I Cannot Marry An Igbo Man Because They Are Too Nosy - Tonto Dikeh (Page 139)

NO WAHALA STEVE BUT FBI DON PASS SINCE .

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Posted: at 4-04-2012 07:40 PM (12 years ago) | Upcoming

luv u 2 dear. Isnt it gr8 nw dah u dnt ave 2 cme by nd see d page grown 2 250 wit hot insults 4wm diff ppl.

Posted: at 4-04-2012 08:35 PM (12 years ago) | Upcoming

Nigeria: The happiest place on earth
Nigeria is beset by poverty, corruption and violence – but a poll says it is the world's most optimistic nation

The arrivals hall at Murtala Mohammed international airport in Lagos has the kind of humidity that feels like a warm towel. The minute you shake that off, you notice the massive board that proudly welcomes you to Nigeria. Underneath the greeting, written in cheery, cursive script, is the tagline: "The happiest place in the world!"

When I last visited Nigeria, that poster made me laugh like a drain. But now a global survey has confirmed it: in a 53-country Gallup poll, Nigerians were rated at 70 points for optimism. By contrast, Britain scored a deeply pessimistic -44. Why so glum, Britain? And what in the world makes Nigerians so happy?

At first glance it's hard to see: Nigeria is seen as place where corruption thrives. The newspapers are filled with sensational allegations of crooked officials, and mind-boggling hauls – the former CEO of Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru, is said to be just one of the worst. Sectarian violence is steadily on the up, most recently with the Christmas Eve bombs in the northern city of Jos. Nor are Nigerians strangers to civil war and unrest, the most terrible being the three-year Biafran war. Then there is the grinding poverty.

To cap it all there are the advance-fee "419" scams (named for a clause in the Nigerian criminal code) – all those "princes" seeking to clear their millions in your bank account – who have embarrassingly become one of Nigeria's most famous exports.

But look harder and the optimism seems less misplaced. Nigeria has the third-largest economy in Africa – and it's still growing. There's the oft-repeated statistic that one in every six Africans is Nigerian. The UN estimates the population at 154,729,000 – astonishing for a nation about twice the size of California.

Nigeria has always punched above its weight artistically, too – from the music of Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, to the literary works of Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi and Ola Rotimi – as well as Nobel prize winner Wole Soyinka. Nok, Yoruba and Benin art is celebrated worldwide for its intricacy and beautye. And there is the crude oil making the country the 12th largest petroleum producer in the world.

I'm British by birth, but got dual nationality in 2009, having lived with my Nigerian parents in the country for a large chunk of the 1990s. I had a comfortable life, and could avoid the abject poverty, crime, social inequality and the legacy of political instability. It seems natural to conclude that all these factors would put a damper on Nigerian cheerfulness. Instead, the optimism is an almost tangible thing, the joie de vivre obvious.

Daily life is hardly one glorious Technicolor dance sequence, but I have never lived in such a happy place – and I once lived in hippyville California. I can't give a definite answer, but I think the joy comes from seeing and living through the worst that life can offer; it is an optimism born of hope. Nigeria is a nation of Del Boy Trotters ("this time next year, we'll be millionaires!") – while the rest of the world believes they've got a book in them, most Nigerians believe they've got a million quid in them, too.

There's a spirit of entrepreneurship – people seem bewildered if you admit a lack of ambition. Nigerians want to go places and believe – rightly or wrongly – that they can. That drive and ambition fuels their optimism; they're working towards happiness, so they're happy.

I am living proof of this: in the years I lived and learned in Lagos, I saw some pretty awful stuff – the state-sanctioned execution of freedom fighter and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, the military rule of the IBB era, the annulment of the democratic 12 June elections to name but a few – and managed to come out the other side laughing.

And why shouldn't we laugh? We are firm believers in the New Labour theme tune: things can only get better. There's a Yoruba saying that my father often uses: "Jimoh to ma l'oyin, Alamisi le yan ma ti mo." It translates roughly as: "If a Friday is to be sweet, you'll know by Thursday." It might not seem like Nigerians have much to be happy about, but perhaps they've already seen what Friday holds, and what they see makes them rejoice.

• This article was amended on 11 January 2011. The original said that one in every twenty Africans is Nigerian. This has been corrected.

GOD BLESS IGBOS PEACE AND LOVE BROTHERS WE ARE ONE PEOPLE

Posted: at 4-04-2012 10:32 PM (12 years ago) | Gistmaniac

there

Posted: at 5-04-2012 01:07 AM (12 years ago) | Gistmaniac

Igbo men are cultured but the other one sha, as long as say u dey make money no problem

Posted: at 5-04-2012 09:46 AM (12 years ago) | Newbie

I CAN SEE, U COPPIED AND PASTE ABI

Posted: at 5-04-2012 02:00 PM (12 years ago) | Gistmaniac

NO MIND THE GUY,HE DON CAUSE WAHALA FINISH HE DEY FIND LOVE

Posted: at 5-04-2012 02:21 PM (12 years ago) | Upcoming

The same thing u do

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Posted: at 5-04-2012 03:00 PM (12 years ago) | Addicted Hero

My sister I beg ur pardon if ur offended! But u know truths hurts. I am making a general statement nothing bad with it.

Posted: at 5-04-2012 03:06 PM (12 years ago) | Newbie

¨let me first of all  say tonto dikeh it WRONG TO GENERALIZE¨ that  aside, as a proud BENIN GUY i av read alot of comment by igbos here
then i understand de reason why she said it in the first place, u see wat u do in ur face everyday of ur life an u denie it, who occupy
all de local hotel in 9ja as a prostitute IGBOS GALS, who are the BLOOD SOCKIN VANPIRE IN 9JA AKA RITUALIST IGBO,WHO KILL MOTHER,SISTER ,BROTHER, NEPHEW, COUSIN FOR RITUAL PRATICES, IGBOS, who are de ppl wen doin same busness with den dat we hire
assasine to kill u or rubb ur store also IGBOS, who is the socalled prostitute of the scream TONTO DIKE IGBO, come to europe a whole lot
of IGBOS GALS are here doin desame prostitute work

IGBOS whr once BENIN slaves, read ur history incase u dnt no , there is GREAT BENIN KINGDOM WHC SPREAD  THROUGH LAGOS UPTO BENIN REPUBLIC, AN PART OF PRESENT DAY GHANA,AN ALL THE REGION OF NIGER DELTA

THERE WAS THE OYO EMPIRE 4 DE YUROBA, THERE WAS ALSO A KINGDOM IN THE NORTH,WHR WAS UR KINGDOM U BUILT IN EAST TELL? U AV NO HOME, U WHR SLAVE FRM GREAT BENIN KINGDOM,THAT IS WHY SHE SAID IT, U STLL ACT LIKE SLAVE RANT LIKE SLAVE, BENIN IS UR FATHER, GO ACROSS ALL THE ¨MUSEUM ALROUND THE WORLD U WE SEE GREAT BENIN KINGDOM AN IN HISTORY BOOK¨becos the british na reduce us to a small state, atleast we fight wen dey came, whr was IGBOS AT THE TIME, atleast i av given u a little free EDUCATION na to set ur notin head strgt,whr can we find IGBOS INHISTORY, APART FRM CIVIL WAR RITUAL KILLIN 4 MONEY.

Posted: at 5-04-2012 04:39 PM (12 years ago) | Newbie