Power vacuum leaves Nigeria `ripe for jihadists'
As media spotlight falls on would-be jet bomber in U.S., ailing president's absence from West African nation is glaring



Violent clashes with religious sects, militant attacks on oilfields, endemic corruption and now the notoriety of a would-be airplane suicide bomber with Nigerian citizenship.

Governing Nigeria would be a 24-hour-a-day job for any leader of the large West African country at the best of times. But with President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua languishing in a Saudi Arabia hospital for more than a month with a serious heart ailment, the timing of the U.S. airline incident could hardly be worse.

Although Yar'Adua signed a crucial $2.6 billion spending bill from his hospital bed this week, calls for his resignation are getting louder.

As the international media spotlight falls on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attempt to blow up a Delta airliner near Detroit on Christmas Day, Yar'Adua's absence is especially glaring.

The divided country – split between a mainly Muslim north and a largely Christian south – has been fending off extremists from Algeria, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. is looking for answers on Al Qaeda's possible presence.

In the wake of the attempted plane bombing, Nigeria's government said it was boosting security in the Lagos airport, where Abdulmutallab boarded a plane for Amsterdam and changed to the Detroit-bound flight.

But in Nigeria, domestic issues are equally pressing, and there are calls for the ailing 58-year-old president to hand over the reins to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan. Yar'Adua suffers from chronic kidney problems, as well as an acute heart inflammation.

"There are insinuations that since Nigeria's driver's seat has been vacant, the country has run like a vehicle with a full load of passengers yet without anyone controlling its direction," said the nairaland.com news service[size=10pt][/size]. It warned there could be a "fatal crash" unless drastic measures are taken to put competent hands on the wheel.

Although Nigeria is one of the world's leading oil producers, its people see few of the benefits: a formula that has led to growing anger, crime and rebellion.

"Ten years of supposed democracy have yielded mounting poverty and deprivation of every kind in Nigeria," said Jean Herskovits of State University of New York in an essay in Foreign Policy magazine. "Young people, undereducated by a collapsed educational system may `graduate,' but only to joblessness."

Meanwhile, Nigeria's traditionally tolerant Sufi Islam is vulnerable to penetration by insurgents and Internet propaganda.

"These currents are growing in strength," says John Campbell of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria. Radical imams halted a World Health Organization vaccination program in the north as a plot to limit Muslim births, he points out, and an extremist Islamic sect called Boko Haram staged a violent uprising last July that cost hundreds of lives.

Earlier this week, clashes between militants and Nigerian security forces left at least 38 people dead in the northern city of Baluchi.

Although Yar'Adua was elected in a 2007 poll widely criticized as fraudulent, he pledged to clean up corruption. But since then he has rated mainly failing grades.

Now there are fears that the anger of disadvantaged Muslims – as well as middle-class youths seeking social justice –will fuel new radical movements.

"Social conditions in northern Nigeria make the region ripe for penetration by jihadist Islam and Al Qaeda," said Campbell. "The region's social development statistics are the worst in Nigeria and among the worst in the world."

He added, "the government is all but paralyzed" by Yar'Adna's illness and lack of agreement in elite circles "on a course of action if he dies soon, which is widely expected."


Source:- http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744412--power-vacuum-leaves-nigeria-ripe-for-jihadists

WOW~~~A beautiful New Year gift to SEUN.

What is the nairaland news service?

No Comment!

This journalist should be fired for quoting an open source like Nairaland and labelling it a news service. Might as well quote wikipedia.

Well even though calling it a news service doesn't exactly do it justice cos of It's forum like set up, you have to take cognizance of the fact that virtually every thread in the political section starts with quotes and links to various media sites serving as a news service to a lot of Nigerians around the world.

Happy new year to all Nairalanders.
Congratulation to Seun

kosovo:

No Comment!

No comment too

Ibime:

This journalist should be fired for quoting an open source like Nairaland and labelling it a news service. Might as well quote wikipedia.

Seconded.

I wont be surprised if he quotes becomerich tomorrow.

noetic16:

Seconded.

I wont be surprised if he quotes becomerich tomorrow.

Lmao!

What a joke. Anyway, here is a quote of an email I sent from their site.

Nairaland.com as stated in your report is not a news website. It is more or less a forum that is populated by bickering, insult trading and little intellectual debate.

To quote from a forum as your source does nothing but degrades the quality of your news report and raises serious question on the type of research your Journalist carries out prior to the report.

I hope this error is corrected swiftly and amends are made so it do not happen again in the future.

PS
Below is a link to Nairaland home page. Have a look at the various discussion and see for yourself, if it is worth writing home about.

http://www.nairaland.com/

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/board-20.0.html

Yours sincerely,
ElRazur

The chances of BECOMRICH getting quoted is very high as the [b]Mapo-[/b]graphical bloke is based in Canada. . .

However, he might have even been instrumental to having Nairaland's name quoted going by the fact the report originated from Toronto. . .

@Elrazur.

Haba why you harsh like this. We do not wash our dirty linien in public. . . .thats bad publicity for NL.

Tudór:

@Elrazur.

Haba why you harsh like this. We do not wash our dirty linien in public. . . .thats bad publicity for NL.

Nothing BAD about my actions. Nairaland is not a news source. To quote nairaland in a news report as one is factually incorrect. They had the option of alerting them to their errors. . . I did. Nothing bad about what I said. I guess if Seun and his moderators cleaned up the forum, perhaps one wont have much to say? Just a thought.

Yes Yes. Nigeria's most visited site is grabbing more global attention, if the dullards in abuja keep ignoring people's clamour for change their stu.pidity will keep being exposed here. I'd believe stories with authoritative links on NL than i do 99.9% of the rubbish on Nigerian TV and Radio.
Seun has a responsibility of ensuring that opinions expressed here are left as candid as possible. If Nigerians were happy the reactions here would have reflected that, obviously we're not and that is why the bickering will continue. By the way Happy 6mega watts, NL has grown beyond the realm of just internet forum to public square, better don't sell out.

@ElRazur, Your coments are outrageous!

News service or not, the recognition is what matters.
I personally come to Nairaland to know what is happening in Nigeria.

I know you player hatters can't contain the worldwide publicity seun is gaining.
when he started in 2005, you guys thought he's joking.
This is just the begining

Nairaland news service?
The journalist is dull. Nairaland no be news service, na simple machines forum software placed on nairaland.com domain name. Chikena.
Well I hope seun is happy at least his website is being looked at but for wrong reason!

What is the name of this stupidd journalist sef, he cant even spell Yar'Adua he say YarAdna

Larufa:

Power vacuum leaves Nigeria `ripe for jihadists'

"There are insinuations that since Nigeria's driver's seat has been vacant, the country has run like a vehicle with a full load of passengers yet without anyone controlling its direction," said the [b]nairaland.com news service[size=10pt][/size]. It warned there could be a "fatal crash" unless drastic measures are taken to put competent hands on the wheel.


Jean Herskovits of State University of New York in an essay in Foreign Policy magazine.

Source:- http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744412--power-vacuum-leaves-nigeria-ripe-for-jihadists

Who is Jean Herskovits, which one is Foriegn Policy magazine
One good thing can be pulled from this article: that Nigerian journalists are not as incompetent and useless at finding credible information as thier counterparts in Canada. The only difference is that they keep sayin 'Sources indicate' and 'our source says' and 'anonymous sources revealed'

Bullllllissssshhh

Tudór:

What is the nairaland news service?

I also wonder o

But Elrazur went overboard in trying to correct teh faux pas:

Nairaland.com as stated in your report is not a news website. It is more or less a forum that is populated by bickering, insult trading and little intellectual debate.[/b]To quote from a forum as your source does nothing but degrades the quality of your news report and raises serious question on the type of research your Journalist carries out prior to the report.

I hope this error is corrected swiftly and amends are made so it do not happen again in the future.

PS
Below is a link to Nairaland home page. [b]Have a look at the various discussion and see for yourself, if it is worth writing home about.

Haba, this is damn too harsh!

This is ridiculous, nairaland is not a news service.

ElRazur

What a joke. Anyway, here is a quote of an email I sent from their site.
Quote

Nairaland.com as stated in your report is not a news website. It is more or less a forum that is populated by bickering, insult trading and little intellectual debate.

To quote from a forum as your source does nothing but degrades the quality of your news report and raises serious question on the type of research your Journalist carries out prior to the report.

I hope this error is corrected swiftly and amends are made so it do not happen again in the future.

PS
Below is a link to Nairaland home page. Have a look at the various discussion and see for yourself, if it is worth writing home about.

Well stated, ElRazur


The success of this board, and I use the word guardedly, is unsurprising. One of the quickest ways to success for a black writer, creator, and intellectual is to take the prevailing assumptions about black people created in Europe and America and used them against other blacks. This board is in addition a repository, hosting racists, bigots and views of the type of people in whose financial inertest wars throughout Africa are started. This is not a board for Nigerians rather a board giving voice to none-black-foreigners to express vile views and sentiments based on age-old stereotypes and also gives voice to none-Nigerian blacks from Africa, Caribbean and America who’s potential are far less than those of Nigerians and their country.

kosovo:

@ElRazur, Your coments are outrageous!

Using your logic and borrowing from your attempts at trying to be an intellect. Allow me to make a reply based on your "logic". Here goes:

What a load of Cognitive buffoonery, It is without doubt that your attempts to discharge your duties are nothing but a quatum attempt at indefatigable and unflinching towards the 'tear-down'. If the supreme commander is bathing in the aqua of knowledge, he would have realise that there is still Room for operational achievements through the effective discharge of your duties.

It makes no freaking sense, but that is how your logic and post comes across.

When you make a meaningful reply and engage decent logic, I will respond as such.

I stand with ElRazur on this occasion even though the content of the report was not far from the truth. That was exactly how Nigeria got a very bad name in the first place. Lazy people sit on their butt and dish out junk journalism and the reading-public get fed with misinformation most of the times. He might easily have quoted an expert known an Mr Bec Omrich.  

I have had to write to the SUN in Uk on two occasions because of some useless articles concerning Nigeria, which were written by some useless journalists who did not have a clue about what they were writing about; one of which was about " deadly malaria virus from  Nigerian immigrants". Malaria virus indeed !

I am sure Seun would not be impressed as well because he is aware that most of what people say here are hearsay and unsubstantiated .

^ Why don't you people go to the NTA website to get "substantiated" material ? Rubbish, Naira land is bigger and more trust worthy than any of you will ever hope to become.

Happy New Year to all especially Afam and RichyBlack not forgetting old foes like Davidylan, I-Man/4-Play, TayoD etc. My new year resolution is to come here more often. Greetings.


@ElRazur
Nairaland is not a news service agreed, blame it on poor research on the part of the journalist. BUT WAIT! That is not what I want to talk about.

Your quasi-sophomoric mind was active some time ago when you stated you refused to come back to Nigeria because the State of Nigeria can't afford the equipment you'd need in your profession. (I'd like to see your farrago of degrees).I lost all respect for you afterwards.

I also thought your constant jibe at the moderators was just a caprice until you stated your intension of wanting a website of your own.(what ever happened to that dream?).

On another thread you insinuated Seun gets about £250 ad revenue a month, please stop this bad belle cos you  bicker like a 10yr old. Admit it Seun has it all going for him, you're a loser. Infact in vulgar Nairaland terms you're mugu.

Its patent nonsense for you to opine you went to www.thestar.com (totally factious argument) to correct some misinformation>"bad belle"

The semi-mythical hokum that any one can set up a website and make money is diddlysquat. My friend look for an honourable way to earn your crust.
I have this quaint idea you have a brain so please severe the umbilical cord tying you to jealousy.

Whilst you're mired in jealousy and bemoaning everything on Nairaland, Seun is probably cracking and opening a bottle of Puligny-Montrachet.


P.S
Now you know Seun fan club members can as well be determined in our resolve to "big-up" Nairaland, f* ck you.
There's a prima facie case for banning your monkey azz on Nairaland forever.
Happy New Year.

Tornadoz:

Happy New Year to all especially Afam and RichyBlack not forgetting old foes like Davidylan, I-Man/4-Play, TayoD etc. My new year resolution is to come here more often. Greetings.


@ElRazur
Nairaland is not a news service agreed, blame it on poor research on the part of the journalist. BUT WAIT! That is not what I want to talk about.

My email questioned the research carried out on the part of the Journalist, but I guess you missed that out.

Your quasi-sophomoric mind was active some time ago when you stated you refused to come back to Nigeria because the State of Nigeria can't afford the equipment you'd need in your profession. (I'd like to see your farrago of degrees).I lost all respect for you afterwards.

Your problem, your prerogative not mine. I still stand by my point. I cannot work in a place where the "tools of my trade" are not available for me to carry out my job effectively.

I also thought your constant jibe at the moderators was just a caprice until you stated your intension of wanting a website of your own.(what ever happened to that dream?).

I raise issues that I see is lacking around here. Clearly you have a problem with that, but I don't think I am about to stop. Yes I considered the possibility of opening a forum. . . Never say never sir.

On another thread you insinuated Seun gets about £250 ad revenue a month,  please stop this bad belle cos you  bicker like a 10yr old. Admit it Seun has it all going for him, you're a loser. In fact in vulgar Nairaland terms you're  mugu.
Its patent nonsense for you to opine you went to www.thestar.com (totally factious argument) to correct some misinformation>"bad belle"

Yes all the ad and plugins are revenue driven, surely it aint for free? Please check the amount of traffic that come around here and other bits, it aint rocket science to arrive at such figure. For the record, I stated that to make a point as to why Seun may not be keen on ditching Quantity over Quality. You see, given the amount of mindset like you around here, there will be a drop in traffic I suspect IF Quality is enforced.

Again refer back to one of my reply "Nothing BAD [or in your terms BAD BELLE] about my actions. . . " However, since you have an axe to grind you will claim other wise. 

The semi-mythical hokum that any one can set up a website and make money is diddlysquat. My friend look for an honourable way to earn your crust.

I suggest you read up on forums. Forums is used to generate money via adverts. I am not keen on setting up one for the sole purpose of making money, if and when I do it would be a place where intellectual debate can be exchanged and not of the non-sense plaguing here. Dude I earn my money in my line of work. Not relying on the web for some ad click.

I have this quaint idea you have a brain so please severe the umbilical cord tying you to jealousy.

Whilst you're mired in jealousy and bemoaning everything on Nairaland, Seun is probably cracking and opening a bottle of Puligny-Montrachet.

You can trust on thing though, with the amount of brain you claim I have, what ever it is, it is probably more than yours given your mentality.

There is nothing to be jealous of. I think you are confusing jealousy with wanting quality driven forum et al. But never mind, carry on.

PS
Now you know Seun fan club members can as well be determined in our resolve to "big-up" Nairaland, f* ck you.
There's a prima facie case for banning your monkey azz on Nairaland forever.
Happy New Year.

 

And this is me thinking you have a bit of brain. Jeez. I guess using your many logics, you just ban who ever disagree with you? How nice. Here is one little bit you are forgetting. Banning here is a joke, people come back the minute that are ban - the registration and regulation is THAT lax. Oh before you even mention anything about IP blacklisting. . . I have been using internet since the time of its invention and hence know a thing or two about by passing all of those if needed.

@tornadoz don't sink to their unenlightened depths. Why would you wish the guy banned ? Isn't that why we're on NL in the first place ? Let them speak so they can realise that what we do here is for constructive not destructive purposes.
Like i said if you want to hear a Dora-like sermon go to the NTA website and don't come here where people who experience rubbish on a daily basis come to vent their genuine frustrations

The title of this thread should have been more appropriately "Nairaland Mentioned In Toronto Star e.t.c."  I suspect that the author of the article plagiarized an article written in allafrica.com by a Nigerian journalist. I additionally suspect that the said author, is a frequent visitor of nairaland and may even be a member.

Here is an extract of the allafrica.com article which was published Dec. 27.  Note that the Toronto Star article was published Dec 31.

Extract from allafrica.com  The plagiarized piece is in bolded text below:

35 Days After, Nigeria Groans Without a President

Omololu Ogunmade

Lagos — Like a tale from the moonlight, 35 days has elapsed after President Umaru Yar'Adua embarked on a medical trip to Saudi Arabia where he is being treated for acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane covering the heart. The President is receiving treatment at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah.

Since then, things have not been at ease in all the spheres of the country's operations. Concerns have continued to mount across the country on the rising consequences of the president's non-availability to champion the daunting task of leading a complex and heterogenous entity called Nigeria.

There are insinuations that since the Nigeria's driver's seat has been vacant, the country has run like a vehicle with a full load of passengers, yet without anyone controlling the vehicle's direction. This has raised fears of the possible fatal crash of such a vehicle unless a drastic measure is taken to ensure that a competent driver is drafted into the vehicle with urgency

http://allafrica.com/stories/200912280253.html

The Toronto Star journalists did not quote anyone on nairaland, but apparently plagiarized as shown above.

ndu_chucks:

The title of this thread should have been more appropriately "Nairaland Mentioned In Toronto Star e.t.c."  I suspect that the author of the article plagiarized an article written in allafrica.com by a Nigerian journalist. I additionally suspect that the said author, is a frequent visitor of nairaland and may even be a member.

Here is an extract of the allafrica.com article which was published Dec. 27.  Note that the Toronto Star article was published Dec 31.

Extract from allafrica.com  The plagiarized piece is in bolded text below:

The Toronto Star journalists did not quote anyone on nairaland, but apparently plagiarized as shown above.

I see where you are coming from. And yeah, I agree. However, my understanding of how the report was presented is that nairaland = a news website and a news quote was credited to them. See the quote below:

"There are insinuations that since Nigeria's driver's seat has been vacant, the country has run like a vehicle with a full load of passengers yet without anyone controlling its direction," said the nairaland.com news service[size=10pt][/size]. It warned there could be a "fatal crash" unless drastic measures are taken to put competent hands on the wheel.

ElRazur,

Please note that I simply pointed out that the Toronto Star writer may have plagiarizied. The falsity of the writer's claim that nairaland is a news service is not in dispute.

ndu_chucks:

ElRazur,

Please note that I simply pointed out that the Toronto Star writer may have plagiazied. The falsity of the writer's claim that nairaland is a news service is not in dispute.

Sorry, I was drawn to the part that said "nothing was quote on nairaland" but yeah I really do see your point.