₦airaland Forum

Imani:
Sometimes they work, other times, they don't.

Different strokes for different folks.

Yup!! Imani, where have you been, girl? You stayed away so long. . . .I was beginning to think we should send out a search party!

Vbèè óye hé? How are you?

Iye me. . . my mother

Erha me. . . .my father.

Check out this website for more info:

http://www.edo-nation.net/edolang1.htm

Di guy was just a mumu!! Traditional marriage, na by force??

Couldn't he have gone to the registry, spend 7,000 naira or less to sign the dotted lines and then start saving up patiently for the traditional wedding? I have seen several folks from the East doing that. On the other hand, he could decide to pick a chic from another tribe that does not place such a heavy emphasis on high bride price. . . .no be so?

grafikdon:
I thought I read somewhere OBJ is the son of an Igbo man from Onitsha.

Hehehehe. . . . . .I beg help me tell dem o! Has OBJ done the DNA test, yet??

Planner:
Colonel effiong is dead and Dim Ojukwu has written some books on the civil war. Waht we need is an unbiased historian to un earth buried facts about the War.

Please o, tell us the title of the book, that Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu wrote about the war o! Am yet to see a comprehensive, analytical, accurate retrospective account about the civil war, in his own words. In fact, am still looking for a way to claim my refund of the money I spent on his "Because I'm involved" from the Ikemba. That book was long on rhetoric, and short on facts!

MyPeace:
I second the opnions of the earlier posters.

However, you could be lucky not to be positive. A friend of mine, her husband is Hiv positive, the man didnt tell her until she stumbled on the result, she confronted the man, he could only beg, the lady cried her life out, and she was pregnant by then. Very lucky of her, when she went for her test, she tested negative, and she has two kids now from the sam man that tested positive, having unprotected sex, and still test negative. This is just an irony that I found hard to believe but its VERY REAL. The man is taking his drugs, living a positive life, that you wont even know, though initial it showed very well on him but not now again. The children and wife still test negative.

You could be this lucky!!

Wow!! What an inspiration. But am sure hoping that the lady has been taking some preventive measures, in order to avoid getting infected.

denex:
Una know wetin corruption be?

Look at Dick Cheney and tell me whether 7 Adedibus put together can match him. In fact, 7 Adedibus, 3 Chris Ubas and 2 IBB cannot step to him.

Oh, wait. . . . . .let me stop laughing first!! Una no go kill person with laughter for here! Chei!! Denex, Denex, Denex. . . . .na how many times I call you? Take am easy o!

babaife:
in nigeria, we prefer to make thieves the custodians of our assets instead of proven men. agusto was a partner at price waterhousecoopers- an international consulting firm in nigeria. he is the chairman of agusto & co- a known rating company. he has the integrity to safeguard our assets but may be "KORO" will be picked. goodluck nigerians

When someone said OBJ had a deliberate policy of choosing the 3rd eleven among the Yoruba, to become ministers so that he could humiliate them and make their ethnic group look incompetent, I thought he was joking. Why would Fola Adeola who was one of the top guys that set up one of the best banks in Nigeria i.e. Guaranty Trust Bank, be fired from his job in one of the parastatals, under OBJ? Why was Mrs. Ojomo picked as Housing Minister under OBJ, instead of other more qualified architects and engineers from the South-West?

From what I can see, it seems the Senate & co. have bought into this ideology. Why would Bode Agusto a qualified accountant and finance expert, who managed the Debt Management Office efficiently, and has proven his mettle in the financial sector, be tturned down despite his competence? Anyway, let us wait & watch.

debosky:
laudate you miss my point

I have heard all these goings on in and around NNPC, but what I do not accept is your assertion that it is simply the govt and 'powers that be' that are solely responsible for the problems. NNPC itself is full of corrupt and incompetent people, who are as much a part of the rot and corrupt contracts as the government officials themselves. The only viable solutions therefore are:

A. Get rid of the bad eggs in the NNPC ( been tried time and time again no success)

B. Privatise the refineries

we have been waiting for this 'free hand' to run the refineries for donkey years, it is completely unacceptable to me for that to continue

what makes the NNPC so confident that it can do the job this time around? given this same scenario repeating itself in all government parastatals that you so aptly described?

that is a question you keep avoiding.

Am not avoiding any question. I have tried to provide as much answers as I can, to the best of my ability. You started this whole discourse, by holding up Dangote & Otedola a.k.a Blue Star as the only solution to the problems of the refineries, while blaming NNPC's staff for ineptitude & demonizing them as being solely responsible for the mess that the refineries are in, today. That was where I begged to differ. NNPC has a master, to whose tune it dances (i.e. the F.G). I also asked why other parts of the world had govt-owned businesses that were alright. You spoke as if Dangote & co. were doing Nigerians a favour, by even buying the refinery and went on as if all those who opposed them were daft, for doing so. Again this is where I disagree with you. If the refineries were over-valued, why did they put down such a huge amount for it? Why didn't they build their own?

Kindly go through my previous posts on this issue. I have not said that the refineries should not be sold, but am advocating that they should be sold to those with the 'technical skill, capability and funding' to run them. Dangote possesses the funding. . . .but does he have the technical skill & capability? Oil, is not like sugar. It is an international commodity whose prices are regulated by powerful interests, in other parts of the world. Go through the Platt, and see what the various oil prices are, on a daily basis.

The same Nigerian staff, that we are so quick to criticise, go to other multi-national companies and do so well at their jobs. What is the proportion of Nigerians carrying out various jobs, in Shell, ExxonMobil & Chevron within Nigeria?

Edmond Daukoru had an illustrious career at Shell Nigeria for many years, before he was made M.D of N.N.P.C. What happened during his tenure? Was he a corrupt N.N.P.C staff, too? Most of the technical staff (especially the engineers) within N.N.P.C started their careers in other foreign multi-nationals within the oil sector, where they were adjudged as competent. Some even went on to OPEC in Vienna to serve for a while, before returning back to nigeria to join the N.N.P.C. Were they all incompetent, when they were in those places before they got to the N.N.P.C? Please get hold of the Abisoye panel report. After reading it, you would find that the greatest havoc done to that parastatal, came from govt. itself.

Listen, sometimes in selling off national assets, certain strategic interests should be considered. We should be careful not to build a powerful cabal that can hold us by the jugular using our oil industry, as a springboard. Would that be in the best interest of the nation?

@debosky,

Please this is not a question of blaming the govt. or buck passing. Read up all the news reports on the TAM contracts, and how they were awarded. When Emeka Ofor of Chrome was paid millions to do a TAM that never saw the light of day. . . .pray tell, who took the decision to award him the contract? When oil blocks were awarded by previous governments. . . .pray tell, who influenced the bidding processes and who decided who got what?

Debosky, please talk to those who know about the daily activities of the NNPC. You will see that the same scenario described above, repeats itself in all govt. parastatals across the country.

http://odili.net/news/source/2007/mar/10/559.html

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/index.php/content/view/6399/55

[quote author=Gary K. Busch]

It took another eight to nine years before the Warri and Kaduna Refineries were commissioned (within a year of each other) with capacities of 125,000 bpd and 110,000 bpd respectively, coinciding with the 1979/80 upstream production peak. Production was again on the upsurge when the most modern of the three refineries was commissioned in Port Harcourt in 1989 with a capacity of I50, 000 bpd. The timing of these investments was very significant as they coincided with major increases in crude oil revenue accruing to the Federation. It was the Government's intention to plough back revenue surpluses in order to further add value, cater for domestic needs and conserve foreign exchange.

Port Harcourt Refinery: The last but one Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) carried out in 1994 was followed six long years later by another in 2000. The power unit remains its main problem. The premier unit was neglected until 1993/94 when it was rehabilitated, but ever since then, it has had to remain shut in favour of the main one because of power limitations, or because of crude allocation, which historically have sometimes proved inadequate.

Warri Refinery: Another example of inadequate maintenance led to catastrophic system failures such as the main Crude Heater blow up of 2000. The last full TAM was 1994. There has not been one since. Capacity utilization was a mere 37.4% in 1995 down from 72% in 1992. It has declined since then.

Kaduna Refinery: Inadequate maintenance, combined with internal staff relations (as in Warn) and a lack of resources for maintenance were a major factor in the poor refinery performance. Problems with the FCC (‘cracker’), water intake and cooler units are a regular occurrence. The 1992 TAM ran over budget and was never satisfactorily concluded, while the one started in 1998 has still to be concluded; there were two TAMs in between which were funded but never started

Capacity utilization has dropped from 73.9% in 1988 to a mere 42.4% in 1995, with debilitating results on the economy and people's daily lives, especially in the northern part of the country where Kaduna is the only hub. These have declined further, year-by-year. The estimated remedial costs are monumental, especially for Warri Refinery (nearly N28 billion) and Kaduna (N2 billion). There is no way the government was willing to pump in these huge sums of money, and has sought any number of shortcuts to relieve itself of the responsibility.

Nigeria has already issued several licenses for the repair and maintenance of the refineries. A lot of money has been paid, but very little maintenance completed.

New refinery tenders were issued. The local Nigerian companies who won the tenders for this have not been able to attract overseas firms willing to co-operate with them, nor have they been able to raise the capital needed to perform these tasks.[/quote]

@ Debosky,

Go and check your records. Every MD of NNPC from the seventies till date, has been sacked, compulsorily retired or sent packing from that top position in the corporation, by the powers-that-be in our country. Why? Some stepped on the toes of the master by refusing to carry out certain unethical durties. Others were asked to leave via radio announcements, simply because they were not dancing to the government's tune.

And you keep wondering why we are calling 'the government's' name? For the record, the government consists of the Head of State and C-in-C, the VP, his ministerial council, his top advisers, special assistants, SFG, and now the house of reps & Senate. Comprende? Now, these guys believe that the NNPC and its' staff is there to give out contracts to them & their proxies. Even the change in petroleum prices, is done by the government, through its' agency - the PPRA. The directive to increase prices comes from from Aso Rock. NNPC's job is to implement! chikena!

As for your last post, _{please note:} You only accused the NNPC staff of lethargy, laziness and lack of initiative. If you have evidence of corruption, kindly  post it here.

Am not saying the NNPC staff are saints, or may not have aided or abetted others in carrying out some corrupt acts. But it is nothing compared to the massive looting perpertrated by those at the helm of affairs in this country. The oil windfall under IBB, how was it spent? Why didn't they plough it back into the refineries? Please, kindly stop villifying the NNPC staff, as if they are the sole agents responsible for running down the refineries, and creating the mess in the oil industry. It would be like villifying the CBN for the free-fall of the naira since 1985, without taking into cognisance the total economic situation in the country from that time, till date.

Are the Ransome-Kuti's the greatest Nigerian family?? NO!

The most radical family? Yeah. . . .

The most notorious family? Perhaps. . . .

The most 'non-conformist' family? Um. . .certainly!

Planner:
Prejudiced? No. I am only acting on self-defence. I cannot allow someone to just rubbish my heritage like Ono always does. Mind you , i only write in reponse to a post. So Laudate  I am not prejudieced. Like you summarised we are basically the same irrespective of  our different backgrounds.

Sadly people like Ono will never agree. As far he is concerned an annihilation of the igbo people ethnic group will give him some peace but you know what: YOU WILL FAIL!

Don't you think you are exaggerating?  I have read a lot of Ono's posts, and I haven't seen anywhere, he has made any remark calling for the annihilation of the Igbo. But then, I stand to be corrected. I do not always agree with his comments, but I don't see the need to attack his person, in order to get him to have a change of heart.

You (along with a few others on this thread), have often called him all kinds of unflattering names, so it is only to be expected that he would retaliate in anger.

He has a lot of views which differ from the mainstream perspective, held by many folks from the South-east. I guess we can't all have an identical opinion on every issue. So if he has a contrary view, then one can only try to educate him on areas where his opinions are wrong. Name-calling and vicious attacks won't do much, in this instance.

mikeansy:
The then Sardauna been be an old fool wey discouraged his people from civilisation but yet his own children they learn western education. He was not really liked in the North because he was very corrupt, them make him look like a saint to find a reason to justify the pogrom.

Please I beg of you, do not elevate falsehood to the level of discourse. Where did you get the information that the late Sardauna Sir, Ahmadu Bello was not liked by the North?? Nothing could be further from the truth. Or are you talking about another Sardauna?

Please talk to any Northerner who was alive & living in the North in the sixties, you will find that the man was not only well-liked, he was practically revered.

http://www.dawodu.com/mamza6.htm

http://www.arewa-online.com/sardau.html

http://www.nigerianmuse.com/important_documents/?u=vanguard_north_one_destiny.htm&PHPSESSID=81a679c6a4caac9371857e4ebee2112e

http://www.arewa-online.com/arewa-cnn_a00001Sardauna.html

ono:
Laudate,
Why will I blame the Northern people much for their actions? True, they went extreme with their attacks on other people. But we have to be fair on them too. They lost many of their people in the war too.

Will all these Igbo loudmouths be talking like this today if it was the Hausa/Fulani North that was largely slaughtered and lost that war in 1966 - 1970? I'm only trying my best to be fair on all the parties involved in the war. The hausa/fulanis up until today are the least educated people in this country. You can imagine the barbaric way they would handle the situations that led to that war at the time. Their Sardauna was slaughtered, along with several other top politicians from the North, by a group, largely made up of Igbo military Majors. Many other politicians from other areas were spared. Now, would you blame them for being suspicious?

Ordinary religious sentiments draws the fury of these people, talk less of killing their elected leaders. It's like pulling on the tail of a Lion! This is what I've been trying to make all these recalcitrant Igbos see, but will not because the likes of Kanto and his ilks are dafts and blind.

I quite understand why the Igbos are bitter about it. They lost out in the scheme of things. It's painful, but that's what fate has brought to them. They should just accept their fate and move on with their lives - as many of them are currently doing.

Ono, why the harsh words? Sometimes, the tone of your replies make it easy for people who read your comments to feel antagonistic towards you. In choosing uncomplimentary epithets like 'loud mouths', 'recalcitrant' etc. to describe a whole group of people, you alienate them and any message you are trying to get across, gets lost.

It wasn't only the Igbo who suffered losses in the war, every other group suffered one kind of loss or the other. And people all over this nation, still suffer from some kind of bitterness in varying degrees, about what happened during the war. Don't you think any group of people who lost as much as the Igbo people did, have a right to feel bitter about their losses? If you were in their shoes, wouldn't you feel the same way?

As for the Fulani, a number of them believe in 'an eye for an eye'. But anyone in power in Nigeria, needs to send a strong message to the religious fantics among them, that 'extremism' in whatever shape or form, will not be tolerated from any group. Fanaticism breeds hatred & bloodshed. And that is the last thing we need, in this nation.

On a final note, I have heard stories and seen examples of those who chose to stand in solidarity with their brothers from other ethnic groups, during that war. There are some families in the South-West who took care of some Igbo families that stayed behind, during the war. A few have even told stories of how a Hausa man or a Fulani man, stood between them and the northern religious militants, in order to save their lives. We need to be more tolerant as a people. That is my belief.

RichyBlacK:
Sure, the execution of that coup did not go as the planners wished. However, the demographics of those killed in the coup is a secondary issue compared to the primary issue of the demographics of the planners/executors.

Assuming the following demographics for the planners of the Jan. 15, 1966 coup: 2 Hausa, 2 Igbo and 2 Yoruba (as opposed to 5 Igbo and 1 Yoruba). With similar outcome of coup casualties, or even a more skewed outcome, say only northern leaders were killed, it is doubtful that the coup would have been viewed through an ethnic prism.

The misguided interpretation that the coup was planned by the Igbos contributed immensely to the pogrom targeted at the Igbos (though many other southerners were killed also) in many parts of Nigeria.

Also, the separation of personal choice/ambition from ethnic hegemony was not brought to bear on the situation. Every Igbo person was guilty by association for an act that was executed by a handful of Igbos.

The high visibility of Igbos in every corner of Nigeria (largely due to trade/commerce) did not make things easier for them also.

Yes. . . .you are right. I get what you mean. But the truth is that the intentions of the coup planners as was communicated to the population, did not tally with the outcome of events, especially when the casualties were recorded. Despite that, I still believe the governement did a poor job of handling the whole situation, in the aftermath of that coup.

If the coup plotters had been tried within a few short weeks of the event, or court-martialled in full glare of the public, it would have gone a long way to assuage the feelings of the people that justice had been done. But instead, a lot of things were kept under wraps, and this fuelled suspicions and strife. Unfortunately, the Igbo bore the brunt of it, in many parts of the North. That was a very sad chapter in our history.

@denex & debosky,

You guys are all blaming NLC & NNPC staff as if they were the alpha & omega, of all that went on within the oil industry. That is what the federal governmnt wants you guys to believe. They were bloody civil servants, if you must know, with little or no authority to go against instructions from above, despite all the technocrats they had in-house.

The truth is that the staff of the NNPC have never had a free hand to run the corporation, the proper way it should be done. I saw with my own 'koro koro' eyes in 1998, signed letters from Abuja, from the powers-that-be in Aso Rock, giving instructions to the MD of NNPC, about who he should sell certain allocations to, with immediate effect. I had gone on a visit to the corporation's HQ, to see a youth corper friend of mine. As she was leaving the office, she asked me to help her carry some files, so that she wouldn't have to walk up and down the staircase a 2nd time. Some of those files fell down. As we were packing them up. . . .ah, omo some of the things I saw made me open my mouth in shock!

Abeg, don't let me go into details. Make we leave matter for Mathias.

RichyBlacK:
@laudate, I agree with you that Ogundipe lost control of the army. In effect, the northern soldiers mutinied and their leaders were confined to northerners. Hence, Ogundipe stood no chance.

The point Ugwumba was making was that if Ogundipe's decision were interpreted as a personal/career choice, why not extend that logic to the Igbo officers who acted on January 15, 1966. Far from that, many saw that coup as an Igbo coup as opposed to a coup executed by military officers, who just happened to be largely Igbos.

Richy black, thanks for your comments.

Maybe some people saw the January 1966 coup as an Igbo coup, not just because most of the officers involved were Igbo, but because in the execution of the coup, only politicians from other regions, lost their lives. Who knows?

I believe the young officers who initiated that coup may have had altruistic motives, but things went wrong at the end of the day. The probably learnt too late, that coups & violence create more problems than the ones they were originally designed to solve.

Dis Guy:
Ze Serikin'n Fulani daga Nairalandi

Uh?? Where did you get the title of Seriki?

denex:
Kupolokun is just perplexed because the era of sinking billions of dollars into refineries ended just before he became GMD he wants his share of the refinery "cake" and he wants to use Yar'Adua as a tool to catch Nigeria mugu.

Do you know Kupolukun? Why are you so eager to cast aspersions on him?

@Uche2nna,

Dis Guy is just sending you greetings and asking how you are doing.

I thought this was a fulani thread, so why is everyone speaking Hausa, instead of fulfulde? 

Fulani language is quite different from Hausa o, unfortunately it isn't as widely spoken as Hausa, in the north. The Fulani people are spread all over Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa even down to Kwara & Kogi & some parts of Plateau states.

Now there are efforts to translate some parts of the Bible into the Fulani language. I pray it succeeds.

denex:
Then later some people would say I hate Igbos. How can you just hate these people?

Thank you. I thought I was the only one they made such comments about. 

Planner: I wonder why an enlightened person will write that Ogundipe merely resiigned or had a careers change when he is suppose to take over a post being the most seniour officer.  Ok. See this analogy. You are army reserve and due to be deployed in a war ozone, on the eve of your deployment you had a change of mind and resigned. Do you know what they normally do to such people? Court Marshalled. Period.

So those who said that he is a coward (mind yorubas are not) are very correct to say that.
And stereotypes  is a human failing. So for igbo people to say that yorubas  are generally coward is not out of place. The same is said of the igbo people being greedy and all other 'evils" attributed to them.

Yes. . . . .Ogundipe had a career change. What is wrong with that?? If the army didn't want him to resign or if his desire to leave was wrong, why didn't they court-martial him, at that time? What on earth do you take the Nigerian Army for? Please go back and read the role of the military prior to the events of 1966, again. The miltary were not supposed to be the rulers of Nigeria. That they even got into power in the first place, was an aberration. And secondly, a commanding officer is only as good as the troops he leads. If those troops refuse to show loyalty to him or take directives from him, what is he supposed to do? Install himself as their Commander-In-Chief by force, without any support?? Get real, Planner.

Finally, I must thank you for one thing. You have finally clarifed your mind-set for me. When it comes to tackling real-life issues, or addressing the mistakes of the past, you would rather rely heavily on stereotypes and prejudice to do so. Now, everyone on this board knows the kind of premise on which you base your arguments. There is no need to expect much from someone with this kind of mind-set.

Afam: Laudate, it seems that you enjoy reading anything against the Igbos even though you spearhead same but will quickly jump to defend a statement targeting the Niger delta while opposing most comments by some Igbo people here. Make your stand clear and be bold about it. Hiding or masking real hatred with remarks and comments isn't the best in my opinion.

Ah. . . . .this is so funny.  I have always had tremendous respect for your comments, but I'll have to disagree with you, right here. How many comments made by Igbo people, have I opposed?? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Please let me know. And if I have opposed a few comments by an Igbo, is it a crime? Can't I state my mind without fear or favour? Or do you expect everyone to do 'follow-follow' or fall in line, with every comment made on this forum, just because it has been made by an Igbo person? Is there no room for independent thought anymore? 

Please go back & read my posts. They are scattered all over different threads in this forum. If I disagree with anyone, I often give my reasons for doing so, in black & white. So my stand is clear. I have made other statements in support of the Igbo, in this thread as well as in other threads. I didn't notice any objections then. It seems that every one must buy into a particular point-of-view which is supported by the Igbo, or risk being accused of "reading anything against the Igbos and spearheading same . . . .," to use your own words. How sad. 

babyosisi: I would rather hang out anyday with ono and mohadana before I sit with someone like laudate.
A  bold enemy is 100 times better than a false friend.
2face ilaudatia

What makes you think that it would be a pleasure to hang out with you? What on earth gives you the idea that I would ever consider sitting with a tribalist like you? Oh mi gosh!! This is so funny. I can’t stop laughing. 

Finally, you claimed that Laudate is two-faced. Hmmn. In what way has Laudate been two-faced? Please spell it out in black & white o! You take great delight in accusing people of all kinds of negative stuff, while using a smiley to mask your own evil remarks. When you are asked to substantiate your allegations with facts, you become mute. Anyway, that has always been your style. Why am I not suprised?

Planner: [Ono and Laudate you guys derive so many pleasure in the post below:

Igbo leaders, however, have not done themselves any favours with their neighbours by their attitudes towards them - starting from Zik's removal of Professor Eyo Ita, to mockery of their lifestyles and to attempts to dominate.

Why? Because you have not purged yourselves of immense bias.   

Note: As far as there are skinheads and suicide bombers, then there will always be zionist.

Planner, you are free to express agreement, with any comment that catches your fancy. It's called choice.

Ugwumba made the statement quoted above, and I agreed with him, because I have seen real-life examples of this issue, that he spoke about. You did not direct your objections to the originator of that statement, instead you chose to turn round and accuse me of bias, for agreeing with him. How ironic.

Planner, you are free to hold whatever views you like, in the same way I reserve the right to agree with whomever I choose, as long as I can see the truth in whatever comment that person has made. If that offends you. . . . . too bad.

Do you get the point?

Ugwumba:
@ obong, read the posts of some of those who say they are from the Niger-Delta here and you will come to this same conclusion (note that I refer to those southern minorities who have made statements here).

During the civil war, south eastern minorities were divided in their support for Nigeria and Biafra - many supported because of a shared sense of the injustice of the pogroms, while many others did not because of a real fear of igbo dominance.

To give the impression that the south eastern minorities were in any way unified to[i] 'fight nigeria within a nigerian context'[/i] is not only untrue, but does a great disservice to those who fought and died on Biafra's side.

Mazi Ugwumba, thank you for expressing the truth in such a clear, lucid & articulate manner!   

Donzman:
See how this Igbo hater called Laudate keeps going around spreading Igbo hate seeds. Someone talks about how much we are friends with Efiks and Ibibios and the only thing she has to say is about how me Igbos look down on them. . .Stupid tribalist.

Donzman. . . . .you really make me laugh! Please post all the comments that I have made that show the spread of Igbo hate seeds. You need to see a shrink. Don't kill yourself with paranoia. Go back & read my earlier comment. It was made in response to Ugwumba's statements, who acknowledged that the relationship of Nd'Igbo with the southern minorities, has not always been rosy. But then, I expect that only a die-hard tribalist like you, would be so quick to insult others, for making a factual statement.

If you can't understand the context in which my statement was made, then I'll have to conclude that you flunked your final exams in English comprehension. Mumu!!