₦airaland Forum

Hi Raheem,


Glad to know that you are now taking active steps to accomplish something as worthwhile as SAP Consultancy Certification.  Good on you.  Remember, you do need to get hold of the ECC 6.0 as a special member.  PayPal is appropriate to use and it's only $5 to get that status.  Never give them your Debit or Credit card details.  Never - I don't trust those buggers.  As you know, the rest material are absolutely free.

IDES 4.71 is there but what you guys really need is ECC 6.0 because it's the most current one.  That said, the data in both ECC 6.0 and 4.71 are the same.

You said:

Oga Kiwi i however have one tot to share, you would agree with me that in Nigeria we have a craze for foreign things, most organsisations would prefer to go for a foreign SAP Consultant that us their brothers oh.

I'm sorry but I do not know what's happening in Nigeria.  I haven't been to Nigeria in a long time - I mean a very, very long time, if you see what I mean. 

That said, it is a shame if that's the case.  Why should such high-profile Nigerian jobs be given to foreigners?  If both candidates are fully qualified, with nearly the same level of experience, then of course, the Nigerian must be given the job.  Nigerian jobs for Nigerians is what I would say.  The employment of a Nigerian MUST take precedence over that of a foreigner at all times.  It happens here in the UK job market all the time.

The Nigerian government must bring in new laws to restrict the appointment of foreign workers, just like it is done over here in the UK.  Any organisation that wishes to employ foreigners must prove to a governement agency that there is a special case for the recruitment of that foreign worker.  That is to say that the one's skills are so rare that an exhaustive search for a Nigerian with similar skills has proved to be futile.  This claim must be backed up with newspaper ads (etc.), applications received, applicant profiles and so on, for the vacancy.  Failing that, the recruiting organisation must be heavily penalised for breaking the law.  This is the only way to promote fresh talent in Nigeria.  I'm sure you'll agree with me.

You also said:

May I therefore suggest a kind of forum for Consultants and callout to all those Senior Nigerian Consultants to take one or two Consutants under them (remembering how they started too) and mentor them.

Good idea but how many senior Consultants here are willing to do that?  Sorry, but I can't promise you that I'm willing to do it because it's too much responsibility.  Oh, and the time and commitment that it takes, considering that we've all got work to do.

Furthermore, this is not helped by the fact that in all the time that I had been posting about SAP on this thread, no-one had ever had the simple courtesy to say 'thanks', even though I had been addressing their questions for as long as I can remember.  Indeed, you were the first person to ever show gratitude, followed by Shawn and Cleric.  The others just couldn't be bothered, so, why should I go out of my way to help anybody, anymore than I am doing at the moment? 

Personally, I never had anybody to mentor me.  I just did it by myself, using all the resources at my disposal.

Luckily, some kind soul in Canada sent me the IDES 4.6C at no cost whatsoever, and for which I'm forever grateful.  I bought the SAP Academy training material from China, with the help of my Chinese woman who negotiated the deal for me, otherwise, the guy wasn't going to sell it to me.

As a matter of fact, some guy even asked me to pay his flight ticket from the USA (as well as hotel accommodation in the UK) so that he may come over and install the IDES on my PC.

Needless to say, I told him to sod off and instead, went through the painful (but highly worthwhile) experience of implementing it myself.  I must say that implementing SAP R/3 by yourself on your PC is what makes you the guru and sets you miles apart from every other SAP Consultant out there.  You learn so much from that experience, it makes you far more rounded.

A similar example to the above is flying your own aircraft and being able to routinely service the engine by yourself.  There's nothing more fulfilling than that, if you ask me.  Being able to trace a fault as soon as the engine begins to cough and splutter.  That, in my view, makes you a much better Pilot because you are not just able to fly the aircraft, you are also your own aircraft mechanic.  How great is that?

I hope you can see my point.




kiwi992.

Hi Shin,


Break the coded link and you'll get whatever you need.  Nothing to buy - just be quick.



kiwi992.

To:
Cleric and Shinatu



CLERIC:

You said

How you want me to know whether them be phoney or whether them get up to date Sap?

What kind of question is that?  I was only trying to help you - remember?

This is your problem and definitely not mine.  You said you had been to the UK for a first-hand assessment of the SAP training organisations.  Shouldn't you have done the leg work and found out for yourself?  I think you should have, without a doubt.

I believe I've done more than enough for fellow Nigerians who are interested in SAP Consultancy Certification by exposing the true facts as they are, and indeed, on how to go about training for the certification.  I simply can not go over the same ground again and again.  The rest is up to you.

But can you recommend any SAP official training school in UK? Please note that I have gone to the sap site but unable to locate any listed UK partner training centre. (I will preffer to do it in the UK. for some reasons.)

You need to go back to SAP's website.

Do a search for the training academies.  Do as others have done - ring up SAP in Abuja if you do live in Nigeria, or indeed, SAP in the UK or US.  Their telephone numbers are listed on their website.  Sorry but I am neither SAP nor here to spoon-feed anybody.  You'll have to take the initiative yourself, just like Raheem did.

In the UK, there's an SAP Academy at Heathrow Airport as well as Manchester, if that's any help.  Be aware that you will NOT get a student visa to come to the UK to train into SAP.  This is because the course is far too short to merit the granting of a student visa.  That said, if you are in the UK right now, you could ring up SAP and ask them to give you details of their Academies.       

Secondly, do you think it is wise leaving a career that pays me $50,000 (US) annually but with a peg of $120,000  when I get to the peak (after about 15 years or more of service) ? Don't you agree that any career that has a peg is not the best? I am actually thinking of leaving my job 'because it consumes my time and does not give me time for personal progress. I could not even pursue a long distance course because according to UK. school, it will take me 8 years to complete it.  I have been a member of ACCA for 2 years but unable to complete the 1st stage of the exam due to time.

Sorry pal, I don't know what to tell you because I am not a careers adviser.  Ask me about SAP, IT, Accountancy or Flying, and I'll be more than happy to help.  I'm sure that other Nigerians here would chip in and give you a sound advice on that one.

As a nigerian without a work permit and without SAP experience, will I be able to get a job in the UK as I would preffer to work in the uk or states for 2 years before moving to somewhere else.

I'm kind of getting a bit confused here by looking at the third quote given above.  Where are you living right now - USA, UK or Nigeria?

Just to let you know that it won't be easy to get a job as an SAP Consultant here in the UK because the government has recently tightened up on the employment of foreign workers.  They are now insisting that every prospective employer of a worker from outside the EU countries must apply for a permit before the organisation could bring in that foreign worker.  I'm sure that those employers would rather bring in an experienced SAP Consultant with at least five implementations under the one's belt as opposed to a newly-qualified.

Your best bet is to pass the Consultancy exams and go back to Nigeria as soon as possible, to work as a Junior SAP Consultant in your field of expertise.  Nigeria desperately needs SAP Certified Consultants because the new wave of SAP R/3 implementation is just about to start there.  In the UK, it started around 1996 which is a very long time ago.  In those days, if you could literally spell the name 'SAP' you were given the most lucrative contracts both here and overseas, so much so that you could easily make £1,500 per day, yes, per day! - believe it or not.  Sadly, those days are gone.  Right now, there aren't any fresh SAP implementations going, except upgrades.  Indeed, for a newly-qualified Consultant, it would be most difficult to get your first project here in the UK.

Knowing that they wouldn't stand a chance in the UK, all my Indian and Malaysian friends have gone back to their countries of origin, working as SAP Consultants.  It's their country, so, nobody would discriminate against them.  A very wise move indeed, if you ask me.

Sod the UK and USA!  You go home to Nigeria with such a hot and worthwhile qualification.  As an SAP Certified Consultant, you WILL make lots of money anywhere in the world, so, why bother to stay in a silly foreign country and face all the racial discrimination?  Why not go home to Nigeria?

A word is enough for the wise.


SHIN:


You said

I am not clear about something- You need to pass the exams before the Academy can send you to a company to acquire practical skills and then you need to acquire the practical skills to be able to pass the exams.

Is this not a dilemma or did I get it wrong? Please explain because I am relay interested in the best steps to take.

Yes, you misunderstood me there.  If you take a look at my posting again, you would see that I said 'Junior Consultant'. 

The fact is that in some official SAP Academies around the world (India to be precise and Pakistan to some extent), they do actually offer work to their students as Junior Consultants in organisations where SAP is deployed (SAP sites).  This is on the proviso that the student passes the SAP Consultancy Certification exam in their module of choice after the 25-day training period.  You sit for the exams as soon as the course is over.  If you pass, you get sent to work as a Junior Consultant.  If you fail, hard luck.     

The student, by enrolling on the official SAP Academy course, has access to the SAP training software (IDES ECC 6.0), to practise the hands-on skills, using the official academy training material.  In doing so, the student obviously acquires the necessary practical skills.  See what I mean now?

The alternative to enrolling on the official SAP Academy course is the training regimen that I have always advocated.  Indeed, this is the best course of action to take because that way, you are not rushing through the course, and instead, are spreading it over a long period of time, to get proficient at the SAP R/3 product as well as getting better prepared for the extremely hard Consultancy exams.

As a matter of fact, following this route would make the one far, far more technically and functionally competent, coupled with an ability to work in any SAP site with great confidence, simply because the one knows what the one is doing, instead of being out of the one's depth, like a fish in an ocean.

Hope this helps.




kiwi992.

Hi Cleric,


As I've always maintained, I do NOT enter into any private communication with anybody because I prefer the information that I give out, to be of benefit to every Nigerian, not just one person.  Sorry about that - it's just a matter of principle.

You said that you had been to the UK for a first-hand assessment of the various SAP training organisations.  Perhaps that would have been your best opportunity to ask as many questions as possible, such as whether they are an official SAP Academy Training Partner or not, talking to other trainees, taking a good look at the training facilities, number of trainees to a PC, the version of the SAP training software that's being used for the hands-on skills, trainee pass rates, the trainers' SAP qualifications and most of all, their (i.e the trainers') SAP project experience (which must be verifiable), and so on.

Personally, I do not know any of those training organisations that you mentioned.  As you know, anybody could set up a website on the Internet, offering all sorts of services to members of the public and claiming all sorts of things.  It appears that you missed a golden opportunity to undertake a proper fact-finding mission whilst in the UK.

The best thing to do is simply train yourself at home in preparation for the Consultancy exams, using the training methodology that I advocate in my numerous postings on this thread.  Failing that, an attendance at an official SAP Academy in India or Vietnam where the cost of training is a lot cheaper as compared with the UK.

Never, ever go to any private training organisation for your SAP training.  Everyone one of them is rubbish.  They'll tell you all sorts of lies to take your money.  Worst still, the course duration is far too short to be of any benefit to anybody.  You can not learn anything about SAP R/3 in a matter of days.  It's impossible.  Indeed, you will not be able to do the job because your training was too short.  How disgraceful is that?

The only way to pass the SAP Consultancy exams (and perform in the workplace) is through a thorough and sustained training period of around nine to twelve months, using the official SAP Academy training material and IDES ECC 6.0, inorder to acquire the extremely important hands-on skills.

You simply won't pass the exams unless you acquire the necessary practical experience with the SAP R/3 erp software.  Take it from me.   

Good luck in your quest. 




kiwi992.

Hi All,


I can't see how anybody could fall for such a scam unless the one is greedy.  Greed is what makes a scammer as well as a victim.

Shame on all those scammers that have brought a national disgrace to Nigeria from around the world.  Other African countries have also got on the bandwagon following Nigeria's example.

I would say to those scam victims that it bloody well serves you right for being so greedy.  Why on earth would you wish to share in the 'millions of dollars' that belongs to someone else?  Why?  You are just as guilty as the scammers.  You and the scammers are the lowest of the low, to say the least, hence you fell for it.

I really wish that the Nigerian government would seriously tackle this persisitent problem.  It's carried on for so many years, yet, nothing has been done about it to actively eradicate it.




kiwi992.

Hi Raheem and Shawn,


You are most welcome.  Please never forget to help others with the info you've got at your disposal.  You must empower other Nigerians, not just yourselves, please.   

You guys are pretty smart ha? - like all Nigerians at home and abroad.  Good on you for having been able to decipher the code.  Well done fellas.  Really, really well done, mates.

I strongly believe that Nigerians MUST always look after each other, no matter what.  Our little squabbles must be set aside for the greater benefit of the country.  We can not afford to be left out in the onward march of technology, especially in the field of enterprise resource planning (ERP).  We must not let all those foreign SAP Consultants come to Nigeria and make horrendous amount of money in our country when Nigerians are more than capable of acquiring those skills and putting them into practise. 

NIGERIANS MUST TAKE ACTIVE STEPS TO QUALIFY AS SAP CERTIFIED CONSULTANTS.  I will help in any way that I can.  I'm also happy to help any budding Nigerian Pilot as well, because I am one, too.

Raheem, you said:

The education resource person advocated NetWeaver (actuall EP 200) advising i go in first for Portal system administration to really learn the technology and hopeful have an experience in implemetations and thereafter pick any MM, SD, CRM, BI etc. What do yah think as someone who has 1st hand experience.

Well look, here's my advice to you.

Personally, I wouldn't just do Portal System Administration because admin is just that - administration.  You would be administering the SAP R/3 System which some BASIS Consultant has already implemented.  Are you happy doing just that?  By the way, BASIS is now called Enterprise Portal whilst ABAP is now NetWeaver.  You've got to come from a programming background to do NetWeaver. 

Left to me alone, I would rather implement the IDES ECC 6.0 on my computer and then learn the BASIS admin on my own.  The best part being that you have also learnt how to implement the SAP R/3 System, not just administering it.  You simply can not beat that experience.  Indeed, this would be your stepping stone to pursuing the functional module (SD, MM, APO, BIW, RFID, etc) that interests you the most, depending on your professional or academic background. 

Once you've implemented the SAP R/3 System, the admin part is easy.  The biggest challenge is implementing the R/3 System.  System administration is only 5% of the work, as compared with the implementation which takes 95% of the work, in my view.  Take it from me - you will become far more technically proficient if you can implement the SAP R/3 System.  You will also perform system admin tasks before go-live on your new system.  Bound to.

Failing that, I would rather do an SAP Academy course that also involves SAP R/3 implementation.  This is the complete BASIS (Enterprise Portal) course.  Even then, the course is far too short to learn anything useful except to give them your hard earned cash.  Please learn from my Indian experience.   

Please think most carefully about which route to follow before committing yourself.  Right now, you've got whatever you need to get you started.  Remember that you won't learn anything from a short course.

That said, the decision is entirely up to you.  There's nothing stopping you from enrolling on the official SAP Academy course if you honestly feel that you would benefit from a 25-day course, and become competent-enough to pass those extremely difficult Consultancy exams.  The standard courses last anything between 3-5 days.  

All the very best.




kiwi992.

NB:

Assuming that you were to go to an official SAP Academy for your training, please remember to ask the training provider as to whether or not they would be willing to send you to an SAP site to work as a Junior Consultant once you've passed the Consultancy exams.  This is extremely important to remember.  Some official SAP Academies do exactly that in India.  PLEASE DO NOT FORGET and never let anybody take you for a ride.

Hi Raheem,


As you know, I've already said all that needs to be said about SAP R/3 Consultancy Certification in my previous postings on this thread. 

However, as regards where to get hold of the SAP Academy material, you'll need to break this coded link.  I'm only giving it out for the benefit of my fellow Nigerians who are interested in SAP.  Nigerians must never be left out in this all-important ERP technology.

Go here:   lxxt://aaa.eqehivjsvyq.gsq/jsvyqhmwtpec.tlt?j=132

As I said, this is a coded link.  You WILL need to decode this link using a key value.  It won't be easy but they say, where there's a will, there's a way.  You must use your resourcefulness and ingenuity to break this code.  I will NOT help in any way. 

You WILL get eveything you need for the SAP Consultancy exams from the above-mentioned coded link, once you've deciphered it.  I mean everything.

By the way, SAP R/3 4.6C IDES has been superceded by IDES ECC 6.0.  This is what you need for the hands-on experience in preparation for the Consultancy exams.  In addition to that you would need to have a robust computer to implement it. 

You could also buy a pre-installed ECC 6.0 from e-Bay.  Personally, I don't subscribe to the idea of buying a pre-installed IDES because you will never learn about SAP implementation unless you actually take the time to implement it yourself.  It won't be easy but you will reap a lot of rewards if you choose to follow this route because this would make you become technically proficient at SAP R/3 and indeed, far more knowledgeable than the average Consultant who only got trained on a functional module.

You will be taking the Consultancy exams under the PACAP scheme.  So, you do NOT need to attend the SAP Academy for the course.  Indeed, the official course is far too short (3-5 days' duration), considering how important the certification is.  It would only suit someone who has been working with SAP R/3 on a daily basis for around three years, and so, is deemed to have the all-important practical experience except that he or she is now training for the Consultancy certification.  Then again, the course is extremely expensive, and so, not a lot of people could afford such exorbitant fees.  I'm sure you did find out that on your visit to SAP's offices in Abuja.

Give you an example, I attended NIIT, in India for a ten-day Windows NT course many, many years ago.  It was my first foray into professional IT.  I went to India with nothing in my head and came back to the UK, still with nothing in my head!!  Why? - because the course was too short.  How's that for a waste of money, eh?

In fact, I had to start all over again, on my own, learnt how to build computers, then built two computers specifically for the NT course, networked them and then used the Microsoft official curriculum material to train myself at home, in the evenings, after work.  It took me a while but I passed all the eight papers that I took, in flying colours because I had the hands-on experience.  Moreover, I took my time to train properly.  This is so, so important for everyone to remember. 

The same training methodology was adopted for the SAP Consultancy course - implementing the SAP R/3 4.6C IDES on my purpose-built robust computer, using SAP official academy course material and then practising the hands-on skills over a fairly long period of time to become proficient at it.   

Novel Netware is no more - dead, caput, finished!!  It's been dead for the past ten years or so.  Novel used to be the number one inter-networking software but that was yonks ago.  Its downfall being Windows NT which uses GUI as opposed to commands that Novel used.  Forget about Novel - don't even bother.

Finally, I would think most carefully about FI/CO before going for it because you need to come from an accounting background to study that module, as with every module in SAP, else you would be wasting your time and money.

All the best.




kiwi992.

Hi,


Actually, Obama is ahead in the polls, right now, as per Sky News of yesterday.  

Senator McCain was wrong when he said that the US economy was fundamentally sound, as proven by the recent turmoil in the housing and banking sectors, to name but only a few.  It was this weakness that led to the government pumping in hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy inorder to kick-start it.  I'm sure the worst is not yet over.    

This shows how weak he, McCain is, as regards the crucially important US domestic economy.

In fact, it appears that the American populace seem to trust Obama more on the domestic economy than they do with McCain.




kiwi992.

Hey Guys,



Do you really need to slate Buduz?

I thought we lived in a free world where everyone was supposed to express their views openly and freely.  Why castigate the guy?  Why? 

He wasn't attacking any Hausa, Ibo or Yoruba per se, in his initial posting.  He was merely expressing an opinion with which most indegenes of the Niger Delta could identify.  The guy is right in the thick of the troubles.  He is living it on a daily basis.  The least he deserves is to be heard and NOT get shouted down or bullied.  

Perhaps we should try and wear the shoe in the other foot and see how it hurts.




kiwi992.

NB:

Buduz, you MUST always express your views openly and freely.  Never be intimidated by anybody.  Okay?  Not everyone has to agree with your views.

Hi,

and who builds most of these schools and gets water? the federal government? i wonder why they just refuse to hold the state governments responsible, and they lash out as soon as anyone wants them to clearly define their wants- and how they want it achieved. The best the federal government can do is allocate funds to the states- by the way statistics shows that those states receive most allocations. Question your state government first before you hold the federal accountable. The governors are so silent, im starting to believe they are the brains behind the whole mission. corrupt devils.  federal, state, and militant, all of em!

You can talk! 

I bet you are all part of the same clique.  Just remember - our day has come and sooner or later, you'll know who should be dishing out the revenues from the oil - we the peoples of the Niger Delta or you lot.

You think MEND is fighting for no apparent reason, don't you?

How much of the oil revenues do we get?  How much?  Are you telling me that it's enough to go round and build basic infrastructure?  Enough to develop the various towns and villages in the Niger Delta?

Have you thought about the environmental pollution?  Over the decades, we have been short-changed, down-trodden, ignored, under-developed, to think that you buggers are creating more and more states, building a new capital, and all that, at the expense of the oil-producing Niger Delta.

Discrimination against indegenes of the Niger Delta in the job market - how many Niger Deltans have you got working in the oil companies?  Think mate, think before you open your mouth.

Oh yeah, question your government about the billions of pounds stashed away in foreign bank accounts by those corrupt, greedy and selfish Nigerian politicians.  Where did all that money come from?  OIL, in case you didn't know. 




kiwi992.

Hey Sim,


I agree with you 100% on this one. 

I think the dogs should be given proper training and not isolated.  There's absolutely no need to breed dogs with the sole aim of making them vicious and dangerous.  Over here, you could end up in jail if your dangerous dog bites someone.

Maybe a Staffordshire Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa or a Rottweiler is what they need if they really wanted a vicious dog.

Why not just let them grow up?  They'll protect your home when they're older.




kiwi992.

Hi All,


Violence of any sort is a no-no. 

If my woman ever does that to me, then it's over between us from that moment.  She's over-stepped the mark and I'm out of there.



kiwi992.

Simi,


With due respect but what has the Nigerian culture (as you say it is), got to do with you?  How dare you challenge a nation's culture and tradition?  Who do you think you are?

Aren't you the Brazillian lady that could not marry your Nigerian boyfriend because his parents forbade him from marrying you?  Is this not a case of sour grapes?

Which is worse anyway - the Brazillian police killing those innocent street kids in their hundreds or Nigerians marrying many wives?

You seem to forget that culture and tradition never die.  Then again, not every Nigerian wishes to marry more than one wife.



kiwi992.

Hey Sis,



You're alright. 

Don't get all het up about it.  It ain't worth the hassle.

Personally, I wouldn't take any notice and just do what I feel is best for my mate.  She's your friend and you know her best.  A friend in need is a friend indeed, they say.

Easy now!




kiwi992.

Hey Sis,


Easy yaw!

Please chill and don't get too offended.  You aren't going to change your character by starting to get nasty with people now, are ya?

I honestly don't think anybody here means any harm.  They were just suggesting that you didn't get too involved in the affairs of other couples, even though the misses is your friend. 

See what I mean?  



kiwi992.

Hi,


It's obvious, isn't it?  Race is, of course, the big issue here.

Americans do not wish to see a black President.  They would go to any length to vote for the Republicans, simply to stop Obama from winning.  Let them go ahead and have a repeat of the Bush years.  As ever, Americans will never learn.

Then again, so many of our African-American brothers and sisters don't quite like him because, according to them, he is not a 'real' African-American being that he is of mixed race, with a white mother and a Kenyan father, hence, not a true brother like Jesse Jackson.  Such rhetorics as 'America is not yet for a black president' just confound me.

As I've always maintained, we would have to wait and see.



kiwi992.

Hey Sistawoman,


Good to know that you could speak a bit of Yoruba.  Really good for you.  It's always good to know your roots and to take pride in it, no matter what.  Indeed, it makes you become stronger.





kiwi992.

Tpia

If the land is that much degraded by oil drilling and exploration, then the people are even supposed to be evacuated to somewhere else. Thats only normal, if the area has been polluted that badly. Humans arent supposed to be residing permanently on or near oil slicks or oil flaring. The health risks alone are mind boggling.

Just take a look at this vid:

http://www./video/x41afh_fire-in-the-delta_music

Oh yeah, and to every right-minded person in this Forum - how would you feel if this happened to your town or village?  Just be true to yourselves.




kiwi992.

Mate,

Have the courage to admit that your initial statement was bollocks. You actually spent your entire time here advocating violence, contrary to your assertion.

Make of it what you like - I couldn't care less.

You expect the Niger Delta to be razed to the ground with your lawless and ill-trained armed forces, in the hope that your towns and cities would remain in tact.  How so foolhardy!

The peoples of the Niger Delta would not succumb to anyone anymore.  This injustice has carried on for far too long.  MEND is here to stay unless there's genuine dialogue to undo the injustices that my people had suffered over the decades.

You all live off the oil wealth, at the expense of the Niger Delta, don't you?  You develop your own towns and cities, built a new capital, all at the expense of the Niger Delta.  What have we got to show for our oil wealth?  Nothing whatsoever, nothing, except large-scale pollution. 

You know what they say, don't you?  Every dog has its own day - the day of the peoples of the Niger Delta has come.

You guys need to wake up and stop dreaming of defeating MEND because you wouldn't.




kiwi992.

Hi,

I ll take it that u re inciting MEND against the rest of the country. Be careful what u wish for.

Nope!  Far from it.  Please re-read my post.

Just recalling what brought peace to Northern Ireland.  I'm sure MEND had known about guerilla warfare long before it even started military operations.

Maybe the Nigerian government should learn from the British experience.  Margaret Thatcher failed to engage the provos in any dialogue.  Rather, John Major initiated it whilst Tony Blair took the bold step of opening genuine dialogue with the IRA.

All military operations were suspended at the time dialogue was taking place, unlike what the Nigerian government does - carrying out military operations whilst the so-called dialogue was supposed to be taking place.




kiwi992.

Hi All,



Just to make one point absolutely clear to everyone of you discussing this thread.  As a true indegene of the Niger Delta, I do NOT believe in, or advocate violence of any sort.  Dialogue and peaceful negotiations with MEND are the only things that would bring peace to the Niger Delta and nothing else.   

However, if peaceful negotiations are not getting anywhere, what would you do?  What other alternatives have you got, considering that your people have been suffering for decades?  What would you do if you're constantly made empty promises?  What would you do?

What would you do if your land, rivers, lakes and creeks have all been polluted, renderring your people with no means of livelihood.  What would you do?

What would you do if you are not getting anything out of the oil wealth that comes from your land?  What would you do?

What would you do if a petrol pipeline is laid all the way from Port Harcourt to Kaduna, considering that it makes no economic sense?  How would you feel?

What would you do if your youth have got no jobs, yet those thieving Nigerian politicians are lining up their pockets with the wealth of the Niger Delta.  What would you do?

What would you do if your land is not being developed, instead, neglected for decades, considering that the entire oil wealth of Nigeria comes from there.  What would you do?

What would you do if your political activists - Adaka Boro, Ken Tsaro-Wiwa, Dokubo, and so on, have (or are) being silenced?  What would you do?

What did you do when the Nigerian economy depended on cocoa?  What did you do when the Nigerian economy depended on coal?  What did you do when the Nigerian economy depended on iron ore?  What did you do when the Nigerian economy depended on rubber?  What did you do?

You know what, if anybody here thinks that the peoples of the Niger Delta would not fight back and instead, remain quiet and docile as they had done for several decades, then the one needs to re-examine the one's head.

When the IRA fought their guerilla war with the British mainland, it was only one thing that forced John Major and Tony Blair to initiate dialogue with the provos - the fact that the guerilla war was taken to the British mainland.  Cities like Birmingham, London (Canary Wharf), Manchester and Warrington were bombed.   This made the Tories and New Labour take notice of the IRA.

In the end, the British government started talking to the IRA and its leadership.  Eventually, peace prevailed in Northern Ireland, and it's been so, ever since.

Maybe the Nigerian government should take a leaf out of that and stop using strong-arm tactics, in a bid to 'defeat' the freedom fighters.

You people seem to think that it would be an easy thing to defeat someone who strongly believes in the cause that the one is fighting.  That is not the way it works because no-one knows the Niger Delta better than the peoples of the Niger Delta.  No amount of heavy artillery fire, helicopter gun fire, war machinery of any sort, could defeat such people - only DIALOGUE AND PEACEFUL NEGOTIATIONS, observed by an international body, would convince my people of the true intentions of the Nigerian government.

I hope you guys understand the plight of the peoples of the Niger Delta, instead of coming here to slate MEND.

God save Nigeria. 




kiwi992.

Hi All,



I can see what all of you are saying.  Indeed, I can't agree more.

However, judging from what we see over here on TV and news reports, Americans are all raving about her.  They see her as 'one of us'.  I doubt it very much, if any revelation about her would stop female voters turning their backs on her.

We would have to wait and see.



kiwi992.