₦airaland Forum

jerrymania: Who are the ones raising their glasses? the poor man on the streets, the civil servant suffering to eke out a living, the frustrated nigerian students, the striking medical doctors or his cult members? its high time we start looking into the context of music to the nigerian reality

Gone are the days when we had people like Fela who was the spokesman of those without a voice, Fela was a multi talented musician who used his God given talent to challenge the corrupt powers that be, just as Bob Marley did in Jamaica, sadly such icons never live long enough to complete their mission on earth because the evil and corrupt forces that rule this world ensure that they are cut down in the prime of their lives in order to stop their mission of enlightenment of the masses.

Many greats have been silenced in this way eg Robert Nesta Marley, John Lennon, Jimmy Hendrix, Peter Tosh, Tupac Shakur ..... Sadly what we have in their place today are clowns and sycophants like D Banj - low on talent but high on mediocrity, these are the type of clowns who couldn't play a musical instrument or sing in tune even if their lives depended on it.

Despite their very limited talent they continue to feature all over the media with their awful, easily forgettable lyrics, non existent talent and pathetic dance routines. How long do we have to wait before we are gifted with the reincarnation of the great Abami Eda ?

No Nigerian musician past or present can even dream of coming close to this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIRXNA3Eofs

Abami Eda - the epitome of black power - man of the people and the best president Nigeria never had.

meanwhile mental patient aka Kanye Waste of Space West describes himself as Shakespeare in the flesh and goes crazy when Sway challenges him on some minor issue:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NELWKHCU59g

The next generation of hip hop is finally here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF8aaTu2kg0

Tupac is the G.O.A.T so I guess the title of rap god should go to him and not Eminem. Eminem is brilliant though and would come in a close second to Tupac.

But Em needs to watch his back as there is now a young pretender to the throne who is likely to be the next Tupac:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBvngg87998

50calibre: I see sense in what you said, Obj has mysteriously stayed longer than people expected, his death has been predicted multiple times, but somehow, he's managed to be at the right place at the right time.

The problem is, Nigeria as a country is become increasingly inconsequential to the US, which means sooner or later, OBJ will outlive his usefulness.

What then happens? If he knows too much, then he becomes expendable.

That's true, but I don't think the US has any plans of letting go of Nigeria any time soon.

The US recently set up a number of military bases (USAFRICOM) on the continent in order to "secure" various natural resources, i think thats a clear indication that the US intend to consolidate their grip on Africa and her resources.

That Mysterious Hand is the CIA which acts as an enforcer of pro US economic policies in the third world - Obasanjo has been their agent since the 1970s and that is why he is still alive today, put it this way Obasanjo is to Nigeria what Mobutu Sese Seko was to Zaire - a puppet sell out who handed over the wealth of his country to European enslavers (the united states govt is run by the descendants of Europeans).

This is why he was rewarded with elder statesman status when he is an enemy of the Nigerian people. There is no atrocity that Obasanjo has not committed against the people of Nigeria but he remains powerful why? Because powerful forces are backing and protecting him, many Nigerians are too st.upid to understand what is really going on.

mmsen: 1. You do not understand the notion of a medium if you keep banging on about English being somehow unique. More people speak Mandarin. An ever growing number are learning Mandarin what with the rise of China and the ever growing irrelevance of the Anglo speaking nations.

2. You do need to prove 'reality' that is how it becomes real. Simply saying that something is based on fact does not make it so. That is the mentality of a child. Or a slave. Which one are you? There is no supporting evidence for the Bible, especially as regards the man referred to as Jesus Christ. There is however a prior baseless story about Mithras that sounds awfully similar.

3. Mechanized farming could have been introduced by any of the Nigerian people's trade partners - be it the Portuguese, the Dutch or whoever else the British stopped from trading so as to get 'preferential' trade rights at the expense of the Nigerian peoples.

4. I have never lived in Nigeria. So your claim that my notion of democracy is flawed may be right. I have however lived in the 'mother of democracy' as the Brits arrogantly refer to themselves. A brief look at the local papers show how much of a sham it is. Large business dictates policies. Politicians are happy to acquiesce because they are concerned with their own welfare and long term prospects. They have even been shown to dip their hand into the public purse, en masse, for their own benefit - please look up the expenses scandal. It has been exposed in the UK and the US how ex-politicians, once leaving government, take up very comfortable 'consultancy' roles with large banks and other businesses that direct policy as a return for favours done while in positions of government. Tony Blair is a wonderful example. This is the worst kind of corruption.

5. The railway system built has never been fit for purpose as regards to the Nigerian peoples. So my point stands. You claim that there was a system 'given' to us. They did not give - whatever the Anglos invested in Nigeria they took out (at least) ten times as much, the railway simply made it easier for
them.

6. Britain came to be in control of much of the known world by use of the gun. Today they do not have a manufacturing base, nor are they in possession of any minerals of value. They once manufactured goods that were not needed outside of their island which is how they came to impose themselves on places with natural resources - the Chinese refused to purchase their 'goods much the same as those in the Sub-Continent and need I remind you of Jajah of Opobo, the Oba of Benin or the leaders of the Aro Confederacy. Whenever somebody told the Brits 'no' that is when they came with their guns. Sadly the Americans seem to be following in their image.

A nation has to resort to the gun when diplomatic efforts and the goods being manufactured are not to the liking of those elsewhere. Is it any shock that the British economy has largely tanked since the end of the colonial era? Does this not show you what their economy was founded on?

The one good example which I think Nigeria should follow is the Anglo-Saxon willingness to appropriate what is not natively theirs and claim it as their own. I am not talking of land here, I'm talking of (beneficial) ideas. A lot of good ideas have wrongly been credited as being British in origin because they made such a fuss about their eventual discovery.

Also, if you're so desperate for a European nation to worship then Germany would be a far better example. They have a wonderful manufacturing sector; a superior educational system; superior transport network; the cost of living is not as exorbitant (as it is in the south of England, which is the only area in the UK with a economic activity worth talking about); a culture that respects the institution of family (and the importance of men within the family) and does not have a huge divorce rate as per the UK (40-45%); does not persist with the strange culture of monarchy whilst claiming to be a democracy/meritocracy. They have admirable cultural traits and far fewer social ills than the UK, a nation which tops the European leagues for some the worst vices and issues - Fattest women in Europe; Highest teen pregnancy rate in western Europe'; Highest divorce rate; Greatest percentage of illicit drug users in EU; largest number of Islamic fundamentalists (but oddly not the largest number of muslims in Europe). The UK has a lot of problems not noticed by those who have never lived there but if you stick around long enough and you will see the dysfunction.

Excellent points.

What i find really embarrassing about EBK2s arguments are:

the fact that he regards the language of his enslaver as a language that, to quote him: gives him an edge amongst his peers - typical mentality of a slave. The coloniser imposed his language on us in order to be able to fully control our minds and actions. Language is a very powerful tool of control and once you can get a people to replace their own language and customs with your own, you no longer need to coerce them to do your bidding. How many europeans who live in africa speak african languages? how many of them practice african religions? When you can get a people to speak your language , this creates a feeling of inferiority about their own indigenous culture and languages, this is why the average nigerian looks up to europe and america because many have been taught to idolise and respect the ideas of the european whilst disparaging those of their own people.

It is a well known fact that christianity was used by the missionaries as a tool of coercion to keep africans docile, i wish EBK 2 could explain to me how these christian missionaries were able to reconcile their christian beliefs with their racist beleif that the african is inferior to the european and therefore deserved to be enslaved. Is EBK2 aware of the fact that many missionaries built churches on top of slave dungerons along the west african coast line? this is the same way christianity is still being used in nigeria to keep nigerians focusing on irrelevant rubbish instead of facing up to the reality of where their problems are coming from. Religion in nigeria is a business just like any other busines and is used to keep the hungry masses docile and ignorant just like it was used during the time of slavery to keep the enslaved africans in north america from rising up against their slave masters.

The other one that got me going was his comment about the europeans teaching us about agricultural techniques - EBK2 why do you think the enslaved africans that were transported to the new world by the europeans were in such high demand - let me help you out - its because many of them were skilled farmers and craftsmen - infact many of the advanced agricultural techniques that you love to credit the europeans with were introduced onto the north american, carribean and south american plantations by the west african slaves who already had these skills and who were used to working in hot climates.


The railway system - another sad and myopic point raised by EBK2 -mmsen has already explained this point, so i will just add this - EBK2 compare the railway system that the british constructed in India with the shambolic rubbish they built in nigeria and then you will understand what mmsen stated when he said it was only built to facilitate the movement of your natural resources from the north all the way down to the southern coastline. They built the railway in order to move their loot out of your country, they had no interest in developing anything of value in your country unlike in India where they at least built schools, universities and an integrated railway system.

Democracy - this is the one that gave me goosebumps and for all the wrong reasons - I mean if adults in nigeria reason like EBK2 what hope is there for the younger ones coming up?
Mmsen has correctly tried to wake you up to the reality of what democracy in the western world is all about, i dont know where you live but you dont sound as if you understand how politics in the western world operates. To the well informed it is nothing more than a dog and pony show .

the majority of western politicians are all bought and paid for and the ones who are independent have very little power. Obama's main sponsors during his first stint were wall street and once he got into office he made sure that he rewarded them handsomely by giving them huge bail outs despite the fact that they caused the 2008 financial crisis.

here in the UK it is exactly the same the city of london fund the two main political parties and dictate which govt policies should be implemented, the ordinary man on the street has no voice and knows that voting will never change anything. EBK2 thinks he knows it all but he knows very little - as they say ignorance is bliss and he is almost submerged in it.

EBK2: @ Cap 28,
No doubt there are ills with slavery and colonialism but we are no longer in colonial or slave era and stroking such sentiment as a reason why Britain is ahead of Nigeria is just a defeatist mentality and not something i will agree with. We are no longer under colonialism and slavery so using them as excuse doesnt make sense. It is like a guy that is not doing well in life using his poor family background as an excuse. America gained their independence from Britain just over 200 years ago (Nigeria 50 years ago), but the fact that US is a greater power than even Britain that colonised it means that you are on the wrong side of the arguement.
Look at it this way: A small island with 60million people was pointing guns on a big and vast country with 170m people from 1861 to 1960 (much like Davis beating Goloaith and Goloaith complaining), much like Japan-China affair, and 50 years after that robbery incident, you are still moaning about how that robbary is keeping you back. No need to moan, you just need to grow up and join the global race with the right leadership and culture. China is no longer complaining about Japanese colonialism, is it?
The fact is that poor leadership (leaders only interested i their pockets and no heart for public service and how to leave lasting legacies, no interest in solving social problems etc etc) and wrong culture/attitude (Ethnic and tribal sentiment, not obeying laws and order, no respect and care for women/children/young and future generation, no respect for human life) - without sorting these two root cause of Nigerian problems, generations to come (doesnt matter how much money you personally make and leave behind for them) will still be in the kind of mess people are in Nigeria today.
We just need to be objective about things. Britain is for the British people, if they want high risk immigrants to deposit £3k before coming to their country, they are practically saying that if we issue you visa under some terms, you better comply with those terms else it will cause you money. Nigerians dont have the culture of comlying to terms they agreed to (thats why Nigeria is a high risk country in the first place) and that is why lots of people have wrongly understood it in their minds that you pay £3k to visit Britain. No you dont pay £3k to visit Britain; you pay a bond which you get back after your visit.
If the other way round had been the case (ie Nigeria asking British Immigrants to pay £3k bond), most British visitors will still pay that money and comply to their visa terms but the problem will be with Nigerian Immigration Service doing their part (ie refunding that money). You as well as anyone reading this know i am stating the fact. You just need to travel a little bit around the world and come back to Nigeria to realise how urgently things need to change. Messing around with people's lives and destiny appears to be what our leaders are bent on delivering. I have never seen a country (and I have been to many countries) without a plan for its youth. I can go on and on but taking 4 productive months out of the lives of your youths/future generations is a dent on the moral psychic of Nigerian leaders and it comes down to the two things i mentioned above (leadership and culture). Any country where the government breaches agreement (Agreement made with its internal e.g ASUU and external stakeholders) with ease has no future and there is a dotted line between this and why Nigeria is a 'high risk' country - Government and its people not respecting agreement. If you are a constant contract breacher, no one will like to deal with you. That's just the way the world works today.

Back to £3k issue: The reason why Britain dropped this policy is not because of the ranting from Nigerians and other countries affected, but because it will be difficult to implement and the cost of implementing it outweighs the benefit. The are coming up with other measures to achieve the same objective -reduce the number of illegal immigrant in in the UK. So watch this space There is nothing anyone can do about it. The leaders here believe that's what British people want and that's what British people will get in the end.

If this type of leadership is shown in Nigeria, where our leaders know what we want and they are bent on delivering them, Nigeria will be a better place, I will be happier, and surely, you and your lot will not be ranting!

ARe you trying to say that a people who lost over 100 million able bodied men, women and children and who subsequently had their entire continent invaded and occupied by europeans should be expected to compete on an equal footing with the very people who stole from them?

Are you aware that europe and america's industrial revolution would not have happened had it not been for their involvment in the transatlantic slave trade.

The after effects of slavery are still being felt - we are talking about countries that had a 400 year headstart over us and who STILL continue to expoloit us. Have you heard of neo colonialism?

Do you know anything about the international financial institutions and how they keep africa poor using debt ?

how about foreign sponsored coups - these are things that are still happening

do you seriously think europe and america want you to become a competitor with them? where will they get their cheap labour and cheap raw materials if you beocme masters of your own destiny.

If africa had been economically, militarily and politically independent do you think europe and america would have become the industrial powers that they are today?

please stop using america and britain as examples of the relationship between colonisers and the colonised - the american settlers were descendants of their former colonial masters therefore the relationship was totally different. it was more of a brotherly relationship between siblings unlike that between colonial africans and their european slave masters. This is demonstrated in the role that the british have continued to play in the united states, also many british people were allowed to immigrate to the united states in the early part of the 20th century in order to build a white nation, many people of irish, scottish and english origin were offered land and job opportunities in the newly created north america, something that was not open to non white people and definitely unavailable to africans.

Yes, we were defeated by the british but the fact remains that despite efforts to free ourselves from our oppressors we have remaiend in the same position.

majority ofthe time the leaders that we have been lumbered with were not chosen by us and the ones that we have chosen have been removed from power by these same western powers.

britain can not only be for the british people if everything it has it stole from other countries, you cant go to another country and cause poverty, wars and mayhem and expect the victims of those countries not to go to where the loot has been appropriated to.

If britain stayed out of nigeria's affairs there would have been no reason for nigeria to be lumbered with corrupt leadership and western economic policies that have destroyed nigeria's economy, in other words all the problems that we are currently suffering today in nigeria would not have occurred as we would have been allowed to operate as a sovereign nation just like china or any other non western coutnry that controls its own affairs

EBK2: @Tenso77: my point is that we shouldn't get mad when other countries are trying to protect their economies by doing what they think is right for them, considering we have the opportunity to do so for our own country. We may not like it but British politicians of all political divides care more about what the British people think than what Nigerians think and that's the way it should be. Nigerian politicians should do the same for Nigerians even when outsiders don't like it. They only come up with retaliatory and reactionary immigration policies. If you consider the ways nigerian politicians and nigerian embassies overseas treat Nigerians, you will realise the scale if rot in d system. Most if them care about their pockets than they care about you lot.
@ cap28 whats up with Nigeria since after colonialism. There are benefit British colonialism brought to Nigeria and I want you to consider for a moment countries that were colonised by the French, Germany and Portugese and those that were not colonised at all. America was under British colonialism and China was once under Japanese colonialism, so think about it. I think bringing Colonialism is just a cheap argument.
Can I say this and a lot of you will bash me for it: so many Nigerians that witnessed colonialism will prefer Nigeria of that era than the mess you have today. I love Nigeria and believe things will change but I am just putting sentiment aside and stating the facts.

To others that are abusing me: I wish you can have a meaningful debate. Refer to the same ignorance and illiteracy I mentioned earlier.

can you highlight the benefits that the british brought to nigeria?
what benefits did france, germany and portugal bring to their african colonies?

America is run by the descendants of europeans and therefore the british allowed it to prosper because it regarded the american settlers as their own people.

this has not been the case with africans that have succeeed in emancipating themselves from their former slave/colonial masters - take the case of Haiti - Haitians are former african slaves who succeeded in defeating france, spain and britain in a 12 year war, how come they were not allowed to grow and prosper?

Also all former african colonies remain firmly under the economic and political control of europe

China as a whole was not colonised by japan, Manchuria which is a province of China was occupied by the Japanese in 1931 but the Chinese defeated the Japanese and regained control over it in 1945.

To say to an african that talking about colonialism is a cheap argument is like saying to a Jew talking about the jewish holocaust is a cheap argument.

After almost 70 years jews continue to talk about the massacre of 6 million jews by the nazis but you dont want to talk about the mass murder and brutalisation of millions of africans who were subjected to even worse treatment.

Funnily enough 10 million africans have been massacred in DRC in the last 15 years due to an ongoing war for control of mineral resources and nobody wants to talk about that. did you know that britain, israel, the united states are the biggest suppliers of arms to militia groups that cause mayhem all over africa?

EBK2: @Tenso77: my point is that we shouldn't get mad when other countries are trying to protect their economies by doing what they think is right for them, considering we have the opportunity to do so for our own country. We may not like it but British politicians of all political divides care more about what the British people think than what Nigerians think and that's the way it should be. Nigerian politicians should do the same for Nigerians even when outsiders don't like it. They only come up with retaliatory and reactionary immigration policies. If you consider the ways nigerian politicians and nigerian embassies overseas treat Nigerians, you will realise the scale if rot in d system. Most if them care about their pockets than they care about you lot.
@ cap28 whats up with Nigeria since after colonialism. There are benefit British colonialism brought to Nigeria and I want you to consider for a moment countries that were colonised by the French, Germany and Portugese and those that were not colonised at all. America was under British colonialism and China was once under Japanese colonialism, so think about it. I think bringing Colonialism is just a cheap argument.
Can I say this and a lot of you will bash me for it: so many Nigerians that witnessed colonialism will prefer Nigeria of that era than the mess you have today. I love Nigeria and believe things will change but I am just putting sentiment aside and stating the facts.

To others that are abusing me: I wish you can have a meaningful debate. Refer to the same ignorance and illiteracy I mentioned earlier.

Let me correct you- we should get mad when the UK introduces racist immigration policies designed to keep us out of their countries because they are still in our own countries making billions of dollars in profit by way of their multinational corporations, arms dealers and economic policies which they impose on us via their handpicked puppets.

Everything that the UK has today they got through theft on an industrial scale. Cities like liverpool, Bristol and London were poverty stricken hellholes until their fortunes were transformed following their huge involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. many of the stately homes you find in the english countryside were built with the proceeds of money derived from the trade in african slave labour. Corporaations such as Lloyds of london reaped billions as a result of the wealth they made from insuring slave ships and their human cargo as is illustrated in this newspaper article:

Slave descendants sue Lloyd's for billions

Americans whose ancestors were taken from Africa in chains have hired a feared New York lawyer to seek compensation for the insurer's support of 'genocide', writes Conal Walsh

The Observer, Sunday 28 March 2004

Centuries after Africans were beaten, chained and transported in their millions across the Atlantic, Britain's role in the slave trade is set to resurface in sensational fashion in a New York courtroom.

Descendants of black American slaves are preparing a multi-billion dollar action against Lloyd's of London, the best-known name in world insurance, for allegedly financing the trading fleets that uprooted them from their homelands and condemned them to generations of slavery in the New World.

The dramatic claim, to be filed tomorrow, is the latest in which 'UK plc' is being forced to confront allegations of a murky past. In recent years a host of British companies have been sued for allegedly collaborating with South Africa's racist apartheid regime.

The claim against Lloyd's could prove far more damaging. Black leaders are using DNA technology to link themselves with recorded slave ships and have enlisted Edward Fagan, the feared New York lawyer who extracted huge Nazi gold settlements from German and Swiss companies, to lead the case.

Lloyd's is expected to deny it is liable for slavery, but news of the case will cause consternation within its gleaming steel-and-glass headquarters in the City of London, where the insurance giant is tipped to make profits of £1 billion this year.

The sharp-suited brokers and cutting-edge technology that now characterise Lloyd's are only the latest incarnation in a long and controversial history. It was founded by Edward Lloyd in a London coffee shop in 1688 to provide cover for merchants whose ships were regularly lost at sea. Just like today, it was the centre of the insurance and shipping world in the 1700s and early 1800s, when many shipowners were making vast fortunes by shipping slaves from Africa to America and Britain's colonies in the Caribbean.

Before slavery was abolished in the British Empire in the 1830s, and three decades later in the United States, more than 10 million people are thought to have been sold to slave traffickers at west African ports before being herded on to boats for the long voyage to America. The ships often stopped for supplies at Bristol, London or Liverpool. The slaves suffered severe mistreatment, malnutrition and overcrowding on the way, with around 20 percent dying at sea; on arrival in America, those who had survived the journey were permanently separated from their families and friends and sold.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2004/mar/28/insurance.usnews

mmsen: Very true. The only addition that I would make is that it was more than theft from Africa that enriched that island. They also stole much from India (known as the jewel of the Empire) and forced the Chinese to cede territory and partake in a trade in opiates that did not benefit China. Not to speak of their land grabbing in north America and Australasia and the wealth that they took from those places for their own benefit.

Exactly. This is why India eventually rose up against them in 1857 (the Indian Rebellion) and China tried to force them out during the boxer rebellion in the 1800s:

The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement was a violent anti-foreigner movement which took place in China between 1899 and 1901. It was initiated by the Righteous Harmony Society and was motivated by proto-nationalist sentiments and opposition to foreign imperialism and Christian missions. The Great Powers intervened and defeated the Boxer Rebellion, in a humiliation for China

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

Everywhere they have gone in the world they have looted using violence and divide and rule tactics and yet you hear africans like EBK2 full of praise for them.

benjsniper33: MY Brother, you are blessed and may the Almighty God continue to enrich you in knowledge..you've said it all

thank you my brother.

EBK2: You guys shouldn't be mad at leaders that are always looking for ways of taking decisions for the interest if their country. That Nigerian leaders don't care about Nigeria and Nigerians doesn't mean other countries' leaders shouldn't.
There are lots if labour related immigration issues to sort out in Nigeria especially as it relates to Nigerian workers, foreign companies and expats and none of your politicians is doing anything about it. In Britain, illegal immigration has been a big issue and the Tories are looking for ways to sort it out. Immigration is a big issue even in Nigerian only that Nigerian politicians don't know how to solve any problem. They have no clue. Remember, the 3000 is refundable if the immigrant complies to the terms of his/her visa which she agreed to the day the visa was issued. Sentiment apart, let's call a spade a spade. Uk doesn't mind immigration. They just don't want riff raff coming in here to cause trouble and British jobs should be for the Brita first. Nothing wrong with that. Nigerian jobs (if any) should be for nigerian, that's if nigerian leaders will care enough about Nigerians to have such policies.We don't like obeying rules and complying to agreement. If Nigerian government introduces such policy, British people will still pay and comply but I don't think the same will be said of nigerian visa applicant. For those that bad mouth Britain because Nigerian economy is growing,you have no idea what you are talking about. Compare Britain to Nigeria using all know indices, it will take Nigeria at least 200years to be like Britain, that's assuming GB remains stagnant. Am not trying to be funny and I love Nigeria but Nigeria is still a developing within the next 11, provides less opportunity naff hope for its people and lagging behind the BRIC emerging markets.
Britain is 60mil in population, with over £1t GDP representing 4% of world economy. Oldest democracy with more global influence than the whole of Africa put together, owns the global language and time zone for international business. Compare it with Nigeria: population of 170m, GDP if £180bln.
There are 109 universities in the uk and 133 higher education all fully funded and managed, and can never be on strike for 4 months.
The ignorance and illiteracy in this NL is just too much

Comparing Nigeria to a country that built its wealth on the enslavement of Africans of and the theft of Africa's resources is like comparing a victim of armed robbery with an armed robber snd pointing out how much richer and successful the armed robber is. Reading your type of posts makes me realise how much the nigerian educational system has failed

These are the same israelis who are one of the biggest arms dealers in Africa and sell African dictatorship s guns to maintain oppression, these are the same racists who supported apartheid south Africa and who backed Charles Taylor because of their involvement in diamond smuggling in Africa

Underground: You took the words right out of my mouth...Well said. Also watch this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFDe5kUUyT0

thanks bro, i'm watching it now.

The handwriting is on the wall for the US dollar, it is now in its final death throes, no amount of printing of money by the Federal Reserve will save the US dollar from its imminent crash.

Nigeria is not the only country that is trying to dump the dollar, there are many other countries doing that behind the scenes and I can only imagine the level of panic going on now with the US govt.

This is definitely a good move by Nigeria and it indicates that many other country may already be doing the same thing.

For those who keep sayign that the crash of the US dollar will pull down the Remnimbi with it please be aware that China is currently trading with other far east asian countries, the EU , Australia and many african countries using its own currency , therefore its loss of the US market will not be as detrimental as many think,.

Many keep talking about how the Remnimbi is manipulated by the Chinese - so ? isnt the US dollar manipulated by the Federal Reserve? Why does the Federal Reserve keep printing money in order to assist the US govt in paying its bills - is it normal for a country that spends more than it earns to print money in order to pay its debts - is that not a form of currency manipulation and anyway the Chinese do not manipulate their currency they simply peg its exchange rate to the dollar in order to keept its exports cheap and affordable for its export market.
Which is worse? - printing your currency because you dont earn enough money thereby artificially inflating the value of your currency or keeping the true value of your currency low in order to increase exports of your products?

This situation was predicted about 2 years ago by many leading US economists and it is happening just the way they said it would.

Why should China and the rest of the world continue to trade with a country that purchases most of its imports on credit ? The US has been cheating the world and growing fat off the sweat of other countries of the world simply because the dollar is the world reserve currency and that is now going to be brought to an abrupt end.

The US is just going to have to learn to cut its coat according to its cloth, you cant keep buying things on credit and expect the world to keep you afloat, the US is simply not earning enough to keep up with its ridiculous spending sprees and now many of its creditors are finally coming to their senses and they are saying hey, enough is enough, if you dont earn enough then we are going to cancel your credit card until you learn to conduct your affairs like a responsible adult.

It will be interesting to see how the US reacts to Nigeria's move - i forsee extreme hostility on the part of the US govt.

simplynola: Thats an erroneous statement. It is only God that can wipe a Nation, no person or country whatsoever can share power with the Almighty. Never in History has it happened

what happened to the native americans in north america, how about the aborigines of new zealand and tasmania and to a large extent australia?

igbo2011: We need to invest in building our own military with equipment made by ourselves! Did you know that China built Ghana's ministry of defense? We are still slaves and dependent.

Do you think the West will just sit back and watch while you build your war machine? Their satellite systems monitor everything we do therefore I can't see them allowing us to build a war machine right under their noses.

The time for us to have built s war machine hsd passed even Dr chinweizu hax acknowledged that if Africa can not defend itself from Western aggression by 2060 we might be facing extinction

vedaxcool: yes we can if we want to, necessity is the mother of invention.

True but u still need to be able to trade, who will we buy arms from in order to defend ourselves?

Coolegz: its an insult to nigeria. 4 a country lyk france 2 threathen nigeria.* to the extend of wiping them out. And its also a lesson 4 nigeria 2 go into massive effective and improved technology in other to be ready at al tym . Thou no body is praying 4 evil.

But your president goodluck sided with France the other day when france bombed ivory coast he also supported France's attack on Libya so what are you talking about? They do not see you as their equal not to talk of a threat, if Nigeria were to dare go to war with france they will face the full might of nato

vedaxcool: we should have stood our ground.

Can Nigeria survive an economic trade embargo from Europe and the United States?

shymexx: I concur. And this is more reason why Nigeria needs to modernise its military. There will always be external threats and the Nigerian armed forces can't fight their way out of a paper-bag. That's how poor they're.

True, but in the end who is ready to fight and die for a country run by imperialist stooges? Also the average Nigerian is a coward. The reason the Vietnamese defeated the United States wss because they were ready to fight till the last man and woman, many Vietnamese women fought to defend their country

No wonder no one respects us and for those who are yet to understand how Europe and the us operate pls be aware of the fact that the us, France and the UK are allies and eill never go to war with each other over a colony as they have signed treaties agreeing not to interfere with each other's property- nigeria is Britain's property and Cameroun is france's

If nigeria had gone to war with france I can tell u now britain and the us would immediately impose economic embargo on Nigeria and make sure it is completely isolated a m not sure China wld even be able to trade with Nigeria at that point

This totally confirms what I hve been saying abt the cowards who run nigeria. Impetialist lackey and houseboy extraordinaire obj is the most useless sack of sh..t on.the planet. He ran to his mastrs britain and the us but they told him to piss off . How cn u expect a white man to side with u against their own?
At the end of the day u r only in thr picture to be exploited.

Courageous people like the Vietnamese forced the French to surrender en masse but coward obj surrendered before any shots were fired shame!

HNosegbe: Though I personally despise mediocrity, I'm almost tempted to say "Thank God I'm a Nigerian".

Or should it be "Thank God I'm not Congolese"?

actually nigerians are more or less in the same predicament, its just that we dont have a war raging on around us at the moment.

Go to the niger delta and see what years of gas flaring and oil spills have done to that region by western oil companies.

ask yourself why our leaders never ask these oil companies to clean up the area.

igbo2011: I have a question about Haiti. If they fought of the British, French and Spanish for slavery. Why didn't they allow France to come so they can fight them off again? I get confused in this part of Haitian history. We talk about Toussant and Dessalines but why couldn't the Haitian people say F U! to the French government an not repay them anything?

because at that point they were exhausted. the war of emancipation lasted about 13 years and they lost millions of people, also Toussaint had been tricked into going to France to sign some kind of treaty with France, but when he got there he was arrested and imprisoned in a dungeon where he died from exposure to the cold and starvation.

it would even be exhausting for an imperial power to fight a 13 year war and not be exhausted not to talk of a small country like Haiti.

Underground: Why do Nigerians always feel the need to resort to insults in order to discredit someone's viewpoints?
How exactly did I rant? Those were facts laid down besides I never said the white man should be totally absolved of blame. What I said is that the black man is just as guilty himself as the white man is.


Contrary to what you have resorted to believe about me, I DO NOT kowtow to the white man's ideology, commands or viewpoints. You can scour through my posts to see that I am TOTALLY and COMPLETELY PROAFRICAN and PROBLACK. I have been quite vocal about it and even while at it - unlike the brash and uncouth manner most Nigerians on here in NL do - I have presented my views in a rational and irrefutable manner backed up with lots of evidence. Even the originator of this thread amongst many others would attest to that. So it baffles me that cos I have asked us to fix ourselves first, you have irrationally and without doing your homework labeled me a white man lover. Na wa o! I actually find it very insulting that you have used me with the term "white masters" in the same sentence!

I am fully aware of Haiti's history, thank you! And that is even besides the point!

Speaking of history by the way, you got it twisted with the way you have somehow attributed Japan's recovery and economic prosperity to the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan if you check your history books very well, you'll see was directed at the European countries devastated by the war. The Japanese did receive some aid but it was seperate from the Marshall Plan and it cannot be claimed that this alone made Japan what it is today. The Japanese are the way they are today cos of their extreme discipline, industry, nobleness, selflessness and deep love for their country.

This statement of your says it all:


WHY should Africa you say?? So we might as well abandon the Haitians to their fate and let the oyinbos fix them cos they the oyinbos are the cause of of their problems? No African country should take the lead in the recovery efforts just like America bailed Europe out with the Marshall Plan? Ok na!

You see, like I mentioned before, if we, blacks do not do our homework and present our case in a well founded, rational manner, our ranting will be taken for what it is:bellicose rhetoric, senseless twaddle!!

By completely remaining silent about the role of the United States and France in Haiti's demise you are attempting to distort the truth and blame the victim - this is a tactic used over and over again by the western media in order to divert attention away from the real villains.

you blame them for looting and killing, following a devastating earthquake but you failed to acknowledge that poor and desperate people do not behave the same way as people who have grown up in an orderly society.

Comparing Haiti - a country who for the past century has been subjected to devastating economic and political subjugation from the combined might of europe and america is simply unconscionable.

We are talking about a proud and courageous people who defeated Napoleon's french army , the british and the spanish imperialist armies.

A people who literally had to pay the price for freeing themselves from slavery. Did you know that France threatened to invade Haiti after they fought and won their freedom from slavery and in order not to be reinslaved they had to pay france the equivalent of what is in today's money the sum of $21 billion ? I made a mmistake in my earlier post, Haiti did not finish paying off this "debt" until 1945 approximately 140 years after they freed themselves, think about the economic damage that did to Haiti.

Do you know that because they had to make these payments Haiti had to divert monies meant for public healthcare, education, social amenities into paying off France?

Haiti was also economically blockaded by europe and america which prevented them from engaging in any form of meaningful trade - this went on for over 100 years.

Also the united states did not recognise Haiti until 1862.

the president of the united states at the time was abraham lincoln and he was looking for a place to repartriate freed african american former slaves - it was at this point that Haiti was recognised by america, prior to this period the US govt referred to Haiti as a country run by "niggers who spoke french"

Was japan ever colonised by any country? Did the japanese ever have to pay hostile neighbours off to keep them from invading their country?

yes the japanese are diisciplined people but they had the added advantage of never having anyone on their back trying to exploit or destroy them. when you are left to your own devices the chances are that you will be free to develop economically and politically.

In as much as they did not get the lions share of the Marshall plan funding they were still given substantial financial assistance by the united states, you can check the role that the late General Macarthur played in the rebuilding of Japan after the second world war.

Compare that to how haiti has been and continues to be treated by europe and america.

I reiterate that it is not the responsibility of africa to give Haiti financial assistance but it is DEFINITELY the responsibility of France to pay reparations to Haiti for destroying Haiti's chances of ever being able to provide for its citizens, france is what it is today because of the wealth generated from african slave labour in Haiti, it is absolutely immoral that france is being allowed to get away with the wholesale r.ape and destruction of an entire nation of people. The united states are also culpable becvause they invaded haiti more than 3 times, imposed murderous puppet govts who helped suck the remaining wealth out of haiti and they very recently KIDNAPPED and DEPORTED Haiti's only democratically elected former president therefore they are obliged to compensate Haiti for all of this destruction.

Africa may if it choses help thier Haitian brothers and sisters but the above mentioned countries are OBLIGED to do so.

every other nation in the world has been compensated for damage and destruction suffered at the hands of other nations ie Japan (by america) Germany (by america) why is Haiti's situation different - let me guess........

InvertedHammer: [b]

What solutions are you advocating? Kill all whitemen? Look around you everything you use was developed by them. What do you
manufacture? You import even toothpicks!

You are just tap-dancing around the issue and I am done with arguing back and forth with you. The root cause of the problems you are
latching unto is beyond your means. It is beyond the means of other developed countries because the format for the world economy
was developed by the West and the rest follows. What alternatives do you have? Nada. Zil! Zero!

You can elect to keep harping on wishful thinking or embrace practical approach to alleviating the suffering of the masses. Give
them basic infrastructures that will help drive private sector and middle class. I don't know which part of this you find extremely
difficult to understand.

For the love of Christ, the whole world is not centered around Nigeria. If your leaders don't want to get it right. So be it. It is quiet
disturbing that you will leave the source of your problems to blame others. Do you know how retar.ded you sound?

As inter alia stated, Nigerians need basic amenities and couldn't care less about all these macro-economics you are throwing
around. You keep saying "problem with Africans". Why don't you remove the ignorant log on your eyes first. I gave you
examples and you still don't get it. The major setback for Nigeria is corruption. Take it or leave it. I am done with you[/b]

inverted hammer you keep going back to this position of blaming the victim, africa had its own civilsations prior to the arrival of the europeans, when they arrived on our shores they marvelled at our level of development, empires like ghana, songhai and mali of west africa were held in very high esteem by these same europeans that you are deifying. their only advantage over us was the gun which they used to destroy our civilisations.

Whether you want to accept it or not we are in a trap which the west has kept us in for the past 400 years. that trap is that we must remain subservient to them and never compete economically with them or else they will bomb and destry our country - i have already given you examples of african countries that have fallen foul of this rule. The only solution is for us to allign with a power like china or even iran in order to counter any attempt that they may make to stop us from developing.

What happened to Gadaffi when he tried to set up an african central bank which would compete with the IMF and the World bank - how about when he tried to float a gold currency which europe and america would have been forced to use to purchase oil from african oil producing countries! Please read, read and read history and i dont mean biased accounts of history written by racist europeans.

You make it sound as if without the west we would die in africa - are you aware that the BRICS nations have started trading with each other without using the US dollar, even some european countries dont want anything to do with the dollar because of its depreciating value, china also has bilateral trade agreements with many far east asian countries like malaysia, singapore, etc it doesnt need america any more in addition china's trade with africa has quadrupled in the last 10 years. The US and the european nations are just parasitic nations who built their wealth on the backs of african slave labour and today they continue to cheat and exploit african nations using their financial institutions, trading with them is of very little benefit to africa.

InvertedHammer: [b]Every thing you mentioned above is a known fact. I applaud your knowledge of history.

But what have these got to do with:
1. Salary payment when due
2. Road construction
3. Bribery and corruption to the highest level of government and individuals.
4. Electricity
5. Refineries.
6. General basis amenities.

I am a big student of conspiracy theory by the way.
Refer to my reply to Thot marked in red about Nigeria organizations in Diaspora. Our problems go beyond the slave-master
relationship with the West. It doesn't help that the West strangulates Nigeria and the little left is stolen.

As it stand now, I assign 20% of the blame to the West on macro-economic levels while the remaining blame goes to
your government and the citizens. But for you and thot, the West should take 90% of the blame because you failed to
put your house in order. Remember that USA was once under the control of Britain too. HongKong too. So there is a system
in place to maintain the status quo and I mentioned that in my earlier post on "Competition" as it concerns BRICS.

But come on dude, people are celebrating 24hrs x 2 days electricity in 2013? What education and travel have offered me is that
I look around and see what Nigeria could be, but choose not to be. I have been in a position to advice the leaders. Guess what?
Everyone of them believes that the next one is the most corrupt. And the cycle continues. There is crime everywhere. American
citizens hate their politicians as well. But my grind with Nigeria is that crimes are committed with impunity with neither repercussions
nor deterrents in place to check this national past time. There are no leverages. The incentives to loot are endless.

Nigerians are just wicked. Every country gets the leadership they deserve. I mentioned somewhere that every Nigerian
I know is a "looter in waiting" because God forbid you forget to steal in a position of leadership in Nigeria. Your own people
will disown you. Any future?

If Nigeria is a criminal, only Ambulance chaser attorneys would dare defend her. [/b]

The first thing you must understand about nigerians is that we are not a nation - nationhood is defined as:

a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history.

When you are a nation you do things that are in the interest of the country not against it.

The average nigerian does not see himself as a member of a nation thats why a nigerian politician can loot billions of naira from his own people and feel no guilt at seeing these same people living in abject poverty.

Again this goes back to the west- why did they force all of these vastly different groups of people to live under one articificial contraption ia - because it suited them thats why. they knew very well that we were all very different but they forced us into this fake union because they needed to have easy access to the land, labour and natural resources , they knew that the people on it would be at each others throats sooner or later but they couldn care less, it was all about what was in their best interests.

You are only ever going to get sefless leadership where you have a group of people who share common objectives - there are two many competing and conflictng interests between the various ethnic groups and this is reflected in the smash and grab mentality of the average nigerian politician.

however i still beleive that there are selfless nigerians who are willing to serve the nigerian people and lead the country to greatness its just that they are never allowed anywhere near the corridors of power.

I think the most pressing issue for nigerians now is to rid themselves of this cancerous elite, once we can acheive that, half of our problem will be solved.

InvertedHammer: Cap28:
You are phony!

I cannot follow your logic. You blame and excuse Nigeria at the same time in your epistle.

You are a victim of your conspiracy theory. As you opined, we live in a world dominated and controlled by the White Supremacists.
By your own assertion, Nigeria failed because of Caucasians. Are you serious or just being mischievous? I don't have much time to be
arguing with you because our audience are people who live in Nigeria and know the exact level of frustrations therein. I cannot believe
that the country you are trying so hard albeit vainly to defend is the same Nigeria a good number of NLers live in.

Ok. Let me shove the truth down your throat.

White Supremacists are not holding Nigeria down. Nigeria is her own problem. Why?

White Supremacists are not the ones owing people salaries in arrears. They did not force your leaders (OBJ,IBB, Abacha, Ibori, etc) to embezzle funds entrusted in their cares. It was not a white Supremacist judge that cleared Ibori of all the criminal charges in Delta State. They did not force your government to negate on the agreement they reached with ASUU. They are are not responsible for bad roads, lack of electricity, no clean water and other vices obtainable in Nigeria. They are not the ones snatching ballot boxes. They do not force Immigration officials at the airport to continue to embarrass themselves by turning into lowly beggars. Did you see the pictures of Ikeja Police College? Is a white supremacist in charge of that place too? Last time I checked, toothless EFCC is not being run by a white supremacist.

I guess in your world it is the white supremacists that are stoking the embers of tribal hatred on NL. Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!
Take it from me. The leaders do not believe in Nigeria. I may live in USA but I have more contact in Nigeria than you. I was in a senator's house in Abuja last year in one of their so-called "meeting-before-meeting" (if you are in the know, you will know what this means), I was appalled by
the level of deliberations these folks embarked on. It was more like a child's play. And I wondered if these are the exact same set of people we expect to deliver Nigeria from ending in abyss. Nothing discussed there showed any sign of people with some level of confidence in the so-called country. Unbelievable! I came out of there and my whole outlook about Nigeria changed. Aren't you surprised that the same problems Fela mentioned in his songs in the 1970s are still here with us thirty-something years later? Keep hoping!

Apparently, you live in a lala land. People like you are the problem with Nigeria. You refuse to acknowledge reality and worse, you refuse to take
full control and responsibility of your actions and/or inaction. In times of problems you blame satan and the white supremacists and call on Jesus to levitate down from heaven to come and solve your man-made problems. Perhaps, you forgot that God helps those who help themselves. You know your oppressors. They live in Banana Island, Asokoro, VI, and other choice areas in Nigeria. But being the cowards that you are, you are scared of taking on them head long rather you keep giving away the little you have to some pastors in anticipation of miracles to happen in your lives. IF Nigeria cannot find internal solutions to her problems; she is doomed.

I attended ABU-Zaria. That was 2 years of my life down the drain which would be attributed to the incessant strikes by ASUU in those years. USA has offered more to me in few years than Nigeria ever did or will ever do if the current trend is the yardstick.

I challenge you to take a walk to any Nigeria Embassy anywhere and see how much your country cares for your existence.

Ignorance is bliss.

The fact that i say that the root cause of nigeria's problems lies with the west does not mean that i am a defender of the bandits that run nigeria.

let me explain - the nigerian elite are indeed culpable in the destruction of nigeria but they are not the root cause of the destruction, the root cause lies with the people who have made it possible for them to even be your leaders in the first place and that is where the west comes in to the picture.

in order for you to even begin to understand how nigeria works you must understand world history which clearly you do not , hence your ignorance.

Let me break it down for you - britain up until the end of the second world war had an empire and nigeria was (and still remains) one of its possessions.

the United States emerged as the most powerful nation after the second world war and usurped Britain's position and began to build its own empire and assert its dominance over resource rich countries but it stayed out of africa due to a mutual agreement that it had with europe. this agreement states that america will not interfere with any of europe's colonies (possessions) as long as europe does not lay claim to any nations which america controls, this is known as the Monroe Doctrine - go and research it and gain some knowledge.

every single country on the african continent is owned lock stock and barrel by a european nation and the ones that refuse to be part of that arrangement have been attacked by either europe or america either militarily (somalia, libya, ivory coast ) or economically (zimbabwe)

Nigeria has never been an independent nation - the igbos attempted to breakout of this set up but found themselves facing the military might of britain who used their northern puppets to crush their attempted secession. Since the civil war, power, remains in the hands of a corrupt elite who have been handpicked by britain, if you are not given the green light by britain to take over the running of nigeria it will just be a matter of time before you will be overthrown by way of a military coup, sponsored and financed by either british intelligence, the CIA or any other european intelligence organisations.

a very recent example is egypt where a democratically elected president - mohammed morsi was removed by way of a CIA sponsored coup.

Now i knkow you must be asking why would britain do this - whats in it for them ? the answer is simple - limitless access to cheap crude oil cheap labour and a market of over 150 million consumers who are only too willing to remain obedient slaves to a system that exploits and abuses them, britain couldnt care less whether your leaders steal trillions of dollars of nigeria's wealth, all they are concerned about is that the country remain open for their corporations to ra.pe and plunder your resources at rock bottom prices with no hindrances - that is the bottom line.

The more corrupt your leaders are, the easier it is for the western govts to manipulate them, because a greedy person can be bought, whereas a patriotic leader can not.

A patriotic leader will never allow you to devalue his nation's currency, do a deal with western banks which involves handing over almost 90% of your foreign reserves in the name of debt cancellation, allow you to impoverish their citizens, take on more debt with interest, restructure their economy to suit the dictates of europe and america knowing full well that such restructuring will lead to mass unemployment, poverty and despair, the list goes on.

it is pitiful that you claim to be educated but do not understand that the above mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the abuse and exploitation being meted out to nigeria by britain.

The situation is so bad that despite all of the above, britain still has the nerve to ban nigerians from their country by imposing racist immigration policiese against nigerian citizens - this is the level of contempt that they have for us, they abuse us and they laugh in our face and yet we still have people like you still wallowing in ignorance failing to understand where their problems are coming from.

You talk about ignorance being bliss - you should know because you are neck deep in it, my advice to you is use the time that you have in america to re -educate yourself - education is not just about cramming textbooks - its about understanding the world that you live in, which clearly you dont.

Before i end this response let me go back to your statment about the west not being responsible for the corrupt practices of nigerian politicians - ask yourself this question - why do western banks continue to allow nigerian politicians to hide their loot in their banks?

In law if you are an accomplice to a crime you are equally culpable therefore why is the accomplice in this instance not held to account but only the perpetrator of the crime?

Lets go back to the 1970s - In 1976 Murtala Muhammed was summoned to the white house by the then US national security adviser Henry Kissinger to play the part of the obedient african house boy and guess what? he told Kissinger to go to hell!!

Murtala Muhammed refused to be treated like a house boy and made it clear that nigeria did not take orders from the west. He was adamant that nigeria should be a non alligned nation with full control over its economic and poliltical destiny, not long after adopting this stance he was assassinated and replaced with the imperialist stooge Obasanjo - contrast that with the pitiful behaviour of Goodluck Jonathan

In 1984 another progressive nigerian in the person of Muhammadu Buhari took over the reigns of power - here is a man who strongly opposed the west's destructive economic policy known as Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP), he also wanted a moratorium (freeze) placed on all interest owed on outstanding loans to western banks - how long did he last? Approximately 20 months thats how long.

Who replaced him? The notorious IBB (a man who Buhari was planning on retiring from the army)

Now i ask you, why is it that every time nigeria has been opportuned to find a progressive leader something happens to them, either they wind up dead or they are removed by way of a coup ?
On the other hand criminals like IBB, OBJ seem to have access to a revolving door into the corridors of power?

I know you will never be able to answer any of those questions because you have not yet understood how nations operate and my beleif is that it may be too late for you to wake up.