₦airaland Forum

RosaConsidine:
Having and retaining these cultural norms and working together to build a successful, developed nation are not mutually exclusive. These cultural norms are not what develops a nation, else Igboland would be a paradise right now since according to fellow Igbos, our culture and tradition just naturally makes us better than other tribes. But in real life, we can see that is not the case because Igboland is as lacking in infrastructure and basic social amenities as the rest of Nigeria. A different poster asked why Lagos has to be developed and not, say Enugu or Owerri. Well, each region has their own developed points while the rest suffer underdevelopment. Abuja is for North, Lagos for the South West and Port Harcourt for the South East/South South. Outside these places, most other places in the respective geopolitical zones are far behind as far as development and infrastructure are concerned. In essence, we are not as different mentally from the rest of the country when it comes to nation building. All these "other regions are holding us back" stories is basically us just passing the buck and refusing to take blame for our own individual failures.

Do the South Eastern and South Southern states get allocations? What have the governors and local government chairmen done with them? What kind of representation are we getting from our senator and representatives and how much different is it from what people in other regions are getting?

There seems to be a bit of dissonance in your current post...At first you seem to agree that cultural norms and values is what gives for a successful nation , now you are against it..Which is it.

Coming to igbos or other ethnic group in Nigeria for that matter their norms, values and practices cannot be divorced from the confining and restrictive nature of the space..In this case Nigeria where they find themselves..isnt it the restive nature of the state that the whole wahala is all about..

Differing ethnic groups can not function within a confining space and contribute to it's development where there is mutual suspicion and perceived persecution...This is real life and human nature not mere Utopia..It's not about elites or no elites it is simply the nature of "man" ( woman included).

On the political side, if in your contention that Nigeria is "failed" how come we are talking about representatives as if they are not part of the failure of the structure that failed...A "failed" stated , produces a failed product, a failed representative through a failed process..Votes..
Are the so called governor's, senators, etc elected through the rigours of an election or merely "appointed " by the "failed Nigerian state"

RosaConsidine:
Exactly. Now an offshoot of my argument is that we can create such a society where we are diverse and yet united. It's not an impossibility. Now my article addressed Biafra but I still have an article in the works that addresses all the tribes within Nigeria, our failings and what values we need to adopt to make this country work. America may be predominantly white, but even amongst the white population it is rare to find pure bloodlines. Most of the white people in America are of mixed English, Irish, Italian, German, Polish, Dutch, Spanish and even Russian descent. And it's not like they are ignorant of their roots - they know. But they don't identify as Irish-American or Scottish-American, or Italian-American. They identify primarily as American. Their ancestry is just a side bonus.

Exactly What?...My point is that no modern society was ever created through a diverse ethnic group as Nigeria..America I premised is not a diverse society..The different white groups came into an already defined dominant Anglo group with similar cultural values, religion..They subsumed themselves into this group as white as against other different racial group as classified in their society....Irish, German, poles, etc, see themselves as white and strive to imbibe the cultural values already set by the anglos to make themselves less ethnic and culturally uniform.

So in all we cannot compare Nigeria to USA as we have natively ethnic cultural norms that is increasing entrenched and protected by each group..

Nigeria as per your definition would not become successful as it does not have the values that make a nation successful.

RosaConsidine:
I'll give you two; the USA and Switzerland. Basically, the US is a melting pot of various cultures, nationalities, religions and ideas. You know what has made the US work so far? It's the people (at least by an large) rising above their backgrounds and differences to "be American" and work towards the American dream. America is beginning to face it's current challenges because people are beginning to accentuate and play up differences. Funnily enough, Canada has recognized that it was America's united diversity that has made it so great and Canada is beginning to copy the American model. Switzerland is made up of four major regions and has four official languages - German, Italian, French and Romanish. In spite of these difference in language and culture, they all share a common ideology and values. Switzerland is proof that people with different cultures and languages can work together to create one successful country - a lesson we seem to find impossible to learn in Nigeria.

Good let's take America as in USA as an example..
Based on your previous ingredients of what makes a nation....common values, culture and goal ( unity of purpose)..
America is factually not a multicultural society ...Depending on ones definition...
Here's why I think not
In the 40s when America was most dominant with over 40 percent of world products, and production with a population of 132 million of which 89.8% were white Anglo...Culture.. WASP... Religion over 90 % christianity..Unity of purpose...Dominant power with Monroe doctrine firmly in place...
In other words USA was never like Nigeria. Where major ethnic groups with diverse culture, religion, goals and aspirations are at each other's neck..

American and americans purpose till date has been well defined for even would be immigrants on the cultural ethnics of the white dominant Christian populace period... Today white population is still dominant at 77%. More than 89% Christian.. Ultimately the culture is still white dominated Christian Culture.

Third every cultural group irrespective where they are found is all about the survival of their specie ..Think Darwin..It is this survival that derives progress...not absence of corruption, or fathom political will... Trump rise is an expression of this phenomenon where the dominant ethnic group is questioning there own survival..

This is the very reason that gave rise to this Biafra phenom...The igbos in particular are questioning their own ability to survive in the presently structured Nigerian....They feared being subsumed in an alien culture of Islam that they believe (whether real or not) is genocidal for their well being.

That brings us to Switzerland...The major ethnic groups their share essentially the said culture, religion, food, but the major difference is in the language​ which each jealously guard...As a loss of language is seen as a loss of their existence..Now they evolved a system that protects and alleviate these fears, where it does not depend on the phantom political or social wills but the actual fears and survival or each of their ethnic groups.

Thanks

RosaConsidine:
As for what makes a successful nation, on one hand, it's not what this article is about and on the other, it is so,ething that is evident to anyone that bothers to observe. A successful nation is one where the people consistently strive to rise above their differences to achieve a common goal. As I've mentioned before, no nation of people is completely homogeneous. There will always be dividing factors. You want to split Nigeria along cultural lines? Even within the divisions, there are further subdivisions you can find - like religion, political ideology, language and dialect, even food and personal and individual tastes. In a successful country, these differences are played down and instead what we share are accentuated - common values that are aimed at creating a society that's beneficial to all citizens. What do we have in common in Nigeria? We all, regardless of tribe, religion and political affiliation, want a country that everything works, that social amenities are provided by the government, that cost of living is low and standard of living high. Being in a country where we just share language and culture won't give us that.

I apologise for repeating this quote...
If you don't mind going through this particular paragraph​ of your writing you will notice
1. Your are mixing up values systems with mere physical yearnings
2. You on one hand defined successful nation's or countries as having common goals and on the other hand insisting that Common language, culture cannot give that. Where then are common value systems derived if not from culture.
3. You inferred that what Nigerians want are merely, the provision of social amenities, where everything works, and not common , goals and values,....Is it not a bit confusing...So Nigerians, dont need to play down on the religious bit, subsume themselves in a yet to be created culture and discard their inherent millennia culturally tested values..

Now you see why it is necessary to give us an example or two of a successful nation which will serve as a base of reference on your assertions on Nigeria and it's derivatives

Am afraid sir, am still confused..."a failed Biafra" I thought that Biafra is still a concept yet you allude failure to it!!!. At the same time you have failed to tell us the mentality of successful nation's or countries that lead to their success...

The very basic assumption from your treatise is that since my parents are thieves it follows that I will never be anything but a thief as am incapable of learning from the smart kid down the block.

Secondly you seemly created a group-think that is uniquely Nigerian, that was keyed in by everyone,..If that's the case why then have multitude of divisions within the "failed Nigerian state".

Third, you have failed to let us your readers know what a successful nation is, examples there of, what made them successful and why " failed biafra" is incapable of learning from them.

mr
Sir/madam,

Your treatise i presume was projected to spark a conversation among "biafrans" in other to dissuade them from continuing with their "fantasy" project...
The argument presented would have had more chutzpah if you have tried to
first define what makes a successful nation or country with examples,
secondly how these succesfull countries came to being
with these definitions, one can easily see through your oracular presentation whether the Biafran project will be a success or a failure.

In your reply to one of the contributors, you inferred that it is the lack of political and social will among the Nigerian populace that is the cause of the "failure" of the Nigerian state...Bystanders like me would like to know the nature of "political and social wills" that made other countries a success and how they cannot be transfered to the biafran project....in other words why the present "political and social will" of the failed nigerian project will be copied and implemented by the briafrans instead of those of the more successfull nations.

Thanks and have a great day

On a final note a schematic diagram on a piece of paper does not make a nation or country.

Chibok girls...Politicians kidnapped us to frustrate Jonathan.

Author: Akinyemi Akinrujomu

UPDATED: 41 MINUTES AGO

VIEWS: 13017

- The 21 recently released Chibok girls have narrated their ordeal in the captivity of their Boko Haram abductors to a clergy, Pastor Bulus

- They told Bulus they were not immediately taken into the forest after capture but to a house in Borno Government Residential Area (GRA) in Maiduguri where they stayed for two months

- From the GRA, the girls said they were taken to Gwoza where they claimed that a top politician allegedly housed them in one of his residences for about 8 months

- The girls also reportedly said that some of the Chibok girls never made it to Sambisa forest as they were killed in Gwoza by a bomb allegedly dropped on the house they were staying by a Nigerian Airforce fighter jet

The recently released Chibok girls have revealed details of how some politicians allegedly sponsored the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast for their personal gains.

According to a Chibok clergy called Pastor Bulus Baba from Kaya community in Chibok local government area of Borno state, his discussions with some of the girls revealed that some politicians reportedly played an active part in their abduction.

In an interview with Daily Post in Maiduguri, Pastor Bulus said the politicians reportedly did this in order to frustrate the administration of past president Goodluck Jonathan.

First, he said, the girls claimed they were not immediately driven into the forest as widely believed, but were first taken to a house in Borno Government Residential Area in Maiduguri where they stayed for two months before they were taken to Gwoza where they claimed that a top politician allegedly housed them in one of his residences for about 8 months

They were however forced to head into Sambisa forest after a bomb was dropped on the compound by a Nigerian Airforce fighter jet. Some of the Chibok girls and other women abducted along with them were allegedly killed in the attack.

Bulus said: ”The girls said, they spent over 8 months in Gwoza local government area along with other abducted women. They said they were kept at a resident of one of the top politicians in that local government area until at a point when a fighter jet dropped bomb that touch part of the house killing some of the girls.”

The Boko Haram had released a video some time ago and claimed that the Nigerian Armed Forces mistakenly killed some civilians while dropping bombs. But the Nigerian Airforce denied killing civilians in its attack

The girls said that after leaving Gwoza, they were divided into groups and while some severely sexually abused and others were forced to marry the militant

Pastor Bulus said: “It was a sad story, we believe that those behind this evil will never go unpunished. For us in Chibok, we will keep praying that, those of them who are still being held by their captors shall gain freedom and be reunited with their families like these ones that came home.”

https://www.naij.com/1082025-heartbreaking-daughters-told-politicians-sponsoring-boko-haram-sambisa-chibo.html?pk_campaign=ush


Naij.com

The Bill :: AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL GRAZING RESERVE (ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT) COMMISSION FOR THE PRESERVATION AND CONTROL OF NATIONAL GRAZING RESERVES AND STOCK ROUTES AND OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH sponsored by Senator Hajiya Zainab Kure is nothing short of turning the country into another Syria or something worst.

The highlights of the bill includes:

1. The establishment of National Grazing Reserve Commission (NGRC)

2. The NGRC can acquire, hold, lease or dispose of any property, moveable or immoveable for the purpose of carrying out its function.

3. That Any land may be subject to the provisions of the Act to be constituted as National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes:

4. NGRC can designate ANY land which it appears to the Commission that grazing in such land should be practiced.

5. Once designated, There shall be no improvements, encroachment, bush burning, hunting, use of chemicals and felling of trees by anyone inside lands, designated, acquired and demarcated as National Grazing Reserves or Stock Routes.

6..No Court of law shall carry out execution of its judgment or attachment of court process issued against the Commission in any action or suit without obtaining the prior consent of the Attorney General of the Federation.

This bill if passed with the looming repeal of the land use act will relinquish legal authority of all lands in the country to the NGRC.

Peaceful Steps To Actualize Biafra

The greatest strength of a democracy is a willing populace and the greatest weakness of a democracy is also a willing populace. The proponents of the Biafra nation should capitalize on this weakness due to the general perception and real malaise in the body polity of the Nigeria nation. The idea here is to undermine the legitimacy of the Nigerian government within the confines of the “ Biafra nation state” while avoiding direct confrontation with the Nigerian authorities.

In capitalizing on this general weakness, the promoters should also learn and extract the good features of the last outing and modify or scrap those features that that does not conform to the sensibilities of the current environment.

Here are the steps I think will help Biafra advocates towards peaceful realization of their dream Biafran Nation state .

Start and focus on remote communities far from the city centers…. These are places without any government presence.

Dust up the old administrative provinces of the last Biafra outing and use it as a template for temporary governance….these administrative units must be fluid in nature so that villages and towns can decide where they want to belong without any rancor.

Organize youths - male and females ( especially females) in these neglected communities to form co-operatives. They will eventually elect their representatives to their provincial government.

Organize medical missions and food drives for the elderly and the poor in these neglected communities, to be supervised directly by these youth cooperatives.

Organize workshops for the youths on security --- especially on the menace of nomadic cattle herders. Non confrontational ways of preventing the cows from destroying their farms by making them really sick.

Organize note books and pencils for the children in the communities. If possible co-opt and pay some teachers.

Organize festives’ like football matches with neighboring villages and award prizes.

Build two centers in each province where these youth cooperatives can learn about various developmental activities. Engage expert to give seminars to the cooperatives on various subjects.

Transfer the experience learned from these villages to poor sections of towns and cities within the Biafra confines. And repeat the process.

Build strong transmitters to enable these remote communities and poor neighbourhoods to receive your radio broadcast in their various languages and dialects. Encourage call-ins from them.

Co-opt Reverend gentlemen and women to go to these places and preach with the usual subtle reference to the good works of the Biafra organization.

Avoid chiefs, politicians, and village politics but use business men who strongly believe in your cause.

Do this consistently for three years and you will become the de-facto government within the confines of your Biafra irrespective of the current ethno-political groupings in that region

Good luck

The greatest strength of a democracy is a willing populace and the greatest weakness of a democracy is also a willing populace. The proponents of the Biafra nation should capitalize on this weakness due to the general perception and real malaise in the polity of the Nigeria nation. The idea here is to undermine the legitimacy of the Nigerian government within the confines of the “ Biafra nation state” while avoiding direct confrontation with the Nigerian authorities.

In capitalizing on this general weakness, the promoters should also learn and extract the good features of the last outing and modify or scrap those features that that does not conform to the sensibilities of the current environment.

Here are the steps I think will help Biafra advocates towards peaceful realization of their dream Biafran Nation state .

Start and focus on remote communities far from the city centers…. These are places without any government presence.

Dust up the old administrative provinces of the last Biafra outing and use it as a template for temporary governance….these administrative units must be fluid in nature so that villages and towns can decide where they want to belong without any rancor.

Organize youths - male and females ( especially females) in these neglected communities to form co-operatives. They will eventually elect their representatives to their provincial government.

Organize medical missions and food drives for the elderly and the poor in these neglected communities, to be supervised directly by these youth cooperatives.

Organize workshops for the youths on security --- especially on the menace of nomadic cattle herders. Non confrontational ways of preventing the cows from destroying their farms by making them really sick.

Organize note books and pencils for the children in the communities. If possible co-opt and pay some teachers.

Organize festives’ like football matches with neighboring villages and award prizes.

Build two centers in each province where these youth cooperatives can learn about various developmental activities. Engage expert to give seminars to the cooperatives on various subjects.

Transfer the experience learned from these villages to poor sections of towns and cities within the Biafra confines. And repeat the process.

Build strong transmitters to enable these remote communities and poor neighbourhoods to receive your radio broadcast in their various languages and dialects. Encourage call-ins from them.

Co-opt Reverend gentlemen and women to go to these places and preach with the usual subtle reference to the good works of the Biafra organization.

Avoid chiefs, politicians, and village politics but use business men who strongly believe in your cause.

Do this consistently for three years and you will become the de-facto government within the confines of your Biafra irrespective of the current ethno-political groupings in that region.

GOOD LUCK

@ centje, that's a very nice observation. Great report, unemotional and straight to the point....

You need not get into any argument with anyone here, let them travel and give us their perception of these cities

Thanks

Abagworo:
I took all those controversial areas into consideration. Illiteracy is a bad disease that needs serious curbing among some of you. Igbos are not East as wrongfully asserted nor are they at the Southern tip nor in the West. Igboland is completely at the centre of Southern Nigeria.

It is not nice referring to someone on this forum as "illiterate" because you might be pointing the other four fingers at yourself........I would rather use the term " misinformed"...please tell us again the main cardinal points on the basic geography book...then look at the map of Nigeria, ..draw a vertical line through the center and a horizontal line to intersect it at the center...then use that as the bases to define what N,S,E,W....NE,NW,SE,SW,.SSE,NNE, and etc

But if you are into ethno- geography that's a total different subject besides the directional NSEW

Abagworo:
These maps show difference between Igboland, Eastern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria. Igboland starts from a part of the Western part of the South at Igbanke and terminates at a part of the Eastern part of the South at Arochukwu. It equally terminates Northern at Obollo Afor and Southern at Port Harcourt.

So the Umuezeokoha, the okpokus, the obis and ado in Benue state are no longer Igbos because of some imaginary psuedo- geography albiet ethno-geography being peddled by some people here on the forum.

Please leave geography out of this.. We are discussing cities not ethno-geography.

To the pseudo geopgraphers this is not the place to learn geography or misinform people ....just let the topic be...

The topic is not about geography

Abagworo:
Illiteracy is not good. Geographically Igbos live in South Central Nigeria and nowhere else. Southern tip is Ijoid Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa.

Please what exactly is south central when it comes to geography

forgiveness:
Then, if that be the case, Asaba should not be included in the list because it was formerly in the Western Region and later Mid-west Region. There was no time Asaba was part of Eastern Region.

However, I understand what he meant by Eastern Region.

Please go back again and study historical map of Nigerian regions, from southern protectorates to western, northern and eastern regions then to the creation of Midwestern regions...if not clear enough blow up the map a bit...its part of the political history of the country... But does not account for the geo-ethinological view of the country....two different things..

Then again it is not the topic here...leave the topic be.abeg

prisiluv:
I'm not a fan of ffk,but let dem do dier worst..if u're nt in an environ wher dese barbaric criminals av operated before,dats wen u'll tak dier crimes lightly....wher was dis group wen D herdsmen were operating.killing,destroying,raping in diff states.what measures hav dey taken 2 curtail D excesses of dier pple? bt dey react to insults frm a man whose pple av been killed by D herdsmen..dese pple destroyed farms,killed nd rape grand mum,mum nd daughter in agbor...nd pple hate nd even fear dem dere.if u encounter dem in a highway robbery,jst start praying 2 ur maker.cos after taking all u av,dey still kill or inflict axe injuries on d head or shoulders..dey made benin bypass "no go area' somtym ago.esp 2wards evening....dey re heartless nd wats even more disturbing is how D govt av nt done anytin tangible abt it....wher was dis group all dis while? let dem do dier very worst.he has'nt said worse dan wat apc said abt Gej before nd during campaign....so let evribody jst chill

Your writing would have been a joy to read if you had used standard spelling...its difficult to read as presented. Thanks

mentorken05:
those are just the primary assignments required to be done by every youth in this generation...people do have ideas as a result of critical thinking but the big question is how do they make there dreams come truethese ideas are capital intensive remember??its difficult when someone is devoid of capital

Start from low capital "intensity" before graduating to "high" capital intensity.. That is how it is done period

fratermathy:
I am not writing your history. If you want to document your people, I am not tieing you or I'm I? I'm concerned with language and language alone. You guys can keep your myriads of ethnicities and tribalism to yourself.

In ethnic research such as this, it is imperative that you MUST spend sometime with the "natives" and get an idea how they view themselves. Eg. In Urban (sic.minority) anthropology, white anthropologist even have a sting with known drug dealers for years studying them in other to get a clear picture of the culture...you just don't report a collection of ethnic stories told in another language as a schorlarly research..... That's why they are angry at this report.

fratermathy:
That's now what I said and the insults I'm getting is unjustified. If these people claiming to be language police can research so well, why haven't they written threads to make their points and uplift their language?

My claim is that Eket, Oron, Efik, etc all belong to the same Ibibio or Akwacross language family of which Ibibio is scholarly recognised as the proto language. I am not speaking on their ethnicities or culture but on their language only. It is an academic fact that even Efik/Ibibio students of UNICAL and UNIUYO know.

You cannot divorce language from culture. It is essentially what defines it in the broader sense

fratermathy:
My research is as good as any other. Google Ibibio and its linguistic clusters and Dialects. I have nothing to say on your various cultures and ethnicities. My argument is on linguistic exclusivity and mutual intelligibility.

Exactly my point, relying solely on Google without mutual interaction with the subjects lends to unmitigated errors though unintended is seen by the subjects as insults. Wanna write about someone ..talk to them first

fratermathy:
Why cant you be sane enough to make points without attacking someone's personality? Im I an Ibibio or an Efik person? Is it now a crime to research and document tribes I love? Must you insult me?

I cant speak any of these languages and all I wrote are research based. Whether Efik, Anaang, Ibibio, Ibeno, all I know is that they are one people of same stock. If you disagree, you can troll off. If you know so much about your people why haven't you written a thread on them before now? I am showing off your people to the world and you are insulting me. Chei.

That said, my research says Efik is a DIALECT of Ibibio. If you don't agree with whatever I wrote, write a counter-thread. Dont come to my thread and insult my person. No one has a monopoly of insults.

A poorly researched paper presented as a truism is worst than an insult.. What you have done as a non-ethnic "citizen" is to insult a whole group of people because of your poor research. Scratch this paper and start all over again.

You can't fight a war on a weak foundation. Corruption is merely the symptom of aa state that is not a nation and lacks unity of purpose... People do all sorts of things with the mind state that the Nigerian state is " temporary " and transient.

Get the foundation right and corruption is minimized to "acceptable" standards

Quite and interesting read from all sides but seemingly there doesn't seem to be a central theme for this discussion.
That it is all about the current " resurrection " of Biafra is known. But what is confusing for bystanders like me is how this has degenerated into an ethnic cum village " back and forth" between Truckpusher and etc without any distinct ...,clear delineation of differences.

Read carefully all are saying the same thing but with different adjectives.

So basically Piaz and Truckpusher are saying the same thing but couched in various ways that appears at variance with each other.

EggovinMma:
Mine was constipation? I doubt that.In my case there was no bowel movements. The poo was stucked down there, felt the need to poo, but the pains was too unbearable for me to push anything out.

Next time take colace with your medications

Setaje:
Mine was Augmentin. I had rashes from my head to my feet wiv blisters.

Means you are allergic to penicillin...which is common

EggovinMma:
Yours is better. Remembered when I almost died in between December 23 - January 3rd 2010 after Premier Hospital diagnosed me with malaria/typhoid. All the medications given to me stalled my stooling. For the very first time In my life I told God to take my life. Worst is, i had to ly in the toilet, couldn't stand and couldn't sit, was in pains as I couldn't get it out, was like I was in labour.My ex had to help me shave my hair because I demanded it.


Hmmmmm . Doctor said it was the anti biotics injections administered.Very bad experience.

What other medications were you taking

centje:
Railway is a very capital intensive project, I don't see investors going that line with the present level of our economy. Moreover, Railway service is under the exclusive list of federal government.

Yet investors put in their money for the refinery at aguleri. First let the government initiate it either by bond or direct selection of interested investment companies. Then sell the idea to the citizens. It is then and only then that you can sincerely acknowledge that it is a success or a failure. You just can't condemn something because of feeling,, or things will never get done.

Rails provide more varied employment opportunities, move more people and goods, last longer, generate more income through taxes, opens up more interior and is cheaper.

investnow2013:
Rail is great, but at the moment let's get other connecting roads which are cheaper to build between the two states moving first & Rail next!.

Whether it is rail or roads, the point is that it shouldn't cost the government any more than documentation of deeds if they can seek out investors for them. After all they can recover their money through toll if it is road construction as done in most climes