₦airaland Forum

Why is the road transport business dominated by the Igbo
Why is the film industry dominated by the Igbo
Why is sports, especially football dominated by Igbo
Why is uni and poly admissions dominated by the Igbo
Why is commerce dominated by the Igbo


Answer: the world is a large receptacle in which all shades of endeavours will be accomodated. Go get yours

JJay1:
If you are so agrieved on having Yorubas and hausas running the show in the oil and gas sector, then tell your folks to start going to school and invest immensely in education and training of their medulla oblongata. That way they will be able to apply in an equal opportunity world

Are the Yorubas any better educated currently than the Igbo? I think not. They just had the advantage that Awo's policy during the civil war provided. Others, Igbos in particular, have overtaken the Yoruba in education and are INCREASINGLY bridging the gap that Awo's indigenisation policy created.

enolase:
There is something my pastor always says: A MIRACLE OCCURS WHEN OPPORTUNITY MEETS PREPARATION.

Look at the examples of miracles in the bible. If the recipients had not positioned themselves where God had programmed the miracles to occur, they would have missed out on them.

Let's apply this to the topic of this post.

The owners of these firms did not just happen to fall upon the positions they currently occupy. They had to prepare themselves for it.

Let's face it. The Yorubas have been at the forefront of financial education in Nigeria. Talk of shares, they were there before anyone. Talk of industries like the conglomerates that produce goods that are used EVERY SINGLE DAY by millions of Nigerians, (toothpaste, soap, detergent, packaged food items, etc) they are there. So is it a wonder they are at the forefront when it comes to company ownership, etc?

Now before I go on, I will like to state that I am not Yoruba. My parents are from the South South and South East.

A typical Igbo businessman is only interested in buying and selling. If you come to the South South, the mentality is simply centered around grabbing a piece of the oil wealth. There is no innovation to create something new; to develop new technology that will push Nigeria's development forward.

Crying about being marginalized is not an excuse. Look at Japan. Did they use the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as an excuse not to be counted in world economic affairs? NO!

The Japanese decided within themselves that they would rise above the ashes and scars of WW2 and become an economic powerhouse in the world. Now Japan is the home of Toyota, KIA, Honda, Yamaha, Sony and other products that are world leaders in their respective categories. You cannot talk of cars and electronics worldwide without mentioning Japan.

Even Americans prefer to buy Japanese cars than American cars. That's why Toyota has overtaken Ford as the world's leadng car manufacturer.

Why can't the so-called marginalized ethnic groups learn from the Japanese example?


This is what we in the South South and South East need to correct. We have to make a radical shift from what has been the norm to do something more positive in the area of carving out a niche for ourselves.

Just like a member rightly said in an earlier post, why did Alams not think of leaving behind a legacy for is people? Can the other South South govs really say that after 8 years, they left a legacy that can be built upon by their people?

These are questions that we need to answer.

This is a naive gibberish of a response. Many others (non-Yoruba) are in the big league as well. Bank businnes is not production and the banks were always getting moribund until Soludo came in. Take a trip to Nnewi and see what is going on. For instance, the best and only (I think?) computer-manufacturing company in Nigeria is owned by a south easterner. I do not want to indulge in naming names, but certainly the biggest players also include others.
And, until he resigned recently to contest for a gubernatorial position, the CEO of AP was Igbo by name Tony Okocha.

It may be nice to hand a slap to the drug couriers in Nollywood, as well as to BABA SUWE and other such clowns

All the oil companies you mentioned are mostly retail outlets in the downstream sector. None is involved in the upstream (exploiting and refining) petroleum sector. You too can open a gas station and with time you can play in the big league like those.

South-East, South-West Scramble For Speaker’s Slot

Even before the President-elect, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’Adua, proclaims the tenure of the fifth session of the National Assembly over, as the 1999 Constitution vests on him, there is confusion in the House of Representatives as to which geopolitical zone in the country will produce the next speaker.

Already, intending aspirants from the South-East and South-West geopolitical zones elected on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have commenced lobbying for endorsement by their colleaques. The uncertainty as to which zone produces the successor to the incumbent speaker, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, is principally because the hierarchy of the ruling party is yet to make a categorical statement as to where it is zoned to.

Leadership Sunday gathered that the caucus of the PDP met in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa shortly before the general election. Presided over by out-going President Olusegun Obasanjo, who also doubles as the life leader of the party, the caucus was said to have drawn up a tentative zoning formula for the principal offices in the National Assembly. It was agreed in principle that the South-East and the North-Central geopolitical zones would produce the speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate president respectively.

It was gathered that since the outcome of the general election in which the PDP swept the seats in the National Assembly, a powerful lobbying group from the South- West swung into action to wrestle a top principal office in the National Assembly. Their original plan was to corner the position of the Senate President, but that ambition was rebuffed as other red-necks in the PDP caucus thumbed down the move, saying that such an endorsement would portray the party in bad light.

Chieftains of the party, who are of South-East extaction, including Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Ojo Maduekwe, Nze Fidelis Ozichukwu, among others, are insisting that the minimum the zone will accept is the position of the speaker of the House of Representatives. They maintained that their aspiration is in tandem with the campaign promises the party made to its supporters in the zone in the run-up to the general elections. South-East, they said, is a major base of PDP and should be given its pride of place when sharing national portfolios.

Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, a Board of Trustees (BOT) member of the PDP and a leader of the party in the South-East, reacted this way when Leadership Sunday contacted him: ‘During the campaigns, the Igbos asked us what is in the system for them. We assured them that we shall be well placed in the next republic. So, the least we can settle for is the speaker of the House. But, what we want and should get is the Senate presidency.

“So, given the scenario where we campaigned and supported the emergence of Yar’Adua, the next thing is for Nigerians to accept the fact that we deserve the number one position in the National Assembly. Any fair-minded person will accept this.”

So far, a total of ten members of the House have indicated interest in the speakership of the House of Representatives: five each from the South-East and South-West geopolitical zones of the country. From the South-East are Emeka Ihedioha, Bethel Amadi, Gilbert Nnaji, Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi and Independence Ogunewe.

From the South-West are, Patricia Ette, Dimeji Bankole, Oluwole Oke, David Salako and Ojomo Alaba.

As the preparations for handover by President Obasanjo to the president-elect, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, take off in earnest, lobbying has also been intensified at the various levels of government by politicians seeking appointment or favour. In the House of Representatives, the tussle over the principal positions has already begun and so many names are being mentioned as the possible replacements.

The entire leadership of the House will not be coming back to the parliament after June 2, as none of them won election back to the legislature. Speaker Aminu Bello Masari contested for the Katsina State gubernatorial primary and lost out and could not reclaim his House ticket. Deputy Speaker Austin Opara also contested for Rivers State gubernatorial primary but was not lucky. Majority leader of the House Abdul Ningi contested in the April 21 National Assembly elections and was trounced on the field. Chief whip Bawa Bwari also made an attempt at the Niger gubernatorial primary but could not make it to the candidature level. These and many other key positions are up for grabs and both the returnee and legislators-elect are not leaving any opportunity to chance.

However, the most attractive position today is that of speaker, which shall become vacant by June 2, 2007. By the sharing arrangement of the ruling party (PDP), the position of speaker has been allegedly zoned to the South-east. However, lawmakers from the Southwest are also battle-ready, claiming the position is for the zone. As at the weekend, Leadership Sunday gathered that the following lawmakers had indicated interest and have stepped up their

One of the coup plotters, Ademoyega was a Yoruba. So which sectional interest are you talking about? YoruIgbo?

And the winners are the gworo-munching mallams

PDP Zones Senate Presidency To North Central

By Paul Mumeh – Abuja,Assistant Editor
5th May


The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may have zoned the office of the President of the Senate to the North Central and Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South Western zones of the country.

A highly reliable source at the PDP caucus meeting in Abuja informed that the Deputy Senate President’s office has been zoned to the South East. The South East is also expected to produce the National Chairman of the party under the new zoning formula. The zone reportedly lost out on the position for Speaker because of the vitriolic attacks of Senate President, Ken Nnamani, on the presidency and the election as well as the failure of leaders of the party from the zone to call him to order.

It is not clear where other principal officers of the National Assembly have been zoned to as at the time of this report but informed sources said the office of the majority leader in the lower house would be occupied by a South – South parliamentarian.

Already, some Senators from North Central Zone have started campaigning for the slot.

They include three times Senator David Mark from Benue State, Gbemisola Saraki from Kwara State, Nuhu Aliyu from Niger State and Abubakar Sodangi from Nasarawa State.

Osun state’s third term House of Representatives member, Hon. Foluke Etteh, is said to be favoured to become the first female speaker in the federation. The Presidency and some party leaders are said to be behind her. However, Senator Yinka Omilani, PDP’s National Vice Chairman (South West)’ s quest to retain his position in the party may constitute a stumbling block for Etteh. Both come from the same Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan Federal Constituency. .

The PDP caucus, it was learnt has set such criteria as experience, party loyalty, age, and general acceptability as yardstick for choosing principal officers on the next National Assembly.

The PDP leadership meeting has adjourned further deliberation on the matter till Monday.

Although the PDP had in principle agreed earlier to zone the office of the speaker, House of Representatives to the South – East, latest development indicated that the South – West is also lobbying to have the slot. The PDP is expected to conduct mock primaries for would-be President of the Senate or Speaker of the House.

The tenure of the incumbent National Assembly terminates on June 3, when a new session will be inaugurated.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article03


1966 Coup Plotters Planned To Hand Over Power To Awo, Says Ofeimun
BY SUNDAY ORISAKWE

FOUR decades after the 1966 military putsch and 20 years after the death of the sage and political giant of the defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, his former secretary, Mr. Odia Ofeimun has disclosed that the coup plotters planned to hand over power to the late sage.

Ofeimun, who spoke with The Guardian on the 20th anniversary of the passage of Chief Awolowo, said 20 years after, many people still did not know the real intention of the 1966 coup plotters.

Nigerians only remembered the January 15, 1966 coup from the viewpoint of those who told the story, he said.

The renowned poet added: "People were told that it was an Igbo coup but that is not correct. It is a very interesting part of the Nigerian story. In the first place, there have been many serious lies that have been told by our leaders in the last 45 years of Nigeria's history. Our leaders have not been bold enough to tell us the truth."

"The interesting part of the Nigerian story and Awolowo's story would have been explained in the book written by Chukwuma Ifeajuna. It would have been clearer what actually happened. That book said the plan of the coup makers was to release Awolowo from jail and make him their own leader. And if Awolowo, because of his principles, refused to be their leader, they would lock him up in the State House and issue decrees in his name. If that book had been published early, the story that it was an Igbo coup would have been debunked and it would have been a different ball game," Ofeimun disclosed.

Ofeimun said the Aguiyi-Ironsi, Emeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu group that took over after the coup did not see Nigeria in the way the January 15 coup plotters saw it. And till today, it is difficult to convince many Igbo that men of Igbo extraction would plan a coup and hand power over to a Yoruba man, who is believed to hate them, because as far as many of them were concerned, Awolowo just hated the Igbo, whereas what those young Igbo officers saw in Awolowo was a leader who had performed better than anybody could have done in West Africa or in Africa.

"And they saw a leader who fought hard to free Nigeria from all the bondages that afflicted us as a Nation. He championed a development format, socialist in orientation that was different from others. He had become the hope of the younger generation in terms of what Nigeria could be, or become. So, when those coup plotters saw in Awolowo, the man who will lead them, they knew what they were doing," he added.

Ofeimun continued: "They were comfortable with Awolowo's ideas and believed they would help the nation. But the point is that the average Yoruba man could never really believe that some Igbo would plan a coup and hand over power to Awolowo because that is not the way Nigeria is seen. Many people do not see Nigeria as one country."

He stressed that many saw Nigeria as a divided soul, where ethnicity had created suspicion and distrust, but those coup plotters saw in Awolowo the only man who had an idea of building a true Nigeria.

So, those who call the 1966 coup an Igbo affair should shut up. Ofeimum is from Edo state.

3rd class in any field is appalling.  No matter how ''difficult'' your field of study, you only compare youself to others in your discipline, and not people in other disciplines. I will rather repeat the whole exam if possible than graduate with a 3rd.

One way to escape your present quagmire will be to get a post grad cert asap.

Its provided now. Sorry about the oversight

YAR’ADUA’S CABINET:

•Obasanjo nominates 9 ministers, Chief of Staff
By STEVE NWOSU
Thursday, April 26, 2007

http://odili.net/news/source/2007/apr/26/806.html

President-elect, and Katsina State governor, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, appears to be receiving his baptism of fire already, as pressure is mounting on him concerning those who should be in his first cabinet.

Daily Sun gathered that the biggest pressure Yar’Adua is getting is coming from none other than his godfather, President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Despite widespread local and international condemnation of last week’s flawed presidential election as well as the efforts by key Presidency functionaries to win some credibility for both the controversial poll and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president-elect, it was gathered that serious tussle for federal appointments have already begun, with Obasanjo in the vanguard.

Information available to us indicates that President Obasanjo is currently helping to constitute the cabinet of the incoming government and has already nominated nine persons of his own for appointment as ministers by the Yar’Adua government.

Apart from the ministerial nominees, Obasanjo is said to have also taken up the responsibility of appointing a ‘suitable’ Chief of Staff for the new president. He is said to have verbally shortlisted three candidates, among whom he intends to pick from. Top on the list is Governor Adamu Mu’azu, the outgoing governor of Bauchi State, who not only lost in his bid to install his Secretary to the State Government as his successor, but also failed to clinch a senatorial seat in last weekend’s National Assembly elections.

The appointment would be seen as an apt compensation for Mu’azu, who is believed to have done well in Bauchi but was so busy campaigning and touring the country to deliver the Yar’Adua/Jonathan that he had no time to sit down and plant his own man at home in Bauchi.

Also in the race for the post of Chief of Staff are Governors Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna and Adamu Abdullahi of Nasarawa State. Both are believed to be die-hard Obasanjo loyalists who allegedly dropped their respective presidential ambition as soon as the president asked them to do so. In the build up to the failed bid to kick Vice President Atiku Abubakar out, both governors were reportedly promised the VP slot.
However, the president-elect is believed to have also put in a word for his own present chief of staff in Katsina State.

A highly reliable Presidency source however, told Daily Sun that whoever is appointed Yar’Adua’s Chief of Staff may still have to work in the shadow of Gen. Abdullahi Muhammad, the current Chief of Staff to President Obasanjo. Obasanjo is said to have directed that Abdullahi works with the new president and his team for the next two years, to help groom the new chief of staff.

Asked to explain what this "grooming" entails or whether it has always been the practice in the Presidency, the source said he was "not aware if anybody groomed the current chief of staff" and had yet to hear of chief of staff being groomed by anybody. "But that is what Baba wants as another way of ensuring continuity," the source said.
He denied that it was any attempt on the part of Obasanjo to perpetuate himself and his influence in Aso Rock.

Meanwhile, Obasanjo is also said to have impressed it on Yar’Adua to do everything possible to ensure that his daughter, Iyabo, emerges as the next Senate President. However, the president-elect is said to have told him that whoever would emerge to lead the Senate would have to be decided in the Senate by the senators themselves.

Meanwhile, as Obasanjo busies himself with the self-imposed task of constituting a cabinet for Yar’Adua, his government continues to battle with the issue of credibility raised by the widely acclaimed monumental fraud that characterized both the April 14 and April 21 elections, even as several opposition figures head for the courts and tribunals to seek to void the results of the polls that produced Yar’Adua, among others.


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I am particularly interested in the senate president for Iyabo angle and the response of Yaradua to that inordinate ambition of Obasanjo. Yaradua is prooving to be a man of his own. Many rude surprises may yet await Obasanjo as he exits ASO ROCK. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

My cousin has a degree in Physics and today he works with LNG Bonny where he earns more than 150K monthly. It is not about studying mathes, or any other subject for that matter. It is about coming out with good grades and defending same in any interview session outside the normal university exams. Many Nigerian graduates of today are simply bad. Period. It is much more than just having a degree.

Good news to Nigeria from an Igbo:

Nigeria's Ndubuisi wins African Mathematics contest

From Muhammad Abubakar and Stella Agbana, Abuja

HONOUR came the way of the country in the last edition of the Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO) as its representative, Uchendu Ndubuisi, came first.


Nigeria's performance at the competition held in Abuja between April 5 and 15 was an improvement on last year's (the 16th edition) in Dakar, Senegal where it won the silver medal.

Ndubuisi scored 31 points to win the gold medal, defeating nine contestants from other countries.

Speaking at the awards/prize giving ceremony of the competition, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, said the competition provides young African Mathematicians a unique platform and opportunity for healthy competition and exchange of ideas in the discipline.

The Minister, represented by the Education Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Bolanle Onagoruwa, observed that the knowledge of Mathematics helps the society in solving some of the biggest problems in life, pointing out that despite the central role of the subject in Science and Technology, many students still have phobia for it.

According to him, the difference between the developed and developing world is their application of science with Mathematics as its base, adding that Europe and United States would not have attained scientific and technological breakthrough without placing emphasis on Mathematical Sciences.

El-Rufai lauded the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) for bringing the continental intellectual competition to Nigeria. He noted that events like PAMO were designed to encourage youthful talents in Mathematical Sciences and to establish friendly relationships between African and European countries.

Director General, NMC, Prof. Sam Ale, said participation in international and continental competitions with attractive medals and prizes attached would serve as incentives for students of Mathematics and further arouse their interest in Mathematical Sciences.

President, African Mathematical Union and Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad, Prof. Nouzha el-Yacoubi, said the yearly competition has improved the level of awareness and students' performance in Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences.

She added that in the next decade, Nigeria with all its potentials, would be a leading nation in science and technology through Mathematics.

El-Yacoubi also expressed appreciation to Nigeria for making funds available for the successful hosting of this year's edition of the competition, while indicating the readiness of African Mathematical Union to collaborate with the National Mathematical Centre.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article11/190407

Distribution of Nigerian 419 and other immoralities:

First, South: 419, armed robbery; prostitution in foreign lands, drug couriering, kidnapping for ransom, JUJU

Second, North: National misleadership and internal corruption; religious killings, religious terrorism. armed robbery, JUJU

Southern bad guys: in percentage of overall crime and immorality

Igbo 35 % (419, ARMED ROBBERY, FAKE DRUGS, DRUG TRAFFICKING)

Yoruba 35% (ARMED ROBBERY, 419, DRUG TRAFFICKING, FAKE CEMENT-MIXING CEMENT WITH SAND TO INCREASE QUANTITY HENCE INCESSANT HOUSE COLLAPSE IN LAGOS-, JUJU (AKA GBOMOGBOMO)

Edo/Delta 20% (PROSTITUTION, DRUG TRAFFICKING, 419, ARMED ROBBERY)

Akwa-Ibom/Ijaw 10% (KIDNAPPING, ARMED ROBBERY, SMALL-SCALE 419)

Anybody who thinks a single Nigerian tribe is the problem with Nigeria is a full-time liar and mentally lazy

Dirtiest States/Cities in Southern Nigeria: I do not care about the Sharia North.

1. Lagos
2. Aba
3. Onitsha
4. Ibadan
5. Benin
6. Port Harcourt
7 . Warri

PM NEWS

Conman Takes Igando, Ikotun Residents For A Ride
By: admin

Published: 2007/4/18 - Read 129 times Article Rated: 0.00

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By Debo Adejayan

Residents of Ikotun and Igando areas of Lagos will for a long time remember Isiaka Adewale Yusuf, a notorious smooth-talking con man who swindled them of their hard-earned money.

The suspected swindler, also known as Dr. Yusuf, a Yoruba and an indigene of Osun State, was said to have duped over 10,000 people in Igando and Ikotun areas.

Dr. Yusuf operated behind the facade of being an agent for the United Nations recommended Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) meant to eradicate poverty.

He founded an unregistered Non-Government Organisation (NGO), he called Group Of Concerned Nigerians On MDGS.

The suspected fraudster went from house to house to canvass for membership of his phony NGO. He promised that the organisation would give each member a soft loan which would be paid back in nine months’ time with 10% interest.

According to him, collateral security was not a requirement for getting the loan.

Yusuf claimed that he had sponsors like Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Dr. Femi Otedola, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Olanihun and others. Expectedly, not a few were convinced by Yusuf’s smooth talk as so many people became members of the group. The number was so large that the group was divided into 25 zones.

Each member was required to obtain a membership form for N1,500. Another N1,500 was used to obtain insurance form. Each member was also told to procure an identity card for N500. In all, Yusuf collected N3,300 from each member, although the amount varied slightly from zone to zone.

The arrangement Yusuf had with his enthusiastic followers was that those in the first batch would be issued a cheque for N100,000 each on 29 September, 2004. But when the day came, nobody got a dime.

However, the smart swindler told them that the sponsors of the programme postponed the issuance of cheques for security reasons. He told the hapless people that besieged his temporary office at 10, Adebola Arowele Street, Ikotun, to meet their zonal co-ordinators the following week for their cheques.

It was learnt that up till now, nobody has got anything. Those who went to challenge him were threatened with death. A lot of them had to forgo the money Yusuf had collected from them. But few among them were bold enough to lodge a complaint at Igando Police Station.

The policemen there swung into action but Yusuf had bolted. The police arrested his wife, Rashidat, and detained her for days with the hope that Yusuf would appear. But the suspect refused to show up. Rashidat was thus released.

Some of the residents who were duped by the fleeing con man have vowed to deal ruthlessly with him if he is seen in the vicinity.

Yusuf, whom Mid-Week Crime Diary learnt had once operated in Ibadan, Oyo State and Lawanson in Lagos State, is still at large.

Rashidat, his wife and mother of two sons, who works as an auxiliary nurse in a private hospital in Surulere, expressed regret over her husband’s criminal ways.

She said she married Yusuf eight years ago and had been urging him to desist from his dubious ways but he had always shouted at her to shut up.

One of the victims, Chief Wasiu Iponri Ihu, a traditional ruler, said he was surprised that Yusuf could dupe him. He said that Yusuf even made him convince about 25 people to join the NGO.

He urged the police to help recover his money, documents and passport photographs of himself and other people.

Some of the appointed zonal co-ordinators also told Mid-Week Crime Diary that they felt cheated. One of them, Mudashiru Bakare of Egan zone 1Q, had over 500 members in his zone.

Others are Mrs. Giwa of Egan Zone, Mrs. Iyabo Abatan of Egan Zone 3 and Mr. Amoo Fatai of Iba Zone.

A zonal co-ordinator, known as Mama Blessing said, “Dr. Yusuf collected N40,000 from members of my zone and now they have been asking me to refund the money. I can no longer do my petty trading business with ease. I have been duped by this devil called Dr. Yusuf. I and my children are finding it difficult to feed."

One of the policemen at Igando police station expressed his shock at the reports he got about Yusuf. He also berated him for abandoning his wife.

The Terrorist Connection vs. The Real 419 Scammers

419 Scams - The Real Scammers

The Motivation Behind 419 Scams Will the 419 Sanction Threat Work?
Nigeria; capitol: Abuja; location: West African coast.Adaora Reports

Monday, November 16, 2002
The Terrorist Connection vs. the Real 419 Scammers

Moslem North not involved The Southern elite • The real reason

behind Nigerian scam letters

There has been some speculation in the western media about the destination of money acquired from 419 advanced fee scams. Among some of the wild theories put forward by some analysts is the terrorist connection. This is not only far-fetched but highly unlikely. The background and most importantly religion of the perpetrators make this connection improbable. At least in Nigeria.

Although this type of crime originated in Nigeria, it has now spread to many other countries in various forms but the objective remains the same - to relieve the victim of money without giving anything in return. Some of those operating from other African countries are identified as Nigerians because they carry Nigerian passports. It is not very difficult to obtain this document for the right 'fee'.

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Moslem North not involved

To explain the improbability of Nigerian 419 scammers funding terrorism I would go into the make up of the country. Nigeria has over 120 million inhabitants spread over 36 States and a Federal Capital Territory (Abuja). It has over 250 ethnic groups and about the same number of dialects. The three main tribes are Hausa/Fulani (Moslems) in the North, Igbo (Christians) in the Southeast and Yoruba (mainly Christians) in the Southwest.

The Hausa/Fulani Moslems of Northern Nigeria are largely backward economically, educationally, infrastructurally, industrially. Although there is universal free education in the country, they rarely complete elementary school and will more often than not send their children to Arabic schools to study the Koran instead. Most follow the strict Islamic code of Sharia that espouses amputation of limbs for stealing and the stoning of women to death for committing adultery. Women are subjugated and do not have the same rights as men.

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The Southern elite

In the South the picture is a stark opposite. The Igbos are the most educated in Nigeria and are known for their aggressive entrepreneurial endeavors. They bore the full brunt of the 1967-1970 Nigeria civil war when the entire southeast was raised to the ground by the Nigerian army. Within 8 years of the war ending everything was rebuilt and they continue to prosper. The Yorubas follow very closely behind the Igbos. They are mostly academicians and have excelled in various fields.

The majority of the 419 scammers come from the Southeastern/ southsouthern/ Southwestern of Nigeria. It is very difficult to say precisely why. One theory is that the sheer complexity, audacity and 'intelligence' required to plan and execute this crime is way beyond the faculties of the illiterate Northerners.

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The real reason behind Nigerian scam letters

Poverty is not the reason why people indulge in 419 because a large percentage of them are already wealthy in their own right (not through 419). They employ people to scam for them while using their legitimate business as a front. Lower down the ladder, you get the newly qualified professionals who are caught up in the 'get rich quick syndrome' pervading southern Nigeria in current times. This group would rather wait for the maturity of one scam than work their way up the employment ladder.

Why do they do it, I hear you ask? Because the input is miniscule and the returns astronomical. If a scammer sends out 2000 letters or emails, with a response of 1% or lower, s/he has hit the JACKPOT!!! As long as some greedy individuals continue to respond, they will stay in business as they are always one step ahead of they law.

The money from these crimes finance mainly drug trafficking, mistresses, property, exotic cars. It is all about ostentation, ostentation and more ostentation. There is a story about one of them that had so many cars that his palatial mansion resembled a car dealership. His wife use to drive a car to color co-ordinate what she was wearing. If she drove a different car everyday it would take over six months to drive all the cars.

There certainly is no terrorist connection. The religion of the perpetrators make it highly improbable. Even if there were Northern Nigerian advanced fee fraudsters (which is doubtful), their fanaticism is not sophisticated. The typical Nigerian is too selfish for that kind of sponsorsh

Is the NYSC certificate necessary to get a job at the PhD level in Nigeria?