ShangoThor:

[size=18pt]What makes a king out of a slave? Courage![/size]

I really admire 'courage', I think it is the most pivotal virtue that a lot of Nigerians lack, 

If we think about the act of setting one's self on fire, it is perhaps the ultimate act of 'self sacrifice'
and cannot be compared to a suicide bombing, because there is no desire to injure or kill other individuals.
It is also a very deep psychological statement, one that displays complete contempt for the authorities.

@ Rossicke, I really respect and share a lot of your views on history and the current state of affairs,
however, as weak as you perceive the act to be, it has provoked a nation wide reaction that is forcing
change, at least in Tunisia. I have toured Tunisia and it is a relatively modern country with a strong
economy and the standard of living was very cheap, that is perhaps why Tunisians endured 2 decades of
mis-party rule. Nevertheless, history will read ,  eventually the people rebelled and the catalyst
was a 17 year old boy that defiantly set himself ablaze.

At what point do we draw a line in the sand as citizens when certain universal standards of decency
are encroached upon; what do we say to our children when they ask us in the future what we did when
we were confronted by these challenges; what if we do not have anything worthwhile regarding heritage
to pass down to our children. It is never always feasible to 'live in hope' or 'wait and see'.

I asked the question of the post thread title because I was playing devil's advocate.

My take on Nigeria, the erosion of civil liberties, under-development and developmental regression since
the early 80's is that 'we' as Nigerian citizens are complicit in holding her back if not in her demise.

There are no unifying threads of common decency that have trancended all geo-polities in Nigeria, hence
we are all culpable regarding how we arrived at the status quo.

The right of a Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Edo, Ijaw citizen to freedom of movement with guaranteed security
(not being robbed); to state protection from extortion (especially not by the Police at check points);
to protection of pollution of ones community; to protection from exploitation of MultiNational companies
is all about common decency which should apply to all. These are natural inalienable rights that should
not be compromised irrespective of having had Military Dictatorships in the past.

I have never known Nigerians to draw a line in the sand and take a stand, those that do are earmarked
as being fringe or radical movements. Fela tried and sacrificed so much for the cause, and when he was
being battered and bruised despite losing millions of $$$ in the process of trying to awaken our
consciousness to the fact that the 'State' belongs to, or represents an embodiment of the spirit of the people.

All I'm saying is that in my humble opinion, we as citizens have to take some responsibility for the scenario
that we have today.

If all citizens in every state of all ages peacefully engaged in civil disobedience measures aimed at the
government to stop the killings in Jos, or Police bribery at check points, or the pollution in the Niger
Delta, amongst other causes, the State would find the political will to act.

well nigerians will tell you that power to change is in the ballot but honestly i feel we have past that stage now.

There are better ways to protest than resorting to violence.

Ask Gandhi , Martin Luther et al.

Why should you end your life, the only one life God gave to you in such a way ?

Shocking and sad.

asha 80:


well nigerians will tell you that power to change is in the ballot but honestly i feel we have past that stage now.

@ asha 80, I agree with you actually, however I am not trying to come across as a revolutionary, but merely
trying to appeal to the 'reasonable citizen'.

There are tensions and paradoxes in the Nigerian 'arrangement' that have to be resolved before we can move forward.

Irrespective of what happens with regards to fragmentation, I will never hate those that choose to secede because
the bottom line is that we are all Africans; will always be neighbours; and will have to devise mechanisms to promote
co-existence.


1. The North/South divide schism exists whether we like it or not. Sharia law (adopted by the Northern states)
contradicts, contravenes and challenges the Constitution. This is simply a matter of core values. The North have
every right to implement Sharia, but they have to accept that they have to form a separate country in the interest
of all. Hopefully, we will be able to do this amicably. Moreover, there is no other country in the world where
Sharia is adopted by virtually half of the country, it is unworkable and why experiment with a scenario that is
already fragile.

2. More Independent and stronger Judiciary - there is no point in discussing this without firstly dicussing a
complete overhaul, a structural adjustment of the State, the apparatus of the State and the concept of 'the Separation
of Powers'.

Until the above issues are addressed, we are just delaying the inevitable.

ShangoThor:

@ asha 80, I agree with you actually, however I am not trying to come across as a revolutionary, but merely
trying to appeal to the 'reasonable citizen'.

There are tensions and paradoxes in the Nigerian 'arrangement' that have to be resolved before we can move forward.

Irrespective of what happens with regards to fragmentation, I will never hate those that choose to secede because
the bottom line is that we are all Africans; will always be neighbours; and will have to devise mechanisms to promote
co-existence.


1. The North/South divide schism exists whether we like it or not. Sharia law (adopted by the Northern states)
contradicts, contravenes and challenges the Constitution. This is simply a matter of core values. The North have
every right to implement Sharia, but they have to accept that they have to form a separate country in the interest
of all. Hopefully, we will be able to do this amicably. Moreover, there is no other country in the world where
Sharia is adopted by virtually half of the country, it is unworkable and why experiment with a scenario that is
already fragile.

2. More Independent and stronger Judiciary - there is no point in discussing this without firstly dicussing a
complete overhaul, a structural adjustment of the State, the apparatus of the State and the concept of 'the Separation
of Powers'.

Until the above issues are addressed, we are just delaying the inevitable.

you have to understand the a lot of nigerians do not like facing the truth and facts about situations.a lot like burying their heads in the sand rather than confront situations bothering on their existence in the country or how the country is strucutred.the belief is that by an act of 'miracle' things will turn itself around.

asha 80:

you have to understand the a lot of nigerians do not like facing the truth and facts about situations.a lot like burying their heads in the sand rather than confront situations bothering on their existence in the country or how the country is strucutred.the belief is that by an act of 'miracle' things will turn itself around.

@ asha 80, my big fear apart from the obvious of delaying the inevitable is that if we do not make an attempt to determine our destinies, external
forces such as the Yanks, Iranians or al qaeda will.

I've been monitoring the results of the vote in Sudan and all indications are that the South have voted to secede. It will be so demoralizing if whilst
we are still pondering about our situation, the Southern Sudanese form their new country, and start developing a credible Utopia ,