifted human beings on planet Earth. Why are we the way we are? Forever short-changing ourselves. Reducing the national potential in the process. Subjecting the environment to a curious herd mentality. I speak of majority tendency of course, there is still a minority that keeps the country going with its distinction, but the efforts of that majority are dangerously abbreviated by the omissions of the antithetical minority.


You only need to take a look at the organisation of the Nigerian business environment to confirm this. Start a line of business. Build it up. Make it successful. Before long, every manliness. and Harry in town will rush into that line of business. Nigerians don't know how to give credit to pioneers. "Who does she think she is? Is she the only one? I can do better." But they are not interested in making anything better; they are attracted by what they perceive to be the profit end of the enterprise. Before long, they'd ruin the business, destroy standards, overpopulate it so much that profit will become impossible. It is natural for human beings to measure themselves against each other and to compete, but social competition in Nigeria is driven mostly not by the search for excellence, but greed and mischief!


Ten years ago, you could count the number of fast food joints on your finger tips across Nigeria . The moment it became a successful business, everyone rushed into it. People resigned from their professional careers and set up eateries. Today, there is a fast food joint on almost every other corner. They are becoming almost as ubiquitous as the churches. Standards of service have not improved, rather they have dropped. Nigerians do not believe in investing their energies in areas where they are most suited.


They would try their hands at anything, with the hope to make profit the way the other man has. As it is with the fast food business, so it is with the churches. Church business used to be a very sober business. The clergy were taken seriously because the average clergy man of old actually conducted himself and sounded as if he had been one of the original disciples of Jesus Christ or a witness to the emergence of the Church at Antioch . The moment someone turned the business of Christian worship into something glamorous and eclectic, everyone else jumped onto the bandwagon.


There has been a competition since then over whose church is the most spirit-filled and with the greatest anointing, resulting in an inversion of the Doctrine and the introduction into Christian worship, of pagan practices that belong more to the province of commerce and deception. It used to be the case in this country that if anyone was found to be articulate, others would say of him or her: you would make a good lawyer". These days, the first career consideration for such persons is: "You will make a good pastor; you can start a church in the future." Becoming a pastor is the easiest thing of course you only need to claim that you saw a vision, you heard voices, or you were called (by Satan or Belzeebub, nobody ever bothers to check!) .


Go and ask the first set of persons who established the foundations of Nollywood. Twenty five years ago, actors and actresses in Nigeria were looked down upon as unserious people. The moment a few gifted persons raised the profile of the performing arts and it became fashionable for actors and other artistes to live well, become celebrities and be respected by society, everyone rushed in there. Talent didn't matter. Engineering graduates, architects and lawyers suddenly discovered that they too could look good in front of the camera, and so began the rush of mediocrity into Nollywood. Today, Nollywood is at a crossroads. Every actress is a producer or a would-be producer. Every actor is a potential Local Council Chairman or Special Assistant to a Governor, or President of the Actors Guild. The few who claim to be committed pay more attention to their good looks rather their skills.


There are actresses whose claim to fame is their exposure of their anatomy and the fact that this has set the imagination of paying audiences on fire. Every week, there is a young lady or a young man seeking to get into Nollywood, not to contribute to art, but to become a celebrity and also make quick bucks. There are fewer persons willing to pay the dues, or come up with original ideas that can move the industry forward. When a committed artiste speaks up and makes a case for improvement in standards, he is shouted down by those who call themselves "the rave of the moment." That is what most artistes do these days. They rave.


Is there any point reminding us of the number of persons who wished they could play football and actually tried to play it by force when Nigerians gained a foothold in professional football in Europe and elsewhere? And should you assume that I describe an elite tendency, how about the okada business. The okada is a product of both expediency and necessity. As soon as it became a lucrative business, there was a big scramble to get into that line of business. Even University Professors abandoned research and became okada entrepreneurs.

When you visit a typical Nigerian university campus these days, I mean those ones that still have staff quarters, you would be pleasantly surprised to discover that the once serene staff quarters populated by contemplative minds and their once upon a time, equally sober families, have been taken over by kiosks, pepper soup joints, recharge card retail sheds. Those businesses are not necessarily owned by the Professor's wife, but by the Professor himself! The aluminium business is trying to catch up. When ordinary people do not buy the okada, they try to learn how to play around with aluminium windows and roofs. There are fewer persons willing to learn such trades as bricklaying; mechanical engineering, vulcanizing, painting , too strenuous.


As it with trades, so it is with fashion styles. It takes only one woman to wear something nice; before you know it every other woman is copying the same style. That is why fashion pictures and magazines are so popular: female readers are interested in fashion styles. I once attended a society function where more than 20 women wore the same design and this was not the notorious aso ebi, just a display of lack of originality, every Janet trying to look like Jane. The urge to belong, to be seen to be part of the crowd, childishly interpreted in some circumstances as being progressive has also since affected the NGO community.


NGOs used to be extremely effective in this country; their potentials and achievement were demonstrated during the struggle for Nigerian democracy in the 90s. Foreign agencies supported Nigerian NGOs with donor funds. But that was also the undoing of the NGO concept. Before long, too many Nigerians had set up NGOs, so many of them inside the briefcases and bank accounts of their promoters. It became so notorious that every wife of an important government official found it necessary to set up one. In their case, it is a special purpose vehicle for raising funds from their husbands' friends and associates and the public treasury. Although two or three First Ladies showed how much could be achieved through good intentions.


I assume that it is the same copycat syndrome that drives Nigerians who experiment with homosexuality and bisexuality. And the militants who have adopted Western methods of terrorism. And the latest revelation that there are Nigerian children who are signing up as suicide bombers. Do we say all of this is human, all too human? Perhaps, But it is also a reflection of the corrosive environment in which Nigerians have found themselves. Our society is so dangerously lacking in higher values, the environment is so harsh it allows for very little creativity. Innovativeness is discouraged and so the young and the not so young can be easily recruited onto available bandwagons.


To imitate is human but we can encourage the scope for creativity and originality by expanding the scope for human expression through good governance. In more progressive societies, young children asked what they would like to become in life could answer: "I'll like to be a fireman." A teacher. A nurse. A salesman. A diver. A driver. Plumber. Horologist, knowing full well, that whatever he or she chooses to do, society will offer him or her the best opportunity for growth and fulfilment. Should a Nigerian child make such a suggestion, the mother is likely to scream with every ounce of energy within her: "I reject it in Jesus name. No child from my womb will end up as a fireman or plumber in Jesus name!" It is a pity that this is so.


http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/reuben-abati/our-lack-of-originality.html

The remaining part of the article.

Two friends were trying to figure out why Nigeria is finding it so difficult to make progress. They came up, in their own way, with a rather intriguing list,


- The wrong people are in power and politics in Nigeria

- The wrong people are in the civil service. All the good people avoided the military, the civil service and politics, thinking that it is better to go into more noble professions.

- All the good hands are where they should not be. The country wastes its best and brightest.

- Nigerians are too emotional. They talk. They don't like to act.

- The country has lost its moral compass. Nearly every Nigerian is looking for money and more money.

- Too much energy is devoted to religion
- Nigerians enjoy living a lie. They have a great capacity to suffer and smile at the same time.

- Polygamy is a major obstacle to the objective of good governance. Many public officials divert energy that should be used to serve the state, settling home-front squabbles. Shouldn't we insist on a one man, one wife policy for anyone seeking a position in government?

- Ideas do not count for much among Nigerians. That is why churches and mosques are doing better than educational institutions.


- To build a good society requires imagination and innovation. Over-dependence on crude oil resources and unchecked access to public treasury have robbed Nigerian leaders of imagination.

- Nigerians love public holidays. They are excited by any opportunity not to work. They want the good life, but they'd rather not work for it.

- Nigerians worship appearances; they are impressed by finery, not substance.

- Nigerians lack a sense of nationhood. Every one is invariably an ethnic hero at heart.

- We are a fun-loving people. That is why every weekend, there is a party on every street corner. By the time Nigerians report for work on Monday, most of them are exhausted. The merry making starts on Friday, continues all through Saturday, with half of Sunday spent in church, on what would pass in most instances for hard labour.

- Nigeria is not investing in its young population. We probably have the highest record of child abuse in the world, with old men going about with girls young enough to be their daughters, with parents sending their children onto the streets to beg, with children school of age on the streets.

- Nigeria is 50, and yet it is still crawling, and there is no outrage yet am
ong the people.

- Nearly every Nigerian family has someone or knows someone who is in Europe, Asia or wherever in the world, and a long army of others also planning to abandon the country. So sad.

Wow Fresha, I can't help but agree with you. Your analysis of the situation is practical and consice. Kudos!

Ujujoan:

Wow Fresha, I can't help but agree with you. Your analysis of the situation is practical and consice. Kudos!

Uju, its actually Reuben Abati's analysis. He is the chairman, editorial board of The Guardian newspapers. Thanks anyway

freshera:


NGOs used to be extremely effective in this country; their potentials and achievement were demonstrated during the struggle for Nigerian democracy in the 90s. Foreign agencies supported Nigerian NGOs with donor funds. But that was also the undoing of the NGO concept. Before long, too many Nigerians had set up NGOs, so many of them inside the briefcases and bank accounts of their promoters. It became so notorious that every wife of an important government official found it necessary to set up one. In their case, it is a special purpose vehicle for raising funds from their husbands' friends and associates and the public treasury. Although two or three First Ladies showed how much could be achieved through good intentions.

This is the part that saddens me the most!

freshera:

Uju, its actually Reuben Abati's analysis. He is the chairman, editorial board of The Guardian newspapers. Thanks anyway

Yea I missed that when I skimmed tru the articule the first time. But having read tru it properly, I realized you are just a really good copycat!

Still, nice of you to bring it on here!

;

Just look at this bad belle.

How would one get Chieftancy Titles, honourary doctorate degrees, religious titles, national titles like GCON and so on if one is not corrupt.

Abegi, make we hear word

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Nigeria and Nigerians are funny sets of created matters. I can not believe individuals who had shown tendency to support the candidature of GEJ, a man who has lost all forms of credibility even to teach first graders lesson on civil obedience, are contributing to a discussion bordering on corruption. Corruption erupts when people do not respect ordinances, regulations and statutory codes of any form. 

GEJ is an embodiment of corruption and a typical bad example for Nigerians. GEJ would have won the pending election with fewer efforts if he joined another party and citing section 7-2C of PDP constitution as his reason.

There are many codes he would like to twist to his favor in future. I wish Nigerians would wish up and hand this man a surprise defeat so that others would learn their lesson.

[quote][/quote]
[b]  Re: The Myth That You Have To Be Corrupt To Get Ahead In Nigeria
« #26 on: Today at 05:45:56 PM » 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@ Dede1

[b]Nigeria and Nigerians are (a) funny set of created matters (English?). I can not believe individuals who had shown tendency to support the candidature of GEJ, a man who has lost all forms of credibility even to teach first graders (a)lesson on (in) civil obedience, are contributing to a discussion bordering on corruption. Corruption erupts (really, like a volcano?)when people do not respect ordinances, regulations and statutory codes of any form.

GEJ is an embodiment of corruption and a typical bad example for Nigerians. GEJ would have won the pending election with fewer (less) efforts if he joined another party and citing section 7-2C of PDP constitution as his reason.

There are many codes he would like to twist to his favor in future. I wish Nigerians would wish up and hand this man a surprise defeat so that others would learn their lesson.[/b]

Join the campain for plain English

@Delarue, wetin na Them send you?? Abeg make you free Dede; he has 'poetic licence', lol

DeLaRue:

[b]  Re: The Myth That You Have To Be Corrupt To Get Ahead In Nigeria
« #26 on: Today at 05:45:56 PM » 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@ Dede1

[b]Nigeria and Nigerians are (a) funny set of created matters (English?). I can not believe individuals who had shown tendency to support the candidature of GEJ, a man who has lost all forms of credibility even to teach first graders (a)lesson on (in) civil obedience, are contributing to a discussion bordering on corruption. Corruption erupts (really, like a volcano?)when people do not respect ordinances, regulations and statutory codes of any form.

GEJ is an embodiment of corruption and a typical bad example for Nigerians. GEJ would have won the pending election with fewer (less) efforts if he joined another party and citing section 7-2C of PDP constitution as his reason.

There are many codes he would like to twist to his favor in future. I wish Nigerians would wish up and hand this man a surprise defeat so that others would learn their lesson.[/b]

Join the campain for plain English

Please, I suggest you quit editing contributor’s posts and spend time on your essay. I prefer to write (Nigeria and Nigerians are funny sets) to your suggested style. You can keep (a lesson in studying civil obedience) too. Also, I chose to write fewer efforts while you preferred (less efforts).  I think (less effort) would have been grammatically correct. However, (fewer efforts) is more grammatically correct than (less efforts). Of course, there are figurative phrase in grammar sets. Corruption can explode or even erupt.


No thanks for your request on joining the campaign for plain grammar. I hope "Join the campain for plain English" is not your signature. The last I checked though, English is an adjectival clause.