₦airaland Forum

Kelis Called ‘Kunta Kinte,’ ‘Disgusting Nigerian’ By Racist Airline Passenger



Singer Kelis's Twitter fury after she is subjected to racist abuse at a London airport
By Emily Sheridan

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2037160/Keliss-Twitter-fury-subjected-racist-remarks-London-airport.html#ixzz1Xt4vA3dd


https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/09/14/article-2037160-0DBAA94600000578-113_468x786.jpg

Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution! (The Last Poets)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpo11TxSdVg&feature=related




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpo11TxSdVg&feature=related

The Last Poets- Before The White Man Came



https://www.mediateletipos.net/wp-content/images/2008/02/last_poets.jpg




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O7MWLdOU7c

Vivica Fox Among Selected Judges for Miss Universe Pageant

https://blackthespian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Vivica-Fox-Photo.jpg



Kill Bill, Independence Day star Vivica Fox has been selected as one of the judges for this year’s 2011 Miss Universe Pageant.
Hosted by Andy Cohen and Natalie Morales, the two-hour competition will be broadcast from Sao Paulo, Brazil will have contestants representing some 90 countries. They’ll compete in swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories. The pageant will air live Monday, September 12th at 9/8c on NBC.
In case you’re interested, here’s the full list of judges.
Helio Castroneves, three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500
Connie Chung, former anchorwoman
Isabeli Fontana, Brazilian model
Adrienne Maloof, from Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Lea Salonga, Tony-winning actress
Amelia Vega, Miss Universe 2003

[img]http://vnbeauty.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Leila-Lopes_5-640x424.jpg[/img]


https://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/ap_miss_univserse_kd_110912_wg.jpg


[img]http://vnbeauty.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Leila-Lopes_2.jpg[/img]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/AFRIKA.jpg/220px-AFRIKA.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrika_Bambaataa



Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock - HQ Video


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lDCYjb8RHk

KRS Video Banned from Youtube

The last music video that I remembered being banned was Born Free by MIA which also had a politcal message. So political videos get banned while the latest BET Uncut type video stays up on goes viral for every ghetto blog to post

Hip-hop legend KRS-One has found himself embroiled in more controversy behind his "underground viewpoint" and outspoken nature.  This latest incident involves the video for the track "Real Terrorism." The rather graphic video for the politically charged song (featuring new artist Greenie) has become one of the few music videos to be banned from YouTube. Evidently, its explicit wartime imagery was declared "too shocking" for viewers.


From the controversial 2010 CD "It's All Good" featuring the blastmaster Krs-One and his one-time apprentice, Greenie,  Together, they take on the United States government --accusing it of terrorism throughout history.



http://vimeo.com/28509596



https://www.sweetslyrics.com/images/img_gal/8247_KRS-One.jpg

[b]







https://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-09/64685607.jpg






ANC's youth leader guilty of hate speech for singing 'Shoot the Boer'

By Alex Duval Smith in Cape Town
Tuesday, 13 September 2011




Julius Malema, the outspoken youth leader of the African National Congress, has been found guilty of "hate speech" for singing the song "Shoot the Boer," which refers to white farmers.


In his judgment at Johannesburg's South Gauteng high court, Judge Colin Lamont, said: "No justification exists allowing the words to be sung" warning that, "the words of one person inciting others – that is how a genocide can start".

Judge Lamont said the song had no place in the new South Africa. "People must develop new customs in an open society by giving up old practices that are hurtful to the people who share it with them," he said.

The case was brought by Afrikaner rights group AfriForum after Mr Malema persisted in singing the anti-apartheid song at rallies, despite a court interdict refraining him.

The 30-year-old populist and other ANC leaders had argued that the song was a celebration of the fight against minority rule.

AfriForum said it was "overjoyed" by the ruling. "It sends a clear message to Malema that he isn't above the law and that he cannot sow divisions wherever he goes," the group's chairman, Kallie Kriel said. The Transvaal Agricultural Union, the farmers' union, also welcomed the judgment as a step in its campaign for a special police unit to deal with farm attacks. The union claims that more white farmers in South Africa fall victim to racial murders every year than in Zimbabwe.

Since becoming president of the youth league in 2008, Mr Malema has repeatedly called for the expropriation of white-owned land and the nationalisation of mines and banks.

Mr Malema, who was ordered to pay costs, was not in court to hear the verdict. The mainstream ANC said it was "appalled" at the judgment. "We view this judgment as an attempt to rewrite South African history. This ruling flies against the need to accept our past and to preserve our heritage," said ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu.

"Shoot the Boer" was first sung by the Pan Africanist Congress in the late 1980s. It was adopted by the ANC Youth League in 1993, after the murder of Communist Party leader Chris Hani.

The ruling is the latest in a string of setbacks for Mr Malema.

Until recently, he was a strong supporter of President Jacob Zuma but the men appear to have fallen out. Now Mr Malema paints himself as a revolutionary in a party that has turned capitalist. The ANC has counter-attacked by launching a disciplinary hearing against him and five youth league colleagues on charges of sowing division and bringing the party into disrepute.

At the weekend Mr Malema used a rally in a Johannesburg township to lay down the gauntlet to President Zuma, saying: "This is a war. In a war, never expect red roses, and in a war there are casualties. But we can guarantee that we will win."

Some people claim that suspending Mr Malema from the ANC at the end of the disciplinary hearings would be a risky tactic for the mainstream party, which fears the popularity of the youth league in impoverished townships.

However, there are reports that President Zuma's allies have already earmarked a new youth leadership that will support his bid for a second term as party president in 2012. [/b]

[b]Story from July




Nigeria: Boko Haram Sect Splits

Daniel Idonor And Ndahi Marama 21 July 2011

Maiduguri — Confusion has crept into the camp of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram which has unleashed a reign of terror in the northern part of the country for several months as the sect has split into two factions. One faction, the Yusufiyya Islamic Movement, YIM, has vowed to expose the other faceless group, which it described as evil group.

The Yusufiyya group is made up of followers of slain leader of the Islamic sect, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf.

This development came as President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, held talks with elders from Borno State, over growing insecurity in the state, which is believed to be the abode of the sect.

The Yusufiyya Islamic Movement, in a two-page statement contained in leaflets yesterday, condemned the attacks and bombing of residences and places of worship by the other sect that claimed to be fighting a Jihad in the North. The leaflets were distributed on Tuesday to the various wards, Post Office Area and media houses in Maiduguri, Borno state capital.

Confusion, misinterpretation

The leaflets read in part: "The Yusufiyya Movement has come to mean different things to different people in the last few months. This confusion and misinterpretation have made it necessary for us to come out publicly with the clear truth regarding our concept, struggle, aim and ultimate objective, as our declaration would guide in distinguishing the Yusufiyya movement from the various labels ascribed to us, as the Boko Haram.

This is necessary in the light of genuine concern by individuals and groups to the mass suffering of innocent citizens caught in the cross fire between our members and the Nigerian troops. This concern has again brought to the fore, the daunting issue of reconciliation, through dialogue, with the Nigerian authorities and individual leaders involved in the naked abuse of our birthright to the peaceful propagation and practice of our religion as we understand it."

The sect argued that it was in the process of exercising their right to propagate their religion as they understood it, that their leader, Mohammed Yusuf was killed as well as the destruction and confiscation of their landed and moveable property in Maiduguri. Following their leader's murder, the members therefore "resolved to wage a struggle between justice and injustice, between truth and falsehood, right against wrong, in which the sect was sure of victory."

The statement, however, noted that the public must know that the Yusufiyya Islamic sect is far from the image of the heartless terrorists, arsonists or sadistic robbers painted by other people with a distinct agenda, saying "it is therefore unbecoming to attribute attacks on the civilian population or places of worship to our group, the Yusufiyya Islamic Movement".

Referring to the factions in the Boko Haram sect, the statement further explained that; "ours is a clear fight for the blood of our founder, Mohammed Yusuf and other leaders who were slain in cold blood by former governor of Borno State (names withheld), the former Borno state commissioner of police and the late President", adding that the former president "has since been seized by Allah in an answer to the sect's prayer for support against his aggression".

"We therefore distance our group from all the bombings targeted at civilians and other establishments and equally condemn them and pray that Allah expose those who perpetrated them and attributed them to us."

Exonerating the Yusufiyya sect from other factions of Boko Haram sect, the statement declared: "We are concerned that some people with evil motives have infiltrated our genuine struggle with a false holy war that is outright un-Islamic. We call on this evil group to desist, failing which we shall have no option than to expose and hunt them.

"Finally, we have resolved to temporarily halt our fight against the assassination of our leaders in compliance with the prohibition of fighting in the holy month of Ramadan."

JTF in Borno to restore order

The Joint Security Task Force (JTF) spokesman, Lt.Col. Hassan Mohammed confirmed the statement and distribution of the leaflets on Boko Haram factions and temporary ceasefire in Borno State.

He said: "The JTF is on top of the insecurity situations in Borno State. The factions being created in the Boko Haram sect and the temporary ceasefire from the Yusuffiyya Islamic sect could bring peace and the restoration of law and order by nipping all acts of terrorism by the other factions of Boko Haram sect."

Speaking on the alleged excesses of soldiers in fighting terrorism and other acts of violence, Mohammed said: "We are here in Borno to restore law and order and not to intimidate or harass any residents of the affected wards in Maiduguri metropolis."

He said, "the truth of the matter, is that terrorism is the enemy of the entire world, including the killings and bombings of Maiduguri residents and their places of worship". He added that if the people could not live in peace without the protection of their lives and property, soldiers would not have place or relevance in any democratically elected country, like Nigeria.

Nigerian soldiers, according to him, are learned and civilized professionals that are here in Borno State to protect people's lives and property.

Military to remain in Borno-- FG

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, met behind closed doors with a forum of elders from Borno State; North East Elders and Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, over the growing concern of insecurity in the North, following activities of the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram. It was resolved that the military will remain in Borno State until enduring peace is restored.

Those who attended the peace talks included Vice President Namadi Sambo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke; Chief of Defence Staff, National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azaazi; ACF Board Chairman, Gen Jerry Useni; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed and the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe.

The meeting which began at about 2:00 pm, held at "House 7" of the Presidential Villa, perhaps to avoid the media that usually swarm on those suspected to have met with the President over sensitive issues.

The elders who arrived Abuja on Tuesday were said to have been accommodated at the Sheraton Hotel, before they were conveyed in a 30-seater Toyota coaster bus to the venue of the meeting.

Information Minister, Mr Labaran Maku who briefed reporters after the meeting, said, all the parties agreed that the army should remain in the state till further notice.

Broad based consultations

"There were broad-based consultations on the outcry for the withdrawal of military. But in the light of this discussion, the meeting generally agreed that it is premature to withdraw the military. What was needed was that if there are cases of individual misbehaviour by members of the Joint Task Force, the authorities will look into those cases", he said.

He added that "right now we know that one or two soldiers who were found to have done things in excess are being questioned by the relevant authorities. What is important is that the army are playing a great role and with the situation we are in now, if you withdraw the army, we don't know what will happen."


According to him, "what is most important is to manage the military until such a time that it is clear that some of the potent threat are lowered".

He said: "The President this afternoon held a broad-based consultation with leaders from Borno State, the North East and Arewa Consultative Forum on the security situation in Borno State and other parts of the north."

"This meeting was broadly attended by political leaders. The meeting explored different options, consulted widely on what we can do together to bring about peace and security in Borno State and other affected areas. The meeting was very fruitful and indeed, this is the beginning of further dialogue to find solution to this problem.




[/b]

[b]The truth must be told.



Nigeria: Boko Haram Creation of the West -- Zakzaky

Agaju Madugba 6 September 2011


LEADER of Muslim Brotherhood Movement in Nigeria popularly called Shiites, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, has reviewed the activities of Boko Haram in the country insisting that the whole idea is designed by the Western World with the sole motive of re-colonizing not only Nigeria but the entire African continent.

"We know that they (the West) have said that this century and the past century are the centuries of Africa where there is going to be the second scramble for Africa, so West have their eyes on Africa because the resources needed for the development of these worlds are in Africa, particularly in Nigeria and for this reason, all these nations have their eyes here," Zakzaky said at the weekend when his group organized a Sallah Feast to mark the end of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan, in Zaria.

He regretted that programme may succeed due to what he described as the selfishness of Nigeria's leaders and some other citizens.

Zakzaky said, "It appears that people are more interested in themselves, which will make them more easily to be used as agents by those who are interested in our resources.

"Unfortunately here too, we do not have what I might call viable ideas controlling us, rather we have individual ego for own self comfort.

"This will make them easy prey as agents who will be used to tap our resources. So, the problem is that someone has a programme to turn us into Somalia and this is what they have said.

"And on the other side, we are people who mind what might come our way. They only think of their individual selves.

"So, it is time we think of the nation and we think of the future of the nation. I am not giving the solution, I am asking you to think."Boko Haram is part of the whole idea of occupying this country and perhaps there is a division within the Nigerian security, not known in the society.

"It is only an operation within the security and perhaps, it is also part of the gimmick for those who wish to occupy this country.

"Who is causing the insecurity? Is not the same government? The security operators have a wing which causes insecurity, so they are the facilitators of this, and I believe that they are working for those who are interested in occupying this country and the occupation of this country is on the agenda of the outside society."A representative of Governor Patrick Yakowa at the ceremony, Rev. John Hayab, who is also government's Special Adviser of Religious Affairs, told reporters that Nigerians, if united, have the capacity to puncture the agenda.

According to him, "the trouble we have is our self-inflicted problem, the reason simply is that we have refused to recognize and appreciate that God created us the same and that we must live together as brothers and sisters.

"We must live together as the people of the same country and if anybody comes to intrude he cannot find a ground because of the bond of unity that exists among us.

"But when we continue to live in division, when we continue to live as if we are enemies of one another, then it gives room for an enemy to quickly penetrate and enter.

"The impression we give out is as if we are in a state of war but when we have reason to meet like this is a good impression of peace among us.

"I listened to the message Malam Zakzaky presented, the message was neither an exclusive Islamic message nor exclusive Christian message.

"It was a message of truth from God because one of the things he said which is destroying our community is that people are living a life of selfishness.

"If we can eradicate this, then those who are coming to use this problem to take Nigeria's resources will have no ground because both the Hausa and the non-Hausa people will unite and chase them away.

"The Muslims and the Christians, the non-Muslims and the non-Christians will unite and chase them away."[/b]

[b]Nigeria: Colour Nollywood Black

Yinka Olatunbosun

8 September 2011



opinion

If one begins to analyse the concept of "black" against the historical accounts of its misuse and abuse, it would seem as if Africans are unforgiving of the errors of the slave trade merchants of the western world. Still, the grave consequences of the gross inhumanity have left deep imprints on the African temperament.

There is really no way of psychoanalysing the situation without blaming the colonisers in part for such indelible mark left on our soil, namely white supremacy. It begins with the way the colonisers view the black skin colour. For them, the skin colour was abominable, evil, contemptuous and everything thing else that translates to evil.

Some advanced cultural researchers have also blamed religion for associating "white" with holiness, leaving our imagination to figure out what blackness suggests. Well, slave trade is gone for good. But the legacy lives on with a great abode built in Nollywood.
Turn your eyes around local video stores and see a Nigerian film poster. Heavily made-up faces of fair-skinned women assail your vision. The industry apparently favours fair-skinned women. Perhaps, it is the closest they can get to whiteness.

The effect is quite appalling. Dark-skinned actresses struggle to lighten up the skin. They cannot afford to be too dark since our producers make little investment in good lighting equipments. Or the reasons are not just technical, maybe sensual?

Whatever the logic driving skin colour preference in Nollywood is, one fact remains incontrovertible: Africans are black, irrespective of their skin colour or tone. Anywhere in the world, the African model is often dark-skinned, sometimes very black.
There is nothing wrong with the black skin except we choose to see it through the tainted spectacles of the colonisers. While some Nollywood producers may favour fair-skinned actresses, they must also remember that the strong societal bias against blackness originates from the warped African post-colonial perspectives.

To illustrate, Wole Soyinka's Telephone Conversation gives a fair idea of the way the black skin was perceived in the peak period of racism. If you recall the landlady in the poem was asking to know if the narrator was light or very dark. So, the acceptance of his being African hinges on his skin colour. What is wrong with being dark-skinned?

If a foreign movie producer makes a movie based on an African theme, they opt for dark-skinned actors and actresses to play the black characters. So many dark-skinned foreign actors have taken up the challenge of learning to speak in the African accent to blend the real-life character with the fictitious.

But, the reverse is the case in Nollywood. Our actresses make us tolerate their seemingly ubiquitous fair skin, worsened by the Nigerian-made cockney. We should be proud of the African tongue. Foreign actors invest time and sweat to earn it.
A popular example is that of the American-born actor Forrest Whitaker. His 2006 portrayal of Idi Amin in the film, The Last King of Scotland earned him positive reviews by critics as well as multiple awards and honours. For that role, Whitaker learned Swahili and acquired Idi Amin's East African accent.

His performance earned him the 2007 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, making him the fourth African-American actor in history to do so, joining the ranks of Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and Jamie Foxx. For the same role, he also earned a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award, and accolades from the New York Film Critics Circle.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association among others. If he had murdered the African essence in his delivery, critics would have stripped him of honour at the movie's premiere. Actors Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio have also had to mimic the South African accent for artistic purpose.
If being articulate is one of the characteristics of a good diction, then why should the Nigerian actor or actress be so desperate to "de-black" the tongue? Few trips abroad, more often Dubai and the result is a twisted tongue, sometimes twisted sense. Twisted sense in the sense that they misplace their identity in their failed attempt to assume sophistication.

It is important that Nollywood retains its African form and content to be able to stand tall amidst competitors. The African content in film production is not and should not limited to wearing beads, weaving the hair, wearing wrappers, setting films in villages, reciting incantations and painting the lips black.

That would only mean paying lip-service to the African heritage. Our accent should remain unadulterated, proudly African. Our skin tone should be alluring. After all, we have what some white men aim at getting when they sit under the scorching sun in the name of sun-tan.

Nollywood moviemakers need to watch movies from Kenya and South Africa to see how the black content is treated. South Africans, by virtue of their climate, have lighter skin tones than most dark-skinned Nigerians.

But, their actors are often easy to identify with the characteristic African nose and the unmistakable African accent. For their indigenous movies, no hair wigs for the actresses. No black-blonde.

We hope to see a new era where dark-skinned actors dominate the Nollywood movie posters. This is a call on movie producers to discover dark-skinned talents for our screen to add to the list of Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke, Kate Henshaw and Mercy Johnson. Black is beautiful.[/b]

Miss 9Ja showing off her bum and Asian rug  


[img]http://www.nigeriafilms.com/image.aspx?img=Y29udGVudC9jb250ZW50LzMwMzEwOTE0MzIyNjE0OTEwNDM5NTEzNDM5MTU5OTk4Nzg1MDI0NDkwMzEyMzkwMjNuLTYwMHgzOTcuanBnfDYwMA==[/img]

@@mavinc4u

I have a decent position with at 5 Star Bahamian resort but am trying to get back to Miami and sell real estate again because the market is beginning to pick up, and there is a small but vibrant 9Ja community there. Not as big as Houston but cohesive, strong, and successful. DHL is fast but I once had a problem with a shipment and decided to switch over to FedEx for peace of mind and reliabilty. My family back home in Ikoyi love the service.

abeg, if you are God loving, can cook, and have a pretty face, I'll sponsor your visa when I get back to the states. 

[b]Nollywood enters Bollywood territory. Success breeds success.



The First Hausa Movie To Be Shot In India

Story by AL-AMIN CIROMA



[img]http://www.nigeriafilms.com/image.aspx?img=Y29udGVudC9jb250ZW50L2thbm55d29vZC5qcGd8NjAw[/img]



From the first time she achieved fame in the motion picture scenario, the Kannywood super heroic actress, Jamila Umar Nagudu got her groove back, becoming the first Hausa actress to co-star one of Bollywood’s gallant players, the famous Johnny Lever. Nagudu was opportuned to work with the Indian superstar in the first-ever Hausa movie shot in the Mahatma-Gandhi territory.

Nagudu, who is also a GLO ambassador made this tremendous breakthrough by her enthusiasm in the Hausa movie industry. How did she feel acting with a popular actor from another country? “It is normal for an actor to co-star another in a movie. Although it was challenging, challenging in the sense that you have to showcase all your skills, talents and body language to make him understand your lines and also be very attentive to his role so as to blend, but I must say, it was fun. I loved it.”

The movie, ‘Kauyawa,’ which was produced by the renowned Alhaji Rabi’u Haruna, popularly known as Al-rahus, was shot in the heart of Bollywood to showcase more innovation in the industry. How did he do it? First and foremost, the producer said that movie business is so vibrant it has no official language, according to him, movies are a collection of ideas put together to impart certain messages by way of characterisation or gesticulation. “If you believe what I am saying, you will understand that film has no language.Before we started shooting home videos here in Nigeria, people were engaged in patronising foreign films. Films that they did not know the terms of language, but yet, we enjoyed the famous

Chinese and Indian films. In fact, Hausa movies brought the downfall of Indian and other foreign movies here in Nigeria. So in this business, a producer can shoot his film using any actor in the world, irrespective of creed and norms. We have been witnessing actors like Anthony Quinn and some of his contemporaries, who acted in so many Islamic movies. Are they Muslims or Arabs? The answer is no, they are trained and professional actors. It is only make-believe.” He explained that his actors did not have any difficulty relating with their counterparts from India. Since they are both stars from various degrees of civilisation, each of them displayed talents and blended together.

On why he decided to shoot a movie in faraway India, Al-Rahus said “I decided to fulfill the promise I made to my viewers that the third part of the movie will be shot in India. Not only that, I decided with my team to explore the giant Bollywood industry. You know, India is ranked No. 1 in the world of entertainment. Their industry, Bollywood is the largest movie producer in the world, followed by Nigeria. So, my going there is not just for the fun of it but to further explore or rather, rub shoulders and share ideas. I believe Nigeria or Kannywood will be the best in the world one day. That is part of our aspirations.” How many actors from Kannywood were involved in the Bolly-Kannywood affair? Answered Al-Rahus: “After completing all arrangements necessary for my trip, I only went with the two major characters of the film, Jamila Nagudu and the emerging Dan-Auta. All other actors plus production crew and equipment were obtained from them. Their actors were a waiting our arrival, courtesy of our host, who made all the necessary arrangements. We went there on schedule, shot the movie and happily came back home.”

The producer, in comparison, applauds Nigerian stakeholders and motion picture practitioners in their effort to making our industry second to none in the world. “I bet you, the major difference between our business here and theirs is marketing and exhibition. They have succeeded in mapping out so many ways of international marketing, which is the secret of their success. They have a well structured system that washed away piracy . But if you look at the Nigerian market, you’ll see that piracy is killing us, although the practitioners are going up and down, day in day out, but we are yet to curtail the scourge.

“I want to use this opportunity to call on stakeholders and my colleagues in this business to, as a matter of urgency, come out whole heartedly to fight the menace of piracy and in so doing, we will be able to curb this dangerous move by the pirates and allow ordinary hardworking artistes and practitioners enjoy and reap from their sweat.

When asked about her role in the movie, the ever smiling and gorgeous Jamila Nagudu said the story celebrates two renowned extroverts, who hail from the village but went into the city in search of greener pasture. “There are two funny characters in the movie, Subulli (Dan Auta) and Subulluwa played by my humble self. We are assertive people with myopic thoughts. That is how we excel in the city. The funniest part of the sub plot of the story is that we live wherever we go. This brings our families calamity as deception, betrayal and unfaithfulness becomes the order of the day. We then decided to go beyond our shores. This is one of the many problems that upend our convoluted lives exposing our curiosities, internal lives, motives and twisted emotions. It is fully comic packed.”



*[/b]

@Cap28

Don't forget about who trained the CIA, MI6. Seems like the destabilization of 9ja started after those global oil companies were kicked out of the Delta.

Why buy the cow when you can get free or cheap milk?

@Abuloma80

Check out the link that the op posted. The Chief is in the hospital.

@mavinc4u

Try to think outside the box baby.


It ain't where your from, it's where you're at.



https://www.lasvegasbahamas.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Paradise-Island-Bahamas-4.jpg


https://www.lasvegasbahamas.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Paradise-Island-Bahamas.jpg

Paradise Island Bahamas

[b]Originally published September 07, 2011
Walter Fauntroy, Feared Dead in Libya, Returns Home—Guess Who He Saw Doing the Killing

It wasn't the Libyans


https://www.afro.com/multimedia/photos/72369/libya_fauntroy.jpg


nset: Former U.S. Congressman Walter Fauntroy. Larger photo: AP Photo, Gaia Anderson - Rebel fighters take control of a military vehicle, centre, positioned to defend what used to be Gadhafi's 32nd infantry regiment's base at Mardun, some 10 kilometers from the outskirts of Ban Walid, Libya, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011. (Courtesy Photo)



Former U.S. Congressman Walter Fauntroy, who recently returned from a self-sanctioned peace mission to Libya, said he went into hiding for about a month in Libya after witnessing horrifying events in Libya's bloody civil war -- a war that Fauntroy claims is backed by European forces.

Fauntroy's sudden disappearance prompted rumors and news reports that he had been killed.

In an interview inside his Northwest D.C. home last week, the noted civil rights leader, told the Afro that he watched French and Danish troops storm small villages late at night beheading, maiming and killing rebels and loyalists to show them who was in control.

"'What the hell' I'm thinking to myself. I'm getting out of here. So I went in hiding," Fauntroy said.

The rebels told Fauntroy they had been told by the European forces to stay inside. According to Fauntroy, the European forces would tell the rebels, "'Look at what you did.' In other words, the French and Danish were ordering the bombings and killings, and giving credit to the rebels.

"The truth about all this will come out later," Fauntroy said.

While in Libya, the former congressman also said he sat down with Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi for a one-on-one conversation. Gaddafi has ruled Libya since 1969, when he seized power in a military coup.

Fauntroy said he spoke with Gaddafi in person and that Gaddafi assured him that if he survived these attacks, the mission to unite African countries would continue.

"Contrary to what is being reported in the press, from what I heard and observed, more than 90 percent of the Libyan people love Gaddafi," Fauntroy said. "We believe the true mission of the attacks on Gaddafi is to prevent all efforts by African leaders to stop the recolonization of Africa."
Several months ago, Gaddafi's leadership faced its biggest challenge. In February, a radical protest movement called the Arab Spring spread across Libya. When Gaddafi responded by dispatching military and plainclothes paramilitary to the streets to attack demonstrators, it turned into a civil war with the assistance of NATO and the United Nations.

Fauntroy's account could not be immediately verified by the Afro and the U.S. State Department has not substantiated Fauntroy's version of events. Fauntroy was not acting as an official representative of the U.S. in Libya. He returned to Washington, D.C. on Aug. 31.

When rumors spread about Fauntroy being killed he went underground, he told the Afro in an interview. Fauntroy said for more than a month he decided not to contact his family but to continue the mission to speak with African spiritual leaders about a movement to unify Africa despite the Arab uprisings.

"I'm still here," Fauntroy said, pointing to several parts of his body. "I've got all my fingers and toes. I'm extremely lucky to be here."

After blogs and rumors reported Fauntroy had been killed, the congressional office of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced on Aug. 24, that she had been in touch with authorities who confirmed Fauntroy was safely in the care of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Inside his home, Fauntroy pulled out several memoirs and notebooks to explain why he traveled to Libya at a time when it was going through civil unrest.

"This recent trip to Libya was part of a continuous mission that started under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he gave me orders to join four African countries on the continent with four in the African Diaspora to restore the continent to its pre-colonial status," Fauntroy said.

"We want Africa to be the breadbasket of the world," he said. "Currently, all the major roads in every country throughout Africa lead to ports that take its natural resources and wealth outside the continent to be sold to the European markets."[/b]



http://www.afro.com/sections/news/national/story.htm?storyid=72369

The Big Boys only FedEx use for important packages. The Rolls Royce of the global shipping industry.


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Customer Service

FedEx is represented in Nigeria by a nominated Service Contractor. For more information about the FedEx services available from Nigeria please contact: Company: Red Star Express

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Is WikiLeaks A CIA Operation? 1/3




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brGAgrxscOg




More evidence that wikileaks is an intelligence operation. The lesson from Watergate, FOLLOW THE MONEY. The money leads to George Sorros and his shady circles of influence. Sorros has always been connected to CIA and its front companies.


Is WikiLeaks A CIA Operation? 2/3


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAcR8bqVnIk&NR=1

offends the United Nations Convention


[b]
Nigeria: Unemployed Graduates Sue Jonathan, Army Council

Adelanwa Bamgboye

Some unemployed graduates from the Nigerian Army Military School, Zaria, have dragged President Goodluck Jonathan and the Nigerian Army Council (NAC) to court, challenging their plans to "demilitarize" the school.

An alumnus of the school, Ayuba Abdul, who filed a suit at the Federal High Court Abuja on behalf of others, alleged that the army council had concluded plans to remove military training from the school curricular on the ground that it offends the United Nations Convention on Child's Rights.

In a 25-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion, the plaintiff said, "This was evident as the last batch of boys who passed out from the institution on August 6, 2011 are yet to be posted to their units".

This, according to the plaintiff, negates the essence of establishing the institution which is to provide skilled manpower for the Nigerian Army, adding that the Federal Government's policy seeks to defeat section 220 of the 1999 constitution and aggravate youth unemployment in the country.

Those named as defendants include President Goodluck Jonathan, the Chief of Army Staff, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Nigerian Army Council and the Nigerian Army.

No date has been fixed for hearing.[/b]

[b]



Nigeria’s Film Industry Reflects the Messy Process of Nation Building

Story by Armstrong Williams

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong_Williams



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This is our first visit to Nigeria and we’re filming our new fall TV season. The best briefing material or conversation with individuals can in no way prepare you for the massive number of people and the incredible intellectual and human capital that exist in this land of plenty. Given that our media business syndicates programming around the globe we are most impressed with the Nigerian film and entertainment industry.

The opening scenes in the Hollywood epic “There Will Be Blood” feature a grainy video shot in soundless shadow. Without a doubt it is one of the most beautiful big screen scenes in modern memory. But in fact the scene itself, and the ultimately the movie as whole, takes the viewer back to a rougher period in early American history—before the country was connected by railroad, telegraph, and highway. Similarly, Nigeria’s nascent movies industry operates in a land without robust national infrastructure. The fact that it the industry exists at all, without cinemas, studios, cable television, or even a national electric grid speaks to its amazing resiliency.

More than any other industry, Nigeria’s film industry reflects the messy, ambivalent process of nation building currently taking place in the country. Men and women with few resources, but a boundless ingenuity have taken matters into their own hands and crafted not only an industry, but in fact an art form that is quickly evolving into a national cultural movement. While in monetary terms, the Nigerian film industry (I resist using the term “Nollywood”) pales in comparison to that of the United States, it is undeniably the most vibrant expression of talent and ingenuity in the country.

Not only does the industry employ over 1 million people—making it the largest employer outside of agriculture—it has exerted considerable cultural influence both within Nigeria and throughout the African continent. In fact the cultural genre, generally featuring modern themes interspersed with native cultural symbols, represents a new cinematic art form in its nascent stages. Its ability to capture the energy and ambition of Nigeria’s youth is nothing short of startling. The film production industry has given them jobs, hope and ultimately valuable skills.

In recent years, political and business leaders have taken notice of the industry and attempted to capitalize on its vitality. The political leadership wishes to use cinema as a marketing tool to burnish Nigeria’s image abroad. The mainstream business community wants to harness Nigerian cinema’s economic potential. However, at this point, efforts to corral growth—whether by censorship or government investment on one hand; or by strictly enforcing intellectual property rules on the other—threatens the industry with extinction.

In the United States, wild cat oilmen found small wells and drilled them. In the course of their expansion, railroads, banks, and towns arose in their midst. As the movie “There Will Be Blood depicts,” the process was fraught with danger and uncertainty. It was messy. There was fraud and corruption, intrigue and violence. But out of that dynamic process, a vast energy industry emerged which ended up fueling America’s industrial growth. My point here is not that the Nigerian film industry to should be allowed to grow unaided or unregulated—but that at this stage in development, the creativity, drive, and passion that exist within the industry should be allowed to flourish more freely.

Some point to the fact that the content and quality of today’s Nigerian films leaves much to be desired. So what? The early days of American cinema featured less advanced technology than currently employed in the lowest budget Nigerian film. Films were often grainy, choppy, and lacking in sound. But they succeeded in gaining an audience, and, more importantly, setting the ground for the cultural aesthetic the world currently knows as Hollywood. Just as a man cannot become an adult before he is a child, so the Nigerian cinema arts industry must be allowed it period of infancy on its way to a more mature reflection of the lives, stories and values of the Nigerian people.

The youth of Nigeria are its most important resource. Developing their character and talents is more important and vastly more valuable than all of the oil wealth in the world. As the largest employer of Nigeria’s youth, the film industry is helping to give them a purpose that is largely lacking in other sectors of the society. Of course much of today’s films express the exuberance and immaturity that come with being young. But it also contains the energy, passion and brilliance that our youth are yearning to reveal to themselves, the country, and the world as a whole.

As the American oil industry grew, its supporting infrastructure began to form the backbone of the nation—whether in term of railroads, telegraphs, industrial equipment, or oil pipeline. In fact today’s largest telecommunications companies such as Quest Communications use rights of way that were originally owned by the small wildcat drillers. Similarly, as Nigerian cinema continues to grow, both as an art form and an industry, related infrastructure will naturally evolve as a result. Whether it takes the shape of a village cinema, production studio or distribution shop, ultimately the means of distribution will form the basis for a more robust Nigerian infrastructure. And infrastructure, as we all know, is the backbone of any nation.

Cutting Edge conservative columnist Armstrong Williams and author of Reawakening Virtues can be heard on Sirius/XM Power 128 [/b]






*

[b]@cap28


Criminal Cartel Moves Forward With Printing $500 Billion In Funny Money


Michael Suede
Activist Post

Thursday, a gang of violent thieves and drug lords decided to counterfeit an additional 500 billion US Dollars in order to prop up their criminal empire. The move undermines the savings and production of the American economy, while at the same time allowing the gang to retain its stranglehold on the banking sector and drug trade. The move by the criminal organization to counterfeit the massive amount of money arises as an outgrowth of their various drug and racketeering schemes.

The gang had previously invaded and replaced the government of Afghanistan with their own drug kingpins after the Taliban had shut down opium production in the country. Prior to the Taliban shutting down opium production, Afghanistan had been the cartel’s primary location for the cultivation of opium products. The money generated from the sale of Afghan opium products is laundered through the US banking cartel, and serves to prop up the banking cartel with a large influx of reserve capital. Had the Taliban been allowed to remain in power, it is quite possible that the entire shadow US banking sector could have collapsed.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), noted, “In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system’s main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor…It appears that interbank credits have been financed by money which comes from the drug trade and other illegal activities. It is naturally hard to prove this, but there are indications that a number of banks were rescued by this means.”

The gang concluded that printing the 500 billion was necessary in order to keep their war and racketeering machine, and with it their drug and banking syndicates, operational through the remainder of the year. Normally the gang acquires the money to operate its criminal empire through direct looting of businesses and consumers, but recently it determined that direct looting simply could not provide the kind of money it needs in order to keep its various criminal enterprises operational.

In conjunction with using violence to impose its fiat money system on a hapless public, which ultimately allows to them to get away with their present counterfeiting operation, the gang has also waged a very violent global campaign to force the entire global economy to buy their fiat money in order to purchase oil products.

By forcing all major oil producing nations to price their oil in US Dollars, the gang has successfully been able to loot the rest of the world for their products and services. Because oil is priced in US Dollars, other nations must buy US dollars (debt) in order to purchase oil products on the open market. This allows the US to crank out an obscene amount of funny money in exchange for the sweat and labor of foreign nations without the US having to give them any real goods or services in return. Syndicate whipping boy Ron Paul has authored an article that explains the cartel’s operations in more detail here.

Recently the Libyan government had attempted to implement a gold backed Dinar standard, which would have undermined the US government’s ability to keep African oil priced in US Dollars. The move by Gaddafi to implement a gold standard necessitated swift and violent action on the part of the criminal syndicate to eliminate Gaddafi from power. If Gaddafi had been successful in his endeavors to price oil in terms of gold, while simultaneously implementing a gold backed currency system, the Libyan Dinar would have almost certainly become the de facto currency of the entire African continent.

Unfortunately for the American public, the criminal syndicate’s measures are ultimately self-defeating.
As the crime syndicate massively expands its counterfeiting operations, it cannibalizes the economy that keeps it in power. Because the printing of money drives the production of goods and services overseas, it erodes the industrial base of the nation, ultimately leading to an impoverished welfare state that lacks the ability to feed, fuel, and sustain itself.

The crime syndicate really is caught between a rock and a hard place. The crime syndicate could dismantle itself voluntarily, which would lead to the collapse of its criminal empire, or it could choose to continue its money printing operations in order to sustain itself, but ultimately destroy itself anyway by causing a failure of the monetary system through hyperinflation.

Markets forces ultimately cannot be ignored or avoided through the use of violence. The market always manages to dismantle violently imposed currency systems and governance structures. The crime syndicate is finding out the hard way that looting destroys the incentive of private citizens to produce goods and services that improve the condition of humanity. As the public is cannibalized by criminal parasites, the parasites will eventually kill the host that keeps them alive. This leads us to the obvious conclusion that the only sustainable form of government is one that isfunded voluntarily.[/b]

Wake up and taste the cola nuts!



[b]Colonialism reclaiming Africa?


by Andrew M. Mwenda


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Colonialism is back; bold and unashamed. The West has decided to reclaim leadership in Africa. Only last week, I watched US Secretary of State, Mrs Hillary Clinton, give instructions to Kenyan politicians on how they should manage the affairs of Kenya. She demanded that the democratically elected ruling coalition in Kenya create a tribunal to try the perpetrators of last year’s post election violence. If not, she threatened, the International Criminal Court (ICC) will take over.



A significant section of the Kenyan society think there should be a tribunal. But the Kenyan cabinet, composed of both the ruling party and the opposition parties debated this matter. In their wisdom, they decided it is better to pursue political reconciliation as opposed to punitive criminal justice. I share this view, like many Kenyans do and others don’t. And that is the beauty of democracy; once a decision is taken by the governing body, all should respect it.



It is unwise to pursue punitive criminal justice when seeking to resolve violence born of political disagreement. This is especially so in circumstances where the balance of power between both sides to a conflict is close to an equilibrium. Under such circumstances, any criminal prosecution process would tend to reignite violence. Why? Because criminal justice tends to demonise “the other”! This drives the accused persons to resort to violence in self defense. The best path is political reconciliation.



This was the basis of the success of Nelson Mandela in post Apartheid South Africa; Paul Kagame in post genocide Rwanda, even the United States after its civil war in 1864. In all these cases, the perpetrators of political violence were brought back into the political process through tough bargains. Decision making is never a choice between right and wrong. It is a product of serious trade-offs. But why did the US hail Mandela but is condemning Kenya for seeking a similar path?



Unlike 19th century colonialism which involved the direct presence of colonial officials to implement colonial law, the new colonialism (Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah called it neocolonialism) relies on lectures, instructions, intimidation and blackmail. It has put international institutions in place to specifically deal with African leaders – the best example being the ICC. NATO air strikes in Afghanistan are killing civilians in droves. Please watch if there is even a whisper about the culpability of any Western leader – America’s Barack Obama or Britains’s Gordon Brown.



Old colonialism understood the importance of a combination of material and ideological incentives in recruiting local allies. So it Christianised Africans and provided minimum education for catechists and clerks in order to create an intellectual class in support of colonial rule. But it also provided material incentives – salaried employment, land grants, and other forms of colonial-state patronage.



The agents of the new colonialism are secular missionaries promoting democracy, human rights and justice as is sang by the master i.e. without context. They refuse to acknowledge that pursuing them in complete disregard of context can produce results at odds with the intended purpose. The US refused to jam radio Mille Collines during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 saying such action would violate the principles of free speech. The genociders enjoyed their freedom to mobilise for mass murder.



The agents of the new colonialism believe that Africa’s future lies in handouts of foreign assistance – financial, military, ideological, technical etc. By speaking in the master’s language, their supporters among local elites sound civilized and get accepted in the master’s councils. By promoting Western “assistance”, they get the jobs paid for in foreign aid projects.



If previously the West lacked an authentic voice to convince Africans that they need to be treated like children, now it has that voice in Obama. Since he is considered black, he is the perfect instrument to tell us how to manage our affairs. African elites, with a deeply rooted peasant mentality of identity as the basis of cooperation, believe that since Obama is “black” then he represents their interests.



Yet regardless of his African ancestry, Obama is an American president. His primary obligation is to serve American interests. Over the last century, the US has intervened in other countries not to promote democracy but its national interest. As experience shows, democracy has not been America’s allay in the pursuit of its interests abroad.



Consequently, America has removed democratic governments and replaced them with its favored dictatorships – in Iran in 1953, Chile in 1974, Congo in 1960, etc. It has always used its military and intelligence services to bomb, invade or carry out clandestine missions in other nations. In none of these cases has democratic government come as a direct result. Instead, often democracy has developed in opposition to American interference.

The US and other Western nations have always advanced the values of liberty, freedom and social justice only instrumentally when it serves their interest. But these values have never been meant to inform real Western practice. That is why the West pretends to be more concerned about democracy in Iran when it is in bed with some of the worst dictatorships in the Middle East – Egypt, Saudi Arabia etc. It seems to me that the use of democracy and human rights is the ancillary one of image-making.



The urge behind the West’s increasing intrusion into Africa’s governance seems to be a desire to dominate the continent. This is now being expressed in the writings of two of the scholars receiving most funding for their work on how the West should “help Africa” – professors Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia and Paul Collier of Oxford. Their work has become very explicit in their contempt of Africa’s internal ability to reform itself. Increasingly, they are publishing works suggesting that the solution for Africa’s internal problems is “international” (actually read Western) assistance through foreign financial aid and military intervention.



I will return to Collier’s bold suggestions about how countries of the “bottom billion” need international military intervention and governance instructions to become solvent in another article. Suffice it to say that if our founding fathers like Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba who passionately believed in our sovereignty as a people came back today, they would not believe that half a century later, colonialism is making a comeback.



amwenda@independent.co.ug


Global Research Articles by Andrew M. Mwenda [/b]

today lynching is done by rap lyrics



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Searching through America's past for the last 25 years, collector James Allen uncovered an extraordinary visual legacy: photographs and postcards taken as souvenirs at lynchings throughout America. With essays by Hilton Als, Leon Litwack, Congressman John Lewis and James Allen, these photographs have been published as a book "Without Sanctuary" by Twin Palms Publishers . Features will be added to this site over time and it will evolve into an educational tool. Please be aware before entering the site that much of the material is very disturbing. We welcome your comments and input through the forum section.

Experience the images as a flash movie with narrative comments by James Allen, or as a gallery of photos which will grow to over 100 photos in coming weeks. Participate in a forum about the images, and contact us if you know of other similar postcards and photographs.


http://withoutsanctuary.org/main.html




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[b]' Stand Up Stand Up, Stand Up For Your Rights '




Delta State Govt Condemns Doctors' Strike
Delta State Government has condemned the strike embarked upon by the doctors in state hospitals, who are kicking against the signing of attendance register, among other grievances, saying that it had concluded plans to recruit new doctors to replace the striking ones.


https://allafrica.com/img/csi/00180497_0991c4faf511ddb0184bd1f7c806f06a/w510.png

Nigerian lab technicians undergo malaria microscopy (file photo).







Nigeria: You Can't Hold Us to Ransom, Delta Govt Tells Striking Doctors


DELTA State Government has condemned the strike embarked upon by the doctors in state hospitals, who are kicking against the signing of attendance register, among other grievances, saying that it had concluded plans to recruit new doctors to replace the striking ones.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Otumara, said this when he and members of the state House of Assembly Committee on Health, led by Mrs. Onyemechi Mrakpo, visited some hospitals in the state with a view to ensuring that the strike did not paralyse the health system.





The commissioner, according to a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Churchill Oyowe, in Asaba, yesterday, said "the government is determined to put an end to the frequent and unnecessary strike actions in the state hospitals, because allowing the striking doctors to go away with frivolous excuses in the name of strike would send the wrong signal to other cadre of staff in the state."

Dr Otumara noted that doctors were to be compassionate and see the human life as sacred, adding that the commercial inclination of some doctors had made them to lose bearing on the demands of the medical profession, warning that if they do not retrace their steps, they would soon lose relevance.



Nigeria: Delta Sacks Striking Doctors, Says Industrial Action 'Uncalled For'

Austin Ogwuda

3 September 2011

DELTA State Government has condemned the strike embarked upon by the doctors in state hospitals, who are kicking against the signing of attendance register, among other grievances, saying that it had concluded plans to recruit new doctors to replace the striking ones.


Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Otumara, said this when he and members of the state House of Assembly Committee on Health, led by Mrs. Onyemechi Mrakpo, visited some hospitals in the state with a view to ensuring that the strike did not paralyse the health system.

The commissioner, according to a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Churchill Oyowe, in Asaba, yesterday, said "the government is determined to put an end to the frequent and unnecessary strike actions in the state hospitals, because allowing the striking doctors to go away with frivolous excuses in the name of strike would send the wrong signal to other cadre of staff in the state."

Dr Otumara noted that doctors were to be compassionate and see the human life as sacred, adding that the commercial inclination of some doctors had made them to lose bearing on the demands of the medical profession, warning that if they do not retrace their steps, they would soon lose relevance.[/b]

2011 Colonialism


[b]https://allafrica.com/img/csi/00151632_bb2caf24373a6a62d095e884eba8b479/w140.jpg


Nigeria: Country's War On Terror Heats Up

Ahmed Tahir Ajobe

Nigeria is indeed a nation in deep shock. Until August 26th attacks on the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Government (FG) had hoped that its hard, military style in countering the Boko Haram insurgence across some states in the North was the best option.

The FG had deployed the military with a blanket order to flush out the sect members in the wake of violence that engulfed Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. As the offensive, which many, including human right activists described as heavy-handed continued, authorities in Abuja busied themselves with other issues.

Since the UN building blasts, Presidency sources say, President Goodluck Jonathan has been under immense pressure from the international community, especially Britain and USA to go all-out in the fight against terrorism. Part of the pressure on Jonathan, Weekly Trust learnt, is to first ensure the existence of a document legalising the anti-terrorism crusade in form of a bill, which needs nods from both arms of the nation's National Assembly. The bill, which has since been passed and assented to by the President, has five essential parts covering acts of terrorism and related offences.

The acts of terrorism, according to the bill, include attacks upon a person's life which may cause bodily harm or death, kidnappings, as well as the destruction of government facilities or private properties in a manner likely to endanger human life or result in a major economic loss. The bill also addresses the hijacking of aircrafts, ships, or other means of public transport, as well as the manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport, supply, or use of weapons and explosives. The propagation and dissemination of information in any form calculated to cause panic, evoke violence, or intimidate a government, person or group of persons, also fall within actions the bill seeks to deal with or prevent. It gave the president the power to declare any group a terrorist organization, imprison convicted members for as long as 20 years, and search without a warrant.

In his lead debate on the bill early December 2010, Senate leader, Teslim Folarin, had urged members to take a dispassionate look at the bill because of importance in the fight against terrorism and financial crime. "It is important to note that Nigeria does not have a comprehensive anti-terrorism law and, for that reason, has failed to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established by the G7 Summit held in Paris in 1989," Mr. Folarin said. The FATF recommendations and requirements are to detect, prevent, and suppress the financing of terrorism and terrorist acts. However, out of the Task Force's nine special recommendations, Nigeria was rated 'non-compliant' in seven and 'partially compliant' in only two. Also, Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP, Cross River) had criticised Nigeria's indifference to the war against terrorism in the past. "The global community thinks Nigeria is not doing enough," Mr. Ndoma-Egba said. "There is almost a global consensus that Nigeria is not a terrorist state, but there are concerns that there are identified footholds of terrorism in Nigeria."

Mr. Folarin described the kidnappings in southern Nigeria, the Boko Haram incident in Borno State, the Kala-Kato uprising in Bauchi State, and the ongoing Jos crises as acts of domestic terrorism, curiously leaving out Niger Delta militancy out.

However, opponents of the bill had raised concern over what they called was the sweeping powers it gave to the President. They feared that such laws may be used not only in legitimate efforts to arrest and prosecute terrorism suspects, but often as a weapon against opponents and dissenting voices. With the passage of the bill, the President has the legal framework, and with the Independence Day bombing in Abuja, the justification to launch and all-out offensive on the strongholds of the Boko Haram sect in Maiduguri.

Experts had raised concern in the wake of the offensive against the insurgence that the military solution would only compromise and complicate the already tensed situation. "People's rights will be flagrantly violated in the course, resulting in the emergence of new sources of security threats," Dr Ameachi Nwaokolo, Research Fellow in International Terrorism and Violence said.

As experts had predicted, the military offensive degenerated into further human rights and security threats with the alleged indiscriminate killings of civilians when the Joint Task Force (JTF) engaged in retaliation. Amnesty International put the death toll from that singular operation at 20. In addition, allegations of violation and other human rights abuses like indiscriminate arrest and detention.

Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (PDP, Borno South) had called on President Goodluck Jonathan to withdraw the JTF operating in Borno following the killing of a woman in Biu local government area of the state on Tuesday, August 9. Ndume said men of the JTF had opened fire on protesting women at the palace of Emir of Biu resulting in the death of one, while three other people were seriously injured. Last Saturday, about eight youths were allegedly killed by JTF men in a clash that left several injured.

Both the Defence Minister, Haliru Bello Mohammed and Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin had ruled out the possibility of troop withdrawal as canvassed by the elders, while vowing that the FG will combat Boko Haram. Since the minister's assurance, a week hardly passes without a blast claimed by the sect, especially across the North East, raising concern over the FG's capacity to 'crush' the insurgence. The concern turned to confusion when the offensive took international dimension with the bombing of the United Nation headquarters in Abuja.

The question remains: What went wrong with the FG's war on terrorism? A security source blamed the nation's top security hierarchy for the failure of the anti-terrorism war. "There is serious power-play among Nigeria's top security hierarchy and this has permeated the entire Nigeria security institutions," the source claimed. The power play, he said, has led to inter-agency rivalries, consequently undermining national security. He said the issue is so entrenched that security outfits no longer collaborate even in the area of intelligence-sharing. He said the situation in the intelligence circle degenerated further with the exit of the former National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau from the scene.

Another source told Weekly Trust that with the exit of Gusau, things turned awry within security circles over time. "It is a problem of leadership," he explained. On the rumoured pressure on the Presidency by Western powers to return Gusau as NSA, the source denied knowledge of such moves, but said he would not rule out the possibility. He however doubt whether the former NSA would want to come back in view of the manner he left.

On the presence of foreign intelligence operatives in the country to assist the investigation of the UN headquarters blast, the source said most countries have embassies in Nigeria and are interested in what is happening. Dr. Nwaokolo however believed that the presence of such foreign agents, rather than achieving the desired result, will undermine it. Their involvement is a threat to national security, he warned. Citing examples of countries where such intervention has failed, he said the Afghanistan conflict degenerated when Western intelligence was invited to help.

Nwaokolo also blamed the FG and the security agencies for failing to rise to security challenges. "Their presence is more felt on the pages of newspapers. They should stop talking and face the challenges of the moment," he advised.

In order to halt rising cases of violence in the country, the National Council of State in an emergency meeting in Abuja last Wednesday approved the overhaul of the security architecture. Before then, there was rumoured sack of President Goodluck Jonathan's Coordinator on Counterterrorism, Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim, following the spate of bombings in the country and replaced by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Sarkin Yakin Bello. Until the official announcement yesterday by Dr. Reuben Abati through a statement Thursday, the said shake-up was subject of speculation with the presidency keeping mum.

Nwaokolo, also an Intelligence Analyst, said the attacks against innocent civilians by rebel groups have long been features of armed conflicts in Africa. But it was the near-simultaneous truck bombings in August 1998 of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which claimed the lives of hundreds of Africans and some foreigners that brought home the continent's vulnerability to the activities of international terrorist networks.

The following year, African leaders meeting in Algeria under the Organization of African Unity (OAU) adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism. Although it lacked strong enforcement powers, it nevertheless was the first continental treaty anywhere on countering terrorism. Since then the OAU's successor, the African Union, has further developed Africa's continental approach.

Nwaokolo said events have demonstrated that groups using terrorist methods remain active across Africa. "They have sometimes been able to move easily across poorly guarded borders, taken advantage of governments' weak control over their territories and succeeded in recruiting among disaffected populations." He added that most persistent attacks have taken place in North Africa, especially in Algeria, where groups such as AQIM, that now operate beyond that country's borders as well and even sending fighters as far as Iraq hold sway

East Africa, according to him, has also seen some dramatic incidents, not only the US embassy bombings but also subsequent attacks in Mombasa, Kenya. In northern Uganda, he noted, the Lord's Resistance Army, which claims fundamentalist Christian views, has systematically used terror methods by murdering, kidnapping and maiming people.

Nwaokolo added that the situation in the Niger Delta should have been an eye-opener for policy-makers to evolve an enduring mechanism to meet new terrorism challenges but that like all other issues, the FG developed a nonchalant attitude to the matter. "The result is what you see today," he said.

According to Nwaokolo, while the security approach to terrorism is important and indispensable, it should be handled with care to avoid escalated unintended consequences. He advocated that counter-terrorism measures be pursued from a human rights perspective noting that such approach will tackle its root causes directly, including asymmetrical power relations, inequality, rising poverty and illiteracy among others. He warned against giving the war ethnic or religious colouration as doing so will further fuel the problem. He said elders and youth leaders in community where insurgence are active should be involved in genuine efforts to tackle the problem. "However, on whole, the administration's approach should include a political, economic and social campaign to meet the basic needs and legitimate grievances of ordinary people," he concluded.[/b]



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Looks like a fun filled comedy   



[img]http://www.nigeriafilms.com/image.aspx?img=Y29udGVudC9jb250ZW50L2xhZHlnYWdhLmJtcHw2MDA=[/img]


Oge Okoye and Funke Akindele

abeg, don't buy the cow when you can get the free milk