Hi,
I have been on this forum for about a month now, and I want to first congratulate you guys for what you have achieved so far. The traffic on the Forum is terrific, the information one can get are sometimes priceless.
I have a few suggestions on the politics section though. I understand the concept you guys are operating on which is to give everyone a platform to air their opinion on topical issues of the day. However, I am sure you guys must agree with me, that on an annonymous platform, such privilege easily gets abused.
The Politics section is very lively going by the number of threads posted everyday and the posts on those threads. However, that quantitative achievement, in my view, has come at a huge qualitative cost. I am sure the mods are already very aware of this fact.
I would sugggest that the mods pick the topics for discussion from the news of the day or approve any new threads before they are posted to ensure that they are not frivolous or just duplicative of other threads still extanct. I understand the need to avoid appearing censorous of people's viewpoints, but that has to be weighed against an even greater need to maintain the integrity and quality of the forum which you guys have done so much to build up.
I also will recommed for the political section some kind of "Experts Corner" which would consist of real people with their names, and some bio-data and their pictures, posting comments on issues of the week which would be selected by the moderators. Such an expert corner would serve to provide well-thought out viewpoints devoid of the abuses inherent in anonymity for the thousands that come to the website seeking to be better informed. The mods can even go beyond the usual frequenters to the forum to seek out informed Nigerians from different background to popluate the corner. Politico used to have something like that,I forgot the name they called it.

As far as housing, I dare say you will find Atlanta way better and more spacious than anything you have seen in UK and very cheap too.
You may read about the gun violence and all that, but except you settle in real run down neighborhoods, you will find the US (and that includes much of metropolitan Atlanta) a really great place to raise your kids.
Of course, you will find the fact that there is no free health care chalenging at first but I can guarantee you that your kids will certainly not die for lack of health care.

The US is still struggling to recover from the Great Recession so thing are still far from peachy, but living in the UK, I am sure you already are atuned to living in such an environment.
The one thing I can tell you though, is even with all the problems, the US is still an enterpreneur's paradise. From what you said about your husband, he seems the kind best suited for the US so I will advise you to go for it. The tax rates are generally lower than Europe, and if you run your own business, you literally dont even get to pay any taxes. Besides, there is a lot of cheap real estate and the credit to acquire them for the person that comes looking for opportunities for themselves.
Atlanta is a big cosmopolitan city. The weather is a lot more pleasant than London or NY (where I work) and there is a large Nigerian population there. You might not have a lot of well paying jobs waiting for you, but your family doesnt strike me as one to wait for jobs to land on their laps.
The American dream is made for people like your husband, you would do well to encourage him. Goodluck

thelastPope:

You work for the CIA, KGB or MOSSAD? Or you are just a BH sympathizer?

Actually that dude is making a lot more sense. Thes characters (at least at the initial stage) mostly do not fight for territory, they fight for effect - theirs is primarily a psych-op. For all you know they are just lying low and re-strategizing. What is the basis of your optimism that the Nigerian security agencies have what it takes to permanently contain this menace?

Alfa Seltzer:

Ewu west. E dey pain you?

I guess Mr. Ofeimun would line up against the wall and shoot the Polish leaders in 1939 for taking up arms against the mighty Hitler army. He would forever damn the souls of the Jews of the polish ghetto for the suicidal resistance they offered to the SS. Has anyone even noticed that this guy is advocating a policy not very far from cowardice?
I have read so many armchair critics of Ojukwu (and believe me, I have my own criticsms of the Ikemba) go on about how in his selfishness and youthful exuberance he led the Igbos to an avoidable war that costs them millions in life when he knew that they were not prepared for the war.On the other hand, the sage Awo knew better and kept his people from taking the jump. Ok admitted Ojukwu was selfish, immature and headstrong, what was the "sage" (Ofeimun's hero and employer) thinking when he conspired to overthrow the Nigerian goverment with just a handful of civilian malcontents and a few bolt action rifles and firecrackers imported from Ghana?.

Don't be in a hurry to celebrate yet. Remember George Bush's "shock and awe"? His premature and ultimately politically fatal "mission accomplished"?. Any nation or people that underates the tenacity of global islamic terrorism do so at their own peril. As militarily powerful and socially organized the US are, they have been forced to impose far reaching changes to their way of life and the way the see the world in the past decade to meet the existential challenges posed by global jihad.
For those more inclined to understand issue better and from a historical stanpoint I would recommend a book - "The Flame of Islam" by Harold Lamb.

noblezone:

I must apologise for wasting both my time and even your time and everybody's time, especially those who meant well for Nigeria by starting this thread. It is obvious that discussing Nigeria is a mere waste of time.

I have looked back to see what this thread achieved and I can't really see it, except that it has made me to loose more faith in Nigeria.

Yet, let those who it is a smart move to slow than the horse so that tortoise can catch up, know that policies will always cause them to loose a race competition.

Thanks to all who spent their precious time to contribute objectively here with hope to build a better Nigeria.
Time will surely tell!

No, it certainly has not been a waste of my time and I dare say that it has not also been a waste of time for those with objectivity and an open mind. You have thrown a floodlight on one of those issues that have brought Nigeria to its knees, but which the so called "de-tribalized" Nigerians only wish would go away. I have followed this thread very closely and I can relate to your frustration with that claque of sophists who would raise all manner of strawman arguments borne mostly out of bigotry that is quite troubling.
You and a few others I have met on this site are the reason I keep coming back. Even though the people that seem to frequent this site seem generally much younger than I am (and some, quite frankly are just plain silly) I learn a lot everyday. More importantly, I meet a new generation of Igbo who are quite ready to step away from the shadow of the defeat of 1970 and ask the necessary questions about the basis of Nigerian Unity.
I sent you an email some days back. Dont know if you received it. Check your junk mail if you did not.

My brother, for your own sake and the sake of your neighbours, I beg that you get back on your meds ASAP!!

By "medically approved drugs" I assume you mean "Prescription only medication" You go to the website of the pharma companies for those. But, I would not advise buying in the US market, they are generally a lot more expensive than what the same pharma companies sell in other countries like Canada and Europe. Just one aspect of the incestous relationship btw the US govt and corporate America.

mikeansy:

http://www.soludo.org/rss/manifesto.html

The only detail I see here is plan for a new state capital? New as in relocated from Awka, or what? And what purpose is the sponsored trip to Dubai et al, supposed to serve? I understand Soludo is a smart guy, he needs to do better than shoveling bromides and give us concrete proposals about he he plans to change the direction of our beloved state

bishop4life:



we in anambra knows the murderers (awkuzu sars) what we dont know is why Mr Peter Obi is silent on the issue,who is he protecting and why is he protecting them. As for the victims identity the massob group after the incident raised alarm about their members arrested prior to the killing.Till today thier where about have not been mentioned. The community according to silverbirds disclosed that awkuzu sars have been dumping bodies on the river but they were afraid to voice it out untill the mass dumping. Please we know nigeria and its politics so if you need more details. Consult Mr Peter

Of course we all know. SARS is operating under the mandate given to them by Gov. Obi.

I dont want to trust that my cook would not poison me, I want to trust that there exists a law that puts poisoners in jail for life.
I dont want to trust that my driver would not to swerve into oncoming trailer, I would rather trust on a system that insists that every driver has a minimum training and is not driving under the influence.
I don't want to trust on my banker not to run away with my deposit, I would rather trust on a regulatory system that sets out basic rules and guidelines upon which banks must operate.
I dont want to trust on the food seller not to sell me bad food, I would rather trust on a state that regulates the activities of food sellers and put in jail those that would try to pass off bad food.

AniyikayeD1st: As I sit here, I can't help but wonder why things have remained the way they have been and worse. We have been running around the same circle. Old sins are being paid back with new sins. A tribe will give you reasons why it will not forgive another tribe for what they did to them one year or the other and vice-versa. How much more the north and south arguments?!

We should understand that what binds a society together is love and trust not tribal uniformity or differences and other mundane things.

Love binds a society together while trust oils the wheel of progress within the society. It must also be said that without love, there can be no trust.

According to the Bible in the book of Matthew 22;32-40, one of the sadducees asked Jesus “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment." And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” If I obey all civil, criminal and common laws ever made on earth and I break this simple law and fail to adhere to this law, I continue to deny ourselves the sweetness of a peaceful society. It is the greatest law. Love is all that I need.

Without trust, how can I live? I won't buy food or food items if I can't trust the seller. I won't keep money in the bank if I don't trust the banking system. I won't even give to the beggar if I don't trust his or her intention. What if my cook decides to poison me? What if the bus driver swerves to the direction of d oncoming trailer? I have come to realise that more often than not my life is not in my hands(without trying to be religious) but in the hands of the other man whom I MUST trust to do the right thing.

I can give a hundred reasons why the government and the society is bad but hold on a sec,am I not a part of the society? For every act of mine that is devoid of love for the next person, I deny the society peace and trust - Irrespective of where,when and how I commit the act(s). I inadvertently deny my neighbours and myself a chance to live - for how can I live without trust?

What goes around truly comes around.

Happy Father's day!

"Trust and love" will do very well for a family and a religious society but I am sorry what works in a modern nation state is "enlightened self-interest", the pursuit of your own interest within the ambits of the law and being respectful of other's interest. Platitudes like love and trust are very well sounding but they can never be substitutes for the rule of law.

Godogwu:

I'm not going to say Nigeria is more secure than the US, nahh not atall but in terms of deaths related to gun violence, homicide and all that, the US has recorded way more deaths than Nigeria.
Here's a source http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-deaths-and-injuries-statistics/

The US is just a little over twice the size of Nigeria in population and taking that into consideration 12,000 is still quite a lot.

I am glad you use the operative word "recorded" in your statement. At least they keep record of the murders in their country which I think is still way too high and shameful for such a developed country. But go ask SARS at Ikeja and Adeniji Adele and Awkuzu in Anambra State and all the other states of the "record" of those they sent on "travel. Go to Defense Headquarters and get me the "record" of those eliminated by the various taskforces of the armed forces.
The only reason the US has recorded way more deaths than Nigeria is that the law mandates such record-keeping and there, the law is still the boss and is followed. Can you say that for Nigeria?

mu2sa2: Peace is a state of mind. You can live in a place and feel peaceful inspite of what's happening around you. For example somebody in maiduguri may feel it's more peaceful than say port harcourt or onitsha, because he would rather live with jtf/boko haram violence in Maiduguri than perpetually engage in hide and seek with armed robbers, ritual killers and kidnappers in port harcourt or onitsha.

I get your drift, but no, the "peace" that is being talked about here is not a state of mind. It is an objective measurement of social and demographic phenomena. I have to agree with you that the southern cities you mentioned are far from peaceful, but Maiduguri is fast becoming a no-man's land.

jmoore: Another unbalanced research. Where is USA the nation of guns?
Ndiara researchers!

My dear, the US may be the nations of guns, but you can drive all night from NY to Florida and all you have to worry about is getting speeding ticket from the ubiquitous Police cruisers. Try driving from even Lagos to Ijebu Ode or Enugu to Awka at midnight! We should not always be so defensive when faced with statistics that paint a not so rosy picture of us

njokusboy:

The united states is 20 times larger than Nigeria, alaska alone is almost twice as large as this country. If 12996 murders were commited in the usa (assuming you are even right) and 3600 were murdered in naija (of course we both know it is larger than dat, dis is just an estimate) then the united states is still ten times more secure than naija.

The United States is a huge country, but it is not 20 times the size of Nigeria. And as others have pointed out, in comparing this kind of statistics, what matters more is population and not size. Population wise, at least going by Nigeria's official numbers, Nigeria is about a little more than half the population of the US.
However the person that started the comparison of the murder rate of the US and Nigeria was being either dubious or woefully ignorant. The US figure quoted is the total number of murders. In the US there is still a culture that considers human life sacred and a law enforcement mechanism that still functions. So they count every death there and keep an accurate tab of murders. Yes, the US murder rate is too high by civilized standards as a result of a culture that celebrates violence and gun ownership. However it is possible that the Nigerian murder rate is higher than the US in both absolute and per capita terms. The statistic someone quoted here was the number of murders attributed to just one terrorist organization. How many have been killed by the other violent militia and vigilante groups? How many have been killed by hit and run drivers? How many have been killed by erstwhile business associates who felt cheated in a business deal? How many have been poisoned by friend and foe alike? How many have been killed at "hospitals" by reckless doctors? How many have been murdered by SARS, the JTF, and other "security agencies" scattered over the Nigerian landscape?
I think the comparison is misplaced - totally apple and oranges. It flows from the mindset that argues from watching CNN and reading the statistics of the prison population in the US that there is more crime in the US than in Nigeria. But if people go to jail in Nigeria for just a fraction of what people get put in jail for in the US, more than half the population of Nigeria would be in jail!

Desola:

How could it be a dirty lie when they constitute 99.9% of the population of Lagos? Is it not true that the majority would be the most affected?

Funny!!! Word of advise - you dont want to be so ironic. The vast majority of the people on this forum are mouth-breathers. Soon you will have people on your team piling on you.

ajanaku2:

Never underestimate the Power of that region where their thighs meet!

As smelly and disgusting as it is, it inexplicably wields a lot of Power!

Wow!! Was that necessary? Even if you dont have a wife or girlfriend at least you have/had a mother and maybe have sisters. Do you express the same sentiment in their presence? Or you are just taking advantage of an anonymous, public forum to grant license to your misogynist mind?

Online. Try gmpx.com

alvin000: Mr Mubashiru, U must hv been brainwashed or programmed with IBB style of tricks. Did u know d relationship btw Gen Mamman Batsa n IBB? They attend same secondary schl, join army together, marry as a best friends but IBB killed him cox of coup attempt. IBB stated that; "Batsa is a scorpion in someone's pocket, even outside the system is a threats". Stop wasting our time with supporting maradona, gap toothed!

Lol! Finding it hard to square that story with what you believed? I feel your pain, but dont sweat it too much ok? Just dont believe that there was anytime, whether in Life or death, that Abiola and IBB were enemies - they were too much alike for that. Both of them have never met an enemy they would not charm or a friend they would not betray. They are 2 true Nigerians!!

Hahahahaa!!. I wrote on another thread yesterday that it seems to me that there was a kind of agreement btw IBB and MKO and Tofa that June 12 was just going to be a charade designed to further IBB's machiavelian design, and that it appeared to me that if anyone felt betrayed between the two friends, it was IBB. Otherwise why did MKO write that infamous letter to IBB after June 12 which Godwin Daboh leaked and which got a few MKO supporters scratching their heads? Now this story is kinda comfirming my suspicion.

noblezone:


Then build special schools for them.
Customize the schools to be suitable and to attract them.
Offer them scholarships.
Start from the scratch and build them up to the required standards.
Train and equip special teachers for that purpose.
Recognize their efforts,
Celebrate their progress,
Reward excellence among them,

Persist, challenge them, set targets for them, their families and the communities.
don't stop until targets are met!!!!!

My position is never that they should be left without education: I am rather saying that promoting a child who can hardly solve primary 1 mathematics to secondary (in the name of quota) is not a solution. It will even make things worse.

Short cuts might appear as progress, but it will destroy any foundation in no time!
Yes, our foundation has been destroyed.

My brother you your reasoning and argument are 100% on point and I salute the emotional energy you bring to this very important matter. But sadly, you are preaching to the wrong crowd - Nigeria as presently constituted is a state built on fraud and sustained by a social psychology that thrives on denying reality, and this NL is truly very representative of the Nigerian worldview. Nigeria was screwed when the other ethnic groups, egged on by British colonial officials, ganged up to "contain the Igbo menace". We are living in the full maturity of that conspiracy.
So, instead of trying to reason with these people, we need to get together like minded kindred and setup fora, electronic and otherwise, where we can exchange ideas on how to take control of our destinies and make arrangements to educate our children for the challenges of the 21st century. And I think for that to happen, we need to find ways to marginalize the bean-counting "Igbo President" crowd of contractors that pass for our leaders since the end of the war. We also need to contain the zero-sum "Biafra-now" millenial mindset. I believe there should be a middle course to saving our people and I think the kind of arguments you and a few on the forum make point to that course. We just need to plant and nurture the ideas that will get us moving again - we need it for your son that got his first taste of the real Nigeria at such a tender age, we need it for my boys that have to grow up in a strangeland because home is even stranger still.

But anyway you look at it shaa, Abiola was probably the first true Nigerian, and for that we ought to honor and celebrate him. He was a convinced muslim and a christian and an animist and a non-believer all rolled into one. He was passionately Hausa and Yoruba and Igbo and Ijaw and 250 other ethnic groups. He was a titled war leader and and a globe trotting apostle of peace. He was an agent of Western imperialism and a champion of the need to right the wrongs of the trans-atlantic slave trade. He was Crossus and father Christmas and Robin Hood all rolled into one. He thought us the harrowed Nigerian habit of never upsetting the apple-cart and kicking every problem down the road until you quit and it became some else's problem, for which he led by his personal example of challenging the paternity of his multiple children from the world beyond. He was hugely larger than life and Janus-faced, he was everything to everybody. He truly was the quintessential Nigerian in such complete way that those that came before him could not master, and those that came after him have been doing a great job of emulating and improving upon.
He without doubt is the father of the Nigeria we live today!

I personally think that IBB believed he had an understanding with his two friends, Abiola and Tofa, that June 12 was going to be a sham election in furtherance of IBB's real design of transforming himself into a life President. I dont have any evidence and I am personally very wary of conspiracy theories. But one would have to ask, why did IBB clear the field of all credible candidates? You remember Tofa didnt even bother to vote on that day and holds the position that June 12 was a sort of non-issue. Also anyone remember that curious letter Abiola wrote to IBB which the gadfly, Godwin Daboh,leaked to the press? That letter ounded then like someone that was apologizing to someone else for betraying their trust and really raised a few eyebrows then.

naptu2:

I just realised that I never found out what the verdict was (or at least I don't remember), but it was a very interesting case. The lawyers on both sides wanted to use the usual nigerian legal tactics to delay the case, but the judge was not going to allow that to happen. I remember when Femi Falana was supposed to testify and one of the lawyers said that there were no flights to the US (or he couldn't get tickets). The judge simply used the computer on his desk to browse through the airline's website and voila! There was a flight.

This was the wrongful death case between Hafsat Abiola v General Abdulsam and others.

http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/laolu-akande/mkos-death-no-longer-an-issue-in-us-case-against-ex-head-of-state-oladele-a-abubakars-lawyer-say.html

That was action they brought against the Nigerian government and Gen. Abubakar, and the story you provided the link to actually shows that both parties stipulated to a striking of the wrongful death claim in that case. What Dr. Falomo and Fani-kayode and co. are claiming is different, namely: that certain named Americans poisoned Abiola via tea they brought to their meeting with him and served him. The fact that Abiola died almost immediately after taking the tea grounds a colorable case for causation which should at least get them through any summary judgement motion and into the discovery stage at which time we can all get a better view into what happened on that fateful day.

texazzpete:

What kind of quack doctor is this?! Even folks who have never set foot in medical school know that you can have a sudden cardiac arrest. When Fabrice Muamba collapsed, wasn't he in prime health? Don't people get heart attacks just strolling down the road?!

Utter, sensationalist rubbish!

Thank you my brother for bringing that up. This Falomo throughtout this sad saga has been more of an opportunistic flunkey than a professional doctor. The problem with the like of Dr. Falomo and Fani-Kayode is that they weave these interesting theories out of nothing much better than broad cloth and then proceed to feed all that to the gullible Nigerian public who are already hard-wired to gulp up the most fantastic theories.
My advice to Dr. Falomo is that if he truly believes what he is saying, he and the Abiola family should bring a wrongful death action in US federal court against the individuals named. The allegations he made in this interview are more than enough to give him his day in court so that his story could be subjected to proper investigation and factual analysis. They should do that or just zip it.

Atouba: All for Chief M.K.O. Abiola

There are seven Nigerians I ho;ld in very high esteem with just only one of the living.


1. Kaduna Nzeogwu for being a young fearless leader with vision. The only non hausa/fulani to have held the whole north captive and in fear for days

2. Chief Ilodibe(Ekene Dili Chukwu): To have risen from nought to riches and fame via hardwork

3.Chief Gani Fawehinmi: No Nigerian has ever been so consistent and dogged in fighting injustice
4. Chief Osita Osadebe: Songs are very inspirational quality of which we still cant find till date

5.Chief MKO Abiola: For remaining true to his words of never betraying the millions of young Nigerians that queued for hours to vote him to power and those who lost their lives defending the mandate on his behalf

6. Major Kurubo: The head of Air force who fought and died gallantly along Ikeja railwas line near the cantonment to prevent the July 1966 coup. He preferred to die defending the easterners when he could have quitely sworn allegiance to the leaders of the coup being a South Southerner.

The only living legend is Ebenezer obey.

Hahahaha! "Major" Kurubo "fought and died...." then arose from death and became Gowon's ambassador to Russia and chief procurer of the weapons used to defeat Biafra. Nairaland needs to brush up its image by blocking some of these inanities!

ogele: It is only Police that will detain someone with boxers, n since they said it was a particular rifle they used. The hand writing of those who did killing is clear. God punish devil.

Well, the only thing this "report" was conclusive on is that there is evidence of a most heinous crime. The next thing is to carry out investigation into who committed the crime. The Senate is not a crime investigation agency, the Police are a prime suspect in the crime, so we should invite outside help to unravel who is behind the crime.
The most troubling thing in this whole saga is not just that the Police could do something like this, but that they could bald-facedly lie to the Nigerian Public and the elected authorities who are supposed to have an oversight role over their activities.
Gov. Obi, our mourner-in-chief, this is time to do something beyond putting on those mourner garb and wearing that sad look. Your number one duty is to protect the lives of the people of Anambra State, get to work now!