₦airaland Forum

Pavarottii:
Asin my brother, very well. Thank God GEJ was president. First time someone from the south south. And how he was treated by the north and SW. Showed us that for the past 50years, they never really loved us.

Now our eyes Don clear. Make I no lie, even me sef; am wiser now.

The Niger Deltans used to think Igbos are their biggest enemy....I think the igbos love the Niger Deltans more than any tribe in Nigeria...Forget Oilo matter

slimthugchimee:
most of the roads in enugu without sidewalks are either inner street roads or expressroads, theres no need for sideways on mostly those express roads because of low pedestrian movenments....

I dont like engaging people who confined their progress to today only without considering the future...With time, the development/infrastructure in Enugu would increase and would lead to more people engaging in one form of business or the other....21st century thinkers should always have a long term plans for whatever project they are embarking on. i can excuse no pedestrain walkway on major HIGHWAYS....Not internal expressroads/minor roads

DUMBO

YOU DON CHOP?

mrkayusfit:
The greatest leader in igbo land while the clueless obiano is busy buying underserved awards in Lagos, Rochas is working hard to bring the igbo race back to political relevance. The only presidential material in the south east is Rochas. Even Ojukwu will be jealous of his achievements if he were still alive.

i think its meaningless when roads are constructed without provision for pedestrian walkway.
i dont know why its hard for Governors to be 21st Century compliant.

Good road constructions so far though but i think its important we consider pedestrian walkway in our roads to create walkway and avert accident while walking on the roads.

Abagworo:
Why the hate on Buhari when he is the one constructing the Airport? I just don't get the level of madness displayed here as a result of unwarranted bitterness. Even if Buhari gives you everything you will find ways to deny it. Tufiakwa!

you spew utter rubbish on this platform...Which Buhari is constructing the Enugu Airport? with which budget is he using to complete the new terminal?
This is how many of you sound pathetic all in the name of trying to be politiocally correct..
be guided

zoo
zoo
zoo
zoo
zoo

Igbo Political Slaves bowing to Slave Masters..
While Buharibis sending Military and Police to kill unarmed people in the South East, Our useless Politicians are paying courtesy visits to Aso Rock ..
Igbos needs to wake up

richez25:
It seems the sleeping and snoring network is about to wake up, After MTN gave them a deadly wake up blow of revised data bundle.

See The New Released Etisalat Data Plan
» 1.5GB for N1000, dial *229*2*7#
» 3.5GB for N2,000, dial *229*2*8
» 5GB for N6,500, dial *229*2*3#
» 8GB for N8000, dial *229*2*5
» 10GB for N10,000, dial *229*4*1#
» 15GB for N15,000, dial *229*4*2#
» 20GB for N18,000, dial *229*4*3#

To know more about etisalat data plans, dial 229.

Note: Auto-renewal applies, to stop auto-renewal, dial *229*0#. rollover applies when you purchase same bundle (daily, monthly, quarterly. bi-annual and annual).

Anyway, they have started in some where, but this is not fully OK as expected, because MTN offered cheaper data plans compare to this. You can get 10GB on MTN for N5000 while Etislat 10GB goes for N10,000. Etisalat you need to wake up fully, your data plans still need better adjustment.

What's your thought on this one?

Advise if this plan also work with blackberry 10 phones...

ANOTHER IGBO SLAVE BOY

Ebonyi people, please be aware that your Governor David Umahi is willing to give your land to Fulani Herdsmen to graze their herds on...Fulani Herdsmen are responsible for the hundreds of deaths in Agatu Benue state, Nimbo Enugu state and some part of South west Nigeria...

Let's not bow to Fulani slave masters...Say No to your Governor


http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/202840-ebonyi-governor-offers-cattle-grazing-routes-wants-herdsmen-disarmed.html

Abagworo:
W

What did GEJ do about it for 6 years he held sway?

Question from a defeated soul.....

Keep supporting the fat,senseless and clueless slowpoke you elected as Governor while your people are being killed like goat...

Instead of the slowpoke to keep straight face as a protest for the Fulani herdsmen killing, he prolly wen to Abuja to bow to his slave master..

Abagworo:
W

What did GEJ do about it for 6 years he held sway?

Question from a defeated soul.....
Mind you GEJ only ruled for 5 & not 6yrs.
More so,GEJ is history.. He's probably somewhere devoid of Fulani herdsmen attack while you wallow in a Fulani ridden environment...
Instead of you to bow your head in shame that you voted an idiot who went to Abuja to have fun while his people are still mourning the dead.

Stop voting for idiots.....

See Enugu state governor that was shedding crocodile tears earlier in a happy mood with Buhari while his people were killed like rats...

Slave boy bowing to slave master

capricon:
And the governor is busy crying and declaring fasting and prayers. What a shame

this is what you get when you vote idiots as governors..we vote idiots because of zoning..This enugu governor is indeed an idiot

HEAVY FIGHTING BETWEEN FULANI HERDSMEN AND THE PEOPLE OF UZO-UWANI IN ENUGU

TippyTop:
Pastor Ize-Iyamu's campaign took off early, not sure Osaro can stop him. Impressive curriculum vitae by the way.
Anybody but Oshiomhole stooge, we shouldn't allow him to impose his successor on us.

My brother Politics is local...I guess Earl Osaro Onaiwu will be doing his underground work to ensure he emerges as the PDP flagbearer..Like you posited, you would prefer anybody so long he aint Oshiomole's stooge.
So far, the report am getting from Edo state puts the PDP in a good position in the forthcoming election in the strate...Earl Osaro Onaiwu is a trusted hand.
With him as PDP flagbearer, victory is his

TippyTop:
Pastor Ize-Iyamu's campaign took off early, not sure Osaro can stop him. Impressive curriculum vitae by the way.
Anybody but Oshiomhole stooge, we shouldn't allow him to impose his successor on us.

My brother Politics is local...I guess Earl Osaro Onaiwu will be doing his underground work to ensure he emerges as the PDP flagbearer..Like you posited, you would prefer anybody so long he aint Oshiomole's stooge.
So far, the report am getting from Edo state puts the PDP in a good position in the forthcoming election in the strate...Earl Osaro Onaiwu is a trusted hand.
With him as PDP flagbearer, victory is his

As #EdoDecides2016 the political atmosphere in Edo state is getting tensed day-by-day in the camp of the PDP. Several contestants are jostling to fly the Peoples Democratic Party flag in the forthcoming Edo state Gubernatorial election...
From the political climate of Edo state, it will be foolhardy to rule out the PDP as they seem to get the strongest traction in the state now.
I have read sveral articles of political decamped trying to pitch their tent with the PDP and that alone shows the position of the party in the election couple with the fact that the Edo people aren't comfortable with the APC-led government in the state.
One person I am rooting for is Earl Osaro Onaiwu who happens to be a strong PDP stalwart and have shown interest to take up the mantle of leadership at the government house in Edo state.

I am very sure that he's the right man for the Job..

OSARO ONAIWU Political Profile
1983: Special Assistant on Special Duties to Dr. S.O Ogbemudia, former Governor of Bendel State

2003 - 2011: Special Adviser on Political & Public Affairs to former Vice-president, "ate Admiral Augustus Aikhomu
2007 - 2010: Coordinator, Nigeria Governor's Forum. Chairman Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Governor of Kwara state. Presently Nigeria Senate President
2012- 2013: Special Adviser on Governors and Government to Dr. Bamaga Tukur, PDP National Chairman

2013 - 2015: Administrator/Coordinator, Nigeria Governor's Forum. Chairman, Dr. Jonah Jang, former Plateau state Governor. Presently a serving Senator in the Nigeria National Assembly.

2013 -2015: Coordinator PDP Governor's Forum. Chairman, Godswill Akabio, former Akwa Ibom state Governor. Presently a serving Senator (Minority Leader) in the Nigeria National Assembly
2015 - till Date: Director General (DG), PDP Governor's Forum. Chairman, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, Governor of Ondo state.

Xposer:
Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has arrived Nigeria after linking up with president Muhammadu Buhari and other delegates in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to pray for the country. The monarch was pictured as he arrived his palace in Kano state.

http://www.nationalhelm.com/2016/02/emir-of-kano-lamido-sanusi-arrives-his.html

YOU PAEDOPHILES SHOULD RELEASE ESE......STOP HIDING BEHIND ISLAM TO Bleep SMALL GIRLS

Thank you Ben Murray Bruce.....your voice actually helped here.....
waiting to buy innoson..atleast i can afford new car for N1.5m instead of Tokunbo

we dont want eze ndigbo for yoruba land
this traditional rulers are very useless

Musiwa419:
There cannot be two Kings in a particular Kingdom.


The ibos are fighting for biafra. They want to break away from Nigeria yet they still want to install kings in other parts of Nigeria.


The ibos unlike all other tribes had no Kings prior to the coming of the British colonialist. It was the colonialist that appointed warrant chiefs for the ibos, hence they still do not have a full cultural grasp of what royalty and Kingship is all about.


The ibos are the only one that always have issues with their host. First it was with the Oba of Lagos, later it was with the Deji of Akure and now it is with the Olubadan.


Read the comment below me and imagine the affront, imagine the audacity, imagine the justification of imposing your own culture in domains that are not your just because of the excuse that your people reside there. This was one of the factors that precipitated the pogrom against the ibos in the North and subseqtently the civil war that led to the slaughter of thousands of ibos. Unfortunately, the ibos havent learnt from the mistake of their fathers.

The way Yoruba people talk about strangers you will think we dont have Yorubas outside southwest.
This is a link to Stella Oduah who visited the KABIYESI AND LEADER of Yoruba community in Onitsha...
http://www.trinitasnewspaper.com/2015/10/06/hausa-yoruba-communities-commend-senator-stella-oduah-over-condolence-visit-sallah-gifts..aspx

if you dont believe this link please read http://senatorstellaoduah.com.ng/2015/10/21/senator-stella-oduah-commended-by-hausa-yoruba-communities/ to clear yourself of egoistic tendency.

Yorubas are very quick to say they are welcoming as if their people are being hated or killed in other parts of Nigeria.
This is a clear case of a hypocrite

it is very fallacious to claim igbos always have problems with their host communities...This is just a clear case of a hypocrite and an ethnic chauvinist.....I have been in Lagos for more than 30years and at no point have i heard normal people of Yoruba and Igbo clash on anything aside these ego-filled traditional rulers who try to fuel ethnic bias within the two ethnicities. I have seen more Hausa Vs Yoruba fight than igbo vs yoruba fight in the entire South West..Why do we always see this more often in Yoruba land than other parts of Nigeria since Yoruba people are domiciled in both the East and North? Then tell me who is more accommodating?

Musiwa419:
Why are the ibos the only one that always have issues with their host wherever they go? There are other tribes in Ibadan also but one wouldnt hear nonsense such as this from them. Why must it always be the ibos? Why must you fight over Kingship title in another mans Kingdom?


There is a large Lebanese and Syrian community in Ibadan. There are Hausas, Calabars, Ijaws, Idomas, Tivs, Ogonis and all other ethnic group working and residing in Ibadan, but they all respect the custom of their host onlike the ibos who would always want to upset others

The way Yoruba people talk about strangers you will think we dont have Yorubas outside southwest.
This is a link to Stella Oduah who visited the KABIYESI AND LEADER of Yoruba community in Onitsha...
http://www.trinitasnewspaper.com/2015/10/06/hausa-yoruba-communities-commend-senator-stella-oduah-over-condolence-visit-sallah-gifts..aspx

Yorubas are very quick to say they are welcoming as if their people are being hated or killed in other parts of Nigeria.
This is a clear case of a hypocrite

be guided

iykenex:
ABSU is her first choice

Pls call me 08067614440 now

iykenex:
My cousin had average score 286, JAMB score 262, PUTME score 310 yet couldn't secure admission for Med. Surg. After, she bought supplementary form #10,500 for another course, yet couldn't secure admission. Meanwhile those that their list came out had a lower average scores, in fact she scored above all them

Guys, is there anything I can do to protest against this act on her behalf and secure justice?
See pic below

Please send me her details

iykenex:
My cousin had average score 286, JAMB score 262, PUTME score 310 yet couldn't secure admission for Med. Surg. After, she bought supplementary form #10,500 for another course, yet couldn't secure admission. Meanwhile those that their list came out had a lower average scores, in fact she scored above all them

Guys, is there anything I can do to protest against this act on her behalf and secure justice?
See pic below

Is ABSU her first choice?

What was her choices in her JAMB application?


ykenex post=40932126]My cousin had average score 286, JAMB score 262, PUTME score 310 yet couldn't secure admission for Med. Surg. After, she bought supplementary form #10,500 for another course, yet couldn't secure admission. Meanwhile those that their list came out had a lower average scores, in fact she scored above all them

Guys, is there anything I can do to protest against this act on her behalf and secure justice?
See pic below[/quote]

Abagworo:
Igbos are not hated by anybody. The Yorubas and North in particular care less about Biafra unlike South-south. The whole issue is about the fate of South-south people. They prefer a Nigeria with checks and balances to Biafra where Igbos will dominate.

Checks and balances in Nigeria or Niger-area or where exactly?

spyder880:
When I tried to help in the Imo state thread as I am working in Owerri on a project now, a picture I posted was judged by someone to be bad and he said something bad about it to me.. I had to stop posting anything there, no need for unnecessary issues with people.

My candid advise to Mr SPYDER880 is that a lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep....I will advise you continue posting pics in the Imo thread...Those of us who appreciate your good work will support you....

Since the return of democratic rule in Nigeria about twenty months ago, quite a number of civil disturbances with religious and ethnic underpinnings have occurred, claiming hundreds of lives and causing wide-spread destruction of property.An organisation that has been blamed for some of the ethnic conflicts is the Oodua People's Congress (OPC),a 'socio-cultural' group, which claims to represent the Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria. The organisation claims to be fighting for a review of the country's political structure to "ensure justice to all its constituent ethnic nationalities". The African Courier's Editor/Publisher and Contributing Editor, Femi Awoniyi and Chris Ogwu respectively, spoke on Saturday, January 27 at length with the OPC's secretary general, Kayode Ogundamisi, in Berlin, Germany, on his organisation, democracy in Nigeria andits recipe for stability in Africa. Excerpts:

The African Courier: You have been accused of travelling around the world by the Arewa People's Front to procure arms? Is your organisation planning an armed action?
OPC: Oh, it is the usual strategy of discrediting our struggle for true democracy in Nigeria. The OPC does not believe in violence and has always called for a peaceful resolution of the crisis in our country through a Sovereign National Conference. We don't have any military men among us. The Arewa Peoples' Congress,which came into being to counteract us, is led by a retired army officer, Brig-General Sagir Muhammed. Can you imagine a retired officer of the country's armed forces openly leading an ethnic organisation?
The African Courier: What is the purpose of your visit to Europe and Germany?

.OPC: I left the country in October to attend international environment conferences. As an environment activist, I have been invited to the Tobacco Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, and the International Convention on Climatic Changes in The Hague, The Netherlands, a special session to deliberate on the refusal of some nations to sign the Kyoto Agreement. I delivered papers at both forums.

The African Courier: What are you doing in Germany?

OPC: My wife, who is a European Union citizen, and mydaughter are resident in Germany. I have come to spend time with them. Although my visit here is essentially private, I also use the opportunity to meet Nigerian democracy groups and exchange ideas on how we can move our country forward. I have also been to Austria and France in this regard.

The African Courier: The OPC has been blamed for ethnic disturbances in Nigeria. How much blame does your organisation truly bear?

OPC: It is ridiculous to attribute these disturbances to the OPC. The organisation was formed only in 1994, but the history of ethnic and religious conflicts goes much further. There was the massacre of hundreds of thousands of innocent Igbo children, women and men in northern Nigeria, in 1966. Was the OPC responsible?In the 1980s, there were the Maitasine and Musa Makaniki riots in Kano and, Yola and Maiduguri respectively, when Muslim extremists launched terror attacks on other citizens. Were we responsible? The Southern Zaira conflicts in the 1990s, were we responsible too? You see, the traditional power elite in the far north are masters of deception, and are responsible for this campaign of disinformation.

The African Courier: But, since the return of democraticrule, some of the ethnic unrests are said to have been caused by the OPC.

OPC: In fact, we can say the far-north politicians are responsible for the violent ethnic and religious clashes which have taken place since President Olusegun Obasanjo came into office. Immediately the president retired all military officers who have held political office upon assuming office, they started crying marginalisation. This heated the polity up. Their media started whipping up an anti-Yoruba and anti-Christian sentiment. When you read some of the articles published in their newspapers, you will feel sickened with the campaign of calumny that is being specificallywaged against Obasanjo and Yorubas. The riot in Sagamu, Ketu and Agege/Apapa and Kaduna can be understood in this context.

The African Courier: But your organisation was specifically blamed by President Obasanjo for the riot in Lagos last October?

OPC: You know because of the ineptitude of the police and the general feeling of insecurity, a lot of vigilante groups have sprung up in many parts of the country. The recent riot in Lagos was caused by the apprehension of a thief of far northern origin. Because emotion is already inflamed by the anti-Yoruba rhetoric of far northern politicians and their media, their people over reacted. If Yorubas are caught and are accordingly dealt with by these vigilantes, nobody will raise an eye brow. However, because of the multiethnic nature of the Lagos population, if an Ibo or Hausa is caught and dealt with, their communities might feel a sympathy for the criminal. In the eastern states, suspected criminals are publicly executed by vigilante groups and nobody raises an eye brow because there is not a significant number of non-Igbosresident in the region. Instead of looking into the direct and remote causes of these riots, they just heap the blame on us. Nobody cares to hear our side of the story. The far north politicians could even be accused of causing the Lagos riot. Former heads of state of northern origin boycotted the 40th anniversary in Abuja last year, claiming they were insulted by a statement made by Chief Abraham Adesanya, the leader of Afenifere. The old man said at a conference in Ibadan last September that Yorubas would not vote without the national identity card which, is in his own opinion, is an effective weapon against vote rigging or inflation. He then said "we do not want goats and cowsto be counted". This is an anecdotal Yoruba way of saying we don not want vote inflation. They interpretedit to mean that he described northerners as goats and cows. It is indeed laughable. Yet, Buhari and Shagari convinced the other heads of state to boycott the historic ceremony. About two weeks later, a team of prominent Fulanis, led by Buhari and, including Alhaji Aliko Mohammed, former president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Brigadier Marwa, former military governor of Lagos State, went to Alhaji Lamidi Adesina, the Oyo State governor to intimidate him overthe problem in Iseyin (Oyo State) between Fulani cattle-rearers and Yoruba farmers. Everywhere we have nomadic cattle-rearers, there are always problems between them and farmers because of their competing interests. Just about two weeks ago, a Fulani cattle-rearer stabbed a Kanuri farmer to death near Maiduguri and the local people there retaliated by killing three Fulanis. Nobody raised an eye brow. So the political temperature was high leading to inflamed opinion of Yorubas in the Hausa community in Lagos. This is the logical explanation for the flaring of temper that led to the regrettable riot. The northern politicians are also not interested in avoiding these clashes because they instrumentalise them for political purposes hence their repeated call for the prosecution of Dr Fredric Fasheun, our leader, who was in no way connected to the conflict. They have repeatedly warned that they would retaliate in the north against Yorubas which amounts to an open call to genocide. That was how they provoked their people to massacre Ibos in the far north in 1966.

The African Courier: What of the attempt by your organisation to install a Yoruba Oba in Ilorin last October?

OPC: Who did we want to install as Oba? It is all a campaign to discredit us. The people were said to have wanted to stage a public rally on the injustice of the natural rulership system in the city. Ilorin is a town whose historiography has been massively revised by the Fulanis to support their claim to it. That we have anEmir there is a historical error and all attempts to find apeaceful solution to the problem, that has been lingering for more than a hundred years, have been frustrated by the Fulani political establishment. In northern Nigeria, emirates and chiefdoms are regularlycreated to accommodate various interests for the sakeof peace. For example, all the emirates in Kebbi State apart from that of Gwandu, were created in the last twenty-five years. Within the last 18 months, new emirates have been created in Kaduna state. How thencan a city whose indigenous population is 90 percent Yoruba, whose name is Yoruba, whose language is Yoruba, whose traditional mores are Yoruba be ruled by a Fulani? The colonialists came at a time the crisis there was just breaking out and because the Northern Emirs were a reliable partner of the British in the colonial administration, they were favoured. Since independence, there have been peaceful agitation, but in Nigeria it seems such a method of advocacy is deemed as cowardice. In the far north, there would have been riots like they have taken place many times in Kaduna for example, which eventually led to the creation of many chiefdoms there. There was a judicialpanel in 1978, commissioned by the then government in the state to look into the crisis, and it was recommended that an Oba be installed in the city. Of course, the report was rejected because of the influence of the Fulani political elite. Many Nigerians are shocked when they fully appreciate the problem in the city. I remember speaking in Jos on this issue some years ago, and all the participants in the forum, who are Northerners, agreed that it was an absurdity and an injustice that is not sustainable. Professor Edwin Madunagu, the famous Igbo political scientist and newspaper comentator, aptly calls it internal colonialism, which it actually is.

The African Courier: Do you mention your organisation's struggle for constitutional reform in Nigeria in international forums?

OPC: Yes, I do, emphasising the need for a peaceful resolution of the problems in Nigeria. It is important that we appear in such forums because there is this feeling that Africa is jinxed. Today, there is war in Congo, tomorrow in Sierra Leone, the day after tomorrow, it is Rwanda. Africans don't love to fight, there must be something much more fundamental thatis responsible for it.

The African Courier: But the international community has the impression that Nigeria is now a democracy. Wouldn't it be difficult for listeners to understand what you mean by the "problems in Nigeria"?

OPC: Yes, but I always try to explain that the 1999 transition was hurried and the constitution an imposedone, hence the fundamental problems confronting us are yet to be resolved. Nigeria has not returned to democratic rule in the strictest sense of it. The major state institutions are yet to become democratic. Take for an example, the security forces; many young members of our organisation are still languishing in police detention after the disturbances in Lagos last October; without being charged to, or convicted by, a court.

The African Courier: Since democracy is a process, won't it amount to impatience to expect democratic institutions to be established within 18 months? Aren't you in a hurry?

OPC: Of course, we know that democracy is a process and our struggle is to move the democratisation of the country forward. I would want our call for a far-reaching constitutional reform to be understood in this context.

The African Courier: What should a Sovereign National Conference do?

OPC: It should provide a forum for all the different ethnic groups and other legitimate interest groups to confer with one another to find a lasting solution to thisseemingly perpetual problem of instability. Forty years after independence as a political nation, 30 years after a civil war which claimed more that a million lives, we are still as divided as ever. So, the problem is very fundamental. It was British colonialism which gave Nigeria its name and its territorial definition. We aren't a nation. We are diverse peoples lumped together in a forced political union.

The African Courier: What is the OPC's understanding of true federalism, after all Nigeria is officially a federalstate?

OPC: Our ideal form of federalism in Nigeria would be asystem, where ethnic groups exist as separate polities with an overarching central authority, a combination ofself-rule and shared rule.The African Courier: In essence, you advocate ethnic federalism.OPC: Yes.

The African Courier: Is ethnic federalism practicable in Nigeria, given the complex nature of ethnic identity in some regions of the country, where groups are neither territorially concentrated nor capable of 'escaping each other'?

OPC: We know for sure that political borders cannot coincide with those of ethnicity in Nigeria. But we havethe six zonal system and, for a start, they could be the units for a truly federal structure. But these are outcomes that should be determined by a conference.

The African Courier: What is in the way of this conference?

OPC: The problem is this Fulani traditional power establishment in the far north which is responsible for the resistance to a constitutional conference. The traditional power structure they built through conquest nearly two hundred years ago is unjust. The present status quo suits them because it enables them to extend their subjugation of that area to the whole of Nigeria. And they have been very clever to construct this identity around religion in the far north, which helps them to arrogate the representation of the whole region to themselves.If you are conversant with the on-goings in Nigeria, you must have heard of the efforts of President Obasanjo to bring the major organisations, representing the different ethnic groups in the country together. The northern Arewa Consultative Forum said they were not interested. This has been their attitude since independence, they would like the status quo to be maintained, but it is not sustainable. They are masters of divide-and-rule. You must have noticed their forays into Abia State, where they are trying to use the governor, Dr Kalu, to weaken the unity of Igbo people. That is classic Fulani political strategy.In fact the popular support for Shari'a in the region, shows that our position is shared by all Nigerians. Although we oppose it, but their people say they want it.

The African Courier: Why is your organisation against the Shari'a, after all many Yorubas are also Muslims?

OPC: The introduction of Shari'a was a political response to the perceived marginalisation of that part of the country. It is a classical case of the politicisationof religion, in fact a denigration of religion. Yorubas areagainst this, either Muslims or Christians. In fact, the Northern politicians have tried to divide us using religion, but they failed woefully, because we are a sophisticated people. We have a history of peaceful co-existence of these two great religions.

The African Courier: Why are you against the Shari'a code?

OPC: When religion becomes the chief tool of legitimate and mass political mobilisation, you are close to disaster. A corrupt political class introducing Shari'a! That is why we warned them that don't denigrate religion by using it for political ends, it is a sin.There is also the danger of providing fertile ground for the growth of Islamic extremism and hence of religiousintolerance. A development that will spell doom for the country. Early January, rampaging youths burnt down more than 40 hotels in Maiduguri because of the appearance of lunar eclipse. The youths are said to have blamed sins committed by patrons of hotels and bars for this universally known natural phenomenon. Is that the kind of society we want to build? Can you imagine that this could have happened in twenty-first century? Attributing lunar eclipse to sins?We are surprised the president is not acting on the danger posed by Shari'a, thinking it is a hot wind whichwill lose steam. But, he is mistaken. The Kaduna riots showed that the problem will not just go away.

The African Courier: But these states have repeatedly stated that the Shari'a would apply only to Muslims?

OPC: You believe that? Haven't you heard of Livinus Obi, an Igbo Christian man, who was recently arraigned before a Kano Shari'a court and publicly flogged on its orders for selling alcohol? This shows that the people behind the Shari'a tactic do not appreciate the enormity of their actions. Livinus Obi's fate is a foretaste of the coming conflict in that region.Everywhere in the world, the politicisation of religion always lead to disaster because it will get out of hand. That is why, they don't have the Shari'a code in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, for example. Or closer home, in, Niger, Mali or Chad, although these countries are predominantly Muslim. Take a look at Sudan. When General Jafar El-Nimeiri, introducedShari'a to shore up his political fortunes in the early 1980s, he didn't reckon with the possibility that it was going to become the stumbling block to progress in thecountry. Take a look at Algeria. I was at an exhibition in Paris where photographs of this terrible war were displayed. The so-called Muslim extremists would invade a village, behead children, including infants andhang their heads on posts at the village square. They will kidnap young women and hold them as sex slaves. When their captives become pregnant, they aremurdered to dispose them off. Ah! It is unimaginable. These are terrible images. Yet, they are supposed to befighting to install an Islamic order. The politicians who used Islam at the beginning of the Algerian crisis for political ends are no longer relevant today. The field has been left tomurderous lunatics.

The African Courier: Your vision of Nigeria?

OPC: You know that the colonialists did not ask us if we wanted to come together to form political nations inAfrica, they imposed them on us. The lack of peaceful adjustment of the structure of political union in many African countries is the main cause of ethnic conflict on the continent. Yet there can not be social and economic development without peace and stability hence we are caught up in a vicious circle. I believe Nigeria should lead the way by conveying a conference, where the different ethnic groups would sitdown and design a union acceptable to every one of usin a democratic fashion. We can also learn from Indonesia which is presently experimenting with far-reaching constitutional reforms to bring its perennial secretarian conflicts to an end.With a heated-up polity, with an absence of credible democratic institutions as stabilisers, the time is ripe for major constitutional reforms in Nigeria

http://www.humanrights.de/doc_it/countries/nigeria/background/kayode_int_270101.html

Ok