₦airaland Forum

I dont think they are troublesome dont use that issue of Bakassi to judge them.

They are mostly known for Samuel Eto and Football. They are also known for beer, they are statistically one of the highest beer consuming nations in the world

mixed or not. Most of them speak igbo that means they are IGBO!

The Igbos in Bonny and Opobo know the truth the same as the confused Ikwerre in Rivers State. But we all know post civil war politics has twisted Bonny and Opobo, and made them look far distant lands from the rest of the Igbo. We wont allow Nigerians tell our brothers who they are in Rivers state

The Igbos are very traditional people, there is a strong pull towards preserving inherited ethos and values (also known as omenani or odinani). This manifests in the continued celebration and sustenance of cultural festivals and feasts such as Mmanwu or masquerade festivals. Ndigbo still observe traditional marriage rites such as Ime ego (bride price) and Igba nkwu.

Ndigbo are known to be deeply religious, while majority may have converted to Christianity, others are still practising Igbo traditional religion. The kola nut still remains a significant aspect of Igbo culture; as Ndigbo would say, ‘He who brings kola brings life’. Titles and title taking are still propagated in Igbo communities. In Igbo land, people are known and greeted mainly by their titles rather than by their given names hence Ndigbo will say – Nke onye chiri, ya zaa (let each person answer and uphold his title). It is common for Ndigbo, particularly titled and elderly men to speak using proverbs.

While some may argue that the culture of respect for elders is waning as a result of the swagger life style of nouveau rich Igbo men and women and including politicians, respect for elders is still very much observed by many in line with the admonition by one of Ndigbo’s most revered sons, the late Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha and Nigeria’s first President who had cautioned that “those that do not respect greatness will never live to be great”.

Amongst the Igbos are also to be observed strong bonds of kinship and brotherhood as evidenced in the maintenance of cultural groups, town unions and community development associations (CDAs) in distant lands where Ndigbo reside. Perhaps this may be a way of fostering the Umunna, Igwebuike and Nwanne di na mba philosophy (unity and strength in togetherness). Though Ndigbo may be widely travelled, they do have a strong home coming mentality.

Some negative aspects have also been observed about Igbo culture, these have now been massively exploited by non-Igbos in Nigeria’s political terrain to create a divide and rule situation that has led to Ndigbo’s perennial search for credible leadership. Many argue that Ndigbo love money but I will argue rather that this is just a mis-interpretation of the highly ambitious and competitive spirit of the Igbo man which finds credence in the almost spiritual understanding that Onye ruo, ya rie. By their nature, Ndigbo are very hardworking and enterprising. Another is the saying, propagated by Ndigbo themselves that Igbo enwe Eze. This belief that Ndigbo have no central leader is far from the truth as it at the same time contradicts the Igbo belief that Onye fee eze, Eze eru ya (Give honour to the deserving and you shall also be honoured). These prejudices, real and imagined may have unwittingly made Ndigbo objects of envy and fear by their Nigerian brothers and sisters.

Ndigbo have always relied on self-help and self-enterprise in their business endeavours. This perhaps may have been as a result of the victim mentality created by the losses they suffered during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war. Olanrewaju Akinpelu Olutayo in his paper, The Igbo Entrepreneur in the political economy of Nigeria (African Study Monographs, 20(3): 147-174, September 1999) writes that “One major and unique trait of the Igbo entrepreneur is the courage, perseverance, and determination with which they carry on in spite of the bad experiences and losses during the Nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1970”. This in-group survivalist thinking may have served Ndigbo right in post-civil war Nigeria when the exigencies of the time required that one only trusted people of his race.

The post-war era witnessed many successes especially amongst Igbo business men who despite the trauma and losses still managed to build large enterprises relying on self-help. Augustine Ilodibe was easily Nigeria’s biggest transporter with his Ekene Dili Chukwu transport business. There were others that built large scale contracting and construction enterprises such as R.O. Nkwocha, D.O Nkwonta and F.G.N Okoye, all from Enugwu-Ukwu. Others thrived in industry and real estate such as John Anyaehie, Nnanna Kalu, Chief Ferdinand Anaghara, Louis Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Onwuka Kalu. Those that focused on commerce (import and export) thrived as well, such as G.E Chikeluba and his partners at the GMO Group. Unfortunately, most of these worthy pioneering Igbo sons have all passed on and the estates and business empires they left behind have also crumpled. Ndigbo should learn their lessons from some of these experiences. The world over, many businesses which began as family businesses such as Ford, Daimler Benz etc have since become publicly owned enterprises. When new shareholders and investors are allowed to come in, they bring in new ideas and capital thus enhancing further the chances of survival.

Source: businessdayonline.com

Igbodefender.com’s Comment: The Igbo penchant for success, that is spoken about in this article is as a result of Equianoism, that formular of Igbo cultural practices that have made the Igbos a hard working culture for thousands of years.

The Igbos are very traditional people, there is a strong pull towards preserving inherited ethos and values (also known as omenani or odinani). This manifests in the continued celebration and sustenance of cultural festivals and feasts such as Mmanwu or masquerade festivals. Ndigbo still observe traditional marriage rites such as Ime ego (bride price) and Igba nkwu.

Ndigbo are known to be deeply religious, while majority may have converted to Christianity, others are still practising Igbo traditional religion. The kola nut still remains a significant aspect of Igbo culture; as Ndigbo would say, ‘He who brings kola brings life’. Titles and title taking are still propagated in Igbo communities. In Igbo land, people are known and greeted mainly by their titles rather than by their given names hence Ndigbo will say – Nke onye chiri, ya zaa (let each person answer and uphold his title). It is common for Ndigbo, particularly titled and elderly men to speak using proverbs.

While some may argue that the culture of respect for elders is waning as a result of the swagger life style of nouveau rich Igbo men and women and including politicians, respect for elders is still very much observed by many in line with the admonition by one of Ndigbo’s most revered sons, the late Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha and Nigeria’s first President who had cautioned that “those that do not respect greatness will never live to be great”.

Amongst the Igbos are also to be observed strong bonds of kinship and brotherhood as evidenced in the maintenance of cultural groups, town unions and community development associations (CDAs) in distant lands where Ndigbo reside. Perhaps this may be a way of fostering the Umunna, Igwebuike and Nwanne di na mba philosophy (unity and strength in togetherness). Though Ndigbo may be widely travelled, they do have a strong home coming mentality.

Some negative aspects have also been observed about Igbo culture, these have now been massively exploited by non-Igbos in Nigeria’s political terrain to create a divide and rule situation that has led to Ndigbo’s perennial search for credible leadership. Many argue that Ndigbo love money but I will argue rather that this is just a mis-interpretation of the highly ambitious and competitive spirit of the Igbo man which finds credence in the almost spiritual understanding that Onye ruo, ya rie. By their nature, Ndigbo are very hardworking and enterprising. Another is the saying, propagated by Ndigbo themselves that Igbo enwe Eze. This belief that Ndigbo have no central leader is far from the truth as it at the same time contradicts the Igbo belief that Onye fee eze, Eze eru ya (Give honour to the deserving and you shall also be honoured). These prejudices, real and imagined may have unwittingly made Ndigbo objects of envy and fear by their Nigerian brothers and sisters.

Ndigbo have always relied on self-help and self-enterprise in their business endeavours. This perhaps may have been as a result of the victim mentality created by the losses they suffered during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war. Olanrewaju Akinpelu Olutayo in his paper, The Igbo Entrepreneur in the political economy of Nigeria (African Study Monographs, 20(3): 147-174, September 1999) writes that “One major and unique trait of the Igbo entrepreneur is the courage, perseverance, and determination with which they carry on in spite of the bad experiences and losses during the Nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1970”. This in-group survivalist thinking may have served Ndigbo right in post-civil war Nigeria when the exigencies of the time required that one only trusted people of his race.

The post-war era witnessed many successes especially amongst Igbo business men who despite the trauma and losses still managed to build large enterprises relying on self-help. Augustine Ilodibe was easily Nigeria’s biggest transporter with his Ekene Dili Chukwu transport business. There were others that built large scale contracting and construction enterprises such as R.O. Nkwocha, D.O Nkwonta and F.G.N Okoye, all from Enugwu-Ukwu. Others thrived in industry and real estate such as John Anyaehie, Nnanna Kalu, Chief Ferdinand Anaghara, Louis Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Onwuka Kalu. Those that focused on commerce (import and export) thrived as well, such as G.E Chikeluba and his partners at the GMO Group. Unfortunately, most of these worthy pioneering Igbo sons have all passed on and the estates and business empires they left behind have also crumpled. Ndigbo should learn their lessons from some of these experiences. The world over, many businesses which began as family businesses such as Ford, Daimler Benz etc have since become publicly owned enterprises. When new shareholders and investors are allowed to come in, they bring in new ideas and capital thus enhancing further the chances of survival.

Source: businessdayonline.com

Igbodefender.com’s Comment: The Igbo penchant for success, that is spoken about in this article is as a result of Equianoism, that formular of Igbo cultural practices that have made the Igbos a hard working culture for thousands of years.

j

Bonny is a town in the Nigerian Niger Delta. It is known for it’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal. But what many don’t know is that the most indigenes of that town are descendants of Igbos who would have been sold into slavery, had it not been for Olaudah Equiano’s campaign against the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The Igbos who settled in Bonny developed a new dialect called Bonny Igbo. In fact, the first bible ever published in Igbo was printed in the Bonny Igbo dialect.

Bonny is also famous for being the place where Jaja of Opobo, an Igbo slave from Amaigbo, in today’s Imo State, first rose to prominence. He later led is followers to form the neihbouring kingdom of Opobo.

One of the most famous Bonny families today is the Jumbo family, which is descended from Oko Jumbo, another enterprising Igboman who was Jaja’s strongest rival in Bonny.

© igbodefender.com 2011

Bonny is a town in the Nigerian Niger Delta. It is known for it’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal. But what many don’t know is that the most indigenes of that town are descendants of Igbos who would have been sold into slavery, had it not been for Olaudah Equiano’s campaign against the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The Igbos who settled in Bonny developed a new dialect called Bonny Igbo. In fact, the first bible ever published in Igbo was printed in the Bonny Igbo dialect.

Bonny is also famous for being the place where Jaja of Opobo, an Igbo slave from Amaigbo, in today’s Imo State, first rose to prominence. He later led is followers to form the neihbouring kingdom of Opobo.

One of the most famous Bonny families today is the Jumbo family, which is descended from Oko Jumbo, another enterprising Igboman who was Jaja’s strongest rival in Bonny.

© igbodefender.com 2011

I think celia Ibru used to be the richest women in Africa but due to her efcc case shes no more rich like that

biafra

concur

Chinua Achebe forces 50 Cent to rename movie

Things fall apart for rapper as Nigerian writer makes him change forthcoming film title to avoid conflict with 1958 novel

50 Cent has been undone by one of Africa's greatest novelists, Chinua Achebe. The rapper's latest movie has been renamed ahead of its release, due to a conflict with Achebe's most famous work.


Things Fall Apart, published by Achebe in 1958, is Nigeria's most famous English-language novel. It has sold more than 8m copies worldwide. Unfortunately, 50 Cent was not aware of this. He spent much of 2010 shooting a film of the same name, the story of an American football player diagnosed with cancer. "It's a project that I wrote, produced and financed myself," he explained last year. Directed by Mario Van Peebles, it premiered at the Miami film festival in March and is expected to be released soon.


Unfortunately for Fiddy, his film will not keep its original title. After being contacted by Achebe's legal team, 50 Cent allegedly offered $1m to hold on to the title. Achebe, 80, took this as an insult. "The novel with the said title was initially produced in 1958 (that is 17 years before [50] was born)," replied his lawyers, according to Naijan. "[It is] listed as the most-read book in modern African literature, and won't be sold for even £1bn." The film has now been renamed to All Things Fall Apart.

ChinenyeN:
EzeUche, the only legitimate access that Igbo has to the sea is P.H. (unless I'm missing something), and even then, moving out of that port means cutting through Ijo territory. Now, with that said, the reality of the situation is that, although Igbo is technically not landlocked, our access to the sea is highly dependent on our relation with Ijo, and your current mentality will not help Igbo/Ijo relations at all. It would be better if we call on some northern Igbo, who are more competent in diplomacy, to handle Igbo/Ijo relations as opposed to Cross River Igbo. A war-like mentality will be detrimental to the objective (you should know that).

True

Bonny and Opobo are igbos.

;d

What a confused Ikwerre man

In Igbo parlance, It is said that someone's neighbour could be more of a brother. The saying is hinged on the fact that the proximity associated with neighbourliness promotes mutual understanding and empathy. The Ijaw and her neighbours, including the Igbo, have known one another for thousands of years pre-dating the famous Hausa-Fulani relationship.

The pre-Nigerian history of the Ijaw and the Igbo in particular, was indeed a peaceful one, filled with significant legacies. One of them was the formidable rise of an Igbo slave boy, who later became one of the most respected African kings. King Jaja as he was known, was equally revered during his reign by the British Royal House of Windsor. He was shrewd in business, as well as savvy in politics. The slave boy from Amaigbo, in the present Imo state, later founded Opobo Kingdom and established the Jaja dynasty that runs till date.

The history of the Ijaw and the Igbo in respect of the origins of Opobo and Bonny (Umu-Ubani), vis avis the intermingling of the two peoples, have actually produced a hybrid race. The two communities today are bi-lingual. The Igbo dialect of Opobo known as "Igbani", was favourably chosen as one of the Igbo dialects by the colonial Bible translation committee. This was In total exclusion of Nri/Awka and Onitsha dialects for that matter. It could rightly be said that the Igbo version of the Holy Bible is a testimony of the real Igboworld. It is not uncommon to hear Igbo family names such as 'Ubani', referring to the town of Bonny. But the post civil war politics has twisted Bonny and Opobo, and made them sound far distant lands from the rest of the Igbo.

Events preceding the Nigerian civil war, and the part played by some Ijaw leaders at the time, and immediately after the war, especially in Port-Harcourt, have come to define the modern Ijaw political philosophy. A propaganda philosophy that could be said to be rooted in the fear of Igbo vendetta. Fear, which this writer and many Igbos thought was un-called for. The systematic indoctrination of innocent new generation of the Ijaws with such Igbophobia was strategically of no value.

I should stress that there was a leaf to be borrowed from the Late Chief Ken Saro-Wiwa's uninvited appearance at one Ohaneze meeting 1994. There and then, Chief Saro-Wiwa to the amazement of everyone, asked his fellow Igbo neighbours to lend their voices in his struggle for the self-determination of his Ogoni people. It was indeed a milestone. To many Igbos, he was simply a "saboteur". And moreover, a man who used his newspaper column in the 70s to humiliate them on a weekly basis. To see him come to them on a mission to revive an agitation that he actually helped to stifle was all too amazing. However, his appearance at that Ohaneze meeting would mark the first time any Southern minority leader, would sit in an Ohaneze meeting with their Igbo brothers after the civil war.


It is instructive to mention that It was at the same meeting, that the Late elder statesman Chief Sam Mbakwe reminded the audience of something else. For the first time, most of the attendees learnt from Chief Mbakwe that while Easterners were searching for a name to be given to the new nation which was about to emerge, It was an Ijaw, the late Frank Opugo, that suggested the name Biafra. A name synonymous with the Igbo today, and whose youths are proudly dying for. On the other hand, Ken Saro Wiwa, however, was warmly received at the meeting in a true brotherly re-union. It was really an emotional situation.

Currently, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark is the Ijaw national "leader". He equally serves as the intermediary of the Ijaw rebels and Nigeria's federal government. In recent years, the name Edwin Clark has been synonymous with all what Ijaw stands for--freedom, self-determination, fiscal federalism, political federalism, states creation, resource control, separate Ijaw region and so on and so forth. If this is an aversion of the ignoble roles played by this man in the period preceding the civil war, it is yet to be seen.

One of his contemporaries Chief Anthony Enahoro has since turned a new political leaf. Though at the dawn of his political life, Chief Enahoro has thrown away the material lures of Nigerian politics in place of ideology. He is apparently keen on how he would be remembered by the ever-growing assertive Southern politics. He is a regular face at the Ethnic-Nationalities Forum meetings, which sometimes are held under the auspices of Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a former political adversary. It will be recalled that Chief Anthony Enahoro was the Nigerian Government's 'Joseph Goebels' during the war years.

On the other hand, Chief Edwin Clark appear not to have been politically redeemed. He was one of the arrow-heads that engineered the Nigerian government to reject the Aburi Accord of 1967. An agreement that granted Eastern Nigeria (including part of his Ijaw nation) confederate status within the Nigerian nation. His anti-Igbo rhetoric, plans and actions have rather increased in recent times. Clark's legacies visavis his "Ijaw-nation" were not more than his selfish interests. Such was manifest when he accepted a ministerial position at the expense of the confederate status granted to Eastern Nigeria. Which he is today fighting for crumbs of the same agreement under different terminologies--13%, 17%, 25% derivation etc,

Despite his unmitigated malice to the Igbo, the latter have not relented in her goodwill towards the Ijaw people and their aspirations. Clark is currently a leading voice in the South-South. A zone that was created at the instance of the former Vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme. What is happening now is the use of the South-South people's assembly (SSPA) platform to subtly discredit any Igbo-speaking presidential candidate; and the South-South/South East joint presidential candidacy. The latest moves might not be unconnected to recent verbal attacks on the Rivers state Governor, Dr. Peter Odili by Prof. Tam David West. West had on several occasions been confronted by Nigerian journalists on his anti-Igbo antecedents.

Some Ijaw leaders have severally accused the Rivers state Governor of leaning to Ohaneze, and had on one occasion asked him to confirm or deny being Igbo. He has for reason(s) that I thought were not wise kept mute on this particular issue. Not too long ago, a group that called themselves Niger-Delta Coastal Guerrillas said that Gov. Odili is even from Anambra and won't be allowed to represent the South-South. To further press home their message, there have been paid newspaper campaigns warning of the perils of an Odili presidency.

One would not fail to question the meaning to all these bravado. Does the Nigerian constitution stipulate that an ethnic Igbo shouldn't vie for the office of the presidency? Talking to the Vanguard on Feb.26 on the joint South-East/South-South presidency, Clark said, " We will not accept it. If it is our turn to present a presidential candidate, that presidential candidate must be from the South-South, not somebody who has double loyalty" He was referring to no other person than Gov. Odili, or any Igbo speaking South-South candidate. It is important to mention that Ijaws from other hamlets outside Bayelsa state assert their Ijaw purity without intimidation. The Apoi of Ondo state are equally regarded as their own, even though the Apoi have for centuries past adopted the language and manners of their Yoruba neighbours. Why should an ethnic Igbo-speaking Governor's case be different? More spurious when juxtaposed with the fact that the Igboid language group of Rivers state--Umuetche, Obigbo, Ikwerre, Ahoada, Omoku and Ndoni constitutes a superor majority over the Ijaw group.

The Igbo wants the Ijaw to succeed. A prosperous Ijaw neighbour mindful of her territorial limits will more than anything else be in the interest of her Igbo neighbour. To trivialize the presence of native Igbo-speaking communities in the Niger-delta is a travesty of history and an open aggression on the general psyche of the Igbo-speaking people.

Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo couldn't be lying when he talked to CNN April this year, he said, ", there are other groups in the Niger-Delta alongside the Ijaws, there are the Urhobos, Ogonis, Igbos, Itshekiris, Efiks and so on"

I would also like to reiterate that Gov. Odili's current travails in the hands of some Ijaw leaders and groups, should serve as an eye opener to some native Igbo communities in the South-South who are hell bent to disfigure their identities. For when the chips are down, those who find it politically expedient to accept and support their Igbo denial, will remind them that they are true Igbos. Odili is currently in that quagmire now. He was 'Rivers man' all the 15 years he's been in the Rivers state politics. And now that he has aspired to be Nigeria's president, the minority Ijaw leaders have found out that he is an Igboman. Same will happen if It were to be a candidate from any of the communities such as Ukwuani, Ika, Ikwerre, Ekpeye and so on. And in Rivers state, the situation will equally not change If It were people like Prince Chibudom Nwuche, Austin Opara or Chibuike Amechi in Odili's situation,

It is a dilemma for the Governor. The politics have shifted from that of Rivers state to the gigantic national politics. The Igbos, I believe will vote for him. But any attempt to deny his Igbo identity will cost him the over 40 million Igbo population support in Nigeria. He's smart; he's aware of It. After the Nigerian civil war, some Igbo communities in the present South-South adopted the names of their 'local governments' and 'clans' as their 'ethnic nationalities' to escape the deprivations that visited the Igbo race. Odili's native Ndoni was not an exception, though forcefully ceded to Rivers state together with Obigbo In 1976 by the then Mamman Nasir Boundary adjustment commission.

There are several Ijaw demands that includes states creation which this writer equally supports. States can no longer be created by military decrees as was done in the past. We have seen the powers of democracy from the botched "third term". As democracy and Its intensive horse-trading takes root in Nigeria, the Ijaw and the Igbo will need each other's help. Definitely the Ijaw will need the Igbo more than the Igbo will need her, because of the latter's numerical standing and tripodal status. .

Alhaji Umaru Dikko had in the Sunday Punch of 25Th June, threatened the Ijaw rebels to learn from the hard lessons of their more experienced, big Igbo neighbours. I am not saying that he was right in his threat. But a politically united Southern Nigeria can quickly wither this kind of arrogant threat and bravado. It is time the new generation of the Ijaw sent their untiring, and faceless retired politicians home. Edwin Clark should go home with his malicious politics; It is high time the Ijaw fashioned a new PR.

Paroh_frey:
The shoe Bomber, Richard Reid an alleged al Qaeda-Trained Terrorist is British - 'Shoe bomber' Richard Reid was convicted for trying to blow up a jetliner flying Paris to Miami in 2001, with plastic explosives concealed in his shoes. He is serving a life sentence in a Colorado prison. He is British - white and stuff- that doesnt mean the whole world labels the whole of Britain as terrorists and neither was he fighting a course for britain- so, why are gullible Nigerians already sealing their own fate just because this one Nigerian has done this? Why are you seeing yourself differently already?

o boy which planet are you from? that man be oyibo man
we are BLACK!! that's a big difference

this rotten muslim has always been a terrorist right from small, no be today this devils in muslim dey disturb am

The suspect, Abdulfarouk Muttalab who is an engineering student at the University College, London had been noted for his extreme views on religion since his secondary school days at the British International School, Lome, Togo

.

At the secondary school, he was known for preaching about Islam to his school mates and he qwas popularly called ëAlfaí , a local coinage for Islamic scholar. After his secondary school, the young man, family sources said, once relocated to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from where he declared to his family members that he did not want to have anything to do with any of them again.

biafra all the way!!
Nigeria is a failed state

those are not even half of them

they should change their last names oo
No igbo man in his right senses can have names like Kitchen, blue nose, goodhead, buttocks

oboy these Ijaws are whiners, big time complainers
Ikwerre is not igbo
Ikwerre is Ijaw
Ikwerre is Igbo?

Is this the kind of community they want to preserve

I'm glad am not only that has noticed this waya. .

ABUJA, Nigeria (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday visited Nigeria, warning it could be a target for al Qaeda.


Nigeria is the fifth stop in Hillary Clinton's visit to Africa, to be followed by Liberia and Cape Verde.

The country has been racked by violence between Christians and Muslims, with hundreds having died in riots over the past several years.

"Al Qaeda has a presence in Northern Africa," Clinton said. "There is no doubt in our mind that al Qaeda and like organizations that are part of the syndicate of terror would seek a foothold anywhere they could find one, and whether that is the case here or whether this is a homegrown example of fundamentalist extremism -- that's up to the Nigerians to determine."

Clinton met President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and other leading politicians in the capital Abuja, the latest stage on an 11-day African tour designed to show U.S. commitment to the continent.

In a town hall meeting she talked about the importance of democracy, making a reference to her own unsuccessful run for president last year.

"I have won some elections and I have lost some elections. And in a democracy there have to be winners and losers," she said, before looking ahead to Nigeria's next elections.

"Part of creating a strong democratic system is that the losers, despite how badly we might feel, accept the outcome, because it is for the good of the country we love," she said.

"And of course in my country the man that I was running against, and spent a lot of time and effort to defeat, asked me to join his government. So there is a way to begin to make this transition that will lead to free and fair elections in 2011,"

Nigeria is "the most important country in sub-Saharan Africa" and one of the most corrupt, according to a senior official on the trip.

It is a major oil and gas producer, one of the largest suppliers to the American market, said Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary at the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs.

"You know the raw numbers, $300 billion, 2 million barrels of oil," Clinton said. "They're staggering. But they don't tell you how many hospitals and roads could have been built. They don't tell you how many schools could have been opened or how many Nigerians could have attended college or how many mothers might have survived childbirth if that money had been spent differently."

Clinton opened her Africa trip in Nairobi, Kenya, then went to South Africa, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She will travel next to Liberia and Cape Verde.

The Obama administration is also using Clinton's tour to promote development and good governance.

Clinton brought an offer of help Tuesday for victims -- especially victims of sexual violence -- in Africa's longest war, a regional conflict that's dragged on for more than a decade

We want to banish the problems of sexual violence into the dark past where it belongs," she said during her visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a meeting with leaders of nongovernmental organizations, Clinton said the United States will provide "more than $17 million in new funds to prevent and respond to gender and sexual violence."

On Monday, Clinton had delivered a blunt message to Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito when he hosted a dinner in her honor.

"There must be an end to widespread financial corruption and abuses of human rights and women's rights," she said. "There must be an improvement in governance and the respect for the rule of law."

The United Nations estimates 200,000 women and girls have been raped in Congo since war broke out 12

Ndi beanyi ekene'm unu!!!

http://maps.lib.msu.edu/mapscan/AfJPEGs/30_g1019m67_1867_l.jpg


the yorubas had their own kingdom, the same for the igbos, hausas and so on

£££££££££££££

The airport will be viable considering the city's proximity to Onitsha

SO TRUE

biafra coming to you soon