₦airaland Forum

North don suffer.Everything na North!

I seriously want to know.I am into ICt and he always makes me believe a typical black man of African decent can be successful in the technology world and era.I hope no be true abeg!

Beaf:
Exactly! Its so funny that sons and daughters of the ND sail past Ojo military cantonement, singing war songs. every ND person knows that sound travels extremely far on water, so they wouldn't be singing past a military barracks; you can hear the slightest sound from miles away. Why would anybody be singing war songs while trying to light up a high profile target like Atlas Cove?
Abeg, they should check them well, one or two might just be aboki.

you see just how stupid one can be.jump to silly conclusions without checking.I know you brains may have being trained to work that way!your comments and the news are obviously different.do you care to apologise for calling an innocent group with a bad name.Mr tribalism or regionalism

shotster50:
This story stinks to high heavens. Dirty politics as usual.

Wrong again!

[quote author=Okija_juju link=topic=544267.msg7067537#msg7067537 date=1288746865]No true Niger Delta Militant, trained in the art of guerrilla warfare would be caught in a boat, chanting war songs whilst on a high target mission like that. Surprise would be their tactic. I'm guessin the boat they came in had MILITANT written on the side of it as well.

No militant would let himself be caught alive!!

[/quote]you my friend sound like one obviously.sound like a gifted guerilla fighter.

http://www.saharareporters.com/report/how-philip-emeagwali-lied-his-way-fame

The link is on sahara reporters.He is my role model and i find it hard to believe does anyone know anything about it.I mean is it all true or some hoax.Below is the entire reporters findings, !


[b]How Philip Emeagwali Lied His Way To Fame[/b]Posted: October 18, 2010 - 21:25
Posted by siteadmin

Philip Emeagwali stirs up diverse emotions in Nigerians, Africans, and black people around the world. His claim of being a father of the Internet, of having invented the Connection Machine, of possessing 41patented inventions, of winning “the Nobel Prize of Computing” and of being a “doctor” and/or “professor” have been conclusively debunked with widely documented evidence.




Fraudulent claims help Emeagwali get on the Nigerian N50 postal stamp

Yet, the figure of Emeagwali as a black scientific, engineering, and information technology genius and pioneer continues to loom large over discussions of black achievement. The legend of Philip Emeagwali’s purported inventions, widely proven to emanate from the perverse deceptive genius of the man himself, endures and proliferates among Nigerian and black groups around the world.

Only recently, the USAfricadialogue googlegroups listserv managed by Professor Toyin Falola of the University of Texas hosted a discussion on Philip Emeagwali’s vast fraud. Participants in the discussion included Nigerian and African intellectuals, scientists, engineers, and IT professionals. Overall, the discussion reinforced and reiterated one of the worst kept secrets in the Nigerian Diaspora, especially in its online community: that none of Emeagwali’s highfalutin claims, on whose strength he has curried and continues to curry favor and recognition from gullible and hero-hungry black people, is true. Yet, just a few days ago, one of Nigeria’s more visible dailies, The Vanguard, included the academic and intellectual fraud in its list of 20 “most influential Nigerians.” Curiously, unlike previous Nigerian publications and profiles on Mr. Emeagwali, the biographical write-up accompanying the nomination does not repeat any of the well-known claims and “achievements” that Emeagwali has aggressively and fraudulently peddled about himself — claims that many of our people regard as truth. Apparently, the journalists at The Vanguard have become exposed to the widely available refutations of those claims and now know that they are false. But that, precisely, is the outrage. If they know that he is not a father of the internet, did not win “the Nobel Prize” of Computing as he claims, has no invention patents, did not invent the connection machine, does not have a single academic publication, and is neither a “doctor” nor a “professor” by any definition of those terms, why did they include him on the list? What makes Mr. Emeagwali “influential,” his ability to deceive Nigerians and line his pockets on the black speechmaking circuit?

Nigerians and black people deserve to know who the real Philip Emeagwali is. This will save them from the embarrassment of continuing to celebrate a fraud while real black scientific achievers and pioneers starve for attention and recognition. To correct Nigeria’s scientific and technological lag there is a need for investments — both financial and motivational — in the sciences, engineering, and IT fields. Nigerian youths need inspiration in the quantitative and scientific disciplines, but they should get it from actual, not pretending, black scientific, computing, and engineering heroes, not from phonies like Mr. Emeagwali.

Patented Inventions Or The Invention Of Patents?

Debunking the many myths of Mr. Emeagwali’s “achievements” is one the easiest things to do on earth if you have a computer with Internet access. Let us start with his claim of possessing 41 (32 by some accounts on some hero-worshipping black websites) patents for various inventions. A simple search at the website of the US Patent and Trade Mark Office (here: http://tarr.uspto.gov/) reveals that Mr. Emeagwali has only one registered patent, for Emeagwali.com, his website. He has no other patent listed against his name. It is the same patent that most owners of independent websites apply for to legally protect their proprietary rights over the website and its contents. We can state conclusively then that Mr. Emeagwali has no patented invention of any kind, contrary to his and his supporters’ claim.

Specifically, Mr. Emeagwali claims to have invented the Connection Machine (CM-2). This false claim is displayed boldly and shamelessly on Emeagwali.com in the section on “inventions” and “discoveries.” Some black websites like this one http://inventors.about.com/od/blackinventors/a/black_historyE.htm credit Emeagwali with inventing the Hyberball Machine Networks (or the supercomputer). Both claims are demonstrably false. The connection Machine, which is capable of conducting simultaneous calculations using 65,000-processors, was conceived by Daniel Hills and built by Thinking Machine Corporation, which Mr. Hills, along with Sheryl Handler, founded in 1982. This information is widely available on the web. The so-called supercomputer is therefore clearly not the child of Mr. Emeagwali by even the most generous stretch of the imagination.


Internet Pioneer?

Mr. Emeagwali claims to have used the CM-2 Machine to carry out billions of calculations by connecting over 65,000 processors (computers) around the world. He claims that this was the rudimentary foundation of the Internet. It is on this ground that he has aggrandized to himself the title of “father of the internet.” But this is a barefaced lie at worst and an egregious exaggeration at best. And it is so absurd in its circular logic that it is hilarious. First, as stated earlier, Emeagwali did not invent the Connection Machine on which his “experiment” relied. Second, Emeagwali used more than 65,000 independent processors "around the world" (meaning on the Internet) to do his calculation. This means that the Internet already existed and that he RELIED ON it for his calculations. Unless the Internet he claims to have fathered is different from the Internet that already existed at the time of his experiment (and which we all know as the existing internet today), he COULD NOT have invented the Internet or fathered it. He could not have been using an internet that, by his claim, did not exist until he invented it. As this website http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/history/emeagwali.html makes very clear, Emeagwali’s research did not contribute to or help invent any of the known components of what we now know as the internet:

Philip Emeagwali did work in supercomputing in the [late] eighties……. But supercomputing and the Internet are very different areas. And Emeagwali did not contribute to even one of the hundreds of Internet standards, or RFCs (Requests For Comments), that were created in the early decades of the Internet—an open process that anyone could participate in. His supercomputing research was completely unrelated to the Internet.

Emeagwali’s research was thus irrelevant to the evolution of the internet. Emeagwali did his supercomputing experiment in the late 1980s. By then, the “core standards” and protocols for information and data flow on the Internet already existed. And although, improvements have been made to the template since then, Emeagwali did not make any of those improvements and cannot therefore claim credit for them.

Emeagwali's tenuous—and fraudulent—claim to internet fatherhood rests on his assertion that "the Supercomputer is the father of the Internet,” “because both are networks of computers working together.” This, experts agree, is not true, as supercomputing is just one component of the Internet and in fact RELIES ON the rudiments of what we know as the internet to work. So, if anything, the internet concept is the father of supercomputing, not vice versa. But even if we accept Emeagwali’s wrong logic, the fact that he did not invent or pioneer supercomputing means that even on this flawed premise and logic he cannot be considered a father of the internet.

Authentic histories of the internet are accessible all over the web. One can be found here: http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#SC69. Many people played leading roles in inventing, improving, and constituting the vast technologies, protocols, and ideas that gave birth to and perfected the Internet. It is interesting that none of them is nearly as vocal in claiming that he is a father of the internet as Mr. Emeagwali, who did not contribute to the invention of the internet in any shape or form and in fact relied on the already existing internet to conduct his research. One of the most significant contributors to and pioneers of the internet is Vinton Cerf, who is today a Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google Inc. Other important figures in the development of the Internet include JCR Licklider, Bob Taylor, Paul Baran, Donald Davies, and Lawrence Roberts. If anyone deserves the title of father of the Internet, it is these people. Yet, none of them craves or has appropriated the title. When interviewed about their contribution to the Internet, they often humbly outline their actual contribution, crediting others with other components and shunning the title or insinuation of having fathered the Internet.

The only “history of the internet” source to even recognize Emeagwali as a legitimate computer scientist to be mentioned when chronicling the history of the internet is the book History of the Internet: A Chronology, 1843 to the Present by Christos J. P. Moschovitis, Hilary Poole, Tami Schuyler, Theresa M. Senft. The book was published in 2001. Although Mr. Emeagwali proudly displays the book’s reference to him on his website and claims that the “father of the internet” moniker (which has since been lazily picked up by several media platforms) originated in the book, there is absolutely no such reference in the book. The book’s reference to Emeagwali only states how Emeagwali’s research “effectively stimulate[d] petroleum reserves” by “harnessing the power of parallel computing.” And it is clear from a cursory analysis of the linguistic properties of this specific reference to Emeagwali that Emeagwali himself supplied the material and the claims articulated in it. It is also clear from the reference that it has nothing to do with the internet but is about improving the modeling of oilfields or oil reservoirs. The content and prose are eerily identical to the autobiographical write-ups and claims on Emeagwali.com and on black websites that simply lift and republish Emeagwali’s claims and self-written biography.


The Nobel Prize Of Computing?

Emeagwali’s other claim is that of winning the “Nobel Prize of Computing.” He is, of course, referring to the Gordon Bell Prize, which he won in 1989. Many uninformed observers have since picked up this fraudulent reference, which emanated from Emeagwali.com, and given it wings. The truth is that the Gordon Bell Prize does not come close to the Nobel in status, recognition or prize money and to compare the two prizes is to insult the prestige of the Nobel and grossly exaggerate the Gordon Bell’s importance. The Gordon Bell Prize is, properly speaking, an annual competition that young, driven, engineering upstarts — mostly graduate students — enter. Winners are usually those whose research are innovative and on the cutting edge of new processes in the field. So, on that score, winning the Gordon Bell Prize is a reward for doing research work that is important and solves an application problem at the time that the award is given. But let us put the award in perspective and recognize that it is actually a very minor award in the narrow field of supercomputing and in the larger computing and scientific community. Here is why the Gordon Bell Prize, Emeagwali’s only legitimate achievement, is much less than what he has portrayed it as:

• The cash award for the prize is a mere $1000. Often, the amount of an award is a good guide to its prestige and significance in the field.
• Consider the fact that the most prestigious prize in the field of computing (and yet it cannot even be called the Nobel of Computing without insulting the real Nobel) is the Turing Prize, which carries a cash prize of $100,000.
• The Gordon Bell is awarded in the narrow subfield of supercomputing, thereby further thinning the applicant pool and reducing the intensity of the competition.
• The prize is further subdivided into several categories. Emeagwali won in one of those categories, the price/performance category. The more prestigious overall Peak Performance category was won by the entry submitted by a team from Mobil and TMC.
• It is interesting that apart from Emeagwali no other winner(s) of the Gordon Bell annual prize makes noise about winning it or claims to have won “the Nobel Prize of Computing.” They usually go on to do bigger and better research in the field, the Gordon Bell being just a launch pad for future significant work. The public does not even know the other winners because it is a minor prize even in the field of computing.
• Finally, and most importantly, Philip Emeagwali only won the prize in the price/performance category by default. His calculation of 3.1 Gflops was the second fastest speed. The fastest speed belonged to the Mobil/TMC team’s entry, whose calculation, according to the official record of the IEEE, which administers the prize (IEEE Software, May 1990, p. 101), bested Emeagwali’s speed. The speed of the Mobil/TMC Team’s solution to the seismic data processing problem was almost twice that of Emeagwali’s at almost 6Gflops. Similarly, and of more relevance for our purpose here, the Mobil/TMC team’s entry achieved the best speed/cost ratio (price-performance) at 500 Mflops per $1 Million, beating out Emeagwali’s entry, whose speed/cost ration was less than 400 Mflops per $1 Million. In fact the prize in the price/performance category was actually awarded to the Mobil/TMC initially. However, because the Mobil TMC team won also won in the overall Peak Performance category and the IEEE’s prize rule does not allow more than one prize per entry, the Mobil/TMC team forfeited their prize in the price/performance category, sticking with the prize for overall Peak Performance, a more significant category. As a result, Emeagwali’s entry, the second placed entry with the second highest speed/cost ratio, was automatically bumped to first place.

For all these reasons, it is the height of self-promotion and delusional exaggeration for Mr. Emeagwali to claim that he won the Nobel Prize of Computing or that the Gordon Bell is regarded as the Nobel of Computing. Nobody except Mr. Emeagwali regards the prize as such.

It is noteworthy that both Emeagwali and the Mobile/TMC Team relied on the CM-2 Machine (the Connection Machine) for their calculations, the same machine that Emeagwali falsely claims to have invented!

A final point to note here is that the research for which he won the Gordon Bell Prize (by default) has application and relevance only in the narrow area of oil flow reservoir modeling and oil prospecting. His entry for the competition utilized and optimized the capacity of parallel computing, that is, relied on an already existing Internet. Emeagwali’s own website states that he “accessed the supercomputers over the Internet from local workstations.” Neither the research nor the prize had anything to do with the Internet. The Internet was already invented and fairly perfected by then; otherwise he would not be, in his own words, “accessing the supercomputers over the Internet.” This clarification is necessary and important because some of Emeagwali’s supporters and victims tend to assume wrongly that his purported fatherhood of the internet derives from the research for which he won the Gordon Bell Prize. All these facts can be easily accessed here: http://www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/inventions/emeag.html

“Dr.” Emeagwali Or Doctored Emeagwali?

Emeagwali’s final fraudulent claim is that of being a “doctor” and “professor.” Several years ago, before eagle-eyed Nigerians and Africans decided to scrutinize his eye-popping claims, his website audaciously referred to him as “doctor” and “Professor.” Because of recent exposures of his scam, he no longer refers to himself on his website as “Dr. Emeagwali” or “Professor Emeagwali.” However, in what is typical of the Emeagwali scam, his website is still littered with many media references to “Dr Emeagwali” and “Professor Emeagwali.” These stealthily promoted references then get picked up by unsuspecting black media people who are eager to promote black achievement and excellence. Sometimes, he approaches black websites and organizations, asking them to link to or publish his false claims. In the course of the discussion on the USAfricadialogue forum, Ms. Funmi Okelola , the owner and webmaster of cafeafricana.com, revealed that Mr. Emeagwali approached her a few years ago, asking her to help propagate the lie that he is “a father of the internet.” Ms. Okelola, herself an Adjunct Professor of IT, flatly turned down his request, refusing to participate vicariously in his fraud. For good measure, she advised him to seek help for his delusions of grandeur.

But many proprietors of black websites and publications have not been as alert to Emeagwali’s antics as Ms. Okelola and have been falling for his scam. In their eagerness to embrace what they believe to be the proud achievements of a “brother,” they have inadvertently donated space and platform to Emeagwali to consolidate and spread his false claims. Because of the virility of the internet, even some non-black websites have picked up these ubiquitous references that are patently false. Here, on this website http://www.answers.com/topic/philip-emeagwali for instance you will find a clear reference not only to “Dr Emeagwali” but also the following reference in their documentation of his education: “Ph.D., Scientific Computing, University of Michigan, 1993.”

He will not correct what is clearly a false reference, preferring to take cover in the deniability of being able to say that it is others, not him, who use these false, unearned titles to refer to him. The reason he will not correct this falsehood is that it emanated from him in the first place; most of the references were picked up from his website in the days before scrutiny spooked him into avoiding such direct self-referencing. The clearest evidence yet of his complicity and culpability in this misrepresentation is that he sits through interviews where the clueless, awed interviewers refer to him as “Doctor Emeagwali” and “Professor Emeagwali” and he does not correct them. There is a particularly revolting video on youtube <
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMFy9sBLFQQ&feature=related>(http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8244498418903739405#) in which the female interview repeatedly calls him Dr. Emeagwali, obviously assuming and/or reading from her script that he has a PhD. He sits there and nods and smiles through those references without correcting her. Having planted the false biographical information about himself in the first instance, he understandably makes no effort to discourage people from using it or to correct them.

The false references to him as “doctor” and “professor” are not the only falsehoods that Emeagwali coyly and deftly promotes; he routinely lets interlocutors repeat the many false claims that are based on his own prolific misrepresentations. On this website http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa111097a.htm, for instance, the misinformed interviewer, a black woman who is proudly interviewing “a black inventor” for a book she was writing on black inventors, asks him the following question: “You have submitted 41 inventions to the U.S Patent and Trademark Office concerning seven technologies. Can you give us expanded details?” Clearly, the interviewer was repeatedly the false claim on Emeagwali’s website and in his self-written biographical profiles, without realizing that, as we showed at the beginning of this essay, he has no patent for any technology or invention.

Here is Mr. Emeagwali’s response to her question: “Inventors are reluctant to provide expanded details of their inventions until they receive full patent protection. The reason is that the Patent and Trademark Office can deny patents to inventors that publicly provide details of their invention.” But the truth is that he has neither registered patents for his non-existent inventions nor a patent-pending status. He has no inventions or technologies to patent! The response itself contains a lie. Contrary to Emeagwali’s insinuation that inventors cannot publicly discuss their work until they are patented or that doing so would jeopardize their patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), inventions and products with “Patent Pending” status are routinely discussed, advertized, and marketed on American television. In fact these public discussions of unpatented inventions always carry the disclaimer that patents are pending, meaning that applications have been made. If public discussion of inventions and technologies were detrimental to patent applications, none of these unpatented and “patent pending” technologies and inventions would be on the American market or be advertized on television. This was Emeagwali seeking to perpetuate the myth that he has several technological inventions that are patented or awaiting patents but avoiding having to mention or discussion the specific fictitious inventions for which he claims to have patents in order to have deniability when checks are made at the USPTO and he is confronted with the truth of his falsehood.

Racism Or Laziness?

The case of Philip Emeagwali is a cautionary tale on the pitfalls of self-delusion, laziness, and a sense of entitlement. Mr. Emeagwali enrolled in a doctoral program in Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1987. His coursework over, he took the comprehensive examination that qualifies one for candidacy. He failed the exam twice and did not take it a third time. In the meantime, he conducted the research that would later win him the Gordon Bell Prize, a research he began as a class project for one of his graduate courses. In 1991, two years after winning the Gordon Bell by default, he petitioned the Dean of the School of Engineering to be allowed to submit a dissertation (despite not having passed his candidacy exam and therefore not being a doctoral candidate) in a different department — the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. His request was curiously granted in what was clearly a sidestepping of standard procedure. Emeagwali submitted the dissertation, basically a rework of his entry for the Gordon Bell competition, on July 24, 1992. A team of internal and external evaluators examined it and found it unworthy of a doctorate and turned it down.

Emeagwali then sued the University of Michigan for racial discrimination. The lawsuit was dismissed for lacking merit and also failed on appeal in 1999. The details of Emeagwali’s graduate school records and of the dueling contentions in the lawsuit are all documented here http://www.michbar.org/opinions/appeals/1999/102999/5473.html in the court record of the Michigan Court of Appeals.

A dispassionate analysis of the details, affidavits, and arguments submitted in the lawsuit and in the appeals process reveals the following:

• Emeagwali was a fairly brilliant student but he was lazy and would not put in the work necessary to earn his degree.

• He had a sense of entitlement, feeling that since he was black and had made it into the University of Michigan, he was entitled to a special treatment and academic favors.

• This sense of entitlement escalated after he won the Gordon Bell Prize. He thought that he was entitled to a PhD on the strength of the Gordon Bell competition entry when in fact he was not even a doctoral candidate, having failed his comprehensive examination twice.

• Emeagwali was more concerned with parlaying his newfound default Gordon Bell fame into profitable self-promotion than with the serious academic effort required to complete the PhD.


• He petitioned to be allowed to submit a dissertation only after he realized that he would not be taken seriously as a researcher and may not be able to find a secure job in research or teaching if he did not possess a PhD.

This is a story of how a promising, modestly brilliant graduate student was destroyed by his own hubris, entitlement mentality, and laziness. What Emeagwali failed to earn through hard work and diligence, he has since appropriated to himself by calling himself and getting others to call him “doctor” and “professor.”

Emeagwali is not a doctor of whatever kind. He is not a professor. He has not held any research or teaching job in any educational or research institution since he failed to get a doctorate degree at Michigan. He has also not done any new research. Emeagwali has no single publication in any scientific journal. A search of the most comprehensive scientific publication database (which can be done online) yields only a reference to his Masters Degree dissertation.

Here we have a man who is unemployed, has no serious standing in the scientific, engineering, or computing communities. Yet he is widely referred to as “a father of the internet,” “an internet pioneer,” “the greatest black scientist that ever lived,” “Bill Gates of Africa,” among other over-the-top and unearned titles. The question to pose is: how did the world get so deceived and why did many reputable people and organizations buy into Emeagwali’s con job? Emeagwali is a very industrious, persistent, and successful scam artist; you have to give him that. Very few intellectual frauds have successfully mainstreamed their false claims as Emeagwali has done.


Intellectual Fraud And Its Unwitting Validators

Even former president Bill Clinton was suckered by the fraud, famously referring to Emeagwali as “one of the great minds of the information age” in his speech to the Nigerian National Assembly in 2000. The Clinton reference has provided cover and alibi for Emeagwali to perfect and spread his false claims. Predictably, Emeagwali’s defenders point to the Clinton reference and to CNN’s and TIME Magazine’s references to him as “a father of the internet” and “the unsung hero” of the internet age respectively. These references are boldly displayed on Emeagali.com for the obvious purpose of convincing the uninformed that his claims have been vetted and endorsed by these entities. The problem is that these media organizations sadly endorsed the claims without vetting them. Part of it is sloppiness, but much of it is the result of what black intellectuals who live in the West understand and experience as white liberal pandering, which is itself borne out of white liberal guilt and the fear of the “r” word (racism).

Obviously Clinton was pandering to his Nigerian hosts who believed Emeagwali to be a scientific genius and national hero. Clinton, the savvy politician that he is, and a man who perfected white liberal outreach and pandering to black/African peoples, was relying on the image and descriptions of Emeagwali that was already in the black and mainstream press —descriptions that are traceable to Emeagwali's own misrepresentations on his websites. What Emeagwali does is so clever as to ensnare even a skeptical and vigilant observer, especially one that is already inclined to believe or seek out claims of black scientific achievement for whatever reason. As indicated earlier, Emeagwali plants these autobiographical write-ups that are ridden with falsehoods and misrepresentations in unsuspecting black publications. He does this by aggressively pitching these claims to their editors as he tried to do unsuccessfully with Ms. Okelola. Then, fired by liberal guilt and a desire to seem welcoming to black achievement and excellence, the mainstream media like TIME and CNN, lazily pick up these references and descriptions. Emeagwali then links to, disseminates, and publicizes these mainstream press references and descriptions (which are actually based on his own descriptions of himself and his "achievements”), thus perfecting and furthering the fraud. This way, he creates deniability for himself. The deception comes full circle but the cycle continues to repeat itself, populating and repopulating the Internet with Emeagwali’s falsehoods.

The sophistication and complexity of the fraud notwithstanding, there is no excuse for reputable organizations like CNN and TIME not to have done a simple due diligence on the false claims of Emeagwali. It is true that at the time that TIME and CNN made the glowing references to Emeagwali, the now widely available refutations of his claims were probably not yet available on the internet. Even so, a basic inquiry from the appropriate quarters would have revealed the truth about the claims on which the references to Emeagwali were based. The two reputable organizations failed to carry out this basic fact checking, an elemental reportorial and investigative duty of journalists. Instead, they relied on Emeagwali’s widely disseminated falsehoods for their stories. The case of TIME is particularly scandalous. The story in which it extols Emeagwali is clearly directly based on Emeagwali’s own autobiographical claims on Emeagwali.com. In fact it is a faithful, almost verbatim reproduction of Emeagwali’s self-written profile. It is lazy, sloppy journalism at its worst.

There is similarly no excuse for President Clinton’s speech writers not to have done basic checks or asked some of the president’s own appointees and advisers who are engineers and scientists about the true value of Emeagwali’s work. Had they done this relatively simply investigation, they would have realized that being a default winner in one category of a minor supercomputing competition for work that has a specific, limited application in the narrow field of oil reservoir modeling does not qualify one to be called “one of the greatest minds of the information age.”


A Self-Replicating Fraud

When challenged, Emeagwali and his supporters can say he is merely repeating and linking to what others call him and say about him and that he does not call himself a father of the internet or a doctor or a professor. But the fraud is a self-replicating one, perpetuating and proliferating itself across both the print and virtual media worlds. Other publications that are searching for black scientific achievers do an internet search and then rely on the previous press descriptions of Emeagwali, which ultimately lead back to the man’s fraudulent biographical claims on his own website. The lazy journalists and Pan-African activists lift these published claims and references (which emanated from the man himself), concluding that they must be established facts if other media outlets had already published them. And on and on it goes. It is a very sophisticated fraud that is aided by the virility of the Internet. This is precisely how even the prestigious Law School Admission Test (LSAT) ended up including a passage about Emeagwali in their test, a passage that is exactly the same as what Emeagwali published on Emeagwali.com about himself!! The examiners at the LSAT did not even bother to rewrite the passage. Nor did they bother to check the veracity of the claims therein. It is clear that they were simply interested including a passage about a "black achiever" to fulfill the need for diversity of content and to deflect or avoid accusations from black test takers and other minority groups that the test does not represent or reflect the experiences of black people and is thus biased against them.

White liberal patronage of black people can be that shallow and sloppy — and insulting to the very people it purports to promote. It is political correctness and pandering marinated in a political agenda--that of ingratiating white liberal politicians and figures to blacks for political support and multicultural validation. The peak of this phenomenon is Black History Month in February when white liberal organizations and black institutions alike pull out all the stops to have self-promoting “black achievers” like Emeagwali speak to them. That's when they get invited by white liberal and African American organizations to showcase black achievement and innovation! White liberal patronage is a big industry in America. It takes many forms; one of them is what Pius Adesanmi calls the Mercy Industrial Complex (MIC). But the MIC is not as offensive as the false flattery and the silly excuses and defenses that white liberals advance for cuddling black failures and frauds. Hero-seeking black organizations have not helped matters with their patronage of people like Emeagwali. Emeagwali’s deception succeeds so well because of a multiracial coalition of consumers and enablers.

Emeagwali is a very clever, self-conscious scam artist. That is however no excuse for the black community to allow itself to be used to actively promote a fraud.

Testimonies To Fraud And Deception

A participant in the USAfricadialogue discussion, Professor Pablo Idahosa of York University, Toronto told of how, as the institution’s Director of African Studies, he summarily dismissed the request of black students in the institution who came to him seeking sponsorship for their proposal to bring Mr. Emeagwali to the campus to speak to them. Professor Idahosa told of how a cursory scrutiny of the biography that Emeagwali had supplied to the student group convinced him that the man was a fraud and his claims false. Subsequently, he declined to fund the proposed event, refusing to use the institutions name and funds to validate a deception.

Another member of the forum, Dr. Ola Kassim revealed how he had been taken by Emeagwali’s claims when he stumbled on them and how he, as the leader of a Nigerian group in Canada, had decided to invite the self-proclaimed “computer genius” to speak to the group. In a demand that fleshes out the pecuniary motivations for Emeagwali’s persistence in perpetuating his fraud, he requested for an honorarium of $10,000, round the clock limousine service, a five-star hotel accommodation, and first class plane tickets for him and an assistant. Dr. Kassim promptly discontinued correspondence with Mr. Emeagwali, seeing his demands as grossly unreasonable. A few years later, he was glad that he did, as he became exposed to the mountain of evidence proving that Emeagwali is not what — and who — he claims to be. Other African organizations with deeper pockets have been paying up Emeagwali’s ridiculous and undeserved fees, believing that they are paying an African “internet pioneer” and “inventor” to inspire them. It is a classic case of obtaining financial gratification through misrepresentations and false pretenses, what is called 419 in Nigerian parlance. Some white liberal groups also pay Emeagwali to talk about his “achievements” as a way to satisfy their Afrophilic sensibilities and assuage their consciences. These gullible and not-so-gullible deep-pocketed groups keep Emeagwali in business, enabling the jobless Emeagwali to make a living off his deception. They have unwittingly helped him solidify his fraud as he routinely posts videos and audios from these events on his website to further cement his self-created legend. The irony of paying Emeagwali to inspire and motivate black (and white liberal) audiences is that, as one commentator remarked, in addition to being an intellectual fraud, Mr. Emeagwali has no personal charisma, lacks the oratorical skills of a motivational speaker, and, for a man who is fairly well educated with two Masters degrees, has terrible English speaking skills as evident in his online videos.

Yet another member of the forum, Wassa Fatti, a Gambian resident in London, narrated how he had been a fanatical believer in Emeagwali as an African scientific hero and thanked members for providing the overwhelming evidence that convinced him of Emeagwali’s monumental, sophisticated fraud. He was so enamored of Emeagwali’s legend that he, along with like-minded Africans, wanted to write a children’s inspiration book on the fraudulent self-promoter. In his own words, the project was abandoned when even those who were most vocal in touting Emeagwali’s claims and “achievements” could not find independent corroborations for any of the claims and after they realized that every single claim about his accomplishment, except the Gordon Bell Prize, led right back to Emeagwali.com. Fatti writes: “I abandoned [the] project….when others raised concerns that we need evidence to support Emeagwali's claim. Those who were loudest among us to produce such a booklet were also the least to provide evidence beyond Philip Emeagwali's verbal claim.”


Why Emeagwali Is Bad For Nigeria/Africa

Some people acknowledge Emeagwali’s deception but suggest that it should be understood in the context of America’s broader culture of self-promotion, deceptive enterprise, profit-motivated lies, and self-misrepresentation. It is true that this culture makes it easier for people like Emeagwali to thrive and inflict their fraud on society. But ultimately, Emeagwali, like everyone else, has to be held personally responsible for his transgressions.

Other Nigerians argue that Emeagwali’s scam has not hurt anyone personally, that it is a victimless fraud. By this logic, exposing Emeagwali’s fraud hurts the image of Nigerians and black people more than it helps it. There is some technical veracity in that argument. But the cost of non-exposure to Nigeria is much greater. There are now as many web postings and videos clearly exposing the intellectual con artistry of Mr. Emeagwali as there are websites and web postings celebrating him. Every time his scam is highlighted, his Nigerian nationality is mentioned to reinforce the stereotypical notion that Nigerians are shifty, lying frauds. His Africanness and blackness also become factors that are invoked to explain his fraudulent ways. So, image-wise, every hard working, honest, achieving Nigerian (intellectual or otherwise, scientist or not) is sullied by Emeagwali’s scam. Every discussion of Emeagwali’s fraudulent self-promotion casts a dark shadow on Nigerians with hard-earned reputations; their genuine achievements are put on trial with every discussion of Emeagwali’s serial dishonesty. They are victims of Emeagwali’s fraudulent activities. His fraud taints Nigeria and Nigerians.

Emeagwali’s quest for a short cut to fame and recognition and his subsequent refusal to take responsibility for his misguided actions and inactions has hurt black people everywhere. Experts on racism believe that every false, frivolous racism allegation or lawsuit actually harms the struggle for racial equality and justice because it makes future, genuine allegations of racism less believable and less credible in the eyes of the dominant white power and judicial structure. This is the damage that Emeagwali’s frivolous recourse to the racism card in his Michigan travails has inflicted on the struggle of black people for equality in America and elsewhere.

Some people argue that Emeagwali should not be denigrated because of his failure to finish his PhD and that many of the giants of the information revolution do not have PhDs. This is true. Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Danny Hills, Vint Cerf, and the founders of Google all do not have PhDs. Yet they have gone on to do great things that have transformed the world, as we know it. But the difference between these people and Philip Emeagwali is like night and day. Unlike Emeagwali, these are actual pioneers of various technologies and protocols with documented patents to truly pioneering and innovative technologies. These people celebrate the fact that they do not have doctorate degrees, wearing it as a badge of honor, thereby intensifying the inspirational effect of their life stories and accomplishments. They don’t go around calling themselves “Dr.” and “Professor” like Mr. Emeagwali. In fact, the most well known of these information age pioneers, Bill Gates, proudly proclaims the fact that he dropped out of college to pursue his dream. Unlike Emeagwali, these people do not go around claiming to have patents that they do not have.

The fact is that one does not need a PhD to contribute to scientific knowledge or to invent technologies and techniques that improve human life. That is precisely why Emeagwali’s false claim of being a PhD holder and a professor is so galling. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering from a respected university and does not need a PhD to pursue his intellectual or scientific dreams. He could get a job with his qualification and earn a respectable, honest, decent living. Yet he felt the need to misrepresent himself as a “doctor” and “Professor.” This shows that his fraud is clearly not motivated by necessity, self-preservation, or survival, but by greed and a desire to secure unearned gratifications.

Some people say: “why expose Emeagwali when he is inspiring our people to embrace computers?” The answer to that is that a fraudster should not be the one inspiring “our” people, especially impressionable young black people, who will eventually realize that Emeagwali is a fraud and be devastated. Others argue that Emeagwali is a harmless, self-promoting charlatan who poses much less threat to Nigeria than the thieving politicians in Abuja. There is some truth to that, but the intellectual, activist, progressive, and media constituencies of Nigeria have no moral right to rail against Salisu Buhari and Bola Tinubu’s certificate and biographical deceptions if they cannot hold one of their own to account for his multiple deceptions.


Ignoring Genuine Nigerian Scientific Achievers

The most important reason why celebrating the likes of Mr. Emeagwali is ultimately detrimental to Nigeria (and by extension Africa) is that it takes attention away from the genuine black/Nigerian achievers that deserve to be celebrated and projected as models of black/Nigerian ingenuity. It is an outrage that, as African intellectuals were discussing Mr. Emeagwali’s multi-layered fraud on the USAfricadialogue forum, the exploit of Professor John Dabiri, who recently won a McArthur Genius Award, received barely a blip in the Nigerian and black press. Professor Dabiri is a fluid dynamics expert at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and was among a select few who received the highly prestigious prize that carries a $500,000 cash award.

Another Nigerian, Dr. Joseph Igietseme, led a team of scientists at the prestigious, Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control (CDC) to win this year’s award for outstanding research. Yet another Nigerian, Professor Sam Adeloju beat out 14 finalists to win the James Dyson International Design Award with a device he calls Buoyancy Bazooka that can be shot to a drowning person to save their life at sea. This innovative Nigerian scientist and designer barely got any attention among Nigerians and black people.

In literature, Professor Pius Adesanmi recently won the inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing, the latest in a long line of young Nigerian writers to win prestigious awards in the last 15 years. One does not even have to mention the Nobel-winning Wole Soyinka, or the multiple award winning Chinua Achebe, whose Things Fall Apart is the most translated work of fiction in Africa and perhaps the world. These two giants are not on Nigeria postage stamps, but intellectual frauds like Emeagwali and Gabriel Oyibo (of GAGUT infamy) are!

Inviting And Enabling Intellectual Fraud

The degree to which Nigeria and Nigeria celebrate people of fraudulent and inflated reputations lends credence to the contention of Professor Pablo Idahosa that Philip Emeagwali was created by "the embarrassing Pan-"Afrikan" infantile, therapeutic achievism that afflicts so many black people [the] world over — the need to find heroes that result in a cathartic sycophancy of anything achieved by black folks." Professor Mobolaji Aluko, who teaches Chemical Engineering at Howard University, echoed a similar sentiment, describing the tragedy of Emeagwali as an indictment of black people’s gullibility and their unquestioning and naïve commitment to racial solidarity on whatever premise. His words ring compellingly true:

The tragedy is not just Emeagwali's - who may truly believe what he peddles on his website and his world-wide motivational speeches within the Black circuit that clutches for heroes, particularly in the technical fields apart from sports and the humanities - but those spectators who insist of being conned, or else indicate that Emeagwali serves a harmless, motivational purpose.


Racial therapy is a dangerous enterprise because it emotionalizes what should belong to the realm of reasoned skepticism and intense interrogation. It leads to the celebration of mediocre and phony members of a racial community. Consequently, real black scientific heroes and achievers are ignored.

Conclusion

Mr. Philip Emeagwali is entrenched in his fraud. Being jobless, he earns a living off it. He will not come clean on his own, for that would be economic suicide. It is therefore the duty of everyone invested in black scientific achievement to educate himself on Mr. Emeagwali’s pyramid of intellectual fraud. Mr. Emeagwali knows that there will always be gullible black people and guilt-ridden white liberals to swindle with his false claims. We recognize that there will always be Nigerians and black people who will not get off the self-comforting bandwagon of Emeagwali’s fraud regardless of how much evidence one puts out. Some of it is ego. Some of it is a naïve, misplaced desire to find black heroism where none exists. This essay may not sway those people. But there are many Nigerians, Africans, and black people the world over who are honest, humble, and open-minded enough to recognize and accept that the man they have been led to adore and lionize is a compulsive liar, intellectual fraudster, and a shameless, self-promoting exaggerator. Those people deserve the truth about Mr. Philip Emeagwali

Typical opposite of becomrich. please start littering the thread with images and stuff.to me you are some lose nut.
You can't talk for all and you don't just wake up and decide the fate of all.Lastly Nigeria was here before you and is by far more than you and your dellusionary hausa land.I am a proud Nigerian of Northeast and will not like to be called hausa.grow up and ask for manners in dealing with others.My fathers before now have fought you to your domain and today we can keep our territory without you .so why label a nation hausaland.tribalistic man. Arewa or north is excusable but not hausaland.Not even Niger is called hausaland.

alj harem:
am a so called northerner, and i believe ibb and ciroma destroyed nigeria as we know it.
i have been reading nl for sometime nw, and i have noticed the way the rest of the country dislike us.(even the middle belt)
there must be something we are doing that they do not like about us, and i am sure it is not because we are Muslims.
Now even our brothers in jos nw fight against us.

my northern brothers i noticed that this hostility stated after ibb declared his intention to be president 2011, and ciroma stated this nuisance that the northerners must be president 2011. why
i know that we northerners think before we act, and i argue northerners not to vote for this ibb person( after all when he was in power, we did not gain anything from him)

or brother what do u think

Personally i believe your are most likely from the north.The problem we have is the simple truth that up north alot of times our brothers in majority try to make others irrelevant especially at the critical time they need them.About Jos, it is only getting into a dimension, typical to accumulated hate.
   When a minority tells you in the North there are problems or issues then as folks you may want to listen and prefer acceptable solutions.i mean walk the walk not just talk.The majority ethnic groups in the North should learn to listen to everybody/group that has a stake.The obvious victimization and intolerance has given rise to the differences and crack our enemies of unity have exploited. the grudges continue to escalate further.We should have fixed it or resisted the ill treatment of people by faith or ethnicity from the on set.We merely watched as it had nothing to do with us at a particular time.
   Look,much as we want to be true to our selves,as muslims those in the act of taking lives for no other reason except that you feel someone else is less is not worth it and condemable.As a minority and  muslim i even fear places like Kano in the north simply because of there radical and violent tendercy.
  My brother when our silly elders went to kaduna to talk about supporting jonathan i wept,why because we had more pressing issues we needed to address yet we called a silly Northern summit for the greedy and the northern governors forum to discuss issues about power and influence.What we need is fairness,security,economic revolution,education,vision for the future and reasonable dialogue with the rest of Nigeria.
    Like an elder at the summit stated we don't need presidency to move forward.we just need a better sincere and committed leadership at council,LGA and state Government levels. The little we get the more you add value to it with wise decisions.
Alot of people think resource control is not ideal for ND,for me i think it is needed more than ever,i do know we in the north will certainly not die.why is that ?only when our leaders feel the squeeze will they know that they need to restore and expand the local economies of the North.A leader wakes up and thinks his children should get a grand marriage or better still move an expensive entourage where even a governor of a far more resourcefull state may not use.A leader watches an industry die or watch farmers lack farming incentives.Government watches Where parents sit at home and encourage there wards to run the streets begging and hawking.forgetting the education required for skilled labour and economic/societal survival.
    About the religious crisis,i am a muslim and i find it sad and unfortunate the way some idiots spoil our names.The yorubas have got there's right.forget the issue that yorubas are one ethnic tribe that is why.explain to me where a man of same tribe or family feels justified to take the life of another unwarranted because of religion.This has happen between the two northern divides of xtians & islam.My instance is Jos for this.
     The problems are many but our leaders spend alot of resources,enegry and focus to retain power they have failed to manage in there domains.people may dislike buhari in the south,but i tell you he is one man that can tackle them (northern elite parasites) squarely and tell them to shut up without remorse.Don't mind the split for or against GEJ,it is there selfish intrest not progressive intrest that drive them.they know well to even support IBB over Buhari/Ribadu shows there intent period.Buhari/Ribadu are far more marketable than IBB.
     I wish i could change the ideology of boko haram to Northern elite haram.you will see a great change in the lifes of the average Northerner.The middlebelt is hard to define but i will tell you something. if you don't get your acts right, the entire not will soon begin to have groups and names.People that are tired of failure will begin to see need to distance themselves from the name Arewa or north.I know while we talk here our arrogant northern elites are somewhere unconcerned and discussing selfish destructvie intrest.

I am from the north east and please please we don't think IBB is the best the North has.Even if anyone should support a zoning arrangment must it be people like Atiku,IBB,Gusau etc. lets talk somebody more credible and able to deliver.I stick with the view of the AYF.If we can't get anyone now why not allow someone else regardless of his zone if able.We have better candidates in the north who are kept quiet because this bunch of criminals think they can recycle themselves.ENOUGH is ENOUGH!
I see all this people correcting there mistakes by giving elderly advice to the newer generations of politicians.About experience,screw that.if it is experience you have to offer,then it is your duty as a citizen to encourage government with such ideas.Abi no be your country?
    Lastly for the NORTH is time people know power truly belongs to the people.look around and ask people in power what difference have they brought to you and your community?if nothing tell them, make them hear,we don't like you and you are going down with my vote God willing?
Lets all change our attitude and change the PDP leadership that has continued to suck us to death.If only GEJ can truly believe his fate lies in God and the majority of Nigerians,then he could start probing the elites around him and quash them for us to grow progressively.he mustn't keep them around they should be in jail.Obj,TY danjuma,IBB,Atiku,Jibril Aminu,Lar,Jerry gana,Ciroma,Nwodo,Gusau,alot of state Gov.,house members etc this bunch have alot of issues ranging from assasinations,treason,corruption and destruction of the state infrastructures.
   For GEJ to rpove his quest to change Nigeria positively he could start with Sylva! atleast his people have shown they have problems with his government and he is still in your camp GEJ.When people say GEJ is incharge and has all information at his finger tip like in the bomb conspiracy then it is also likely he knows just how many crooks are around him.GEJ can be better by flushing the system.Atleast OBJ still get list of corrupt politicians, he only applied charges where need be .stand up for your people and fear your maker only!

Yesterday SSS clear Dopkesi as suspect to bomb blast and now the GEJ Gov. people. Why is said any case doing up and down has alot to do with Government of the day.Typical Nigerian leadership attitude.Goodluck na just name!Nothing special

Plateau's House of Trouble

Seriki Adinoyi

19 October 2010
analysis

Less than two weeks ago, Plateau State was agog. President Goodluck Jonathan was in the state on a two-day working visit. But the visit seemed to have touched a nerve in many people. It has stirred so much passion that since the President left, there has been nothing but trouble on the Plateau.

Recently, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan paid a two-day working visit to Plateau State. During the visit, he commissioned many projects executed by Governor Jonah Jang of the state. Some of these included roads, bridges, agric training centres, markets, and a new government lodge, among many others.

The reception, no doubt was one of the most glowing one in the recent past in Nigeria. The people of Plateau State, in their usual hospitable manner, rolled out the drums and thrilled the President with their rich cultural dances and displays. Right from the Yakubu Gowon Airport, where the President landed, to the very last moment of departure, the various tribes turned out with their cultural troops in large numbers to convince him that Plateau remains the home of tourism that it is.

The President must have held his breath in excitement and in amazement that the same Plateau that was once a theatre of war earlier this year, has suddenly turned around to become a haven of peace and unity. Indeed, that is Plateau for you; so quick to change.

He could not hide his joy when he thanked the people for according him such a warm reception. He also turned to the Governor and commended him generously saying, "I must commend you because in all the places we visited, the comments from the local government Chairmen, the traditional rulers, and the ovation of the people shows that you are an acceptable leader". Of course, Jang was excited. The President also thanked the Gbong Gwom Jos for ensuring that peace was restored in the state. He further charged the Monarch to ensure that the peace is sustained.

The Governor, who was also full of joy that his people made him proud before the President, thanked the entire citizenry in a state-wide broadcast for convincing the President and his entourage that Plateau still leads in its usual hospitality. He also thanked other governors from neighbouring states that joined him in receiving the President. He did not leave out other politicians, including members of the oppositions, as he thanked them for joining in receiving the President.

But shortly after the President left, in fact, less than 48 hours after, trouble began to break out from various quarters. Some people alleged intimidation during the President's visit. Rather dangerously too, some alleged abuse of sacred prophetic utterances during the visit.

The Governor's political opponents held a loud rally to rubbish the commendations he received from President Jonathan. And, some cultural groups accused Jang of gross deception during the visit. They even accused him of trying to extend Berom agenda by re-naming the location of the new Governor's Lodge in Berom dialect.

The trouble began when the campaign organisation of Engineer Jimmy Cheto, one of the gubernatorial aspirants alleged intimidation by the Jang Campaign Organisation, pledging to fight back. The Cheto group declared that on the eve of the President's visit, the Jang group invaded their campaign office and vandalised it, tearing their posters and destroying the billboards on which Cheto displayed his picture and that of the President. They had reported to the Police, cautioning the governor to stop such moves if he wanted the existing peace in the state to thrive. The group said they had wanted to protest in the presence of the President, but were cautioned by their leader, Cheto, to give peace a chance.

Barely two days after the President left Jos, Honourable Damishi Sango launched a massive rally that drew nearly half of the population of Jos. At the rally, he dismissed all the commendations the Governor received from the President, insisting that there must be a change in the leadership of state. Other politicians and gubernatorial aspirants that gave their support to Sango at the event included Jang's Deputy, Dame Pauline Tallen, a former Governor of the state, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun, Engineer Jimmy Cheto and Chief Danladi Atu.

Also present were former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, former Minister of State for Information and Communications, Dasuki Nakande, an ACN Chieftain, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, and Alhaji Hassan Shuaibu, among several others. They all sought one thing: that Jang be resisted from returning as Governor even though the President had said he was going to work with him like David and Jonathan kept faith in the Bible.

But trouble did not come from the political front alone. In another ugly development, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) accused one of its own, Prophet Isa El-Buba, of making unguarded prophetic utterances when he prayed at the State Banquet held for the President. CAN was angered that El-Buba went as far as intimidating other candidates with the wrath of God if they challenged Jonathan and Jang, saying that was the way of the flesh.

CAN said, "Nigeria is a complex country and a nation with plurality. In this diversity are the strength, the colour, and the beauty of the nation, and when there is perfect harmony this calls for celebration. It is when this diversity seams together into a single piece that the strength, beauty and aroma of the church is displayed and seen; the Church void of this common working diversity is a Church in jeopardy.

"In view of the above biblical principle, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Plateau State, was shocked and embarrassed at the prophesy of one Prophet Isa El-Buba of Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministry International (EBOMI), Jos concerning the candidature of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Governor of Plateau State, Dr. Jonah David Jang, regarding 2011 election at the Banquet in Honour of the President on Friday, October 8, 2010 at Eliel Centre, Gold and Base, Rayfield, Jos.

At the Banquet, the Master of Ceremony announced in the course of the dinner that a special prayer was to be offered for the President of the country and that the man set apart to perform this divine aspect of the occasion was none other than the one only prophet on the Plateau; Prophet Isa El-Buba".

CAN said it appreciates the laudable achievements of both the President and the Governor in improving the lives of Nigerians, but it insisted that, "we note with serious concern that during the many speeches, and comments made in the course of the state dinner, Prophet Isa El-Buba, who was invited to pray, made what he claimed to be certain 'Prophetic Utterances' to the effect that Governor Da David Jonah David Jang and President Goodluck Jonathan were ordained from Heaven to win 2011 elections.

Furthermore, he went on to declare the wrath of God against those who would dare to contend what was apparently God's will. The Christian leadership in Plateau State was shocked and embarrassed at the nature and manner this 'Prophesy' was relayed. The 'Prophesy' defies all biblical patterns concerning the selection and election of leaders in the Church and society. Sensitive prophesies of this nature, if indeed they come from God, are never for public consumption because they are bound to set the contenders to leadership positions against each other leading to acrimony and over-heating the polity.

Such prophesies are relayed to those concerned and left to the sovereign power of God to fulfil. Most importantly, where such prophecies were relayed in scripture, there was never any attempt to intimidate or cow opponents into acquiescence through declaration of God's wrath. This simply is not the style or character of the God we serve".

While the Christian community was making frantic effort to douse the heat raised by the 'prophetic utterances' at the banquet night, another group called Afizere Cultural and Community Development Association (ACCDA) alleged intimidation by Jang and the Berom over what it described as the provocative re-naming of the location of the new Governor's Lodge (which was commissioned by Jonathan) to Jishe as against the existing name, Gyese.

The association, led by its national president, Mr Atang Izam Atang, said in an address that the land on which the new Government House is built belongs to the Afizere tribe with an existing Afizere name. They argued that there was no reason to change the name to Jishe, a Berom name, adding that they consider it an act of intimidation and an attempt by the Governor and the Berom to enlarge their coast.

"We believe that this was done intentionally to stir another round of provocation. It is totally unacceptable to the Afizere as Jishe is an alien name to us because it has never existed in the history of the area".

The group said that "we thought that Jang, as the Chief Security Officer of the state should be doing everything possible to stabilise the polity", but wondered that in spite of all the crises the state has witnessed the Governor is trying to ignite yet another.
Relevant Links

* West Africa
* Nigeria
* Conflict

"We would have protested against this uncivilised and provocative act on the day the President visited, but for the high esteem in which the Afizere hold our amiable President. But given the sensitive nature of this dastardly act capable of brewing another upheaval in Jos, we were compelled to resort to this medium to present our grievances over Governor Jang's desperate move to claim areas that do not belong to him or the Berom".

While calling on the Governor to revert to the original name of the area and other re-named areas belonging to the Afizere, the association threatened to "resist further attempts to promote an alien tradition in its Izere land, especially from someone that is a tribal zealot".

But this seems to be just the beginning as more and more groups are kicking. The President's visit and his reception were warm and full of life. It was supposed to bring many blessings along with it to the state, and indeed the people. But less than two weeks after the visit, there is trouble on the Plateau. And, they seem to be getting more challenging by the day.





Naijizzyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kabukabu50:
Are you going to tell me that this is not in the Q'uran, aboki?

Nice picture i must admit,they don't seem like they are complaining.Are you a lawyer for any of them.i don't understand the photo!Okay what is Aboki and what do you mean by Aboki ?

They way marriage is done:
The word "zawj" is used in the Qur'an to mean a pair or a mate. In general it usage refers to marriage. The general purpose of marriage is that the sexes can provide company to one another, love to one another, procreate children and live in peace and tranquility to the commandments of Allah.

* Marriage serves as a means to emotional and sexual gratification and as a means of tension reduction. It is also a form of Ibadah because it is obeying Allah and his messenger - i.e. Marriage is seen as the only possible way for the sexes to unite. One could choose to live in sin, however by choosing marriage one is displaying obedience to Allah.

Marriage is "mithaq" - a solemn covenant (agreement). It is not a matter which can be taken lightly. It should be entered into with total commitment and full knowledge of what it involves. It is not like buying a new dress where you can exchange it if you don't like it. Your partner should be your choice for life. One should be mature enough to understand the demands of marriage so that the union can be a lasting one. For a marriage to be valid certain conditions must be met.

1) consent of both parties.

2) " Mahr" a gift from the groom to his bride.

3) Witnesses- 2 male or female.

4) The marriage should be publicized, it should never be kept secret as it leads to suspicion and troubles within the community

There is a halal(allowed) arranged marriage and a haram(prohibited) one. It is OK to arrange marriages by suggestion and recommendation as long as both parties are agreeable. The other arranged marriage is when parents choose the future spouse and the couple concerned are forced or have no choice in the matter.

One of the conditions of a valid marriage is consent of the couple.

Marriage by definition is a voluntary union of two people.

The choice of a partner by a Muslim virgin girl is subject to the approval of the father or guardian under Maliki school. This is to safeguard her welfare and interests. The prophet said "the widow and the divorced woman shall not be married until she has consented and the virgin shall not be married until her consent is obtained. The prophet did revoke the marriage of a girl who complained to him that her father had married her against her wishes.

lastpage:
THANK YOU "haka_nai". I salute your thinking faculty.
I am loving it, like McDonalds Burger! You have brought true perspective to that quotation.

As a Christian, l dont have to worry about a Muslim brother, as long as he follows exactly, the teachings of the Quoran
As a Muslim, you dont have to be wary of me, as long as l follow the teachings of the Bible!

But in reality, mere men, mere mortals have taken on the responsibility of "fighting for and on behalf" of the ALMIGHTY GOD (be it called Allah, Jehovah God or his Son, Jesus Christ)?
Is that not strange? That ordinary man wants to seek vengeance on God's behalf? Who is stronger?

Can you shed some light on this "assertion" that Muslims must forcefully force people to adopt their religion or kill them if they refuse.
Christians did it during the years of "the inquisition", in Spain and Europe; that  l know.
Should faith be by conquest or by demonstrated piousness?
Is this commanded? Is this right?

Personally, l feel that if you are so "good" (in all its ramifications), l will be drawn to inquire about the God you serve and will be drawn to serve same.
That is how Christians and Muslims should seek converts, not all these blaring of P.A. systems and disturbing peoples peace in the neighborhood, robbing little babies of their sleep!
Not by violence, certainly not by all these "public campaigns" they stage here and there.

The Bible says "Let your light so shine (life be so exemplary) that men will see it and give glory (inquire about the God) to your father in heaven"!

Thank you and keep it up.

I think this is fair and correct .I will also admit that alot needs to be done by the faithfuls, especially to make life and property sacred.when you go out of your way to impose your views on others, then i see it as an oppression.As such it is worth raising against.

Sura 67:26 and 22:49 we read: “Say ‘, I am (sent) only to warn plainly in public’” and “Say, ‘O men! I am (sent) to you only to give a clear warning.’”

Twy:
I just think the history of the 'nationalist' movement in Nigeria is as fractured as the country and maybe one can say obviously. The Nigerian nationalist movement is quite a broad term, reason why secondary school textbooks cannot delve into deeper points of Nigerian nationalism because it will expose the cracks and fractures that stumbled and wumbled unto independence.

Balewa came from a strand in Northern nationalism that used quite well Azikiwe's democratic ideals to push for equal representation in the affairs of Nigeria but while pushing for regional autonomy(1946 constitution). This strand was doubtful of southern Nigerians intention to properly represent the North along their cultural norms and when they saw the rising potential domination by southern politicians they quickly used strong democratic sentiments to push up their political power in the equation while though they were less educated wanted 50% of all federal seats in the House of Rep or legislative council while knowing that the south was fractured secured unity through anti-southern sentiments among the Northern fulani trado-elites and set the ball rolling for political success at the center even though there were the late comers in the nationalism movement. Their nationalism was less emphatic than Zik and Awo and focused on two strands, reform within the emirate system but acquiensce to the fulani emirate leadership (led by Balewa, sa'ad Zungur and Bello) and reform of the emirate system and revolution of the traditional hierarchy led by Aminu Kano. It was this subtle acquiesce that led to the emergence of Bello over Balewa or even Zungur in Northern leadership.

On Nationalism and in fairness to Zik. He was Nigeria's first true modern nationalist in the modern usage of the word. Albeit, truth be told, what a lot of people don't know is that the original elements of nationalism in Nigeria was scattered and idealist in outlook. It's proponets were foreigners, some indigenous foreigners sometimes controversial in their statements or outlook and unyielding in many cased to opponents who share a common goal. One was Edward Blyden, one was John Payne Jackson, Marcus Garvey and another was Macaulay. Blyden was the first African nationalist to have significant supporters in what is termed Nigeria. He was a proponent of race conscious nationalism, black and white so to say. And, he believed in promoting our cultures and ethnic identity, some say a father of Pan Africanism. Jackson focused on power and politics. He felt Africans needed to remove the Europeans from active civil and political post in other to ensure emancipation. Garvey's influence stems from the fact that he was influential within the West African Student Union and later nationalists came through the British educational system and American coloured universities were Garvey's writings were influential. If you doubt the importance of this man. Truth be told, many of Nigerian nationalist used Garvey militant styles in the 1930s and 1940s and his words were very much common in their speeches. Macaulay was a thorn in the British administration and a great mobilizer, he was also militant had had lots of enemies. He can be described as the first giant of Nigerian politics or I would say stereotypical black politics in Nigeria. A little bit harsh in dealing with opponents but had wide following among the market women, artisans and illiterates in Lagos while also a major force in the ruling house of Lagos (the House of Docemo). It is not surprising that Azikiwe, Awolowo and Balewa used this harsh style,  crude, unyielding and sometimes tyrannical in their grip on the groups (maybe with the exception of Balewa).

this is some intelligent analysis compared to the posters view.

T9ksy:
I beg my people, let’s stop kidding ourselves even if others are wont of doing so. Zik was no nationalist. At least, the ilk of TB and Awo says it like it is however Zik with his oratory skills chose to take us “down the garden path”. I won’t even attempt to ascribe the following idiom to only Yoruba culture as am sure most other cultures ( inc. europeans’) do have it in one form or the other,too. “Charity they say, begins at home”. How can you unify a whole group of people when your own family is in discord? How can Zik in that prevailing climate still be hampering on about nationalism? Unless he has an ulterior motive. Was this not the same Zik that killed a “nationalist” party like the NYM only to then proceed to form a sectional party called the NCNC? Was this not the same Zik who said in 1947 (or thereabout) that it seems the great Lord has chosen the igbos to be the liberator of the black race? Was this not the same zik who went on to play second fiddle in TB’s feudalist govt? It was under this guise of nationalist govt that Zik attempt to become governor in yorubaland? Zik's actions belies his rhetorics.Some nationalist indeed! Zik’s notion of nationalism is igbo hegemony in Nigeria. At least, TB did not bother to conceal his intention about the new nation, ditto Awo but not Zik. Typical, isn't it? have to be clever, by halves. How can any rational person contemplate “nationalism” is such an ambience where everyone is watchful of his neighbour’s actions/motives? Now we hear the igbos bragging of owning 70% of Abuja!!!

Someone here refers to zik as an idealist but I say, that’s too complimentary jo. The man is not an idealist rather he’s slimy tribalist who duplicitously adorn himself in a garb of nationalism to mislead his opponents. Thankfully, the ilk of Awo, Enahoro and others saw through his fraudulence in time. No wonder he started off as “Zik of Africa” but however went on to meet his maker as “Nnewi of Onitsha”.


Back to this pseudo-One Nigeria. Were we one before the colonialists came into our midst? No. Is it not truism that the brits merged us into One Nigeria for (their) ease of administrative purposes? Had the brits not done so, would we be debating merging into One country after independence? Hell no! Even after half a century of our independent one Nigeria, can we really say with all conviction that we are one country? No. So it smacks of utter deceitfulness that the great (?) zik could be expending so much energy then campaigning for One Nigeria. Bottomline is, we ‘ll never be One. There is too much to separate us than to unite us.

I agree with you.

Just campaign and stop the allocation of position. it is a democracy and its sad to hear people still allocate slots.later they start fighting.I made you and so!
For me the igbos can start now, why not?it is free for all and may the best man win period.but NO RIGGING would be allowed una hear!

If it is only them then no probs .we hardly benefitted from them.except for there huge exploitation.To me it is a one way thing with us always losing.so i don't think it is such a problem.i would say who cares!!!!

ok,then no need to campaign.

Obj is a big mistake and so are you

wesley80:
^^^ Will you rather choose to throw away the baby with the bathe water?

In this case yes!the pikin na obanje.make e no chop me.

scrap it.the only solution!

What else ?what in the name of corruption have we ever missed! :oI am not surprised.We all know that is why they have denied us good refree post.Rather than the rebranding,pls use the money to aquire cane to mould this people into Godly ways.

@poster
I am getting drozzy now and probably realize that this case will remain unsolved like the whole lot.typical case of PDP to PDP feud.Result to such,alway no solution.
JRC & retired MEND for GEJ and MEND for IBB = PDP 2011

We actually need militant vote regardless of what they do.so states lobbying is over and now it is time for JRC,MEND 1&2 ,Boko haram etc

you do well ,but it will be better if you left the money you stole where it was,probably this would have being avoided .

@beaf
Would i get your support, if i called for the reduction of police salary and increase of Army salary ?i mean they defend the country and police the country with fewer personnel and while the dead organisation called Police is there wasting valuble resources .left for me if one does the maths we better consider paying people for there efforts as they contribute it .I will not pay a lazy staff,a dine while a hard working one starves !

please leave us a alone, with the Niger deltans and militancy thing ?tired of MEND,GEJ and the NL ND that keep trying to protect and compound the issue.let justice be done .the truth always stands out clear but we choose to do regional or religious politics with cases of criminality and Justice for Nigerians.we can't even question a president cos we all know how far .
Apart from the assumptions and trash theory to support various intreast groups, nothing more concrete.Not a single link has being connected to the people so far indicted by the first wave of arrest and no single sensible explanation,i mean if the government was truly in control .
May i remind you people that anything politically motivated by the presidency usually never gets concluded.Atleast, my experience class in nigeria and Government has shown.Harry marshal(Obj),Bola Ige(Obj),Rilwanu(Abacha time),Dele giwa(IBB) and alot of examples to be cited .please lets forget this crap and wish the victims quick recovery and the lost souls RIP.s**t ain't happening cos i smell the power of government all over.Just going round in circles.They should get us suspects, if they were sincere and let the courts clear such suspects or convict them of any possible violation of the law .no chances should be taken .

That is stupid for all i care . OPC and the Yoruba should set example by paying too .Atleast there own destructions came before this one .Maybe you should also start by asking Kaduna or kano before Jos .How much is plateau getting from the budget ?I think the accomodating nature of plateau is what has given some people the guts to think they Jos are worthless.What i know is go and get ready to defend yourself, if such attacks ever happen again or you can relocate to another place that suits you.As it has always being the way before and after crisis.Address the compensation issues generally or forget it .cos no one is paying you s**T!!! 100billion you make me laugh in yoruba!!!

Me thinks the teachers taught us more about qualities of a leader and good leadership.My view is they never said what date,age or generation will give results.They only said look for quality in leadership and be prepared for leadership by developing the good qualities to lead,If called upon.meaning every NIgerian is a potential change and developer of a progressive Nigeria.But PDP just upgraded leadership qualities.eg he who sits on the seat is the best until his or her tenure is impossible to extend,regardless of he or she leadership qualities.2) what ever you do in the senate if you belong to the ruling PDP,it is okay.simply don't decamp or f**k with the party.3)messing and screwing the people is okay.4)All Nigerians hardly know what is good for them, except by the ultimate guide of PDP. etc

^^^I hope Mr GEJ will not continue to tell us MEND is not responsible.Forget all this crap.Retired and serving MEND doesn't matter.Declare your stance and lets deal with those still active and causing problems.All this handling of MEND has being over played.Giving credit to bandits and encourage criminals by hyping militants and denial of the intent of this criminals. who choose to retire and go back at there choosing.The LAW is the LAW.An enemy of the state must be an enemy of the state.Those sincerely fighting for the rights of people spend countless days pressing for change not by molesting the people or harasing the systems through violence.

eros:
Hmmmm!!!!! I thought these guys were only interested in rearing cattles. Why the sudden violet moves lately

Well,yes they do and you come along and buy them for your consumption .I think you are mistaken and you my friend need to check the background of the sect and the members ideaology . They've always being violent until they finally stepped on the government.Basically they have become a faceless militant group taking revenge on people who are against them during and after the government crushed them.
I think the issue of cow rearing has nothing to do with this.

I do hope that regardless of everything, the president is able to tackle the security challenges ahead of him.when he said an early declaration of his intreast may heat up the polity, i think he should have said it would cause him alot of tumoil and complicate the reminder of his tenure.I believe God will see us all through including,especially the president and Government as the evil ones plot.
 Also please and please the leadership should also tackle the youth issues(un-employement,security and education) aggressively like the power issue.

kabukabu50:
The Quran specifically asks muslims to slay infidels and lay waste to them you numbskull, dont pick and choose what the book says.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/023-violence.htm.

Click the link to read the violent verses in the Q'uran like;
2)191-193 which states, slay them wherever you find them,and drive them out from where they drove you out,for the persecution of muslims is worse than the slaughter of "unbelievers".

(why didn't you complete the verses and also include the verses before this verse.obviously doing the thing you were thought best lie and defame others i believe)

You may want to check this out - "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MoRTfS75X8"


Oh and while you are reading the hateful Q'uran verses, that I posted on the link, hug this trasnformer

okay hope you read this and understand where your views stand.lets correct this wrong perception and change those who have mis-placed it muslims and christians.

And slay them wherever ye catch them, ” (2:191)

A classic called ‘cut and paste’ . The Quranic Verse and explanation is in full below:

2:190-194 Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loves not transgressors. And kill them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for persecution and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, kill them. Such is the reward of those who reject faith. But if they cease, God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God; but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression. The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear (the punishment of) God, and know that God is with those who restrain themselves.

How many times do we see the above verse repeating the message to make it clear? These verse were revealed at a time when Muslims of Madinah were under constant attack from the Makkans. An example would be when the Makkans conducted the public crucifixion of the companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Khubaib bin Adi. These would be classified as ‘terrorist activities’ according to the modern usage of the term. So what does this verse say in this context? “Fight in the cause of God those who fight you”, “unless they (first) fight you there” - the context of this verse applies to those who initiate the attack against Muslims. And even after they attack, the verse makes it clear: “But if they cease, God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” And it also makes clear the purpose for what Muslims fight: “fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God”. It is the duty of Muslims to defend humanity from oppression and persecution and to establish justice. Muslims believe that God has placed us here on earth as his deputy or viceroy, and thus, it is our duty to enjoin the good and forbid the evil, to establish peace and justice in the land. Dr. Maher Hathout writes the following on verses 2:190-194:

These verses were applicable to a particular situation or if, hypothetically, the same situation was to be repeated? Historically, fighting back against the aggressors was prohibited during the thirteen years of the Meccan period. After the migration to Medina and the establishment of the Islamic state, Muslims were concerned with how to defend themselves against aggression from their enemies. The aforementioned verses were revealed to enable them to protect the newly formed state by fighting in self-defence against those who fought them. However, the Qur’an clearly prohibits aggression. The verses explain that fighting is only for self-defence. Thus, a Muslim cannot commit aggression and kill innocent men, women, children, the sick, the elderly, monks, priests, or those who do not wish to fight. A Muslim is also mandated not to destroy plant life of livestock. (Hathout, Jihad vs. Terrorism; US Multimedia Vera International, 2002, p.49, emphasis added)
The historical context is something that must always be considered where developing an understanding of Qur’anic verses. Without knowing the circumstances behind the revelation, one cannot apply the verse as accurately. Shaykh Salman Al-Oadah writes about the general principles in Jihad:

Jihad can never be fought for worldly gain, for conquest, or even for revenge. Muslims must only fight to protect the lives, property, and freedoms of people, especially their freedom to worship Allah when that freedom is forcibly attacked. They are never allowed to attack innocent people, even when they are themselves attacked by the countrymen of those innocents. Any people that go against this established principle of Islamic Law and murder civilians are fighting against Islam and everything that it stands for. It is ludicrous for them to call this fighting a jih?d, a word that means striving in the cause of Islam. They are in fact murderers in the light of Islamic Law and should be treated as such. (SOURCE, emphasis added)

There are strict and detailed laws in Islam, which Muslims must follow carefully. A military Jihad must be performed under these regulations. Abdullah Yusuf Ali writes about verse 2:190:
War is only permissible in self-defence, and under well-defined limits. When undertaken, it must be pushed with vigour, but not relentlessly, but only to restore peace and freedom for the worship of God. In any case strict limits must not be transgressed: women, children, old and infirm men should not be molested, nor trees and crops cut down, nor peace withheld when the enemy comes to terms. (Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an, Text, Translation and Commentary )

He then re-iterates the general principles behind Jihad in his commentary on verse 2:191:

In general, it may be said that Islam is the religion of peace, goodwill, mutual understanding, and good faith. But it will not acquiesce in wrong-doing, and its men will hold their lives cheap in defence of honour, justice, and the religion which they hold sacred. Their ideal is that of heroic virtue combined with unselfish gentleness and tenderness, such as is exemplified in the life of the Apostle. They believe in courage, obedience, discipline, duty, and a constant striving by all the means in their power, physical, moral, intellectual, and spiritual, for the establishment of truth and righteousness. (Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an, Text, Translation and Commentary )

This is the true focus behind Jihad, and Muslims must never lose this focus. Jihad is solely for the purpose of aiding humanity and bringing justice and freedom to the oppressed. Therefore, all actions must be in-line with this focus and the strict regulations governing Jihad. The focus is to defend, not destroy. One who focuses on the betterment and aid of humanity will realize that destruction will never achieve this. Abdul Majid Daryabadi writes extensively on verse 2:190:

2:190 “And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you” ? Violating the truce they themselves had signed. The Muslims, after having borne untold persecution with almost superhuman fortitude for years and years at the hands of the pagans of Makkah, are now for the first time enjoined to take to reprisals. ‘For a full thirteen years the Muslims were subjected to relentless persecution in Mecca. The Prophet and his followers fled for life to Medina, but the enemy would not leave them alone in their refuge. They came to attack them within a year, and the first three battles were fought in the very locality which will whether the Prophet was an assailant or defendant’ (Headley, The Original Church of Jesus Christ and Islam, p. 155). The Makkans had signed a truce and were the first to break it. The words ‘fight with those who fight you’ clearly show, firstly, that the Muslims were not the aggressors, and secondly, that those of the enemy who were not actual combatants ? children, women, monks, hermits, the aged and the infirm, the maimed, and the like ? had nothing at all to fear from the Muslim soldiery. It was in light of this express Divine injunction that the great Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, charged his troops into Syria, ‘not to mutilate the dead, nor to slay old men, women, and children, nor to cut down fruit-trees, nor to kill cattle unless they were needed for food; and these humane precepts served like a code of laws of war during the career of Mohammadan conquest.’ (Bosworth Smith, Mohammed and Mohammedanism, p. 185). Has not Islam thus, in prescribing war against those who break God’s law, who challenge His righteous authority, and who fill the world with violence and injustice, made every concession short of the impossible? Has any code of military ethics been so chivalrous, so humane and so tender towards the enemy? ‘The moral tone adopted by the Caliph Abu Bakr, in his instructions to the Syrian army, was’, says a modern Christian historian, ‘so unlike the principles of the Roman government, that it must have commanded profound attention from a subject people. Such a proclamation announced to Jews and Christians’ sentiments of justice and principles of toleration which neither Roman emperors nor orthodox bishops had ever adopted as the rule of their conduct’ (Finlay, Greece Under the Romans, pp. 367-368). (Daryabadi, The Glorious Qur’an, emphasis added)

Muhammad Asad explains verse 2:190 in the following manner:

This and the following verses lay down unequivocally that only self-defence (in the widest sense of the word) makes war permissible for Muslims. Most of the commentators agree in that the expression la ta’tadu signifies, in this context, “do not commit aggression”; while by al-mu’tadin “those who commit aggression” are meant. The defensive character of a fight “in God’s cause” - that is, in the cause of the ethical principles ordained by God - is, moreover, self-evident in the reference to “those who wage war against you”, and has been still further clarified in 22: 39 - “permission [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged” - which, according to all available Traditions, constitutes the earliest (and therefore fundamental) Quranic reference to the question of jihad, or holy war (see Tabari and Ibn Kathir in their commentaries on 22: 39). That this early, fundamental principle of self-defence as the only possible justification of war has been maintained throughout the Quran is evident from 60: 8, as well as from the concluding sentence of 4: 91, both of which belong to a later period than the above verse. (Asad, The Message of the Qur’an, emphasis added)

And on verse 2:191, he states the following:

In view of the preceding ordinance, the injunction “slay them wherever you may come upon them” is valid only within the context of hostilities already in progress (Razi), on the understanding that “those who wage war against you” are the aggressors or oppressors (a war of liberation being a war “in God’s cause”). The translation, in this context, of fitnah as “oppression” is justified by the application of this term to any affliction which may cause man to go astray and to lose his faith in spiritual values (cf. Lisan al-Arab). (Asad, The Message of the Qur’an, emphasis added)
This extensive commentary on this verse should sufficiently address all confusion and misconceptions that resulted from misquoting this verse.

rasputinn:
Pastor Tunde Bakare must have forgotten that the Bible say he should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers

So sad we  still have religious biggots like you around,shamelessly sending the wrong information to divide.Guys,is a typical Fanatic/extremist.About that, how about we vote along religious lines.I mean every Aspirant should solicit votes only from religiously compartable yokes.

I endorse Buhari too and I know alot people around me who do.I urge you to support who ever you like and not insult others.one mans food is another man's poison.For those trying to predict his failure at the polls,grow up it is not by rigging any more and typical PDP mind set.
Calling him a religious biggot is all cheap propaganda aimed at turning people against him,we can see now.He has proven that allegations wrong, when he had power and the government in his hands.He did what he felt was fro the nations intrest.As it stands now the old hands you are talking of is most definately the puppet masters sending us sick and dead people to lead us.Also they have now sent us another MEND spokes man.
As some NL stated, i believe Buhari can flush the system for a fresh start for more visionary leaders.Not even GEJ can give us the fresh breath because they (TY danjuma,mantu,Obj,Ex-MEND,MEND etc horrible breath share same bed with GEJ).
We need a man who owes this crook elites no shit and has the guts to hit em hard.Zero tolerance for corruption and control.If there clinch can be removed,new leaders will emerge and improve on his gains.Even in the North the so called elites fear him and know his zero tolerance for his stance against there views.That is why you never see them behind Buhari but behind the likes of IBB,Chiroma,Atiku and co. I am convinced that Buhari is a nationalist and would respect the laws of the land.
When peoplel say he is a tribalist and religious fanatic,yet still support democracy then you should know better.We have a system different from the military that takes stages and people to comply with before any national view can be implemented.We have Houses of assembly state and federal,Governors,Judiciary,citizens,activist,religous bodies(CAN & NSCIA),vice president,federal character commission,EFCC etc. With this i believe no single leader can bastardise the nation with ignorance and support of a fair number of this groups.If it works na them and if it fails na them.