₦airaland Forum

LOL @ Bilygoat
 Stupid , jealous , morrafucka Angry

right i about to hit that gworo off ur mouth
hausa billyo
idiots billy mumu

Morons imbibe moronic views about Igbos as children, hold on to those views, carry out zero independent investigation to question the veracity of those views and end up as pathetically ignorant adults filled with vile sentiments about a section of the country.

thank you very much for all the insult.

if you read the thread from the beginning, you ll find that worst thing has been said. I never replied and I never insulted anybody. If some people wants to show their immaturity and uncultured utterances, so be it.

I stand by the truth, the truth is bitter,  most  Massob members on the forum cant handle it, and they are behaving like an escapee from a mental institution

ikeyman00

what next, oh yes an igboman cannot be a president

jealous morons frighten at the outcome of things when igboman put nigeria where it should be

Nigerians are not jealous of the Igboman, they are angry and upset about some bunch of traders using mafia style operation to dominate the market. If the igboman play the game fairly, nobody would complain.

rhymz

@Poster
U fault d fact dat ibos re evrywhere trading as if they achieved dat feat without hardwork & discipline.In Ur mayopia,U claimed dat Ibos dont allow otherz to thier mrkt,what a lie?I trust, an informed person cut U to shape on dat one so I wont belabor dat point but don't 4get dat if U re bringin biz to d east make sure U re prepared for biz datz wat dey,dont xpect easy entry.

Its true, the Igbos ruthlessly dominate Nigeria markets from the Atlantic ocean in Lagos to the Sahara in Kano, there is no city spared. They have perfected the use of Mafioso style operation to dominate markets and deny peace loving citizen their right

rhymz
,

d igbo man is not is not d one controlling d resources(which is controlled by d FG dominated by d north) of dis country neither is it d igbo man dat manages d resources(the financial Mrk which is dominated by d west) of dis country how can U den claim dat d igbos control 70% of d economy?,

Nigeria is a petroleum based economy, with oil providing over 95% of foreign exchange and more than 70% of government revenue. Over 80% of Nigerian states are not viable depending on handout from the FG: states goes to Abuja every month, collect handout, pay some workers , do little jobs and squander the rest. According to manufacturing association of Nigeria more than 50% of states in Nigeria does not have a single standard manufacturing industry.

Millions of Nigerians representing over 90% of labour force find employment through farming, small scale industry and trading. This represent the real economy providing sustenance to over 140 million people in the midst of acute poverty.

The Igbo domination of trading activities in Nigerian market is absolutely unacceptable, because trading is the last source of employment for the common man.

Igbo traders are not playing a fair game, they are manupulating the system

slap1

@ poster

this is the worst post I've read since becoming a part of nairaland, Seun should delete this and withdraw the posting right of whoever posted this

sorry , if you cant take the heat, go take a jump

While, while, while,

the launching of the Biafra passport has finally confirmed beyond all reasonable doubt, the reason why we cannot afford an Igbo president.

[size=15pt]Its unfair to blame just the Northern leaders
All have sinned and come shot of glory of God[/size]

Ijawman wrote

Because they are smarter than you and your tribe. Just like the jews are smarter than arabs

Its not about smartness, A sizeable number of them they are deceitful , dishonest and criminal. If the Nigeria state were to be funtioning properly, lots of them will be in prison.

Ewoooooooooo,

Igbo traders seems to have this dubious and mysterious behaviours. When you let out a shop to the first Igbo trader in a market, one after another Igbo traders start taking over other shops, over time they would drive all other tribal groups leaving igbo traders the dominant force in the market. This strange pattern had been repeated all over the country. From the Atlantic shore in Lagos to the Sahara in Kano, the Igbo mafia hold sway.

Why?

Are the Igbos the only people who knows how to trade?

If Yaradua is looking to estend his tenure he ll go for an Igbo man to help him sell the idea, they seem well suited for the job- check out:

IBB must stay campaign - was led by an Igbo man
Abacha must rule forever - was led by an Igbo man
Obasanjo third term project - was led by an Igbo man


The problem with the Igbos is that some of your so called political leaders have the mindset of a Igbo traders. They are morally bankrupt, lack conscience and unwilling to sacrifice anything for anybody. They don't care about anybody nor the society; their sole objective is money. Such people are not fit for purpose

The fact is IBB just didn't want to go, he kept annulling elections, ban and unban politicians, postponing handover dates until June 12 caught up with him. IBB engineered June 12 crises to perpetuate himself in power. In his last interview, IBB gave reasons why he annulled June 12; as a complex political inter play of self interest and different groups. Nzeribe is just a pawn used by IBB in a political chess game to checkmate democracy.

Obasanjo also used the same Nzeribe to impeached Chuba Okadigbo, the former Senate president, who was the highest ranking Ibo man in the regime. Chuba's struggle against the regime would later led to his death. Nzeribe is a psycho who lacks human feeling; he is a gun for hire and available to anybody who can pay his price. Nzeribe would betray his mother if he believes he would profit from it.

can anybody deny this?

@Kadman

People like you are not fit for purpose, the story hold interest to you simply because Madonna is rich, otherwise you dont care.

All Madonnas money cannot be sustituted for 1% of Malawi integrity

Afaukwu wrote

MKO wanted to rule without the Igbo, Arthur Nzeribe worked with IBB to truncate his dreams
Obasanjo tried it but was supported because he is a northern homeboy

I got pissed off when people start crediting Nzeribe with the annulment of June 12. Nzeribe and Ojukwu both behave like a typical spare part dealers; they don't care about anybody. All they care about is themselves and how to profit from other people misery.

The fact is IBB just didn't want to go, he kept annulling elections, ban and unban politicians, postponing handover dates until June 12 caught up with him. IBB engineered June 12 crises to perpetuate himself in power. In his last interview, IBB gave reasons why he annulled June 12; as a complex political inter play of self interest and different groups. Nzeribe is just a pawn used by IBB in a political chess game to checkmate democracy.

Obasanjo also used the same Nzeribe to impeached Chuba Okadigbo, the former Senate president, who was the highest ranking Ibo man in the regime. Chuba's struggle against the regime would later led to his death. Nzeribe is a psycho who lacks human feeling; he is a gun for hire and available to anybody who can pay his price. Nzeribe would betray his mother if he believes he would profit from it.

Some Igbo people have always revelled in position of a spoiler and anti - democracy:
IBB must stay campaign - was led by an Igbo man
Abacha must rule forever - was led by an Igbo man
Obasanjo third term project - was led by an Igbo man
Presently, Minister of Justice, Michael Kaase AONDOKAA is the errand boy for the Yaradua regime and doing all the dirty job

The problem with the Igbos is that some of your so called political leaders have the mindset of a Igbo traders. They are morally bankrupt, lack conscience and unwilling to sacrifice anything for anybody. They don't care about anybody nor the society; their sole objective is money. Such people are not fit for purpose

NadiaOK wrote

Nigeria should be ashamed of itself. What ever happened to human rights and the freedom of choice and expression? Nigerian government wants to rule the hearts and minds of its citizens and this amounts to oppression for their large lgbtq community and heterosexuals. We’ve just seen the reemergence of Hitler’s Nazism in Nigeria and the UK, US and all self-respectable countries should cut off all aid and trade with Nigeria,

I dontdintnk the self proclaim republic of Biafra fair better during Ojukwu time. The minority in the east also accused the Biafran government and its troops, during the war, of gross violation of human right: discrimination, killing, rape, genocide. Its all document.

PeedDaVinci wrote

mumu judge!!!

The judge had better commited a suicide before I grew up If i were to be the child!!!!

I am a strong advocate of western parents adopting african children insted of spending thier money and love heavily on cats and dogs - and this is what this stupid judge has dealt a heavy blow on!!!!

Let me hope Madonna apeal the decision

You are a fool. Its because of people like you that Nigeria never move forward, you allowed money to cloud your judgement

Lucabrasi wrote

i dont think there was much wrong with the adoption process itself,the judge must have succumbed to and allowed the western media to becloud and influence his judgement,,

Its unfair to look down on Malawi because its a poor African country. The adoption law in Malawi is very clear: you have to be resident in the country for at least 18 months. Madonna is not resident in the country for 24 hours. Why should Malawi law be sacrifice twice for Madonna.

The issue goes beyond money; its about respect , image and dignity, no amount of money can buy it. Our own government spent billion trying to launder Nigeria image to no avail. All Madonnas money cannot improve Malawi image if they destroy it.

Kudos to the Judge for restoring the dignity of all Malawians

All of you are wasting your time, the leadership of RCCG are criminals and are not better than Nigerian politicians.

The voice of the people is the voice of God, if they want to prove that their hands are clean, let them open their finances to public scrutiny

A victory for common sense. The so called celebrities should be made to understand , they cant just walk to any African country and pick up a child as if they are picking an article in the market.

A big thank you to the judge, I feel proud to be African

[size=15pt]Madonna loses Malawi adoption bid[/size]

Madonna with adopted son David Banda
Madonna previously adopted Malawian boy David Banda

A Malawian court has ruled that US pop star Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt a second child from the country.

"I must have to decline to grant the application to Madonna," judge Esmie Chondo said in a ruling following a closed-door hearing on Friday.

According to reports, the application has been rejected over residency rules.

Madonna, who flew to Malawi on Sunday, was not in court to hear the ruling over Chifundo James, three. It is not clear if she will appeal against it.

The 50-year-old singer flew into the southern African state on Sunday and applied to adopt Chifundo James, whose name translates into English as Mercy, the following day.

The Associated Press news agency said Madonna's application had been rejected because of a requirement that prospective parents be resident in the southern African state for 18 to 24 months.

The rule was waived in 2006 when Madonna was allowed to take her adopted son, David Banda, to London before his adoption was finalised in 2008.

Criticism

Had Madonna's application been successful, Chifundo would have been a sister to David, the first child she adopted from the African country, and her biological children Lourdes and Rocco.

Chifundo is in the same orphanage that previously housed David, now three years old.

According to court papers just released, Madonna had said she was "able and willing to securely provide for Chifundo James and make her a permanent and established member of my family".

"To deny Chifundo James the opportunity to be adopted by me could expose her to hardship and emotional trauma which is otherwise avoidable," she continued.

However, Madonna's efforts to adopt the three-year-old attracted criticism from some parties who said the little girl would be best off with relatives.

The performer was also accused of using her fame and money to fast-track the adoption process, a charge refuted by her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7980951.stm

[size=15pt]Fresh Facts Emerge on ‘Redeemed Jet’[/size]
By Chinedu Eze, 04.02.2009

The purchase of a private jet, a Gulfstream 4XP with registration number 707EA, might have been attributed to the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, in error.
Documents available to THISDAY yesterday showed that the aircraft was purchased by five members of the church and will be run as a charter service, but priority is to be given to Adeboye who will be given “free rides” to ease his movement within and outside the continent.
THISDAY had erroneously quoted a price of $28 million but the aircraft papers showed that the aircraft, a 1996 model, was purchased at $10 million (N1.4 billion).
The five members of the church, whose names are being withheld for confidential reasons, made a down payment of 30 per cent of the cost while a first generation bank gave a loan of $7 million for the balance.
“The aircraft is the collateral,” a bank official conversant with the transaction told THISDAY.
The aircraft is to run private charters, with proceeds to be used to offset the loan and pay for its maintenance as well as settle the personnel cost of running the aircraft.
“The business plan is well laid out,” another source told THISDAY. “The Redeemed Church did not put down a kobo. It is not their aircraft. Pastor Adeboye does not have a kobo in it. It is unfortunate that the man is being savaged all over the media and on the internet for something he knows nothing about. Unfortunately, he is not the type to come out and be defending himself or issuing media statements.”
The source told THISDAY that some members of the church had expressed concern about the cumbersome flight schedules the pastor of one of Nigeria’s biggest churches has had to cope with.
“If he wants to go to Banjul, in Gambia, it is a tortuous journey, flying from one connecting point to the other,” the source explained. “This obviously influenced the decision of some entrepreneurs in the church to have this sort of arrangement in which Pastor Adeboye will enjoy free rides and can readily organise his journeys. But the aircraft will pay for itself eventually. It neither belong to Redeemed Church nor Adeboye.”
The aircraft arrived Lagos from Bahamas on Sunday, March 8, 2009.
It is a transatlantic aircraft that has the capacity of about 15 passengers – depending on the customisation.
Adeboye had come under criticism in the media and on internet discussion rooms for allegedly being “insensitive” at these economic crunch times and for allegedly abandoning his simple lifestyle for the flamboyance of jet-age pastors.
The General Overseer of Living Faith Worldwide, a.k.a. Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has a Challenger aircraft, with number D6640.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=139813

[size=15pt]@ Afaukwu
You are a fool[/size]

[size=15pt]Abracadabra!!![/size]
The more you read , the less you understand

Why has the church not come forward to categorically denied the first publication?
Why has it taken this long for a new magical documents to be shown to the magazine?
Has the magazine independently verified both the new documents and other issues surrounding the purchase of the aircraft?

There is no smoke without fire, something is fishy.
This is a cover up and hopeless PR.

Most people have already made up their mind: the leadership of Redeem church are corrupt and have fall short of glory of God.

Bilymuse wrote

DR. Giwa’s widow in her heart-rending story had said amidst tears, ”With his death, a huge chunk of me is gone, He was a husband every woman would desire to have; a father that is a blessing to the kids. I don’t say so necessarily because he is dead.” She continued: “For goodness sake, this actress who killed a family man has a family and an aged mother. I am accusing the police and court of treating the matter with levity probably because she is a public figure. All we are asking for is justice so that it will serve as a deterrent to other reckless drivers who waste innocent human lives.”

The dead ask for justice
The living ask for compassion

[size=15pt]Nigerians and private jets[/size]

THE new-found taste of some privileged influential Nigerians in business and socio-political and religious sectors to acquire private jets notably in the last one year is a subtle redefinition of affluence and class in a largely poor, developing economy.

The country might be witnessing a replay of the last days of the notorious Second Republic when air planes became a status symbol among the political elite. Pastors and Chief Executives of banks are said to be most notorious in the current strange rush to acquire private jets. The acquisition of a private jet either by the chief executive of a bank or by a religious leader, smacks of insensitivity to the plight of the majority who have been subjected by the present economic realities to live in penury. The purchases are incongruous with realities in a country that is credited with 80 per cent youth unemployment.

The going value of a jet alone is staggering, ranging from a low of $13 million for the Hawker 800 XP to about $58 million for a Challenger Global Express. According to reports, about five units of the Hawker 900 XP worth about $14.9 million each are parked in Nigerian airports for private use. Two brand new Hawker 4000 series worth about $21 million each and a Falcon 7X believed to be worth about $49.5 million are also on parade at our airports. Learjet and the Gulfstream G550 have also caught the fancy of the Nigerian nouveaux riche.

The jet owners' argue that the planes are business tools and not necessarily an evidence of ostentation or status symbol. But this is hardly convincing. What kind of frequent travel for example, would compel a Bank Chief Executive to acquire a private jet? Is it not more advisable to travel in commercial aircraft?

That most of the planes in question carry the South African ZS call sign as against the local 5N registration tag for whatever reason is a disservice to Nigeria. An attempt to conceal ownership is one of the possible reasons for this. We believe Nigeria's economy is being sabotaged as long as the owners of the private jets prefer foreign pilots, technicians, engineers and crew from South Africa to their indigenous counterparts who are just as competent and in need of employment. It is estimated that cummulatively, about N1 billion is expended per annum on the maintenance of a private jet covering landing and parking fees, fuelling, crew salaries and other costs.

In the face of global economic recession and widespread poverty at home, it is mind-boggling to find that as markets for many products are shrinking, foreign private jet manufacturers and dealers are keeping their production lines running for Nigerians. The acclaimed improvement in the operations of commercial airlines in the country, curiously does not attract the attention of a new class of rich Nigerians and this is unfortunate.

Instructively, the international community has rightly taken an interest not only in the taste of Nigerians for private jets but the sources of wealth for their purchase. This indeed should call for serious concern. For instance, who pays for the purchase of a private jet for the chief executive of a bank or any other corporate entity - the CEO himself or the shareholders of the company who may not even be aware of the acquisition? In the case of the church, is it the congregation, majority of whom are barely living at subsistence level and who are sustained largely by their faith in these hard times?

There are certain gifts a man of God should not receive, even if the private jet is a gift from a member or members of the congregation. For a corporate CEO, the question to ask is how much his or her company has paid as taxes or contributed to society. Such companies must present their books for scrutiny.

It is strange that bank chief executives in particular, are opting for private jets when their banks are going through a season of uncertainty. For all classes of people concerned, it is an unjustifiable display of wealth and ostentation. Such funds expended on loud acquisition of luxury items could have been better spent on acts of philanthropy. Unfortunately, many rich Nigerians have not learnt to give to the same country where they made their fortunes. The Inland Revenue Service must intervene by checking if the private jet owners pay their taxes regularly.

More importantly, Government has a duty to monitor elected political officer holders in particular who may be tempted to loot the treasury and launder the money to acquire high-taste luxury items. Business executives who live flamboyantly are bound to invite queries about the source of their wealth. Religious leaders who seem to place an unusual emphasis on luxury and worldly items generate controversies, if not doubts about the doctrines that they espouse. For both private jet-riding CEOs and Pastors, however, modesty should be their watch word. Conspicuous consumption of any sort in either the public or private sector, should compel the anti-corruption agencies to become more vigilant.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=010409&ptitle=Nigerians%20and%20private%20jets

[size=15pt]Fiberesima: Shaming the judiciary[/size]

THE entire Nigerian judiciary and all affiliated instruments of legal justice, including the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and the Nigeria Police, are currently on trial in a manslaughter case that has moved from a spiteful ridicule of the judiciary to an ignoble travesty of justice.

ON February 26, 2005, while driving on the Lekki-Ajah Expressway in Lagos, Ms. Ibinabo Fiberesima, a former beauty queen and famous actress, crashed the Lexus SUV she was driving into the car of Dr. Suraj Alade Giwa, Head of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), killing him instantly. Giwa’s U.S-based younger brother, who rode with him, was injured.

MS Fiberesima, reportedly left the scene without paying attention to her victim and later claimed to have been hospitalised herself. The policemen who confirmed her hospitalisation did not say who took her to the hospital and how her victims were not helped by the same person(s). It took the intervention of a courageous section of the press, which exposed this matter, before the police and the Lagos State Ministry of Justice became alive to their responsibilities.

WHILE she stayed in the hospital, the police claimed to have impounded Fiberesima’s international passport to prevent her from travelling abroad, but her mother gave a lie to that and even showed journalists her passport. Under pressure from the victim’s family and a section of the press, Fiberesima was later charged to court on a two-count charge of “dangerous driving and manslaughter”. Throughout the period of the trial, she reportedly travelled within and outside Nigeria at will.

SUCH a case as this in which the accused had publicly confessed to the crime of manslaughter, though she later pleaded not guilty before the court, would have been expected to be concluded as soon as possible. But not this case, which ought to come to the attention of the relevant judicial authorities. Ostensibly, the police and the public prosecutor were either deliberately shoddy in the handling of the case or were compromised. Whichever it was, it is a disgrace. When the matter first came to court for hearing, Fiberesima, who was not reported to have been detained at all by the police, was granted bail by the magistrate pending the “advice by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions”. Even the manner of the bail application, as Giwa’s family members revealed, left much to be desired. It was arranged between the police, the accused and the magistrate while the family members of the deceased were yet to arrive at the court from the police station.

IN the end, Magistrate Isaacs of Igbosere Magistrate Court, Lagos, found Ibinabo Fiberesima guilty of the charges and sentenced her to seven years imprisonment for count one and two years for count two. In a scandalous decision that ought to be investigated and punished by the relevant judicial authorities, Magistrate Isaacs gave Fiberesima the option of N100, 000 — which she promptly paid — for carelessly, even if inadvertently, taking a life.

SECTION 28 of the Road Traffic Law, Cap R10 Laws of Lagos State, 2003 under which the convict was found guilty, did not give an option of fine. This then raises a pertinent question: Was Mr. Isaacs ignorant of the law he was administering or did he compromise himself? Whatever might have been responsible for it, Mr. Isaacs’ decision was a perverse and pernicious decision. It was rightly appealed by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olasupo Shasore (SAN), who must be commended for doing so.

ON 20 February, 2009, Justice Deborah Oluwayemi of Lagos High Court sentenced Ms. Fiberesima to five years imprisonment for manslaughter. In delivering her judgment, Justice Oluwayemi held that the N100, 000 fine imposed by the lower court on Fiberesima was tantamount to “judicial recklessness.” According to the judge, it is unreasonable for a magistrate to give an option of N100, 000 fine to someone who has taken the life of another person through dangerous driving. She added that when the term of imprisonment was mandatory, the court could not change it.

HOWEVER, the matter became even more bizarre because, without any excuse, the convict was not even present in the court and no question was asked by the prosecutor and no reason was given by the defence counsel. And many weeks after her conviction, Fiberesima is still walking free. It is a gratuitous slap in the face of the Nigerian judiciary and the rule of law. It is so shameful that even some of her artiste-friends disclaimed the conviction in the press, while one told newspapers that the “matter has currently gone beyond the High Court. It is not for the High Courts to decide as things stand now.”

WHAT is the role of the police in this travesty of justice? Is Fiberesima being aided and abetted by the police to evade justice? Why didn’t the police bring her to the court? Why has she not been arrested and handed over to the Nigerian Prisons Service to serve her sentence? And why hasn’t she been declared wanted if she is running away from the law?

DR. Giwa’s widow in her heart-rending story had said amidst tears, ”With his death, a huge chunk of me is gone, He was a husband every woman would desire to have; a father that is a blessing to the kids. I don’t say so necessarily because he is dead.” She continued: “For goodness sake, this actress who killed a family man has a family and an aged mother. I am accusing the police and court of treating the matter with levity probably because she is a public figure. All we are asking for is justice so that it will serve as a deterrent to other reckless drivers who waste innocent human lives.”

THE woman, her children and other family members are left wondering if anyone, even a former beauty queen, can kill a medical doctor of Giwa’s stature and escape justice, what would happen to millions of Nigerians who have no high social status.

FIBERESIMA’S counsel has since filed a case for stay of execution and expects that, even before a decision on this is taking, the convict should be free. It would seem the lady is committed to do everything that she can to subvert the course of justice and ensure that she escapes punishment for her crime.

ON 19 March, Justice Oluwayemi had to order the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo, to immediately arrest Ms Fiberesima and lock her up in Ikoyi Prisons from where she must be brought to court. Justice Oluwayemi refused to hear her application for a stay of execution of her jail sentence until she appears in court and frowned upon her flouting of the judgment. The court also frowned on the attitude of Fiberesima’s counsel, Kamasuode Wodu, and the Ministry of Justice, Lagos State, represented by the State’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Olabisi Ogungbesan, accusing them of encouraging Fiberesima to flagrantly disobey court order.

WE call on the Governor of Lagos State, the Attorney-General of the State, the Chief Judge of the State and the Commissioner of Police to immediately step into this matter to ensure that this series of disgraceful actions and inaction on the side of the prosecution, the police and the accused end forthwith. Ms. Fiberesima is not only a convicted criminal that wants to escape justice; she also wants to shame the whole process of the administration of justice in Lagos State. Her beauty and fame cannot be stronger than the institution of justice.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/01042009/edit.html

[size=15pt]Hundreds feared drowned off Libya
[/size]

More than 200 African migrants are feared dead after their boat sank off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. The boat carrying around 250 people is reported to have capsized 50km (30 miles) north of the Libyan coast in stormy seas and high winds. Libyan officials say 21 people are confirmed dead and 23 rescued. A second boat with around 350 migrants was rescued, an official from the IOM told the Associated Press news agency.

'Quick rescue'

The IOM's Laurence Hart said the rescued boat and all of its passengers were now safely back in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. Libyan search and rescue operations led to the recovery of the bodies of those who drowned as a result of the accident, among them the bodies of 10 Egyptians

Egyptian official Ahmed Rizk
"Rescue was quick because they were near an oil platform that notified the Libyan coastal guards who quickly rescued the migrants," he said. The missing boat is believed to be in the same area. Coastguards are believed to be looking for two other boats, which reportedly left for Italy in recent days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7973322.stm

The dead cry for justice
The living cry for compassion

[size=15pt]Saving the Naira Townhall meeting:A currency on the precipice [/size]

Written by GABRIEL OMOH
Wednesday, 25 March 2009

Introduction
THE pressure on the naira at the Foreign Exchange Market has continued to mount and see further depreciation in the value of the naira over the years. A number of factors have been responsible for this development. The naira has unfortunately been the weeping currency as it has been caught on a cross-fire and interplay of both international economics and politics as well as local market forces.
Image
Yar Adua
The naira which in 1970 on the average exchanged for $0.7143 and 1.7114 British pound in 2009, about 30 years after exchanges on the average at N170 to the dollar and N240 to one British pound Sterling pound.

Looking down memory lane and time series of data showed that the naira had strength against major currency in the seventies when Nigeria was not even a major oil exporter. Then Nigeria was just beginning to export oil which sold at low prices.

In 1971 one naira was equivalent to $0.6955 and 1.7156 pound. In 1972 when the country was just recovering from the civil war, one dollar exchanged for N0.6579 and one pound for N1.6289. In 1973 which saw the hike and subsequent quadrupling of oil prices as a result of the Israeli-Arab war in the middle East saw one American dollar going for N0.6579 at the foreign exchange market and one British pound for N1.6289 and in 1974 during the famous Udoji award to Nigerian workers the naira was still strong enough to exchange at N0.6299 to the dollar and N1.4795 to the British pound.

It was the same story of strength for the naira in 1975 when N0.6159 could buy one dollar and N1.3618 could give the holder one pound sterling. In 1976, N0.6265 could buy one dollar while N1.1317 could give the owner a pound sterling in the foreign exchange market.

These were years when a Nigerian travelling abroad was highly regarded and welcomed to any foreign international airport. It was the period that Nigeria pursued import substitution industrial policy and almost every input to local manufacturing was imported. These were the periods regarded as the first oil boom which has become a source of economic rent that is the undoing of the nation. Nigerians then would not wear a second hand clothing nor ride on motor circle in town.

In 1977 N0.6466 was equivalent to one dollar and N1.1671 was the same as one pound. Going through time series data in 1978 N0.6060 was the exchange rate of the dollar and N1.2238 for the pound. It was the same trend in 1979 when N0.5957 exchanged for one dollar and N1.2628 to one pound. But at the time there was sign of weakness in the economy and the legendary Awolowo warned the nation that the economy was heading for the woods. The then Shagari administration openly denounced the allegation and nothing was done to diversify the economy.

It was the time of importation of rice and all manners of things. Up to 1980 the naira was still strong and at the time there was import licensing and foreign exchange rationing. At the time N0.5464 exchanged for one dollar and N1.2647 for a British pound. In 1981 the local currency was still holding on strong with N0.6100 exchanging for one dollar and N1.2495 for pound sterling. In 1981 when N0.6729 exchanged for one dollar the government of NPN had introduced austerity measure and imposed import licensing and control measures. In 1983 when the army struck and took over government, N0.7241 was exchanging for one dollar and N1.1216 for a British pound. In 1984 N0.7649 exchanged for one dollar and N1.0765 exchanged for one pound, while in 1985 N0.8938 was exchanged for one dollar and N1.1999 for a pound.

The travail of the naira as a national currency began in 1986 when the Babagida-led military administration introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) and officially devalued the naira through the introduction of the second tier foreign exchange market. While government institutions and parastals got foreign exchange at the official rate, private sector sourced theirs through the second tier market. At the introduction of the system the naira at the official market was N2.0206 to the dollar and N2.5554 to the pound.

By 1987 the naira had depreciated to N4.0179 to the dollar and N6.5929 to the pound, in 1988 the exchange rate was N4.5367 and N8.0895 to the dollar and the pound respectively. During this period Abudukadir Ahmed, who was the Governor of the Central Bank merged the two markets into one which saw the exchange rate of the naira moving from about N12 to the dollar to N22. The exchange rate of the naira remained fairly stable at N22 to the dollar until 1999 when the Obasanjo administration was elected.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/31958/171/

[size=15pt]Nigerian asylum seekers and national image[/size]

By Luke Onyekakeyah
While the Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili is launching her grand re-branding Nigeria project, news that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians that fled the country's crippling economic crunch are in different world capitals seeking asylums is damming on the country's image. What else could smear the image of the country than for her citizens to flee in droves practically to all parts of the world in desperate search for refugee status? This is a major challenge to Mrs. Akunyili and her re-branding project.

Most annoying is that the Nigerian asylum seekers line up with citizens from war-ravaged countries to seek refugee status in foreign lands under whatever condition so long as it is outside their country. Usually, countries fighting war provide the natural source of refugees and asylum seekers. The presence of Nigerians amid refugees driven out by war in their countries raises consternation as to whether Nigeria is also in war? Otherwise, what is happening to Nigeria that would make her citizens flee like refugees?

Since Nigeria is not officially in war, citizens from war torn countries would naturally be considered first in asylum applications while the Nigerians are denied. Those denied asylum are subsequently arrested and put in detention because they have expired immigration papers. This swells the number of Nigerians in foreign prisons, which is another image issue the re-branding project should tackle.

According to the reports, the global asylum statistics released recently by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) indicates that more Nigerians are seeking asylum in Europe and other developed countries around the world. The report released in Geneva showed that in 2008, more Nigerians fled the country to seek refuge in foreign countries.

Among the top countries, Iraq, for obvious reasons of protracted war came first on the asylum seekers list with 40, 500, followed by Somalia again for the same obvious reasons of war with 21, 800 asylum seekers. After the Russian Federation with 20, 000 came Afghanistan with 18, 500 asylum seekers.

Overall, the report says "Africa was the only continent experiencing an increase in 2008 with more people from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia and Zimbabwe requesting refugee status".

Nigeria with 12, 573 asylum seekers is listed alongside Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Somalia. For instance, while the percentage of asylum seekers in Afghanistan rose by 85 per cent, that of Zimbabwe rose by 82 per cent, Somalia by 77 per cent, Nigeria 71 per cent and Eritrea 34 per cent. These, the report say are the "major countries of asylum seekers" recording significant increases. The report categorized these countries as having "experienced unrest or conflict in 2008".

It should be noted that some countries also recorded a decrease in asylum status in 2008 compared to their 2007 figures. Most interesting among these countries is Lebanon, which registered a drop with 23 per cent. Others in this category are Columbia and Vietnam with 25 and 24 per cent respectively.

I am surprised that whereas the report went into details to provide statistics of countries and the number of their citizens seeking refugee status in the developed world, it failed to give information on the number of those applications approved. I don't know why the report took that one-sided posture. Why is it only interested in exposing the ugly picture of asylum seekers from different crisis-ridden poor countries? What is the purpose of this statistics? Is it meant to address the problem or is it for what? Are the statistics published just for records or are they meant to provide a basis for talking the problem?

Year in year out, the statistics are published but without anything done to address the global inequality gap, which is at the root of mass migration. Who does not know that in a world where the very rich exist side by side with the very poor, it is natural for the poor to look unto the rich for succour? The inequity in the world is to blame for the increase in refugee migration.

How many of these applications were granted in the European Union, America and the other OECD countries? What is the status of the refugees in question? Were they granted the asylum or denied? It is likely that some applicants were granted asylum while the majority were denied. What is the fate of those denied? Were they repatriated, detained or placed on waiting list? The report failed to provide all this vital information as a basis for further analysis and action.

It is not enough to give raw statistics of asylum applications from different countries without stating the number granted. I get the impression that the purpose of that is to ridicule the affected poor countries. The rich countries are immune to this malaise because they are economically buoyant and politically stable. Their citizens have no cause to seek asylum in any country. The United Nations should champion a new world economic order that would reduce the disparity gap between the rich and the poor as a first step towards solving this problem.

Furthermore, effort should be made to help create good governance in crisis-ridden countries. Since the fall out of bad government impacts on the rich nations by way of influx of refugees, it is foolhardy for these countries to ignore issues of mis-governance in the developing world. Some international laws must be reviewed to take care of emerging social, political and economic imperatives in this era.

All the refugees or asylum seekers can be categorized into two groups. The first, which constitutes the larger number, is economic refugees from countries that have been ravaged by years of inept and corrupt leadership. Typical examples of countries in this group from Africa are Somalia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The second group is refugees from war torn countries whose citizens are forced to flee violent internal conflict in their countries. Iraq, Afghanistan and again Somalia are typical examples. Internal conflicts in Africa are usually caused by greed, avarice and the dictatorial attitude of seat tight leaders who don't want to relinquish power. Decades of misrule breeds poverty and instability, which negatively affects the citizenry.

Now, back to Nigeria. It is disheartening that Nigeria has for sometime now been listed among the poorest of the poor countries. Incidentally, most of the countries often listed are war torn countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. Ironically, Zimbabwe, which perhaps has the worst economic indicators today in Africa, ranks higher than Nigeria in some indices. Whereas these countries are officially in war, which is the cause of the deplorable situation, the Nigerian paradox is caused by years of inept leadership, unbridled corruption and political insensitivity. The political class is constantly raping the country. No one borders what becomes of the citizenry or the country's future.

The failure of leadership has derailed the country's development aspirations. Today, we have a country where nothing works. The woes of the country are innumerable which explains why Nigerians are fleeing the country in thousands even at the risk of their life. Countries in war appear to have a brighter future because the end of the war would mark the dawn of a new beginning. But the Nigerian situation is so complex and unpredictable that it is difficult to address it from one angle.

The collapse of social infrastructure services, high unemployment rate, insecurity of lives and property, high inflation resulting in escalating cost of living amidst ravaging mass poverty are among the factors responsible for the mass outward migration of Nigerians. People are forced to flee the country when they can no longer cope with the worsening hardship. The increase in the 2008 asylum seekers is not unconnected with the biting global economic crunch, which has worsened the endemic problems in Nigeria. I must stress that people are leaving the country as a last resort because of circumstances beyond their control. What do you expect in a country where thousands of graduates have no hope of getting employment, not to talk of millions of other school leavers from different levels? It is a pathetic situation.

On this basis, the re-branding project of Mrs. Akunyili must identify the root of our problems and focus on it. I observe that so far, Mrs. Akunyili has focused her re-branding campaign on ordinary Nigerians. For instance, she has been hammering on the attitude of Nigerians and calling for a change as if that is the cause of the country's poor image. That is misplaced. Mrs. Akunyili has never at any occasion mentioned the failure of leadership and the abrasive attitude of the political class as the root of the country's battered image. The truth is that if the re-branding project is going to focus only on Nigerians without addressing the leadership failure and its impact on the country, then I'm afraid it won't work. For instance, you won't achieve anything by haunting the asylum seekers while leaving the issues that forced them to flee the country. Re-branding should start from the leadership question, which is holding the country hostage. Nigerians will continue to seek asylum until the home front is conducive for living.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article02//indexn2_html?pdate=310309&ptitle=Nigerian%20asylum%20seekers%20and%20national%20image

[size=15pt]Mali's dangerous desert gateway[/size]


Mali's Sahara frontier
Gao's gateway to the deadly desert road


Joan Baxter
Bamako, Mali

The city of Gao in northeastern Mali was once the wealthy capital of the great Songhay Empire of West Africa. Today it has fallen on hard times and become the impoverished capital of human trafficking from West Africa to Europe. It's because I don't have money I am willing to take the risk. Nobody wants to die in the desert.

Nigerian migrant
Languishing on the banks of the Niger River, 1,200 kilometres north of the capital, Bamako, and surrounded by sand dunes, Gao is the main starting point for illegal migrants from all over Africa desperate to get to Europe and willing to risk crossing the Sahara Desert to do so.

From Gao, young Africans, mostly from Nigeria and Ghana, set off across the desert in battered pick-up trucks or lorries bound for Europe. Some even undertake the hazardous journey on foot. The route takes the migrants across the Malian border into Algeria, then north across the Sahara until they reach Morocco. From there they must get to Spain, their entry point into Europe.

'Oldest profession'
Chief of Police in Gao's police chief, Abdoullaye Danfaga, estimates that thousands of illegal migrants set out from Gao each year. He says it is impossible to know exactly how many leave, let alone how many perish in the desert.

Brothel in Gao
Gao's notorious "Ghetto" brothel
He says the traffic is organised from Spain and "the network is vast, like a Mafia". Mr Danfaga says that when the traffickers need more people to move, they call from Spain to their agent in Nigeria and order, say, 20 girls. When those girls reach Gao, the traffickers force them into prostitution to pay for their false passports and to continue their journey.
The female migrants are put to work in a brothel known as "The Ghetto". Most of them are just teenagers.

Traffickers
The police chief sadly admits that human trafficking is by far Gao's biggest industry and deplores the dangers facing young people who attempt to cross the desert this way.

Austin, a Nigerian who Danfaga alleges is the leader of the trafficking operation in Gao, says the number of migrants who set off from here each year is "uncountable, it's like sand, so many people moving".

Gao barbershop
Is this shop a front for trafficking ?

With his vested interest in the trafficking, Austin downplays the dangers of the desert crossing. he says, "People die, yes, but people also die in air crashes." He defends the illegal immigration to Europe by saying that white people refuse to give Africans visas. But the local authorities in Gao suggest that the traffickers themselves take advantage of the desperate young migrants trying to get to Europe to earn money to support their own families back home.

Death in the sand
The gendarme commander in the region, Seydou Doumbia, says the migrants are harassed and threatened by the traffickers at every stage of their journey. Once they are in the desert, they are at the mercy of ruthless drivers who threaten to abandon them if they don't hand over all their possession. The gendarmes say if vehicles break down, the passengers usually die of thirst in the desert and their remains may be lost forever in the desert sands. Last year, they rescued 17 young Nigerians from a stranded vehicle but many of their fellow travellers had died of hunger and thirst.

Forged documents
Fake passports seized by gendarmes
The gendarmes say the survivors lived only by eating their dead companions. The gendarmes allege that there is complicity in this lucrative human trade at all levels of government. The traffickers work with officials to procure Malian or Guinean passports for illegal migrants from all over Africa. The papers allow them to cross into Algeria without visas.
The police are able to intercept some of the migrants and seize their false passports. But most of illegal migrants manage to head off undetected into the desert.

One young Nigerian migrant, who wants to remain anonymous, says all the clandestine migrants are driven by desperate poverty and their dreams of work and money in Europe .

Asked if he thinks it's worth risking his life to cross the desert, he replies, "It's because I don't have money I am willing to take the risk. Nobody wants to die in the desert. So when you go, you better give yourself over to God, make yourself close to God and if you pray, you will reach your destination."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2063526.stm

[size=15pt]Nigeria may not survive global economic meltdown — Don[/size]

By Femi Makinde, Akure
Published: Monday, 30 Mar 2009

A university lecturer said that Nigeria may not be able to weather the negative effect of the current global economic meltdown except it becomes serious with the problem of corruption.

The don, Dr. James Okunlola of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Federal University of Technology, Akure identified corruption as one factor which may likely plunge the country into a deeper crisis following the global financial crisis.

He said this in a lecture he delivered on Friday at a workshop organised by the Akure District of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria on the way out of the global economic meltdown for Nigeria.

Okunlola said, “It is time to end insecurity in the anti-corruption crusade. Nigeria may not survive the current economic melt down if the issue of corruption is not dealt with appropriately.

“Corruption destroys the economy. The priority now is to evolve realistic measures that would reduce the scope of corruption and ensure that money derived from oil and other natural resources is invested to areas which would benefit Nigerians.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20090330359050