₦airaland Forum

Have they suddenly woken up on realizing that they risk losing access to oil money? What took them this long?

In addition to my last post, let me correct the wrong impression many of our northern friends have about the oil industry. The idea that "northern resources" were used to "develop" oil is completely unfounded. Oil is one resource a country doesn't even need to have its own money to develop. Moreover, a quick look at history shows that it is companies like Shell etc who invested their own money in exploration and production activities. Nigeria only began to participate after a while. When you have the resource, it is not difficult to get investment. Besides, even if that were the case, the north has already benefited multiple times more of whatever investment that was supposedly made with the amount of infrastructure built in the north and embezzled by the leaders from oil money.

To add substance to my point, let's take a journey through time:

[Quote]First Steps 

1936 - The Royal Dutch/Shell Group founded Shell D'Arcy, the first shell company in Nigeria.

November 1938 - Shell D'Arcy was granted Exploration licence to prospect for oil throughout Nigeria

January 1956 - First successful well drilled at Oloibiri by Shell D'Arcy

April 1956 - Changed name to Shell-BP Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited

First Oil

February 1958 – The first shipment of oil from Nigeria

April 1961 - Shell's Bonny Terminal was commissioned

September 1971 - Shell's Forcados Terminal was commissioned

Agreements

April 1973 - First participation agreement; Fed. Govt. acquires 35% shares in the Oil Companies

April 1974 - Second Participation Agreement; Federal Government increases equity to 55%

July 1979 - Third Participation Agreement (through NNPC) increases equity to 60%

August 1979 - Fourth Participation Agreement; BP's share holding nationalised; NNPC = 80%, Shell = 20%

http://www.shell.com.ng/home/content/nga/aboutshell/who_we_are/history/country/first_steps.html

[/Quote]

From the above, it is clear that Shell had been producing in Nigeria and paying royalties for about 15 yrs even b4 we started participating in the investment. How then can one say it is the Northerners that funded development of oil. Or did Shell borrow money from the northern coffers

My points:
1. We do not know our true population figures and the distribution thereof.
2. Every part of Nigeria has abundant resources and production potential enough to allow for self sustenance.
3. Over dependence on oil is a hindrance to the development of other alternative revenue sources.

As for Sanusi, I don't think we should crucify him outrightly. He didn't say the north should be getting more FROM OIL. He only acknowledged that the north is living way below standard based on available information. The reason for this is up for debate but I posit it is largely due to the irresponsibility of past and present Northern leaders who lacked foresight. They refused to develop their own abundant resources while plundering the south of theirs. The situation has even been made worse with vices like the retrogessive almajiri culture which denies their young minds the opportunity to be useful to themselves and their people. They have brought it upon themselves!

^Lol. Excellent one there.

The americans are welcome. We need them more for intelligence gathering and combat strategy. Boko rams can easily be "ambushed" with the right strategy. Akso, with the right intel, the sponsors of the group can easily be fished out and extinguished. We need to turn on the heat.

Quote from: Dis Guy

[Quote]Do boko harams where uniforms?
like saying people in the ~Niger Delta know who MEND and kidnappers are right[/Quote]

Those in the Niger Delta know the nilitants very well up to their families. Those boys are not ghosts. The same applies to Boko rams though a bit more secretive. The guys who sympathize with them know how to get to them and until they start opening up, they will keep suffering the consequences. If nothing is done, before long, Kano's economy will be crippled and the indigenes will suffer. The earlier they weed out the bad elements among them, the better. Boko rams has no justification for its violent actions. They don't want to negotiate and they have declared war on the country. No sane person is supposed to be on their side! So if you are on their side, be ready to face the consequences. It's that simple.

If we can survive this, Nigeria will emerge as a stronger nation.

FG must be tough on Boko Haram – Israeli envoy

January 9, 2012 by John Alechenu, Abuja

The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Moshe Ram, has said Nigeria requires an “iron fist” to deal with terrorism in general and the Boko Haram menace in particular.

The envoy also urged Nigerians not to allow terrorists dictate to them how they live and relate with one another.

Ram said this while presenting medical equipment worth about N2m on behalf of the government of Israel to victims of the Christmas Day bombing at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State on Friday.

He also said for the war on terror to succeed in Nigeria, Nigerians would require re-orientation to strengthen their security consciousness.

The envoy said Israel had suffered from acts of terror in the past, but that the situation had been brought under control because of some measures it put in place.

Ram said, “Nigeria is really on a crossroads, the way Nigeria and (people) everywhere should handle it, is with an iron fist. Not to permit terror to dictate the way the people live.

“Everyone is entitled to take his children to school in the morning, to go for shopping in the mall, to go to friends homes or movies in the morning. Everyone is entitled to this one, no one should disrupt this.

“We know what it is to be exposed to terror. And we know we have the capability, we have the knowledge, and we are willing to share our knowledge and our abilities with our good friends in Nigeria.

http://www.punchng.com/news/fg-must-be-tough-on-boko-haram-israeli-envoy/

This calls for serious concern. Anyone with the rght contacts should please act fast!

@eko-ile, do you copy?

El Rufai, what have u got to say to this?

If you watched him, you would notice how frail he looks. The guy is on his way to the land of no return.

@Protocol, u're right.

"I did my best
But I guess my best wasn't good enough
'Cause here we are back where we were before
Seems nothing ever changes"

@ ekt-bear, I like your line of thought. I've always said pointing fingers at corruption as the cause of our woes is like blaming the devil for ones failures. We need to get our lazy asses up and get to work!

Finally, my muslim brothers have woken up from their slumber. B4 the Kano attacks, I've never seen such level of condemnation for Boko rams. Now everyone can see that Boko rams are not fighting for anyone but themselves and if muslims don't stand up against them, they'll be consumed too. Well done my muslim brothers.

If I'm to judge by what I've seen and heard about him, I think he is capable. Hafiz Ringim looked and acted too laid back and he never showed any confidence in his dealing with Boko rams. Talking tough is a good sign. Let's see if he can turn this into ACTION.

This article just ignited something deep within me. I'm angry in my spirit. Watch out world!

You have a point there. Trust our corrupt system to twist the law against the poor and in favor of the "highest bidder"! Anyway, I know it's not going to be feasible. It's such a shame.

@9ja-I-hail, my point is not that we should start with the poor. Far from it. But if you have had any experience with an armed robber, you will understand where I'm coming from. I do not want to mention my personal experience here so I don't end up revealing too much about my life here. But can u remember the case of the armed robbers who asked passengers to lie down on the road for a bus to drive over them? That's for starters. Anyone who uses a gun to rob is extremely wicked and circumstances may easily lead such person to murder. As for the looters, corruption has become such a huge stigma on us and as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. If we must redeem this nation from the pit of corruption, we have to do things differently. On one thread, I remember making the following recommendations:
All looters should be made to pay back 2 times the looted money and ALL their assets seized by the government. A life sentence can also be added.

I agree the death penalty may be harsh for the armed robber / kidnapper / looter who hasn't committed murder yet. Maybe life sentence will be more appropriate but do we have that "luxury" in Nigeria? In any case, these 3 categories of people are terribly wicked and we have to find a potent way to deal with them whether they are rich or poor. That's my main point.

Petty stealing / pilfering is different from ARMED robbery. An armed robber is automatically guilty of attempted murder. With the current state of our security, such people should not be allowed to go free. This category should also include kidnappers and those who loot public funds.

Let me make myself crystal clear. Whoever is found guilty of corruption beyond any doubt (no matter who he / she is) deserves the death sentence. We need to adopt the Chinese model for dealing with corruption and armed robbery here. But let me reiterate that it has to be proven beyond any doubt that such person is guilty.

All armed robbers, looters, boko rams, etc, deserve to be sentenced to death.

If this is the handwork of boko rams, their motive will likely be to get the attention of the international community.

Where are the drones when you need em?

UPDATED: Jan 26, 2012 15:28 GMT

A German worker was kidnapped Thursday in Kano, a northern Nigerian city wracked by violence, police said.

The man, whose name was not given, works for the construction company Dantata and Sawoe, Kano police said.

A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry said officials were looking into the reports.

The man was abducted from one of the company's road building projects on a bridge on the outskirts of the city, police said.

Officials with Dantata and Sawoe could not be reached immediately for comment.

A manhunt is under way. Police said they had no immediate "clear suspicions" as to whether the kidnapping was carried out by Boko Haram or criminal groups.

Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group, is not known to have previously orchestrated the kidnappings of foreign workers.

Abductions by criminal gangs in Nigeria are rife. Most recently, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja confirmed that a U.S. citizen was kidnapped in Nigeria's Delta State.

Violence last Friday in Kano, including bombings and shootings, left more than 200 people dead, according to community leaders in Nigeria's second largest city.

President Goodluck Jonathan toured the city Sunday after attacks left the police headquarters and other government buildings in charred ruins.

A joint military task force arrested 158 suspected members of Boko Haram, security sources told CNN Tuesday.

Source: www.cnn.com

Nobody!

@Iceblock, they got the liver from the middle east. It can only be an arabic liver.

I am sure that US has enough intel to bury Boko rams in a few days if they want to. They have the entire sect in their cross hairs. After 9/11, any remote threat to US is not treated with kid gloves. The threat emanating from 9ja is even more serious with the experience of the slowpokish Nigerian underpant bomber - Abdulmutallab. USA is usually not the defensive type. They prefer to be on the offensive ie attack. They take the war to you so you don't get the chance to bring it near them or spring up any surprises. The successes of ST6 in their high profile ops speaks volumes. It is obvious US has several undercover Nigerian agents on ground already (same in other countries). Any attack that may have an impact on a US citizen is known b4 hand. No be today!

This is one of the repercussions of the foolish and retrogressive almajiri system.

We welcome ST6 and hellfire drones to Nigeria to smoke 'em boko rams outta their holes. Hahaha!

^Gbam!

Prof. never disappoints me with his straight-cut speeches. The nation is already sliding down fast into disintegration. By now, the power brokers from various regions would have already started making alternative plans just incase it gets uglier than it already is.

What is boko ram's business with pump price. . . Except that the money they were making from smuggling our fuel across the border has been reduced. In fact, we need to take the price up to N141 asap.

If idiots like boko rams are in support of N65, we need to think again. Many Nigerians may have been unknowingly fighting a wrong battle.