₦airaland Forum

EzeUche

My question for everyone is why are the Nigerian Fulani like this? I have encountered Fulani from Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Burkina Faso and they do not seem to act like this. A good friend of mine that I met at my university is a Fulani from Sierra Leone says that her people have a peaceful co-existence with the various Mende & Krio people.

Maybe it is the nomadic Fulani who have kept to the old ways, that need to be trained. I hear the urban Fulani are a totally different people in many aspects.

@EzeUche
There's nothing peculiar or wrong with the so called Nigerian Fulani .  The only thing peculiar to them in the Nigerian sphere, different from the other places you mentioned above: they arrived Nigeria with the marauding conquering jihadists of Uthman Dan Fodio who conquered/pacified and converted the Hausa states to Islam; hence they became the overlords of the Hausa ever since despite their minority status. In the other places you mentioned above they do not enjoy such perverse overarching influence/power over the rest ethnic groups. They certainly cannot dominate the proud self confident ethnic nationalities of Guinea where they are sizeable in population, Mali, Bukina Faso, Cameroun, Senegal, Niger etc.
Conquest/power confers a psychological advantage and the self assurance of knowing that your kith and kin are in the saddle of Power especially in Nigeria where they've seized the political initiative even beyond the Northern geographical zone where the actual battles for supremacy happened .

A good number of the so called cattle Fulani are not indigenous but from Niger hence most of them do not recognise, understand/ respect local customs or boundaries. That's not good enough to excuse their bad behaviour in some places.

Beaf

The land use act is part of the reason for the nomadic menace from cattle rearers.

@Beaf

Are they (cattle herds men) unable to tell the difference between cultivated farmlands and empty uncultivated looking grasslands etc, Land Use Act or not?  Why are we making excuses for blatant vandalism, trespass and absolute contempt for the local farmers by the Fulani herds men. Their behaviour is not uncommon/unusual either in the so called Middle belt areas / Benue zone.

Do they drive their cattles over farmlands in Katsina, Kano, Niger, Plateau, Borno or even some southern states? They are aware of the consequences, if they trespass/ violate farm lands in the above mentioned places. Why should the 'government' make any special provision for a 'life style'/economic choice? Besides, most of the cattles belong to the rich and some of the northern elite like Dangote and Ribadu etc.

Chronic bickering since the election in June 2010 has left a caretaker government in office for 230 days and counting, a European record. Belgium is on course to beat Iraq’s 289 days without a government. Yet the country has so many layers of administration that daily life goes on. Belgian ministers made a decent fist of their country’s six-month rotating presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2010. Eurocrats in Brussels are only faintly aware of living in a paralysed country. And, despite a few recent wobbles, the bond markets seem largely unconcerned about Belgium’s giant public debt of close to 100% of GDP. It was only on January 23rd that Belgian students organised protest rallies to urge their country’s politicians to get a move on.

@Op
There's a report today that a female Belgium politician has told MPs' wives to ban sex/withhold sexual 'favours' until the country forms a government; Spouses should "keep their legs crossed" said Senator Marleen Temmerman, to bring an end to the deadlock that has lasted 240 days. "It worked in Kenya - a week after wives stopped having sex, a deal was on the table," said Ms Temmerman, a qualified gynaecologist
Well, Africa does have novel ways of solving political problems the rest of the world and indeed most Africans are yet to acknowledge/appreciate enough, just like the Belgium waring tribes are learning a valuable lesson about African sense of 'Compromise' and the inherent power of the 'Woman' in every sphere of life . Africa is Great

kilode?!

Unfortunately, those with the power to change direction are largely in the elite, and it's not in their interest to remove the status quo for now. They and their kids go to school in the West afterall.

@kilode?!
You are very correct, and the power mongers are clueless about the consequences of their ineptitude and small mindedness. Their kids going to school in the West or outside of Nigeria, makes their condition even more tragic and pitiable .

SEFAGO

I think we should keep our culture, keep our identity, keep our traditions, [/b]they are unique and beautiful in their own rights.
[b]But we should also de-emphasize cultural and ethnic relations, [/b]we should encourage inter ethnic marriage, teaching kids about the cultures of other ethnic groups, and trying to emphasize that an individual should be judged and given positions based on merit and character as opposed to their ethnic affiliations.

@SEFAGO
You think we should keep our culture, identity and traditions yet you also want us to de-emphasise cultural & ethnic relations. Is it not a contradiction or a little confusing? Culture is what makes every being [b]Whole or else it's disaster in waiting. You cannot de-emphasise who you are . Awareness, Sensitivity and Respect should be the key attributes of a truly 'educated' Nigerian/person so culture/identity [/b]is at the heart of the 'Education' agenda for [b]National Affirmation.
The bolded in your quote means that the Nigerian educational system is lacking in its 'mission' and may never achieve that lofty goal because the ruling 'elite' somehow do not appreciate the full concept of 'Nation' building and the role/place of 'Proper' 'Education' in the work in progress called Nigeria.

EzeUche

I have always stated that countries should split linguistically. That is the easiest way. The Flemish people do not see eye to eye with the French speaking people of Belgium, so I can understand why both groups would want to go their separate ways.

@EzeUche

I thought most states in Nigeria are 'semi-autonomous'/ 'Ethnic'/tribe' or 'nationally'/ linguistically based e.g. the South-West states, some South East states, Bayelsa state and majority of the Northern states. If that's the case for/ sole reason to break Naija, then it's pretty obvious that we have not sincerely located/identified what our problems are as a people. Are the states not able to develop independently now? Are the Governors/Administrators of the various states in Nigeria 'foreigners or strangers'? What is it about us as Africans/Nigerians, that we are always looking for excuses for our Inertia and inability to find solutions to local problems. It appears that there's absence of (Creativity)/ability for/critical thinking? I very much doubt if every village was made a 'state'/'country', our perceived problems will vanish if the current state of affairs in the various Nigeria states/local governments is our guide. The easiest way to achieve the objective of 'separation' is for local governments/states to perform 'miracles' or live up to good expectation/ attain their stated goals. Don't you think so? what will be different if they're called/seen as a different country besides the rituals of nationhood?

eku bear

I've wondered, why is northern Europe so much wealthier than southern Europe?

There was a time when the southern countries (and regions of each country) were dominant, even as of 200-300 years ago, no?

How and why did they get surpassed so quickly?

@eku bear
Yes, you are right that they were dominant some hundreds of years back but it was wealth based on 'lootocracy'/ imperialism not wholly on equal trade terms with the natives they encounted. The Spaniards were notorious for their terrible acts of vandalism and destruction in the new world and the Phillipines(Asia) which they later sold to the Americans. They did not develope/invest appropriately at home instead they invested in pompous grand monuments/palaces by their feudal rulers.
The southern tribes of Europe are of Catholic temperament, beliefs/disposition- full of ritual and pomposity and superstition. They are opposite of the northern tribes in values and attitudes as reflected in their 'heavy' handcrafts/work and architecture etc.They are pompous and 'showy' as demonstrated in grand public displays of power and conspicuous consumption and festivities. It's not by chance that much of the grand palaces & historical monuments in Europe are in the 'southern'/'Catholic' part of Europe- Palaces in France(Versailles), Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece etc . They all have very long lunch breaks and good time keeping,hard work/thrift are not exactly celebrated but sneered on. Pompous display of wealth/power is very much acceptable as evidenced in their national tolerance for frivolous behaviour a la Sarkozy&wife/mistress, Berlussconi(italy), Greece etc. You rarely hear of such behaviour amongst the northern tribes/elite. In Nigerian parlance, the southern tribes can be described as "they know how to enjoy life" albeit their natural penchant for corruption/tax avoidance and 'relaxed' attitude to work.

The culture/values of the northern tribes of Europe are different from their southern tribal brethren.
They are of Protestant/Calvinist beliefs and values. Their work ethic is far removed from those of the south. They are a 'hardy' aggressive bunch, scandinavians( Vikings) and militaristic Prussians(Germans). Hard work and simplicity/thrift was celebrated and emphasised in every aspect of their personal and national life. They dominated Europe in trade/ to the Baltic i.e. Russia. They are not given to 'showy' pompous behaviour/attitudes as demonstrated in their simple, very functional and attractive handwork/crafts and architecture. Perhaps, they are creatures of their own cold/ harsh environment and history. Much of the technical developments that affected and enriched their lives /the rest of Europe were developed/popularised in Northern Europe e.g. the printing press(Martin Luther/Germany), Auto-vehicle/Germany, dynamite/mining Sweden(Nobel), Xray/Marie Curie(Polish)etc. I think Calvinist/Protestant values informs much of their way of life, ethics in industry, education, play and welfare etc. With a variety of other social/technical developments /diffusion of calvinist values/culture of hard work it's only matter of time before they surpassed their feckless southerners who depended much on inherited and looted wealth from colonies in the new world. The attitudes of the southern feudal lords were no different from our uncaring quasi feudal ruling elite in Africa. Welfare of society/citizens was never part of national aspiration earlier until later in southern Europe. They are a narcissistic lot the southern tribes . The northern tribes believed in Meritocracy, Handwork, Thrift, intellectual liberalism/enquiry and quasi egalitarian sense of welfare for citizens. They invested wisely and in country. There are other factors beyond the general common sense observation of the differences between northern/southern tribes of Europe which we can't delve into here due to time/space constraints.

kilode?!

"Pan-Europeanism" as exemplified by the EU, seem like a check against extreme nationalism or extreme ethnic-ism, despite this Belgium problem.

@kilode?!

I dont't think  "Pan-Europeanism" as exemplified by the[b] EU[/b] put a stop/ check against extremism or rabid nationalism/tribalism  etc amongst Europeans. It's more like a 'balance of terror' akin to the old 'East/West' era geopolitics. There's a common general awareness of each other's tribal strengths/weaknesses. Economic realities instead of mere tribal sentiments/affiliation have conspired to over-ride or subsume 'primitive'/ primordial  tendencies. 'Education' in the European context can be said to have benefitted the people immensely. Africa or more specifically Nigeria have never had the opportunity or luxury of proper education conducive/appropriate for nation building let alone adequate enough to function amongst comity of nations. The various ethnic nationalities of Nigeria may have 'national' culture but do we really have a 'National' culture/language or vocabulary that is identifiable? I believe it can be constructed if we are really serious about 'nation' building. Presently., it's profitable and less intellectually tasking to continue in our quasi-illiterate ways especially the ruling elite. Our educational system have not been scrutinised/analysed thoroughly. Late Tai Solarin came close to drawing attention to it, but as usual the ruling elite do not want to engage in intellectual discourse let alone action. The ruling elite do not understand the full concept of Education as a tool for National cohesion etc. If they did, they'll not be proud to allow their children to school in Ghana and other places besides Nigeria.

kilode?!

Maybe that is what we need in Africa. Can Pan-Africanism solve the ethnic, nationalist, sectarian divide we often see here? dunno.

@kilode?!

Pan-Africanism as I understand it cannot solve any of the above bolded^. I don't think Pan-Africanism precludes 'nationalist' or 'ethnic' self determination, given prevailing/unfolding tendencies - e.g. in the Sudan, Congo DRC, Ethiopia, South Africa and Nigeria.etc. Pan-Africanism in my humble opinion is an incomplete/unfinished idealistic concept/idea most good natured Africans will desire for different reasons etc. The reality of our Africa of today is different and perhaps sad.

Op

Strangely, perhaps, this same erosion of sovereignty is seen as an antidote to violent nationalism. European integration overcame the historic enmity between France and Germany. Ireland’s entry into the EU helped to end the worst of Northern Ireland’s sectarian war. In the Balkans, the EU offers the balm of membership to heal the trauma of the Yugoslav wars. But is this not all romantic nonsense when Belgium, a founder of the EU as well as the host to its capital, struggles to hold together? No, says Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think-tank. By “taking the gun out of politics”, the EU has contradictory effects. It makes it easier to draw violent groups into politics; but it also allows peaceful nationalists to act up, and voters to support them, because there is no danger of bloodshed.

@Op

On the bolded above^, it's rather romantic and optimistic given the reality in France/Corsica, Spain/ETA, Northern Ireland/IRA & Loyalists, the so-called confederation of independent states/Russia, the festering crisis in the former Yugoslavia(Serbia/kosovo/Albania, Turkey/Greece(divided Cyprus),etc. The gun/violence has not been taken out of European tribal crises. There's the insidious and inherent prejudice by the northern Tribes of Europe, notably Germany and the Scandinavians of their Latin or 'lazy', 'feckless' and 'corrupt' southern Europeans/ tribes, especially the Italians, Spaniards, Greeks, Portuguese and the French who are the prime culprits in Belgium, just like their fellow tribalists of Quebec/Canada.

Tribal/ethnic 'politics' is not unique/peculiar to Africa, the rest of the world can actually learn a thing or two from Africa despite the inherent structural constraints .

EzeUche

But there is money to be made in the "hood."

@EzeUche

well, wherever there's rubbish/muck there's Money seriously*

nosa2

The PDP is a party that promotes free enterprise, and [b]privatisation [/b]as solution to the problems facing the Nation, [b]they can be compared to the Republicans, [/b]this is very similar to the action congress thou Buhari has expressed a more socialist view

@nosa2

Did you mean 'lootocracy' or something akin to animal farm
Republicans?? where?

Beaf

Whoever heard of a political party or movement without an ideology? We have played the[b] "try your luck"[/b] game in Nigeria with various clueless leaders in the past and ended up on a journey to nowhere. Thank goodness for GEJ.

For Bakare's info, politics without ideology is like reading the map for the fastest route to chaos, despondency, poverty, developmental inertia and societal anaemia.
Out of ideology springs focus, direction and effective strategy.

Bakare might be a good social critic, but in the political field, he is already displaying an alarming emptiness.

@Beaf

At last, we are about to get somewhere besides/without depending on good or mere 'luck' in your good judgement but on good/sound 'idealogy' , perhaps like the PDP .

Pls are you privy to the 'ideology' of any of the political Parties in Nigeria most importantly the ruling PDP? If you do, pls publicise/share some of their earth shaking wisdom/excepts with us. Thanks in advance.

cold

Ok I take it back

@cold
no big deal

cold

Duh!I hate to call you dumb but i can't help it.Didn't you see the quotation marks to indicate that those are words used by politicians to deceive the public.Stop making a fool of yourself

@cold
Thanks

cold

i can tell you without fear of equivocation that the crisis is far from ethnic.[/b]That is the cliche used by politicians to gloss over the true state of affairs: 'the crisis is not religious but about [b]ethnicity & the control of resources' [/b]pullezz,we know better

@cold

you have just confirmed that the troubles in Plateau/Jos is about [b]ethnicity [/b]and [b]control of resources . Pls see the bolded above^. is ethnic not part of ethnicity?

sleekymag

you are oblivious of the fact that Jonathan has already provided a blueprint [/b]on Power?

@sleekymag

Lucky Joe must be a genius/ miracle worker with the bolded above^ Blueprint Ko blueprint ni Lazy thieving people


[b]sleekymag

but what i'm saying is we need real leaders who can give us the enabling environment for things to thrive.

@sleekymag

Your creative thinking is boundless Is corruption not a very important[b]fundamental[/b] of the disabling Nigerian environment ?

Kilode?!

I wish we can force them to debate for 12 hours with only two pure-water breaks, that will be so worth the amount we pay them for all those extra allowances.

@Kilode?!

Haba!! 12hrs with only two pure-water breaks?
No Agege bread or groundnuts for snacks while they bamboozle us with their sophistry ?
You cannot be that hard hearted not to allow them such small 'chops' for 'reinforcement'
They're not accustomed to very long hours of 'intellectual rigour' as you'll be forcing them to do something out of the ordinary.
Perhaps, Pure-water sachets might be the antidote to their general lack of awareness and sensitivity to the Nigerian condition.

Gbawe

It was many ordinary Britons and Americans who benefitted from readily available , if poorly scrutinised loans not (as in Nigeria's case) bank CEO's who 'lent' billions to themselves , through cronies,they deliberately intended to write-off thus completing the scam cycle. Considering that what our Banking CEO did in Nigeria was daylight robbery assisted by a lax , perhaps probably even complicit, CBN under Soludo I really don't see the merit of comparing Soludo's situation to that of Bernanke or King. let not forget that;

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

Quote
The primary function of a central bank is to provide the nation's money supply, but more active duties include controlling interest rates, and acting as a lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of financial crisis. It may also have supervisory powers, to ensure that banks and other financial institutions do not behave recklessly or fraudulently.

@Gbawe

On Point and Gbam!!!!!

Mai Suya

Both men are obviously very brilliant in their own ways. This is a debate I'll love to see.

@Mai Suya

Well, you'll wait forever for a debate that will never happen. One is a serving Minister of Finance of the Federal Rep. of Nigeria and the other is an ex- Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, presently, perhaps, unemployed . It's most inappropriate for a minister to engage in 'phoney' debates no matter how tempting/provocative etc. It's technically beneath his office do so publicly with any tom, Di-ck and harry, whether the ex- governor of the central bank or not. The protocol of office does not allow/tolerate such frivolous behaviour. He may do so after he's left the office/position of Minister of Finance if he chooses to engage in tittle-tattle .
The current Central bank governor but for his volubility, cannot/ should not engage in such tittle-tattle but focus on his task. Politics is best left to his masters/ministers and not part of his brief no matter how 'seductive' it is to give the Nigerian media audience quotable 'quips' for headlines.

SapeleGuy

You will find it hard to find nations with more than 10 or 20 ethnicities that are co-existing peacefully. Even the UK with just 4, despite the similarities between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland realise that devolution is they way forward.

Why can't all of these 300 or so groups be equally represented? The short answer is that some people have a lot to lose if equality is allowed. These are the same ethnicities that cling religiously to their oppresive colonial priviledges as though they were god given rights.

Why should ancient and distinguished kingdoms like Calabar or Benin be subservient to a WAZOBIA tripartite? After all these were undefeated city states before colonial intervention.

Let us ditch the politics of I plenty pass you, even though it appears to be the most convenient option for some, it can never work. Let us focus on consensus and consultation to achieve equal rights and justice for ALL.

@SapeleGuy

Well, you've just hit the nail on the head with the Bolded above!
I'll go as far as saying that Our so called founding fathers, like the majority of so called 'independence' leaders/fighters were sincerely intellectually lazy, inept/shallow lacking in thorough historical/cultural awareness of their environment with the exception of perhaps Amilcar Cabral of Guinea Bissau/Cape Verde and perhaps Julius Nyerere of Tanzania. We have been 'dazzled' and conned by the 'hero' worship of our so called leaders for far too long that we now suffer from absolute Inertia. We can clearly see within this forum some people proudly declaring that the post is too long and some refusing to read outrightly but wish to make 'informed'/uninformed contribution. In some quarters it's almost impossible to critically review anything by our so called founding fathers from Awo - Zik without drawing some ire. what is it about us that makes most of us afraid to Think let alone Think the Unthinkable? What are we afraid of ? are we inherently Lazy, Wicked and Stupid or what

Eziachi

Until late 1997, Hong Kong was still under the British rule before handing it over to China. The Chinese did not set out to destroy Hong Kong and then blame the British, but in fact, they had a separate rule to Hong Hong to reflect their way of live under the British and that is why Hong Hong is still thriving

@Eziachi
Pls don't bring in HongKong into your debate. There was an existing treaty/lease between the British/China hence when the time was up(Hundred years+), the British administrators of Hongkong had no choice but to go. HongKong was hundred percent dependent on the Mainland China in almost every sense of the word. China is a super Power and with a civilization/history that's over five thousands years old to anchor everything on. Your choice of example/comparison is rather inappropriate and misplaced indeed. Nevertheless I do understand your drift.

Mandingo

this is the difference between Western poverty and ABSOLUTE poverty.

Mandingo

yup, this is the SH, IT that African Americans have to DEAL WITH SINCE BIRTH.  yet, all Nigerians see is LAND OF OPPORTUNITY. they do not see the H.ELL that living in this country entails.  they just WANT IT.   until they get here,  

then they be like WTF?

@Mandingo

Western Poverty/'AA'American Poverty can be deemed/described as ABSOLUTE poverty because it encompasses 'Poverty of Spirit' which is disabling and insidious. see your second quote for the answer/ to understand/appreciate your not so smart view of 'Western' poverty and the 'material' lack/ poverty of the Nigerian living in Africa is just that; hence it's a shock to the 'successful' Nigerian in the West/USA as to the harassment/'envy' from people most Nigerians misguidedly presume to be their 'brothers/sisters'. The ignorance is mutual sadly .

AjanieKoko

I work with a lot of Chinese, and I can tell you one thing about those guys. They act dumb a lot, like they don't have a clue. Nigerians are always looking at them like they are some dirty and silly skunks. But when I went to China . . . bros, I just had to doff my hat for those guys. I don't even think Nigerians have the mental discipline to achieve 1/50th of what those guys have done for themselves in 30 years, in a hundred years.

@AjanieKoko

The problem lies in the bolded above because of the 'Nigerians' and indeed the rest of the Euro-centric world's inability to 'read'/decipher the inscrutable Chinese, as usual, wrong assumptions/conclusions are drawn; which also exposes the massive ignorance endemic in Nigeria. Nigerians barely know a thing about their village/fellow Naija, let alone China/chinese. At least, in most countries of the West, they are making desirable efforts to studying/understanding China/Chinese.
You discovered/ learnt a thing or two through your travel/visit to China. Indeed, 'Travel', like my father made me to believe, is one of the best 'education' anyone can get etc, so long one is open minded to see, think and appreciate/reflect about it.
Believe me, China is beyond what meets the eye. The culture and civilisation is over five thousands years old, so I wonder where the misguided assumptions are coming from if not from gross propaganda of which Nigerians are also victims too .

@Sagamite

A war would cost them how many billion dollars? Only one billion dollars in bribery money would secure them all the flow of oil they want i[b]n Nigeria,[/b] without having any of their soldiers die or facing their home pressures of going to war.

@Sagamite
Ah Ah that's a bit too expensive Presently, what's the going rate/ price for the 'Niggaz'    Pls could you bring your price down
We don't use such crude and fancy words like - Bribery and Money either in that line of business.

@Gbawe

Quote
Danjuma panel to Jonathan: Cut recurrent budget to 40% .
Thursday, 27 January 2011 00:00 Nasiru L. Abubakar   
.

Ten key recommendations intended to turn around the course of the Nigerian state were made to President Goodluck Jonathan by the Gen T.Y. Danjuma Presidential Advisory Committee last week, beginning with one that recurrent expenditure should not exceed 40% of the national budget and this should determine the size of the government. Other recommendations contained in a summary report submitted to Jonathan by the council dated January 20, 2011 and signed by Danjuma, include the need to reduce Federal ministries to 18 at most and to rationalise all non-ministerial agencies to eliminate overlap, duplication and redundancies.


Similarly, the Danjuma panel recommended pursuing programs to enhance capacity of the public service; reduce the salaries, allowances and overhead expenditure of political office holders; and pay to legislators only salaries and allowances as determined by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission [RMAFC].

It also recommended a pruning of the budget deficit to no more than 3% of GDP; limiting borrowing by federal and state governments to only productive projects; stopping the legislature from hiking budget proposals; ensuring that expenditure and project costs are internationally competitive; scrupulous auditing of public accounts, as well as strict adherence to a policy of zero tolerance for corruption.

The Danjuma panel expressed “grave concern over the sub-optimal management of our national resources” in four key indices. It condemned the deterioration in the ratio of recurrent to capital expenditure over the years in favour of the former, from 39:61 percent in 2000AD to 60:40% in 2010 and a projected further deterioration to 71:29% this year.

It said the country is dedicating the bulk of its resources to finance government administration “rather than making investments in key infrastructure, to fuel growth and enhance quality of lives.”

It frowned at a situation where there are 30 federal ministries and a plethora of extra-ministerial departments, 42 ministers and “an army of special advisers and assistants.” It also said the National Assembly consumed N144bn in 2010, or N307m per legislator.

The Danjuma council also frowned at “the abuse of legislative oversight functions” with the allocation of big sums of money to finance committee members’ visits to projects sites. It said despite the cost, this has not added anything to the quality of spending and project execution.

It also said “unrealistsic budget assumptions have pushed up the government to resort to excessive borrowing to finance the budget.” It warned on the dangers of the growing public debt burden on the country’s future and said delay in passing the Petroleum Industry Reform Bill [PIB] has led to a suspension of new investment in the oil sector.

According to the panel, “no economic indicator better exemplifies our poor management of resources than the depletion of the Excess Crude Account at a time of rising oil production and prices.”

It said the account was eroded from £12.56bn in 2007 to £0.63bn last year, and even that £0.63bn was shared out between the three tiers of government on December 31, 2010.

@Gbawe

In the light of the above quote, will I be wrong to assume that 'Nigerians' and their 'Leadership' are practising a 'CYNICOCRACY'
i.e. a government/society of mutual suspicion, contempt, and sneers at every motive/action of citizens of Nigeria.

It's obvious that the so called 'leadership' is pompous, insensitive to public opinion/contemptuous, and definitely does not heed to wise counsel  from the so called PAC as demonstrated by the cynical expansion of the government/administration recently.

"Government of Cynics, by Cynics and for Cynics">>>>'CYNICOCRACY'

@Abagworo

If you say that the aborigines of Lagos are Yorubas then you are correct.Abuja for example is a new capital that replaced Lagos.The aborigines are the ''Gwari''(IBB's ethnic group)

@Abagworo
You have made my point hence I added 'pedantic and foolish' because it's unnecessary [/b]to engage in such 'sophistry'/analysis because the geography of the place in the layman's understanding/perception/reality ==[b]Yoruba land. We all know the history of Lagos or any other colonial towns/cities hence I mentioned Enugu(tongue in cheek) . I hope you understand my drift. I am not disputing/negating your point.

@Ogbuefi1

I did not imply that in post that slaves were never bought/sold from the Nigerian coast neither did I imply that East African slaves went to the West. I meant that slaves were shipped across the Atlantic from all over the West coast to the Southern African coastline as well. The records you're quoting may be right but it's not the whole picture indeed. Some slave traders actually gave up on slaves from the Nigerian coastline because of too much hassles/revolts from slaves from our shoreline and interference by some big 'chiefs'/kings in the Nigerian axis. It was not smooth sailing as it was made to appear by pseudo-African historians.
My statement was that we cannot always assume that majority of the slaves across the Atlantic came from specifically the Nigerian axis. It's not true. Besides, your thinking that the slavery began from the Calabar axis before the Badagry axis is pure fantasy. I thought that the Portuguese landed on our shoreline a long time before the British- Did you not realise that Lagos, Porto Novo, El mina, Bijagos Cameroons, Forcados, Sao Tome, Sierra Leone before the settlement of freed slaves by the British are all Portuguese words in origin. The Anglo saxons were late comers to our shores/trade. Did you not know that the Portuguese were already on our shores by the 15th century and had visited the great Oba of Bini(Benin) Kingdom/ exchanged ambassadors with the royal court. The records/paintings are displayed proudly for public view in the museum of discovery in Lisbon. Much of the coastal countries that the British later colonised/claimed as part of their imperial booty, were originally Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Spanish territories- eg South Africa before the Dutch was first visited/settled by the Portuguese, China(Macau), Japan, Indonesia before the Dutch, India(Goa), the whole of the East African coast etc. Pls do not be one dimensional in your research in subjects pertaining to Africa. Arabs were already doing brisk business with the hinterland of Africa long before the Europeans till this day hence the lingering bad blood between Africans and the hybridised African Arabs in many places including Nigeria. Our history is very diverse/ interesting/ sad too. The legacy of foreign incursion/conquest is perhaps one of the numerous reasons of our loss of proper African sovereignty or identity. Our social structure was interrupted/stopped altogether in some places hence we are in flux/ reason you and I use a foreign language to mediate our smooth communication. Some our languages have been affected by the influence of Portuguese long before the English language that came later. Perhaps if the Bini empire was not interrupted by the British, may be some so called Nigerians today, will be communicating in the 'Bini' language because the empire extended to modern day Benin Republic . Anyway, keep in mind that the Bini empire/most African empires were relatively benevolent unlike the European/Arab conquerors who imposed their languages on their subjects;-They seem to have the monopoly of interpreting/telling our stories(histories) and we believe them too because they have imposed/we adopted their language after so called independence without intellectual rigour/resistance by our so called founding fathers .

@Beaf

t is this sort of lazy thinking that has got us where we are. We have a unitary system that has attempted to subjugate minorities, but failed woefully; the result of those attempts are what we feel today as rampant ethnic bigotry and corruption. in more recent times, we have seen the addition of religion and amongst the wired elite, a brand new division called "diasporans."

These are all symptoms of a deeper malaise. Simply put, the Nigerian does not feel a sense of belonging. We are amazed at how far certain other countries would go to defend their citizens for the smallest crimes in foreign lands, we are equally amazed at how patriotic foreigners from these can be.

Why is this. To me the answers are simple and obvious. Unlike what obtains in modern countries, our government is more like a feudal lord than a representative, carer and arbiter for the people.
We live (not belong) in a country whose structure does not define the following:

the relationship between citizen and state. Such a definition would answer the following questions: What are the states responsibilities toward me and what are my reciprocal responsibilities? Why should I care?
ethnic part in the Nigerian structure, etnic input and relations to national wellbeing and building. Like the individual, all ethnicities must be equal
how accountability can be measured or maintained
indegenious rights, land ownership and natural resources
revenue generation and fiscal structure
intellectual rights, business rights and bureaucracratic structure
NATIONAL IDEOLOGY

Defining the above is the only way to escape the chaos and feudalism that breed corruption, lack of love and caring, hopelessness, and the lack of self belief and determination that continue to plague Nigeria and drag us deeper into the cesspit.
Corruption is not Nigeria's problem, structure is. The way to fix things is to opt for true federalism, with that will come a definition for every single point in the list above.
Report to moderator     Logged
ht

@Beaf
Pls re-read Kilode's  post again perhaps you'll come away with a different view point instead of your  haughty stance.

How can you address/solve the myriad problems of Nigeria if you do not understand fully your 'culture and history' from whence the solutions will definitely derive from, whether we ilke it or not. You do not derive appropriate solutions from 'ill defined'- Definitions /. You cannot 'Define' that which you do not understand/Know, properly, most especially if it's foreign to your worldview/ psyche. Think about it, perhaps, you'll fully appreciate the drift of his post. It's beyond simplistic analysis of Corruption and the Nigerian state as we know it now.

@SapeleGuy

On Zimbabwe, you are swallowing the propaganda, you are sharper than that. You need to do some research on the terms of the Lancaster House Agreement, whether or not this agreement was fulfilled, why Robert was made a Knight by the British Government and why the status quo changed in 1997.

As for the education, try UNESCO
http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=125&IF_Language=eng&BR_Fact=LTRAT&BR_Region=40540

@SapeleGuy
You are on point on Zimbabwe Very few Nigerians are aware of the politics of African Countries especially the Southern African region let alone the demonised Mugabe/Zimbabwe. The 'media' have actually fought a successful war of disinformation against an African nation before our eyes yet we choose to believe British orchestrated propaganda with the hapless/unwilling Americans in tow. Thanks for bringing the Zimbabwe insight. No doubt there are problems in Zimbabwe but it was not because they took some of their Lands back from the Settlers/Whites. They were never farming food for the Africans but tobacco, beef, mange-tu etc.

@eku bear

It depends. Some external forces are manipulative. But the fastest way to build up your country from scratch is to access international capital.

I look at what they've done in Dubai and I'm very envious

@eku bear

You may be correct with the bolded but so you sincerely believe that the 'backwardness'/underdevelopment of Nigeria is simply because of lack of or low FDI? Do you not think that the so called international capital will rather do business with the 'devil' or so called 'communist' than with Nigeria? The question is- Why? despite the so called Nigerian 'potential'? It has to do with the Nigerian 'enabling' or 'disabling' environment. You don't just throw good money after bad money. The laws/ infrastructure/ etc does not work adequately enough hence more capital goes to South Africa, Russia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, China, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and the Middle East. Nigeria does not desire development in the true sense of the word . The people/Nigeria must be perceived first as Serious and Purposeful hence Mr Onno Ruhl's statement/perception must be seen/understood in that context.

Dubai was possible because the 'Arabs' have the desire/ vision to Act for 'nation' and of course provided the purposeful enabling environment that FDI/capital desire wherever opportunities spring up. Capital will do business anywhere there's sufficien[/b]t opportunity to do so Don't envy them my brother, that's what [b]discipline, vision and Action can achieve anywhere very much like soldiers going to war you have to be prepared/plan ahead.

@Onlytruth

I only said the truth and you know I am saying the truth.
Every top country of the world tap into the best of their citizens.
The US has Jews and they have been one of the driving forces of American ingenuity.
The Jews are not suppressed. They are appreciated and nurtured.
Nigeria has Igbo, but they are discriminated against and marginalised.
All Nigerian groups can copy the Igbo spirit, but how do you copy what you vilify?
You have to accept it first.

@Onlytruth

We're having very interesting conversation so far, until you injected your'ignorance' and infamy. Pls go away if you have nothing to say besides 'tribal' this and that. Thanks.