Nigeria Blog.

Resolving Error 1305

Recently, I tried to load Microsoft Office 2000 on a laptop computer and encountered the following error message: "Error 1305. Error reading from file (file name varies). Verify that the file exists and that you can access it". Continue...

Posted Oct 11, 2009

Prepare for a Computer Crash

I own a HP Pavilion a530n desktop computer. It was purchased brand new from Best Buy, Laurel, Maryland in 2004. I turned it on today and instead of the Windows welcome screen, I saw a black screen with the following ominous message "NTLDR is missing. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart" (I understand NTLDR stands for New Technology Leader). Continue...

Posted Sep 28, 2009

Governor Ohakim Visits Washington

The Imo State Governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim is currently attending a conference of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in Washington, DC, USA. He presented a paper on the environment at the conference. A reception was hosted in his honour by Dr Ngozika Nwaneri and Chief Sam Uwandu. It took place at the Best Western Hotel, Lanham, Maryland on September 25, 2009. Continue...

Posted Sep 26, 2009

Sony Attacks Nigeria

Final Update. Sep 9, 2009: We can now confirm that Sony has indeed changed the offending ad. Instead of saying "You can't believe everything you read on the internet. Otherwise I will be a Nigerian millionaire by now", the actor now says ""You can't believe everything you read on the internet. That's how World War 1 got started". The revised ad can be seen at this link and Sony's letter of apology can been seen here and here. Bravo Prof Akunyili.

Update. Sep 7, 2009: lovelylady of Nairaland.com is also reporting that Sony has removed the reference to Nigeria in the TV version of the ad and replaced it with something about World War 1. Again we have not confirmed this independently.

Update. Sep 6, 2009: GAR3TH of Nairaland.com is reporting that Sony has removed the reference to Nigeria in the offending TV ad. We have not confirmed this yet. If that is the case, then Sony has done the right thing. But the YouTube version is still running. Sony should take it down to put this matter to a complete rest.

Original Post: The electronics giant Sony Corporation has directed a thinly veiled insult towards Nigeria and her people. In an advertisement promoting their PlayStation 3 game console posted on YouTube on August 27, 2009, they specifically mentioned Nigeria in a way that suggests that the country is filled with scam artists.

In the ad, one of the actors says "You can't believe everything you read on the internet. Otherwise I will be a Nigerian millionaire by now". An obvious reference to the scam letters sent via email by some Nigerians and others claiming to be Nigerians.

It is unfair to label a country of more than 100 million by the mis-deeds of a few scam artists. No country in Europe will tolerate such insults. In fact most western countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany etc are associated with one negative trait or the other. But no company will ever generalize that to include the whole country.

Nigeria's Communications Minister Prof Dora Akunyili has taken the right first step by sending a letter to Sony Corporation. The letter among other things states that "...the Federal Government of Nigeria requests Sony Corporation to immediately withdraw that advertisement from circulation" and that "Nigeria also demands an unconditional apology from Sony Corporation for this deliberate negative campaign against the country’s image and reputation..."

At the time of this writing, the ad has been viewed 119,000 times on YouTube and generated 538 comments. We will be monitoring the situation and see if Sony Corporation takes down the ad and apologizes to the country. If they fail to do that, the Nigerian government should consider other punitive measures including banning the sale of Sony products in Nigeria. There are several top notch electronics companies in the world. Sony can do without us and we can certainly do without them.

Action Counter: The Sony Ad against Nigeria has been running on YouTube for 10 days as at Sep 6, 2009.

Post your comment on Sony's actions.

Posted Sep 5, 2009

Nuhu Ribadu For President

When you fight corruption, it fights back.
Nuhu Ribadu.

Nuhu Ribadu appeared on a popular American radio programme called the Kojo Nnamdi Show on August 13, 2009. The programme originates from WAMU Washington, DC but is broadcast to other National Public Radio stations across America. The topic of discussion was "Combating Corruption: Global-Local Connections".

Mallam Ribadu talked at length about how he tried to fight the epidemic of corruption in Nigeria while he was head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He relayed a story of how he was once offered $200 Million to drop a particular case and how he turned it down. He suggested that endemic corruption in Nigeria will be significantly reduced if we adopt the American standard of transparency in government and business. You can listen to the full interview at WAMU or the Center for Global Development.

I think Nigeria will see great improvements if we elect somebody like Nuhu Ribadu as president in 2011. I know that some people saw him as Obasanjo's man in the past administration but that should not deter from the work he did during his tenure. Mallam Ribadu has shown that he has the courage and ability to fight corruption not only at the lower level but right at the apex of power.

Nuhu Ribadu has made a name for himself as a champion in the fight against corruption. That alone is enough to let him run the country. As the Igbo saying goes, a goat does not eat yam kept in it's care. Corruption is one of our biggest problems. Nigeria is frequently listed among the 10 most corrupt countries in the world. We are Nigerians and we cannot dispute that with a straight face.

Mallam Ribadu is currently a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development.

Tell us what you think. Should Nuhu Ribadu run for president in 2011 via the form above?

Jay in MD
Posted August 16, 2009.

Governor Fashola

I was watching C-Span a few days ago (C-Span is an American cable channel with an emphasis on national and international politics). In the course of a political program, the moderator mentioned Governor Fashola of Lagos State. The guest analyst picked it up and stated that the governor is doing a wonderful job in Lagos State.

I was surprised to hear this from an American TV station. Is it true? For readers in and around Lagos, what is Governor Fashola doing that has impressed Americans? Please share your thoughts with other readers using the form above.

Jay in MD
Posted August 12, 2009

Price of Jeeps and other SUVs may go up

The talk of the town in the US in recent days is the "Cash for Clunkers" programme. This is a new programme introduced by the Obama administration whereby the government pays up to $4500.00 to owners of gas guzzlers like Jeeps and other SUVs. They get this money if they agree to buy a fuel efficient vehicle like the Ford Focus, Toyouta Prius etc.

The SUVs are then handed over to the car dealership and this is where the story gets interesting. The car dealer is not allowed to re-sell the SUV but rather destroy it. This is accomplished by pouring some chemical in the engine and letting it run until it dies.

The programme is so popular that the first $1 billion earmarked for it ran out within a few weeks. The American government on August 6, 2009 approved another $2 billion dollars for it. It is estimated that the programme will eliminate up to 650,000 SUVs and other gas guzzlers from the roads.

This will indeed diminish the quantity of used SUVs available for export to Nigeria and other places and may in time result in an increase in price.

More information about this programme is available at Yahoo.com.

Posted on August 8, 2009.

Nigeria: The Way Forward

The primary purpose of the Nigeria Blog is to come up with ideas on how to improve the living conditions of the Nigerian people. These ideas may be in the fields of Politics, Governance, Health, Education, Infrastructure etc.

This is an ongoing project and will be updated periodically. If you have any ideas or suggestions on making Nigeria a better place, please send it to us.

Governance and Leadership: It is a well known fact that most Nigerians in the position of power use it to amass personal wealth and fortune. Money meant for the development of cities, towns and villages are diverted to personal accounts.

Our leaders should adopt the practice of western countries. For instance, in the USA, public officials do not make much money while they are in office. They make money after they leave office. While in office, they perform the jobs they are elected or hired to do. But at the same time, they develop contacts with institutions and corporations that deal with their offices.

At the expiration of their terms, they are usually employed by one of these institutions or corporations. They may then make 20 times more than they made while in public office. The American public official is primarily concerned with doing his job well. Once that is done, he will have no problem finding very lucrative employments or consultancies in the private sector once he leaves office.

Punch and Information Hoarding

In this age of open access to information, Punch newspapers have decided to go the opposite direction. They have now blocked access to their website to everybody except fee paying visitors.

Once you click on a story on their website, you are greeted with this message: "Effective from May 29th 2009, access to read news stories on our website will be by subscription. The subscription amount of N1,500 per month gives access to your authoritative news on:..."

Many major newspapers elsewhere have tried this business model in the past and realized sooner or later that it is not a viable model. In fact, the most successful news websites in America like the Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Washington Post etc offer their web content absolutely free. They rely on advertising for their revenue.

N1,500 is not a lot of money. But still it will stop thousands if not hundreds of thousands of potential readers from gaining access to Punch. It is possible that Punch may reverse this decision if they hear from enough people.

Contact the editor at editor@punchontheweb.com and ask him/her to reverse this decision. Alternatively, you may call the Lagos Head Office - 01-7613878.

Please let us know their response via our contact form.

Posted July 22, 2009
By Webmaster.