₦airaland Forum

Hero,

I think that is wrong to use statistics about Yoruba's and change the word to Igbo's.

You should give a disclaimer that everything you are talking is actually Yoruba history but you choose to speak of it in terms of Igbo, with your belief that Yoruba is wrong word.

food4tot,

The webpage itself acknowledges that the slaves, their descendants and all historians call African Americans::::::::Yoruba's.

Their not trying to convince you that the well known fact that Africans in America are Yoruba's is untrue.

What their trying to convince you is that it is all just one big mistake!

The people meant to call themselves Igbo not Yoruba!

It's one of those way out there on the fringes idea!

Hero,

I just read a whole webpage about these so called Jewish Igbos.

How bewildering for the web page to acknowledge that 90 percent of the slaves, are Yoruba.

But then set out to prove that this is all just a misunderstanding? Their really Igbo's called Yoruba's?

Come now. That is kinda of out there.

Aha, I found it.

The whole show basically show cased a lot of Nigerian identity theft. With others.

Here however is the comments about Nigerians being 40 percent thieves.

Actually, he said that 6 out of 10 or 60% of Nigerians are thieves.

:::::BEGIN TRANSCRIPT:::::::

When we return, coming to America.

ANTHONY OLOBUMNI BONAJO (ph), IDENTITY THIEVE: Clearly, the Nigerians that are involved with fraud in America, over here, will be at least 40 percent of them.

GRIFFIN: Immigrants, kicked out as criminals, sneaking back to do it again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: When Anthony Olobumni Bonajo (ph) was a new immigrant, struggling to support his family, he had no trouble supplementing his income with a quick money scheme, run by fellow Nigerians.

ANTHONY OLOBUMNI BONAJO (ph), IDENTITY THIEVE: That's basically their target all the time: How can I make the money right quick? What can I do to make the money?

GRIFFIN: He became an accomplice using stolen identities for credit card fraud and laundering checks. Getting caught, he says, opened his eyes to the underside of Houston's Nigerian community.

BONAJO (ph): When I get to this country, most of the people I see -- by the time you count 10 people, six of them are talking about fraud.

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

Coming to America.

(END GRAPHIC)

GRIFFIN: Nigerian independence day in Houston.

Members of a local organization, the Nigerian Union, are celebrating not only 45 years of freedom from British Colonial rule, but also their new lives in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a place where you can come and put in honest work and progress. GRIFFIN: Houston has one of the nation's largest Nigerian communities. At least 60,000 by some estimates, and well educated. More than two-thirds are college graduates, a higher rate than their white neighbors. Among the elite, a vascular surgeon, two married professors, a chemical engineer, and Airline Pilot Isaac Agmonyaka (ph).

ISAAC AGMONYAKA (ph), AIRLINE PILOT: The well-educated Nigerians, they do honest jobs, even if it means doing menial jobs to survive.

GRIFFIN: At the same time, U.S. authorities say Nigerian crooks are on the leading edge of financial fraud.

Testifying on Capitol Hill in 1998, an FBI official singled out Houston where, he said, 75 percent of the counterfeiting of checks is due to the Nigerian criminal enterprises.

And more recently, a 2005 State department report, Nigerian criminal organizations subverting international and domestic law enforcement have contributed to an increase in bank fraud, real estate fraught, identity theft and advanced fee fraud.

But community leaders like Agmonyaka (ph), say Nigerians are no worse than any other group.

AGMONYAKA (ph): If you look at the Hispanic people, they are into a lot of worse crimes than Nigerians. They're into drug problems, the Colombians. If you look at the insurance fraud, identity theft, the Asians are into it big time.

GRIFFIN: For years, Nigeria's government has been considered one of the most corrupt in Africa.

One theory is that bribery and dishonesty at home explain what some Nigerians do abroad -- survive by their wits.

BONAJO (ph): So when they get over here, it's not really a big deal for them. Because they're used to already.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Whether or not Nigerian immigrants commit more crimes or worse crimes, the ones who do are a determined bunch.

Consider this, even those who are deported often come back to do it again. The easy money is too good to pass up.

(Voice-over): This man, for example, after being convicted in New York of smuggling heroin from Nigeria, Thomas Muchechu Tiwu (ph) was deported in 1994. Nine years later, Boyden arrested him in a multimillion dollar bank fraud, this time using the name Idowu Ishola. He had come back illegally.

BOYDEN: Several have told me they've across come across from Canada, walked across, or come back through Mexico.

GRIFFIN: Another case. In 1988 Jumoke Awoskia pled guilty to conspiracy in a federal bank fraud case. She, too, was sent back to Nigeria.

Two years later, she sneaked back into the U.S. with a new passport and a new name. But she was up to the same old tricks.

BOYDEN: She used fraudulently obtained credit cards extensively to purchase high-end jewelry.

GRIFFIN (on camera): For herself? Or to pawn it?

BOYDEN: Both.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Finally, the case if this mystery man.

When Boyden arrested him in 2004, he had more than 40 stolen credit cards and a dozen cell phones to run his scam. But who was he?

He'd been deported to Nigeria in 1983 under the name Kehinal Monsouri Ajavi. He sneaked back as Solomon Adewale Adebanjo, and then took the name Colton Jude Hollier. A federal Judge Stimeed (ph) concluded, his true name is unknown.

BOYDEN: Several people I've interviewed, they can't really remember what name they were born with. They've had such a long range of names, they don't really know who they actually are.

GRIFFIN: Critics of U.S. immigration policy say our borders are porous, open not only to those who want to work here, but also to thieves who rob banks.

FRANK GAFFNEY, CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY: I think it does amount to an invitation to people to take advantage of our vulnerabilities.

If you continue to refrain from taking steps to correct them, you are basically putting "kick me" sign on your butt. It's that simple.

GRIFFIN: None of these fraudsters, now in prison, responded to our interview requests.

Immigration authorities told us that after they do their time, they will be deported again.

Which brings us full circle to the question, are they likely to come back again?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as they can get into this country, you got to assume they're going to do it. Even when they get caught, prosecuted, jailed. As soon as they get the chance, they're going to get back in the racket again.


:::::END TRANSCRIPT::::::

Anybody have a link to the original report from CNN, itself?

Even with all the fear of Muslim or Arab or Middle Eastern terrorists or all the hoopla against illegal mexican immigrants.

Black immigrants are liable to be sent back to Africa or the Carribean more than any other immigrants in America.

Mocha,

I agree.

Wouldn't it have been nice for the people if instead of the stick alone.

They also got the carrot?

Facial scarring must end and we will enforce that by law.

However, the beauty and uniqueness of facial scarring designs however will be preserved in the so and so muesem and the muesem will also sell facial jewelry that is glued on (just like regular facial jewelry now) in the design of the specific tribe. (at least until others pick up on the selling of it.)

Tourists could buy their own facial jewelry, take pictures in it.

Africans are generally only offered the stick in this world, it would be good if we could think ourselves to offer the carrot.

I had a white professor, whom I loved. The man loved Africa. He was an excellent teacher.

Yet, he hated Lagos with a passion. He warned every student there, do not go to Lagos.

I have an African American friend, who does journalism work in Nigeria. Now she loves Nigeria, says African Americans should just pick out a tribe in Nigeria and be done with looking for their roots in Africa. This is how sure she is that African Americans have something to do with the people in Nigeria.

Yet she warns African Americans against going to Lagos, she said they will arm rob you for the shirt off your back.

I have another African American friend, who says that people just do not like Lagos because Nigerians like to screw with people's heads. So they mess with whites and all visitors who come there.

He said he treats Nigerians just like they are African Americans and he has no problems.

Afeni,

I can read.

Afeni,

It seems if you really thought Nigeria was an abomination. You should welcome and embrace these comments.

Do as any good propagandist would and use them to show that it was the otherside not you, who insisted on breaking up Nigeria.

Your just going along with their wishes.

Alarinjo,

No I am saying when they have a one day or so holiday to honor their anscestors. Then they can wear the face jewelry as part of the holiday costume.

Hopefully somebody will be able to start a new face jewelry business. That will make available traditional African scarification patterns.

In 200 years they'll wear the face jewelry in memory of their ancient traditions on that holiday.

4play & Ka,

I understand. I read my bible very well. There will always be those who prefer the easy time of being slaves in Egypt to the tough times of being freemen in the wilderness.

I know a secret though. After the hard times in the wilderness, you will make it to the promiseland.