Terror blacklist: US calls Nigeria’s bluff
From Ike Nnamdi The Sun Reporter, New York
Thursday, January 07, 2010


•Us President, Obama
Photo: Sun Publishing
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Washington is set to call Abuja’s bluff on a possible diplomatic row over the administration’s decision to put the country on its terror watch list.
Administration officials have ruled out reversing the action and dared Nigeria to show evidence of a comprehensive plan to fight terror groups.
White House sources said President Barack Obama signed off on the plan based on “preponderance of evidence that Nigeria has become a likely haven for terror groups, like Al-Qaida”.

F.B.I sources said the decision by Washington to place Nigeria on its terror watch list is a preventive measure to disrupt a likely attack on the country.

Officials disclosed that reliable intelligence had concluded that terror groups are likely to use Nigeria as a base for further attacks.
“For years, the C.I.A has documented evidence of Al-Qaida attempting to recruit and gain foothold in Nigeria, and its security agencies did nothing to confront the threat,” top Homeland Department officials stated.
“This is a security situation with the lives of Americans at risk. We are not prepared to risk American lives just to satisfy Nigerian officials” administration sources said.

Besides, the State Department said Nigeria knows what to do to get the country off the watch list.”
There has to be a visible and verifiable evidence that Nigerian authorities are improving security and intelligence gathering against not just terror groups, but also extremists and fundamentalists, especially in the northern part of the country,” State Department officials stated.
The White House also wants Nigeria to close Islamic schools that teach and influence youths into religious extremism.


“We believe measures like these would be concrete evidence the country is serious about fighting terror, rather than threatening the United States,” officials said.



http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/jan/07/national-07-01-2010-01.htm






This one na fight to finish.

Thank U Pres Obama! Now send all Nigerians home!

Go and face your own country ^^^

! When we tried sending U home the whole world blamed us and called it xenophobic attacks! So now look at this! Americans should ship U back to West Africa or else the're in danger!

asha 80:


Besides, the State Department said Nigeria knows what to do to get the country off  the watch  list.”
There  has to be a visible and verifiable evidence that  Nigerian authorities are improving security and intelligence gathering against not just terror groups, but also  extremists and  fundamentalists, especially in the  northern part of the country,” State Department officials stated.
The White House also wants Nigeria to  close  Islamic schools that teach  and influence youths into religious extremism.

How do schools teach and influence youths into religious extremism? The British shoe bomber, did he attend an Islamic school?

This is beginning to sound like Afghanistan with comments like close down schools, hope it doesn't get worse.

Afam:


How do schools teach and influence youths into religious extremism? The British shoe bomber, did he attend an Islamic school?

This is beginning to sound like Afghanistan with comments like close down schools, hope it doesn't get worse.

I even forgot to highlight that one.The Mullahs up north no go hear that one o!

I wholly concur with Gowon's apt description of US decision as “unfair, unjust and unkind”.

Matter of fact: US/Obama has no right to blacklist us.

It sounds even insane to me; how the action of a single "citizen" affects 100+ million others?

See bullying sha.
In any case, why are we so worried. Can't Nigeria do a Chavez, and sell their oilfield assets to the Chinese and their gas to the Russians?
That will surely pain America more than any shoe or underpants bomber.

there is a great deal of truth in their comments. Nigerian govt is exposing its helplessness to the world, that is unable to provide basic social services, employment, development and security or control of anarchist movements.  we deserve to be on that list. that stuupid propaganda minister who does not know that rebranding is a waste of time.good governance is what is worth fighting for and not chopping money.

The US is reacting to the fact that we have several religious extremist and fundamentalist groups in the North. Nothing has been done to reign them in, whereas there are several losses of life each year. To make matters worse, as soon as the Mutallab guy was caught, 70 lives were lost in Kala Kato riots, this is in addition to similar Boko Haram riots that claimed more than a thousand lives.
Added to the nastiness of the above, the country is drifting dangerously with no president in charge. To any foreign observer, our country is a tinderbox of 140 million (a fourth of Africa's population) waiting to blow up.

All the US has done is look at the situation on the ground in Nigeria, in normal circumstances, their reaction would have been either high handed or provocative; but these aren't normal times in Nigeria. We need to be able to understand the image we are projecting and react decisively to correct it; we are blind to what our body language is saying to the World; the condemnation of Mutallab was a mere whimper as compared to our reaction to US actions.
Blaming the US and even worse, threatening to break off relations will only put us in a picture we are much better off without. If we break relations with the US, the rest of the World would perceive us to have done it because we secretly support Mutallab. It is the most stu'pid thought that has come out of the country in the past few years.

muhsin:

I wholly concur with Gowon's apt description of US decision as “unfair, unjust and unkind”.

Matter of fact: US/Obama has no right to blacklist us.

It sounds even insane to me; how the action of a single "citizen" affects 100+ million others?

Did you even read the article. It's not about Umar, its about boko haram, kalakato, the terrorists you call government officials, the missin president, crazy mallams who kill nierian "infidels" because of what someone did in DENMARK etc etc etc

America is damn right. Let us prove it!

AjanleKoko:

See bullying sha.
In any case, why are we so worried. Can't Nigeria do a Chavez, and sell their oilfield assets to the Chinese and their gas to the Russians?
That will surely pain America more than any shoe or underpants bomber.

Yeah F#ck the americans, lets act like a sensible person like Chavez, lets deal with Russia and the Chinese.  Chavez who is nothing more than a democratic tyrant? That fool took the podium after bush at the UN and he was talking about he "smells the devil", how childish is that? Every normal country knows that compared to Russia, the U.S is the lesser evil. As for the Chinese who you're so eager to jump in the bed into, just look at them keep silent while their arab sudanees bedmates murder ethnic Africans. Know who those sudanese arabs remind me of? Your PELLOW NIGERIANS up north.

Nigerians are the smartest people in the world, but when it comes to politics and religion, Nigerians lose all common sense! WTF

Mpele:

! When we tried sending U home the whole world blamed us and called it xenophobic attacks! So now look at this! Americans should ship U back to West Africa or else the're in danger!

South Africans are the greatest ingrates living on planet earth.After all the support given to these animals when their was apartheid in that place,all they think about now is sending people away.I even wonder why Nigerians go there to bring HIV/AIDS for us with a prevalence rate of over 20% in that Zulu country.

@post :

Thanks to Farouk and Islamic activities in Nigeria

I don't agree with how the US rapidly upgraded Nigeria to "a nation of special interest" regarding terrorism , but every objective Nigerian must admit that we have a lot of Work to do on our side. International terrorism is something Nigeria , at this stage , cannot be conclusively associated with. The USA has done this hastily. Nonetheless , occurences within Nigeria shows a leadership failure that must concern every well-meaning Nigerian !!!! I reject some of the suggestions of the US but concede that others are valid enough to make us demand effective future solutions.

Let's see who wins,what I know is that Obama is not ready for this diplomatic row that will cause oil price to go up,30million Us citizens to park their cars and make the Chavezes,Ahmajined and OPEC stonger.I hope we stay steadfast and win because we are not looking for market for our oil.There are more than enough customers.

Martian:

Did you even read the article. It's not about Umar, its about boko haram, kalakato, the terrorists you call government officials, the missin president, crazy mallams who kill nierian "infidels" because of what someone did in DENMARK etc etc etc

Farouk is the core cause; believe it or not. And the US's action is unjustice and unfair, I repeat.

And, what you mentioned is just a crap. You can say that a million and one more times if you like.

How many day more? Because I want to know what the Senators will do now that US is not chickening out.

Afam:


How do schools teach and influence youths into religious extremism? The British shoe bomber, did he attend an Islamic school?

This is beginning to sound like Afghanistan with comments like close down schools, hope it doesn't get worse.

This shows how uninformed you are about the Northern Nigerian situation.The solution to nigeria's problem is within reach but the clandestine atrocities by our leaders will never make the solutions a reality.

hollandis:

This shows how uninformed you are about the Northern Nigerian situation.The solution to nigeria's problem is within reach but the clandestine atrocities by our leaders will never make the solutions a reality.

Is Farouk influenced in any way by anything Northern? I'll like to know.

, dared  Nigeria to  show evidence of a comprehensive plan to fight terror groups.

Nigeria have no plan to fight terrorism and I dont know any Nigerian Anti-Terrorism Intelligence at work to solve this problem.

muhsin:

Is Farouk influenced in any way by anything Northern? I'll like to know.

No he was influenced by the Southern Christians.Is it not his religion of Islam that is the root cause of the whole brouhaha. If his father was a christian,would he have ever gone to Yemen in the first place to do Arabic.mind you his father is married to a Yemeni woman.So can you put two and two together?

muhsin:

Is Farouk influenced in any way by anything Northern? I'll like to know.

Yes he is. When we are cured off Boko Haram, Kala Kato, Maitatsine etc, we will have no more Mutallabs.

AjanleKoko:

See bullying sha.
In any case, why are we so worried. Can't Nigeria do a Chavez, and sell their oilfield assets to the Chinese and their gas to the Russians?
That will surely pain America more than any shoe or underpants bomber.

Exactly! We behave as if our existence is dependent on them when we can make progress without them.

If Nigeria can get rid of all these Islamic extremist (bunch of jobless youths in the North), then we can breathe.

If our leaders condole them by turning a blind eye towards all the atrocities they are committing, then I will not be surprise if they produce another suicide bomber or another Farouk Muttalab .

Afam:

Exactly! We behave as if our existence is dependent on them when we can make progress without them.

But there are wiser ways of removing ourselves from the influence of a superpower than giving them a 7 day ultimatum. What do you think their reaction is going to be? We are certainly not a Venezualla, where the vast majority of the people are united behind Chavez; we don't even know where our president is. So I will continue to say, let us move "softly, softly".

Afam:

Exactly! We behave as if our existence is dependent on them when we can make progress without them.

The problem is if our leaders are able to do that.Going by what is obtainable in nigeria i doubt that.

Mpele:

! When we tried sending U home the whole world blamed us and called it xenophobic attacks! So now look at this! Americans should ship U back to West Africa or else the're in danger!

Mpele

You Father na ashawo

o Sorry na you be the ashawo!!

Beaf:

But there are wiser ways of removing ourselves from the influence of a superpower than giving them a 7 day ultimatum. What do you think their reaction is going to be? We are certainly not a Venezualla, where the vast majority of the people are united behind Chavez; we don't even know where our president is. So I will continue to say, let us move "softly, softly".

What do you think will happen? The only reasonable relationship between Nigeria and US is crude oil pepper soup that they are enjoying.Obama ignored us and went to Ghana. I knew he would.I read his Audacity of hope before he became President and he has never regarded Nigeria but he knows that it will be difficult for the world without our oil. What impart has the US-Nigeria relationship on the lives of average 150 million Nigerians.How many of them live abroad? Let them ban all our politicians so that our funds will remain here in the country.I support this ban and any diplomatic row.am in full support.There is market for our oil in Asia. Venezuela is better off since Chavez implemented his policies.

Chapelle.S:

What do you think will happen? The only reasonable relationship between Nigeria and US is crude oil pepper soup that they are enjoying.Obama ignored us and went to Ghana. I knew he would.I read his Audacity of hope before he became President and he has never regarded Nigeria but he knows that it will be difficult for the world without our oil. What impart has the US-Nigeria relationship on the lives of average 150 million Nigerians.How many of them live abroad? Let them ban all our politicians so that our funds will remain here in the country.I support this ban and any diplomatic row.am in full support.There is market for our oil in Asia. Venezuela is better off since Chavez implemented his policies.

Chavez cares for his people.Do nigerian leaders care about nigerians?

While we have been on peacekeeping missions on virtually half of the continent,we forgot about the terrorist/militant crisis that has been brewing here at home for the last couple of decades. SHAME ON US