@Mingix

I am not sure how the border Issue will be resolved, but which one are you in the Picture? I am guessing the guy with the face cap. I think 2007 will decide what happens in Nigeria as a country, or Nigeria as a country of tribes and warlords.This thing can get nasty!!!

Kokscity

Owo

Well said.!

Guys the world is always in a state of flux. If the present arrangement in Nigeria is unfavourable to the Niger Delta people, nobody should blame them for agitating, America had to take up arms to free themselves from the expolitation of the britsh, Canada too. And all this sentimentality about "Nigeria" is misplaced. Some people are holding this contraption together for selfish reasons. Were it not for oil resources from Niger Delta, Northen Nigeria would be like Niger, Chad or Mali, and they are all too aware of this fact

Mingiix,
Have u ever heard of deepwater oil prospecting? Just to let you know, I work for a company that specializes in deepwater operations. I have little or nothing to do with ur 9ija delta except for the fact that I have friends (9ija deltans and otherwise) who work and live in ur region.

You know whay, ? with the huge oil findings in the Nigerian deepwater, we may not need ur 9ija delta oil again o! Perhaps it'll be easy for the multinationals to leave u guys in peace.

They will simply insist that the deepwater is now part of their Delta.

seun who owns the deep waters?

@Seun

Of course the own the Deep waters too. Will Bauchi State claim they own it? Of course if you find Oil in the waters of Bakassi, the people of Bakassi own it. The People of Niger Delta own the surrounding waters around their communities and villages.If they do not own it, then we should not have any borders in Nigeria. It is a Federation made up of states and every state is responsible for it's people. Katsina State does not own the deepwaters off Delta State.

Kokscity

Owo,
Well u may be right about the site of Dangote cement in Cross Rivers state. But simple and elementry economics tells me that siting a company does not necessarily have to be based on nearness to source of raw materials alone. Other factors such as means of transportation and availability of good markets are also very important.
Besides there are 3 cement companies in Port Harcourt today.

hmmm,
Seun u were right o! Dem wan start to dey claim deepwater again o! I wonder how dem wan take do am

Are they the ones that planted the oil there? No.

Are they the ones that discovered the oil there? No.

Are they the ones that extract the oil there? No.

Are they the ones that turn the oil into dollars? No.

Do they know how to refine the oil? No.

SO what exactly is the basis of their claim? An accident of history! The truth is, the only thing they really deserve is to be compensated for the damage to the environment often caused by oil extraction. Oil spillages and gas flaring have harmed their environment and in some cases made fishing difficult, so they should be compensated for that and nothing more. Afterall, their forefathers did not plant the oil!

kokScItY!!! BEHOLD! THE CHICOCO REPUBLIC OF NIGER-DELTA

@Seun

So that means that the Huge Oil Reserves in Saudi Arabia belong to the world. The world should go and collect one barrel per person on earth. The Oil in Texas belongs to Mexico because Mexico sold Texas to the US.Absolutely Absurd!!!!!

Seun you are starting to sound very very suspect.

Mingiix,
I think you should try and interview some of the veterans who fought on the side of Biafra. Perhaps u'll get a bigger picture.

Seun leave dem o! At least deepwater oil will not pollute their environment and 9ija will rest thereafter.

Seun and Naijaman don`t get the issue. Fair is fair. Wether the oil companies move to the deepwater, it doesn`t take away the fact that our oil policy doesn't support development. If I don't understand an issue (like Palestine) I either look into it or keep quite. That Naijaman works in an oil prospecting firm doesn't make him competent enough to make such comments which was totally childish

@Seun

I cannot believe what i am hearing from you. I am not understanding your point. Are you saying that the people of the Niger Delta, just happened to fall out of the sky and land on their geographical location? And therefore they do not own anything that comes out of their land? But if the Plant orange seeds, the Oranges from the tree is theirs. But if Oil is found and extracted on that same piece of land, it belongs to someone else?Please Help me Understand you my Brother!

Huh?

Now with all this deep water talk. If God forbid, things fall apart in Nigeria, who is going to hop over the Niger Delta and go to deep water to prospect? That area will belong to the Niger Delta! The Federal government tried to create the onshor / offshore difference but we are just decieving ourselves

9ijaman'[/b]s mention of deep water oil rigs is a new twist which brings to mind an obvious question.   If crude-oil extraction rigs are located OUTSIDE the legally recognized territorial waters of [b]President Mingiix's future Chicoco Republic, would such oil fields be expolitable on a finders keepers basis, or would the oil companies have to sink the Chicoco Republic's entire naval fleet of 3 wooden stealth canoes before commencing oil exploration in such an area ?

Kokscity: Let me try to explain with the story of a very wealthy king who lives with his 4 wives living in a big palace compouind. In the palace compound, there are four buildings - one for each wife - and a 5th one for the king himself.

One day, a very large quantity of gold, greater in value than all the king's possessions, is found buried near the foundation of the house of his least favored wife. Now who owns that gold? The king, the least favored wife, or everybody in the compound?

@Seun

Bad Analogy. The problem is with your example is the word "Marriage".How about you say your father had three daughter and five sons and gave each of them a piece of land before he died, and the fourth son finds his land was waterlogged and he needs to build a stronger foundation. Now the first Girl finds that not only is her land perfect for building, but as she tried to dig a borehole, crude oil comes out. The crude oil there in her land belongs to her and her husband(If any) and her Kids.

Capish?

Jakumo,
I wan die for here o! That's really funny.

Kobani,
I've never said the 9ija delta region should not be developed. I've only argued that they should clean their homes first by calling their leaders to order first. Then every Nigerian will support such a just course. Kidnapping and senseless attacks will not resolve the issue. If after 5 years of Democracy, all that Odili can show for it is Traffic Lights, which have even worsened the traffic situation in the garden city, I wonder why we should be pointing accusing fingers at the people in Abuja. Lets control the ones nearby, then we can all face the hoodlums in Aso Rock together.

Kokscity: My analogy is sound. The Hausas, Igbos, Yorubas and minorites are married together by the laws of Nigeria. You may call it a bad marriage, but it remains a marriage nonetheless.

The simple answer to my "puzzle" is that such a case is determined by the laws of the land. There is no hard and fast rule about who owns natural resources. It's a matter of law. If the law says that natural resources like oil are to be managed by the federal government, then that's all there is to it.

It's left to the Niger Deltans to look for a way to influence the FG to divert more of the resources their way. Failing that, they should convince the expatriates to settle down among them and help them develop their land!

Lolol @Jakumo

I guess you would have to get by the Navy and possibly some heavy Jazz men in the Niger Delta.

@Seun

The People of the Niger Delta are not "Married" to Nigeria. They are Indigenous people with borders,culture,tradition,language ETC. You cannot merge them when it convenient and ostracize them and call them Terrorist when you find Oil and extract it.

Let me ask you a question Seun. When the Oil wells are all dried up and the Big Oil companies and explorers have moved on. And 20yrs down the road you find that the people are dying of a mysterious disease, whose responsibility is it to give them care? Remember the Big Halliburton company has left Bonny and is now exploring in Kuwait. They people that live on the ground will be there long after the oil companies have come and gone. It is their land before Oil,it is their land during the Oil boom and it will be their land when the oil is finished.

Kokscity

The people of Niger Delta are married to Nigeria. We all have to obey the same constitution regardless of our "culture, tradition, language". Anybody within the borders of Nigeria simply needs to obey Nigerian law and Nigerian law says the oil is to be managed by the FG. If they don't like the law, let them sponsor senators who will go ahead and amend those laws. Until then, let them obey the laws of Nigeria like the rest of us.

Afterall it's not as if the oil is something they labored for which is now being seized from them. They did not work for it, so they have not been cheated. But they should be compensated for the pollution which interferes with their lives and means of livelihood. This can be obtained through relevant court orders. I heard they won a settlement from Shell recently!

@Seun

They should sit down with Expatriates and help develop their land? Na wa for you oh! These are "FOR PROFIT MULTINATIONALS" On one hand you say that the Federal government own the land by law. Then when the indigenes protest for better roads, housing, water and light, they should protest to the Expatriates? Wow! that pokes some holes in your argument. The Federal government of Nigeria is responsible for the welfare of the people of the Niger Delta where it gets nearly 95% of it revenue from. But the Indigenes should go and ask Mr Frank Chambers Chairman /CEO of Company ABC Oil Explorers for help.

Bottom line is that the people are not going to sit down and watch the government, and the oil companies, marginalize them. And since the OWN the land i think the have a duty to protect it for generations ahead of them and just as generations did b4 them.

Kokscity

@Seun

The Pollution does not affect the people of Ogun state. It affects the people in Delta,Bayelsa,Rivers,Akwa Ibom. Now what do the people do if the Federal Government is leaving them out to dry and making huge windfall profits from the crude that is being removed everyday in the millions of barrels. The should sue the Federal Government in the World court? What if the Federal government is so inept that people are dying, meanwhile people are taking their oil from the land the call home?

Huh? What to do?

@Seun

If the marriage btw the Niger Delta and Nigeria is bad, then how do the people go about getting a divorce? Abi the marriage na by force? This process of uprising is because the people now realize that the marriage is not benefiting them in anyway and they honestly want a divorce. And Hey! I do not blame them. After the Divorce those same Oil companies will come and ask their hands in marriage and the people will give them a price for dowry!

It is all Business nothing personal. The people do not need the country, the country needs the people of the Niger Delta.

Kokscity has said enough on this topic for now!

They can go through the National Assembly which has the power to amend the laws of the country as deemed appropriate.

Seun and 9ijaMan, I'm surprised you've spent so much of your time arguing here with people who are totally clueless and irrelevant to the actual situation in the Niger delta.

MEND are a bunch of criminals. They do not fight for the Niger Delta and they do not have the support of the general population of Niger Delta. Just recently, an Itsekiri group warned them not to attempt to destroy oil facilities in their region otherwise they would resist them with force.

The Military has not even responded yet. One helicopter strike and MEND ran to kidnap more people to use as human shields. 2 things will happen to MEND. They will dissipate silently like the NPDVF have done or they will eventually face an assualt by the military and die. Either way they will disappear.

People that truely want development in the Niger delta will continue to campain in the peacefull way they have been doing. These are the people actually acheiving the small victories here and there. The ideaology of the oil companies is already changing. Now they know they must be invovled in development.

@Mingiix, please go and join MEND. The sooner you are removed from the gene pool the better.

@ Seun! Which National assembly? A national assembly of yorubas and Hausa/fulanis? E belike sey u don smoke marijuana.
There are thousands of us in the diaspora willing to help financially and technological to fight the theiving and treacherous Yorubas and hausa fulanis. The battle line has been drawn. A guerilla warfare that will bring u blokes to ur knees has started.

@Mariory! Do you know what DNA is? If u know any genetics, u would have realised that nobody's gene can ever go extinct. My kids of mixed race origin will probably never visit ur so called Nigeria in their lifetime. My genes(and theirs) is now well ingrained in the British soceity. Except you are also planning to wipe out Britain with the 'excellent' military might of the Nigerian army.











/

Seun:

Kokscity: Let me try to explain with the story of a very wealthy king who lives with his 4 wives living in a big palace compouind. In the palace compound, there are four buildings - one for each wife - and a 5th one for the king himself.

One day, a very large quantity of gold, greater in value than all the king's possessions, is found buried near the foundation of the house of his least favored wife. Now who owns that gold? The king, the least favored wife, or everybody in the compound?

absolutely absurd analogy. You are begining to sound like the umaru dikko's and the other northern nigerian idiots of this world.

Pls by all means come to the USA and tap their gold since the americans only found themselves here by accident of birth. You can even tap all the oil in Iran and kuwait. Why do we even need a visa to go to europe or America? Is it not by "accident" that they were born there?

@Seun

Nigeria is still a democracy and the people of the Naija delta have the right to protest against the government if they are being exploited. The problem is your beloved OBJ. He is not a leader that the country can rally around.And that is why the Niger Delta will explode if he gets a "Third Term".

I think MEND and other groups like men are capable of starting a war in that country, that will break up Nigeria. And i think Ogun State will be begging to be part of the Niger Delta country.Never underestimate a hungry man with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Nigeria cannot survive as a Federation without RIVERS,BAYELSA,AKWA-IBOM AND DELTA STATES. But RIVERS,BAYELSA,AKWA-IBOM, AND DELTA STATES can survive without Nigeria. I think the people are aware of this fact and i think time is running out on our infant democracy.

Kokscity will support any protest of OBJ and his fatcat cronies!

@seun

Kokscity: My analogy is sound. The Hausas, Igbos, Yorubas and minorites are married together by the laws of Nigeria. You may call it a bad marriage, but it remains a marriage nonetheless.

The simple answer to my "puzzle" is that such a case is determined by the laws of the land. There is no hard and fast rule about who owns natural resources. It's a matter of law. If the law says that natural resources like oil are to be managed by the federal government, then that's all there is to it.

It's left to the Niger Deltans to look for a way to influence the FG to divert more of the resources their way. Failing that, they should convince the expatriates to settle down among them and help them develop their land!

Your analogy has no bit of logic in it at all.

1. Which "laws of the land" are you talking about? Those acts and decrees enforced on us by dictators in military uniform?
2. Was there a question on who owns natural resources until 1979 when thieves and vagabonds sneaked the oppressive "land use decree" into the constitution for their own selfish ends?
3. The niger deltans should look for a way to "influence FG to divert more resources to them"? No wonder nigeria is not developing! i can just imagine citizens of Louisiana "trying" to influence Pres Bush to divert more "resources" to them! the reason govts are (s)elected into power is to protect the rights of EVERY citizen regardless of ethnic origin!
4. Convince the expatriates to settle among them? Where did you put your thinking cap?
5. Convince the xpatriates to "help them develop their land"? This argument would only be tenable if there was no govt in place. Can you imagine citizens of NewYork "begging" Pres Obasanjo to settle among them and help dvelop their land?

Pls apologise for this apology in the name of a post!!!!!