@busybody
no need to go that far,she s a misguided and confused individual who needs to be set right really
@post
anything is possible but the english are much more set in their ways and the racism and intolerance here runs deeper so it ll be almost impossible,

lucabrasi:

@busybody
no need to go that far,she s a misguided and confused individual who needs to be set right really
@post
anything is possible but the english are much more set in their ways and the racism and intolerance here runs deeper so it ll be almost impossible,

why is it important for Nigeria to put an immigrant in 10 Downing street?

I don't see the point here?

Should Britain be sn extension of Nigeria?

and are the white British supposed to smile and love it when foreigners are bent on taking over their homeland and running them out of town? Even if they colonized others in the past, does that mean they should passively allow themselves to be colonized in return?

IBEXY:

Your ignorance knows no bounds.


Oh yes Gamine is right. Even the British agree that Blair sheepishly followed his friend, Bush into Iraq to gain favours with USA. The 51st state whether you like it or not is UK. Obama therefore wields a large influence over the UK's foreign and domestic policies (and on other countries too).

that was then or should I say at that point in time when over 3000 people died, it is a bit difficult not
to sympathise of 'stand shoulder to shoulder' with a grieving brethren but not any more!

If there is an African that I could think of who is prominent in Britain's political world, it is this Ghanian, Paul Boateng. Who knows, he could be the next PM of Britain.

tpia:

why is it important for Nigeria to put an immigrant in 10 Downing street?

I don't see the point here?

Should Britain be sn extension of Nigeria?

and are the white British supposed to smile and love it when foreigners are bent on taking over their homeland and running them out of town? Even if they colonized others in the past, does that mean they should passively allow themselves to be colonized in return?

its not about a nigerian in downing street but about the average english man/woman looking past the colour of a candidate's skin and voting based on their qualification and capacity for the job of prime minister,britain is not an extension of nigeria but they have a long history together and enjoy excellent political ties,moreover britain is home to a large amount of nigerians as evidenced by places like peckham,brixton,thamesmead,woolwich,east london e.t.c
there is no where foreigners have threatened to run whites out of town,the mere numerical strenght of native whites be it america or britain will make this an impossibility,this is just racist and white supremacist propaganda, its not about a nigerian being in downing street but about britain being a country where you can attain all you want to be irrespective of your colour or background

Ndipe:

If there is an African that I could think of who is prominent in Britain's political world, it is this Ghanian, Paul Boateng. Who knows, he could be the next PM of Britain.

i agree with you but they have conveninetly hidden the guy away in south africa,because of his increasing popularity, so that by the time he ll be back in uk he ll have lost touch with his supporters

Harvard Alumni, David Lammy MP shows a lot of promise. He is supposedly very good friends with Obama and so if he ever did decide to go for that top spot he would know where to get some  good sound advice.

Having said that it seems that many of you are getting this twisted or just don't know what the hell you are talking about. The UK unlike the US does not vote for individual candidates, they vote for the party with the clearest message and it is the leader of that party who will become Prime Minister of the UK when their party wins the general election. All someone like David Lammy would have to do would be to rise through the ranks of the labour party (no easy feat, ask Maggie Thatcher) and then try to get the party elected by the public.

That is how we ended up with Margaret Thatcher who was voted in as the head of the party and who naturally moved to become to Prime Minister when the Conservatives won. Had the UK had a US style election process where individuals are voted in then I doubt anyone would have voted for dear old Maggie. Maggis is famously quoted as saying that there would never be a female Prime Minister in her lifetime because she knew how tight the old boy network was in her own party but look what came to pass?

IBEXY:

Your ignorance knows no bounds.


Oh yes Gamine is right. Even the British agree that Blair sheepishly followed his friend, Bush into Iraq to gain favours with USA. The 51st state whether you like it or not is UK. Obama therefore wields a large influence over the UK's foreign and domestic policies (and on other countries too).

Gamine is incorrect and so are you. Tony Blair, who clearly had his own personal agenda, went against the wishes of his own party and the general public and followed Bush into the war to gain favours and make a name for himself and not the UK! His party and the the general public were always dead set against it and we made our feelings clear. Now if it were the case where we had no choice and that our country would be in jeopardy had we not followed Bush then the whole of the party and the general public would not have been so vocal and anti-american about it. Tony Blair had publicly in the heat of the moment, as someone said, sworn to stand by America after 9/11 and so he stood by his word. But don't for one minute think that the UK had no choice.

Please note that Tony Blair was only elected to lead the labour after the sudden unexpected death of John Smith MP. If that hadn't happened then Tony would not have gotten his chance to be prime minister and I doubt that the UK would have followed the US into the war under the leadership of JS. So in short the US has absolutely no bearings on the UK's foreign or domestic policies.

.

tpia:

why is it important for Nigeria to put an immigrant in 10 Downing street?

I don't see the point here?

Should Britain be sn extension of Nigeria?

and are the white British supposed to smile and love it when foreigners are bent on taking over their homeland and running them out of town? Even if they colonized others in the past, does that mean they should passively allow themselves to be colonized in return?

Ask them if they would let a whiteman rule Nigeria. . . .
Buncha hypocrites!!!

AngieFan:

So in short the US has absolutely no bearings on the UK's foreign or domestic policies.

Domestic NO but foreign policy YES under TB.

AngieFan:

That is how we ended up with Margaret Thatcher who was voted in as the head of the party and who naturally moved to become to Prime Minister when the Conservatives won. Had the UK had a US style election process where individuals are voted in then I doubt anyone would have voted for dear old Maggie. Maggis is famously quoted as saying that there would never be a female Prime Minister in her lifetime because she knew how tight the old boy network was in her own party but look what came to pass?

If actually they don't want MT they wouldn't have voted for their local conservative MP's. Cuz they know that voting for a conservative MP means voting for MT as well.

presido1:

Domestic NO but foreign policy YES under TB.
.

As I have already explained, TB had his own agenda. This is politics. They sold us the idea of New Labour and once they got in power they did what the hell they wanted to do. It was down to the party to vote out Tony Blair as their leader but then that would have put the whole party in disarray. In fact if I remember correctly some MPs even resigned in protest of the war. Now that TB is no longer Prime Minister, the US has no bearings on our foreign policy. As soon as Brown came into power he started to withdraw troops from Basra and so if it were the case that the US has a say so in our affairs do you think Bush would have allowed it?

If actually they don't want MT they wouldn't have voted for their local conservative MP's. because they know that voting for a conservative MP means voting for MT as well

Incorrect. I repeat they voted for the Conservative Party not Maggie Thatcher. The British election process is very different from the American one and you need to understand that before you even begin to understand that people don't vote for candidates like in America.

tpia:

whats wrong with us trying to achieve the same in Nigeria?

Is Africa that hopeless that we can't have similar visions to work towards at home, but must constantly wait for whites to lead us and show us how to do things like little children?

nothing wrong but the fact that there is a total decay in the system,what we need in nigeria is not just an obama but a castro as well where exactly are we going to start from?at least obama and any nigerian in britain can be assured of a working and solid political system which is non existent i nigeria

~Sauron~:

Ask them if they would let a whiteman rule Nigeria. . . .
Buncha hypocrites!!!

And who ruled us pre-colonial times?

lucabrasi:

nothing wrong but the fact that there is a total decay in the system,what we need in nigeria is not just an obama but a castro as well where exactly are we going to start from?at least obama and any nigerian in britain can be assured of a working and solid political system which is non existent i nigeria

Ndipe:

And who ruled us pre-colonial times?

This is now. Does the constitution allow it? If not, then no.

H2O2:


This is now. Does the constitution allow it? If not, then no.

Well, if our constitution does not permit it, then it is illegal. Now, if their constitution approves of it, then it is ok. Or, is there anything wrong for a black to rule Britain? They ruled us pre-colonial times, took our people as slaves, even though it is illegal.

Ndipe:

And who ruled us pre-colonial times?

Pre-colonial time was before INDEPENDENCE!!!
Do u really think a white man can rule in Nigeria today??
Hell, Ibo man cannot rule let alone a white man. . . . . .

Ndipe:

Well, if our constitution does not permit it, then it is illegal. Now, if their constitution approves of it, then it is ok. Or, is there anything wrong for a black to rule Britain? They ruled us pre-colonial times, took our people as slaves, even though it is illegal.

This is not pre-colonial times. Of course it is illegal. Nigeria didn't "put them there", THEY forced their way there. There's a difference.

H2O2:

This is not pre-colonial times.  Of course it is illegal.  Nigeria didn't "put them there", THEY forced their way there. There's a difference.

Which was illegal. Now, if a Nigerian is elected to rule Britain, that would be legal.

~Sauron~:

Pre-colonial time was before INDEPENDENCE!!!
Do u really think a white man can rule in Nigeria today??
Hell, Ibo man cannot rule let alone a white man. . . . . .

Not to talk of a Niger-Delta man

Ndipe:


Which was illegal. Now, if a Nigerian is elected to rule Britain, that would be legal.

Good, we're saying the same thing.

~Sauron~:

Ask them if they would let a whiteman rule Nigeria. . . .

Constitutionally, if a white man was born and bred in Nigeria (in which case he is citizen by birth), he qualifies to run for election and so can be president if he wields enough clout.

[size=18pt]Could Britain have a black PM? [/size]

By Tom Geoghegan
BBC News Magazine 


Now the US has elected its first black president, how long until the UK has a black or Asian prime minister?

When Barack Obama claimed that his story could only have happened in America, he might have been looking across the Atlantic for evidence.

The odds of a black or Asian person taking the keys to 10 Downing Street any time soon are slim.

Tony Blair acknowledged as much in 2001, when he said the US was way ahead of the UK in giving its top political jobs to people from ethnic minorities.

Mr Blair was mindful of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice at the heart of the White House, but probably hadn't even heard of Obama.

In the US they dare to dream the American dream, talking about hope, using that kind of language is something that Americans do naturally
Baroness Amos 

The president-elect, who has a white mother and black father, was careful not to invoke race in his campaign, which he won because of his ability to appeal to many parts of American society. But his success has been seen as a major step forward in a country scarred by slavery and segregation.

So why not a similar story in the UK, which had a Jewish prime minister in the 19th Century and this week celebrated a British black man becoming Formula One world champion?

There have only ever been three non-white Cabinet members in Britain and there are only 15 MPs (2% of the total). And while the US has black mayors and state governors, in Britain black and Asian local councillors are still thin on the ground - just 4% of the total.

Partly the transatlantic difference is about numbers. In the US, black people make up 13% of the population while in the UK it is 3%, rising to 8% for all ethnic minorities. They have also been living in the US far longer, although it is only in the last 40 years that they have been doing so on an equal footing.

Batman films

But figures only tell part of a wider story, which touches on class, ideology and political power.

Actor Colin McFarlane, who played a black prime minister in a primetime BBC drama four years ago, says don't hold your breath.

Researching the part and speaking to politicians about it, McFarlane realised how far away fiction was from reality, with the House of Commons dominated by public school-educated, white males.

"We realised that if there was to be a black prime minister, education would be the key. We identified a route not dissimilar to my own - public school in Cambridge then university."

Having spent a lot of time in the US - he appeared in two Batman films - he thinks the UK can learn from the way Americans responded to their racist history.

"Since the civil rights movement of the Sixties they have had to put in laws and rules in place because racism was more overt. It's more subtle in this country but there is a sense there's a glass ceiling across most industries.

"In America it's more acknowledged and they've put in positive discrimination. There was much resistance at the beginning but they have the fruits of that, which is people being forced into certain positions."

Consequently the US has a large and powerful black middle class, he says. While the UK is arguably more integrated, he says, a black prime minister will only be closer when there are more black business leaders and commissioning editors, operating the levers of power and educating society about black and Asian experiences.

In the US a fresh face like Obama can make it in one electoral cycle. In Britain it's generally a gradual process of service and promotion over many years, and often decades
Adam Afriyie 

The British political system counts against a newcomer like Mr Obama bursting on to the scene, says black Conservative MP Adam Afriyie. He doesn't expect to see a black leader of the country in his lifetime.

"You need enough MPs from a variety of backgrounds and political parties that promote on merit.

"In the US a fresh face like Obama can make it in one electoral cycle. In Britain it's generally a gradual process of service and promotion over many years, and often decades, before leading a political party.

"An MP needs to get within electable distance of the leadership of their party and that usually means a successful stint in cabinet or shadow cabinet."

For Baroness Amos, one of only three black people to have sat in cabinet, much is down to the difference in attitudes to aspiration between the US and UK.

"In the US they dare to dream the American dream, talking about hope. Using that kind of language is something Americans do naturally. Here, we are I think culturally much more understated. We tend to be more cynical generally.

"And while I don't think we are anti-aspirational, the aspiration of what we are and who we are comes without the language of America. Americans are proud that they have brought about change no-one thought possible in the time they have.

"The language of Barack Obama and Martin Luther King is very singular to America but we're not able to use that kind of language. So we need to find a way to get out of that cynicism."

Pressure

There are also systemic problems in political parties and more needs to be done to train, support and mentor emerging talent from ethnic minorities, she says.

"You need to be plugged into networks. Political parties are a bit like families and communities, so you need to know the right people and the right people need to be speaking up on your behalf."

David Lammy, arguably Britain's most powerful black MP of the moment and a personal friend of Mr Obama, knows all about the label of "Britain's next black prime minister" - it was one pinned on him when he was elected to the Commons at 27.

"Of course a black prime minister is possible," he says. "After all, we elected our first female prime minister nearly 30 years ago, and we have made clear strides since then in showing how diverse Britain is.

"I think that in 10 years the representation will be much healthier but putting pressure on individuals is unhelpful and we need to do much more work within political parties to bring people on, because it's a long route to the top."

But there are grounds for optimism. A report by the Fabian Society estimates there will be 10 new black and Asian MPs at the next election.

IS THE ELECTORATE READY?
Sadiq Khan MP has no doubt it is
"The myth that ethnic minority candidates are vote-losers, or that black voters only vote for black candidates, has once and for all been dispelled."
"The electorate in the UK is very sophisticated and looks beyond skin colour at what candidates stand for."
"I've met and seen so many incredibly talented black and Asian politicians I think it could happen within 10 or 20 years" 

And Simon Woolley, director of Operation Black Vote, says the US election marks a watershed that could mean a black prime minister in 10 or 20 years.

"The greatest problem has been the lack of self-belief that you see aspiring to the highest office and in one fell swoop the shackles have been broken. There's a deluge of talent but they may well be eclipsed by a new talent that could suddenly emerge with great dynamism and oratory skills."

The obstacles in the UK are still immense, he says, and all-black shortlists for candidates would help, but the "Barack Obama generation" has been a theme for the past year, driving people to serve in their community.

"We're asking them to come out of the shadows, to become leaders, school governors, magistrates and elected councillors, and they've responded fantastically.

"Obama's candidacy has energised a great number of people and many individuals are now standing for office."

The British Obama could already be among us.


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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/magazine/7714056.stm

Published: 2008/11/07 12:10:57 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

@Lucabrasi

Misguided and confused What a joke! I understand that you are somewhat distressed by my insults but at the same time you really shouldn't run your mouth about things that you know nothing about.

Making out like you know everything about being a Black Briton just because you happen to be in the country for a few years on a student visa is ludicrous to say the least. The mere fact that you and others on here do not understand why people like me and others would get upset when you start talking ish about our country says volumes about your total lack of tact and respect.

It is now 2008 and we now have a black president. The man didn’t use his blackness to get where he is today. He didn’t play the race card and he didn’t let the crab mentality that so many black people like to use to bring their own down to get in his way. Neither did he play the victim; Many Americans did not think he was one of them and they made sure they let him know. A few days before the election I saw someone on ‘Faux’ news say that he was an Arab, before that they were referring to him as ‘Osama’.

I see it in much the same way as you harping on about how white people don’t see British born blacks like me as English or British, making it sound like it is our cross to bear when really it isn’t. People like me know who we are regardless of what people like you and white people think; Obama didn’t care what people though and so he reclaimed that American dream. He has showed us that it can be done and as far as I am concerned people like you can choke the next time you see a Black Briton referring to themselves as English if it really is an issue for you.

Which Nigeria are guys talking about?, which bloody Nigeria the Nigeria that has systematically suppressed a majority tribe like Ndigbo, and kept them out of the Presidential seat for 4 decades, not to talk of the minority tribes , or is it the Bloody Nigeria that has never held one free and fair election and stood by the outcome of such an election which tribe will that Nigerian come from that will enter 10 Downing street. for what purpose , to whose benefit I think the poster of this thread is freaking out of ideas for posting

I'm i missing something here?

Since when did Obama Become an Immigrant?

EloSela:

get upset when you start talking ish about our country says volumes about your total lack of tact and respect.

Which country is yours(Nigeria or Britain).

EloSela:

Black Briton referring to themselves as English if it really is an issue for you.

How can a black Briton refer him/herself as English. Don't let them hear you say that.
If you are black you are BRITISH on paper but not English,Welsh or Scottish.

Gamine,
you did not only change the subject of discussion here, you went ahead to introduce a new topic to the world's political scene.
usa most times needs and lobbies for the support of uk in all their foriegn policies. do u know how many of their policies that have failed simply because they are unable to convience the uk.
about the topic on board, i would love to say a big YES.
Nigeria can put and had put immigrants in ASO rock.
we all know about three past presidents or military presidents who are said they cannot be in future?
i am thinking if it will be possible for usa to lend us mccain so that we can use him as our next president

the original topic was actually 'can nigeria put an immigrant in downing street?'

thank goodness the admin noticed this discussion is a waste of space and effort!

this Guy:

the original topic was actually 'can nigeria put an immigrant in downing street?'

Can Nigeria put an immigrant in Aso Rock?

No and yes.

YES! - If such an immigrant has gained enough status as prescribed by our constitution either by naturalisation or by birth (in which case his parents are legal immigrants) then he can vie for election as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Whether he will win is another issue.

NO! because our politics is still rooted in tribalism and god-fatherism. Even if this said immigrant satisfies all dictates of the law, the electorate will still link him to one tribe or the other or one godfather or the other as so often happens.

Another point! I heard this rumour that certain army generals who ruled Nigeria in the past actually have their roots from outside Nigeria. If this is true, we may have had immigrants in Aso Rock long before this topic came up

ScanLess:

Which Nigeria are guys talking about?, which bloody Nigeria the Nigeria that has systematically suppressed a majority tribe like Ndigbo, and kept them out of the Presidential seat for 4 decades, not to talk of the minority tribes , or is it the Bloody Nigeria that has never held one free and fair election and stood by the outcome of such an election which tribe will that Nigerian come from that will enter 10 Downing street. for what purpose , to whose benefit I think the poster of this thread is freaking out of ideas for posting

when a major tribe like Ndigbo cries of marginalisation, tht means no hope for tribes like the calabars and the ijaws!!!
shouldnt u be looking beyond ethnic lines my friend, and concentrate on characters n policies!