This article addresses the actual issue of off-shore oil, rather than "the ND States are burdened by their resources" argument the northern leaders added. The bolded are quite clear, although some other points would have been better left out.

Off-shore oil should not belong to a particular state - perhaps we can set a limit of something like 10 miles offshore as being counted as part of a state. Beyond that, all the oil up to the internationally accepted 200 nautical miles should belong to the Federation.

http://www.osundefender.org/?p=28188

The recent demand by Northern governors for more equitable distribution of the nation’s resources has prompted ridiculously inane responses from Southerners who should know better. Driven by rabid hatred for the North, they obstinately refuse to critically examine the issue at stake, which is simply that off-shore oil revenue from our distant territorial waters belongs to the entire federation, not the littoral states. This is not a northern position, but a constitutional one as affirmed by our Supreme Court in April 2002.

But for Obasanjo’s reprehensible contempt of that Supreme Court ruling in order to placate Niger Delta agitators, we wouldn’t be having this debate of a constitutionally settled issue. Frankly I’m surprised non-littoral states did not sue the FAAC, Federal ministry of finance and the Presidency to enforce compliance with the Supreme Court verdict. Since no one challenged OBJ’s intransigence, littoral Niger Delta states now erroneously consider off-shore derivation their inalienable right.

International law confers the 200 nautical mile EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) on the nation, not on any federating unit. Our EEZ overlaps with that of some neighbouring African countries, hence our joint venture agreements with them to develop the contained resources. Is it Akwa Ibom or Rivers state that should enter international agreements with Equatorial Guinea or Sao Tome to explore resources in our overlapping EEZs?

In other words even if we operate the sort of federalism where states control mineral resources on their soil, our EEZ would still be federal as obtains in the United States – poster nation for Nigeria’s opinionated ‘true federalists’ – where coastal states earn no revenue from off-shore drilling in their distal territorial waters. So one is aghast as to where greedy Niger Delta chauvinists got the idea of coastal states cornering our off-shore wealth.

The present unconstitutional illegality which benefits only 5 littoral states (Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta & Ondo), resulted in the absurdity of Akwa Ibom which does not produce a drop of crude oil earning the highest derivation revenue with her monthly allocation exceeding that of the entire South East zone…Even though some SE states (Imo, Abia) actually have crude oil.

In other words the 5 gluttonous littoral states are ripping off and short changing the rest of the nation, not just the north. Thirty one states (including most Southern states) stand to benefit from equitable distribution of off-shore revenues, but blind irrational hatred for the North has beclouded the reasoning of shortchanged Southerners.

Given the incessant religious violence in our Islamist north in which southerners are often deliberately targeted, this animus against the North is quite understandable. But that is no reason for them to cut their noses to spite their faces, as many southern states are also in dire financial straits and would benefit from improved revenue.

Thus this is not a south-vs-north issue as scheming Niger Delta agitators would have the rest of the clueless south believe, nor is it a south-south issue as Edo and Cross River are also short-changed by the present unjust arrangement. It is simply the 5 aforementioned littoral states against the rest of the country. Even littoral states like Lagos & Cross River stand to benefit.

Among the specious sophistry peddled by Niger Delta jingoists selfishly insisting on continuing the off-shore injustice; is that Niger Delta suffers environmental degradation due to oil exploration & drilling. So what!! Niger Delta states do not clean up oil spills nor do they pay compensation to affected communities. Oil companies are fully responsible for that. So environmental degradation has absolutely nothing to do with derivation.

In any case the bone of contention here is revenue from off-shore drilling, far off in the Atlantic ocean that they are not implicated in the spillages that have devastated some riverine communities.

As severally stated by the oil companies and verified by a UNEP (UN environmental program) investigative report last year, most of the oil spillages in our Niger Delta are due to deliberate vandalization of on-shore oil installations by locals to steal oil for illegal refining & bunkering. They then deviously demand compensation for the resulting spillage to the tune of millions of Naira…which is far more lucrative than fishing or farming.

Just this month, the Senator Magnus Abe led Petroleum Resource Committee investigation also attested to the menace of pipeline vandalization in Niger Delta. Shell, Mobil, Chevron and other oil companies in our Niger Delta are responsible corporate citizens that drill for oil around the world. It’s only in our corrupt dysfunctional country that they are often in the news for oil spillage and environmental degradation.

Granted that since our inept corrupt leaders have abysmally failed to utilize our tremendous resources to positively transform the nation for the benefit of all; many Niger Deltans resort to criminality to get a share of the wealth taken from their land.

But to use their self inflicted calamity as pretext for extortion and scamming the rest of the nation, smacks of despicable 419. And they have the gall to insult we northerners as ‘lazy,’ as if oil wealth in Niger Delta is due to their hard work.

The North produces the bulk of the food consumed in this nation. It’s certainly not our fault that the agricultural produce which our ‘lazy’ farmers sweat for, doesn’t fetch high value dollars like crude oil which our Niger Delta compatriots do not work for.

It costs about five dollars to produce a barrel of our highly priced Bonny light crude oil, which currently sells for over 120 dollars i.e. more than 24 times the cost of production. No agricultural produce yields that kind of stupendous profits. It is therefore mischievous and patently unreasonable for disingenuous small minded Niger Delta propagandists to compare derivation in the first republic which was mainly derived from agriculture (cotton, groundnut, cocoa, oil palm, rubber) with crude oil; particularly as farmers retain most of their profits as incentive to continue farming.

Furthermore, there were just 3 or 4 large federating units encompassing much larger and more diverse groups of Nigerians, such that in those days when crude oil wasn’t a major revenue earner, Niger Deltans benefitted from coal & oil palm revenues from Igbo hinterland. Just as all northerners benefitted from Jos tin mines revenue. It therefore amounts to unconscionable greed and ingratitude for today’s Niger Deltans to demand all the crude oil for themselves after enjoying the resources of others.

With our present 36-state pseudo-federation, it is patently unreasonable to talk of 50% derivation as obtained in the 3 to 4 region first republic… the structure of today’s polity being radically different. In fact since there are now nine times more federating units as in the first republic, and our present states are accordingly nine times smaller; mineral resource derivation should also be nine times less i.e. 50/9 = 5.6% …if all Nigerians are to equitably enjoy our collective national resources that none of us put in the ground.

Thus it is obvious that even by their first republic 50% derivation fallacy, the greedy oil producing states are collecting much more than their fair share and cheating the rest of nation – 13% derivation, NDDC, Niger Delta ministry. So enough pandering to the selfish greed of unintelligent Niger Delta agitators who are bereft of any ideas of wealth creation other than awoof oil money.

Like the rest of Nigeria, the problem of underdevelopment in the Niger Delta will not be solved by carelessly throwing money around and feeding corruption, but by honest purposeful & visionary leadership judiciously utilizing available resources. A lopsided federation with marked economic disparity among the federating units is not in long term interest of our dear motherland.

Ultimately, the enduring solution to this lingering revenue quagmire is diversification of our economy away from crude oil and natural gas into manufacturing and agriculture. This requires massive investments in infrastructure (especially power, transport, heavy industries), which is not forthcoming as majority of the small unviable pseudo-federating units we glorify as ‘states’ waste most of their budget on bloated civil services and corrupt elected/appointed politicians, leaving little for meaningful capital development.

Thus there is urgent need to restructure our polity into no more than 10 federating units – 3 north, 3 middle belt & 4 south – so that more resources are available for transformational capital investment to realize the much vaunted Vision 2020. It is only then we can have meaningful ‘true federalism.’

Unfortunately, given the incessant agitation for creation of more states, Nigerians are not serious about true federalism.

There are two options to resolving this offshore "wayo".

1st is the FG treating offshore oil income as that of the nation and not restricted to only 5 States.

2nd and the most likely peaceful option is including the entire littoral States in the sharing formula as it is difficult to determine the water boundary of States offshore. This has resulted in shift of offshore oil ownership amongst various littoral States at one time or the other based on what the Ministry decides should be the boundary. Edo, Lagos and Cross River are meant to benefit from the offshore "wayo".

After using the niger delta to win the war and used divide and rule to brain wash the niger delta the the igbo man was there enemy during the biafra war! I hope some of the niger delta leaders who fought on the side of nigeria are alive today to withness what is going on Today in the ONE NIGERIA they spilt their blood for!. instead of them to stand with our cousins and neibours ndigbo in what would have been a libration for the old eastern region from the hands of this parasite called nigeria!! Is what's going on in the so called niger delta today what adaka boro fought for?.even before nigeria we and the igbos have been intergrating together! The ARO CONFEDRACY is a classic example of our intergration and the story of JAJA of OPOBO and women riot in the eastern region demonstrates how we HAD lived together! As an okirika boy my father used to tell me how they married igbo women and interacted and lived peacefully with our brothers ndigbo before the NIGERIAN STATE used the weapon of division and rule which planted the seed of discord between us and the our cousins.we need to go back to the ways of our forefather that knows that our togetherness is our strenght
WE should clamour for the return of the eastern region Now before it is too late the oil we thought we had that made us stab our long Time allies in the back would soon be lost to the nigerian state because of the short sightedness of adaka boro and those that fought against our natural and long term allies before this forced union called nigeria!the irony is that the niger delta people don't even own oil wells which is the reason why we stabbed our cousins in the back!!
adaka boro was murdered his family are suffering like any other niger deltan while the likes of IBB,GOWON,DANJUMA and co are carting away our resources! Shame

if the person that wrote this is from the north then no surprise, the aim is to divide southerners from supporting ND. Personally though Im not from ND they deserve both the offshore money too,its their luck.

Oyel money is sweeet ooooo!!!!!!!!!

It is not your fault oil is more expensive than yam. It is Niger-Delta people fault ooo!!!!!!

Simple give the littoral States 25% of on shore oil and 5% of off shore oil. That way States would make more effort to tap and maximise their on shore capabilities whilst ensuring that all stakeholders or investors maintain or adhere to international cleansing and compensatory exercises once incidence of spillage occurs on their lands.

The failure in the past has been the lackadaisical attitude of the Nigerian Government and NNPC to hold, apprehend, and sanction would be investors once spillage occurs hence why Oloibiri in Bayelsa State is a total mess today.

It is greed that would make someone who lives on land claim resources 200 miles into the ocean. The only reason nations are given the right to 200 miles of sea around their borders is to prevent conflict - that doesn't apply at the sub-national level.

If towns or streets do not lay claim to rivers that flow through land, then they should not claim to own parts of the ocean either.

As someone said, may be the states need to get a higher cut of the funds derived from their land (25%), and a small cut of the offshore funds (5%). The rest becomes national resources to be shared among federating states. It is that simple.

Toaskarity: if the person that wrote this is from the north then no surprise, the aim is to divide southerners from supporting ND. Personally though Im not from ND they deserve both the offshore money too,its their luck.

The argument the littoral states put forward claiming sovereignty over water bodies that lies 200 km South off their coast should be a 2 way street argument. On the one hand they can claim water bodies 200km from their shores, yet they cannot claim land bodies 200 km North , East and West off their state. If that were possible Port Harcourt or better still Rivers State should be claiming lands as far North as lands in current Benue State and as Far East as lands in Doaula in Cameroon or land as far west as Ilaje or Okitipupa in Ondo state.

The claims I must say are baseless and and a no brainer.

karl max: After using the niger delta to win the war and used divide and rule to brain wash the niger delta the the igbo man was there enemy during the biafra war! I hope some of the niger delta leaders who fought on the side of nigeria are alive today to withness what is going on Today in the ONE NIGERIA they spilt their blood for!. instead of them to stand with our cousins and neibours ndigbo in what would have been a libration for the old eastern region from the hands of this parasite called nigeria!! Is what's going on in the so called niger delta today what adaka boro fought for?.even before nigeria we and the igbos have been intergrating together! The ARO CONFEDRACY is a classic example of our intergration and the story of JAJA of OPOBO and women riot in the eastern region demonstrates how we HAD lived together! As an okirika boy my father used to tell me how they married igbo women and interacted and lived peacefully with our brothers ndigbo before the NIGERIAN STATE used the weapon of division and rule which planted the seed of discord between us and the our cousins.we need to go back to the ways of our forefather that knows that our togetherness is our strenght
WE should clamour for the return of the eastern region Now before it is too late the oil we thought we had that made us stab our long Time allies in the back would soon be lost to the nigerian state because of the short sightedness of adaka boro and those that fought against our natural and long term allies before this forced union called nigeria!the irony is that the niger delta people don't even own oil wells which is the reason why we stabbed our cousins in the back!!
adaka boro was murdered his family are suffering like any other niger deltan while the likes of IBB,GOWON,DANJUMA and co are carting away our resources! Shame

You are right, bro.
Quite clearly, many are looking for another war by any means possible, just to protect their awuf luv'n, lazy and parasitic way of life.

The SE/SS are blood brothers, joined at the hip.

@ Beaf

I've never seen this level of obsession with a "SE"/"SS" alliance from any non-Igbo Nigerians west of the Niger river. Some of the "SS" groups east of the Niger may consider themselves "joined at the hip" politically or culturally with the SE, but I have never heard or read of any non-Igbos west of the Niger river exhibiting such a sentiment. Your tendency to continuously repeat and promote this sentiment is why some people on this forum keep questioning whether or not you are really Isoko. I don't doubt that you are Isoko, but I'm just letting you know why people kept doubting your origin. But then again, some Isoko clans claimed Igbo origin originally, so maybe the sentiment you're expressing is natural and not a deviation from the norm because of the particular makeup of your specific ethnic group. I think in the future maybe you should state that "SS east of the Niger, Igbo west of the Niger, and my own Isoko group" are "joined at the hip" with the SE, in order to not give people the wrong impression.


@ koruji, if somebody at your level of intelligence actually accepts the preposterous argument of this article, that is worrying. If it were somebody dumber I would not even bother responding. What the U.S. does or does not do does not determine the actions a country with a unique situation and history like Nigeria should do.

It's amazing how people's ability to carry out basic reasoning with respect to a very simple situation can be distorted as soon as the topic of oil money comes up. If Akwa Ibom were part of Cameroon, you would not have to worry about offshore oil money accruing to Akwa Ibom state via the coast, because it would not even be relevant. The coastal states are the only reason offshore oil is relevant to Nigeria and this is a very simple thing to understand.

If Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo, and Lagos were part of other countries, you would not have to worry about offshore oil. One's state does not have to touch the coast to support the offshore oil derivations going to those states but the author of this article has woven a web of distortions and red herrings in order to try and obscure a very simple truth.

And if oil had been discovered in the North (because of the Chad Basin), the same Northern intelligentsia that are arguing that offshore oil past a certain completely arbitrary distance does not belong to states would never have bothered to bring up the argument.

The ludicrous argument promoted by certain people online (ex: Ndu_chucks), and by northern pseudo-intelligentsia in real life, about offshore oil is a feint. The nation, and northerners in particular, should be worried about corrupt politicians, poverty, and terrorism in the north.

koruji:
It is greed that would make someone who lives on land claim resources 200 miles into the ocean. The only reason nations are given the right to 200 miles of sea around their borders is to prevent conflict - that doesn't apply at the sub-national level.

If towns or streets do not lay claim to rivers that flow through land, then they should not claim to own parts of the ocean either.

As someone said, may be the states need to get a higher cut of the funds derived from their land (25%), and a small cut of the offshore funds (5%). The rest becomes national resources to be shared among federating states. It is that simple.

What has become clear is that, the people who have been calling Nigerians who are not from the so-called ND states Parasites, are the ones who are the real parasites. The cat is out of the bag and justice must and will be done. You sound more reasonable here, as opposed to your bushman stance in other threads.

---

TO KEEP NIGERIA ONE IS A TASK THAT MUST BE DONE

Since it is established that Rivers State or better still Akwa Ibom state or any of the other littoral states cannot claim River Niger or River Benue which is almost equi-distance to the off-shore oil platforms and oil reserves, the illegality that has been accepted has the norm must reviewed at once. Looks like the negotiators of the derivatives formular did not put on their thinking caps when drawing up this one sided loopsided deal.

Another STU. PID thread to support a STU. PID argument. Make una go put gun for their head to pay una.
[size=90pt]PARASITES[/size]

PhysicsQED: @ Beaf

I've never seen this level of obsession with a "SE"/"SS" alliance from any non-Igbo Nigerians west of the Niger river. Some of the "SS" groups east of the Niger may consider themselves "joined at the hip" politically or culturally with the SE, but I have never heard or read of any non-Igbos west of the Niger river exhibiting such a sentiment. Your tendency to continuously repeat and promote this sentiment is why some people on this forum keep questioning whether or not you are really Isoko. I don't doubt that you are Isoko, but I'm just letting you know why people kept doubting your origin. But then again, some Isoko clans claimed Igbo origin originally, so maybe the sentiment you're expressing is natural and not a deviation from the norm because of the particular makeup of your specific ethnic group. I think in the future maybe you should state that "SS east of the Niger, Igbo west of the Niger, and my own Isoko group" are "joined at the hip" with the SE, in order to not give people the wrong impression.

You do not have any right to tell Beaf where he thinks he should be aligned. To be honest with you, the whole "SS" idea is getting more and more idiotic. I say that because even some groups in Delta have SERIOUS issues with you Edo people for instance. Your argument above support that from your side, and I would think that Beaf may see it exactly from your opposite direction. The "SS" is a political and economic red herring which will soon disintegrate. The two bolded is part of why I believe in EASTERN NIGERIA, but I would join Beaf's Isoko and Anioma (if they both continue to identify with Eastern Nigeria).

@ koruji, if somebody at your level of intelligence actually accepts the preposterous argument of this article, that is worrying. If it were somebody dumber I would not even bother responding. What the U.S. does or does not do does not determine the actions a country with a unique situation and history like Nigeria should do.

It's amazing how people's ability to carry out basic reasoning with respect to a very simple situation can be distorted as soon as the topic of oil money comes up. If Akwa Ibom were part of Cameroon, you would not have to worry about offshore oil money accruing to Akwa Ibom state via the coast, because it would not even be relevant. The coastal states are the only reason offshore oil is relevant to Nigeria and this is a very simple thing to understand.

If Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo, and Lagos were part of other countries, you would not have to worry about offshore oil. [/b]One's state does not have to touch the coast to support the offshore oil derivations going to those states but the author of this article has woven a web of distortions and red herrings in order to try and obscure a very simple truth.

And if oil had been discovered in the North (because of the Chad Basin), the same Northern intelligentsia that are arguing that offshore oil past a certain completely arbitrary distance does not belong to states would never have bothered to bring up the argument.

The ludicrous argument promoted by certain people online (ex: Ndu_chucks), and by northern pseudo-intelligentsia in real life, about offshore oil is a [b]feint. The nation, and northerners in particular, should be worried about corrupt politicians, poverty, and terrorism in the north.

This argument is getting more and more windy with no basis in logic whatsoever. The FACT is that these states ARE NOT independent of Nigeria, and they are not in other countries. How can an educated man use "What could be" to support his argument on this issue?
Well, any state in Nigeria can also decide to be part of any country in the world, if we are to go down that lane of logic, in which case Lagos can decide to secede and join China and we lose whatever investments we have there as a country.
You people should stop thinking like illiterates.
Some of us in SE support you based on sentiments, but we would NOT support you if you keep thinking like brainless oafs.

Nuff said.

ndu_chucks:

What has become clear is that, the people who have been calling Nigerians who are not from the so-called ND states Parasites, are the ones who are the real parasites. The cat is out of the bag and justice must and will be done. You sound more reasonable here, as opposed to your bushman stance in other threads.

[size=33pt]Sir,[/size]

[img]https://www.nairaland.com/download/656934[/img]

Onlytruth:
You do not have any right to tell Beaf where he thinks he should be aligned. To be honest with you, the whole "SS" idea is getting more and more idiotic. I say that because even some groups in Delta have SERIOUS issues with you Edo people for instance. Your argument above support that from your side, and I would think that Beaf may see it exactly from your opposite direction. The "SS" is a political and economic red herring which will soon disintegrate. The two bolded is part of why I believe in EASTERN NIGERIA, but I would join Beaf's Isoko and Anioma (if they both continue to identify with Eastern Nigeria).

Thank you for this (even though the SS will not be disintegrating today or tomorrow).
I think Physics expressed his personal opinion, which is not reflected on the ground.

Onlytruth:
This argument is getting more and more windy with no basis in logic whatsoever. The FACT is that these states ARE NOT independent of Nigeria, and they are not in other countries. How can an educated man use "What could be" to support his argument on this issue?
Well, any state in Nigeria can also decide to be part of any country in the world, if we are to go down that lane of logic, in which case Lagos can decide to secede and join China and we lose whatever investments we have there as a country.
You people should stop thinking like illiterates.
Some of us in SE support you based on sentiments, but we would NOT support you if you keep thinking like brainless oafs.

Nuff said.

Fail for this.

You do not have any right to tell Beaf where he thinks he should be aligned.

I did not tell him where he should be aligned, unless you have difficulty reading. It is getting annoying correcting these kind of slip ups.

The fact is that Beaf has no right to speak for any group other than his own.

I have read multiple bigoted statements from Beaf against a particular group from Edo state, which is why I am particularly annoyed when he gives people the false impression that anything he says has any validity with respect to Edo state. I don't know what his issue is with Edo state, but he should not ever give people the impression that the "SS" as a whole (which includes Edo) automatically agrees with whatever stuff he makes up and posts on this forum.

To be honest with you, the whole "SS" idea is getting more and more idiotic.

In case you forgot, I was the one who started a whole thread dedicated to how nonsensical the SS idea was and how some Igbo politicians (such as Ekwueme) created "South-South" in the 90s.

Save your whining about SS for someone (like Beaf) who thinks it has any validity. The concept is nonsense, and that was why I made it a point to criticize Beaf.

I say that because even some groups in Delta have SERIOUS issues with you Edo people for instance.

This is why it's aggravating discussing anything with you.

Nobody in Edo state is begging for a union with Delta state. By the way, there is a small population of people who should be considered Edo in Delta state.

And I can assure you that issues between some groups in the old "East" are just as great, if not greater than between some groups in Edo and Delta.

You argument above support that from your side, and I would think that Beaf may see it exactly from your opposite direction. The "SS" is a political and economic red herring which will soon disintegrate. The two bolded is part of why I believe in EASTERN NIGERIA, but I would join Beaf's Isoko and Anioma (if they both continue to identify with Eastern Nigeria).

There is no evidence at all that the Isoko in general have some sort of inclination toward the SE or that they "identify" with the SE, even if one poster named Beaf might. I was noting that the Isoko claims about the origins of some of their groups may have something to do with Beaf's inclinations. If the Isoko do have some sort of inclination toward the SE, they have failed to make it known outside of one poster on Nairaland.

@PhysicsQED

For now, at least we both agree that "SS" is an obtuse idea. I don't care if was Albert Eistein's idea. Soon it will disintegrate.
I will be back later to discuss more. Gotta run some business first.

PhysicsQED:
I did not tell him where he should be aligned, unless you have difficulty reading. It is getting annoying correcting these kind of slip ups.

The fact is that Beaf has no right to speak for any group other than his own.

I have read multiple bigoted statements from Beaf against a particular group from Edo state, which is why I am particularly annoyed when he gives people the false impression that anything he says has any validity with respect to Edo state. I don't know what his issue is with Edo state, but he should not ever give people the impression that the "SS" as a whole (which includes Edo) automatically agrees with whatever stuff he makes up and posts on this forum.

Is this jealousy or something?

If you are not a lying coward, give proof to the claim you have just made.
If you cannot do that, then carry the brand of lying scum who is in the same category as alj harem.

I really hate liars.

Beaf is Ibo. . .check all his post! The real niger deltans CANNEVER trust the Ibo man. I have lived 15 years in niger delta.

PhysicsQED: @ Beaf

I've never seen this level of obsession with a "SE"/"SS" alliance from any non-Igbo Nigerians west of the Niger river. Some of the "SS" groups east of the Niger may consider themselves "joined at the hip" politically or culturally with the SE, but I have never heard or read of any non-Igbos west of the Niger river exhibiting such a sentiment. Your tendency to continuously repeat and promote this sentiment is why some people on this forum keep questioning whether or not you are really Isoko. I don't doubt that you are Isoko, but I'm just letting you know why people kept doubting your origin. But then again, some Isoko clans claimed Igbo origin originally, so maybe the sentiment you're expressing is natural and not a deviation from the norm because of the particular makeup of your specific ethnic group. I think in the future maybe you should state that "SS east of the Niger, Igbo west of the Niger, and my own Isoko group" are "joined at the hip" with the SE, in order to not give people the wrong impression.


@ koruji, if somebody at your level of intelligence actually accepts the preposterous argument of this article, that is worrying. If it were somebody dumber I would not even bother responding. What the U.S. does or does not do does not determine the actions a country with a unique situation and history like Nigeria should do.

It's amazing how people's ability to carry out basic reasoning with respect to a very simple situation can be distorted as soon as the topic of oil money comes up. If Akwa Ibom were part of Cameroon, you would not have to worry about offshore oil money accruing to Akwa Ibom state via the coast, because it would not even be relevant. The coastal states are the only reason offshore oil is relevant to Nigeria and this is a very simple thing to understand.

If Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo, and Lagos were part of other countries, you would not have to worry about offshore oil. One's state does not have to touch the coast to support the offshore oil derivations going to those states but the author of this article has woven a web of distortions and red herrings in order to try and obscure a very simple truth.

And if oil had been discovered in the North (because of the Chad Basin), the same Northern intelligentsia that are arguing that offshore oil past a certain completely arbitrary distance does not belong to states would never have bothered to bring up the argument.

The ludicrous argument promoted by certain people online (ex: Ndu_chucks), and by northern pseudo-intelligentsia in real life, about offshore oil is a feint. The nation, and northerners in particular, should be worried about corrupt politicians, poverty, and terrorism in the north.

This argument is getting more and more windy with no basis in logic whatsoever. The FACT is that these states ARE NOT independent of Nigeria, and they are not in other countries. How can an educated man use "What could be" to support his argument on this issue?
Well, any state in Nigeria can also decide to be part of any country in the world, if we are to go down that lane of logic, in which case Lagos can decide to secede and join China and we lose whatever investments we have there as a country.
You people should stop thinking like illiterates.
Some of us in SE support you based on sentiments, but we would NOT support you if you keep thinking like brainless oafs.

Nuff said.

How can an educated man use "what could be"??!!

Have you ever heard of a thought experiment??!!

The rest of the drivel you spewed has no bearing on the truth in what I posted.

And you are talking about "support you based on sentiments"? Have you forgotten that my state (Edo) does not touch the coast, and could not get any revenue from offshore oil? Like I said before, one does not have to be from a coastal state to use basic common sense.

"Man becomes a sophist and super-subtle in fields where he has no adequate store of solid information."

Don't be a sophist.

Beaf:

Is this jealousy or something?

If you are not a lying coward, give proof to the claim you have just made.
If you cannot do that, then carry the brand of lying scum who is in the same category as alj harem.

I really hate liars.

@ Beaf, was this purely political?

Beaf:
What a donkey!
Hehe! I'm not from Bayelsa, so you are the FOOL here! And regardless of how you look at it, my state is better than your dump. Thank God!

You claimed to be from the SS and instead you have been shown to be a crusty arsed parasite whose state produces fvkall, yet you can open your parasitic mouth to lash those that feed you and who you have perpertrated human rights abuses against for half a century.

Dude, whats the name of your fvking parasitic state na? grin
Is it too hard to tell us? Lets know whether you add value to Nigeria or if your states "other source of income" is from the export of your women to Italy (underage and overage, young and old, unmarried and married).

Dunce.

https://www.nairaland.com/602652/bayelsa-tops-nigeria-unemployment-chart/2#7722585

I can't find the second statement right now, but I specifically remember there being two statements from you on Edo, which is why I was stunned that you were even commenting on that "Myth or Reality: Yoruba is closer to the Edos culturally than the East" thread.

Like I said, I don't know what your issue is exactly.

PhysicsQED:
@ Beaf, was this purely political?

https://www.nairaland.com/602652/bayelsa-tops-nigeria-unemployment-chart/2#7722585

I can't find the second statement right now, but I specifically remember there being two statements from you on Edo, which is why I was stunned that you were even commenting on that "Myth or Reality: Yoruba is closer to the Edos culturally than the East" thread.

Like I said, I don't know what your issue is exactly.

[size=14pt]Where is the bigotted post against Edo state or are you just a small-minded liar?
I will ask again, is this jealousy of some sort?[/size]

Because of the way you are lying here, I am beginning to wonder if you are not one of the pathetic losers that signs on to make bigotted statements. I shudder to the bones when I click on the link you provided and see what you where defending.

Beaf:

[size=14pt]Where is the bigotted post against Edo state or are you just a small-minded liar?
I will ask again, is this jealousy of some sort?[/size]

I said that you had, on more than one occasion, made statements against a specific group from Edo state.

I don't know if you have problems with basic reading comprehension, or if you're trying to worm your way out of this, but I know for a fact what I stated earlier.

And if you take offense to the "drunken fishermen" comments and interpret them as bigotry in multiple threads in this forum, I am at a complete loss as to how you could interpret those statements of yours that I quoted as anything else.


As for jealousy, I have no reason to be jealous of you.

Once again, what's your issue? What's provoking you?

Kudos to PhysicsQED

Let Onlylies and beaf continue with their delusion and ally Edo, Itsekiri etc with SE. That would only work on the pages of Nairaland though

@the clown called PhysicsQED, this is the link to the post that I responded to with the link you posted:

10cirenoh:

See this foool, which state is feeding from your useless state? is your state not getting allocations? are they not getting more than most of the states in Nigeria? with a population of just 2million, what has your leaders (yes those hat wearing monkies who think they can be mistaken for a cowboy in texas ) what are they doing with their allocation? charity starts from home, what are you governors doing with all your allocation? LOOT AND THEN DRESS LIKE A WOMAN? loot using your wife as the handbag or what exactly?

You guys are just damn lazy and even if the oil is left to your people, you would end up killing eachother out of greed to the extent that no one's going to be able to live in that part of the country.

Yeye lazy azz,

See, Lagos survived without federal allocation for a while, but can your Bayelsa survive without one? My state is deriving another means of sourcing income and they're copying from the best hands in Nigeria.

https://www.nairaland.com/602652/bayelsa-tops-nigeria-unemployment-chart/2#7712104

I don't know if you see yourself as a hat wearing monkey or whatever. I don't see what the post above has to do with Edo state either; so the question remains: [size=21pt]PhysicsQED, why are you telling lies?[/size]

PhysicsQED:
I said that you had, on more than one occasion, made statements against a specific group from Edo state.

I don't know if you have problems with basic reading comprehension, or if you're trying to worm your way out of this, but I know for a fact what I stated earlier.

And if you take offense to the "drunken fishermen" comments and interpret them as bigotry in multiple threads in this forum, I am at a complete loss as to how you could interpret those statements of yours that I quoted as anything else.


As for jealousy, I have no reason to be jealous of you.

Once again, what's your issue? What's provoking you?

Provide proof, otherwise you are just small-minded lying scum. [size=21pt]Why is it so hard to provide proof na? Is it because you are LYING?[/size]

dayokanu: Kudos to PhysicsQED
Let Onlylies and beaf continue with their delusion and ally Edo, Itsekiri etc with SE. That would only work on the pages of Nairaland though

Lol! Jealousy will kill you.
Face your front.

@ Beaf

Keep deceiving yourself and if you like, type in an even bigger font size.

That poster, for no reason, made it a point to attack Bayelsans.

You responded, and in the course of doing so, made statements that could only be interpreted in the exact same way that you interpret the frequent "drunken fishermen" statements.

Even a hat wearing monkey can understand what was written there, so consider me whatever you like. I know what I've read. I don't need to see 10cirenoh actually type the word "Ijaw" before I would interpret what he posted as bigotry, nor do I need to see you type the name of the specific group before I take issue with the statements.

PhysicsQED: @ Beaf

Keep deceiving yourself.

That poster, for no reason, made it a point to attack Bayelsans.

You responded, and in the course of doing so, made statements that could only be interpreted in the exact same way that you interpret the frequent "drunken fishermen" statements.

Even a hat wearing monkey can understand what was written there, so consider me whatever you like. I know what I've read. I don't need to see 10cirenoh actually type the word "Ijaw" before I would interpret what he posted as bigotry, nor do I need to see you type the name of the specific group before I take issue with the statements.

Stop staggering and stammering like a crazed wildebeest on drugs and show me even a single bigotted statement I have made against Edo state.
If you cannot do that, you will be forever consigned to the heap of lying scumbags.
[size=21pt]PhysicsQED, why are you telling lies?[/size]
I wonder if you are on drugs today. Or is it just jealousy of some sort?

Beaf,

I'm not interested in going back and forth with a robot.

When someone uses the phrase "drunken fisherman" without mentioning the name of a specific ethnic group or state or mentioning any group at all, you scream bigotry (https://www.nairaland.com/605766/rascals-govt-jonathan-drunk-fisherman/2#7741860), even when they don't mention a group or state that they could be accused of being bigoted against explicitly.

But when someone says to someone else "your states "other source of income" is from the export of your women to Italy (underage and overage, young and old, unmarried and married)" it's not bigotry.

You obviously have your own interpretation and I'm stunned that you can't see the contradiction. But I disagree with you completely and don't intend to change my opinion or interpretation anytime soon because I know what I read.

I have no more time to waste on this, so don't expect another response from me on this particular disagreement.