₦airaland Forum

oduastates: This is another kunbaaya "there is no problem with the idea of Nigeria " article.
People can choose to bury their heads in the sand .
We are not the same and Nigerians live their lives that way.
Lagos gets her tomato from the north but also gets her bad governance from Abuja ,bombs from the north .Lagos makes her star lager beer but that beer is banned in the north .
Tomatoes which can be grown in a plant pot anywhere in the SW.
Let them take their tomatoes ,oil and onions.
We choose our sovereignty over crap anytime.
Despite all the evidence around ;the rot ,the crime ,the lawlessness,the infrastructural decay, the difference in aspiration /world view /attitudes to modernity.
I guess the writer is invested in the one Nigeria project because he directly benefits from it.
Even foreigners are wondering why haven't broken up something that is obviously not working.
We all know the answer,
OIL
it is difficult to let go the easy money which benefits only a few.
Useless article.

Rawani: If Dr. Davis was not working for the presidency as claimed, why did Ali Modu Sherriff in his statement yesterday criticise him for revealing his findings on TV instead of submitting it to the President? What about the military aircraft alleged to have been given to him by Jonathan? Under the past administration, who mandated and led him to the militants? Can Asari Dokubo claim to not know Dr. Stephen Davies?


https://republicreporters.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Davis.jpg

eph12: As much as I don't like this Jonathan government, I find it difficult to believe that BH can easily or foolishly directly mention the names of their sponsors. Its real stupidity and they don't come across to me as a stupid group. This group is highly intelligent and organized. I can only believe that these names were mentioned so as to turn up the heat on them and divert Nigerians attention from the real deal.
The person I blame is GEJ with the number of people arrested yet no big name or sponsor has been caught. It could only mean one of the following reasons; Either his government is too weak to make the arrest or his government is part of the BH cheerleader team.
Shalom.

wesley80: Gbawe the dark hearted Ijebu cowrie thrower would believe and say anything that portrays GEJ negatively. He isn't here to analyze the issues or voice any real concern but to gloat and stoke the fire of hate.

Rawani: I find it interesting that you opined that the negotiator might be speaking on the bidding of the President because as much as i detest his leadership style and incompetence, he seems to be a good man who has been cornered by high-level wickedness and conspiracy in the Presidency by ill advisers/ethnic warlords like Edwin Clark and Dokubo, as well as within the ruling party. I find it difficult, though possible, to believe that Dr. Davies would independently compromise his professional relationship with the Presidency and his personal reputation, to make false accusations before informing Jonathan. Simply unlikely.

No, Northerners are not parasites
SEPTEMBER 4, 2014 BY BAYO OLUPOHUNDA 3 COMMENTS

https://www.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Bayo-Olupohunda-360x297.jpg
Bayo Olupohunda

One of the many consequences of Nigeria’s ethnic and religious fault lines is how it has bred a culture of distrust, blame game and hatred among the disparate ethnic nationalities that make up our country since amalgamation in 1914. What is more alarming is how the Nigerian youth-the so-called future generation-have imbibed the divisive and primordial ethnic stereotypes that thrive on intolerance which once pushed our country to the brink. It is indeed worrisome to conclude that with today’s youth as ethnic champions, our country’s future is in a serious jeopardy. But I digress. Our diversity, rather than being a blessing, has become the purveyor of xenophobic ethnic bashing. In the years since our country was brought into a forced union, our differences have pushed us to the brink many times. These differences are threatening to tear us apart as a nation. Though we claim to live together as one people, ours is really a marriage of strange bed-fellows.

As a result of our differences, Nigeria’s ethnic groups live in suspicion of one another. This mistrust has led to violence and bloodshed in the years since we became an independent nation. Ambassador John Campbell rightly noted in his seminal work of the same title, that ours is a country that is forever dancing on the brink. He is right. But ordinary Nigerians are essentially good people. What has happened is that they have allowed the greedy and selfish political elite to polarise and dictate the narrative that play up the divisive sentiments for their narrow and self-serving agenda.

In their struggle for power, politicians and ethnic irredentists have resorted to ethnic bashing against an entire group or groups.

They are ready to drag the whole country along this path of destruction in their quest to gain or retain power. Those politicians drumming war songs must remember that if Nigeria disintegrates, they will have no country to plunder. In the cacophony of hate speeches that has drowned sane reasoning, the North, for example, has variously been blamed for being responsible for Nigeria’s multifarious problems. The entire region has been labelled as parasites that feed on the nation’s resources without giving anything back. Those who hold this view have consistently told gullible Nigerians that the region has dominated power since independence and thus responsible for our under-development. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Unfortunately, entire generations of Nigerian youths are being weaned on this fallacy.

It is a disservice and historically wrong to label an entire region as parasites. Indeed, an average northerner is as ambitious and hardworking as their southern counterparts. The disingenuous argument of the parasitic North is hinged on two erroneous and deceitful premises. First, that the Northern space is an acrid space of barren Sahara bereft of resources and which makes them dependent on oil. Second, that having dominated power for that long, the Northern leadership’s failure or refusal to capitalise on the advantage to develop the North makes the entire region responsible for widespread poverty in the region. How gullible can Nigerians be? While it is true that the North has suffered a dearth of leadership, it will amount to living in denial to claim that leadership failure is an exclusive malaise of the North. Leadership failure is a Nigerian crisis. Even Chinua Achebe alluded to this in his work, “The Problem with Nigeria”.

The entire country has been a victim of a dearth of leadership since the military incursion into politics. It is the reason why there are so many crises in our country today. Insecurity, poverty, out-of-school children and other factors stalling our progress are results from leadership failure. They only exist in degrees across regions where they soon assume new dimensions and ferocity when left addresses as has been the case over the years.

The situation is even worse in the Fourth Republic. The North has never been parasitic. Historically, the region was also developing just as rapidly as other regions. At Independence, the first generation leaders of the region harnessed its agricultural produce of groundnut and cotton. We know how the legendry agricultural pyramids powered the economy of the region and contributed immensely to its development. This was long before oil became the mainstay of our economy. While the other regional governments developed their resources for the benefit of their people, the North also tapped into its own strength. Over the years, the region has come to be known for its vast agricultural lands. It is thus no coincidence that it has continued to produce most of the farm produce we consume in the country today. The North has for long been providing the needs of the entire populace. States like Benue, which lies in the mid-section of Middle Belt and the core north, is famously referred to as the food basket of the nation.

All the livestock we consume in the South come from the North. To underscore the importance of the region as the breadwinner of the nation, a misunderstanding between the Lagos State Government and Northern traders who bring goods such pepper, edibles, fruits and cows from the North created panic in the city some years ago. For a few days, the food chain of an entire state was shut down. Drought soon became imminent. Prices of foodstuff also went up astronomically. There was panic everywhere as residents prayed for the northerners to end the strike. Such is the importance of the North. Why do we then still refer to them as parasites when they feed the entire country? The coming of the military truncated the progress of the North just as it did other regions. Our leaders’ failure to harness the resources of the country created an oil-based mono-economy which made the entire country dependent on the product. This is not the North’s problem. It is a Nigerian conundrum.

The argument that the region has dominated power since independence can also not be justified. How can we hold the North responsible for military rule that was clearly an aberration? That military rulers were from Northern extraction did not give any advantage to the region. Does it make the region culpable for military misrule? The North may have been dominant in the military but military regimes owed no allegiance to any ethnic group. They existed for their families and cronies alone. Can we possibly say that Sani Abacha governed for the North? Did he not corruptly enrich his family and cronies alone? Were his collaborators not from different parts of the country?

The ordinary, poor people of the North have suffered the consequences of bad leadership just as everybody else. I have also always held the view that for every corrupt civilian or military government that has ruled our country, there were collaborators from other parts of the country. For example, the same political elite that have dominated power since independence are still calling the shots today. They have no ethnic coloration but bound together by one obvious common interest. The entire country, not the North, has been parasitic. What we need to develop is not a leader with an ethnic worldview but one who is nationalistic enough to harness our country’s vast resources for the common good. The challenge for us as a country is also the need to co-exist as one in spite of our differences.

Follow me on twitter: @bayoolupohund

Jonathan’s hostage negotiator puts him in a tight corner

on September 03, 2014 / in For Crying Out Loud 3:24 am / Comments


By Ogaga Ifowodo
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s hostage negotiator, Dr Stephen Davis, has done Nigerians a great favour and put his employer in a tight corner. Davis has broken the official taboo against naming names of persons behind Boko Haram, those who fund the ceaseless bloodbaths, abduction of adolescent girls as sexual slaves, arson and more.

We owe Davis a debt of gratitude for letting us know more than our government has been willing to disclose: the mere geographical location of the Chibok girls coupled with the rote assurance of their safety.

https://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Stephen-Davis.jpg
Dr Stephen Davis

The utter secrecy surrounding what the government is doing or not doing to free the Chibok girls or end the insurgency has led to the unfortunate impression that it is helpless and all we can do is wait for Abubakar Shekau to become human again, renounce violence and lay down his arms. Or wait for the United States to send us night vision goggles and remaindered equipment from its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before a proper anti-terrorism war can begin.

Davis spoke first to a television station in Australia and then to a Nigerian medium, Arise Television. On 29 August, ThisDay published Davis’s revelations under the headline “Australian Negotiator Names Ihejrika, Sheriff as Sponsors of Boko Haram.” Davis points with the certitude of a chief prosecution witness to two highly placed citizens: retired Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika, former Chief of Army Staff and field commander of the offensive against Boko Haram, and Alhaji Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State where Shekau has his headquarters and has planted the first flag of his dreamed Caliphate.

The evidence against Azubuike appears thin, but Sheriff, Davis says, “has been funding Boko Haram’s terrorism for years.” Davis has also pointed to an unnamed third person in Abuja whose three nephews allegedly participated in the Nyanya-Abuja bombing that killed 77 people. In his interview with SaharaReporters, the New York-based online news platform, Davis gives further details concerning this man by claiming that he is a top official of the Central Bank and Boko Haram’s banker.

To my mind, other than the surprise mention of Ihejirika, the real news is the proof by inference Davis gives of the charge that the government may indeed have been playing politics with the terrorist insurgency that has laid waste to vast swathes of the North East, killed thousands and scarred millions.

This is not the first time Sheriff’s name would be linked to Boko Haram, but whereas we could only watch as the government camp and the opposition traded accusations of playing politics with the insurgency, Davis, in the final analysis, has now indicted the President. Mostly through his underlying tone of incredulity as to why Boko Haram’s sponsors have not been arrested, why the SSS “doesn’t seem inclined to interrogate” the three nephews of the Abuja man for “concrete evidence against their uncle in whose house they were living.”

The implications of his words must have been clear to Davis, hence, I suspect, his attempt to absolve his employer of blame. If Jonathan arrests prominent politicians who are likely to run against him in 2015, he would lay himself open to the charge of hounding the opposition to enhance his re-election. To deflect that charge, he says, there has to be “a very high threshold” of evidence sufficient to “keep the Western nations happy.”

This can’t be higher than the normal weight of evidence to sustain a criminal charge and it is obvious that Davis is convinced the threshold was reached a long time ago. According to ThisDay, Davis “was emphatic that the people he names are current sponsors of Boko Haram,” that he had information on “some of them about three years ago; one of them four years ago,” and that one even provided “money and . . . in one case . . . six (Toyota) Hilux vehicles used for suicide bombing.”

Yet, by the end of Davis’s testimony, the line between the bad opposition politicians and the good government is blurred. Sheriff, now the de facto poster-politician allegedly sponsoring Boko Haram, has decamped to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party “in the hope this will give him protection.” What other course of action does Jonathan have now than to order the immediate arrest of all the persons that his hostage negotiator claims are the chief sponsors of Boko Haram?

And to charge them to court forthwith? Unless, of course, his hostage negotiator is a rabble rouser, in which case we must wonder how and why he has worked for three successive presidents. It can’t be the case that the evidence that emboldens Davis to name names is unavailable to Jonathan and his security and intelligence heads.

Jonathan must know that failure to act would give credence to the opposition’s counter-claim: a conviction that the insurgency was fomented by his political enemies to make the country ungovernable and prevent his re-election, but that the plot boomeranged and so it is best left unaddressed in order to gain him sympathy votes. My hunch is that Davis, an independent contractor, spoke at the bidding of the President, but even if he acted independently in order to force Jonathan’s hand, that should not prevent decisive action against any suspected Boko Haram sponsor, irrespective of party affiliation or status, against whom prima facie evidence can be adduced. All that is needed is political will.

OrlandoOwoh: Oyegun didn't engage Metuh. It's Metuh that did, to save his party. The person in APC that engages Metuh is Lai Muhammed, who deals with him with well-thought argument.

Jonathan’s hostage negotiator puts him in a tight corner

on September 03, 2014 / in For Crying Out Loud 3:24 am / Comments


By Ogaga Ifowodo
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s hostage negotiator, Dr Stephen Davis, has done Nigerians a great favour and put his employer in a tight corner. Davis has broken the official taboo against naming names of persons behind Boko Haram, those who fund the ceaseless bloodbaths, abduction of adolescent girls as sexual slaves, arson and more.

We owe Davis a debt of gratitude for letting us know more than our government has been willing to disclose: the mere geographical location of the Chibok girls coupled with the rote assurance of their safety.

https://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Stephen-Davis.jpg
Dr Stephen Davis

The utter secrecy surrounding what the government is doing or not doing to free the Chibok girls or end the insurgency has led to the unfortunate impression that it is helpless and all we can do is wait for Abubakar Shekau to become human again, renounce violence and lay down his arms. Or wait for the United States to send us night vision goggles and remaindered equipment from its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before a proper anti-terrorism war can begin.

Davis spoke first to a television station in Australia and then to a Nigerian medium, Arise Television. On 29 August, ThisDay published Davis’s revelations under the headline “Australian Negotiator Names Ihejrika, Sheriff as Sponsors of Boko Haram.” Davis points with the certitude of a chief prosecution witness to two highly placed citizens: retired Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika, former Chief of Army Staff and field commander of the offensive against Boko Haram, and Alhaji Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State where Shekau has his headquarters and has planted the first flag of his dreamed Caliphate.

The evidence against Azubuike appears thin, but Sheriff, Davis says, “has been funding Boko Haram’s terrorism for years.” Davis has also pointed to an unnamed third person in Abuja whose three nephews allegedly participated in the Nyanya-Abuja bombing that killed 77 people. In his interview with SaharaReporters, the New York-based online news platform, Davis gives further details concerning this man by claiming that he is a top official of the Central Bank and Boko Haram’s banker.

To my mind, other than the surprise mention of Ihejirika, the real news is the proof by inference Davis gives of the charge that the government may indeed have been playing politics with the terrorist insurgency that has laid waste to vast swathes of the North East, killed thousands and scarred millions.

This is not the first time Sheriff’s name would be linked to Boko Haram, but whereas we could only watch as the government camp and the opposition traded accusations of playing politics with the insurgency, Davis, in the final analysis, has now indicted the President. Mostly through his underlying tone of incredulity as to why Boko Haram’s sponsors have not been arrested, why the SSS “doesn’t seem inclined to interrogate” the three nephews of the Abuja man for “concrete evidence against their uncle in whose house they were living.”

The implications of his words must have been clear to Davis, hence, I suspect, his attempt to absolve his employer of blame. If Jonathan arrests prominent politicians who are likely to run against him in 2015, he would lay himself open to the charge of hounding the opposition to enhance his re-election. To deflect that charge, he says, there has to be “a very high threshold” of evidence sufficient to “keep the Western nations happy.”

This can’t be higher than the normal weight of evidence to sustain a criminal charge and it is obvious that Davis is convinced the threshold was reached a long time ago. According to ThisDay, Davis “was emphatic that the people he names are current sponsors of Boko Haram,” that he had information on “some of them about three years ago; one of them four years ago,” and that one even provided “money and . . . in one case . . . six (Toyota) Hilux vehicles used for suicide bombing.”

Yet, by the end of Davis’s testimony, the line between the bad opposition politicians and the good government is blurred. Sheriff, now the de facto poster-politician allegedly sponsoring Boko Haram, has decamped to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party “in the hope this will give him protection.” What other course of action does Jonathan have now than to order the immediate arrest of all the persons that his hostage negotiator claims are the chief sponsors of Boko Haram?

And to charge them to court forthwith? Unless, of course, his hostage negotiator is a rabble rouser, in which case we must wonder how and why he has worked for three successive presidents. It can’t be the case that the evidence that emboldens Davis to name names is unavailable to Jonathan and his security and intelligence heads.

Jonathan must know that failure to act would give credence to the opposition’s counter-claim: a conviction that the insurgency was fomented by his political enemies to make the country ungovernable and prevent his re-election, but that the plot boomeranged and so it is best left unaddressed in order to gain him sympathy votes. My hunch is that Davis, an independent contractor, spoke at the bidding of the President, but even if he acted independently in order to force Jonathan’s hand, that should not prevent decisive action against any suspected Boko Haram sponsor, irrespective of party affiliation or status, against whom prima facie evidence can be adduced. All that is needed is political will.

grafikii: See as this one dey rant, i thought they were going to counter issues raised by the APC, all i see here is nonsense.

SLIDEwaxie: defamation of character and propagation of false information capable of causing harm and loss to person/group of person is now 'democracy'?

Is that what you thought freedom of speech is abt?

You can say rubbish online, but don't say anything as a 'fact' if they are not!

Period!

Magistrate’s Court 1 sitting in Sagamu yesterday heard the case of Mr. Wasiu Ogunnoiki (31), who was arraigned for engaging in acts capable of denting the image of Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun on the Facebook.

Ogunnoiki was accused of engaging in acts[b] that contravened Section 249 (d) of the Criminal Code, Volume II Laws of Ogun State 2006[/b] by publishing on his Facebook account that Amosun demolished houses without compensating the affected property owners and in manners that could incite the citizens against the governor.

9jaCrusade: Just read this rebuttal and it reminds one of Awo's defense in court. Just listen to the Oando case. I doubt even the President thought that stately on the issue!
Even though I personally don't like BAT that much, he is intelligent and schooled in the discourse of state and politics. So much for clear insight. He is well respected by me.
As for Ikimi, he is one of the reasons I did not like BAT that much. Another is Oyinlola! Seeing BAT embrace a political vagabond and superficial crook like him, as shown during Abacha's days made me doubt his(BAT's) sincerity about change. But alas, I think I can alter my feelings now!

No matter what anyone may say about me it is unlikely that I can be accused of supporting incompetent or morally light-weight individuals for important political positions. My philosophy is to put the best forward, men and women of competence and integrity, who can stand up to us politicians to challenge us and say no when necessary. Such people are not noisy or able to gain attention by being loud, I believe my role is to do all I can to project them.

At the formation of the APC, a crucial debate ensued about what to do about persons like Ikimi who had done awful things in the past, but who were now minded to align with the progressive tendency in Nigerian politics. Should we forever blacklist them? This would have been the easiest route, but it would have kept rancour alive. It would have made us slaves to the bleakest chapters of our past. Instead we opted to extend the hand of brotherhood, reconcile and put the past behind us. This would enable a broader political consensus, while also giving the likes of Ikimi an opportunity to atone for their grievous wrongs against the people and be rehabilitated.

We recognized that many leading Nigerians had committed acts of shame. Some for private profit, others who were otherwise decent people who had become prisoners to a terrible system.

talktimi: father of mumu's you don't have to advertise your crass stvpidity. Like I asked earlier, point out what omexonomy said that makes him a clannish bigot and if you're not a fool point out anywhere I have ever exhibited any trait of tribal/clannish bigotry when it is a well known fact that I'm against tribal warfare on this forum. When people say gbawe is a liar, you start getting high bp but the fact remains GBAWE IS A LIAR. Oluku

barcanista: Sometimes I begin to wonder whether our REAL Armed forces servicemen have been moved for Peacekeeping Missions Abroad and the Man o' War are the ones doing their job

barcanista: As usual, the Police Force and its unprofessionalism and partisanship. Shame

Ngwakwe: He usually inject it to make his argument weighty.

When nobody says anything when people boast with the advantage the "cult-like followership" Buhari commands in Core Northern Nigeria Islamic-declared States as an advantage in elections.

I don't understand the contrast or Is it just plain resentment?

I love debates (notwithstanding the virtual clashes) than bloodshed, this has made wars between Igbos and Yorubas impossible and so shall it remain.

focus7: they level of tyranny being displayed by Jonathan administration to perceived opposition is alarming.

brownlord: Your problem now is the numbers of security men sent to arrest him right? Not if he's guilty or not, how is that your business if i may ask? Are you a security personnel that should determine numbers of men that should go for operation?

Why not stfu if you got nothing to say, or must you comment on every thread. A council boss like him will have thugs, send 5 police there so the supporter of APC thugs can descend on them right?

talktimi: what is clannish and bigoted about what omexonomy said abi you just felt like blowing hot grammar?

Omexonomy: A lot of people will soon die of jelousy over gej reelection bid.

Nigeria On The Precipice: Why It Has Failed To Defeat Boko Haram And What Must Be Done Now! By Dr. Ijabla Raymond
"I do not believe that the government fully understands the nature or the gravity of the problem that confronts it. There appears to be greater preoccupation with winning next year’s elections than with fighting BH. This is unfortunate because more northern Nigerian towns and villages are falling under the control of jihadist terrorists by the day".

In the last two months the world has been preoccupied with events in the Middle East, namely the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the Islamic State in Iraq & Syria (ISIS). The stories and pictures emanating from these places are absolutely gruesome and the world is right to focus on them. But I do not understand why the genocide and displacement of communities in northern Nigeria by Boko Haram (BH) has escaped the attention of the world, even though the situation there is arguably on a similar scale to what we are seeing in the Middle East right now.


In the last week alone, BH has captured three towns - Gwoza, Limankara and Madagali - in the northeastern states of Borno and Adamawa. In the style of ISIS fighters, the group has captured military bases, seized military hardware, burnt down entire villages, killed the inhabitants in the process, executed soldiers and civilians by beheading them, and caused the displacements of communities.

We all recall the abduction of nearly 250 girls and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Since then there have been more reports of abductions, attacks on schools and the murder of innocent students. I do not mean to trivialise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but no one needs to be reminded about the degree of global news coverage that followed the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers and the conflict that ensued.


Nigeria is a regional power and has taken part in many successful peacekeeping missions in Africa and around the world. Unfortunately, this giant is now confronted with a type of problem that it seems incapable of solving on its own. Only last week, a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary entitled “Nigeria’s Hidden War” revealed damning footages of unprofessional behaviour and gross human rights abuses by Nigerian soldiers in their attempt to contain BH. Their methods were indistinguishable from those employed by BH and have been rightly condemned by Amnesty International.

[b]Quite why the largest army in Africa with its impressive record of successful international peacekeeping missions cannot defeat a domestic terrorist organisation is everybody’s guess. Why was this organisation even allowed to grow when it could have been nipped in the bud? The failure of the army to defeat BH has been attributed to corruption, unprofessionalism, under-resourcefulness, lack of equipment, poor motivation, the deliberate crippling of the military by successive military governments to prevent coups, and the infiltration of the army’s rank and file by BH sympathisers and saboteurs. But there is a more important reason - poor understanding of BH's mission or a denial of it.

Jihadist terrorism is arguably the biggest threat to world peace in the 21st century. There is only one correct way to view BH, and that is, as jihadist terrorists. It is a serious error of judgement to presume that BH is a political tool put in place to humiliate a Christian president or to topple his government or to re-establish northern hegemony or that it is even a political party of some description. I suspect this is the advice that President Jonathan has received, and this may explain his apparent indecisiveness in dealing with BH. Lest we forget, BH started its violent campaigns during the presidency of Yar'Adua who was a Muslim from northern Nigeria. If BH wants to re-establish northern hegemony, then attempting to assassinate respected Northern leaders such as the Emir of Kano and the Shehu of Borno would seem like a stupid, counterintuitive and counterproductive thing to do.

BH is an islamo-fascist organisation whose only objective is to create an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria. It does not respect Nigeria's internal borders, and like other islamo-fascist groups such as ISIS, the ultimate goal is the establishment of a worldwide caliphate.[/b]

Shekau has repeatedly told us that his targets are Christians. The Quran refers to Christians and Jews as "people of the BOOK. It is the way of life of these people (of the book) that BH refers to as "haram" or forbidden. There are no Jews in Nigeria and this jihad is directed against. Christians. Non-islamic education, democracy, civic institutions such as the police, military, judiciary are synonymous with Western civilisation and by implication Christianity. This is why BH wants to destroy these institutions and replace them with Sharia.

Shekau has also repeatedly said that any Muslim who does not subscribe to the ideology of BH or its version of Islam is a legitimate target for attack. This includes Muslims who participate in any process that is considered un-Islamic or non-compliant with Sharia e.g. politicians, democrats, policemen, military personnel, school students or university students. This is why BH sought to kill those respected emirs. It is why Shekau referred to the late but respected Muslim politicians, Sir Balewa and Mallam Aminu Kano, as infidels. He even called the king and princes of Saudi Arabia infidels. Otherwise, the death of any Muslim during BH campaigns is unintended and is purely collateral damage. This is an accurate assessment of the mindset of BH and is not designed to stir up hatred between Christians and Muslims. All peace-loving Nigerians, whether they be Christians or Muslims, must rise and fight this ideology.

I do not believe that the government fully understands the nature or the gravity of the problem that confronts it. There appears to be greater preoccupation with winning next year’s elections than with fighting BH. This is unfortunate because more northern Nigerian towns and villages are falling under the control of jihadist terrorists by the day. If you live outside the northeast zone and think you are immune from this problem, then think again!

Ladies and gentlemen, our country is at the edge of the precipice. Forgive me if this sounds alarmist but the video released by BH showing our soldiers fleeing into the mountains and across the border into Cameroon should raise alarm. We should be asking whether the Nigeria army has the capability to defeat BH, and if so, why this has not been used. How did our prestigious army, the largest in Africa, get to the point where it now runs away from a group of insurgents? If our army cannot defeat or contain these insurgents, shouldn't we be asking for regional or international help now? After all, our army has helped to stabilise the governments of many countries around the world on it's many peacekeeping missions - so why shouldn't we get help when we need one?

Last year, I wrote an article in which I discussed the factors responsible for the birth of BH as well as short and long-term strategies for combating the insurgency. Fourteen months later, I am sad to note that we now have a terrorist group that has become more capable and daring, mainly because our government has only focused on military power and a state-of-emergency ruling.

It is pertinent to repeat some of my advice here. Military force alone is not sufficient to overcome violent religious extremism. We need to develop and propagate counter-narratives against the ideology that breeds such extremism.

There needs to be urgent action to address the problem of Almajiri destitution and to regulate what the Almajiris are being taught in Koranic schools. We can no longer afford to let fundamentalist preachers (whether native or invited from foreign countries) to continue running wild without some form of censorship.

[b]President Jonathan and his advisers must change their tactic - we are a country at war against jihadist terrorists. It is regrettable that our president did not make a public statement on the Chibok abductions until he was forced to do so (many weeks after the abductions) by international pressure from the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Until now, the president has yet to visit these troubled spots. It was Malala Yusuf who finally managed to convince him fairly recently to meet the family of the abducted girls. The president must be advised that this is not a war by a group of enemies to topple his government and he must, from now on, fight this war with all the will, power and resources at his disposal.

As experience has shown in Rwanda, Bosnia, Somalia and with ISIS fighters in Iraq, situations like ours can degenerate very rapidly, but lives can be saved if the international community acts decisively and timely. Nigeria needs urgent help with training, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance. We need to put the focus back on Nigeria. With a population of nearly 170 million people, nobody should want to see a refugee crisis situation develop in Nigeria![/b]

Ijabla Raymond, a medical doctor of Nigerian heritage writes from the UK. Contact him at Ijabla.Raymond@facebook.com

barcanista: . Bros I can't wait for the final verdict. My joy is that IBB and Gov Aliyu lost in their polling Units. This shows that the people of Niger State are ready for the change just like the Osun People prove once again that the change over their has come to stay. So sad Ekiti fell for stomach development!!!!

barcanista: SE population is 75% Nigeria population...


APC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Change!!!!!

kokoA: But when they were in control of no state at all they fielded Late. Ojukwu for presidency abi? Then they had "strength".. Now that they have 1 state, they suddenly lost the "strength" to field a presidential candidate My brother, stop justifying azzlicking.. I can't remember PDP begging APGA or going into agreement with them to support their candidate o but APGA carry PDP candidate for head like gala sote dey tin come dey fear PDP.. Lol.. PDP be like "Bros, abeg na you get dis candidate abi na us" lwkmd.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to desist from using the logos of the APGA to campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term presidential election.

Also, the party has asked the Inspector General of Police (IG), Sulieman Abba to compel the party to stop the fraudulent campaign strategy of APGA, where it prints the President’s campaign posters with the APGA flags and logo.

chukwudi44: What level of ass licking is lower than what you do here daily for your APC paymasters

jpphilips: Did you hear yourself say that nonsense? did you? tell me you read that thing you wrote? you want to blame your past for having no direction in your future, this is 2014 for fvck sake not 1960, if 1960 blamed 1958 and 1990 blamed 1982, what will 2015 do? blame 2010?
How many countries in the world think like that? George bush fought terror and indebted America, Obama should blame him and sleep till ISIS bombs the white house.
Most of you must have repeated every class because you guys line of thought is so appalling

Afroconnect: I think on a broader perspectives,all that you listed up there is as a result of the failed value system,as exhibited by the 'leaders' and politicians.

When people from outside look at us,they wonder how a people can condone such impunity and live in such deceit and lies from a ruling elite cabal that is so greedy,even in the expense of the lives of the ordinary Nigerian.

I can't blame the youth,they either beat or join them-the poor man don't know better already blinded by ethnicity,religion and culture.

When people see this,they laugh at us-cos Nigeria is one funny scenerio of perpetual lies,deceit and waste.

BankuTilapia2: It doesnt take a minute to figure out a mumugerian from other Africans. A bunch of loud mouth madafuckersssss, bragging with nothing to show for apart from their usual giant of Africa and exhibiting their numerous talent such as fraud, ritual murders, arm robberies,

skyfall: Ogun people should be smart and not lose a shining light like Ibikunle Amosun. Little do they know that other states envy them.

Towards A Mega City: Amosun Signs MOU On Light Rail Project

Ogun State Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on light rail mass transit with the China Civil Engineering Construction Company that will link major cities in the state as well as boost its economy.

While signing the MOU in his Oke-Mosan Office in Abeokuta, Governor Ibikunle Amosun noted that there can be no development without putting the necessary infrastructures in place. He said “ We have been doing our best on roads but it is high time we paid attention to rail as well. We are starting the mass transit within Abeokuta metropolis. This will be extended to all our major towns including the Ado-Odo/Ota axis which will encompass all the border area with Lagos”.

“Our first focus is intra city rail mass transit, thereafter we will embark on linking the cities together. Within the next couple of years, you will begin to see the results of what we are trying to do to improve transportation of goods and services”,he said.

Governor Amosun said it was imperative to boost transportation in the state since the state population is projected to rise significantly over the next couple of years.

In his remarks the Managing Director of China Civil Engineering Construction Company, Mr. Cao Bao Gang applauded the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration for its developmental vision for the state, pointing out that, ’’ the project on completion will enhance the transportation system and contribute to the economic development of the Gateway State.’’

He assured that the highest quality will be deployed in the implementation of the project adding that ‘’it will provide jobs for residents and help the unskilled ones to gain adequate knowledge through training and involvement in the whole process.

The signing of the MOU was witnessed by top government functionaries including the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu as well as the Chinese Consul-General, Liu Xian Fa, among others.

aguiyi: there he goes again, insults in all his comments. were you raised by bullies or you just feel good when you throw such tantrums .

all this jargon you are spewing here and there is not improving your personality in any way so learn to write in simple and correct English.

as for the topic,

i advice you stop hyping the success of the terrorists, it makes you look like their apologist. the Australian negotiator have told the whole world in his last write up on this issue that the presidents hand is tied because he will be seen as having a northern agenda .

hope you also remember some of your comments when ihejirika was hitting this terrorists real hard. now non of you is threatening to sue anyone to the hague

Nobleval: Nigerian leaders are clueless.