₦airaland Forum

queensmith:
loooool no1- what does that have to do with egunsi?

no2- the woman never married? She never had children? It makes sense she will assume so since it's something she never experienced? If she married and what not, she wouldnt have those accomplishments and you wont be here quoting her today?

Are you that ignorant? She was married thrice and had Kids, smh, Go read the link before you spew rubbishh

hbabe:
Having a career doesnot prevent a woman from having a man in her life or having children and grand-children!
When we mention career women, most men just remember their harsh/bitter unmarried female bosses in the office; there are happily married women who have a great career and family and also take time to be responsible mothers and wives!

The point I was making it, let your family be ur priority, careers should be secondary because decades down u might regret the choices you make, I would rather sacrifice a major part of my career than my family. that is a choice i have made and yes I am a Guy. I value family above everything.

hbabe:
I wish more men will reason like you.
Most men think providing the finance is all that is required of them but wives need help around the home.

Any man who doesn't help out with chores at home IMO is irresponsible. IF you really love your spouse, You would not even want her going through so much pressure, Our duties as men should be to lighten the burdens on women so much that she would be so glad to serve her family.

queensmith:
sure you do 

can you also give me your recipe- unfortunately the time has been cut down to 40minutes since its a 20 minute drive to and from the market where i'll buy the stuff from.
Then there's walking up and down the market for the ingredients. Sha sha lets put it to the test and quash the argument once and for all!

"There is no solid satisfaction in any career for a woman like myself. There is no home, no true freedom, no hope, no joy, no expectation for tomorrow, no contentment. I would rather cook a meal for a man and bring him his slippers and feel myself in the protection of his arms than have all the citations and awards and honors I have received worldwide, including the Ribbon of Legion of Honor and my property and my bank accounts. They mean nothing to me. And I am only one among the millions of sad women like myself." - Taylor caldwell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Caldwell
This quote was by a woman who accomplished far more than most of us here will ever dream of, she published over 40 novels, many of them best-sellers. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling across the world. Her books were big time sellers right up to the end of her career and yet she says  I would rather cook a meal for a man and bring him his slippers and feel myself in the protection of his arms than have all the citations and awards and honors I have received worldwide, including the Ribbon of Legion of Honor and my property and my bank accounts Whatever choices you make now concerning your so called careers, remember that at the end of your life those goals might not mean much to you so dont be deceived by looking from a far into a lot of career women's lives now.
I have come to observe that women over the age of 50 irrespective of their careers who sit down to talk would rather brag about their children, grandchildren and family and hardly over their careers. so your so called careers might mean so much now you would be shocked a few decades down the line u wont hold the same opinions.

[quote author=c.fours link=topic=870887.msg10205525#msg10205525 date=1329349768]of course since you guys are so damn cheap. even a monkey from jungle could date/marry an African male. so what is the matter?
A woman has to be pretty classy to date a white guy. Not always but usually.

Point is: White women definitely aren't submissive like African ones are expected to be. Go and marry a white woman and you will be lucky if she cook for you 3 times out of the week sef. and by cooking I don't mean frozen sandwich.[/quote]The fact remains that African women in Diaspora are fakes sets of folks, They have rubbish accent even if they have spent 2 yrs here especially the Nigerians, other African women are even more real, I've had a white flatmate and a Nigerian flatmate (both ladies)and they have been times she had to washup in the kitchen when I was too tired to clean up and I have done the same for her without complaints. The naija babe feels like she cant do any of such, she gives people the impression her parents are so comfortable in naija and so she's not use to that yet she is running from one care job to another to keep body and soul together. just compare urself to Pakistani's/Indians here and you will know that U r trash. Just be real and stop forming the western that you are not. An average white guy knows more about ur culture than u tink so wen are forming all that butter thing he just sees the FAKENESS in u.
Take a Nigerian girl out for DINNER in the UK, You will pay for her food(she will not remember western culture of splitting bills). take a white Chick out she would want to split bills. The stuff I've seen White girls buy for their boyfriends U would never see A typical black woman buy for her boyfriend.

Sagamite:
Abeg, wey this queensmith is a doctor gist dey come from?

Where?

Make we call a spade a spade o. She is not a doctor.

tanks mate, Doctor my Azz, If doctor talk u no go know, she doesnt even sound like a professional, na care Job she dey do for inbecile, nonsense, Na their type dey wash toilet pass

queensmith:
I cant believe people are here actually trying to tell me there are any sort of similarities in Nigerian and british culture. I'm absolutely dazed by it. Dazed. Stomped.,
Believe it or not British men are nothing like Nigerian men.
Its not acceptable in a country like england to make a statement like 'women cant drive' or 'a womans place is in the kitchen' one can lose his/her job for such a remark. So believe me when i tell you our cultures are VERY different.
The same goes for even the housewives, the husbands, the children.
A british housewife is by no means anything like a nigerian one. By absolutely no means.
Theres no negative stigma attached to eating out, theres no negative stigma attached to a man helping in the house ,the women do not serve thier husbands, they most certainly do not carry a bowl of water to the living room for him to wash his hands with  . The women actually have it easy, esp the housewives. Makes me wonder what they do with themselves, just look pretty can u imagine!  Theres no penisworship in this side of the world.

IDIOTA!!! Tell us the % of British people married to African/Black women, I stay in Britain and I can tell you It is far easier to have a white girl date/marry an African male than a young white male to date an African girl, The only alternative u have is to date an old white man and then let me see if u expect him to cook ur meals. The fact is u have a major identity crisis and the earlier u deal with it, the better for u. Take a look at the Asian community and then compare with the black community including jamaicans most especially in the midlands and u will see potential criminals/rioters

r231:
Now you talking TV

No  mind am, She's just been a baby, she go learn, Her life na movie, The west have so lost their cultural identity and dont even know where they are anymore, Divorce rates are higher than ever. Kids have no respect for parents, Just lazying around without a sense of focus leaving off benefits from Govt, The world today is moving towards the east, China, Indian and the south east Nations, See how these countries value family Life and some ediots are so proud of the mordern western culture.

davidylan:
Oh pls. You must be living on an alternate universe. Millions of white women (your idea of the modern society by the way) dont think anything of cleaning and cooking for their men on a daily basis combined with their day jobs. Pls spare  us the stomach-churning nonsense about how "modern" you are. My friend had a white fiancee who worked 60hrs/week as a medical therapist and still cooked enough to last 4 grown men an entire week every freaking sunday. Get off your high horse madam doctor. Thankfully the married ones here know better.

U watch too many movies sweetheart, A love film last approximately 2 hours and yet you wonder why relationships last more than two hours. Dnt be more English than the English, I've got many white colleagues who cook meals for their men, Everyone here cannot be wrong about this. A wise person yields to counsel. Even the white career women will tell u they wish they do more than they are doing now. they wont scoff at homemaking like u are doing.
Again, U havent even accomplished jack just yet,  DR Queen

If a man is comfortable and has a good reason to live for, It would be difficult to convince him to become a suicide bomber. Poverty makes you desire that everyone around u experiences the same thin. POOR MANS PRAYER- GOD DESTROY THIS WORLD SO WE CAN ALL START OVER AGAIN

queensmith:
makes sense, what is a man without a cook or cleaner. To be exclusive with of course.

*vomit* just have a penchant for making me sick here. eurgh!

When You become Ngozi Iweala, we would consider excusing u from cooking daily meals and from the amount of time u've spent on nairaland already for this topic its obvious u cant be an ngozi. For ur information Ngozi Iweala and Dora Akunyili were on Moments with Mo a couple of years ago and they both admitted their Husbands are their ''boses'' at home.
Queensmith, even ur name gives u up as someone who has an overbloated opinion of herself, QUEEN INDEED, Signup and let me train u to become a proper wife cos ur parents didnt do a good job, Those white guys no go send u cos if a white man ever picks a black girl to date its because of the very things the white girl wont do for him he will desire in a black woman.

davidylan:
Queensmith is an ignorant clown  

Proper training includes the DISCIPLINE to do house hold chores. There are millions of far more intelligent doctors, astronauts etc who are excellent home makers. The idea that somehow being a lawyer absolves you of being able to cook for your own child is a disgusting excuse for laziness.

Teaching a child to clean his/her own room is now equivalent to slavery?  

You are lazy, just admit this.

huh? You must be the first doctor out there ma'am the way you go on banging about this inanity, we've got 2 in our tiny nuclear family of 5 dear and none of them bangs on about how they arent supposed to do anything else because they are oh so much more intelligent than we earthlings condemned to a lifetime of household chores.
For a "doctor" you certainly have a lot of NL time on your hands.  

Thanks for summarizing my thoughts. U couldnt have been more apt. Women like Queensmith just have some ridiculous opinions about themselves. From their post u will know that they are not married and when they do, u cant help but pity the idiota that will marry them. She is Nigerian, claims to have spent only a short time in Nigeria and she wants to let us know that she is a whitewoman now, she claims she's not religious and so our culture doesnt mean anything to her.
The biggest problem with women like her is that they keep deceiving themselves they will make anything out of their so called careers but u can be certain they  are just average folks lost with a crisis of identity. Many black women are quick to embrace and change with the mordern time but they dont realise that Men find it more difficult to change from what they grew up with. Most men grew up seeing their mom take care of the home and it becomes very difficult to embrace it in this age. I do think that we really have to help out with the work load at home.  In an African home, Taking care of the home is a primary duty of the wife. I have seen Indian Women and other Asians that have studied in Cambridge with PHds yet they dont joke with their traditional duties of homemaking. That is because they haven't lost their cultural identity and it doesnt make them any less successful. We have also had successsful people like Mrs Cecilia Ibru in Nigeria who said even as MD of Oceanic Bank, she made sure she was the only person that made her husband his dinner, did that make her less successful?
Even the white folks we are trying to copy still have traditional homes where the woman is still makes the sandwiches but an average african girl spends 1 year abroad and claims to be be british than the British, A typical case of a local bird with a foreign walk. We have a culture and an identity, lets fine tune it to suit mordern times instead of fooling ourselves. That is not to tolerate Men who must assist their spouses if they really love them in the kitchen and elsewhere.

NOBODY HOLY PASS-tuface

soludo is a thief, i repeat a big thief, he was only interested in dinners and awards from the bank ceos he was suppose to be regulating

UR FACE
I LIKE THAT SH.T

Man united and man city fans will enjoy val cos they have been promoted to thursday night

^^^^^^^^We just need a brief military intervention not a military rule

If boko haram leadership was smart, kabiru sokoto should have been one of the suicide bombers used in Kano, that way he would have sacrificed himself for the cause and take their secrets to the grave, nonsense, thought they no no dey fear death, by the way how far with the money wey police promise us

MILITARY INTERVENTION NEEDED AGAIN IN NIGERIA
On Behalf of many well meaning Nigerians we wish to call on the Military to Intervene In Our beloved Nation as it was done in Egypt.
In the last 12 years of democracy, the loss of lives from ODI, ZAKIBIAM and BOKOHARAM BOMBS were worse than those lost under the military regimes combined. Our roads are worse than there were under the military. while we might have enjoyed more freedom of speech under the civilian rule, we believe that a corrective INTERVENTION FROM THE MILITARY will correct our failures in our civilian experiments. I would trade my freedom of speech for the lives of Nigerians lost during our failed democracy. Our democracy and economy is bound to crash later so why not do something about it now. In the last 13 years of our democracy we have realized that This system of Government is not in the interest of Nigerians. It is too expensive and so we would employ the military to come in and stay for a maximum of 18 months. Their duties should be:
1. Restructure the country along regional governments and local councils: No state governments Please.
2. Resource Control by regions. the regions should pay taxes to the federal govt between 50%-60% for the first 5 yrs to help the other regions and this will gradually reduce to 20% over the next 10 yrs so that the other regions can develop their regions.
3 Change our system of Government to a parliamentary system where our legislators would be on a part time basis
4. Conduct a Sovereign National conference to discuss The Nigerian state: Ex Militants, Boko haram members, OPC and should all be invited so that issues of religion, resource control and other things that concern our nations can be discussed.
5. Place a ban on all politicians that participated in the 4th and 5th republic and prevent them from contesting elections until our democracy stabilizes
6. Fix salary structures of public office holders and make reviews of such salaries and allowances as difficult as possible. Make sure political office is not attractive so that those with just the interest of the people at heart can participate.
7. Strengthen our anti corruption agencies by restructuring EFFC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau
8. Establish a Truly independent election commission: our best elections were under the military, June 12 and 1999 elections
9. Try all corrupts politicians and Judicial officers in Special Anti-Corruption Courts
10. make corruption a punishable offence by death as from the next dispensation
All Over the world, Military dictatorships have become a thing of the past and Nigeria would not want to be different. We know that Many military men would want to stay longer so Nigerians will rise up to challenge them if they stay beyond 18 months like Egyptians did and Nigerians also did for IBB to step down in 1993. I am not crazy. I mean well for Nigeria because with the current Government and at the rate boko haram is going, there is no hope for the future, God bless You all

charly boy

PHIPEX:
I'v come to understand that most smart and intelligent men are more often accused of being proud, I believe its more of self confidence than pride.

There is a very thin line between confidence and arrogance

Oritsejafor is a resource control/SNC pastor, where was he when James Ibori was messing with Delta, The dude is just looking for relevance, nonsense

“And my people shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free” “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse for ye have robbed me even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store house and prove me now herewith saith the lord of hosts if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, that there would not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3 : 8 -10



The above quoted scripture is probably one of the most quoted in the bible.

Unfortunately, it is being quoted out of context and used as a weapon of mass intimidation, manipulation, extortion, oppression, cajolery and outright lies and deceit by some church leaders to collect 10 per cent of the gross income of their church members who have been hoodwinked into believing that they are doing God’s will.

Before I go into the details of this discourse, I want to state categorically that I am a God-loving, bible-believing Christian who has the fear of God in his heart. I am also not writing this article to undermine any church or pastor, but to let people realise the truth about tithes and remove the yoke placed by some pastors upon them. I also want to state categorically that I strongly believe in giving to the church for the sole purpose of propagating God’s work and the Christian ministry. I will continue to encourage all Christians to give their all to God as exemplified by the widow’s mite which Jesus Christ himself referred to in the bible.

Now, back to Malachi 3:8-10, the first question one should ask is who was this message directed at? The answer lies in the book of Numbers 18:25-28 which states that “The Lord commanded Moses to say to the Levites, when you receive from the Israelites the tithe that the Lord gives you as your possession, you must present a tenth of it as a special contribution to the Lord. This special contribution will be considered as the equivalent of the offering which the farmer makes of new grain and wine. In this way you would also present the special contribution which belongs to the Lord from all the tithes which you receive from the Israelites. You are to give this special contribution for the Lord to Aaron the priest.”

From the above, it is clear that it was the Levites that were directed to pay a tithe they collected from the Israelites to the priest who represents God and not the people of Israel. It was these Levites that were being referred to in the book of Malachi as those who rob God. A thorough study of the book of Malachi would reveal that in those days the Levites were collecting the tithe from the people of Israel and not remitting a tithe of it to the house of God, hence Malachi’s statement which is now being quoted out of context.

To understand what tithe really means one would have to understand the social reasons and cultural/religious setting within which it was situated. This concept of tithes was properly explained in the bible as stated in the laws of the tithe which can be found in the books of Leviticus 27:30-34, Numbers 18:25-31 and Deuteronomy 14:22-29. Upon reading these passages one would understand what tithes really mean, but unfortunately most pastors prefer to neglect these passages that tell us the true meaning of tithes and emphasise on Malachi 3:8-10 which was directed to the Levites of that time to remit the priest’s share of the tithes they collected to him. It is worthy of note that Malachi does not even define what tithe is and how it should be paid.

The definition of tithes, as practised today, was manufactured by modern day pastors to suit their purpose as it is completely in contrast with what is in the bible and it only seeks to manipulate Christians to believe that God requests 10 per cent of their gross income from them.

So what is tithe and why did God request that it be paid to the Levities? The answer can be found in the following passages: Leviticus 27:30-32 which states that “one tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit belongs to the Lord. If a man wishes to buy back any of it he must pay the standard price plus an additional 20 per cent. One in every ten domestic animal belongs to the Lord. When the animals are counted, every tenth one belongs to the Lord.” And Deuteronomy 26:12 which states that “every third year give the tithe, a tenth of your crops to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans and the widows, so that in every community they will have all they need to eat.”

The above quoted passages clearly tell us what tithe is and the reason why God directed the people of Israel to pay tithes. It is very evident that it was a social arrangement for the less privileged in the Jewish society of that time. It was also meant to take care of the Levites because they had no land or property of their own (today, pastors are amongst the wealthiest property owners in Nigeria). This social arrangement is obviously not relevant to us today. It also states that every third year is the year of tithing, not the weekly/monthly tithes being extorted from church members today.

Another passage illustrates the true meaning of tithes properly and also states clearly that tithe is not money. Deuteronomy 14:22-29 says: “Set aside as tithe a tenth of all that your fields produce each year then go to the one place where the Lord your God has chosen to be worshipped and there in his presence eat the tithes of your grain, wine and olive oil and first born of your cattle and sheep. Do this so that you may learn to have reverence for the Lord your God always. If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the Lord has blessed you with, then sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship, spend it on whatever you want ,beef, lamb, wine, beer and there in the presence of the lord you and your family are to eat and enjoy yourselves. Do not neglect the Levites who live in your towns for they have no property of their own. At the end of every third year, bring the tithe of all your crops and store it in your towns. This is food for the Levites since they own no property and for the orphans, foreigners and widows who live in your towns. Do this and the lord your God would bless you in everything you do.”

From the above passage, it is very clear that tithe is not money and it is not the exclusive preserve of the Levites (church). It was a religious practice in those days to give reverence to God and to celebrate God in his place of worship. The Levites were only included for the main reason that they had no land of their own and that reason is not relevant in today’s society. Yet some pastors would tell you that you are cursed and would not go to heaven if you don’t give them 10 per cent of your gross income. All this hypocrisy would not have bothered me if all the money being collected was being used to propagate God’s work. But the truth as we all know today is that this money is being used to finance lavish, flamboyant and exotic lifestyle that is unbecoming of a man who truly claims to serve God, as a pastor who is expected to be meek and humble like our Lord Jesus Christ was.

As a concluding part to this article, I would want to refer us to the book of Hebrews, which was written to the early Christians. This provides irrefutable proof that Christians are not meant to pay tithes as the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ does not require it.

Hebrews 7:5, says: “And those descendants of Levites who are priests are commanded by the law to collect one tenth from the people of Israel, that is from their own countrymen even though their countrymen are also descendants of Abraham.”

From this verse, we can jump to verses 11-13 which say: “It was on the basis of the Levitical priesthood that the law was given to the people of Israel. Now, if the work of the Levitical priests had been perfect there would be no need for a different kind of priest to appear, one who is in the priestly order of Melchizedek not of Aaron. For when the priesthood is changed, there also has to be a change in the law. And our Lord of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe of Judah and Moses did not mention his tribe when he spoke of priests.”

The above passage is self-explanatory and it states clearly that the practice of tithing has no place under the priestly order of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the passage suggests that the collection of tithes is belittling of the priestly order of our Lord Jesus Christ. It states that it is wrong for us as Christians to receive or pay tithes and is not relevant to us as Christians because we belong to a superior priestly order.

Once again, I would like to state that this article is not meant for us as Christians to revolt against the church or our pastors. It is just meant to establish the biblical truth about tithes and remove the yoke from people who labour to pay tithes–not required of them by God–while their pastors are living luxuriously. Today, many pastors see the church as their personal business and even fraudulent people are opening up churches so that they can have access to people’s tithes and use it for their personal comfort. I encourage all of us as Christians to remain vigilant and continue to serve God in truth and in faith to the glory of his holy name. Amen.

Another point of note is: how come out of the 613 biblical laws of Moses which were handed out to the people of Israel, it is only an adulterated version of the law of tithe that is still being practised today, apart from the Ten Commandments? How come we are no longer required to offer burnt sacrifices? How come we no longer stone people to death for sinning? The truth is that only tithing was dug out of the laws of Moses because it presents material benefits to the collectors of tithes. Given that most Christians do not study their bibles and depend on their priests to guide them through, it was easy for pastors to pick a passage in the bible (Malachi 3 : 8-10), quote it out of context and use it to manipulate the flock into parting with 10 per cent of their income. Furthermore, it is worthy of note that neither Jesus Christ nor any of the apostles ever preached about or collected tithe. In fact, in the bible, Jesus Christ only spoke about tithes in Luke 11:42 which states that: “But woe unto you Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue all manner of herbs, and pass over judgement and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Here we can see that Jesus Christ is rebuking the Pharisees for laying emphasis on tithes instead of the more important things of the spirit, like our pastors are doing today.

In Acts 15, we find outlined what the apostles all agreed was necessary for the newly converted Gentiles to practise, and by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, tithing is conspicuously missing. Yet, what is one of the very first legislated duties taught to Gentile converts by the Church today? It is that they must tithe their annual salaries to the Church. Where did this unscriptural law of Christian tithing come from?

Notice this telling bit of history from the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1963, volume 22, page 253, ‘TITHES’). “Tithes in Christendom—The earliest authentic example of anything like a law of the State enforcing payment appears to occur in the capitularies [Ecclesiasticals] of Charlemagne at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century. Tithes were, by that enactment, to be applied to the maintenance of the bishop, clergy, the poor, and the fabric of the church. In the course of time the principle of payment of tithes was extended far beyond its original intention. Thus, they became transferable to laymen and saleable like ordinary property, despite the injunctions of the third Lateran Council; and they became payable out of sources of income [not just farming and herding, but other trades and occupations and salaries paid in the form of money] not originally tithable.”

The Catholic Church knows its own history. Here is how tithing got back into the Church after being absent for nearly five centuries:

“As the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law… The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the [canons] of the Council of Macon in 585.”—The Catholic Encyclopaedia.

They “extended” their base of tithe collecting to eventually include all forms of income. All Christian scholars know that although money was in wide use in ancient Israel, it was never a titheable commodity. But modern pastors don’t want tithes of goats or oil or corn, they want money–cold, hard cash! God has a word to the “shepherds of the sheep”, and it is the very same message that He had for the Levites in the book of Malachi. And it is this:

“My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have caused them to go astray” (Jer. 50:6).

Were Israelites aware that they were being led astray by their spiritual leaders? Not most, and neither are Christians today aware that they are being led astray by their spiritual leaders.

I saw this on nairaland a few months ago

Romantic poem for any who chooses me,

Roses are red
Nuts are round
Skirts go up
Panties go down
belly TO Belly
Skin to Skin
When its stiff
Stick it in
Now, thats a FFucking love poem

IF u ever get mauled by bears with chainsaws for hands
I hope he doesnt hit ur face cuz I think you are cute
your face, I like that shit

To those who do not know he was often called the golden voice of Africa, If you read his biography, .His Right honourable Gentleman by Sir Trevor Clark, The book highlights his Philosophy to life, His politics and relationship with the other founding fathers(Azikiwe, Awolowo and Ahmadu bello). You would understand from the book that he was of a very sound mind and could debate at any level with his peers at any time. It was even claimed in the book that he was better at convincing his opponents on their opposing views than awolowo or azikiwe because he was hardly condescending when arguing. He still remains my favourite founding father. He died  penniless with 600 naira to his name and didnt even own a house. The only house he ever had was the one his father had built while he was in school. Unlike Awolowo or Azikiwe who aquired lots of properties. He was always a gentleman.
The erroneous belief that the south still remains the beakon of knowledge is also a myth. I was privileged to serve in one of the SW states about 6 years ago and i was shocked to witness what you call schools. I was supposedly in the one of the best private schools there and the level of illiteracy is absurd and it was an experience many corpers who had lots of respect for the south west as far as education was concerned had. Exam malpractice was the order of the day in these schools and the students could hardly express themselves. The fact remains that Nigeria produces a few brilliant folks but majority of students either in the north, south, east and west are hopelessly educated illiterates at best. Infact, that motivated me to take up teaching as a career. By the way Im from the North Central(middlebelt as a yoruba man would have it be)

All those names have one thing in common, Idowu, Onikoyi, and Olushola. Na Yoruba and Ibo people dey spoil Naija Name abroad, While The Hausa-Fulani dey spoil naija for house abi?, smh

Malam Shekarau has been released. He was only invited for interaction and not arrested, Nairaland, Una blood too dey hot abeg
http://saharareporters.com/news-page/boko-haram-weve-released-former-gov-shekarau-after-interactive-session-sss

This is about the best solution to the boko haram problem i have seen. I do not agree with all the suggestions. i would like to have them fine tunned however I believe that Force Is not the way out as these folks are already willing to die so death isnt something to be scared of. You only threaten a man with what he is scared of. Breaking up Nigeria is also not an option because it is only a lazy approach to the whole issue, Nigeria wont break up no matter what you want to believe. I am a student of life not of history books and from what life has thought me about Nigerians, we really cant stand breaking up as a country.

By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

The New Challenges of Boko Haram

Within 48 hrs of publishing Jonathan and the Security of Nigerian Christians on the internet and a number of Nigerian newspapers and websites, Imam Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’wati wal Jihad – commonly called Boko Haram – released a video on Youtube describing the objectives of its mission.

I feel that both the international and local press have not done justice to the speech of the Imam. Though he has clearly given reasons behind their mission, everything was just reduced to “Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for attacking Christians in Nigeria”, without even stating the reasons.

Given the relevance of the group to our national security today, I think it is essential for the media to maintain a balance in its reporting of the group. This is not to say ‘five minutes for the Israelis and five minutes for the Palestinians”, but a coverage that ensures the message of each side is passed to readers in the most comprehensive form possible is desirable.

In following 'few' paragraphs, I set out to discuss the most essential points of Imam Shekau’s message – the category of Nigerians that the group is targeting and its reasons for doing so. Of course, he has raised some controversial matters in the province of contemporary Islamic jurisprudence just as there are also many things he did not say which we would love to hear from him directly. However, these are matters that can best be discussed separately at a later date, hopefully, by more capable minds than mine. As conclusion, the challenges the group posed by the group to government, Muslims and Christians are discussed.

Targets

The video, according to Imam Shekau, was essentially directed at three targets: President Jonathan, for whom the Boko Haram leader promised “more troubling times ahead”; the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for its “vituperations” in the aftermath of the recent bombings; and, individuals opposed to the group including those that see it as a “cancer or disease among the people."

Imam Shekau was also clear on who the group regards as its enemies. First on the list was security personnels who the Imam charged with persecuting members of the group, including the cold blood murder of its leader in police custody, killing many of its members and eradication of its centres; two, Christians, for killing Muslims in various parts of the North in various religious and ethnic crisis that took place during the past two and a half decades; and, three, Muslim informants and moles, "yan chune", who assist the government to identify and kill its members. “Apart from these”, said the Boko Haram leader, “we have not targeted anyone.”

Let us discuss each of these targets separately.


Security Personnels

It is difficult for anyone to suggest an alternative to going underground for the group after the treatment meted it by the Yar’adua administration in 2009. Instead of abiding by rule of law, like arresting its leader and charging him - maximum - with treason, the authorities deliberately chose to provoke the group. The police killed a number of its members during a funeral procession on the flimsy ground of not using a helmet. To date, nothing was done to the culprits.

The group promised to retaliate after Ramadan in 2009. What happened after that Ramadan when the group protested at a police station in Bauchi did not actually necessitate an all-out war against it. Many groups have attacked the police before but they were handled by normal means without resorting to extreme measures like massacres. Let us not forget the “finish them” order that President Yar’adua gave to the security forces that morning when he was leaving for Brazil. In fact, he even timed it that by 4.00pm that day, the job must have been completed.

In Bauchi, it was estimated that over seventy members of the group were massacred at their centre behind the airport. Apparently, they were even unaware of the conflict at Dutsen Tanshi police station that started that morning. By evening, the state commissioner for special duties led a team of government agents that leveled the centre with bulldozers. Passengers at the Yankari Park in Bauchi also witnessed how eight unarmed members were arrested and killed instantly by soldiers as the were boarding a bus to Maiduguri. The governor, Isa Yuguda, would later claim credit for the “decisive way” in which his government dealt with the group in his state.

In Maiduguri, what happened was pretty clear. Government went for total extermination of the group without recourse to any due process. The world was witness to how their centre was leveled by soldiers; how Muhammad Yusuf, their leader, was executed; how Muhammad Foi, a former member of Sheriff’s cabinet, was executed on the street after his arrest; and how the police and the military went about killing anyone that resembled their members to the extent that people started shaving their beards en masse; etc. A senior police officer was reported in the press saying that he cannot guarantee the life of anyone wearing such features. So many were arrested along with their wives. They remain in prison to date without trial. Extermination is still the strategy of government in dealing with the group.

While some ulama that were in the good books of government justified the killings saying that the sect is Kharijite, the world condemned the actions. We wrote essays then condemning both the ulama and the authorities on the highhandedness they showed. The government apologized to the United Nations after it was condemned for the human right abuses, promising that it will bring the perpetrators to book. Actually, it did nothing. No disciplinary action was taken against anyone until when Boko Haram bombed the Police Headquarters in Abuja in 2010. Two police officers were then reportedly dismissed from service for the murder of the Boko Haram leader.

Boko Haram therefore was left with no option but to go underground. The group did exactly that. It took time to heal its wounds, regroup and re-strategize before returning to revenge what Imam Shekau described as the “the injustice meted against it.” To my understanding this is why he chose the following verses to open his Youtube video speech:

“Truly, God defends those who believe. Verily, God likes not any treacherous ingrate. Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against because they have been wronged, and, surely, God is able to give them victory. Those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly only because they said, Our Lord is God.”

The overwhelming opinion among Muslims then was that the group was indeed treated unjustly. Public commentators from the North openly accused Yar’adua of playing ‘Animal Farm’ with his brothers. The killing of Boko Haram members came just some few months after the President negotiated and granted a lucrative amnesty to more destructive militants in the oil rich Niger Delta.

Beneficiaries of the amnesty were placed under a welfare package and chunks of the federal government expenditure was sunk into the development of that region in addition to the ‘lion share’ that its state governments collect from statutory allocations, which is greater than the allocations of all the 19 northern states. In addition, they receive 13% of Nigerian revenue earnings. Finally, as it was clear in 2011, 86% of federal projects are now allocated to that region.

The result is peace.

However, for Boko Haram, the government chose to negotiate with bullets and bombs. It is not surprising, therefore, that the group replied it in its own language. In this context, one can easily understand its resort to violence as a means of survival.

If Yar’adua was wrong in treating Boko Haram in the 21st Century with the same strategy that Shagari and Buhari used to overcome Maitatsine in the 1980s, Jonathan did little to correct that mistake. He has not shown any interest in dialoguing with the group, so far. The group has many times cited this as another reason for continuing its struggle. Appeal to its members to put down its weapons and negotiate with government and they will rebut in this standard format: “How can we trust any negotiation with people who are amassing arsenal to attack us?”

All that Jonathan did was to constitute a committee to study the group and matters related to it. When it was insinuated that the mandate of the committee included negotiating with the group, the Secretary to the Federal Government quickly dismissed any such mandate. Months after the committee submitted its report, its recommendation for peaceful negotiation between government and the group continues to remain frozen.

The result is insecurity.

This is in sharp contrast to what happened to the October 1,2010 bombers. President Jonathan laboured hard in public to exonerate the perpetrators who claimed to belong to the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta. They said they did it; he said they didn't. Security officials told the nation that they have evidence linking Raymond Dokpesi, the presidential campaign manager of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and owner of AIT, to the attacks. Security agents quizzed Dokpesi and some arrests were made.

The media guru transferred his support to Jonathan and allowed his channel become the mouthpiece of the President. And behold, the bombing charges were forgotten! The last thing reported between Jonathan and Dokpesi ten days ago was that the latter was paid N1.3 billion for ‘services’ he rendered to the government!


Informants, Moles and Critics

When it reappeared in 2010, Boko Haram started to selectively kill people that assisted the authorities in identifying them. The initial victims were grassroots traditional rulers, the lawanis as they are called in Borno. After killing the first few, Boko Haram issued a warning that it will go after all those that aided the authorities in persecuting them. These included a number of ulama, traditional rulers, and the three governors of Borno, Gombe and Bauchi states. It demanded pubic apologies from the governors and got it from the last two. Though the group rejected the apology, it is yet to carry out its threat against the big three. Among the high profile killings made in this category were those of the junior brother to the Shehu of Borno, the state chairman of the ruling party in the state and its gubernatorial candidate during the last elections.

Immediately the group started its selective killings, the ulama realized their vulnerability and none of them dared again to condemn the group publicly or repeat to assign it the Kharijite nomenclature. At a point, Boko Haram also issued a warning that they will also go against anyone who publicly condemns its activities, including journalists who do not live by the ethics of their profession in reporting it's activities.

The government has been unable to protect its informants and other citizens from these attacks. This partially explains the silence of the Muslim community over Boko Haram. Generally, though, it could be argued that it has not been the tradition of communities in Nigeria to criticize their own militants. The Niger Delta and the killing of Muslims in Plateau and Kaduna States are the bad examples that readily come to mind.

While whoever decides to serve as an informant or a mole knows the risk he is taking, it is my opinion that the group has gone too far when it considered criticisms as attack. By so doing, though the group would gain the advantage of instilling fear in the population, it stands the chance of losing public sympathy and gaining the benefits of correction, or nasiha as it is called in Islam.

Islam, which the group is linking its cause to, is very wide and it could harbour a variety of opinions on the same issue. Throughout its history, given the diversity of their environment, Muslims have benefitted more than losing from such differences. Divergence of opinion is counted among the blessings of the ummah. And even great Caliphs like Umar welcome corrections by ordinary members of the society when they adopted policies that are contrary to the scripture.

Likewise, there could be many other interpretations to the Nigerian situation than Boko Haram’s and if the cause is truly for the common good of the people as Imam Shekau has said, the door of constructive criticism must remain open. In his video alone, there are a number of controversial issues on which many Muslims would beg to differ from Boko Haram: the status of Christianity, democracy, jihad, western education, etc. It is the right of the Muslim community to debate them publicly in light of its understanding of Islam and it is the right of Boko Haram to rebut such points with superior arguments or accept them at its pleasure.

Having made this observation, I must hasten to mention that debates on issues regarding Islam in Nigeria are very difficult even among Muslims in particular. What I have realized in the past thirty-five years is that some people are impatient, and many times unwilling, to listen to the other side. Immediately I differ with you in opinion, the first thing I do is brand you as heretic, infidel, blasphemous, or other similar dangerously derogatory names. End of discussion! (I have been awarded a number of those insignia whenever I express an opinion that is distasteful to some pious readers.) That is why in Muslims and Rule of Law in Nigeria (2009) I wrote strongly against the people who rushed to label Boko Haram as Kharijite. Others before them have been labeled with equally disastrous names, making it difficult for mutual understanding to be reached at on any single matter that arises.

The very day their massacre started in 2009, the Bauchi State government sought and obtained from the ulama in the town a fatwa which served as a license for authorities to kill Boko Haram members without recourse to justice. Only the most elderly sheikh in town opined differently, insisting that in Islam no soul should be killed without a ruling from a judge. That is why some of the ulama fled the country when Boko Haram staged a return the following year. The governor too has abandoned the Government House and practically relocated to Abuja since he received the death threat.

The reluctance of Boko Haram to intellectually engage this kind of ulama is therefore understandable. Yet, if it will look around well, it will see that not the entire ummah is a mouthpiece of government. There are hundreds of other ulama with whom it can engage constructively.


Christians

Up to last Christmas, Boko Haram has not clearly claimed attacking any church. As we tried to do above, it is possible to see the angle from which the group justifies its attack on security personnel, informants and the like. However, making targets of innocent Christians is extremely hard, if not impossible to reason with from the Islamic viewpoint. Justifiably, nothing has negatively affected public sympathy for the group like those attacks. The uproar that greeted the Christmas bombing among Muslims and Christians alike is a testimony to the prevailing repugnance.

But let us be fair and examine the reasons of Boko Haram first before we hang it. Imam Shekau based his justification on the brutal killings of Muslims in various incidents Kaduna and Plateau State since the Kafanchan crisis. He mentioned how Muslims were killed in the various crises, their women subjected to dehumanizing treatments, and so on. The acts, and worse ones, like the reported trafficking of children of victims and the sex-slavery of Muslim women, did not receive any condemnation from Christians or their leaders. Government also declined to prosecute perpetrators clearly identified by their victims, despite the availability of hardcore evidence like pictures, videos, etc. It was against this background that the Boko Haram leader rebuffed the protest of the CAN President, as he put it, “simply because of the few successes we recorded recently”, apparently referring to the Christmas bombings and those that followed in Gombe, Mubi and Yola.

There could be few Muslims who would concur with Shekau, privately arguing that reprisal attacks are the norm in Nigeria. Christians, they would argue, would know that if they continue to kill Muslims in their areas, there are now in place a set of Muslims that will revenge it. The overwhelming majority of Muslims, however, were disappointed with the claim. I, for example, was planning to visit Gombe, Yola and Mubi to investigate the recent attacks on Christians because of the widespread belief that those attacks could not have been the work of Muslims. As I reclined on bed to plan the trip that Wednesday, the BBC Hausa Service broke the news that Boko Haram has released a video claiming to target Christians in Nigeria. I became completely devastated.

Like most people, I have my reservations about the recent attacks on Christians in the Northeast. This is not like Jonathan's case of “they said we did it, he said they didn't.” There is evidence that implicates Christians in activities linked to Boko Haram. The SSS has shared some with the public. Some were reported caught attempting to burn churches. The latest is in police custody right now in Kaduna. The last person I spoke to in Yola regarding the bombings that took place there recently. He said, “we don’t have Boko Haram here; all we have are politicians who are using the bombings to canvass votes.” An article published today by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, our respected brother Hasan Kukah, has listed such cases. Good progress.

Despite the above revelations, the speech of Imam Shekau must be given its due weight. We must be honest to say that Boko Haram has unequivocally declared Christians as targets of its attacks. Pure and simple. Whether the group carried all attacks on Christians or not is a matter that is open to debate, which like many, I thought the Imam would clarify himself. Unfortunately, he did not.

If I were a consultant to Boko Haram, I would have advised it against taking this measure on both religious and political grounds despite my appreciation of their concern over the atrocities repeatedly committed against Muslims in many communities in Plateau and Kaduna States.

From angle of religion, it would be quite easy to prove, using unquantifiable number of sources, that collective punishment to Christians in Nigeria is not in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Qur’an. It is haram. Period. If the group had taken the pain to investigate the people or the communities that perpetrated those atrocities against Muslims and directed its anger against them, that would have put its mission of revenge in a more proper context. But to hold a Christian in Niger, Borno, Yobe or Adamawa for the wrong done by some Christians in communities of Kaduna and Plateau state is a cause that is difficult to justify. Revenge in Islam, even where it is chosen by the victim over the preferred option of forgiveness, must be surgically precise to meet the requirement of Shariah.

Politically, I would continue with my advice, attacking Christians sends different messages, all negative to the image of the group. One, some may think that the group is losing in its battle against the Nigerian authorities. Two, that attacking armless and innocent Christian worshippers could be interpreted as going for easy targets, instead of the difficult ones, like the governors that the group threatened but, so far, let untargeted. Thirdly, it may also be seen as a cheap way of conscripting the entire Nigerian Muslim community into the conflict after the group failed to earn its support. In a nutshell, it is a political blunder that it should not have ventured into.

In any case, attacking Christians does not solve any problem since it exposes Muslims to retaliatory attacks in the communities where they are a minority, thus feeding the vicious mill of violence with the blood of innocent souls. It is doubtful if God would be pleased with such a bath.

Meanwhile, the attacks have introduced some favourable developments in Muslim-Christian relationship in the country. Muslim groups, in both Northern and Southwestern parts of the country, have started visiting Christians in Churches, expressing their support for living in their communities. Some have even taken the extra-measure to give protection to churches on Sunday. The awareness has visited many that some clerics on both sides of the divide who would not care to ignite a conflagration have stepped the boundary.


Challenges

In his comment on my blog after reading Jonathan and the Security of Nigerian Christians, Dr. John H. Boer, a respectable Canadian missionary that lived in Nigeria for decades until recently, wrote the following few sentences, alerting us to the challenges ahead:

“Assuming your facts to be correct, this is a very interesting analysis. If your analysis is correct, Christians, along with government and Muslims, have a huge job to do, but everyone should start at home. I have circulated your article to a lot of Christians for their consideration. Da godiya da yawa.”

That was an apt observation from an elder. It is my firm belief that government must take the lead, while both Muslims and Christians address problems of relating with each other in their communities. Government must tackle Boko Haram, not by bullets and arrests, but by negotiation as advised by its committee on the conflict. Fortunately, unlike Niger Delta militants, the group is not after material benefit. There is no reason why the government cannot dialogue with it, given the resources at its disposal. There are sufficient ulama that understand its logic and may succeed in realigning its understanding with mainstream Islam. There are also sufficient members of the group at hand that the government can use to reach out to its leaders.

Government must be even-handed in the manner it treats different communities in Nigeria. Money for one, bullets for the other will not breed peace. Prosecution to this and support to that is the differential treatment that encourages violent reprisals.

Other matters are political and a common ground to handle them can easily be discovered. There is nothing, once said the UN Secretary-General after the bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja last year, which cannot be amicably resolved through dialogue. Despite the reputation of the source of that advice, the Nigerian government has shown little interest to take it.

Among the duties of the Christian community in Nigeria, from my Muslim point of view anyway, is appreciating the frustration of Muslims with the escalation of violence against them in minority communities in Plateau and Kaduna States in particular. Horrific crimes have been committed. Silence over such atrocities by Christians, their support for the perpetrators or their manipulation of public opinion in the Christian-dominated media to shift blame to the victims only generates anger and retaliations. These conflicts are basically ethnic and political, but a religious identity is recruited to augment support for them. No true Christian will commit them. But when CAN or Christians generally justify them or manipulate them against Muslim victims, that will cultivate a fertile ground for suspicion among Muslims.

The Muslim community has an equally daunting task before it. It requires a unified voice that can express its spiritual and political aspirations. JNI and SCIA cannot play this role since its members – mostly traditional rulers – are government employees, unlike what obtains in the South or among the Christian community in the country. The Sultan, by virtue of his office, for example, cannot employ the militant posture of the CAN President, neither could any Emir. The demand for such a voice in the past did not exist for the simple fact that governance was better and the Muslim community did not face the multifarious challenges confronting it today. Frustrations about ill-treatment of some Muslim communities, like those articulated by Imam Shekau, must not be left to sediment so hard until people resort to violence.

Jointly, Muslims and Christians, especially in the North, need to find a common ground for social interaction. The gap between them in is becoming too much wide for stability. To reduce mutual suspicion and build trust among members of the two communities, avenues must be created for such interaction at all levels and spheres of human activity. Interactions in schools, offices, parks, cafes, games, resorts, churches, mosques, festivals, parks, cinemas, town meetings, and, of course, homes can all be revived to achieve this goal as it used to be before the late 1970s.

Both Muslims and Christians need to check the activities of extremists among them, people – mainly youths – with a surplus zeal to serve God but with little appreciation of the complexity of life and of contemporary Nigeria and lacking the wisdom to see things in different shades. They need to be guided accordingly by leaders of their sects and relevant authorities. Otherwise, they will continue drifting away from the centre until they reach a point where they dream of a whole world drowned in an ocean of human blood. Certainly, this will not please God who has described Himself as the Most Merciful.

Finally, we must all keep our guard against corrupt politicians, people who for their irresistible penchant to loot our treasury are always ready to exploit our differences and foment communal misunderstandings that often translate into religious crises. Northerners are more susceptible to these homo-viruses than others because religion in the region is the cheapest and most inflammable vector at their disposal. From Borno to Kwara, the realization that we are destined to live together forever is sufficient to bring us together against the wish of many that would love to divide us for their own gain.

The government may today succeed in subduing Boko Haram by arms or negotiation. But unless we meet the above challenges, another group will prop up tomorrow, among Muslims or Christians, to face us, once more, with similar or greater challenges.

Abuja
16 January 2012

hilli666:
This is welcomed news. Now to begin the protest again in more intensity and fury.

Guy, U harsh o, Badt Guy