Nigerians in Nigeria: 'Chopped Liver?'

[EezeeBee]

The discourse about the UNDP fund, differential salaries for Ministers etc. is ongoing: In my opinion, this argument has actually raised underlying presumptions that are not being addressed amongst Nigerians at home and abroad. Some questions that come to mind are:

(a) Are we as Nigerian nationals accepting of the premise that a Nigerian in Nigeria is inherently useless to Nigeria?

(b) Pursuant to that; Are we stating that the only time a Nigerian 'gains in value' is when they are outside the shores of Nigeria?

(c) Is there something fundamentally 'better' about a person in general, or a Nigerian in particular 'just because' they are or have lived/worked/schooled outside Nigeria?

(d) As a corrollary, does having lived in Nigeria make a person unworthy of or unsuitable for material rewards (whether in forms of high salaries in foreign currency or any other)?

(e) Does an affirmative answer to all the questions above translate to an inferiority complex aka. 'colonial mentality', perpetuated in and outside Nigeria by Nigerians to Nigeria/ns? Shall we roll out the welcome mat for 'Generation I' (for Inferior)?

Further, what then is the incentive for any Nigerian to even BOTHER trying to improve Nigeria from the inside? Or is it more important to leave Nigeria, earn a few hundred - even thousands of - dollars and return home as a 'big man/woman. Is that the ultimate Nigerian aim in life?

I ask, again, because in my opinion, if the answers to the questions is 'Yes', then the sole, abiding and overriding goal worth pursuing as a Nigerian SHOULD BE an opportunity to 'check out'.

Consider the THEORETIC possibility of a person managing to leave Nigeria 'by any means necessary'. Said person might be forced to engage in all manner of shady manipulations of truth and circumstance in order to finally enter the 'mainstream' (whether school or the job market) in their country of foreign domicile.

Is that their primary qualification for becoming 'cause celebres' upon their return?

[c]FOR THOSE WHO WILL LATCH ONTO THIS QUESTION ONLY: I do not in ANY WAY IMPLY that this is the case with the two minsters we've been discussing![/b]

On a personal note, those who may know me off-line can rest assured that my personal circumstance have NOTHING to do with these questions. My view is simply this: as an individual I don't believe that where I live right now automatically makes me 'better' than my contemporaries who live, work and otherwise operate in Nigeria daily. That is why I don't believe that my returning to Nigeria to live will make me 'inferior' to anyone who CHOOSES to remain in diaspora. Again it's that matter of the word CHOICE.

I believe whatever positive qualities I possess are God-given and indwelling; I can only become 'better' by applying myself, solving problems and encouraging quality decision-making. I accept that where I live might enable me to explore a variety of potential outlets for my talents but that does not automatically mean that those at home are 'useless'.

It could be argued that I have more 'opportunities' in the US. The counter to that argument is "opportunities to do what?" Enter more debt? Show off my latest, greatest consumer gadgets? Are those the 'essence' of life, really?

Your thoughts please!

[Kenn]

Eezeebee,

When you operate as a donee country, you are a charity case; but now they're bringing your brothers and sisters one and two to take the 'donation' back to pay mortgages, children's school fees and health care, OUTSIDE your shores, RIGHT WHERE THE 'donation' originates! Now, isn't it good business to seize your most important national portfolios, break your laws, determine your policies in the name of reform, emasculate other national ministries that should have helped for production (which is really what you need than these 'donations' you don't understand, can't understand), collect your human resources cheaply through lottery visas and more importantly, sing the Hymn of Benevolence?

They lose nothing! The money comes back to them! Your policies are determined by them! You're forced to pay questionable debts rather than engage in production! And to ensure that you don't produce, they lure away your productive forces (not likely to return soon) and then return well-trained and doctored NIGERIAN EXPATRIATES, announcing them like a rare breed, passing the money through them again, back where it came from and the whole circular movement again!

[Tola Odejayi]

Eezeebee,

It seems like you already have an opinion on this topic. Fair enough. What I'm less certain about is whether this thread is just an exercise for you to confirm those opinions by refusing the acknowledge the merits of any contrary arguments. So I'll just wait and see how this thread develops before jumping in with my two kobo's worth. |I

[EezeeBee]

Shoko,

I am a Nigerian in 'diaspora' with EVERY intention of returning to Nigeria. I am not asking a rhetorical question at all; I asked the questions to TRULY dig a little deeper about something troubling to me. I'm seeking insight from wiser minds (YOURS included).

Please realize that the benefit of a board like this (in my humble opinion) is that I can finally rub minds with other concerned Nigerians and hopefully thrash out issues of mutual concern. To paraphrase Gowon, no matter the topic, there is no victor, no vanquished.

Contrary arguments are CRITICAL to growth and FULL of merits in themselves. If anything, they provide dimension to any viewpoints held on all sides of an issue. My opinions are not cast in stone and I am hoping someone can shed light on what I consider a troubling topic.

Shoko, I hope you (and others) will take the 'floor' or soapbox. Please! If I have any position at all, I'm hoping that I'm 'WRONG' and someone here will eloquently demonstrate that to me, if only to provide me and others with hope and encouragement.

Cheers!

[Acting Major Benbella]

eezeebee:

It is quite possible that we can discuss the issue you raised here quite clinically unlike the "dollar remuneration" thread where a number of issues got mixed, specifically, "nationalism", "patriotism" the constitution which in my opinion is only respected and referenced when it does suit our position and whether or not the ministers paid in dollars are "earning" their pay.

But for this discussion to proceed in a manner that throws more light rather than heat I think it is worthwhile to rephrase the position you appear to have taken. And since you reference the "dollar remuneration" arguments it will also be productive for you to explain what in that thread gave you the impression that some do believe that Nigerians who live overseas are superior or better than those who reside in Nigeria.

If I understand correctly, the contrary arguments proffered by persons, who in the "dollar..." discussion saw nothing wrong with some ministers being paid in dollars rests on the beliefs that these ministers had special skills that Nigeria needs and as it was later pointed out, specific obligations that requires them being compensated in dollars. If we look closely at how the salary of the foreign minister was structured it took account of the years he still had on his contract with the UN and his dollar remuneration was structured to end when his contract with the UN ends too. After that I his future salaries will be paid in naira. For the finance minister it was different because of how specific skills and contacts she brings to her job.

The assumption that because the two ministers are compensated as they are proves or infers that persons in Nigeria (I presume you meant) because they are not compensated accordingly suggests their low place or inferiority is a wrong one to make.

Countries, like corporations, must in a globalized economy where talent (read labor) move easily compete for the pool of talent they believe they need to strategically position themselves. I am sure that at some future time when Nigeria needs a specific talent being it in nuclear engineering (rather the present prefered route of issuing press announcements based on misunderstood discussions) or in some specialty of medicine or for that matter, economics, it must weigh its ability to attract that talent based on the attractiveness of its offer in comparision to other competing interests for that talent. Arguments that nationalism or patriotism should be the determining incentive rings hollow to me because it weights itself on nebulous intangibles that are neither here nor there. It also dismisses or chose to ignore the competiting environment of the global marketplace.

I am also sure that many Nigerian profesionals with exportable skills have, for the same reasons that Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala took account of in negotiating her pay - family, lifestyle and expectations, exported their skills to the four corners of the world. That is the reality of the world we live in now. It will remain so for the remainder of the future. Let the argument begin. Thanks for starting this thread. I'.m almost sure it will remove or at least reduce the unwholesome heat generated in that other thread. Enjoy!

[CIkpatt]

Further, what then is the incentive for any Nigerian to even BOTHER trying to improve Nigeria from the inside? Or is it more important to leave Nigeria, earn a few hundred - even thousands of - dollars and return home as a 'big man/woman. Is that the ultimate Nigerian aim in life?

- ezeebee

The incentive to "sacrifice" should be nothing short of contributing toward a prosperous Nigeria wherein the "sacrificer" can safely retire to a comparable/better living standard and/or earn as much or even more than what s/he earned abroad.

Any Diasporian who feels shortchanged in accepting to be paid according to what Nigeria can afford, should just not accept going there. We understand and appreciate the spirit and desire to serve fatherland - but we also thank God that there are always many qualified others who can match skill for skill with a sacrificial salary. So, does it make sense to employ a man with a salary that pays for his dogs and strip-club habits over another who is WRA to be "Nairanized"?

We know that the Diasporian stands in general advantage over the "homeboy" because of exposure to contemporary civilizations, technologies, education and, perhaps, more mordern ways of leadership and/or doing things. However, such is more pronounced in highly technical fields far out of reach by Nigerians.

I am not a member of NIDO and, therefore, incompetent to comment about its methods of tracking and documenting highly skilled professionals. But what I have noticed is that maintaining a database of such professionals is useless and colossal waiste of time and effort if they (both professionals and government) only seek to fill top political appointments according to nepotic tendencies.

In the case of politics and political appointments, there are inexhaustable resourses from both pools that Nigeria need not look beyond its shores to get same work done.

Truth be told, some of our colleagues in Nigeria are earning more/living better than some of us in the Diaspora. However, the "big (wo)man" syndrome is the rocket fuel for a dichotomy that has many causes than we can easily exhaust. Both the Diasporian with an accent who sweats much to impress and the "home boy" who fantasizes about abroad are to blame.

[Tola Odejayi]

Eezeebee,

I apologise for my wrong interpretation of your motives for starting this thread. It's just that I (like many other villagers) don't have much free time, so I wanted to make sure that this was a debate which we could all gain from rather than a point-proving contest in which more heat than light was generated.

I'll be back in a short while to address all your questions.

Cheers,

Shoko

[Tola Odejayi]

Eezeebee,

After a spiritually uplifting session of worship at the Temple of the Holy Bicycle, I think that I'm now in the right frame of mind to address your questions.

"(a) Are we as Nigerian nationals accepting of the premise that a Nigerian in Nigeria is inherently useless to Nigeria?"

Before I can answer that question, I have to know - how do you determine whether someone is useful to Nigeria or not? The metric that I'll use is a utilitarian one, whether the person is able to make a large number of people happy in the long term.

By this metric, a person who is useful to Nigeria might be engaged in producing goods that other people want at a price they can afford. Or he might be involved in designing and maintaining laws, structures and systems that protect the rights of people's life and property.

So my answer to the original question would be no - there are people who can make lots of people happy in Nigeria right now without having stepped outside its shores.


"(b) Pursuant to that; Are we stating that the only time a Nigerian 'gains in value' is when they are outside the shores of Nigeria?"

This is an interesting one. On the face of it, the answer would appear to be yes. This is because society abroad is more tolerant of new ways of thinking than in Nigeria, and this means that you are more likely to across new ideas which you can put to use to create more happiness. In other words, you are more 'exposed'.

However, this neglects the fact that before you can productively use your new ideas in Nigeria, you have to take into account the peculiarities of the Nigerian environment. The person who brings his new ideas from outside may find that those ideas are designed only to work in their native environment.

Another thing is the attitude of the Nigerian leaving Nigeria. There are a lot of people who have left Nigeria for the West but who have not increased their potential to be useful to Nigeria because they have kept their minds closed to new ideas. On the other hand, there are Nigerians in Nigeria who (whether out of necessity or curiosity) are constantly thinking of new goods and services to offer other Nigerians, and who will go on the Internet or ring their friends abroad in the quest for these ideas.

So the answer to the question would be not necessarily.


"(c) Is there something fundamentally 'better' about a person in general, or a Nigerian in particular 'just because' they are or have lived/worked/schooled outside Nigeria?"

Deciding whether someone is 'better' than someone else is a personal thing - everyone has their own criteria, so I can't answer this question unless I am allowed to use my own criteria which is that the more dedicated a person is to establishing kunu as the number one drink worldwide, the better that person is.


"(d) As a corrollary, does having lived in Nigeria make a person unworthy of or unsuitable for material rewards (whether in forms of high salaries in foreign currency or any other)?"

For me, the determinant as to whether you are worthy of material rewards is whether you have something of value to offer to the person who is offering material rewards. As I said in my answer to question (b), this is not necessarily linked to having spent time outside Nigeria.


"(e) Does an affirmative answer to all the questions above translate to an inferiority complex aka. 'colonial mentality', perpetuated in and outside Nigeria by Nigerians to Nigeria/ns? Shall we roll out the welcome mat for 'Generation I' (for Inferior)?"

I take it that by 'colonial mentality', you mean an unquestioning acceptance that all things from abroad are better than things from Nigeria.

Well, let's be honest - without getting into the whys and wherefores, there is a tendency for goods and services from abroad to be better than their homegrown equivalent. As a result, people who need to make a quick decision as to whether to get an imported good versus a home-grown one based on quality will go for the imported one.

The problem is when this type of decision making extends to much more complicated issues, and the decision makers are too lazy to examine the alternatives in detail. They then apply the "imported-is-good-Naija-is-bad" rule of thumb, which is unfortunate.

So back to the original question - my answer is not necessarily. Someone who has answered 'yes' to all the questions may simply have erroneously extrapolated his experience with foreign and home grown goods/services and arrived that this conclusion. It doesn't mean that they love the white man with a special love.

In other words, if someone chooses A over B nine times and every time he finds that his choice was wrong, you can't blame him for choosing B the tenth time even though in this case A was the right choice to make.


"Further, what then is the incentive for any Nigerian to even BOTHER trying to improve Nigeria from the inside? Or is it more important to leave Nigeria, earn a few hundred - even thousands of - dollars and return home as a 'big man/woman. Is that the ultimate Nigerian aim in life?

If by 'improve Nigeria' you mean 'be useful to Nigeria' according to my metric earlier, then one incentive is that it can be done. Certainly, the ideas, experiences, equipment and funds from Nigerians outside would make the job easier, and the absence of these would make it very difficult but not impossible.

I hope this answers your questions, but if it raises even more questions, then feel free to ask!

Cheers,

Shoko

[EezeeBee]

Shoko,

Forgive the tardiness of my reply; the early part of this week is extremely hectic! I appreciate the excellent way you've joined the issues raised and I foresee many different directions in which the discourse could go.

What jumps at me initially after a quick perusal of your response is this:

"whether the person is able to make a large number of people happy in the long term." - Shoko

Who exactly exactly defines happiness and how is it defined? I see you took time immediately thereafter to describe a 'useful' person. I agree with those characterizations but argue that since it is impossible to please even members of one's family, it might be futile to attempt that as a goal with large numbers of people. I'd posit that the most useful people in Nigeria (or any society) are those who are able to make the largest number of people useful to THEMSELVES. Happiness, to me, is a personal state, far from a 'right' so to speak. No matter what circumstances I am faced with, I can CHOOSE happiness, despair or a wide variety of emotions between.

More later.

[EezeeBee]

Evidently, the question of why Nigerians even in Nigeria seem unable to merit any regard for positions of responsibility, honor and REWARD occurs to Reuben Abati too...

Hopefully his viewpoint won't be dismissed because he's possibly in a 'NEPA-less bar drinking pepper-soup!' and therefore unaware of the larger, 'developed' world outside Nigeria!

(my apologies for posting the entire article, but if I don't it will be impossible to access it on The Guardian (of Nigeria) Website. All emphasis mine.

THE GUARDIAN
CONSCIENCE, NURTURED BY TRUTH
LAGOS, NIGERIA.

Friday, March 26 2004

Expatriates and the telecom industry
By Reuben Abati

I was invited recently to participate in a telecom roundtable in Lagos. My assignment was to offer, as part of the discussions, "the consumer's perspective". Which was easy. Everyone knows that the Nigerian consumer has a strong, varied and interesting perspective as to how the telecom industry should be organised either in terms of quality of service, or tariffs, or customer care. But in the course of preparing my notes for the presentation, I came upon a realisation which I think should be specially highlighted for the attention of both the National Communications Commission (NCC) and other stakeholders.

It is the large number of expatriates dominating the industry, and occupying strategic positions. Nearly every telecom company advertises itself as a truly indigenous, Nigerian company, with a special interest in the promotion of local people, areas and talent. The companies that are owned by Nigerians, or which have Nigerians as Chairmen are usually more forthcoming with this hype about being Nigerian. In reality however, the people who call the shots, the heart, tone, and tenor of the operation, belong to the expatriates.

The domination of this industry by expatriates is easily explained away on three grounds. The first is that the Nigerian telecom industry is relatively new, and as such, there is the absence of quality local manpower with the required expertise in telecom technology. To build local expertise, to transfer technological skills in telecom development, the only convenient starting point is therefore bound to be the engagement of expatriate staff, who can in due course, teach local engineers and scientists, the tricks of the industry. It is for this reason, that technical operations are currently in many of the companies, under the control of expatriate engineers and experts.

The second explanation is that many of these companies are being operated on the basis of partnerships between Nigerian interests, and foreign investors as part of the fulfillment of the Nigerian government's privatisation and enterprise promotion agenda. If foreign investors have a strong equity in a business, it is only fair to expect that they would want their own people represented in the day-to-day operation to protect their interests. To ask that this should not be the case would be contrary to all known norms of business partnerships.

The third excuse is that the telecom industry is a cost-intensive and volatile business requiring careful nurturing and management. Nigerians do not have a dependable track-record as managers, or as loyal guardians of resources. It is therefore argued that it is safer to bring in foreigners who are more likely to show greater commitment. And if Nigerians must be involved, it is better to restrict them to the less sensitive areas of operation where they can hardly do any serious damage. Taken together, these three explanations are invariably comments on Nigeria's business culture and environment and our level of telecom development.

eezeebee: I'm glad Reuben called this third one an EXCUSE.

Our premise can be easily illustrated. A rough census of the telecom industry reveals that in nearly all the companies, the emerging practice is to reserve the positions of Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Finance Director and similar positions for expatriates. At MTN, which perhaps has a much better record of encouraging local talent and experience, the Managing Director (Adrian Wood); Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, (Felleng Sekha-Molusi) and the Finance Director are all expatriates.

The story is the same at ECONET where until recently, the Managing Director was a South African. The position is only being held in an acting capacity by a Nigerian, presumably until his "interim government" is displaced after the completion of the VODACOM take-over process. At NITEL which many Nigerians would readily identify with, the CEO is Mr. Rein Zwolsman, while the Chief Technical Officer is yet another expatriate - Geert Van Ejik. NITEL's M-TEL is managed by a Dutch company - Pentascope, and its CEO is one Mr. Aad Loois. Danisat, the company that promotes Thuraya phones is headed by Mr. Peter Post.

The Managing Director of Hyperia, an internet service provider is Marcel Karam. RTB Telecom Ltd. is headed by Jorn Nielsen, Danimax Nigeria - until recently by Torsten Schwenke who has now moved on, Harris Corporation by Peter Yap, a Japanese American; Starcomms is headed by Mr. Dirk Smet. Chief Annie Okonkwo's Reliance Telecommunications (RelTel) is readily promoted as a fine example of indigenous entrepreneurship but for any or all of the three reasons earlier identified, the company was initially run by an Ethiopian Managing Director, Bakele Tadese until he fell out with Annie Okonkwo (the new MD, a Nigerian is in acting capacity - Tony Okonkwo); in charge of RelTel Marketing is Mr. Rakesh Kaul; the Chief Technical Officer is also an expatriate. Multi-links is headed and run by Indians; General Telecom where Ernest Ndukwe used to work - by Karl Teller, DOPC - by Sandeep Jayaswal, an Indian, ACCAT by Peter Sinnott, a British and GS Telecom -by Steve Chapman.

But even more interesting is the example of Globacom, the GSM company that can be easily described as completely indigenous in terms of its ownership. But apart from Otunba Michael Adenuga's son, Paddy Adenuga who speaks for the company in public, the main operation, including marketing, is conveniently under the control of expatriates. In addition to this, is the large population of expatriate engineers and consultants who man various aspects of the telecom industry.

Why am I raising an alarm

What we may be faced with, I am afraid, is a re-enactment in the telecom industry of the kind of discrimination against local labour which exists in other sectors of the Nigerian economy. The multi-national oil companies are particularly notorious in this regard, so much that on at least two occasions in the last two years, the Federal Government has had to direct these companies to reserve certain key positions, in their top management hierarchy for Nigerians.
They have also been asked to ensure local content in their sourcing of lower-level labour, and materials, there is even before the National Assembly, a bill seeking to turn these directives into law. It is called the "Nigerian Content Development Bill". Would there be, someday, in the future, the emergence of Nigerian MDs of the upstream sector in the extractive industry

Beyond this sector of the economy, there seems to be, in many companies with foreign connections, a ceiling beyond which local staff cannot aspire.
Hence, the Finance Director and Managing Director of Guinness, Siemens, etc are expatriates; in DHL, the CEO, Operations Manager, and National Sales Manager are always expatriates. In other companies, the effect is not just the restriction of career ceiling for Nigerian, but the abuse of expatriate quota, capital flight, and anti-Nigerian business practices. There are companies in Nigeria which would rather import raw materials from abroad, instead of developing a raw material base in the country. In the construction industry, carpenters, machinists, cooks are sometimes imported from Germany, Italy, South Africa, and paid by the companies as expatriates.

I once went to service my car at a garage run by expatriates, operating in Nigeria. When it was time to settle the bill, I was directed to the Finance Department. It was a Nigerian that attended to me; he issued a receipt but when I brought out cash, he promptly directed me to an expatriate sitting nearby, keeping an eye on him. His only job, the Nigerian explained, was to write receipts. He is not allowed to touch cash! I felt scandalised. Why on earth would a company import a cashier all the way from Korea when there are millions of Nigerians who can do the job

Why wouldn't a Nigerian be allowed to manage the cash till in his own country?

It becomes even more disturbing when Nigerian entrepreneurs deliberately undervalue their own compatriots. They are the ones who promote the impression that Nigerians cannot be trusted. There are Nigerian investors who would never appoint a Nigerian as a Finance Director in any of their companies. There are Nigerian big men who are served by Filipino cooks and English Secretaries! The increasingly convenient excuse that is offered is that we are in the age of globalisation. Labour has become increasingly competitive and mobile, and investors should be allowed the right to appoint whoever they deem fit, and not be blackmailed with hollow calls for patriotism.

The various telecom companies have Nigerians as Chairmen of their boards, but it remains to be seen whether these chairmen, as a matter of principle, use their positions to protect the interest of local labour. I assume that it is not necessarily true that there are no enough Nigerians with quality expertise in telecom technology. The brilliant performance of some of the MTN local staff in charge of technical services and base stations has shown the great potential which the telecom phenomenon is activating.

Serious countries introduce policies and mechanisms for protecting the long-term interests of local labour. In South-East Asia, the various countries, especially Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, insist on opportunities for local talent. Even in their multinational companies, the governments insist that expatriates should contribute expertise only as required in technical areas, while management should have a local face. In Nigeria, government continuously sends the wrong signals. If President Obasanjo could help it, he would have appointed expatriates as Special Advisers and Ministers. During COJA 2003, the Nigerian government imported cooks from South Africa!

The explanation that the current domination of the telecom industry by expatriates is a short-term measure may not necessarily be true, unless we begin to raise an alarm now. Multinationals operating in Nigeria have always made such promises but they have not moved a step further. Talks about business opportunities in Nigeria are not often matched by a commitment to the growth and long-term promotion of local enterprise and expertise.

In the extractive industry, as well as the textile sector, Nigerian experts, even those with more quality experience and proven competence than the expatriates have had cause to complain quietly about the humiliation they suffer. Expatriate staff with low competence margins receive better remuneration, and enjoy privileges, while the local man does the job! In the textile sector, Nigerians are treated in a manner worse than slavery. The Nigerians in this situation are unable to complain loudly because of the risk involved: they could be sacked, and thrown into the uncertain world outside. The Nigerian employee is an unlucky victim of the scarcity of opportunities in the land of his birth.

eezeebee: this, then, is the urgent task: creating opportunities in Nigeria and being UNAFRAID to see others GET RICH! Enough of the "I must be the big man here approach!" Others can be big wo/men, bigger than me! What do I care as long as my needs are met?

Still, I should like to see in the nearest future, MTN, Starcomms, ECONET, M-Tel etc. headed by Nigerian CEOs and Finance Directors. In many industries, it is only when the company is breaking up that a Nigerian is hurriedly appointed beyond the ceiling, to manage the crisis, and take the blame for the company's failures. This should not be allowed to happen in the telecom industry. The NCC should provide necessary regulations, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs should begin to take an interest in the abuse of the expatriate quota in various sectors of the economy. As for the assumption that Nigerians cannot be trusted, even by their own compatriots in business, the point does not necessarily follow the fact. The various Nigerians who sit atop these companies as Chairmen should see themselves as advocates for the kind of value that can be added to Nigerian life and society.

© 2003 - 2004 @ Guardian Newspapers Limited (All Right Reserved).

[Neop]

Reuben Abati makes a good point.
I read this this morning online at the Guardians website.

Nigerians are indeed second class at home also.

I dont know if Dr. Abati did this on purpose; but the scenarios he describes reminds me of the way some of the columnists used to write under the colonial era.

The game is an old one -

Expat comes in.
Expat finds a gullible, idiotic member of the Nigerian elite.
Expat gives him some change.
Expat becomes god.

Same old tactic - nothing has changed.

I keep telling Nigerians - Your HATRED of yourself is the source of your problem.
They say - No, Haba, No - Ah! Naija ke! No!

But then how do you explain this?
Why is it that we are quick to associate the negative elements with Naija and then we line up to praise some criminal expats?

Just the other day; someone was telling me that 500,000 expats were in Nigeria ILLEGALLY.
Ladies and Gentlemen; How are they being paid? With whose Forex? It boggles the mind.

Furthermore - why is the Nigerian elite so divorced from its responsiblities to the public? Especially the corporations.
They parrot sentiments they heard from strange sources - sentiments like free trade etc;

It seems to me that their egos are fed by their association with these expats - and that the Nigerian public is the one that bears the brunt of it when these egos seek release through pride, arrogance and the devaluation of fellow human beings.

The consequences are real.

We must face the facts; Ladies and Gentlemen; Exactly what do we value - Our Freedom from constraints global and local or the Prosperity - which we are told - some expats will bestow upon us.

[EezeeBee]

An excerpt from a job advert I saw on www.findajobinafrica.com:

Location : Nigeria
Country : Nigeria
Company : Niche Resources Ltd

Description :
Major African mobile / GSM / Cellular telco are seeking an expat Programme Manager / Product Manager to develop a strategic vision for a process centric New Product Development (NPD) value chain/stream...

... A two year contract with tax free earnings of $5-6000/month + full ex-pat benefits is available to the right candidate.

You can imagine how bad it must feel to be a Nigerian first of all, seeing a job opening offering this kind of money and being unqualified JUST BECAUSE you are a NIGERIAN in NIGERIA! they actually SPECIFY that the candidate must be an expatriate!

For those who insist that it is only those who are outside in the diaspora, I hope you realize that you don't qualify NO MATTER what position you might have reached in any organization because you are not an EXPATRIATE!

My people, I ask the question again: Is a Nigerian in Nigeria a 'useless' being? If so, why? If not, explain because an ad like the one above suggests that.

How do we forge a way ahead where a Nigerian can stand shoulder to shoulder with ANY OTHER HUMAN BEING and compete for work INSIDE and OUTSIDE of Nigeria?

By the attitudes of many of our leaders, we suggest that 'foreign expertise' is critical and invaluable. We give short shrift to local ideas and individuals. I know in this instance it's a foreigner asking for a foreigner but they seem to learn from our attitudes first!

[Neop]

There are 10 important points in Dr. Abati's article that I want to highlight -

1. Low performing foreingers are given better renumeration while the local men do the JOB. This is very important. We are not paying these people because they get the job done; BECAUSE THEY DONT.
Abati mentions that foreigners with ZERO competence still get better payments than the local hands who actually do the on-hands work. So why? Are we paying the foreingners for their exoticness or what? Is this principle Universalizable in The US and the U.K?

2. Key postions are never filled by Nigerians even in a company built by Nigerians; Dr. Abati mentions the presence of a glass ceiling. Is this fact or fiction?

3. Foreginers hardly ever bring in skill. He mentions that overarching prominence of local MTN technical staff.

4. Other countries are vigorously and agressively protecting their labour markets etc; while we open ours up to every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jemima.

5. The excuses Nigerian CEOs give are nothing but uninvestigated Parrotted sentiments. They talk about a globalization they know nothing about. They are served by filipino cooks and english secretaries - Is there the need to boost ones ego here, people?

6. A lot of the expatriates brought in are USELESS and REDUNDANT; yet they are paid - and we complain about Forex reserves?

7. Some companies even import raw materials present in Nigeria from outside - Is the example of the FG a factor in this?

8. No attempt has ever been made to remedy the situation; excuses and postponements have always been the order of the day.

9. The FG is a major culprit in this affair. Cooks from SA? What next; baby sitters from Angola? For shame, for shame, for shame!!!

10. And finally; cost-benefit doesnt cut it here - because these expats are paid more; yet they perform less - Which brings us to the 64 Billion Naira question - Why are they being paid - In fact; why are they in Nigeria at all?

[EezeeBee]

Neop,

I'll address your points one at a time subsequently. It just dawned on me that the equivalent advert for a job here in the US or in the UK would REQUIRE someone from, say, NIGERIA to fill that vacancy. They'd be stipulating that NO ONE in America/England COULD possibly do that job!

The cheek!

I'll touch on #5 -

"Is there the need to boost ones ego here, people?" - Neop

That is the fundamental, bottom line; for a person to be able to go to the club and tell his/her peers "my Filipino cook made some sushi yesterday..." I will continue to say this: Until this whole 'big man' syndrome which you and Orems have alluded to elsewhere is put in check, the 'colonial mentality' or reverse colonialism will continue to upend our sense of propriety.

What the HELL do I want a South African cook making my banga and sta's' (starch) for? LOL!

[Neop]

Mr. Eezzee -

Na wa o!!! Ehn! We cannot even cook our common Garri again; we need people from Lusaka to cook them for us!

I await subsequent dealings with all these points in the near future.

However; you are absolutely on target when you tackle the problem of Big-Manism.

The solution to this again; is INFORMATION.

Let me be blunt - Until the white European culture is thoroughly demystified for the benefit of Africans; Africans arent going anywhere.
Why? Held captive by an Illusion!!!

Information people!

I await a NigeriaVillage Square Internet Television and Radio Channel; similar to or better than what obtains on
www.abeokuta.org

Our main objective will be the deconstruction of myths and stereotypes.
Every villager will be a reporter and every villager a newsman.
We will ask folks back home to join in producing clips and packages.

Demystification people - This is the key; and only contextualized Information can achieve that.

[AfricaWest1]

Neop

I don't intend to steal your tunder, but I was only recently contemplating the best time to introduce the subject of a VillageSquare cable television channel in the UK.

Anyway, you've touched on the subject and I believe this has to be the next step. We have the commitment and know-how in our community to pull this off.

I must explain why I prefer the name "VilliageSquare". It connotes a time in Africa when local democracy and accountability were alive. If I had my way, I will call the National Assembly (i.e Parliament): the "VillageSquare".
It might help refocus the Nigerian psyche on the role of the peoples' deputies (senators/rep.s). At all times, the interest of the village (i.e the people) should come before any personal interest/agenda.

I am sure will shall be returning to this topic soon.

[Big-K]

Neop and Africawest,

I'm excited to see that some of us are sharing the same vision.

The idea of Village Square webcasting, Newspaper and even Cable TV is a reachable one, and is there for the taking. You'll recollect I started a thread sometime back on starting a Village Square radio station at least on the internet to start with.
link: Starting a Radio Station

It can be done.

[AfricaWest1]

Big K

I have researched into setting up a UK TV cable channel
and it is very simple. If in deed, villagers are serious about
setting up a cable channel on both sides of the atlantic,
we should start working on the operational side of the project.

I think we should table this as a project with ONIC. What do you think? I am serious and will go as far to say, if fellow villagers are not really interested, I will set one up myself (i.e. VillageSquare Cable Television U.K) within a timescale of my choosing.

Take care!

[EezeeBee]

AW,

Never fear; I cannot imagine NVillagers not being interested. You've done the research; What would be broad logistics for setting up the operational side of such a project (apart from the ubiquitous money!)

I do love the sound and sentiment behind 'villagesquare tv' because it a immediately transcends any one people or nation and is therefore inherently extensible.

I agree that ONIC ought to put that in our sights

[LeCarre]

VS TV
-

[EezeeBee]

I know I am not the only one who is able to read in the English language. Our leaders too can read the sentiments expressed by this physician. He captures the mind-set of so many of our brethren, especially when he states "it is not about the money". Again, he just feels that being in Nigeria, he'll never have a chance to truly excel. The same person will come here, go through the board exams and the next thing you know, he'll be able to return as an 'expert'. Someone who would have readily been an expert in his own land. Sad, sad indeed!

African Doctor, BBC - Tired of taking the back seat

'Why I want to leave Nigeria's hospitals'

Nigeria's hospitals are under-equipped
The UK's National Health Service has been accused of poaching doctors and nurses from African countries, where they are badly needed and which have invested scarce resources on their training. Here, Nigerian doctor Uche Uruakpa explains why he, too is looking for greener pastures overseas.
The human body fascinates me and I have always wanted to be a doctor. I truly want to be a specialist, but if I stay here I will never reach my potential. Never.

I am now a doctor at a private clinic in Abuja, but I trained at the University of Nsukka, Enugu. The whole experience was very, very frustrating. The frequent strikes affected us badly and we had to have "crash" programmes to catch up. It put a lot of stress on the lecturers and the students.

We didn't have enough equipment. One student would use it while the rest stood and watched. And often the instruments didn't work anyway. We never had enough practical experience; it was largely theory.

You had to be highly motivated to keep going. By our final year, more than half the students had left.

Medical research

Today very few of my classmates remain in Nigeria. Most have gone to places like the US or the UK or Trinidad and Tobago. Anywhere but Nigeria.

How can a doctor earn $50 a month and live in a village where there is no electricity and pipe borne water, while government officials run around in big cars?

Why I came to the UK
Here in Nigeria, everything is dilapidated. We don't have the basic infrastructure to do the job. Everyone wants to get out. All the time I am here, I am making plans to get out.

It's not just about money. I want to specialise, I want to do medical research, I want proper training and I want to enhance my knowledge. I can't get any of that in Nigeria.

Our politicians don't care. When they get sick, they fly overseas. Even if they just need their blood pressure taking.

Nigerian is not lacking the intellectual manpower. It is lacking the political will. If I stay here, I will always have to take a back seat. I will never reach my potential.

[Obugi]

eezeebee,

Take a look at this story.

Going Back Home For School!

*************************************************

I hope the link works. Those UK parents are sending their kids back to African schools because they know what I know from personal experience: African schls, at least Nigerian schools, produce better elementary/high schl students on the average than US or UK schools. I know many Nigerian parents who can't afford private schls in the US who also send their wards to Nigeria.

So Nigeria is doing well in private schls.

Nigeria's movie industry is booming.

Our long distance bus system is good.

Our telecom system is the fastest growing in the world, and getting better.

What do all these industries have in common in Nigeria? They are all private initiatives with good or minimal regulation and zero government participation.

The young doctor going to the UK is making an appropriate choice for himself. He is practicing the universal dictum: GET YOURS! Never mind that he has gotten almost free tuition in a public university to learn a valuable skill. A medical student in Nigeria? Hmmm, I wonder what is the income percentile and socio economic class of most medical students in Nigeria. This is probably a guy from an upper middle class home who can very well afford to take risks and work and learn in Nigeria, but no, na Oyinbo I wan treat. Yet he also says in the interview that he is not after money. Such hypocrisy. Its alright though, I truly understand, he's gotta get his jare!

What cutting edge medical knowledge is this guy after in UK? How to improve penile erectile function in elderly British men? How to help overfed British women loose weight? While his own little brothers and sisters in Nigeria are dying of simple things from cholera, typhoid and kidney stones.

Ahh, but the sex life and body image of Oyinbo people is far more important than the life of Black African children! This after Nigerians dashed him cheap medical education!

See why we need private, market priced university education? Another topic for another day.

That doctor had a choice. He could have chosen to stay in Nigeria and do what enterpreneurs have done in other sectors of the Nigerian economy, work hard to develop the healthcare sector and reap the rewards and in the process help his fellow Africans. He could even do that in the future, 10-20yrs from now. We can only hope that he doesn't get drunk on British Tea and suddenly start singing how African is unlivable and that he can't live among Africans because they have an average IQ of 10. I never cease to marvel at what a little euros and dollars do to some of our people.

So my friend, Nigerians in Nigeria are not chopped liver. There are people doing well there. So many get caught up with the dream of living large in the West that they neglect the opportunities right in front of their noses.

It is the reason why native born Americans and British don't work as hard as immigrants in their countries. Why work hard when there is an easier way, such as welfare? Why work hard when you can chill and somehow still have a roof over your head and 3 square meals?

If you can't get a visa or you don't have connections in Nigeria, the only choice left is to work hard or stay poor. Work hard and Get Yours......and your fellow citizens in your country of residence will benefit from that hard work. Like the people of Nigeria are benefiting from private schls, boreholes, telecom, airlines and buses. The choice is which country do you want to work hard for. Where is your heart? Who do you love, Oyibo or your own people?

Get Yours! Get It Now!

Obugi.

[Austin]

Obugi has done it again, trace back the whole story to its root cause, which is the philosophy of "Get Yours". And this is why I am singing his praise and hereby nominating him for the Nobel Price or any of its African equivalent - if such exist.

Ezbee, my answer to all of your questions is of course in the affirmative. I say because both my intuition, personal ewxperiences and the result of renowned researchers point out to the fact that somewhere, somehow along the line, something happened to the psyche of the Africans. And therefore what we need to do in order to move the country and indeed continent forward is to find the way to correct this malfunction.

I guess that by my submission I would be qualified to be labelled as an essentialist according to Next Level's definition - even though I know I am not. What I believe is that both essentialists and non-essentialists can live and work side by side to the benefit of their country, continent and humanity at large.

Yes, Nigerians are inferior in Nigeria and indeed almost everywhere around the world. But then, it is first and foremost all about how we see ourselves that the rest of the world we tend to see us. Chikena

[EezeeBee]

Culled from the Nigerian Guardian;

Could there be a positive economic inflow to the local families/communities if even half of the 15,000 jobs were held by Nigerians?

Professionals, workers bemoan use of expatriates by firms
By Roseline Okere
TO curtail reported allegation of capital flight against some firms, the Federal Government has been advised to monitor closely the use of expatriate across the country.

According to available statistics, about 15,000 positions are being occupied by foreigners in the oil service industry alone.

Over the years, major contractors in the country have allegedly been violating the labour laws and Nigerian Constitution in respect of expatriate quota.

Recently, workers under the umbrella of the Nigerian National Fitters Association (NNFA) and the Nigerian Welders Association (NWA) raised alarm on the increasing use of expatriates to replace them for jobs for which they are qualified and have actually been doing.

According to them, the preference by employers for expatriates to take over jobs being handled by indigenous workers was gradually becoming organisational policy in companies in the country.

They described it as particularly embarrassing and worrisome when these expatriates recruited to take over their jobs are "less qualified."
They alleged that the foreigners are smuggled into the country by the multi-national firms and conglomerates
President of NWA, Mr. Moses Akande said: "We believe that for an economy to grow, a responsive government must provide jobs and jobs security for her citizenry.

Also, the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria (IMCON) President, Mr. Olabusoye Dairo, blamed the use of expatriate on the immigration department, adding that Nigeria's growth has been slowed down because of the use of expatriates for job for which Nigerians are adequately qualified.

He said that the so called expatriates are not better than our professionals, who are working as successful doctors, nurses, lawyers and lecturers, in other parts of the world.

The most painful aspect of it is that most of these foreigners are not even more qualified than the Nigerians, yet they will be employed to take over their jobs.

He explained that apart from the direct consequences of job losses by Nigerians there is also the allegation of capital flight.

On his part, the President of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, Mr. Herbert Agbebiyi, stated that every foreign professional coming to Nigeria to practice must be fully registered with a professional body in the country.

"I am not against expatriates in Nigeria because they may have something else to offer the country's professionals", adding that any job which a Nigerian can do must not be given to a foreigner.

In most cases, according to Agbebiyi, when a Nigerian aid a foreigner compete for a job, you will discover that the Nigerian always thrive because a Nigerian professional has all it takes to work anywhere in the world.

He noted that Nigeria is blessed with many intelligent professionals. "These foreigners are not in anyway better than the Nigerians, because those people that had the opportunity to study abroad will attest to the fact they are not better than the Nigerians in terms of academics and ability to perform duties very well in the offices.

A former worker of Scoa Motors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed his experience with expatriates.

"The truth is that these foreigners are not even qualified for the type of jobs they are brought into the country to execute. When I was still under the service of Scoa Motors, there was this Argentine citizen, who was brought to work as a manager in one department. I had the opportunity of seeing his curriculum vitae, only to discover that he only had a technical certificate in boat engineering and he graduated a earlier".

Such is the practice of some of these companies, who will go to their countries and bring into Nigeria unqualified professionals to be head over the Nigerian qualified professionals.

Speaking further, he said "do you know that some companies even go as far as to bring in clerks, typists to work here in Nigeria". He accused the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) of not doing enough to check the trend.

"The men and officers of the NIS who, by their corrupt disposition, make this dispossession of Nigerian workers possible, should realise that they facilitate, promote and sustain grave economic crimes against Nigerians".

Austin, since the answer is 'Yes', where can we tackle this at it's roots? What will demonstrate to the NIS worker who rubber stamps every application for a foreign dishwasher to come to Nigeria and head a company's division that his actions are inimical to the short- and long-term progress of Nigerians?

[XtrmlyAngry]

EZ- Most of Nigeria's problems today are not only extremely complex their causalty is almost unidentifiable. Its the Chicken or the egg conundrum. Is it that employers need expats because nigerians cant do the job or Nigerians cant do the jobs because employers get expats. I personally think the only way to curb this trend is for the law to change in favour of locals. Most developing nations have such labour rules, all expats should only be employed on contract basis and this contract should include a rider to train 2 or more locals to replace him on completion of said contract.

I suspect the problem is far more complicated than this there are several other reasons for this trend. Kolo mentality is also a big part the nigerians own inferiority complex has a big part to play, also nigerians inherent distrust of one another exacerbated by our dishonesty and don't get me wrong I am not generalising, I believe generalisations are wrong. The Nigerian psyche is geared towards dishonesty and this is a new thing peculiar to Nigeria in the whole of Africa. This means most Nigerians don't trust their fellow country men so find it safer to employ "expatriates".

The future looks even worse this trend would probably continue until the current role models in the Nigerian society are all displaced or replaced.

[Sheffer]

Obugi,

you wrote:

So Nigeria is doing well in private schls.

Nigeria's movie industry is booming.

Our long distance bus system is good.

Our telecom system is the fastest growing in the world, and getting better.

What do all these industries have in common in Nigeria? They are all private initiatives with good or minimal regulation and zero government participation.

Note also that three of the four sectors above are run virtually totally by Nigerians (finally killing the unfounded idea that Nigerians are poor managers). Yes privatisation is fine but must put all aspects of the relevant industry in the hands of the People, as their very direct and involved means of livelihood. In this way, the greatest possible gain is gotten from that economic sector in terms of enterpreneurial opportunities, employed jobs, and sharpening of knowledge base, experience and skills related to that sector. As much as possible, in privatising, Nigerians should own the economy in the real sense of the word. And by Nigerians, one doesn't mean a few Nigerians but the greatest possible number.

[Obugi]

Sheffer,

While I agree that the cause of Nigerian development will be best served by spreading ownership around, we must however ask ourselves if current conditions make such laudable goals possible in the short run.

In the here and now, which is where we find ourselves, the Black Africans of Nigeria must work within the structure they have, unless they have the courage to overthrow the system. The funny thing is that most Nigerians with the wherewithal to bear risk have proven by their actions that they don't want to own any productive enterprise.

The politician would rather stash his stolen millions in a London bank than risk investing it.

The young engineer would rather run abroad and spend his most energetic and productive years there. God forbid he take the risk of staying in Nigeria.

Most African high income professionals do not want to take the risk of living and being entrepreneurs in Nigeria, even though their incomes provide them with a lot of security to take the risk.

Most young graduates go to University expressly for the purpose of securing a government do nothing job, or a job with a government linked industry like oil extraction or banking.

On my part, I applaud the very few Big Men who have chosen to invest in airlines rather than take the easy way out by living on interest bearing saving accounts. I applaud the young movie directors who have computer degrees and chose, or maybe were forced by circumstances to apply their skill to enterprise rather than join the throngs of applicants roaming the streets. I applaud ANYONE who takes risk of doing business in Nigeria when they have the choice of doing nothing. They must be paid for their risk.

As far as I am concerned, not taking risks in Nigeria is very, very understandable. I don't think everyone should be investing, doing business or working in Nigeria. But those who do should be paid for their risk.

I don't care if Babangida owns 50% of all the businesses in Nigeria, as long as they are profitable and employ citizens and contribute to progress in Africa. Of course it would be better if the man were put on trial for theft, along with even OBJ and the rest, but who is willing to fight the good fight? Who will do it?

We have to work with what we have right now, and what we have is the impulse by every Shehu, Femi and Emeka to follow the motto: "GET YOURS!". My hope is that we can work with what we have now and use it to serve a larger purpose.

Obugi.

[Tango]

eezeebee,

Take a look at this story.

Going Back Home For School!

*************************************************

I hope the link works. Those UK parents are sending their kids back to African schools because they know what I know from personal experience: African schls, at least Nigerian schools, produce better elementary/high schl students on the average than US or UK schools. I know many Nigerian parents who can't afford private schls in the US who also send their wards to Nigeria.

So Nigeria is doing well in private schls.

Nigeria's movie industry is booming.

Our long distance bus system is good.

Our telecom system is the fastest growing in the world, and getting better.

What do all these industries have in common in Nigeria? They are all private initiatives with good or minimal regulation and zero government participation.

The young doctor going to the UK is making an appropriate choice for himself. He is practicing the universal dictum: GET YOURS! Never mind that he has gotten almost free tuition in a public university to learn a valuable skill. A medical student in Nigeria? Hmmm, I wonder what is the income percentile and socio economic class of most medical students in Nigeria. This is probably a guy from an upper middle class home who can very well afford to take risks and work and learn in Nigeria, but no, na Oyinbo I wan treat. Yet he also says in the interview that he is not after money. Such hypocrisy. Its alright though, I truly understand, he's gotta get his jare!

What cutting edge medical knowledge is this guy after in UK? How to improve penile erectile function in elderly British men? How to help overfed British women loose weight? While his own little brothers and sisters in Nigeria are dying of simple things from cholera, typhoid and kidney stones.

Ahh, but the sex life and body image of Oyinbo people is far more important than the life of Black African children! This after Nigerians dashed him cheap medical education!

See why we need private, market priced university education? Another topic for another day.

That doctor had a choice. He could have chosen to stay in Nigeria and do what enterpreneurs have done in other sectors of the Nigerian economy, work hard to develop the healthcare sector and reap the rewards and in the process help his fellow Africans. He could even do that in the future, 10-20yrs from now. We can only hope that he doesn't get drunk on British Tea and suddenly start singing how African is unlivable and that he can't live among Africans because they have an average IQ of 10. I never cease to marvel at what a little euros and dollars do to some of our people.

So my friend, Nigerians in Nigeria are not chopped liver. There are people doing well there. So many get caught up with the dream of living large in the West that they neglect the opportunities right in front of their noses.

It is the reason why native born Americans and British don't work as hard as immigrants in their countries. Why work hard when there is an easier way, such as welfare? Why work hard when you can chill and somehow still have a roof over your head and 3 square meals?

If you can't get a visa or you don't have connections in Nigeria, the only choice left is to work hard or stay poor. Work hard and Get Yours......and your fellow citizens in your country of residence will benefit from that hard work. Like the people of Nigeria are benefiting from private schls, boreholes, telecom, airlines and buses. The choice is which country do you want to work hard for. Where is your heart? Who do you love, Oyibo or your own people?

Get Yours! Get It Now!

Obugi.

Obugi:

I was riled by your above post of 3/17/05 #22, not just because of your hypocrisy which was on display there but also because of your denigration of someone for a choice he made to better his life. For a start, I think you will do well to tell your audience where you got your medical education and where you currently reside. I took the pain to go to Nigeriaworld.com messageboard so that I can replay to you your own words concerning Nigeria and Nigerians. After reading those posts, you will agree that it is hard to reconcile your thoughts there and your position now on this thread.

NIGERIAN SUCCESSES ABROAD/ NAIJA
obugi
Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Posts: 23
Location: USA Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2003 3:17 pm Post subject: Investment Can Be Done Anywhere...

Memsy,

Any right thinking person knows that there is business potential in Nigeria. What a lot of us in the diaspora, and myself in particular, resent is the implication that one must start a business in Naija to qualify as hardworking or patriotic or have the right to criticise the govt.

Not everyone has the aptitude for business. If the quest is to live well and accumulate wealth it can be done just as well in the USA, and without starting a business. I used to have these wrong and exaggerated ideas about success (and other things) till I made it a point to start looking at data gathered in govt surveys, statistical analysis and business reports.

Check this out. Only 5-7% of all tax filing households in the USA (depending on wether you use Census or IRS data) earn $100K/yr. Remember, this also includes business owners. Now if a Nigerian in the USA invests 7-11 years in post secondary school education and ends up as a medical doctor, Ivy League Lawyer or MBA or a really good engineer or architect s/he can earn more than that, year after year, which is more than 90% of the population in the USA, the richest nation, will earn. That to me qualifies as success. If anyone can attain that in Naija, good for them, go ahead and do it. I don't care what anyone does (419, drugs, health care, lawyer, engineer) or where s/he does it, as long as the person is living well and is happy. We need to stop denigrating each others choices. There may well be some choices made by Nigerians that call for criticism, but this matter of where to live or invest or start business or work is a false argument. Diversity is a good thing. Like the Igbo proverb says, when you enter the compound of a great man, you will find all kinds of people there.....thieves, hard workers and mad people. Let us celebrate this and find ways to turn this diversity to our advantage.

Each of us needs to make our own informed choices. In that sense I must thank you, memsy, for your valuable information, which you presented in a level headed, matter of fact and friendly way, unlike Ife's approach. We all have private circumstances in our lives that cause us to make certain choices. Besides, there is a reason why many, many, Nigerians, even today as I type this, are desperately seeking visas to leave Nigeria. You only need to compare the demand for visas at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC to the demand at the US Consulate in Lagos. The last census found that 10% of the population in the USA were born in foreign countries. I wonder what all those people are looking for in the USA. Nigerians are not stupid, we each know what is good for us.

Obugi.
_________________
The First and Most Important Factor That Leads To Success Is Self Love.

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 6:45 pm Post subject: "Nigerians" Will Never Be Patriotic.
Protest against featuring of DV-2005 on Main Page

My people, think. Why did the various nations of the Soviet Union secede? The Soviet Union was just a facade for Russian rule over Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, et c. Ukrainians never loved the Soviet Union, and the native peoples of Nigeria, excepting those who benefit from "Nigeria" and a few other brainwashed individuals, will never love Nigeria.

That is why most Nigerians, (I dare say over 95%) want to leave Nigeria. Imagine what would happen today if visa requirements were eliminated for Nigerians travelling to the USA, Canada and UK, or even Germany. B/c Nigeria is a foreign state that does not even acknowledge the rights of its indigenous people to choose their govt. I, Obugi, have more political rights as a US citizen than as a Nigerian. My vote counts here, but not in Nigeria.

So that visa lottery info was arguably the most important news of the year for over 95% of Nigerians. If you are among the fortunate 5%, you won't ever understand. Just enjoy yourself and always thank "Nigeria" for whatever it is that it gave you. The rest of us have very little to be patriotic about.

Obugi.
_________________
The First and Most Important Factor That Leads To Success Is Self Love.

obugi
Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Posts: 23
Location: USA Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2003 11:01 am Post subject:

Sylva, Xcom, Docemo,

Let me get this straight. You want me to join you and discourage people from leaving Nigeria. You want the Webmaster to relegate the most important news item for Nigerians this year to a footnote. This is why I don't post much on Nigerian message boards or fora anymore. What kind of hyprocrisy is this?

Obugi and his family, along with >95% of Nigerians today, experienced the following:

Life without electricity, running water in the home, car, air conditioning, phone, good roads, to name a few. Some of Obugi's schools did not have roofs, and he had to walk in the hot sun to get to the school. Obugi's parents did not get paid for 6,7,8 months for their labor. When Obugi finally made it to a FGC for secondary schl, he had to contend with classmates whose high class parents provided them with vast amounts of money stolen from the Nigerian govt. Then after University, these same "ajebota" kids landed jobs in Shell, UAC, First Bank, Nestle, while people of Obugi's socio economic class couldn't get jobs. You actually want me to go back to that? Hmmmmmm. Let's see, Obugi in a few years will be earning over $100K/yr. Could I make even 20% of that in Nigeria?

Well, after I've piled up enough $$$$ in the USA to guarantee my social and economic ascendancy in Nigeria so I can live there like you all apparently did, I'll talk to you.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge you high class folks your patriotism for "Nigeria". You enjoyed Nigeria and I wish I had too. Where I condemn is your hypocrisy. I find it truly insulting, almost physically painful. Do you really not know how most Nigerians live?

My interactions with "ajebota" kids in the USA have convinced me that they, along with some misguided lower class people, just don't want other Nigerians to enjoy what they themselves are enjoying. They would rather have the Obugis of Nigeria trapped in Nigeria serving them and begging them for money. Why? Aren't there enough people left in Nigeria for you to lord it over? Obugi has cast his lot with a new upper class and he is content to be their slave b/c they are more humane. Is that blunt enough for you to understand?

Millions of Nigerians will contest this Visa Lottery whether you like it or not, b/c they are very intelligent, contrary to what you obviously think.

Oh, Docemo, I am not a seccesionist. When the ruling class of Nigeria stop deliberately inflicting economic, social and political hardship on their people in order to make money, then Igbos will benefit and I will love Nigeria as much as I love the USA. In any case, Ivory Coast, Zaire, Liberia and Somalia is what Nigeria will inevitably descend to if our rulers don't have a change of heart.
Our leaders have been educated in Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge. They know exactly what they are doing.

Obugi.
_________________
The First and Most Important Factor That Leads To Success Is Self Love.

obugi
Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Posts: 23
Location: USA Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2003 12:53 pm Post subject: The Problem With Nigeria........

Xcom,

Look, the problem with "Nigeria" is not with the ruled but with the rulers. There is nothing self righteous about what I have written. What you want us to do is called "whitewashing". If "Nigeria" were a nation worthy of our love we would not need to engage in any public relations to spruce up our image. The green passport of Nigeria would be a badge of honor and not shame.

I read your profile. You are a brilliant young man who enjoyed many opportunities in Nigeria. I myself did excellently in my own secondary schl days at a certain FGC, but I assure you I would never have been able to get into Shell to do an internship. I know many other far more brilliant kids who could never get what you apparently got. I am not saying you did not deserve what you got, just that you must be cognizant of the fact that if you got a job at Shell based purely on merit, you are a very notable exception. Yes, there is nepotism in USA, but in this country, whether you "know" someone or not, there is a minimum standard of living that the ruling class has set for the underclass, and the reason they do that is easy to understand. The people of the USA have votes that count. They also have guns. The leadership know who is ultimately in charge. Such considerations are what made France and England the havens of prosperity they are today, in addition this the ruling classes got together with the commoners in their countries to go and steal and exploit foreign countries. The more conducive countries were even settled by commoners from these European nations.

Let me illustrate my next points with a link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3130297.stm

I hope it works. These are supposedly "lazy" Nigerians. See how much effort they are making to succeed. Why isn't the govt encouraging these manufacturers? What do they need?

1. Security of lives and property: If the Bakassi Boys can make Aba and most of Igbo urban areas crime free for 3yrs, (b4 it was dismantled by the Fed Govt) can't the mighty Fed Govt and its police do the same? What use is govt if it can't enforce law on behalf of its citizens?

2. Roads. This is a primary duty of govt.

3. Electricity. I must add that I've heard from reliable sources that efforts are being made in this regard, but we've got 6-8yrs to go.

Just these three, I'm not asking for much. The deliberate decision not to provide these amenities has wiped out potential competition for foreign companies in Nigeria. Remember, our rulers are part owners of these companies and Nigeria was set up expressly for the convenience of these companies. For example, look at what is happening with the Gov Saraki of Kwara State and the SGB Bank in which their family owns shares. Even as individuals you will agree with me that a White foreigner in Nigeria has more govt protection than a native Black African in Nigeria. This should be a pointer to who really owns Nigeria. In addition, access to oil provides an easy source of money for our ruling class so they don't need to work hard and invest and produce anything. Compare Saudi Arabia and Israel. Which country is more loved by its citizens?

That is why Nigeria has a bad name. Its image is a logical outcome of its nature, its system, it character, its deeds. Ordinary Nigerians only started copying the corruption of their rulers when it became clear that it was the only way to survive. If Obasanjo and his cronies can steal $2.8b, then it is only logical that the high schl teacher who hasn't been paid for 6 months will accept N5000 to condone cheating on JAMB exams. As your Bible says, by their fruits you shall know them, and the tree that brings forth bad fruit shall be thrown into the lake of fire.

Your nationalism was practiced to the fullest by many Nigerians who gave up the promise of a better life in the USA in the 60's and 70's to return to Nigeria. Many of them are back to the USA, having learned that it is useless to use hard work and honesty as a weapon in a fight against a national govt that literally hates its people.

Dear Xcom, your experience of Nigeria is that available to a very, very small minority. I truly understand your love for that country. If Sylva and Docemo would care to tell us their background I would be able to pinpoint their own motivations. Absent that, I simply put it down to simple contempt of their fellow Africans.

Obugi.
_________________
The First and Most Important Factor That Leads To Success Is Self Love.

obugi
Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Posts: 23
Location: USA Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2003 4:54 pm Post subject: No Problems With Achievement Here......

Ggedufather,

I have no axe to grind with Xcom's academic achievements. What I do know for a fact is that most people that work in Shell, First Bank, Nestle, Federal Ministries and other such plum positions got there with "leg". Once in a while an extremely brilliant son or daughter of the poor will shine so bright that they have no option than to let them in. Rarely. Abi I de lie? If Xcom did it on his own, great, more power to him, maybe he is just ignorant of how people live in his home village. He needs to leave Abuja and Ikoyi and visit there sometime, he probably didn't visit more than once or twice when he was in Nigeria.

I have met so many sons of Perms Secs, Governors and Ministers, Corporate chieftains and top army officers in this country it makes my skin crawl. Talk to them and the first thing out their mouth is,

"My Papa no follow them steal O!" Yet they will sit right next to you in class with fully paid out of pocket tuition, while you have to work nights to pay your bills and then borrow from the thankfully caring US govt to pay your own tuition. Next they start regaling you with tales of how great Nigeria is. One of OBJ's daughters went to schl in this country, now she's gone back to become an Ogun state commisioner. Mojekwu Azikiwe also went back a few yrs ago straight into an Executive position at the Bureau of Public Enterprises. I guess I should follow them back, with any luck I could be their gardner or driver. So what do you and Xcom have awaiting you: big mansions in Garki, Abuja or maybe in Lekki Beach? Fawning houseservants? Chaffeur driven Mercedes Benzes? .....Can I come live with you.......please please please?

You buttholes should give us a break. Stop insulting us. You don't love Black Africans more than I do. I have done and will continue to do more for my people than most of your class ever will. If nothing else, I send money to Naija, rather than receive as some of you do. I'm sick of you and your type. You are either children of upper class pen robbers or you want to be such when you grow up. Just go back to Naija and leave us alone. You will never get the chance to lord it over Obugi and his family again, no matter how much you want to. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!!!!

Obugi.
_________________
The First and Most Important Factor That Leads To Success Is Self Love.

obugi
Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Posts: 23
Location: USA Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2003 12:23 am Post subject: Why Did You All Leave Nigeria?

Lets see, it might be b/c

1. Nigerias Army massacared thousands in Zaki Biam.

2. Nigerias Army destroyed Odi and killed thousands.

3. Nigerias ruling party at the very least condones the killing of a principled major Yoruba leader, Bola Ige.

4. Nigeria will not allow Igbos to choose Governors of their choice.

5. Nigeria can't stop armed robbery, nor will it let grassroot organizations do so.

6. Nigeria stands by and lets foreign airlines charge its citizens exorbitant prices and does nothing to encourage local competitors.

7. Nigeria can't provide adequate energy supplies to its citizens inspite of its vast oil and gas reserves. Neither can it provide adequate water, electricity or roads.

Any wonder why millions of Nigerians will be damaging their national reputation and entering the Visa Lottery?

Its a pity some of us are so brainwashed we can't spot the difference between being called African and "Nigerian". Hint: The Nigerian nation doesn't exist yet.

And yes, I suffered in Nigeria inspite of my families attempt to give to that country. Nigeria hates its people. No wonder everyone want to run away from it.

Obugi.

PS,

Sylva, Xcom, Docemo, gbedufather, please go back to Nigeria, your beloved country! Stop trying to keep others from enjoying the same things you are getting in the West. Or could it be you don't love Nigeria enough to go back? Hypocrites, hypocrites, hypocrites!!!!!!!!!!! You all are so fake, you probably play the visa lottery for your relatives every year. Don't you? Gottcha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
_________________
The First and Most Important Factor That Leads To Success Is Self Love.

obugi
Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Posts: 23
Location: USA Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2003 4:14 pm Post subject: Ahhhhh, Now I Understand.....

It sure makes sense!

No wonder you love "Nigeria" so much.

A former Immigration Officer. I'm sure you miss those powers conferred on you by the Fed Govt to collect bribes from foreign companies that exceeded their expatriate quotas.

An ajebota who has "leg" long enough to walk into a plum job in Nigeria.

I wonder what Sylva's angle is.

Its alright. I don't envy you. I've got my own goals to achieve. I know that Nigerian government corruption and corporate "man know man" would never have allowed me to get as far as I have in the USA. All I ask is that you don't go around telling poor people that they are better off being your doormats in Nigeria. Don't begrudge the poor the right to find escape routes of the Great British Prison called Nigeria.

We Nigerians need to pay more attention to socio economic class so we can know exactly who the monkeys are.......and the baboons riding their backs.

Obugi.
_________________
The First and Most Important Factor That Leads To Success Is Self Love.

[Obugi]

Tango,

Please don't be riled O! My stand is the stand of everyone else. I look at what people do, not what they say, and all those posts reproduced say one thing: to each his own. Like I said from my last post:

The young doctor going to the UK is making an appropriate choice for himself. He is practicing the universal dictum: GET YOURS!

And it is his duty to do what he has to to survive. My grouse with a lot of people is when they try to convince others they are acting out of a higher morality when in reality they are just serving their own selfish purposes. If that doctor had said,

"I'm going abroad to make some more money and live better" I would have no issues with it. But he tries to tell us he is can't get ahead in Nigeria. And we know that most medical students in Nigeria come from upper middle class homes. They can afford to take the risk of working hard and at the same time helping the community. It won't prevent them from eating 3 meals a day, having a roof over their heads or living well. But they choose to deny their fellow Africans the benefits of their skill, all to live well abroad.


In my last post, I also wrote:

If you can't get a visa or you don't have connections in Nigeria, the only choice left is to work hard or stay poor.

Myself, I came to America to live better. I've made no bones of the matter. And I'm heading back to Nigeria to live as soon as possible, because I've judged I have more to gain from that in the near future.

Again, if you care to understand the issue, I am saying

1. That those who can afford to take enterpreneural risks without much deterioration of their living standards are best position to help Nigeria.

2. If such persons choose to stay abroad and live in luxury, that is just fine by me. Just don't tell me you aren't just "Getting Yours!"

Obugi.

[Tango]

Obugi, you wrote earlier: "That doctor had a choice. He could have chosen to stay in Nigeria and do what enterpreneurs have done in other sectors of the Nigerian economy, work hard to develop the healthcare sector and reap the rewards and in the process help his fellow Africans."

It is only fair that you allow this young man to exercise his right to choose what to do with his degree and where to use it, just like you did when Nigeria was uninhabitable for you and you chose to leave for the U.S.

Money may be the only things that drive your actions but it is not for everybody. Quest for more knowledge is as valid a reason to leave Nigeria as it is to hunt for money. You cannot deny that education in Nigerian universities have taken a nosedive in recent times. This man is humble enough to admit that he didn't get enough and needs more and, if in the process of acquiring more education he makes good money, good for him. I don't see why that should be a problem for you.

I posted a lengthy quote of your thoughts on such issues in Nigeriaworld just to point out to you that, at some point in your other life, you were dissatisfied with Nigeria in one way or another and you had to do what was best for you.

You made a lot of assumptions about this man: "...probably a guy from an upper middle class home who can very well afford to take risks and work and learn in Nigeria"; "...he has gotten almost free tuition in a public university to learn a valuable skill"; he is seeking money and better life rather than better education; "na Oyinbo [he] wan treat."

Would it surprise you if he wasn't from upper middle class home but from the bottom lower class? Would it surprise you if all members of his village had to chip-in to afford that "almost free tuition" for him to attend medical college? Would it equally surprise you if he returned to Nigeria after getting education in UK?

You also wrote: "So my friend, Nigerians in Nigeria are not chopped liver. There are people doing well there. So many get caught up with the dream of living large in the West that they neglect the opportunities right in front of their noses."

When you were bemoaning your fate in Nigeriaworld.com messageboard about the ugly hand Nigeria dealt you and your family, were you simply "caught up with the dream of living large in the West"? Why didn't you take your advice to Uche to simply work hard, realizing that there were people in Nigeria who were doing well? But you left because you knew that "hard work" couldn't cut it in Nigeria for you.

This quote from you in Nigeriaworld will bear witness again, just in case you didn't catch it earlier:

Let me get this straight. You want me to join you and discourage people from leaving Nigeria. You want the Webmaster to relegate the most important news item for Nigerians this year to a footnote. This is why I don't post much on Nigerian message boards or fora anymore. What kind of hyprocrisy is this?

Obugi and his family, along with >95% of Nigerians today, experienced the following:

Life without electricity, running water in the home, car, air conditioning, phone, good roads, to name a few. Some of Obugi's schools did not have roofs, and he had to walk in the hot sun to get to the school. Obugi's parents did not get paid for 6,7,8 months for their labor. When Obugi finally made it to a FGC for secondary schl, he had to contend with classmates whose high class parents provided them with vast amounts of money stolen from the Nigerian govt. Then after University, these same "ajebota" kids landed jobs in Shell, UAC, First Bank, Nestle, while people of Obugi's socio economic class couldn't get jobs. You actually want me to go back to that? Hmmmmmm. Let's see, Obugi in a few years will be earning over $100K/yr. Could I make even 20% of that in Nigeria?

Well, after I've piled up enough $$$$ in the USA to guarantee my social and economic ascendancy in Nigeria so I can live there like you all apparently did, I'll talk to you.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge you high class folks your patriotism for "Nigeria". You enjoyed Nigeria and I wish I had too. Where I condemn is your hypocrisy. I find it truly insulting, almost physically painful. Do you really not know how most Nigerians live?

I think you are clearly the one who is taking the moral high ground here, not Uche. You want him to admit to what is not his intention, which is, declare that he is going to UK to make money, not to get education. You couldn't get ahead in Nigeria financially so you left. But it is not okay for someone who is not getting ahead, knowledge-wise, in his field to leave.

[NextLevel]

Tango,

I see no need why the drive for more comfortable living standards and the drive for more knowledge must be mutually exclusive. I think that what is salient in Obugi's points can be accepted without embracing all its limitations. That said, you've exposed some of Obugi's internal contradictions quite ably.

I, like Obugi, am often skeptical of people's verbalized motives for what they do. Unlike Obugi, I do not take the view that none of these motives are ever honestly expressed if they are not stated in terms of self-interested (which are mostly financial in Obugi's world) benefits to whoever is acting. In fact, a look at the article shows quite clearly that the person is simply saying that there are considerations other than money involved, and the claim that a person is seeking knowledge is quite selfish IMO.

How this constitutes a denial that there is money involved in Obugi's estimation is beyond me. I guess that many of us, or maybe all of us in different contexts, tend to consider factors as mutally exclusive rather than causally related. A search for a higher standard of living does not exclude knowledge, and in some ways, both are positively correlated.

Moreover, when reading Obugi, or any other posting agent provocateur, I like to remember that he is not trying to understand the situation; rather, he is trying to fit the situation into his preconceptions about how the world works, which is a very different project. If he was trying to understand the situation, he might have tried to accomodate your arguments into a wider framework that agrees that self-interested drives have financial as well as educational limits, or that financial success, because money goes to the bank, is sometimes easier to accumulate than knowledge.

[Sheffer]

Obugi,

I agree that current conditions may make a true spreading of opportunity within the Nigerian economic space a difficult undertaking, not only because of skewed sociocultural realities, but also because we presently lack the technological base which would give us an upper hand in, and accelerate certain industrial pursuits. Till today, I doubt if Nigeria has made and exported its first transistor radio, not to speak of cd player, video cassette player etc. I stand to be corrected of course.

Having said the above, it is necessary that even in the current difficult conditions, we keep our eyes on the vision of where we need to be, and not lose it under any guise or circumstance. Thus, our ventures are directed appropriately where possible. Getting ours and getting for our country (by which means we may get ours in a multiple fold way) aren't necessarily exclusive, or antagonistic. But the responsibility to get for our country is ours and no-one else's. The problem though is that we aren't articulating a comprehensive vision for Nigeria, and so we are living in the present as though there were no future worth living for.

[EezeeBee]

A self-explanatory story below from Thisday of Monday May 9, 2005:

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=16657

Nigerian staff of the Information Systems (IS) Group of MTN Nigeria Telecommu-nications Limited has protested alleged marginalisation of Nigerians in the Group.

In a March 7, 2005 letter addressed to Mutari Wada, the Human Resources executive, and signed by 17 Nigerian nationals in the Group, the workers' protest centred around 10 major issues.

According to the petition, the set-up in the IS Group is designed for Nigerian nationals to fail. The aggrieved stars are irked that positions mapped out for nationals are now being occupied by South African expatriates.

The Nigerians complained that after the exit of the former Data Centre Manager, the position was advertised for a Nigerian national, interviews were conducted and a candidate selected. Instead of employing the candidate, however, an expatriate was named as the Data Centre Manager.

The IS Nigerian professionals also complained about the downward career movement of nationals. In some of the departments, there is no Nigerian manager despite the fact that some of them started out with MTN as far back as 2001. A case in point, they noted, is an officer who was reporting to the General Manager three years ago and who has now been moved three levels down.

Nigerians in the IS Group also complained that they are denied all forms of professionals development, which are made available to expatriates, even contractors. "In IS facilities, all expatriate contractors are sent on technical training that enables the support of the infrastructure, while the permanent staff who are nationals are not," the petition stated.

"There is one clear area that HR (Human Resources) is failing nationals. The recruitment process is very clear. How far has HR ensured that the vacant positions that went through our rigorous recruitment is filled as motivator? Is it not in HR's place to ensure that an offer is made to the identified successful candidate? Is it not in HR's place to follow the recruitment process to the end? Is it not in HR's place to query any vacant position that is not filled as requisitioned?" the IS nationals asked.

Nigerians in MTN IS Group also complained that succession planning in the Group lacks honesty and transparency. They stated that: "In IS, there is no one succession plan that has been implemented. While to the outside person looking in, it will seem that some has occured, the truth is that it has not."

The Nigerians alleged that "not a single genuine effort has been made by the CIO or any of her expert reports to have a Nigerian successor, rather all tactics, including intimidation and non-performance are used to discredit skilled staffs with the objective of frustrating them to leave, so that the condition of 'no skill available with the nationals to run the operations,' will continue to exist. Mediocres are rewarded. Nationals are subdued in speaking up for fear of victimisation and job loss. Those that have dared have been shown the door, one way or the other."

The workers said they have come to terms with the fact that there "is a clear demonstration of no commitment to MTN Nigeria, or to Nigeria as a country."

Nigerian IS workers also alleged that there is a regime of apartheid in IS Group. They pointed out that "nationals who are employees are spoken to and treated as if they are monkeys and have no brains."

The petitioners also alleged that upward movement of staff in levels is not reflected in salaries. According to them, some IS staff were recently promoted from level 1 to level 2 with no changes reflected in their salaries until after four months. When their salary was eventually reflected, the protesters claimed the affected staffers were paid two months backdated instead of four.

Contacted yesterday, the corporate Service Executive of the Company, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola confirmed the existence of the petition and the allegations. She also told THISDAY that the HR is addressing the issues. According to her, like any other company, at times there are specific issues like these that are raised, "I believe the HR is looking into it," she said.

Meanwhile the Board of the company is expected to meet tomorrow following the crisis generated by the sacking of the most senior management staff, Mr. Demola Elesho. Mr. Damola Oyeshiku who replaced Elesho also curiously resigned after three days in the post.

Some of those expected at the meeting include Dr. Pascal Dodzie (Chairman), Col. M.S. Bello (rtd), Mallam A. Dasuki, Mr. Babatunde Folawiyo, Mr. R. Nisbet, Chief Victor Odili, Mr. Andrew Alli and Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, who are all Nigerian directors of the company.

Some others are Mr. Sifiso Dabengwa, the chief operation officer, Ms. I Chanley, Mr. C. Utton, Mr. P. Nhleko and Ms. S. Botha.

Nigerian shareholders in MTN Nigeria own 20.56 per cent shares while MTN International owns 76.44 per cent and IFC, 3 per cent.

On the board meeting slated for Tuesday, Oyagbola said she was aware the meeting would hold but denied knowledge of the agenda. "I don't know what is on the agenda of the board meeting. I am not a director," she stated.

Two things I noted: Nigerians have only a 20.56 % shareholding while MTN International has 76.44%. Question is how does the shareholding of Nigerians increaase/improve? Second question: With what we have sadly observed up till now, will even a 100% shareholding by Nigerians improve the treatment of the Nigerians in the company or will they continue to believe that 'anyone but a Nigerian' is competent to do the job?

ps. further research revealed a background to this story:

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=16287

MTN Nigeria: Disempowering a People
05.04.2005

In this report, Tayo Ajakaye writes on the systemic decimation of Nigerian brains in MTN Nigeria vis-a-vis the MTN recent sack of its most senior Nigerian member of staff in unceremonial and cloudy circumstances.

Since the news broke Monday last week that the former Chief Technical Officer of MTN Nigeria, and later Head of Network Group, Mr. Demola Elesho, had been sacked from the company, the lively atmosphere in the industry has not remained the same.
The reverberations are still being heard in GSM circles worldwide. This is because Elesho's name rings a bell in the GSM world. He had operated in many countries of the world. He actually, in conjunction with a team of other Nigerians, built the money-spinning MTN network. But now, he is no longer useful for MTN. Not that he had lost his skills, but because in MTN, there is now a deliberate policy to disempower Nigerians. Another top member of the team, Mr. Damola Oyeshiku, was appointed in his stead. But Oyeshiku could read the handwriting on the wall. If MTN could dispense with an Elesho so easily, it could with an Oyeshiku. He resigned after only three days.
In sacking Elesho, the company's Board, of which Mr. Pascal Dodzie is Chairman, was not informed. MTN sources told THISDAY that none of the board members got to know until well after 10 p.m. that Monday, April 25. That was the kind of respect which the present MTNN management has for the Board of Directors.
When Oyesiku resigned last Friday, THISDAY called another executive of the company in charge of Corporate Services, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, to confirm the story. Oyagbola said she was not aware and she "would be surprised if that was the case." As it turned out, that remains the case.
Elesho was CTO. Afam Edozie was Chief Markeing Officer. Mutari Wada was Head of Human Resources. Oyagbola was to joined later as Corporate Services Executive. There were other appointments, but these were the key Nigerian members of management. Then the journey to building MTN Nigeria was on. Soon, the company started making profits. As it stands today, MTN has made more revenue in Nigeria than its business plan anticipates for the next eight years.
But Elesho's growing profile was something the South Africans cannot live with. That his office controlled the largest budget, never mind the results, was a hard reality for the new management to face. The office he headed was then split into two: the Network Group (NWG) and the Capital Programmes Group (CPG). There was need to reduce Elesho's influence.
The Nigerian continued to head the NWG while a white expatriate, Chris Serjeant, was recruited by the current CEO of MTN, Mr. Sifiso Dabengwa, to head the CPG. MTN sources yesterday confirmed to THISDAY that Serjeant had had a romance with orange Telecoms both in England and Netherlands. Even he was reportedly sacked by Starcomms Nigeria. It was after this that Dabengwa recruited him to head the CPG in MTN.
The advertised reason Elesho was sacked was because he authored an e-mail in which he informed all the company's members of staff about what sub-standard work was going on at the base stations.
This is how the story went, as told by company sources: Some years back, Elesho set up a Quality Assurance Department in the company. Its function is to undertake quality audit of base stations built by the technical team. THISDAY came in contact with two reports issued by the team in April and October 2004.
The report issued recently by a private company contracted for that purpose was the cause of the current problem. The report pointed out numerous faults, some little, others major, in the base stations constructed by the CPG. The report was submitted to the NWG which requested a meeting with CPG to find a way to solve the problems. CPG was not prepared for any such meeting. On the contrary, Serjeant requested to see reports of such audits in the past. Elesho directed that copies of the reports be made available to him (serjeant) with the additional explanation that it was not meant to pull him down, but that this had always been the practice. Serjeant was said to have replied the mail tersely: 'Spread the Word.' Elesho then actually spread the word, making sure it was sent to the e-mail of every MTN staff. This was on Wednesday April 20.
On Monday April 25, Dabengwa invited him to a meeting. At the meeting, Elesho was said to have been issued with a signed letter terminating his appointment. There was no discussion. A Nigerian employee, not even of the rank of an executive, should be given the privilege of an explanation. He went to the meeting as a staff of MTN and came out as a former employee of the company.
And to make the issue looks as if it was a dispute between two top executives that led to the action, Serjeant was also sacked. But analysts insisted last Tuesday that the issue was not as simple as that. They insist that in a more fair system, an offending e-mail would have got a different response, what are queries for? More intriguing, a telecom analyst points out was the fact that, even Serjeant who could not be accused of sending an e-mail was also sacked. The only reason this could be explained is that there was a mistake in employing Serjeant in the first instance for which those responsible were not courageous enough to own up to.
The sack of Elesho had opened another angle to the way in which people perceive MTNN. Only a couple of weeks back, an Internet Service Provider based in Abuja, Mr. Suleman Yahyah, had remarked that MTN should allow Nigerians own stake in the company. Nigerians are minority shareholders in the company. They have no real say in the affairs of the company except when it was necessary to send them to lobby over a government policy.
The morale of the staff has come down to its lowest since the exit of Adrian Wood. As at the time of filing this report, informed company sources say that another senior technical officer in the radio planning unit, Mr. Abiodun Adeoye has also tendered his letter of resignation, last Tuesday.
Company sources said staft is, there is a depleting stock of senior Nigerians to hold key positions in MTN. That means the company will continue to have an excuse to bring in expatriates to hold key positions. That is not how to empower a people, a friendly people and a profitable market.
With the kind of treatment meted out to Elesho, Nigerians now fear for the Edozie, who is rarely seen on television nowadays, unlike the Adrian wood days, Wada and Oyagbola. If Elesho could be removed that way, nothing stops MTN from disgracing out the other top Nigerians in similar fashion.
That Oyagbola was not informed of the resignation of Oyesiku, the CTO, several hours after his letter of resignation had been accepted, a source insisted, was not a mistake. That was the kind of high esteem which the company has for her and other Nigerians.

[EezeeBee]

My people,

I know in the bigger scheme of things this story may sound like a distraction but I feel the concept behind the protests - Nigerians demanding to be treated better in Nigeria - may actually be more important than any actual results that may emerge. I am fully prepared for virtually nothing to change or happen, YET. Still the smallest things have sometimes led to major changes down the line. As can be seen, I have highlighted the word ALLEGED because it is merely an accusation and not a done deal.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/...111052005.html

Protesters besiege MTN, allege discriminatory policies, substandard masts
By Godfrey Ikhemuemhe, Deputy Hi-tech Editor
Wednesday, May 11, 2005


LAGOS—THE corporate headquarters of Mobile operator, MTN Nigeria, played host to some unwanted guests yesterday - demonstrators who were protesting the alleged discriminatory policies of the company against its Nigerian employees.

The group, Association of National Interest (ANI) said they were also protesting against what it called the substandard masts built by MTN all over Nigeria which it alleged constitute health danger to Nigerians.

Led by its President Prince Ani ANI visited the MTN corporate head office on Afribank Street in Victoria Island to lay its protest as well as the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) where they asked for the recall of MTN's managing director, Sofiso Dabengwa to South Africa within 30 days and his replacement by a Nigerian "with milk of human kindness".

Said the group in their protest bills: "4 (Four) years into the commencement of operation, MTN the largest of them all started employment practices that are humiliating in Nigerian contents They have continued to act as though there was apartheid in Nigeria. The circumstances surrounding the sack of Nigerians in MTN is questionable and unacceptable to us at A.N.I"

The ANI also claimed that MTN had built substandard masts all over the country which have proved dangerous to the lives of Nigerians. It stated that such action from MTN was tantamount to sabotage on the lives of Nigerians and suggestive of genocide.

Bearing in mind these allegations which the group claimed were weighty enough to attract the attention of the Nigerian government, ANI demanded that government should appoint an independent body to probe all MTN cell sites for standards. It also demanded the recall of Mr. Dabengwa to the company's head office in South Africa within 30 days, stressing that a Nigerian be appointed to replace him.

The group also demanded that MTN should stop treating Nigerians as slaves in their own country.

However in a statement responding to the protest sent to media houses last night, MTN's Corporate Services Executive, Mrs Amina Oyagbola, said: "MTN Nigeria, even though of Pan-African heritage, is a lawfully registered Nigerian entity. MTN Nigeria is a Nigerian corporate citizen which is contributing positively in the development of the Nigerian economy through employment generation, wealth creation and its numerous Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives"

On the employment practices of MTN, Oyagbola explained that "in only about four (4) years of its operations, MTN has about 1800 staff in its employment. Out of this number, 55 are South Africans (3.1%), 23 are expatriates from other countries (1.4%) while Nigerians amount to 1,722 which constitutes 95.5%. MTN Management is constituted of eight (8) Executive members. Out of this, four (4) are Nigerians, she explained.

She added that MTN Nigeria appreciates the importance of proper management of its human resources to achieve its goal of developing a world-class Nigerian telecommunication network while retaining its staff to maintain a competitive edge. To this end, Oyagbola said "MTN is proud to have developed significant Nigerian human resource capabilities that can compete favourably in any other telecom set-up in the world. "MTN maintains transparent, and ethical employment practices in course of its operations," she added.

On the issue of substandard masts, She said that MTN does not compromise on the quality of its network installations and equipment deployed in the development and operation of its network. "MTN scrupulously complies with the technical standards and obtains all necessary approvals from relevant statutory bodies, in addition to an in-house quality assurance department which ensures the integrity of all its network installations and safety in its operations."

A fortnight ago, one of the high profile Nigerians in MTN, Dem Elesho, was forced to resign from the company due to some differences with another South African staff. Dem Elesho's work as Manager of the MTN Network, placed him as one of the most promising Nigerians in the management of the company.

Elesho has a Masters degree in Electronics Engineering. He joined MTN in August 2001 making him a pioneer staff of MTN. Prior to joining MTN, he had worked for four major networks in the United States of America and Europe. He was also a World Bank consultant before MTN came in 2001 with an offer for the man to work in Nigeria.

The patriotism in Mr. Elesho made him take up the job in August 2001. On assumption of duty, he took control of the entire network planning and implementation of MTN, putting up, within a short time and with all the constraints, a robust network which prides itself as one of the fastest growing in Africa.

It is to Dem's credit that with local engineers, the MTN Yellobahn, a several thousand kilometers long distance transmission backbone was built successfully. Indeed, Yellobahn, Africa's most extensive transmission backbone, is a major Elesho's accomplishment because he had the option of using third party contractors to execute it but because of the trust he had in his technical competence and his crew; and the need to save Nigeria foreign exchange, he opted to do it locally.

If for nothing else, God will BLESS this Elesho fellow for this simple sentence: ...because of the trust he had in his technical competence and his crew; and the need to save Nigeria foreign exchange, he opted to do it locally.

I'll say this though... Clearly, the journalist is one the side of Elesho... see how he wrote... "He was also a World Bank Consultant before MTN came in 2001 with an offer for the man to work in Nigeria". Haba oga journalist, make you just report the news now! LOL. But really we know how journalists here paint pictures for the readers so I guess it's nothing new.

[EezeeBee]

Another example of the 'chopped liver' at home syndrome; Our best is always benefiting someone/somewhere else!

Keshi: Rejected at home, leads Togo to first World Cup
culled from the Nigerian Guardian October 10, 2005

By Folake Olujimi and Lekan Okusan

WHEN Coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi of Togo was telling anybody who cared to listen in May 2004 that what he hoped to achieve in Togo was to get to the 2006 World Cup and Nations Cup, many football pundits took the former Super Eagles skipper as a joker.

But the Delta State-born coach knew what he was saying, and pursued his ambition with a lot of tenacity and confidence. The Togo Football Federation stood behind the 43-year-old tutor in their quest to achieve the country's biggest ever sports dream.

In his first test, Keshi's Togo fell by 0-1 to the Chipolopolo of Zambia in Lusaka, but he did not panic, as his major agenda was to resolve the frosty relationship between Togo's foreign-based players and the federation.

The task of achieving the near-impossible did not bother the former Nigerian defender, when he signed a two-year deal to manage the West African side. Even the fact that Togo was his first time in charge of any national team did not bother him.

Keshi believed that Eyadema's Togo was blessed with a lot of good players that could stand 'shoulder-to-shoulder' with any team in the world. And so he set out to assemble these resources in his patient move to build a virile team.

The first task before the former Anderletch of Belgium star was to rekindle the patriotism of the country's Europe-based players, who he saw as key to any realistic chance they had of qualifying for the mundial.

And Keshi's task was made easier by the late Togolese President, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who was one Togolese fan desperate to see the Hawks qualify for Egypt.

In fact, Eyadema's main interest was in seeing Togo at the African Cup of Nations; and a few days after Keshi's appointment, he invited the coach to plead with him to do everything possible to lead the team to Egypt, while also assuring him of his support.

Apart from the support of the number one citizen of the country, many Togolese football fans believed he could also accomplish the task of taking the country to the World Cup. And true to their prediction, Togo will be among the world's best teams in Germany next year.

Keshi's achievement with Togo is a watershed in the history of the tiny country. Many football pundits believe that going to Germany 2006 will bring all sorts of gains to the country, as the feat is expected to attract the world's searchlight on it.

At the weekend, the Hawks of Togo secured their first World Cup qualification in the war-torn Congo Brazzaville after defeating Congo by 3-2 to deny Senegal, who prayed for Togo to lose for them to feature in their second appearance at the fiesta.

The team ranked a modest 54th in the world made history with goals from Monaco striker Emmanuel Adebayor, Ma Diafar and Kader.

With the win, the record of the Togolese team improved to seven victories, two draws and one defeat to leave them on 23 points, two ahead of 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-finalists Senegal and four ahead of Zambia.

The result left The Hawks with the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the likes of world champions Brazil in Germany next year while the continent's traditional football giants like Nigeria and Senegal watch proceedings back home.

The top-flight performance in the competition has earned the team, which failed to qualify for last year's African Nations Cup, a place in the 2006 African Nations Cup finals in Egypt.

The sparkling performance of the Hawks cannot be highlighted without credit to Keshi, who has contributed a lot to the current form of the team. This is a man who has built the Hawks into a formidable squad and a force to be reckoned with in Africa.

Born in Nigeria on January 23, 1962, the former Super Eagles' captain, who is also fondly called "Big Boss", had a remarkable playing career and is also one of Nigeria's most famous footballers. He played division one football in Nigeria from 1979 to 1984 before moving on to Cote d'Ivoire and later Belgium where he played for Anderlecht FC.

During his time at Anderlecht, he won the Belgian Cup twice in 1988 and 1989. He also played for Strasbourg in France and later moved to USA before he finally quit playing active football.

On the international scene, the former defender played for Nigeria in five African Nations Cup finals in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1994.

Well respected and having the knack in undertaking a leadership role, Keshi spent 13 years with the national team. He won the '94 African Nations Cup with Super Eagles and was also fortunate enough to play in a World Cup tournament before his playing career ended, with an appearance for the Super Eagles in the 1994 World Cup finals.

Well experienced in both African and European football, Keshi could not turn away from the sport completely after hanging up his boots. Instead, he decided to undertake coaching courses in the United States of America. This new profession he eventually used as a tool to further contribute to Nigerian football when he was part of the coaching crew.

Just as many normally face highs and lows in their professions, things did not work out well for Keshi while he was coach of Nigeria's U-20 side. The team had a poor performance when they participated in the CAF U-20 championship in Ethiopia in 2001.

The 43-year-old was assistant coach alongside then head Coach Amodu Shaibu and guided the Super Eagles in the 2002 African Nations Cup in Mali and also qualified the team for the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan/South Korea after Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere was sacked. However, he and the coaching staff were relieved of their duties after Nigeria's poor campaign at the Nations Cup finals, which could only but earn them the bronze medal.

In Togo, Keshi has not only shown his competence as coach, but transformed Togo from a team considered minow to one of Africa's most in-form teams.

Coach Keshi has already earned a lot of praise, not only in Togo but also from his Nigerian fans and some of his former colleagues.

His tenure with the Hawks started in April 2004 when he signed a two-year deal and took over the team from Brazilian Antonio Dumas. Since then, he has been able to move things in a positive direction in an attempt to get them qualified for two top competitions, the 2006 World Cup and African Nations Cup finals.

It is now that many Nigerians will be proud that their fellow countryman and former Super Eagles player is already flying high with another national team and hope that he would some day be given another opportunity to render his coaching services to Nigeria.

[DeepThought]

I'm not a football fanatic but I like the story.

After rejecting the idea of indigenous coaches, I find this interesting:

It is now that many Nigerians will be proud that their fellow countryman and former Super Eagles player is already flying high with another national team

Unfortunately, I fear we will soon see the usual Nigerian governmental thing; seeking to reap where they have not sown.They do everything they can to reject the people of Nigeria, but if by some means, one of us should somehow suceed, they latter come running, attempting to claim credit, when shame should be more in order.

I fully expect to see officials of the Nigerian ministry of information , sports and their shameless supporters fall over themselves to claim credit for this and try to pass this off as yet another sign of how great Nigeria is. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Congratulations to Keshi and the Nigerian people, who at times came out on top, not because of, but in spite of the Nigerian governments.

I hope he, like Achebe rejects any future attempt at reward (which I suspect will soon be in the offing)by the Nigerian government.

[Obugi]

ILN,

Haven't u heard of this guys achievement? I thought u'd be jubiliating like a true patriot by now!

Obugi.

[DeepThought]

Obugi,
I have nothing against ILN or anyone personally jubilating over this news.

What I resent is this: The gods of Abuja are busy lining their pockets,looting the Nation while the populace is simply left to their own devices.

Imagine a jobless youth who manages to get a visa out of Nigeria , today winning a Nobel prize, these same souless theives who should be shot, and their supporters will come along to try to take credit for the person's efforts and begin to make noises about how great Nigeria is.

[EezeeBee]

Why the hell can we not create some Nigerian millionaires? Why must this contract be signed with the British (nothing against them personally)? Are there ABSOLUTELY NO NIGERIANS WITH TRAINING IN THE ISSUES RELATED TO LAND REGISTRATION? Even if there aren't any, can't we TRAIN A FEW? Are we EVER going to create DOMESTIC CAPACITY for ANYTHING this way? Read on:

Culled from the Nigerian Guardian of October 18, 2005

Nigeria, Britain To Sign Land Registration Pact
FROM FLORENCE ORETADE, ABUJA

For Nigeria to have a more functional land registration system, it is to sign a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the British Land Registry in London Minister of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Olusegun Mimiko at the weekend disclosed this while briefing journalists on the outcome of the International Workshop on Reforming Land Registration Systems.

The minister said the project will cost about N100 million for the first and second phases.

Mimiko explained that the lessons from the workshop encouraged the ministry to initiate plans to enter into a collaborative relationship with the Land Registry in London, to seek its assistance in the country's land registration reforms.

He added that it was necessitated in its effort to computerise and modernise the Federal Land Registry and improve Nigeria's Land Registration System and encourage all sectors to build houses.

The MOU is to cover; organizational structure issues, capacity building, reform of land and property laws, creation of national technical standards and application of appropriate technology, definition and adoption of best land registration practices and training.

The Nigeria's land registration system inherited from Britain in 1863 had similarities with that of the British system.

On the issues to be addressed under the MOU, the minister highlighted: the development of a uniform national standard for land recording and registration as well as encouraging consistency in land data format- a uniform and standardised land coding system nationwide.

It is expected that the format will facilitate a forum to exchange effective data that will solve inter-operability problems that would help the effective development of land depository.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has reconstituted its development committee following misconduct by some private hostel developers it entered into partnership with.

Accorfding to Mimiko who disclosed this in a statement, it was unfortunate that 600 MOUs were entered into with all manner of people who often turned out to be touts and hawkers.

The Committee reconstituted were Private and Business Partnership and Universities Hostel Development.

According to him, the action was part of the ministry's repositioning programme to play the role for which it was created.

He charged the new committee to identify individuals, groups or corporate organisations with whom government could go into partnership for the provision of hostels and other facilities in the country.

[EezeeBee]

Are you telling me that in the WHOLE of Northern Nigeria, with the vast land areas and extensive farms there are NO AGRICULTURAL EXPERTS? Why do we continue to do this? Esteem outsiders over ourselves? What in the hell does a person in China plant that will possibly enhance my dish of efo, egusi and iyan? duckling chop suey?

Again, I don't malign the 'expertise' of the Chinese. I'm just CONVINCED that in 130 million people you CAN find agricultural experts, especially in the north. Are we as usual, afraid to make NIGERIANS rich?

FG pays $11.2m to Chinese experts

Everest Amaefule Abuja

The Federal Government has paid $11.2million (about N1.5billion) to finance the Chinese experts and technicians currently in the country to boost agricultural production.

This represents 50 per cent of the total cost of $22.4million required to fund agricultural development through 524 Chinese experts and technicians.

The Federal Government had in 2003, signed a tripartite agreement with China and the Food and Agricultural Organisation for the deployment of the Chinese experts in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Adamu Bello, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday during his 2005 ministerial press briefing.

He said, "More than 375 Chinese technicians including seven experts and a coordinator have arrived in the country and deployed to all the states based on needs.

EEZEEBEE: Even if we have the 7 'experts' can't the 'technicians' be divided between Nigerians and Chinese? Won't that at least provide on the job training for at least 187 Nigerian technicians?

"These Chinese have started activities on various projects including small scale earth based dam construction and rehabilitation, fisheries, irrigation, agro-processing, agricultural mechanism and livestock production."

"The Chinese brought solutions to some of the major constraints in the rural communities such as lack of feeder roads, lack of drinking water, lack of access to markets, unreliable or non-existing power supply, limited availability of fuel, fertilizer and other agro-inputs," he added.

EEZEEBEE: How did the Chinese 'bring' feeder roads and drinking water to the communities? Did the Local Government officials FINALLY agree to fund the road construction BECAUSE it was the Chinese asking for it? If that was the case WHY were they unwilling or unable to fund it when the LOCALS clearly needed it?

He said that the Federal Government's National Special Programme for Food Security in collaboration with FAO, would be expanded to 327 sites in 2006.

Under the programme, he said, 12,764 beneficiaries cultivated 13,442 hectares in rain field cropping while a total of 1,390 participants benefited from 689 assorted processing equipment.

He also disclosed that out of the N9billion worth of fertilizer approved for procurement and distribution for 2005, the ministry achieved 80 per cent success.

"As a result of liberalisation, there arose complaints of adulteration, fake fertilizers and other malpractices that are detrimental to the farmers and the nation", he said.

The PUNCH, Friday, December 30, 2005