₦airaland Forum

deomelo:
You can do better by stating exactly how the SE is marginalized.


Please educate us.

I won't do that because even if i do, like always you will counter it with points that you think are superior. On issues like this, let's just agree to disagree.

horsepower101:
The biggest (population wise) and the fastest growing city in China is chong Qing in middle of china. It is much inland and has one major river running through it. It is projected to compete of surpass shanghai in the coming decades in both growth rate and GDP. Onitsha can be the eastern Chong qing. It's never too late. Just because one city had decades of advantage doesn't mean others can't catch up or even surpass them in time.

While i think Onitsha is a testament of the true genius of the Igbo people, i don't thnk its accurate to compare Chong Quing to Onitsha or any place in Nigeria. Check al the cities in Nigeria that are important. They are like that because the government at the center made it so. Until we become a true federation by restructuring, all this will be all talk and cities like Onitsha will just be experiencing marginal growth.

The thing about arguments is that i can pick any arguments no matter how ridiculous it sounds and give you reasons i think my argument thumps all others. That's exactly what you have done here and you're entitled to it.

It's funny how you think that marginalization claims in 2017 has anything to do with the fact that we produced 2 presidents before the civil way when in fact, the marginalization started after the civil according to a lot of Igbos.

Like i said it's your opinion and you're entitled to it.

horsepower101:
I see your point and trust me I totally agree with you. But I believe that the private sector can fix the years of neglect in major investments lacking in the east by the federal government. For example

World class hospitals and universities
Toll Bridges and roads
Railways connecting major cites
Etc

The private sector can fill those gaps in the coming years. And all over the world, the private sector is more efficient than government because it's managed like a business.

Lack of government funding or maintenance can derail any project already built. Example kaduna refinery

I'm not discounting the importance of private investments but i've come to realize that it's not as easy as we make it seem especially as it relates to the east. Nobody invests where there isn't an enabling environment or places that have nothing unique to offer. For instance why will a foreign investor leave Lagos and it's neigbour Ogun state. Also leave Ibadan that's no so far away from Lagos (largest consumer market) to want to invest in the east? It's crazy and not really gonna happen. The only people that invest in the east most of the time are easterners themselves who do so due to the fact that they see it as a way of giving back not necessarily because they feel they'll benefit more from investing in the east than in Lagos. The reason Lagos can attract that kind of investment is because the federal government has put everything in motion from the colonial days to the point that Lagos is just experiencing a natural growth. Lagos does not beg anybody to invest anymore because that's by default the first place any right thinking investor things about.

horsepower101:
It's not a hog wash. My guy, I wish could take you on a tour of different places in Nigeria and you will understand where I am coming from. You will be shocked that igbos on average are actually living better than so many in this present Nigeria. Poverty get levels. You don't need government universities or projects that won't be adequately funded or be maintained. You need private investment in all sectors. The level of development you see in the south east today is most private led. My hope is that restructuring will take care of the rest. Presidency in this current system won't do anything.

You're still not getting the point. It's not about how Igbos li ve better than others. They got to where they are because they worked very hard and many of them did not become better than others by staying in Enugu or Owerri. many hard to travel to more prosperous places to be able to garner what they currently have. Why do cities in the north like Kano, Kaduna and so on have a huge Igbo population despite not having the commensurate educated population? It's because the successive governments in power took important projects to those places. Today Kaduna has a refinery and hosts a number of government institutions. Which one can the east boast of? Until we restructure this country, all this talk will just be to deceive people to the obvious truth.

I've been hearing about the modus operandi of these SARS official in their bid to extort money from innocent Nigerians and i thank God i've never fallen into their trap and i pray i don't. They be looking like hardened criminals.

He should advise our president who started divisive politics in this regime.

horsepower101:
With or without Biafran agitation, igbos won't test the presidency and trust me when I say, that they are better off without it.

Learn from history, the presidency coming from a certain region doesn't make much difference in the lives of the people of that region.

Is the north better off today for the average person?
Is the south west better off today for the average person?
Is niger delta or even Ijawland better off for the average person?

These places have all produced presidents. What do they have to show for it?

Only the elites benefit because of special positions and government contracts. Nobody else.

I keep telling people not to buy thiis fake azz lies that people tell to deceive people into not caring whether their person is at the helm of affairs or not. While i don't care so much about an Igbo person being president, it will definitely be better for us than our president predicament. Take for instance, we keep hearing about how Jonathan did nothing for his Ijaw people despite being the president but people forget that, for example, when it was time to build 6 new universities, the ones that was meant for the South-south wasn't built in Cross river, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta or Edo state. it was built in his home state of Bayelsa. Atleast if nothing else, Bayelsa has a new university courtesy their man in the power. Another example can be seen from the current president. I won't talk about Buhari's appointments which is obvious enough. The rail lines that is in the offing has his hometown, Daura among the routes. Daura is by not an important Nigerian city by any standards but it was somehow smuggled in there.

Even Jonathan that is not an Igbo man but by his closeness to us, our airports were able to be upgraded to an international airport and today we have international flights landing and taking off at the airport. Yes, he didn't do much for us, but the intent was there.

So, i think it's all hogwash what they say about people not benefitting when their person is in power.

madridguy:
Yes

I think you meant to say NO. Don't try to be politically correct now.

Queenlovely:
I am currently in Anyigba. But I have people in all 21 local government area. My business partner is from okehi

Even in Anyigba, you an't know everything that happens there. Just some weeks ago, i saw a news online about kidnappers that were caught close to my house here in Lagos inside a drainage. Even though it was by the corner i didn't know until i saw the news.

Queenlovely:
I have my ear to the ground

Which ground? The one in Ogori Magongo, Lokoja or Kabba? These days it's even possible for people in Lagos to know what is happening in your background than you.

Queenlovely:
I dey Kogi I no hear anything. All these bloggers self. They will be telling you thing that is happening in your backyard

I guess you live evreywhere in Kogi to know what's happening at every corner.

Amarabae:
His tally point tally with my firm opinion over this agitation,
Restructure the country or make the agitation an Igbo ONLY affair!
Leave others alone

Whether it's an Igbo only affair or not, it was still bound to fail. I think the best option would be to restructure the country but i won't hold my breadth on that one.

I never knew Ike Ekweremadu was this learned. I think he made some very important points that should be considered.

Beyond sentiments, it needs to be emphasised that Nigeria is a sovereign state, with a defined territory recognised by the international community. She is a member of the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), among others. This territory includes the South-east region.

While the right to self-determination is guaranteed under the international systems, specifically the United Nations and African Union, this right has laid down procedures that must jbe religiously followed. For instance, while the call for referendum is legal; they do not come by fiat. Referendum is the ultimate result of wide and long negotiations, consultations, and processes involving the international community as we have seen in the cases of Scotland in the United Kingdom, Catalonia in Spain, Quebec in Canada, and recently in Puerto Rico as well as the successful secession of East Timor from Indonesia, Eritrea from Ethiopia, and South Sudan from Sudan.

Unless these due processes are observed, as in the case of Eritrea, East Timor, and South Sudan, such enclaves will not be recognised as sovereign states by the international community. I have followed incisive arguments on this matter and looked at the history of other secessionist efforts in other parts of the world. For example, about 43 years after it broke away from Cyprus in 1974, with the help of the Turkish Army, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Northern Cyprus) is yet to be recognised as a sovereign nation by any nation because of lack of due process. The citizens can only travel with the passport of Turkey as citizens of Turkey, not Northern Cyprus. Today, there is widespread agitation by citizens of North Cyprus to be rejoined to Cyprus.

There is also the case of Somaliland. Almost three decades after it declared itself a sovereign state from the Federal Republic of Somalia, the best the self-declared Republic (British Somaliland) has achieved is recognition as an autonomous state, but still part of Somalia in spite of the fact that Somalia is a failed state.

We also have the Russia-backed breakaway Eastern Ukraine, which still uses the Ukrainian international passport and currency, several years after. It does not matter that it is backed by Russia, a world super power.

In the Caucasus, the breakaway South Ossetia and Abkazia from Georgia are only recognised by Russia more than 10 years after. They can only travel as Russian citizens with Russian international passport. The international community still recognises them as citizens of Georgia.

Political Considerations
Ndigbo also need to understand both the local and international political tides and sentiments to be able to make the right choices because the considerations for self-determination go beyond just the South-east.

Already, extreme utterances and actions by some key elements in the agitation for Biafra are taking tolls on our goodwill, friendship, and the sympathy we enjoy. Insults hurled at religious and political leaders of other regions are not helping us, politically.

Today, discordant tunes over the boundaries or territories of a prospective sovereign State of Biafra is growing in proportions with the hard wickets hurled at our neigbours and compatriots.

Indeed, as things stand today, the greater part of South-south region have continued to discountenance the idea of Biafra, perhaps, for these utterances or fear of becoming a minority within another sovereign state.

Only recently, the Governor of Rivers State was in Sokoto to reiterate that the people of Rivers State are rather in support of a restructured Nigeria, not a sovereign state of Biafra. Similarly, the people of Delta State have reiterated that Delta State, including the Anioma cultural zone, which is Igbo, will not be part of Biafra.
The truth is, times have changed, and so have political interests because 1967 is different from 2017. So much water has passed under the bridge and we have to be realistic.

Economic Implications
As I earlier said, there is serious clamour for Northern Cyprus to rejoin Cyprus. Beside the frustrations from isolation, the economy is also at the heart of it. The Monday, June 26, 2017 edition of UK’s newspaper, The Telegraph estimates that the reunification of the tiny island could boost its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by GBP5 Billion.
South-east’s political future should therefore be put in context of its economic interest and survival. The Igbos have larger chunk of their investments outside the South-east. Our people have invested heavily in every nook and cranny of Nigeria. They are into trading. Imagine a situation where a Republic of Biafra would have to depend on Nigerian passports to travel out.
Importantly, as I mentioned earlier, we are not certain that the South-south will go with the Biafra idea. And in the event that they do not, what are our options for economic survival? Flowing from this, what guarantee do we have for international support if the main oil bearing region pulls out, knowing that no nation is a Santa Claus?

Social Considerations
Nigeria has never been as divided as it is today. The hate rhetoric is getting worse by the day. Parting ways under such level of bitterness could be risky to the investments and lives of the South Easterners. Realistically speaking, is it possible that all Ndigbo living in the other parts of Nigeria, many of whom were born and bred outside Igbo land, and have been well assimilated by their host communities will return home? Many have never visited home and do not even speak Igbo language. Can we realistically expect those who have their investments in other parts of Nigeria to willingly abandon them and head home?

Although international systems seek to guarantee the security of lives of peoples and their properties on either side of the divides, should there be a self-determination process that leads to the emergence of a new nation, such guarantees are not absolute and difficult to enforce, especially in a society such as ours. The quit notice and hate spewed by the Arewa youth to Ndigbo point to the fact that all is not well. And it calls for caution because the mother hen does not run without looking back to know the fate of her chicks.

Right template for Restructuring
The other option left for us is a restructured federation. Ndigbo need to develop and market what it believes to be the right template for restructuring. The Eastern Region was rated the fastest growing economy in Africa in the First Republic because the regions were relatively autonomous; resources were largely developed and controlled by the regions.

I believe Ndigbo will thrive, probably more than other regions, under a federal structure that guarantees substantial autonomy, justice, equity, security, and prosperity for Ndigbo wherever they live.

What we need is a federalism where each constituent part fends for itself to promote industry. We need a federal arrangement that guarantees and allows every constituent state or region to be primarily in charge of its aspirations and preferences to catalyse competitive development. We need a mutually agreed arrangement that allows every component to take charge of the security of lives and properties of citizens through decentralised policing, while the Federal Government takes care of defending our territorial integrity. We need a federal arrangement where the best excel, and does not have to be sacrificed in the name of federal character. We need a restructured federation where the Igbo man or woman, and indeed, every Nigerian can live and ply his or her business without any form of discrimination, molestation, and destruction of his or her life and property on the flimsiest excuses. Igbos should be better off in a federation where they freely exercise their democratic rights without being hounded and killed by security forces. We need a federal structure that guarantees smart and efficient government. And I believe these are possible if the leaders and constituent parts of the nation come to the table with sincerity of purpose. We should push for that, please.
Way forward

(i) Going forward, we need to set up a committee for a continuous engagement and moderation of IPOB, other pro-Biafra organisations and their leaders to avoid hate speeches and reckless statements that will make us lose our friends and sympathisers.

(ii) We need to send a team of South-east leaders to have yet another meeting with the Presidency, this time to tell them, in clear terms, the need to address the fears and complaints about marginalisation of the people of the South-east by this government, which is fueling the agitation in our region. Government needs to take concrete steps and demonstrate commitment in addressing the said complaints. This will help the South-east leaders to manage the restiveness.

(iii) The Igbos must continue to emphasise restructuring, which is presently enjoying acceptance by the South-south, South-west, Northern-central, and well meaning people from other parts of the North. I believe that at the discussion table for restructuring, we will have sufficient allies that will enable us extract a good bargain for a just and equitable society, where we will, no doubt, excel. Ndigbo need a bigger space to operate. In fact, Nigeria as a country is even a small space for the enterprising spirit of the Igbo, hence our people are scattered all over Africa and are capable of dominating the economic space.

(iv) We need to send delegations to different entities of the North, especially Sokoto, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Adamawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, among others, to engage the respective governors and top traditional rulers and clerics who will also help to moderate the utterances and actions of the Northern youth. These, I believe, will secure the lives and properties of our people all over the north and avoid their possible mass movement ahead of the October deadline contained in the threat by the Northern youth.

(v) We need to send another delegation to meet with the Chief of Defence Staff, Inspector-General of Police, National Security Adviser, and the Director-General of the Department of State Security to express our concern over the safety of the lives and properties of our people living in the North and to urge them to take every necessary step to protect them.

Finally, whatever choices we make, we must not allow ourselves to be ruled by our emotions, but by reasoning. The same tree stump does not trip a wise man twice. We must learn from the past and act wisely and decisively. Likewise, we must endeavour to present our demands in a civilized manner and in a language that is cognizant of other people’s sensibilities, not in a provocative or rancorous manner."Senator Ekweremadu's Honest Advice To The IGBOS On Legal And Other Issues Involved BIAFRA Agitation And Realization.

PDPGuy:
Felicia Aiyeotan should be considered for the D'Tigress. She plays as a center for her college team, University of Virginia.
And she also stands at a massive 6'9"

Wow, that's really tall. Especially for a lady.

Ha...this has become real oo.

The last pic is the major thing i hate in football. The training part. Can we just get on the pitch and get on with it already...

You can take down your email now for privacy reasons. I just shot you a mail.

DreamMove:
I have the whole idea of the website I want right in my head. Once I get someone who can build and design a good website then I tell them exactly what I want my website to look like and all the features I want to make it very unique.
A good website designer should be able to deliver what I have in my head with I give them all the info about it.

Ok. Pls drop your email so that i can contact you.

Do you have an example of the kind of website you want to design because the information you provided is somewhat vague.

I don't know why i find this narration funny. Victor Malu must have learned his lessons? I doubt that very much. HUman beings especially Nigerians have very short memory life span and i won't be surprised if Victor Malu is currently in support of thie current army invasion of the south-east because, yet again, it doesn't affect him and there's no way in hell, they would invade his town, Zaki Biam for the second time.

slivertongue:
gbam!!!
Izons are most oppressed and exploited in Africa.

I think i can agree with the emboldened.

omenka:
Which of my neighbors could that be?

The ones directly under you.

The talk of marginalization being only between elites and those at the bottom of the economic is not totally true. Definitely that's anther angle of marginalization but there are several other angles that only a person trying to be politically correct will choose not to see.

omenka:
You took these words right out of my mind. This is nothing but the whole truth.

There is simply no treatment any tribe in this country has suffered that is unique to them. I could sit back and lament Igedes are the most marginalised in Benue because being the third major ethnic group, we've neither produced the governor or occupied positions such as SSG or Speaker of the House (save for Ogiri Ajine who was Akume's deputy), but who would I be deceiving?

When these fat cats throw up these sentiments, they simply do so for their selfish objectives. They understand then it comes to it, they would be the first to be considered for such plumb jobs and when they get there, they'd represent no one but themselves and their families!

The only marginalisation that has been taking place in this country is that of the elite against the majority of the citizenry.

So, you're even Igede and you keep insulting your neighbors.

Dembele is definitely a great player but i think just like Neymar is doing in PSG, he plays to the gallery a lot. There are situations where you should just pass the ball instead of trying to dribble everybody.

bettercreature:
in most developed area Land is always more expensive than the house,for example that Linda Ikeja house can not cost more than 80million but land in that area cost about 400million beside Its a silly question to ask the cost of building a particular house without writting out the type of materials you want to use for the it
It's possible to use 50millon and at the same time it's possible to use 5billion depends on the materials

Idrismusty97:
It also depends on the location though, The same house Linda ikeji bought for 800m could be bought for far less in one GRA in the north.

I understand that the cost of land can make the rice of a property quadruple. Take a look at the features the OP wants his house to have and see that it's not just any duplex.

TonyeBarcanista:
[s][/s]
At your age you don't know the geographical representation of Ijaw people.... Always envious of Ijaw nation!!! Nonsense

Yes, i'm envious of Ijaw people because they have benefited immensely from the Nigerian project and should be proud. No sir, they're not marginalized.

seunmsg:
Jonathan, Deziani, Clark, Tompolo, Asari, Minimah etc collectively ruled this country for six out of the past eight years and they still claimed Ijaws are the most marginalized tribe in Nigeria. What will happen if they are not to be marginalized?

Like I always say, no tribe in Nigeria is marginalized. The real marginalized people are the poor folks across every tribe who gets raped by the corrupt ruling elites that cut across all tribes. Political elites are united by corruption and oppressing the poor when in power but they shout tribal marginalization and religious discrimination when they lose out in the power equation.

No mind them. The same Ijaws that were carved out of Rivers state even though they were to become the smallest state by population How many minorities have a state to their name? An Ijaw man has also become the president of Nigeria even where Igbos haven't dared to in recent times. Their allocation is one of the highest in the land more than all the states in the south save for about 4 or 5. Where then is the marginalization. If anyone is marginalizing them, it's their leaders.

olumide4christ:
Budget N50 million at least...it could even be N100 million depending on what finishing you put in it.

50 million? is this a joke of what?

This is the kind of house that Linda Ikeji bought for 800 million. So, if land is like 100 million, the house should be atleast 200.

tessygirl:
okay. Those who got my message should know that...

We should be politically neutral in every organization!!

Bought your market? What kinda grammar is that, and what does it mean?

So, my ogbanje grammar is now more of a issue than your lies?

tessygirl:
I have no business with you dude.

#Piss

You bought my market when you decided to lie.