₦airaland Forum

odumchi:
Whenever an Igbo man or woman is involved, their replies are automatically labelled "emotional" and "sentimental" regardless, am I right? Nothing in my post had a tinge of emotion not to talk of sentiment, but digress. My point to you is that you should never say things about a group or groups you are not familiar with (such as the Igbos). Your knowledge of ethnic and cultural history, based on what I've seen does not exceed Delta State.

Are there no Igbo's in Delta state? Yet when I say you are emotional, you start arguing.

In fact, some of the Igbo's in Delta state have Urhobo/ Isoko ancestry (and vice-versa). I've also given you Onitsha history according to Zik and they are from Benin. So whats your point?

Dude, I'm not interested in any closed minded, emotional arguments.
Scram.

PhysicsQED:
What does the the part in bold mean?

What does Kala mean in Ijaw?

I'm not familiar with Ijaw. Urhobo and Itsekiri are the two languages I'm familiar with in the Warri area.
I really don't have a clue about what Kala means.

“We believe it is an attempt to malign Tinubu’s character and possibly shut him out of circulation by the powers-that-be. This will thereafter pave the way for all sorts of nefarious activities.”

The only "nefarious activities" will probably be to jail asiwaju.

He said another burdensome question is why it is now that Tinubu’s account should be an issue

Comedy!

[size=14pt]Ekiti ACN warns PDP, Jonathan over campaign against Asiwaju[/size]
By Damisi Ojo

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ekiti State yesterday criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan for standing against the rule of law, justice and democratic ethos that could move the nation forward.

The party particularly noted that Nigerians should not be fooled by the PDP’s orchestrated media hype about Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s personal account.

Speaking with The Nation in Ado- Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, ACN state Chairman Chief Jide Awe said: “Whoever alleges must stand in the case. Up till now, Nigerians have not been told when these purported accounts were opened or where and how much money was contained therein.”

He said another burdensome question is why it is now that Tinubu’s account should be an issue when the matter had been prosecuted by a competent panel some times ago.

Awe said: “Our belief is that I hope we are not right by saying this issue is closely related to Justice Ayo Salami’s case.

“We believe it is an attempt to malign Tinubu’s character and possibly shut him out of circulation by the powers-that-be. This will thereafter pave the way for all sorts of nefarious activities.”

The ACN chairman said the stab on the back of the Judiciary by the National Judicial Commission (NJC) and President Jonathan was still oozing fresh blood.

He said: “We believe he (the President) should heal the wounds rather than add to  the injuries of the nation’s judicial system.”

Awe flayed the ruling PDP administration for its inability to tackle insecurity in the nation, saying: “We, the leaders of ACN in Ekiti State, will soon meet with President Jonathan to convince us and the nation that he is capable of leading this country. We need a confirmation.

“With persistent Boko Haram bombings and wanton destruction of lives and property in Jos, these are pointers to the fact that all is not well in the nation.”

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/19621-ekiti-acn-warns-pdp-jonathan-over-campaign-against-asiwaju.html

odumchi:
Igbo migrated west across the Niger River it is not the other way around. Anioma and Anambra subgroups are not from the Bini empire and share no blood ties nor did they originate from there. The Igbo people's of Anambra existed prior to the Edo city states and migrated southward and westward.

No Igbo town was directly or indirectly or produced from Bini. If you wish to speak of Agbor, the people of Agbor and the Ikas are Igbos who
Migrated from east of the Niger and settled in what is today Delta State. Agbor does have significant Bini influence in that it bordered the extremes of the then Bini empire but it was not founded by an Edo or etc.
Words such as Oba, Obi etc does not necessarily mean that a kingdom came from the other. Certain languages are influenced by equally Significant neighbors and words/ideas are shared between the two. Such as Oseblua means virtually the same thing in Igbo and Edo (correct me if I'm wrong).

So please when speaking only speak about what you're sure of and of what concerns your people not mine. Thank you

Dude, buzz off. I have little time for emotional arguments they always lead to stup!dity:

Onitsha was known as Ado N'Idu by citizens who departed from the vicinity of the Kingdom of Benin near the far western portion of Igboland (near what is now Agbor), after a violent dispute with the Oba of Benin that can be tentatively dated to the early 1500s.[8] Traveling eastward through what is now Western Igboland (and various towns also called "Onitsha", for example Onicha-Ugbo, "farmland-Onitsha", the Onitsha, led by one CHIMA eventually crossed the Niger River and settled on the east bank in their current location

-Nnamdi Azikiwe, Fragments of Onitsha History. The Journal of Negro History (The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 15, No. 4) 15 (4): 474)

mitofag:
Wonders shall never[size=15pt] cease.[/size]


Why do Ibo people speak bad English?  Almost every Ibo poster on this forum has issues with the Queen's language.

You should stick to your native language, if English no gree you, abi wetin sef

Isn't it an irony that you call it "the Queens language?"
Perhaps, you're not too clever afterall.

Lol!

Many "owner of Nigeria" arses are about to get burnt!

^
I think it amounts to a situation that requires massive wisdom and guile (little else matters), which I believe the President is capable of deploying. IMHO, the fact that he has expressed support for such a cause means he is of the belief that Nigeria needs a revolution to succeed. It is how that revolution is midwifed without stirring up enormous entropies thats the unenviable challenge resting on his shoulders.

The Presidency is very powerful indeed, but the Nigerian political terrain is just as fractious and explosive. I am sure there will be some mobilisation moves to gain the peoples and back up his direction in due time. Any success would depend totally on if the masses have been carried along.

There really is little hope for Nigeria without empowering the people toward a controlled revolution. These are just my thoughts and hopes.

^

General Ham also told reporters that the pending withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and the reductions in American forces in Afghanistan might make larger numbers of Special Operations forces available to Africa Command. These could be deployed as trainers to nations on the continent.

“What we seek to enable are African solutions to African security challenges,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/world/africa/three-terrorist-groups-in-africa-pose-threat-to-us-general-ham-says.html

IMHO, Nigeria desperately needs such help. Not just military alone, but police and intelligence as well. God knows we are seriously lacking in these areas.

Who expects one of these fools to counter any boko haram threat?

www.nairaland.com/attachments/126111_Egunje1_jpga8e36d2e486c455994c428091a361424

www.nairaland.com/attachments/126112_Egunje2_jpge4df6c9d0cb2063cf01c38aabc2074b3

www.nairaland.com/attachments/126113_Egunje3_jpg568ea91df0dfe9bd9b7b71a645939633

https://saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/page_images/news/2011/police_fight.jpg?1315826400

Get it here.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229516

[size=14pt]Intro to Ginuwa, founder of the Itsekiri kingdom[/size]

Some titbits to get us rolling. . .

"Prior to the advent of the Bini Ginuwa (i.e 1480), the territory now known as the Kingdom of Itsekiri or Iwere, was inhabited by three tribes, namely, the Ijaws, Sobos (Urhobo) and Mahins (Ilajes)
. . .
(The Sobos) occupied the hinterland, while the Ijaws occupied the coastline, and the Mahins (llajes) squatted on the sea-shore near the Benin River
. . .
the Mahins (Ilajes) hailed from Akoko and Ikale in the province of Ondo, Nigeria."
- History of Itsekiri, 1970, William Moore (an Itsekiri man)

Ginuwa was the eldest son of Oba Olua, but he was hated by the Bini's for his pride and meanness, so Oba Olua decided to send him away.

He had made arrangements in advance for Ijaw men to take Iginua and his retinue in their canoes to their destination

- A Short History of Benin, 1968, P. 21, Chief Dr. Egharevba.

jason123:
@Beaf
The article below is an example of what I was saying. Are the Binis wrong? If they are, why did the supreme court give them the land?
Anyone can PASS ON an oral "detailed" history for generations. For example, the on-going controversy between Binis and Yorubas. Who are 'we' to say the Binis are right and Yorubas are wrong and vis-versa?

The above has nothing to do with matters at hand, lets not stray into emotional issues.

The reason we are having this argument is the absolutely ridiculous Itsekiri claim to being marginalised in Delta state, whereas the governor of the state is an Itsekiri man. Lets have that in mind.

The reason I brought the Bini into the argument is that, Ginuwa the founder of the Itsekiri kingdom was an Edo prince; they have his history, the itinerary of his travels when he left Benin, as well as the dates.
The most interesting aspect of their account is Ginuwa's itinerary.

^
You still have the chicken and egg situation.
The NASS is the only body with the constitutional power to create or modify laws.

Our constitution also provides for three independent arms of govt:

[list]
[li]The National Assembly (creates laws)[/li]
[li]The Judiciary (interprets laws and arbitrates)[/li]
[li]The Executive (executes laws and governs)[/li]
[/list]

If the Executive attempts to usurp the job of the NASS, the country will be thrown into a deep crisis of unimaginable proportions. The NASS must be carried along, there is no way to avoid it.

I quite like some of your suggestions though, particularly this one:

5. All existing "tribe" in Nigeria must be identified. Every "ethnic group" has one vote at the final stage. if Ekiti or Ijesha align themselves with Yoruba it's just one vote, so beware. If Fulani form Hausa, same thing. If Ishan form Edo? One vote, if Okrika form Ijaw? One vote. But is you split according to your dialect, then you have a vote to yourself if you combine with a larger group, you all have one vote together.  It's up to you.

I made a similar suggestion for the restructuring of the NASS here on NL in 2010 (to eliminate ethnic bigotry in politics). The idea is that each ethnicity would need to cooperate with about 300 other distinct groups to reach any agreement. lol

In the comfort of the home of the former American ambassador to Nigeria, Ms Robin Sanders, these Nigerians prattle like children, gossip like women, back-bite like idle and bored house wives, back stab like motor park touts and thugs, sing like birds and give out political, economic and trade secrets like captured enemy agents facing hostile and threatening interrogation.

Yeah, top Nigerian officials trooping in to report each other to the US ambassador, and some poor conspiracy believing folk think the US needs AFRICOM to get anything from Nigeria!
Dudes, everything is delivered to the US ambassador free of charge, no US marines required.

"Tinubu and Atiku are in al qaeda"
"He took so so and so million"
etc etc etc etc etc

It would have been much better if they were talking about themselves, or the security of the country with an ally.

I believe Kpogede has not returned to this thread, because of the challenge I threw to him to go to the Ovies palace at Effurun to find out the true history of Uvwie people is well intertwined with Ijaws:

Uvwie people with their long history of migration and political struggle embedded in their traditional rites indicates and clearly shows their lineages and roots viz-aviz their Ekpor, Etche, Rituals etc. and the periods. On the other hand, Ijaw ethnic group has it in their history as the founders of Effurun. It is likely that the voices of dissension might be coming from this group because, history has shown that where one speaks a variant of the language, there is always paranoia of what the other means in his gesticulation and speech. For instance, the Ijaws have their history of Effurun as follows:-

Quote
From Oproza town in Gbaranmatu clan was founded at the end of the 15th century, Kabo, Kumbo and Gbaran clans, which was the result of a large family migration from Oproza town about 1480. From Kumbo was founded Okparabe. From Gbaran town in central Izon, was founded Effurun and Uvwie. Efferun a descendant of Gbaran, elder son of Ujo, was the ancestor of the Effurun in upper Warri area, while Owei was the ancestor of the Uvwei. Likewise from Gbaran was founded via Efferun, the Tuomo clan. From Oporoma was founded the Operemo clan, and some went to join the Ogbos, descendants of Kala-Ogbo to become the Ogbe-Ijo clan. From the Isedani lineage of Kolokuma, led by Opumakuba and Alagbariye (alias Kala-Beni), a migration to the eastern delta coast founded the Ibeni or Ibani clan now known as Bonny early in the 12/13th century. From the Isoma-bou area along the Nun, was founded Obiama, from which came Boma and Ogboin. Izon who lived at Benin city later joined these ancestors. From Benin City , migrated Beni-Izon people who were fleeing the local wars. They founded Obotebe, and Beni (Oyakiri) clans. The ancestor Mein, who was Beni-Izon, i.e. an Izon citizen of Benin , and his family migrated from Benin City because the reigning Oba had started to confiscated the private lands and property for his own use. Mein settled in Igbedi creek and founded the town of Ogobiri . From Ogobiri, was founded the Mein of the western delta. Perebokekalakebari shortened to Kalabari the grandson of Mein was the ancestor who founded Kalabari clan.
Unquote.

Source: Ijaw-naa.org

Comment from http://www.urhobo-world.org
The Ijaw history as it is, cannot be said to be wrong because there are Ijaw indigenes among Uvwie who have been assimilated just like Igbo people. But that does not translate to the fact that they founded Uvwie with nothing to show for it. In the same vain, where one unit assumes the position of many units, it amounts to fraud in political oppression of other units if they have no where-withal to withstand the thuggery and dog eat dog culture.

We know that history is objective but this should not be so serious as to write off an authentic history of our origin. The Uvwie people know that their Edjuvwie deity found its way from Uvwiero'rho through some Ijaw towns to Ekpan and due to no adequate location, was relocated to Evwokpokpor, Evwokpokpor in the literal meaning of a new town. Aside from that, Ekpan the Mother land has her history to show for her authenticity. It is also important that these Ekpan royal stools of Eyaye and Edjekuvwie among the rest numbering about two be mentioned in the history of the Patriarchs. Perhaps it should be corrected that Unuevworo ONWONREN also mentioned in one of the write-ups should be corrected as of Edjekuvwie ruling house and not Eruohwo.

http://www.urhobo-world.org/UvwiePublHistClips.htm

This is one learned viewpoint.

odumchi:
You see that's where I don't agree with you. Ibibios are Niger Deltans and have no connection with the Edos. Igbo subgroups in Delta and Rivers also did not come from the Edos. What I'm trying to say is that your concept/theory of how things came to be is wrong. Ethnic groups don't form overnight and a people do not switch from land-based agriculture to riverine traditions in a matter of centuries.

Let Bini end and Bini. Those who want to claim Bini affiliation are welcome.

There are no Ibibio's in Delta state, so you've got it quite wrong. After the regrettable spat with Chinenyen, I've made it a point to say, Delta state ND ethnic groups. This is so that etnic groups from other states are not brought in.

As for the Igbo subgroups in Delta, you will find that their history is highly varied and tightly linked to Benin. Indeed, the Bini factor extends all the way into Anambra (google "Eze-Chima, Benin prince" and through Bayelsa into Rivers. But lets leave other states out and deal with Delta only.

VoodooDoll:
I understand NNPC's accounts have never received a clean audit report and no one truly knows what the balance sheet looks like. Plenty of unreconciled accounts and black holes.

Only God can save us in Nigeria oh,  As we've chosen to re-select PDP!

Lol!

ACN's Ikuforiji surely didn't need PDP's help to steal a whopping N7billion from a single state, did he?
CPC's Hassan Lawal is in court for embezzling a tectonic plate moving N75.5billion!

Lets try not to make corruption into a partisan issue, or it will defeat us. Its the mentally lazy step to take in our fight to move forward.
It is a whole class of politicians that cut across (and indeed hop across) party affiliations that is the problem. We need to uproot every last one of the phuckers on a case by case basis so the country can remain stable; some we can uproot roughly, others we will need to employ caution for religious and ethnic reasons. Whichever way it goes, we must remain steadfast and committed, its the sad nature of our country that we are in this mess.

Horus:
How many of us in Nigeria know that the US government is planing to take over Africa's wealth and remove by any means all who oppose or don't oppose to get at what ever they think they should have? While everyone is glad to see a person of color in the white house (Barack Obama) this is a great deception as part of the plan to continue to go under cover of so-called help to Africa by U.S. military forces to take oil and any thing else without the people of the land receiving anything but death for their land. The code name is "Africom"!  This should be our major concern, there is nothing more pressing at this point in time of our collective history. Don't let yourself and other family members be hoodwinked into continuing to fight a War that is not ours as we have been doing for the past 500 years, helping a enemy destroy what is our own. Many will perish opposing Africom and other diabolical plans that have been made in secret.

The US is already our biggest oil customer, so your story doesn't wash. The likes of Chevron are US companies as well.
The only thing that upsets the US is if there is a threat to its business with Nigeria. There is no part of the World where the US is lifting free oil.

If AFRICOM ever lays boots on Nigerian soil, it would be because we opened the door with our shabby approach to each others welfare and the ease with which we toy with the future and rights of our children and their childrens children.

Pukkah:
Unfortunately, these stories are just hearsay and could be denied by anyone.  Nonetheless, the accounts of NNPC should be thoroughly investigated and audited.  It is not possible to dish out such sums every month without leaving a trail.

It damn well is!

This is the way it went in the past;
[list]
[li]Shell drill's Bleep barrels of oil[/li]
[li]Nigeria id!ot official "asks" Shell, "how many barrels did you drill?"[/li]
[li]Shell replies yyy (and with a wink, "there's also a ship filling up on the high sea's, you could send some barrels too you know")[/li]
[li]Shell passes brown envelope under the table[/li]
[li]Nigerian official collects and calls his oil bunkering gangs to proceed with "business"[/li]
[li]Everybody is happy, while the masses groan in penury[/li]
[/list]

Perhaps, you will now understand why people are so ready to derail the current govt with boko haram and whatnot, the bitter fight against Deziani Allison Madueke etc; its because their cosy pipes for sucking the nations blood have been broken forever.
Today, every last barrel of oil is accounted for, accounting practises and security have been tremendously beefed up at all lifting stations. It will take years and concerted effort to clear the hoodlums out of powerful places in Nigeria. GEJ has his job cut out.

[quote author=X-factoria link=topic=758998.msg9144812#msg9144812 date=1316000511]Some of us just shout SNC without criticallly analyzing its feasibility and success. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I think the SNC won't work! Our best bet is to go our seperate ways. Here are my reasons:

1. How are we going to elect/select people that will represent all interests at the "Sovereign National Conference"? With the level of corruption in our system, it will be difficult to elect credible people and if you opt for selection, who will select who? I can bet that politicians will hijack the process as usual.

2. SNC will require a constitutional amendment since the President swore an oath to defend the sovereignty of Nigeria. Not sure the National Assembly and the State Assemblies will readily pass that amendment since the SNC will be usurping their authorities and they already believe they are true representatives of the people. In actual fact, how can you justify that they are not since you elected them?

3. If we are unable to get SNC and we get a National Conference, its report would be sent as a bill to the National Assembly and therefore subject to their review. So if a particular section of the country that has majority of the members in the NASS does not like a particular decision of the conference, they have an opportunity to kill that decision at the NASS and we are back to square one. This would most likely happen.

The SNC will not solve the problem of this forced marriage. Our best bets is to split into smaller nations which would be as homogenous as possible. People with common history would understand themselves better and if there are conflicts, they can use their common cultural heritage to sue for peace. For example, Yoruba Christians and Muslims co-habit peacefully with the understanding that both religions are not traditional but foreign and should not break the chord of motherhood that joined them. That is why it is difficult to find a Yoruba muslim who will take up arm with his Christian kinsman because at the end of the day, you would be killing your cousin, brother, Uncle and even parents! The North has almost everything culturally different from the South - Language, Religion, Philosophy of life, traditional beliefs, dressing etc.

Please let us all go our seperate ways![/quote]I don't agree 100%.
Even if we need to break up, there must be changes to the constitution (or its outright suspension) to allow for that. The process will still need to pass through the NASS whichever way it goes. Its the only way to go without open warfare.
I believe we can push for true federalism through the NASS and that can blossom into further demands from the voices on the street; the strength of those voices will determine our final direction.

Sun of god:
ohh how this 'War on Terror' has evolved. . . . .  . .

The 'Yanks' have made known their intentions.

As far as they are concerned there's no such thing as a 'Sovereign Nation' in Africa.

They will invade for any flimsy reason citing 'the war on terror'.

This is a big shame on the govt, army and security forces in Nigeria.

But maybe its just part of the 'A.G.E.N.D.A

Nigerians are too used to scattering emotions in the wind.

Make some sense, bro. The present govt is very new and the army and security agencies weren't created yesterday either, so why blame them?
If we say the police is useless, is it actually its fault that it is useless? Or are we better served by going right back to the genesis of its uselessness so that we can pinpoint the root causes and perpetrators with laser like accuracy?
The same goes for the army too, we need to know how it got to be so ethnically and religiously lopsided in a secular country that has a federal character policy.
The very same shabby policies have driven us to allow the likes of Shell give us any figure for barrels drilled per day; up till recently, we were the only country that didn't give a damn about national income; all for an envelope under the table, lets find out how that began as well.

What you have failed to mention, and the biggest bogey man of the lot, is the part the insidious creeping of extremist Islam into Nigeria has played; not stopping there, into government as well. Religion has become a political tool. It would be useful too, to establish the genesis of that problem and how it has morphed into boko haram which in turn is morphing into al qaeda.
Yar Adua's NSA is rumoured to have had links to extremist religion. Nuff said.

Seek out the genesis and you will get all solutions.

I have merely skimmed the surface of the deep and fundamental questions we need to ask ourselves to chart a way forward.
If the Americans come in, it is because we have been cracking our does wide open, not yesterday, but for decades now. We learnt nothing from the Civil War, or perhaps, we learnt the wrong lessons of "winner takes takes all, sod the weak." There should be few surprises now that the rooster is coming home to roost.

I started by saying that Nigerians are too used to scattering emotions in the wind. Yes, and the biggest enemy which is the one within knows this too, cos they too are Nigerian, not American. They know it and use it against us, we like a good scream, so we join them while they phuck us from the left; the day we Nigerians learn to apply the principles of Critical Thinking is the day we will finally be free.

[size=14pt]Trolling: Who does it and why?[/size]
By Tom de Castella and Virginia Brown
BBC News Magazine

An internet "troll" has been jailed for mocking dead teenagers on various websites. Public figures, including Stephen Fry and Miranda Hart, have also been victims of trolling. So what is it and why do people do it?

The word comes from a Norse monster but the troll is a very modern menace. For some it's the internet equivalent of road rage, vandalising a grave, or kicking a man when he's down.

Trolling is a phenomenon that has swept across websites in recent years. Online forums, Facebook pages and newspaper comment forms are bombarded with insults, provocations or threats. Supporters argue it's about humour, mischief and freedom of speech. But for many the ferocity and personal nature of the abuse verges on hate speech.

In its most extreme form it is a criminal offence. On Tuesday Sean Duffy was jailed for 18 weeks after posting offensive messages and videos on tribute pages about young people who had died. One of those he targeted was 15-year-old Natasha MacBryde, who had been killed by a train. "I fell asleep on the track lolz" was one of the messages he left on a Facebook page set up by her family.

High-profile cases
https://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/55337000/jpg/_55337030_macbryde.jpg

[list][li]Natasha MacBryde - Sean Duffy was jailed for 18 weeks for posts on social networking sites about the 15-year-old after she committed suicide[/li]
[li]Hayley Bates - MP Karen Bradley raised trolling in Parliament after a Facebook page was set up mocking the 17-year-old's death in a car crash [/li]
[li]Jade Goody - Colm Coss was jailed for 18 weeks after posting obscene messages on Facebook sites set up in memory of the Big Brother star and several other dead people[/li]
[li]Duffy is the second person to be jailed for trolling in the UK. Last year Colm Coss was imprisoned for posting obscene messages on Facebook tribute sites, including that of Jade Goody. [/li]
[/list]

Trolling appears to be part of an international phenomenon that includes cyberbullying. One of the first high-profile cases emerged in the US state of Missouri in 2006, when 13-year-old Megan Meier killed herself after being bullied online. The bully, Lori Drew, was a middle-aged neighbour who had set up a MySpace account to win - and later betray - her trust. Drew was acquitted of unauthorised computer use in 2009 due to concerns that a conviction would criminalise false online identities.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects free speech and makes it difficult to punish people who post offensive messages. But concern over internet vitriol is growing.

Facebook's former marketing director Randi Zuckerberg and Google head Eric Schmidt have both suggested anonymous posting should be phased out.

One of the difficulties is that trolling is a broad term, taking in everything from a cheeky provocation to violent threats. And why people do it continues to baffle the experts.

"Online people feel anonymous and disinhibited," says Prof Mark Griffiths, director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University. "They lower their emotional guard and in the heat of the moment may troll either reactively or proactively."

It is usually carried out by young adult males for amusement, boredom and revenge, he adds.

Arthur Cassidy, a social media psychologist, says young people's determination to create an online identity makes them vulnerable to trolling. Secrecy is jettisoned in favour of self-publicity on Facebook, opening the way for ridicule, jealousy and betrayal.

And the need to define themselves through their allegiance to certain celebrities creates a world in which the rich and famous become targets for personal abuse. As a result trolling is "virtually uncontrollable" until the government forces websites to clamp down, he says.

But it's not just young people. Scan any football, music or fan site and there are people of all ages taking part in the most vituperative attacks. But many of the theories that have been put forward as to why people do it don't stand up, says Tom Postnes, professor of social psychology at Groningen University in the Netherlands.

Will Brooks on setting up Myfootballclub.co.uk

It was £35 to join MyFC so I don't think anyone joined with the intention of trolling. But disagreements on the forum all too easily turned to abuse. Finding out that respected professionals in their mid-fifties could post in that way was an eye opener. I've since discovered that forums have a habit of turning sour as it only takes a minority to skew them. As a format they've lost their innocence.
After researching "flaming" - the term for trolling in the early days of the internet - he rejects the idea that people "lose it" when online. If anything they become more attuned to social convention, albeit the specific conventions of the web. Provoking people appears to be the norm in some online communities, he says.

Most trolling is not criminal - it's about having a laugh, says Rob Manuel, co-founder of the website B3ta, which specialises in altering photographs for comic effect. "Trolling taps into people's desire to poke fun, make trouble and cause annoyance," he says.

He first became aware of the phenomenon in the 90s when a friend cross-posted on fan sites for Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, asking: "Who'd win in a fight - the Emperor or Gandalf?" Manuel says his friend sat back and laughed like some "mad scientist looking at insects in a jar" as hundreds of passionate posts followed.

'No guilt'
We're all capable of becoming a troll, says Jaron Lanier, a computer scientist in the US and author of You Are Not A Gadget. Lanier admits he has sometimes behaved badly online and believes the cloak of anonymity can encourage people to react in extreme ways.

"The temptation is there and we can get caught up in impulses. If someone reacts, it's emotional and it can be hard to get out of. We can all become trolls."

Former Facebook executive Zuckerberg says anonymous posting should be phased out Twitter has given the public direct access to celebrities. And stars, including Stephen Fry and Miranda Hart, have temporarily left the website after coming under fire. Internet experts say the key is not to "feed the troll" by offering them a response. Comedian Dom Joly takes a different approach.

He describes himself as "troll slayer" and takes pleasure in tracking down the culprits and exposing them to public shame, especially from close family.

"There's something about a bully that really annoys me," he says. "They'll say something online that they'd never dare to say to your face."

The deviousness is "freaky". He discovered that one of those who'd threatened him was a 14-year-old girl with nine different online identities. They aren't always very intelligent about how they do it, he says.

The law
The Communications Act 2003 governs the internet, email, mobile phone calls and text messaging
Under section 127 of the act it is an offence to send messages that are "grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character"
The offence occurs whether those targeted actually receive the message or not
Communications Act 2003 - Section 127
"One guy tweeted from his work account that he hoped my kids die of cancer. I let the MD of the firm know and the guy was fired. I felt no guilt, he should have gone to prison."

Some think regulation is needed, but trolling is not the internet's fault, says Jeff Jarvis, author of Public Parts. "The internet does not create special threats. It's a public square where people will be saying all sorts of things, some of them offensive."

The answer is for newspaper websites and online forums to employ sufficient moderators to prevent the comments spiralling into petty vendettas, he says. To ban online anonymity in order to prevent trolling would be to remove the right of whistleblowers and dissidents to get their message across, he adds.

Manuel agrees. "People are saying nasty, silly things. So deal with it. Shutting down free speech and stamping on people's civil liberties is not a price worth paying."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14898564

[quote author=bashy_demy link=topic=759261.msg9147847#msg9147847 date=1316025281]We have been hearing stories like this for the past 12yrs of civilian administrators so not new to me[/quote]Hmmm! What if it comes true this time?
Listen bro, each and every one of us has a stake in the future of Nigeria. Rather than sit back in despair, we need to engage positively. We need to speak up with immovable self-interest targets as our goal. Do anything constructive to demand your voice is heard.

Why give up when you have a listening govt for the first time? If govt says they will build 20 power plants, believe me you can ask for their plans, targets, roadmarks and frameworks. One big problem we have is that we've been beaten so much, we just roll over and die at the slightest puff of wind. Its not right.

greateros:
Beef is really, really killing Nairaland and Seun is looking on while his years of effort is being pulled down all because of fresh air stipend given to him.

Its Be[b]a[/b]f please. Thank you.

Why can't they just give the fool suicide panties to blow himself up with, like the one he wore on the plane? At least, that way he can meet and even make love to his darling dead Osama.

ChinenyeN:
It's alright. I guess we both mistook some things. The important thing now is that it's been sorted out. So no worries.

Nice one.

jason123:
Beaf, anyone can ride a boat, get to a shoreline and proclaim it their land! There is ABSOLUTELY no evidence of Ijaws giving people land. There is no documented history of this event. Ijaws are not the only riverine group in Nigeria.

Well, that's my two kobo . . .

You have your believes and I have mine . . .

The fortunate thing about the Niger Delta is that each ethnic group in the area has strong oral traditions, most of which I am privy to in some detail (I am being too modest ).
Even of greater use is that the non-Ijaw among us can look down the Ijaw timeline of their history. They have the most stunningly detailed history of any of the Delta state ND groups. Where we might not be satisfied with an Ijaw story (the Itsekiri's wouldn't ever), we can always reach back to the annals of the Benin empire; all Delta state ND ethnic groups aside from the Ijaw were outposts of the Benin empire, cos we all came from there (or passed through).
There is a lot of rich history we can look to that will categorically establish dates and times in such a way that we can get to understand why the various landmark court cases in Warri have been won and lost and why every group has its own king, legally established in law.

Lets simply move a few very heavily armed and angry, trigger happy, troop battalions into the place and then, prime the airbase at Enugu for action. The smiling over Bakassi gats to end.

Orikinla:
Please, do not panic if you receive  the following text message spreading in Nigeria.                        Don't pick any cal with 09141 it's instant death after d call,dat people have died already,pls don't ignore dis information.We wunt b Victims by Gods grace.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Why do we even bother with getting an education in Nigeria?

Terror threat 'very worrying' in Africa: US general

[img]http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5gCKATbTSi_jUMmog_y0GvBdvyKwA?docId=photo_1316026320167-1-0&size=l[/img]

WASHINGTON — Africa must improve security cooperation in battling extremists or face the prospect of a continent-wide terror network threatening the region and the United States, a top US commander warned Wednesday.

General Carter Ham, head of US African command AFRICOM, said countries in North Africa face increasing threats from terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda affiliates who wish to join forces -- as well as from extremists in Libya who might fan out to other locales, bringing a proliferation of weapons and an exodus of people from the war-torn country.

"Al-Qaeda main may be somewhat diminished, but the affiliates, both acknowledged and those who would like to be affiliated, may be gaining in capacity. And that's what I see in Africa and that's what concerns me," Ham told reporters in Washington.

[size=14pt]He said three groups form the greatest threat: the Algeria-based Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has claimed numerous terrorist attacks in the region; the militant Shebab operating out of Somalia and East Africa; and Islamist group Boko Haram, blamed for repeated attacks in Nigeria including a bomb blast at UN headquarters in Abuja in August.[/size]

"Each of those three independently I think presents a significant threat, not only in the nations in which they primarily operate, but regionally, and I think they present a threat to the United States," Ham said.

The organizations have "very explicitly and publicly" voiced intent to target the West, and while Ham said he questions their capability to do so, "I have no question about their intent to do so."

He also warned that the groups have expressed intent to "more closely collaborate and synchronize their efforts" in training and operations.

"If left unaddressed, you could have a network that ranges from East Africa, through the center and into the Sahel and Magreb, and I think that would be very, very worrying."

Ham said US cooperation with regional partners was vital, and that while African nations must take the lead, Washington is providing assistance to countries like Mali.

[size=14pt]But when pressed on specifics of US operations, including the possible use of military drones over Somalia, Ham was dry on the details.

"I like the fact that Al-Shebab and other extremist leaders in some parts of the world don't know where we are, what we might do, what we are doing, what we're not doing," he said.[/size]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g5jTkkd3eFuV179zEf_fRxwczxAg?docId=CNG.73fa2bce50221a12ab98013337927324.4a1

^
Lol fool, I'm a bit tired of your undying allegiance to id!ocy.

Look how I beat you up like you are a 40 year old in kindergarten!

Omashe o! Such an entertaining clown. . .

www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

Demdem:
As usual, tr[b]ying so hard to avoid defending your moronic statement.[/b] do u think i give a f*uc about ikufuriji. If he is found guilty, JAIL him. simple. Back to this discussion now. Thrash the below accursed:

Now, you are slowly improving at last!
Next time don't come on NL with your ridiculous crap about ACN being a holy party. It is very clearly higher up in the corruption stakes these days, just wait until you see what falls out of the grey arses of Ikuforiji and Tinubu in the near future. Both of those thieves make Ibori look like a saint, yet here you fools are, defending them and thinking you can pull the wool over Nigerians eyes. Party of drug pushing thieves and scumbags.

Dude, seriously, you really are mysteriously stup!d. I mean, its a real mystery!
How do you manage it?

Sir, even the goat tied at the back of your house will call you stup!d.
www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6