₦airaland Forum

Maybe you are right.

Probably they hired a lawyer and he gave her similar advice.

lol @ the Britney Spears reference

By the time she is gets out of jail, she'll be in her 30s.

What life is there in America for a 30+ year old convict with no college education who is hated like this:

Believed to be in Nigeria, Tata, who lied about her juvenile record on her registration application and then pocketed a few thousand in subsidies, has caused a rift between the Houston arson investigators and the DA's Office, and has the citizenry screaming for blood.
Nowhere is this clearer than on two Facebook pages, "Jessica Tata should be burned alive," and "Against Jessica Tata." If you're unsure about which one to join, but you wholeheartedly believe that Tata's "uterus and ovaries should be removed and destroyed first," then you'll want the former. The latter's mission is "to find, arrest and make Jessica face the wrath of the Law." (That page also "likes" Victoria's Secret and the Astros).

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2011/03/daycare_fire_facebook.php

If it were me, I'd have stayed in naija.

Her life is over.

Upon leaving jail, she will be unemployable. No employability, or minimum wage job employability in America = sh1tty life.

Best choice would have been to stay in Nigeria, create a new identity and start a new life there.

Also, it doesn't look as if she is a poor nobody? I thought she is connected to some wealthy folk in Port Harcourt area.

Nice article here by Sanusi: http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/karticles/kano_political_economy_reflectio.htm
And one by another guy: http://www.gamji.com/article8000/NEWS8854.htm

Really eye-opening, and a bit sad.

They have a lot of severe structural disadvantages they'll need to overcome to be more competitive.

Interesting. I wonder what caused her to change her mind (stay in hiding vs. surrender).

Heh. Nice spin.

If this is Yoruba stealing oil wells from Itsekiri, then the recent ceding of oil wells from Akwa Ibom forced by Amaechi is Igbo domination of their Eastern "brothers" 

A simple border dispute between two oil-producing communities (Ilaje of Ondo, Itsekiri of Delta) doesn't equal an ethnic plot.

In particular, given that Ibori (an Urhobo) signed away the oil wells and land to Ondo (http://www.africa.co.ee/2008/07/nigeria-itsekiri-communities-lay-claim-to-returned-ceded-oil-wells.html), who exactly is "conspiring" against who?

Nice attempt at FUD, jackass.

bump

Crackpot pseudoscience.

No significant connection between yoruba and arabs

lol @ him getting smashed by both local commentators and international media for skipping the exam 

Kilode?!:
Let's accept our fate, quit complaining and work at becoming governors.

Heh. In that case. . . let the Eku_Bear for Governor 2023 campaign begin now 

Of which state? That remains TBD. . .

If I'm reading this correctly, Akwa Ibom is losing these 86 wells to Rivers primarily because of an agreement singlehandedly signed by the former governor, Victor Attah.

How is that fair or legal  

When did it become possible for one man to sign away the wealth of his state and people  

And why did the supreme court agree?

If I were from Akwa Ibom, I'd be boiling mad. Mad enough to lynch this Victor Attah if I ever ran into him.

Anyway, is this not a terrible precedent? Why are governors allowed to enter into agreements of this form? That is too much power for them.

NewsMar 19, 2011

By Clifford Ndujihe, Deputy Political Editor & Ikechukwu Nnochiri
*Rivers to recoup N350bn from Akwa Ibom *“With the money I wouldn’t have gone for second term” – Amaechi *Attah signed off our fortune to Rivers – A/Ibom govt.
After two yeas of legal tango, the Supreme Court yesterday ordered the Akwa Ibom State Government to transfer to Rivers State 86 disputed oil wells with accruing revenues beginning from April, 2009.
In unanimous judgement in Abuja, seven justices of the apex court with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Katsina-Alu presiding, held that Akwa Ibom was bound by an agreement it signed with the Rivers State Government.
Consequently, Akwa Ibom will refund about N350 billion to Rivers State.
The apex court held that in a bid to settle a rift between the two states, the Obasanjo administration convinced ex-Governors of the states, Obong Victor Attah and Peter Odili, to sign an agreement which it said conferred ownership of the disputed oil wells on Rivers State.
The deal went awry when Attah’s successor-in-office, Governor Godswill Akpabio, vehemently kicked against the political arrangement in 2007, insisting that the National Boundary Commission must return the ceded oil wells to Akwa Ibom state, because they are within its region.
Following Akpabio’s contention, Governor Rotimi Amechi approached the Federal High Court to challenge the move, but lost. He later proceeded to the apex court where his efforts finally yielded fruits yesterday.
Justice Aloysius Katisna-Alu, maintained that Akwa Ibom was bound by the Obasanjo arrangement since its former governor was a signatory to the 31st October, 2006 agreement, where the 86 oil wells were yielded to Rivers state.
The CJN said: “It is not in dispute that this agreement was reduced into writing and dated 31st October 2006. It is exhibit AMBI. It is indeed embodied in the letter written by the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo.
“It can be seen clearly from this letter that the parties have voluntarily jettisoned Technical and Historical Solutions. This is so because these Solutions were considered at the meeting before opting for the Political Solution.
The parties faithfully implemented the terms of the agreement till the tail end of 2007 when Akwa Ibom unilaterally sought to rescind the agreement and commended its agitation for the application of the Historical Solution.
He further held that “The plaintiff, Rivers, is the owner of the 86 oil wells by virtue of the political solution agreement between the plaintiff and the 1st defendant, Akwa Ibom, the terms of which are contained in exhibit AMBI and therefore entitled to be paid revenue derivable therefrom under the provisions of section 162 of the 1999 Constitution from April, 2009 till date and subsequently.
“The defendants are hereby directed by themselves and/or their appropriate agencies to forthwith compute and calculate all such sums of money accruing from 86 oil wells belonging to the plaintiff by virtue of the subsisting and biding political solution agreement which sums has since been unlawfully paid to the 1st defendant, Akwa Ibom, with effect from April, 2009 till date of this judgment and payment of all such sums to the plaintiff by the 1st defendant forthwith.
Amaechi hails judgement
In a swift reaction, Governor Amaechi of Rivers State said: “I want to thank God, and please join me to praise God. For nearly two years,
I’ve been fasting and fasting, praying God to disgrace Akwa Ibom State. And today, God disgraced Akwa Ibom State. I told the Governor of Akwa Ibom State (Godswill Akpabio), ‘do not take the oil wells that belong to Rivers State and Rivers people.’ I told him I will kneel down and call on the God that made me Governor of Rivers State to give me and Rivers people back the oil wells. But he went ahead and took the oil wells that belong to Rivers State and Rivers people.
And I went back to God, the same God I went to when I wanted to be Governor. And I said ‘God, if you are God, show that you are the God of justice, that you are a fair and a just God.’ And today, God has vindicated me; the Supreme Court handed over all the oil wells taken from us by Akwa Ibom State. I thank God for everything; it is good to worship God. I give God all the glory.”
He spoke at the Daily Independent ‘man of the year’ Award ceremony invested on him in Lagos.
Attah sold out Akwa Ibom oil wells
In its reaction Akwa Ibom State has blamed the administration of former Governor Victor Attah for signing off the fortune of the people of the state when he had the opportunity to fight for their right.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the Supreme Court judgment, the state commissioner for Information and Re-orientation, Mr Aniekan Umanah, said “the political solution which the Supreme Court hinged its judgment was entered into by the government of Obong Attah and that was because he wanted to be in the good books of the government at that time, It was a decision that sold the future and fortune of the people of the state to its neighboring states because of the ambition of one man. Now the people of the state are the ones suffering because of the selfish desire of one man.
We have it on good authority that former Governor Attah accepted the political solution offer because he wanted to please the power that be, and as proof that he was not supporting the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was angling to succeed former President Olusegun Obsanjo in 2007.
It was a selfish way of finding solution to the an issue that would have a direct effect on the lives and development of the people of the state, without any consideration.”
“It was because of Attah’s alleged sponsorship of the presidential bid of Alhaji Atiku that the power that be then, decided to move against him by allocating most of the oil wells that belonged to AkwaIbom State to Rivers as a way of cutting down his revenue, which he allegedly used in
sponsoring Atiku’s presidential ambition,” he said.
According to him” the current administration will not be a party to any move by anybody to deny the people of AkwaIbom State their rights and entitlements. we are currently studying the judgment and at the appropriate time, the position of government would be made public. We will surely go back to see how the political solution that was arrived at in 2004 was implemented before this judgment which is hinged on the 2004 political solution.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/supreme-court-orders-akwa-ibom-to-transfer-86-oil-wells-to-rivers/

Sky Blue:
Unless one is being mischevious, there is no confusion over who is and isn't indeginous to Jos and plateau state in general. It is not about villification but about justice. The military has been known to collude with the one group to slaughter the other, so what are you talking about here? Where do you think the violence normally starts from? I really don't mean this as an insult but with this post of yours I see this discussion going nowhere (not really in the mood for one of those) because you don't seem to know what is happening in Plateau state.

Alright. We'll leave it at that and agree to disagree.

Sky Blue:
I have given you the answer. I don't feel like going on round about explaining what you should know (for somebody bold enough to claim "similarities" between Jos crises and Kano). The reason why there is violence and the issue causing the vioence is the reason why it is a simple matter of justice. You can read up on it if you are not so sure or ask another poster. It would be a bot immature though if you just jumped up to shout "similarity" for the sake of it.

It isn't that simple. The Hausa view themselves there as equally indigenous to Plataeu. They are vastly outnumbered, but are fortunate enough to have powerful allies in the police and military.

So what is the simple "just" solution? Withdraw the military there and the Hausa will be slaughtered. They cannot be kicked out either, since not only is that illegal, they've lived there since the early 1900s (and claim to be indigenes too.)

Ultimately, it is as conflict between two cultures and ethnic groups about indigeneship and who owns what. So what is the obvious "just" solution? Neither party is clearly the villain (in my opinion.)

^--- That is just one of MANY examples.

Do you really want me to provide more

Sky Blue:
Why do you think there is routine violence in Jos? What do you think the issue is about?

Abeg, how about you answer my question, then I'll answer yours.

Sky Blue:
They might share some similarities but are ultimately different and whoever does not get that will not be able to solve the problem. The issue in Jos is a simple matter of justice, hence no need for pseudo nationalistic rhetoric about bringing peace by getting 'stakeholders' and all groups "involved". That is insulting to the situation happening in Jos and I have to say is simply a microcosm of what goes on in a larger sense in the Nigerian state. The groups involved are minority ethnic groups hence the urgency to solve the problem doesn't seem to be there (and heads and eyes are even turned the other way).

What is the "simple matter of justice" that you would apply?

Please enlighten me.

Their English is fine, they just have accents that are difficult to understand.

Dame Jonathan is from the south like most of us, so a bit easier to understand her pronunciation of words.

E.g., "Umblela."

Speaking with a different accent is quite different from poor grammar and making up new words like umblela

Sky Blue:
@eku bear said
Jos is not Kano. The situation is different. Jos is a majority christian state being apparently invaded by outside forces that seem bent on grabbing a much bigger stake in lands not theirs, and imposing more of their will on the indeginous community, with apparent collusion by the Nigerian state and military. How is that like Kano?

I am NOT saying that they are EXACTLY the same. I'm saying that there are SIMILAR! Certainly, Jos/Kano are more similar than Jos/Boko Haram.

Or do you disagree?

And to be clear, the Hausa in Jos have lived there since the early 1900s. Realistically, they won't be kicked out wholesale. We'll have to come up with a power-sharing arrangement that allows the two communities to live in peace. That is the only way this is really going to be solved.

@Gbawe: Why would I be biased against Ribadu? What do I have against him? I'm just calling it as I see it. I don't think Jos and Boko Haram relate. One is an ethnic conflict, the other appears to be a NE-based fundamentalist terrorist movement with some foreign elements. The solution required in Jos to be quite honest seems more akin to what was done in Kano.

Now, granted, Shek didn't go into deep specifics. He only really mentioned the inclusiveness aspects, making sure that all sides feel a part of the government. And how to do this in Jos is an open question. But I think he added more as far as solutions go than Ribadu did.

Ribadu's answer didn't give me anything. . . "injustice" is too vague. How exactly do I solve injustice? What concrete steps? Shek hinted at one. Ribadu didn't give me anything.

I can agree Ribadu could have toned down the aggression and kept time better but the patent unfairness towards him was borne of bias. You claim Ribadu "lost it" (or something to that effect) because he was booed . As an intelligent guy , if you were watching without bias, you will see that the crowd were showing a lack of sophistication . if Ribadu wanted to imply that we are not corrupt by Nature before he was shouted down . He eventually went on to state this . Are our children born corrupt or does the environment corrupt them? If corruption is reduced and , social reorientation pursued , is it not possible to move away from corruption ? What is the profit of the crowd by telling the world we are corrupt? From now on I suggest we all simply concur with non-Nigerians when they come to Nairaland to brand us as a nation of 150 million corrupt people.

His point may even be correct. But when conveying thoughts and ideas, the order you present them is important. Did he have to lead off with something like, "Nigerians are not corrupt?" Why didn't he lead his audience into this idea?

Structuring your ideas properly is very important when speaking. If you wanted to write a newspaper article to sell headlines, then sure, lead off with "Nigeria is not corrupt." But when giving a speech, probably better to restructure things.

Anyway, don't blame me. The audience didn't like his approach either.

If it had been me, I'd have structured the presentation of ideas differently. Something like:
1) Attack the system
2) Place more emphasis on how it has bred bad habits.
3) Ask, "Are Nigerians inherently evil people, or is it the bad system we have?"
4) "No, Nigerians are not evil. We are not inherently corrupt. The system is the problem. It is this system which I seek to reform so that. . . "

Sort of see what I'm saying? When presenting ideas, you have to be very careful how you do it. Ribadu was not.

Alj Uche:
there is a difference there

I see. Furthest north I've been is Abuja. And I guess Borno accents are different from Adamawa and NW?

EzeUche_:
Buhari and Ribadu have different accents.

Buhari is a clear Northern (Katsina) accent.

Ribadu has an accent that i hear from people in Adamawa state. Vastly different I must say than the accents found in Katsina or Kano state

OK. They sounded sort of similar to my untrained ears.

One thing to keep in mind with debate stuff is that expectation management is very critical in performing well. You don't want to build yourself up too much before a debate.

Shekerau, I thought he'd just be some ordinary mallam. I didn't have high expectations. But instead it turns out he is very good.

Ribadu, I thought he'd be a thoughtful sort of guy who understands the issues and is not a one-trick pony. He has all these international awards, supposedly did something at Oxford (according to Ibime), has all these accolades. So I expected a lot. Instead I got an inarticulate, question-dodging hothead. "I'm young! I'm young!"

Buhari, I thought he'd be an ordinary mallam, one trick pony sort of guy. And that is what I got.

Gbawe:
Another point that shows some listened with heavy bias was when Eku Bear claimed that when Ribadu was asked about Jos he mentioned Boko Haram. That is deliberate distortion. Ribadu , first and foremost , stated that justice for all is the best way to sort out disenfranchisement and rancour . Do right by all involved and mediate on behalf of all and we will see progress. The Boko Haram example is showing Ribadu's strong grasp of mediating for all. Boko Haram means rejection of Western education. If that is really the agitation why do the Boko Haram members not destroy schools ? The logic is simple . Many are simply dissillusioned young men used to forment trouble . Perhaps with jobs and education those young men may not be available to be used harmfully.

"Justice for all" is vague, empty, and meaningless. What concrete steps will you take to bring that about? How does the Boko Haram relate to "justice for all" and solving the Jos crisis?

Asked about Jos Shekarau , on the other hand,  simply gave a vague speech about replicating what he has done in kano in Jos . Pray , tell us how many in the crowd know what he has done in Kano ? Does Kano have the same exact problems, issues and challenges as Jos ? people should go back and watch . Shekarua was most eloquent in a conventional way but Ribadu delivered far more content he was not given credit for . With the Jos issue , for example , he won by highlighting how no peace can be attained until justice is done . Supply 20,000 police officers and things will still not change . I could not even understand Buhari and Shekarau pandered to the audience by insinuating he will do apply his Kano formula to Jos.

Well, Shekarau's main point is that (A) I've already solved a similar problem in my own state (B) inclusiveness was a key tool I used, making sure everyone gets to share and feel as if they are not being marginalized. I did this concretely in my own cabinet by appointing Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw, etc.

That at least sketches out the idea of a solution.

Ribadu gave empty platititudes.


Dude, keep in mind that I'm an ACN supporter! But I'm also trying to be honest and fair. Ribadu did not do well in my opinion. Simple as that.

Ribadu and Buhari. . . is that Fulani or Hausa accented English they have?

They sound different from other English-speaking Hausas I met in Nigeria with accents.

The north has good people. Their foolish leaders need to be sacked and replaced though, so they can reach their potential.

GEJ getting roasted on FBook, lol


--------------------------
Webo Rafindadi Jonathan is not a serious man, let us turn his facebook page to a sport blog. UP CHELSEA lol
9 minutes ago

Ikenna Muoghalu Guy you are a disappointment to the enlightened people of Nigeria. You have not performed above par in the past year and yet you still cannot defend yourself or your agenda in a public debate with your peers. I am so ashamed.
2 minutes ago

Gbawe:
http://saharareporters.com/news-page/kano-state-governor-ibrahim-shekarau-chosen-winner-todays-presidential-debate-nn24-tv-chan


Yet someone above concluded ribadu is a "pompous Buffoon"   merely because of a debate ? Talk about bias clouding judgement.

A bit surprised that Ribadu did better than Buhari.

Buhari has no real reason to debate further. What will he gain from it?

Goodluck will do well in an expo debate. . . he will just memorize answers.

Very evil woman

Slavery, in this day and age?

EzeUche_:
Throw Ribadu out and lets have a debate between Shekarau, GEJ, Buhari and invite Pat Utomi.

Buhari would be dumb if he did that. Keep Ribadu around since he isn't a good debater  

At least, that is what I'd want if I were Buhari.