[size=16pt]Bianca, Ojukwu’s wife, pays tribute to Jonathan[/size]

London—Bianca, the wife of Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has described President Goodluck Jonathan as a great leader.

Bianca made the remarks when she received a goodwill message on behalf of her husband from Jonathan’s special envoy and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Aliyu Idi Hong, on Sunday in a London hospital where he is receiving treatment.

Bianca, who expressed gratitude for the message, said: “It is a sign of a great leader with a great deal of empathy not just for a single individual but for the people he seeks to lead.

“It is very rare indeed. I am privileged to receive on behalf of his family and his party, APGA, from the president and the people of Nigeria such a goodwill message.

“We remain immensely grateful, God Bless you all,’’ the Europe correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Bianca as saying.

She recalled that before Ojukwu was flown abroad, the president had visited him in his residence to pay respect and wished him quick recovery.

Similarly, she added, in August last year, Jonathan also sent an emissary to convey his best wishes and hopes for a quick recovery when Ojukwu was undergoing medical tests in the U.S.

Bianca also expressed gratitude to Mr Dozie Nwanna, Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to the U.K for his support.

Earlier, Hong said Ojukwu was one of the very eminent persons who Nigerians were proud of, adding that his state of health was very paramount to Jonathan, hence the need for the visit.

“Mr President feels very concerned and he wanted to know the actual state of his health and how he is doing and to also show empathy and concern about his health, so for that reason, he specifically asked me to come.

“If only you know how I was conscripted very urgently for this purpose, you will know the importance which Mr president attaches to his health,” the minister said.

“I have seen him, let me speak as a doctor now, he is under proper care and doing well.
“I think by every standard, one will say he is in the best of hands, I wish him quick recovery,” Hong said.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/bianca-ojukwus-wife-pays-tribute-to-jonathan/

Say whatever you like, bro Jona is leading well.
The man has his head on his shoulders!

@Bianca: Well done Loolo Ojukwu. One good turn deserves another. Am happy for the progress your husband is making in his battle against stroke.

Andre Uweh:

@Bianca: Well done Loolo Ojukwu. One good turn deserves another. Am happy for the progress your husband is making in his battle against stroke.

That babe will ultimately play a role in politics and leadership one of these days. She is so intelligent and maintain nerves of steal in the face of challenges.
I only hope bro Jona no dey eye am o! Anyway, Patience dey mark am closely! hehehe!

Onlytruth:

Say whatever you like, bro Jona is leading well.
The man has his head on his shoulders!

OnlyTruth, I know you support GEJ but no Igbo that supports GEJ has given me an answer to this.

What will be the fate of Ndigbo and even Southern Nigerians if GEJ wins thereby putting the last nail on the coffin of rotational presidency, then after mere 4 yrs hands over to the North, who will then rule us forever because we can’t win if the presidency is not rotated?

Can we stand perpetual northern rule with its associated bias towards the place/state/region of origin of the ruler?

Maybe this will be how you convinced me to support GEJ.

Obiagu1:

Only Truth, I know you support GEJ but no Igbo that supports GEJ has given me an answer to this.

What will be the fate of Ndigbo and even Southern Nigerians if GEJ wins thereby putting the last nail on the coffin of rotational presidency, then after mere 4 yrs hands over to the North, who will then rule us forever because we can’t win if the presidency is not rotated?

Can we stand a perpetual northern rule with its associated bias towards the place/state/region of origin of the ruler?

Maybe this will be how you convinced me to support GEJ.

Okay, let me give it a fair shot!

Does it occur to you that maybe, just maybe the north is not as populated as we've been told throughout history?

Though this may seem a bit optimistic, but it is possible that the south is actually more populated than the north, and Jonathan knows because he has access to the true figures.

Somehow I don't believe that an educated man like Jonathan did not think about your feared scenario before declaring his interest.
Do you think he is that careless as to throw the south and his own people under the bus for ever?

Mind you that an Igboman just became the minister of the interior for the first time recently and he has access to the national ID Card data and electoral data - FACTS not fictitious ones.

Think about that for a second.

Methinks that Jonathan knows something the rest of us don't.

Your feared scenario is too simplistic, and I am deeply suspicious of simplistic scenarios!

Goodthief Jonathan's goodwill message/dollars indeed. This woman is accepting bribe on behalf of her husband. Jonathan's goodwill message we all know is 10 million dollars cash. Keep sharing the money goodthief jonathan, but u and ur cohorts Atiku won't get our vote.

Onlytruth:

Okay, let me give it a fair shot!

Does it occur to you that maybe, just maybe the north is not as populated as we've been told throughout history?

Though this may seem a bit optimistic, but it is possible that the south is actually more populated than the north, and Jonathan knows because he has access to the true figures.

Somehow I don't believe that an educated man like Jonathan did not think about your feared scenario before declaring his interest.
Do you think he is that careless as to throw  the south and his own people under the bus for ever?

Methinks that Jonathan knows something the rest of us don't.

Your feared scenario is too simplistic, and I am deeply suspicious of simplistic scenarios!

You are the one that is too damn simplistic. So if you were the Northerners, you would reveal your secret to Jonathan that the South was more populated than the North. Or has GEJ been given new set of statistics of the last census? Or has the people in the Census or Statistics office been changed to Ijaws?

And if there were no rotation or zoning, why is GEJ promising to hand over to the North in 2015 and not to another credible leader?

Akainzo:

You are the one that is too damn simplistic. So if you were the Northerners, you would reveal your secret to Jonathan that the South was more populated than the North. Or has GEJ been given new set of statistics of the last census? Or has the people in the Census or Statistics office been changed to Ijaws?

And if there were no rotation or zoning, why is GEJ promising to hand over to the North in 2015 and not to another credible leader?

I can't believe what I'm reading. 

So, you think that whoever is maintaining the database from the last national ID card scheme will refuse a direct order to make it available to the minister of the interior, talk less of the President of Nigeria?

hmm, nna na wa for commentators on nairaland! 

maimalari:

Goodthief Jonathan's goodwill message/dollars indeed. This woman is accepting bribe on behalf of her husband. Jonathan's goodwill message we all know is 10 million dollars cash. Keep sharing the money goodthief jonathan, but u and your cohorts Atiku won't get our vote.

IRRELEVANT.

Onlytruth:

Somehow I don't believe that an educated man like Jonathan did not think about your feared scenario before declaring his interest.
Do you think he is that careless as to throw the south and his own people under the bus for ever?

What about greed? We all know what it can do. History has shown that people have betrayed their own people.



For the population part, what if their population is really as big? All your argument collapses. Not to talk of the other smaller groups that go along with Hausa/Fulani.
Fact: Hausa/Fulani are next most populated group in every part of Nigeria after the Igbos; Holds #1 in their region.

There has never been any hint on the true population of Nigeria. GEJ should leak such figures if they exist so as to calm the North down (that is part of politics) but I really doubt he has such information.

Obiagu1:

What about greed? We all know what it can do. History has shown that people have betrayed their own people.



For the population part, what if their population is really as big? All your argument collapses. Not to talk of the other smaller groups that go along with Hausa/Fulani.
Fact: Hausa/Fulani are next most populated group in every part of Nigeria after the Igbos; Holds #1 in their region.

There has never been any hint on the true population of Nigeria. GEJ should leak such figures if they exist so as to calm the North down (that is part of politics) but I really doubt he has such information.

What if he wants to prove that through a free and fair elections?

You would at least accept that almost all elections in Nigeria has been rigged, especially the post civil war ones.

Like I said before, I am deeply suspicious of obvious scenarios.

I live outside the box.  

^
Note that in that elections, all he needs is simple majority plus 25% in 2/3rds of the states in Nigeria. Igbo support can help him meet that 25% in most states in Nigeria.

OnlyTruth, your argument is based on postulation and re-projection. It’s difficult for me to accept such because there has NEVER been a hint on the true population of Nigeria, not a single one, so how can we go with that? What if it fails to be as we wish the population is?  Then our problems start.

To me, I’d rather stick to what is safer till another southerner comes in and conducts another census which will be more thorough (GEJ can’t do it in his first term in office).

To be frank with you, I won’t go with such postulation. When Yar’dua became President, we all expected him to leave office in 2019, so if another Northerner completes that time, I don’t care provided southern rule is guaranteed.

Onlytruth:

^
Note that in that elections, all he needs is simple majority plus 25% in 2/3rds of the states in Nigeria. Igbo support can help him meet that 25% in most states in Nigeria.

i doubt that

what is the population of us igbos in each state?

now, how many igbos will see it from your point of view know full well how individualistic we are

i remember the eze ndigbo of lagos pledging his support for ACN

onlytruth, some igbos in lagos are now fully intergartes to this yoruba system of politics and will not follow us in the east

but yes some will still, but most igbos outside the east in nigeria will follow the way of that state

Onlytruth:

I only hope bro Jona no dey eye am o! Anyway, Patience dey mark am closely! hehehe!

Obiagu1:

OnlyTruth, your argument is based on postulation and re-projection. It’s difficult for me to accept such because there has NEVER been a hint on the true population of Nigeria, not a single one, so how can we go with that? What if it fails to be as we wish the population is?  Then our problems start.

To me, I’d rather stick to what is safer till another southerner comes in and conducts another census which will be more thorough (GEJ can’t do it in his first term in office).

To be frank with you, I won’t go with such postulation. When Yar’dua became President, we all expected him to leave office in 2019, so if another Northerner completes that time, I don’t care provided southern rule is guaranteed.

So, because Nigeria's demographics have remained a closely guarded secret to the rest of us, a Nigerian president cannot act based on such information?
He doesn't have to reveal the population figures. All he needs to do is conduct a free and fair elections.
I know it can be hard for Nigerians to imagine this scenario because they are used to fake population figures. But, Jonathan doesn't need to convince anyone. Provided the elections are true representation of the Nigerian population which BTW the international community will be convinced of (in case of trouble), he is safe.

alj harem1:

i doubt that

what is the population of us igbos in each state?

now, how many igbos will see it from your point of view know full well how individualistic we are

i remember the eze ndigbo of lagos pledging his support for ACN

onlytruth, some igbos in lagos are now fully intergartes to this yoruba system of politics and will not follow us in the east

but yes some will still, but most igbos outside the east in nigeria will follow the way of that state

I said Igbos will "help" to reach that goal. I didn't say only Igbos will make it up.

@ Onlytruth

Do not under-estimate the limits of selfish interest and vaulting ambition. Education can not thame a man's insatiable quest for power sometimes.

I will also say to you another thing, quit your we vs them mentality. Not a lot can be achieved under such air of suspicion. In fact we run the risk of a situation where issues of universal interest which obviously benefits Igbos and also other Nigerians get treated with suspicion and hence fail. In a situation like that we all loose.

This is a democracy, Jonathan will not achieve a lot without NASS approval. If you start talking about mainstream issues as if they only benefit sectional interests then we will not make much progress.

I give you an example. Obama fought for Healthcare and risked his political future on it. He said it was for all poor people whether they are white, black, latino or asian americans. But it is obvious he took on this task knowing that amongst poor americans there are more ethnic monorities below the poverty line. Yet the debate was framed as being in the interest of all Americans which it certainly is.

Number 2, there is a reason USA reluctantly chose to do business with Russia and preferred to contain the Russia and Georgia situation as opposed to sticking by Goergia thier traditional allies and antagonising Russia. It is called recognition of inconvinient realities. Russia has a veto power at the UN and is still a  super power.

It is in the interest of Ndigbo in the wider Nigeria geopolitics to maintain a healthy relationship with the North and yet have a good relationship with our cousins in the South South. We are a majority ethnic group and so is the Hausas. They need us as much as we need them. An alliance between the igbos and Hausas can achieve either electoral victory  or NASS voting results.

But liaising with the South South alone and alienating everyone else is simply a boneheaded move because you can not achieve anything with that alliance. Not electoral victory nor NASS legislative victory.

Make no mistake, when Jonathan's ambition is out of the way one way or the other; the Ijaws and the Hausas will reconcile and you will be left out in the cold if you have made enough enemies by then.

So I honestly do not see  the point of this your we against them mentality. Capt Iheanacho was appointed Interior Minister, so what? If he is smart and ensures that we have a National ID card scheme that guarantees that we have a true idea of our population. How is that not in the interest of the whole of Nigeria? If Nigeria is able to fashion out a plan where we set up a programme to achieve true fedralism and dedicate our oil resource in the coast of guinea to develop regional economies so that states get self sufficient, How is that not in the interest of all Nigerians.

better still if we are able to exploit the current NASS overhead cost to restructure to old regions so that cost of running the federal government becomes cheaper and meaning more money to dedicate to programmes like energy, education or health infrastructure. How is that not in the interest of all Nigerians?

This is politics 101. leave your we vs they mentality. It has never worked and will never move this country forward. For the future of Ndigbo is simply intertwined with the future of Nigeria. Stop speaking of main stream interests as if they are some sinister Igbo interest. It is not in the interest of anybody to do so and not certainly in the interest of Ndigbo.

Ndigbo can only be fair minded to all and forge alliances with all who liaise with us.

"tibguo zogbuo" and "we vs them" serves nobody any good.

The civil war ended in 1970, we can either through reaching grown up compromises turn to the next chapter and help create a new destiny for all Nigerians OR you can stay stuck and refight the fights of the 60s and 70s and achieve nothing but to pass this legacy of war/injustice to your children.

Some of us who try to speak of politics in fair minded words are no foolish or aloof; we are simply strategic.

mikeansy:

@ Onlytruth

Do not under-estimate the limits of selfish interest and vaulting ambition. Education can not thame a man's insatiable quest for power sometimes.

I will also say to you another thing, quit your we vs them mentality. Not a lot can be achieved under such air of suspicion. In fact we run the risk of a situation where issues of universal interest which obviously benefits Igbos and also other Nigerians get treated with suspicion and hence fail. In a situation like that we all loose.

This is a democracy, Jonathan will not achieve a lot without NASS approval. If you start talking about mainstream issues as if they only benefit sectional interests then we will not make much progress.

I give you an example. Obama fought for Healthcare and risked his political future on it. He said it was for all poor people whether they are white, black, latino or asian americans. But it is obvious he took on this task knowing that amongst poor americans there are more ethnic monorities below the poverty line. Yet the debate was framed as being in the interest of all Americans which it certainly is.

Number 2, there is a reason USA reluctantly chose to do business with Russia and preferred to contain the Russia and Georgia situation as opposed to sticking by Goergia thier traditional allies and antagonising Russia. It is called recognition of inconvinient realities. Russia has a veto power at the UN and is still a  super power.

It is in the interest of Ndigbo in the wider Nigeria geopolitics to maintain a healthy relationship with the North and yet have a good relationship with our cousins in the South South. We are a majority ethnic group and so is the Hausas. They need us as much as we need them. An alliance between the igbos and Hausas can achieve either electoral victory  or NASS voting results.

But liaising with the South South alone and alienating everyone else is simply a boneheaded move because you can not achieve anything with that alliance. Not electoral victory nor NASS legislative victory.

Make no mistake, when Jonathan's ambition is out of the way one way or the other; the Ijaws and the Hausas will reconcile and you will be left out in the cold if you have made enough enemies by then.

So I honestly do not see  the point of this your we against them mentality. Capt Iheanacho was appointed Interior Minister, so what? If he is smart and ensures that we have a National ID card scheme that guarantees that we have a true idea of our population. How is that not in the interest of the whole of Nigeria? If Nigeria is able to fashion out a plan where we set up a programme to achieve true fedralism and dedicate our oil resource in the coast of guinea to develop regional economies so that states get self sufficient, How is that not in the interest of all Nigerians.

better still if we are able to exploit the current NASS overhead cost to restructure to old regions so that cost of running the federal government becomes cheaper and meaning more money to dedicate to programmes like energy, education or health infrastructure. How is that not in the interest of all Nigerians?

This is politics 101. leave your we vs they mentality. It has never worked and will never move this country forward. For the future of Ndigbo is simply intertwined with the future of Nigeria. Stop speaking of main stream interests as if they are some sinister Igbo interest. It is not in the interest of anybody to do so and not certainly in the interest of Ndigbo.

may God give you more wisdom as you get older

you are truly a clever person as ileke-idi suggested

mikeansy:

Ndigbo can only be fair minded to all and forge alliances with all who liaise with us.

"tibguo zogbuo" and "we vs them" serves nobody any good.

The civil war ended in 1970, we can either through reaching grown up compromises turn to the next chapter and help create a new destiny for all Nigerians OR you can stay stuck and refight the fights of the 60s and 70s and achieve nothing but to pass this legacy of war/injustice to your children.

Some of us who try to speak of politics in fair minded words are no foolish or aloof; we are simply strategic.

more grease to your elbow

@onlytruth

we should be looking at what will benefit nigerians not only a certain group of people

as i said last year " the north has produce the president for 38 years yet we are lacking behind in infrastructures" which show that it is we need to look at the wider implication of nigeria not just the north,,ss,se,sw

lets take others into consideration

Obiagu1:

OnlyTruth, I know you support GEJ but no Igbo that supports GEJ has given me an answer to this.

What will be the fate of Ndigbo and even Southern Nigerians if GEJ wins thereby putting the last nail on the coffin of rotational presidency, then after mere 4 yrs hands over to the North, who will then rule us forever because we can’t win if the presidency is not rotated?

Can we stand perpetual northern rule with its associated bias towards the place/state/region of origin of the ruler?

Maybe this will be how you convinced me to support GEJ.

Obiagu1:

What about greed? We all know what it can do. History has shown that people have betrayed their own people.

For the population part, what if their population is really as big? All your argument collapses. Not to talk of the other smaller groups that go along with Hausa/Fulani.
Fact: Hausa/Fulani are next most populated group in every part of Nigeria after the Igbos; Holds #1 in their region.

There has never been any hint on the true population of Nigeria. GEJ should leak such figures if they exist so as to calm the North down (that is part of politics) but I really doubt he has such information.

Population is not that important in elections. You need to have vote spread as well, scoring a quarter of the votes in two thirds of the states of Nigeria. It is a very very very very very very very very long stretch to think the North can monoplise the presidency based on some mythical population (even if it was real).

Read section 132 of the constitution for more info: http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm

Obiagu1, I've not done anything scientific to estimate it (though I guess I could, given the data available), but my own guess is Igbo are #1 in population. Yoruba #2, Hausa+Fulani #3.

Jonathan's maintained his equilibrium despite everything coming at him from all directions. Who says the man's not presidential? I wouldn't write him off.

Apart from the flawed population census, I think the idea of North supremacy is now overrated. About time we stop considering Ahmadu Bello's North as being the same as the present North.

North has since changed tremendously over time. I dont know if we can still consider Plateau, Bornu, Nasarawa, Benue and to a large extent the entire middle belt as sharing common interest with the core North

Let us not also forget that MKO won a presidential election fairly and squarely against a Northerner without zoning, so those thinking the South can not win election without zoning should think again.

mikeansy:

@ Onlytruth

Do not under-estimate the limits of selfish interest and vaulting ambition. Education can not thame a man's insatiable quest for power sometimes.

I will also say to you another thing, quit your we vs them mentality. Not a lot can be achieved under such air of suspicion. In fact we run the risk of a situation where issues of universal interest which obviously benefits Igbos and also other Nigerians get treated with suspicion and hence fail. In a situation like that we all loose.

This is a democracy, Jonathan will not achieve a lot without NASS approval. If you start talking about mainstream issues as if they only benefit sectional interests then we will not make much progress.

I give you an example. Obama fought for Healthcare and risked his political future on it. He said it was for all poor people whether they are white, black, latino or asian americans. But it is obvious he took on this task knowing that amongst poor americans there are more ethnic monorities below the poverty line. Yet the debate was framed as being in the interest of all Americans which it certainly is.

Number 2, there is a reason USA reluctantly chose to do business with Russia and preferred to contain the Russia and Georgia situation as opposed to sticking by Goergia thier traditional allies and antagonising Russia. It is called recognition of inconvinient realities. Russia has a veto power at the UN and is still a  super power.

It is in the interest of Ndigbo in the wider Nigeria geopolitics to maintain a healthy relationship with the North and yet have a good relationship with our cousins in the South South. We are a majority ethnic group and so is the Hausas. They need us as much as we need them. An alliance between the igbos and Hausas can achieve either electoral victory  or NASS voting results.

But liaising with the South South alone and alienating everyone else is simply a boneheaded move because you can not achieve anything with that alliance. Not electoral victory nor NASS legislative victory.

Make no mistake, when Jonathan's ambition is out of the way one way or the other; the Ijaws and the Hausas will reconcile and you will be left out in the cold if you have made enough enemies by then.

So I honestly do not see  the point of this your we against them mentality. Capt Iheanacho was appointed Interior Minister, so what? If he is smart and ensures that we have a National ID card scheme that guarantees that we have a true idea of our population. How is that not in the interest of the whole of Nigeria? If Nigeria is able to fashion out a plan where we set up a programme to achieve true fedralism and dedicate our oil resource in the coast of guinea to develop regional economies so that states get self sufficient, How is that not in the interest of all Nigerians.

better still if we are able to exploit the current NASS overhead cost to restructure to old regions so that cost of running the federal government becomes cheaper and meaning more money to dedicate to programmes like energy, education or health infrastructure. How is that not in the interest of all Nigerians?

This is politics 101. leave your we vs they mentality. It has never worked and will never move this country forward. For the future of Ndigbo is simply intertwined with the future of Nigeria. Stop speaking of main stream interests as if they are some sinister Igbo interest. It is not in the interest of anybody to do so and not certainly in the interest of Ndigbo.

mikeansy:

Ndigbo can only be fair minded to all and forge alliances with all who liaise with us.

"tibguo zogbuo" and "we vs them" serves nobody any good.

The civil war ended in 1970, we can either through reaching grown up compromises turn to the next chapter and help create a new destiny for all Nigerians OR you can stay stuck and refight the fights of the 60s and 70s and achieve nothing but to pass this legacy of war/injustice to your children.

Some of us who try to speak of politics in fair minded words are no foolish or aloof; we are simply strategic.

Pray, what is this dude talking about? 

You are embarrassing yourself with your "we vs them" mentality.

Show me anywhere in my post on this thread where I alluded to any of that! 

So, it is now a "we vs them" to point out that Nigerians have been lied to for 50 years, and that the president might be planning to let us know the truth by conducting a free and fair election? 

The whole world knows that the last credible census in Nigeria was in 1954. An American friend who is joining my consultancy firm in Nigeria wondered aloud how Nigeria's population could be estimated at between 120 -160 million. I tried my best to defend Nigeria, but stopped when I started sounding as ridiculous as you!

We can no longer ask hard questions because folks like you are busy trying to win popularity contest. Little wonder why the north laughs at Ndigbo and other southerners. Keep up your popularity contest. I ain't contesting with you.
A little pat on the head by Ileke-Idi, and you are already throwing your senses under the bus! Pathetic! 

alj harem1:

@onlytruth

we should be looking at what will benefit nigerians not only a certain group of people

as i said last year " the north has produce the president for 38 years yet we are lacking behind in infrastructures" which show that it is we need to look at the wider implication of nigeria not just the north,,ss,se,sw

lets take others into consideration 

So, it would not benefit all Nigerians to know the true population and demographic of Nigeria?
It would not benefit all Nigerians to have a free and fair elections?

You guys are so pathetic.

Because we have someone whose interest may encourage him to reveal this "secret", it now favors a section of Nigeria?

I told you once to go borrow a brain, I'm getting tired of you.

OAM4J:

Apart from the flawed population census, I think the idea of North supremacy is now overrated. About time we stop considering Ahmadu Bello's North as being the same as the present North.

North has since changed tremendously over time. I dont know if we can still consider Plateau, Bornu, Nasarawa, Benue and to a large extent the entire middle belt as charing common interest with the core North

This I agree with thoroughly. Bello's North is dead, imo.

Mind you that an Igboman just became the minister of the interior for the first time recently and he has access to the national ID Card data and electoral data - FACTS not fictitious ones.

What does the above stand for?
Ask hard question if you wish and I do not believe you ask harder questions than I do on this site. What matters is how you ask them.

What has having an Igbo man as Interior Minister got to do with solving a serious problem? Call out Capt Iheanacho to solve the National Identity problem which clearly is a National scandal. He will have to work hard to achieve any results and he will do his job as a Nigerian solving a Nigerian problem.

If your working premise is that because he is Igbo then he will achieve the correct results in your eyes; it betrays some myths that his predecessors failed in your eyes because they are non-Igbos.  What do you get in an air of suspicion like that? Iheanacho's employees in the Ministry of interior may carry on colluding with politicians to doctor results in their own area and what should be a noble effort to solve a real National Scandal will simply be taken over by short term parochial interests.

But how did it all start? It starts from folks misrepresenting what the effort has been all about in the first place.

Having an accurate statistics of how many we are is in the interest of all Nigerians from Maidugiri to Sokoto to Port Harcourt. If a Govt has no accurate statistics how can they plan. But you speak of it as if there is some kind of Igbo agenda Jonathan is trying to fulfill by appointing an Igbo man as Interior Minister.

This is not about sounding popular, this is about being strategic and achieving results.

anyway, let the debate end. You are what you are and some things may never change. I only get offended when folks like you arrogate yourselves the responsibility of speaking for the rest of us without knowing what damage you are actually doing to Igbos.

Whats the benefit of being unpopular in a democracy anyway? democracy is a game of numbers; any agenda that ignores the will of the majority of the people will certainly not see the light of day.

OAM4J:

Apart from the flawed population census, I think the idea of North supremacy is now overrated. About time we stop considering Ahmadu Bello's North as being the same as the present North.

North has since changed tremendously over time. I dont know if we can still consider Plateau, Bornu, Nasarawa, Benue and to a large extent the entire middle belt as charing common interest with the core North

Let us not also forget that MKO won a presidential election fairly and squarely against a Northerner without zoning, so those thinking the South can not win election without zoning should think again.

Ahmadu Bello's North may be dead but some are at risk of re-inventing Ahmadu Bello's North with their ridiculous rhethoric.

A North where everybody has a view and the Birom man is as free as the  Hausa man to express their view is a match towards freedom that must never be reversed. This new found freedom is something both the Hausas and the Northern minorities should all be proud of, it does not call for any triumphalism from the South. Rather we need to nuture this progress through sensible efforts and not by slagging them as if they are a conquered people.