its now official Bird Flu is now in Nigeria

The deadly strain of bird flu has been found in poultry in northern Nigeria, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has said in statement.
The Paris-based organisation said this was the first time the disease had been detected in Africa.
The body said it was the "highly pathogenic" strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which can kill humans.
It was detected on a farm in the northern state of Kaduna, where a team of experts have been sent.

full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4692916.stm

layi:

@ijebuman
Thanks for going offtopic to deal with an issue that has obviously been dealt with. Your post isnt appreciated this time egbon.

No problem Layi i'm glad not to have helped

@Ono
nice one, i had a feeling you would have posted our school song

Great thread
sorry to go off topic
I've just been reading oladeoye's post regarding Plagiarism and just to clarify a few things as it seems people take it personal when it is pointed out.

oladeoye:
There is no plagiarism in Layi's first post. Like he said He couldnt find better words to replace such statements. If he had added links,it wont change a thing. It would still have been HIS CASE.

It should have been pointed out, it doesn't diminish the arguments if Layi acknowledges the site he got it from. It just proves he did a bit of research.

oladeoye:
Its irrelevant bringing in such accusation at this point. Its just too trivial an issue.

Its not a trivial issue, in Academic circles Plagiarism is a serious offence and should not be encouraged. I did point this out on another thread i was contributing to here on NL but had to leave the debate when someone felt i was making a personal attack.

oladeoye:
Some else's thought automatically becomes yours if u agree with it.

even if you agree with it you have to give credit and acknowledge the author/site

wiki has more on this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

nice one

I'm dying to know mine, it is frustrating

talking about great groups from the 80s, Anyone into New Edition (Ronnie Bobby Ricky and Mike and of course Ralph and Johnny)

ababoy1:

Robert kool bell, JT – Kool & the gang fame. I am a big Kool & The gang fan. My best is Hi di Hi, Hi de ho, followed closely by Love Festival. I wasn’t a big fan of Fresh…

Kool and the gang was one of my favourite groups from the 80s as well , James 'JT' Taylor was the best , loved Stand up and sing, Jones vs Jones, Get down on it, Straight ahead, Love festival and Ladies night

@ababoy1
the Fresh album (Emergency) was really for the 'pop' market, i wasn't a big fan of Cherish...

ababoy1:

@ijebuman - My brother in funk...

Does anyone remember a group called Skyy - Here's to you, Superlove, Show me the way, Lets celebrate, Call me.There is this track that I also loved. Its called Married Man (If you have it, please .)

I do remember Skyy (loved 'High' and 'Show me the way' ), and i do know the 'Married man' track it was released as a 12 inch single but unfortunately i don't have it.
But you can get it from gemm.com - http://www.gemm.com/search/artist/-/SKYY/MARRIED--MAN/

c0dec:

the rest were boring. i'm from the 80s anyway.

me too and you couldn't be a bigger TV freak than me back then
off the top of my head i can remember

Captain Caveman
Scooby and Scrappy Doo
Speed Racer
Jason of Star Command
Banana Split
Super Globetrotters
The Cattanooga cats
Skatebirds
The Muppet Show
Bigfoot and Wildboy
Dynomutt (Blue falcon and Dog Wonder)

Then there was a local show on Channel 10 with some guy called 'Uncle Wole', i can't remember what it was called.

RemiT:

If Panapana (sorry, Obasanjo) stays a day longer in power, I mean from today, it is Nigerians fault. We are populated with people like Akolawole

The alleged third term project re-echoed, bounced and gathered pace on Thursday in a city inspired by a rock, Abeokuta. President Olusegun Obasanjo was present at the occasion but he did not disclose which way he would jump. Regardless, several South West federal legislators and all South West governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including Ogun State’s Gbenga Daniel, chorused “awa lowo si” (we support it).
http://odili.net/news/source/2006/feb/3/630.html

Very soon the 'Obasanjo' badge will be the must have item of the year

ono:

We really need to start thinking as Nigerians. Not as Yorubas, Hausas, Ibibios, Isokos, Ijaws, Itsekiris, Junkuns, Igbirras, Ijesha or it Ujesha, etc etc. And we need to put national interests above all other interests

We also need to start thinking as Africans, looking after each other and not killing one another.

@owo
I can see there's no point prolonging the discussion...

But on the issue of abuses..
One of the things i've been hoping to do is set up a site for people to document human right abuses that are just swept under the carpet. A lot of things happen in the country and because we don't really have this culture of reporting abuses, it keeps happening all the time.

According to Human Rights Watch - http://hrw.org in its report on Nigeria,
One of the most challenging obstacles to the eradication of torture is the deeply engrained societal attitude to violence and the powers of the police. For many Nigerians, who have experienced years of oppression and brutality by military rulers, the use of violence by the institutions of the state is accepted, even seen as normal. Even where they know the police action was wrong and illegal, they appear to feel powerless to register a complaint or seek redress.

Something can be done, if you have a digital camera start recording images of the human rights abuses you've described and lets post them on the web. Let people in the US know the type of army the US government is training and selling weapons to.

If i pass on the information you posted here to HRW and other NGOs, its just another sad story from Nigeria which can be dismissed as rumour but if there are pictures to back it up, then they have something concrete to work with.
The Guardian Newspaper in the UK is also quite sympathetic to stories of human rights abuses, especially in the Niger delta. (Saro wiwa had a few friends there, his son used to be a feature writer there as well)

We have to start keeping records and documenting everything that is happening. Someday it could be used as evidence at an international tribunal.

Oiza:

@Angelgal: I thought it was only me o.And why must they all sound the same I don't know if it is old age but I really can't tell the difference between Ginuwine and Tyrese...I try, abi

You try
used to think Tyrese and Sisqo were the same, they both sound alike

owo:

Oh no it is the same South Africa. I wonder how you see a half full cup as being half empty. If the people had kept quiet and pretended as if everything is okay and were foolishly optimistic then nobody in the whole wide world would have applied any pressure on the white - led Government.

The violence or threat of violence may have played a small part but it was always the political pressure that ensured the government agreed to relinquish power.
Did the violence option work during the Nigerian Civil war? even though the federal forces defeated the Biafrans. They won the war but they did not win the hearts and minds of the ibos.

Violence against a specific target may work in certain circumstances but i still don't see how that applies to Nigeria. People don't care about a target, they always attack the ethnic group they think is oppressing them. The Hausas will just start killing the Ibos and vice versa or it could turn religious.

owo:

Why then did the ANC have a 'militant' wing? Is this type of 'wing' not present in every 'freedom' minded political organisation worldwide? Obtaining freedom from oppressors demands using multifaceted means.

Where violence has been used, its never the violence itself that actually resolves the issue but the involvement of an outside party (like the UN) that interferes and allows a negotiated settlement.
In places where no outside force interferes or interferes too late, the violence goes on indefinitely or one of the combatants uses overwhelming force to wipe out the other side.

owo:

Would the Niger Delta question have come become the Nigerian question if not for the daring / sacrificial work of some of its citizens?

The Niger delta is definitely a ticking time bomb and i understand the frustrations that has led to violence. But no matter the amount of violence, lasting peace can only be achieved through dialogue.

The US is busy training and providing equipment to the Nigerian army and i don't think its for charitable reasons. Right now the violence in the delta has not reached the point where the Nigerian Army can use all out force to suppress it without risking an international outcry.
But remember Violence begets violence, if things turn ugly in the Niger delta, the international community will not interfere and the poor people of the delta will be at the mercy of the Nigerian army.

owo:

So so relevant. He ensured that those that had a hand in the plundering of his people were erased. Certainly some measure of violence. Or is it a measure of resignation to fate?

You never proposed a Rawlings approach to Nigeria, you proposed that the country should break up and my point was that it couldn't happen without a lot of violence. The Rawlings approach would be a coup similar to the Nzeogwu and the failed Orkar coup. That approach keeps Nigeria as one but eliminates the corrupt political elite. I have no issue with that but you never raised it, hence i couldn't see the relevance to the issue.

owo:

Again, how would the United nations come into a place with a peace plan when nothing is amiss and the people feel stuck in their fate?

Namibia
The end of the cold war created an ideal opportunity for world peace, it enabled the US to become the sole superpower and it meant that it could stop funding anti communist insurgent groups around the world. South Africa had always justified its war with SWAPO by claiming it was fighting a communist insurgency. The change in US attitude enabled the UN to step in and resolve the issue.

The Berlin wall crumbled without a single shot fired..

The USSR break up happened through political dialogue, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Armenia, Ukraine and the others all left the union via peaceful negotiation.

owo:

What even inspires outside help?

What inspires outside help is when the rest of the world (namely the US and its allies) feel they have a 'vested interest' in the outcome of a conflict.
After their bad experience in Somalia, its unlikely the US will send troops into combat in Africa again, which means if there's a conflict in Nigeria, it will be left to the French to 'interfere' to safeguard Rep of Benin and Cameroun (since they have some form of defence arrangements with these countries) from the fallout from Nigeria. Who knows even Cameroun could get in on the act and annex parts of the delta.
My point is, once the violence starts anything can happen and it will never be 'measured'. And if no outside force interferes to stop it Nigeria will join the list of war ravaged countries like Sudan, Congo and Somalia.

owo:

You advocate for graveyard peace, when people are dying daily for no fault of thiers.

Only a lot more will die with what you are proposing.
After all the killing and suffering, it still has to be sorted out through dialogue, so why don't we skip the endless cycle of violence.

owo:

You speak for the oppressors whose docile optimism, very similar to yours, has kept us where we are.

I advocate dialogue and non violent ways to resolve our problems just like Martin Luther King. You seem to assume i support the status quo because i'm against violence. I don't know why ? its not like i'm a supporter of the government.
Obviously i'm Yoruba but my family cuts across Nigeria's ethnic and religious divide. I have immediate cousins who are Hausa, Tiv and Edo.

owo:

I was in that part of Nigeria during the last election.
Who insisted that serving PDP governors, no matter how bad, should be returned to power so that second term can be guaranted?.........search for the answer.
Text messages that even were sent round a place like Port Harcourt advising people against going to vote since the result has already been determined in favour of the incumbent..... Those that went saw enough guns, matchets and intimidation.
Is that the most corrupt Governor in Nigeria?. How about Ladoja? is he in EFCC net?
Are you a stranger in this 'Jerusalem' that you do not know where the headquarters of corruption is?
After they imposed him against everybody's wishes, they now want to use him to create an ethnic stereotype. Be sure that he was a stooge and his problem with his masters is that he switched camp, we know better.

There are many other corrupt governors but i used Alams to highlight my point as his people supported him without questioning why he was caught with a large amount of money in London. The guy jumped bail and he was still accorded a heroes welcome. So if Bayelsa was an independent nation and Alams was the president, would he be less or more corrupt?

owo:

I gave you the names of three other governors in the same region. why don't you use them as an example?
Even as bad as that guy was, he did far beyond what Ladoja and the Osun state Governor combined have done. In short there are at least 10 states that if I add their accomplishments... it would not equal that of Alams.

If you're from Bayelsa then i do apologise but I used it as an example because it is populated mainly by the Ijaws and since you were advocating breaking the country into ethnic constituents to solve our problems, i used it to illustrate the point that corruption will still occur no matter the configuration Nigeria breaks into.

owo:

In Yugosalvia, NATO and the UN went in because every group started defending itself against the ethnic Serbians. Maybe you think they were just folding their arms and writing newspaper articles as a defence. Certainly NO. They stood up for their rights and fought back... every man for himself though they were not as organised as the Serbians.

Somebody stepped in to sort it out. Who will separate us if we start killing each other? The UN? like they did in Rwanda?

owo:

Because the Serbians had the upper hand and were clearly starting to commit genocide which would have led to a civil war, the sorrounding countries and the UN had to step in to avoid an all out war that would have destabilised Europe.

They did commit genocide that is why Milosevic and his cohorts are on trial at the Hague

owo:

No UN or NATO force would have gone there if the Croats, Slovenians and Bosnians had kept quiet and believed that one day a miracle will happen and the Serbians will stop their 'domination' campaign.

Czech Republic and Slovakia did separate peacefully so it was a possibility. The ex- soviet republics of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Armenia etc did so peacefully and freed themselves from Russian domination

owo:

Okay so be it. Then the world will know that those that masquaraded as do-gooders while killing-a-little-at-a-time were actually murderers and wolf in sheep clothing.

wow i knew you felt strongly about this issue but not to that point. Be careful what you wish for.

owo:

Don't forget that those that think they have the power now may just find themselves as the victims.

and the victims too become the oppressors, its a vicious cycle that never ends regardless of what emerges from the ashes. I'm sure you've read Animal Farm by George Orwell

owo:

It is good to point out that there are no absolute solutions. Every solution brings its own problems along with it. However, resigning to the fate of being stuck with a problem does not and will not solve it. It is better to make new mistakes rather than repeating old ones.

Agreed. But not if that 'new mistake' will cost millions of lives

@oasis
I think we've taken over the thread if you want to carry on we can always continue this debate via PM. .
'CF Nazi' that cracked me up

Just to answer this one

oasis:

As far as hackers, how many php sites have been broken into that you know of? As ubiquitous as php is, we should be hearing daily horror stories. But are we?

Do a search on google for security holes in PHP

The Anita Baker forums site was hacked (by el-ScRe@M) last week http://www.anitabaker.org/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=1
the admin has only just sorted it out but you can still see traces of it

rikkyjen:

Ijebu man....Diya was tried according to military laws as in he was court-martialled...Every miltary offender are court-martialled just like diya.So Malu trying diya in a tribunal is no point,thats the way its meant to be,Even in the western world,if a soldier is caught pilfering whether in the barracks or on the road,d guy is going to be courtmartialled and tried according to military laws .

If malu sentenced Diya,Wats d big deal?Wasnt diya guiltyAfterall troops were mobilized and deployed to strategic points,funds were distributed...So what other evidence do u need that a coup was in d offingd only thing was that diya foolishly agreed to him being used as a set-up

The big deal was that he was wearing an 'Abacha' badge, that precluded any likelihood that he was ever going to be an impartial judge even if Diya et al were not guilty.

rikkyjen:

Ofcourse dats wats called loyalty as in 100% undiluted loyalty,malu was being loyal to his boss.

Yet he served in the government of a man who has hounded the family of his former boss, a man his former boss jailed for attempting a 'coup'.
Strange the shifting sands of loyalty

owo:

Is it a co-incidence that all but two of those wishing that Malu be hung are Yoruba by their screen name?
Maybe not.

Are northerners fools? No. So why should a whole region be stereotyped this way.
Was Malu wrong to serve Nigeria.... even under Abacha? Then all civil servants should have resigned.

These grave diversion and stereotype really shows a lot.

@owo
I'm slightly disappointed, i enjoy political debate but i'm always frustrated when we can't discuss issues in an objective way without someone playing the ethnic card and claiming an opinion is based on ethnic loyalty

owo:

The black South African Population used a measure of 'violence ' to back up their struggle. today they are growing in prosprerity despite the odds

You must be talking about a different South Africa, the White controlled government gave up power willingly due to increasing political and economic pressure from the rest of the world. (i'm sure you remember the Free Mandela concerts etc). Not mainly because of violence from the ANC. The ANC had been fighting since the 50s..

Despite the end of apartheid, millions of South Africans, mostly black, continue to live in poverty. The reason for this is attributed to the legacy of the apartheid regime and increasingly, what many see as the failure of the current government to tackle social issues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_africa

owo:

Jerry Rawlings used a measure of it to salvage Ghana. today we go there for holidays and send our Children to school. The same people we drove away in 1980-82.

Rawlings was a charismatic leader who came to power via a coup. I don't understand the relevance here

owo:

Namibia pushed out the white suprmacists with some measure of 'violence'

Namibia also gained from the political changes in South Africa and the end of the cold war. SWAPO had been fighting for many years to no avail. It was a UN sanctioned peace plan that allowed it to gain independence.
Even after gaining independence they only got Walvis bay back due to political pressure (not violence) on the South African government.

owo:

Ugandans aligned with some measure of 'violence' led by Yoweri Musuveni to send Idi Amin and his cohorts parking. Today it is known as the land gifted by nature.

It was actually an invasion from outside. Museveni did it with the support of the surrounding countries and he was helped by the soon to be Rwandan Tutsi rebels, again outside forces involved to overthrow the government, not disember the country.

I'm a bit surprised because i actually thought you would mention Eritrea and Ethiopia, which is the only African example i know where a country had separated peacefully (and that was after a lengthy war). But even that situation is different as it was done by a UN brokered agreement and Eritrea was originally a separate country.

owo:

If you claim that the Bayelsa State governor did nothing for his people, then it is certain you have never visited Bayelsa. Ask me. I know what Bayelsa was in 1999 and I know what it is today. It is certain that the place is not heaven but I'm sure those young men schooling in russia on State scholarship will not agree with you neither will the students of NDU like to see you eyeball to eyeball.

If Bayelsa is so bad why not use Cross River or Akwa Ibom or even Delta as a case since they are also in the same region. The people know those that will protect their interest and help to build and egalitarian society.

So that now justifies his corruption. Please read my previous post to understand what i was implying..

owo:

The Oppressors are not a small minority. The actors maybe few but those that are supporting them are many, very many. If people can still sing the praises of the current president despite all the missed opportunities, scandals, unresolved murders/arson, failures sprinkled with very little success then you can be sure that the number is much.

Haven't you just contradicted yourself with your praise for the governor of bayelsa state despite his corruption. Do you think breaking Nigeria apart will solve all what you've listed? When it also happens on a state level.

My question remains the same, you used Yugoslavia as an example in your previous thread. What you are advocating is quite different from what happened in all these countries. And in our case the 'measure of violence' that will be needed may lead to the possible genocide of certain ethnic groups.

ono:

http://www.radiolagosekofm.com/home/news/newsdetails.php?NewsID=626

More on Malu's talk.

He (Awoniyi) described Malu, as one of the "greatest and internationally acclaimed soldiers has spoken as a democrat and a stickler for principles."

Malu a democrat?, what a joke, wasn't he the chairman of the tribunal that tried Diya et al for an attempted coup against Abacha ? This is the same Malu who was quoted at different fora that he never regretted serving Abacha and would do the same if giving the same opportunities.

Angelgal:

"Ain't No Stopping Us Now We're On The Move" (Cause I don't remember)

Mcfadden and Whitehead
Gene McFadden died earlier this week
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4665496.stm

@owo
I don't really care about Obj however he is the lawfully elected president of the country (regardless of how flawed that election was). Now if Malu was advocating Obj's removal through constitutional means then of course he's entitled to his own views.
His arrogant statement shows that even after our recent bitter experience with military rule, the military and by extension the North, still feels that they can remove anyone they don't get along with by force.

owo:

Micheal Moore also has his own supporters in the American armed forces.

But the American Military is not known for straying into the political arena if they don't like the Commander in Chief

owo:

All democrats at heart understand this.

A true democrat will never support a statement that advocates the overthrow of an elected government regardless of your personal opinion.

ono:

This 'elite people' lets get them out of our way and move ahead as youngsters; can't we do without them and their cohorts? This is annoying!!!

My bros Ono, these are the people we need to deal with. There are a couple of things i have in mind, especially regarding their 'personal' assets abroad... .
I find it extremely galling that they can openly flaunt their ill gotten wealth in the UK and US.

oasis:

Perfect. I ask for clarification, and you give me an article from the creators of CF. How quaint.

what did you expect ?, better hearing it from them no use writing code to show you how you can access a database with 3 lines of code compared to PHP

oasis:

Because everything is handled internally in cf, it's very easy to write BAD code.

You can write bad code in any language (Java, C++ etc) thats why you have coding standards. In my organisation, it doesn't matter if you can write the best code, if you don't adhere to our coding standards then it's bad code

oasis:

Owned by macromedia. If Macromedia dies, CF dies along with it.

Same applies to Oracle, Microsoft products, Sun etc. Doesn't stop you from learning about their products, just means you need to diversify your portfolio of knowledge

oasis:

Cold fusion is extremely weak at regular expressions.

says who? you can always write your own

oasis:

Coldfusion has striking similarity with HTML. For a new programmer, Coldfusion can be learned in couple of weeks time. Cold Fusion has a good IDE and is generally easier to get started with, whereas PHP initially requires more programming knowledge. Cold Fusion is designed with non-programmers in mind, while PHP is focused on programmers.

At the basic level it is similar to HTML but by the time you become more experienced, you start to write your own scripts, functions, cfcs and custom tags and this requires programming knowledge.

oasis:

Expensive license cost vs $0 for php.

oasis:

PHP:
Free licensing.

which is also its weakness as who do you hold responsible if there's a security hole. It is widely used and it means hackers target it a lot. for instance phpBB has experienced a series of security problems.
No surprise then that a lot of major institutions and banks don't use it, they feel more comfortable dealing with a software company than open sourced software.

oasis:

Blazing fast. PHP can serve pages under 1 second (CF 3-5 seconds), server load ratio of cf/php is about 2 to .2. You can serve MORE page views with php than you could with CF. Some say PHP is up to 5 times faster than CF, and less resource intensive.

Boils down to your hardware configuration, you'll have to run similar sized apps in PHP and CF side by side to actually confirm that.

oasis:

So much free support available. Tons of developers use PHP so there's always someone out there that can help you.

there's a large CF support group that has been around since the late 90s. PHP developers are a dime a dozen around here and it reflects in their contract rates. CF is a niche market and commands a higher premium.

oasis:

C is the father of all programming languages. PHP is closer in syntax to C and perl. You can do true OO programming in php.

OOP is actually very limited in PHP, can't have private or protected objects, only public .
The current versions of CF (CFMX) now runs on Java and allows you to leverage development across the two platforms.

oasis:

Lots of pre-written code widely available.

same with CF, in addition it also allows you to plug in modules and cfx tags built in Java, ASP and JSP

oasis:

PHP is here to stay. No company red tape anywhere.

its quite popular but the large investment banks (the bread & butter of the IT contract market) are still sticking to the old tried & tested ways.

oasis:

Supported by nearly all ISP's for no extra cost.

Not really true, most ISPs will still charge for its use as its normally included in the overall cost.

oasis:

PHP runs on almost every platform there is. Cold Fusion is only available on Win32, Solaris, Linux and HP/UX.

these are the main platforms used on the web, what other platforms does it need to support? (CF works on the Mac as well)

oasis:

So those are the facts.
You decide for yourselves. CF or PHP?

To be honest it doesn't really matter, in a competitive market knowing a niche product gives you that extra leverage. I never follow the herd but i trust my instincts. We run large CF development projects all the time and we can hardly get enough CF developers.

ono:

Bros Ijebuman, it's because there are so many warped vested interests in the Nigerian Polity that we're as at this point in the history of our nation facing all the problems bedevilling us. The other day, one chap in the North said he's ready to declare a Jihad if the Niger Deltans are given total control of their resources. That's one big problem here.

its all about the oil, its the biggest meal ticket around and each group will fight to get some of it..
Thats why a clean break up will never happen as long as the oil resources are there. I'm a strong supporter of resource control but you may not agree with this, the minority groups are still better protected within a united Nigeria than on their own. If the country breaks up the Niger delta will fragment into fiefdoms.

ono:

Also, Owo rightly observed that there's this palpable fear in everyone that bloodshed will ruin us all.

It will ruin us all, there has been so much bloodshed in Africa - Sudan, Angola, Congo and Rwanda. Has it solved anything?

owo:

@Ijebuman, your point on the resources issue brings out the harm that a wrong educational / societal value system has done to us. That is the value placed on one human being (whatever his place of origin).
It also highlights our conception of what we call peace.
This understanding states that; Killing people with hunger, ignorance, pothole filled roads, mortuaries called hospitals, pollution etc is living in peace while removing the one cause of all these problems by violent means so that all else will be well is not peace.

It takes some level of 'violence' to maintain real peace. It is why about 20% of the black male population in America have been to jail while that country has violently pursed its enemies into the Pakistani mountains all in a bid to maintain the peace.
It is why Yugoslavia of old could not remain one but had to 'violently' split into four (maybe five) countries.

Please give me examples in Africa where some level of 'violence' has bought real peace
The war in Yugoslavia involved outside forces (NATO and the UN) to end the civil war, if they hadn't interfered i'm sure it'll still be going on.
This is Africa my peeps you think anyone will care ? Look at what happened in Rwanda ?
be careful what you wish for..

We're stuck with Nigeria, lets look for ways to solve our problems as a united entity. The people oppressing the majority are a small minority that cuts across ethnic groups. This group of 'elites' will still oppress the majority in any configuration that emerges from Nigeria.
Bayelsa state is a typical example, the governor couldn't give a toss about his own people. Do you think he will behave any different if Bayelsa was a sovereign nation.

oasis:

I don't know cold fusion, but there are definite advantages to using PHP.  Large support community for one.  Post a php question, and somebody would answer it within minutes. 

Well CF is a bit of a niche market, been under the radar for quite a long time but you'll be surprised the number of sites that use it. I've been developing in CF since 98. Its great the way things are cause it keeps the contract rates pretty high 

some major sites using CF
http://www.forta.com/cf/using/list.cfm?highlight=1
http://www.forta.com/cf/using/

oasis:

Can you substantiate that claim?  Like I said, I don't know CF, but I doubt the statement you just made above is correct.  Perhaps if you shed more light, we could better understand the advantages of CF over php.

PHP vs. CFML
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/coldfusion/articles/php_cfmx.html

owo:

I wonder why the American president did not arrest Michael Moore for preparing and releasing Farenheit 9/11 into the public domain.

true but Moore is an ordinary citizen, imagine the furore if Colin Powell did it

owo:

Freedom of speech is what it is called and it is guaranteed in a democracy.

That is why Chris Uba told the President face to face that he rigged the Anambra Election yet, he is now in the PDP board of trustees. He was not arrested and charged for commiting treason against the people of Anambra State.

Afterall, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. So what is this noise about?

not the same, accusing people of rigging an election is quite different from suggesting the overthrow of a regime in an unstable political environment like Nigeria

owo:

I therefore insist that[b]Gen Malu is entitled to his opinion, regrets and plans[/b] and has commited no wrong nor incited anybody

Thats what i'm worried about, is it really his opinion or a subtle hint. He still has supporters in the military they could see this as tacit approval for a coup

Agree up to this point

owo:

In the light of these, my personal conclusion has remained that, the country should be fragmented into religio-ethnic-economic groupings where the negative forces (mentioned above) cannot (or do not have enough potency)to drown the voice of reason and development.
I have always asked my fellow country men for just the main reason why Nigeria must remain one. Unfortunately, there has never been one sound, unbiased and objective reason.
A confederation of loosely bound states sharing foreign affairs, army etc ... will suit Nigeria better than this incoherent and un-natural union.

Only then will the progressive idealogies have enough pull and become a good magnet for all and sundry in the respective confederating units. As stated in some posts above, it 'worked' briefly in the first republic.

The problem here is that you assume this process could happen in a peaceful way. With the resources at stake it would be all out war as each part of the country fights for whatever it can get. The violence and trauma it will unleash will affect the whole west african region and completely destabilise Cameroun, Togo, Rep of benin, Niger and Ghana.
The population of Nigeria alone makes up about 70% of the total population of West Africa, you don't want to imagine the refugee crises it will create.