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MayorofLagos's Posts

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PoliticsRe: See What A Woman Did To Save Her Child From Fire Outbreak by MayorofLagos(m): 3:32am On Feb 05, 2016
iamkeyz:
nice story
mums are great and everything sweet
but, the story is fake
how the baby take pass that window?
Even if its fake...it portrays in its capacity the beauty of self sacrifice and love.

Me chionu, onye akpu! angry
PoliticsRe: See What A Woman Did To Save Her Child From Fire Outbreak by MayorofLagos(m): 11:47pm On Feb 04, 2016
May God Bless this woman wherever she is.

Tell all these girls out here the true cause to spread your legs. This is it right here, on display.

Is there any reason this is not already splashed on fp? Do i need to file complaint with ICC before NL mods will put this on fp?
PoliticsRe: Why Does Everyone Making A Thread Include "CC Lalasticlala" To The Thread by MayorofLagos(m): 11:30pm On Feb 04, 2016
Lala is the tax collector in this bi#6#
PoliticsRe: Female Army Cadet Tortures A Man For Calling Her "Beautiful" by MayorofLagos(m): 8:11am On Feb 04, 2016
Hey Ishilove,
Na you set for inside picture so? Babe you badt gan o!

testing to see if mods will ban me for admiring Ishilove. Lol
PoliticsRe: Female Army Cadet Tortures A Man For Calling Her "Beautiful" by MayorofLagos(m): 8:05am On Feb 04, 2016
If while still in cadet school and yet to be issued gun they can do this to a civilian, merely for passing compliment, I wonder what they will do when they are gun toting lieutenants....will they shoot a civilian for admiring a female soldier?

If any of you know this victim please tell him to get lawyer and file lawsuit against the following

NDA
NA
FG
AGF

There are so many laws broken here.
PoliticsRe: Court Orders Arrest Of Temitope Aluko by MayorofLagos(m): 5:09pm On Feb 03, 2016
Why is court issuing an order of arrest? This is not their job.
PoliticsRe: Buhari Should Beg Ngozi Okonjo Iweala . by MayorofLagos(m): 5:15am On Jan 25, 2016
Achuwa1:
Bush son didnt fuxck up in those countries,but he achieved what americans wanted of him thts y he was given those accolades & awards...
america is only after their interest & not tht of the subject.
You must be from East. You are definitely not a Yoruba judging from this politically damaging response.

So...why do you think America is celebrating Okonjo....is it because she went against their corporate interest?

Abeg pack up and go write in Biafra thread.. C'mon, go...
PoliticsRe: Buhari Should Beg Ngozi Okonjo Iweala . by MayorofLagos(m): 5:02am On Jan 25, 2016
Achuwa1:
If NOI didnt perform she wouldnt be getting all the international awards u see under her kitty & she even served under 2 different regimes because she was gud at what she does,,,
so u apc e-rat should tell ur president to focus on governance & stop junketering around the world to borrow money from islamic countries & stop signing agreement with the arab gulf tht will plung our future generation into bondage in the future.
Nigeria has become a mess under pmb coz his govt doesnt have focus but only fighting opposition in the name coruption & havent even raised up to 10billion in the fight against corruptiin since inception in office,which shows all the publicized figures in the media are all big lies
President Bush, the son, received many accolades and awards after fvking up Iraq, Afghanistan and destabilising Libya, Tunisia.

Na today?
PoliticsRe: Buhari Should Beg Ngozi Okonjo Iweala . by MayorofLagos(m): 4:56am On Jan 25, 2016
Gbawe:
grin grin grin grin grin grin. On a serious note, NOI is a certified failure who supervised a period in our history when we earned record income from oil yet the greatest looting of Nigeria's commonwealth occurred totally removing the positive economic effect such earnings would ordinarily have if available to improve the lot of the people. If we want to convince the world we are a banana republic and a joke nation then the quickest way to do this is to bring NOI back to serve under the current government in any capacity.
Lmao! Its amazing that everyone keep touting her experience as an asset. What really is her experience? She failed in her first tenure as finance minister. She came back and failed again....and these riffraff, panhandlers are asking for her return. To do what...fail a third time? Do Ibos want me to do a mythbuster on NOI...it wont be sweet, I promise you. Lets just leave her intact with her skeletons, no need for revelations.

Gbawe, iwo loko won....bring your bulala out and whip these freaks abeg. Lol. cheesy
TravelRe: Photo Of Lagos Traffic In 1982 by MayorofLagos(m): 4:46am On Jan 25, 2016
OP,
What does it look like now...in that same sectiin of Lagos?
FoodRe: Food Brings Peace....inviting My Ibo Brothers To Join Hand With Me. by MayorofLagos(op): 4:42am On Jan 25, 2016
SirJeffry:
Bia mayor of umuanumanu, so you have influenced my sister this much that she now cooks such dog poo as meal?

Anyway I warned her.angry
Lmao... grin grin grin
Nna, kedu maka gini? Long time no see!
PoliticsRe: Buhari Should Beg Ngozi Okonjo Iweala . by MayorofLagos(m): 4:33am On Jan 25, 2016
mekaboy:
I know once most people see the title of this thread, they become Sentimental and ethnically hyperactive. But this is not about any ethnic group, religion or political party. This is about the survival of our dear nation.

I can authoritatively say that buhari and the APC have no plans for Nigeria.All they wanted is power, they have got it now and don't know how to handle it.

President Buhari is hiding behind the fight against corruption to distract Nigerians from his lack of understanding and solutions to Nigeria's economic problems.

Yes buhari is fighting corruption, but corruption did not start with the past administration. As a matter of fact, I am not sure any Nigerian president has been as corrupt as abacha who he called a saint(story 4 another day).

Does buhari mean well for Nigeria ?Yes . Did Gej mean well for Nigeria ? Yes.

But having a desire without a plan is like building a castle in the air. I can stay in my room and wish to go to America, if I don't get the required information and follow the application process, I will remain in my room.

That is the situation facing PMB, he is not well informed about our economy. I strongly believe that buhari did not know the content of the budget which he presented, all he knew was the final figures.

Just like the ministerial positions were pened down by the party members who invested billions in the elections, so was the budget. Most of the funds spent in the election is to be recovered through the budget.

That was why the movie surrounding the stealing of the budget occurred. When people criticised the budget, buhari felt embarrassed and withdrew the budget, had a meeting with the APC investors, and they decided to reduce the figures that attracted criticism and move the funds to other area that would not be noticed. All they know is that the must recover their investment through the budget.

Now, the main reason why our economy did well under Gej despite the distraction from bokoharam is not just the oil price, but the policies and his economic team.

Trust me, if Gej had won the elections, things would have been tough in Nigeria but not this tough.

First there would not be the delay in appointing ministers like Buhari did. The economic team would have swung into action to attempt to cushion the effects of the coming economic sunami.

Do you know why I said buhari has no plan or solution to our problems?

1,Buhari is going out there trying to borrow money for an over inflated budget. Is it wrong to borrow? No. But not if you don't have plans to pay.

2, there is a difference between bringing investors into your country and borrowing money. What buhari is going for is to borrow and not bring investment.


3, The reason why a business man will borrow from a bank to do business, is because he believes that what he will do with the money will generate more money, he will pay the bank and also have profit. Because Buhari and his economic team have no solutions to our economic problem, he wants to borrow without interest. This is because the money that will be borrowed will be diverted to private pockets through the budget.

It is the interest on the loan that makes a business man work round the clock. This is why buhari is going out for the Islamic bond with the UAE which I don't know the conditions attached.

Buhari, why are you going outside Nigeria to borrow, when Nigerians are ready and willing to lend to you and the APC? Just make the bonds and treasury bills attractive, then watch Nigerians lend you as much as you want. But because most of the money that will be borrowed will end up in the pockets of the party chiefs, buhari is afraid of borrowing with interest. Because he will be forced to pay Nigerians back their money when it matures and there won't be any money to pay, because they have shared it.

So rather than borrow from the people and pay them with interest if you are sure you have good plans to invest, the govt decides to take from the people by force by Deeping their hands into our accounts and collecting N50 from each transaction.

Buhari and the APC want to short investors out, borrow from the Arab world, and leave Nigerians in debt.

WHY DOES BUHARI NEED OKONJO IWEALA?

1, she understands our economic situation.

2, she understands the fears and desires of foreign investors

3, she can create the balance that will favour both Nigerians and foriegn investors.

Buhari and his economic team are still struggling to understand our economic challenge. Because they don't understand, they can't provide a solution.

Buhari and his team believe they can frustrate investors with their policies and then go out their and borrow from the west. No wonder he is going to the Arab world for non interest loan.

But will Nigeria survive without foriegn investors? No. What will happen is there will be a lot of cash for the govt officials to share, but there will be no jobs.

Our foriegn reserves will dry up and there will be hyper inflation. Naira will exchange at over 500 for a dollar.

The entire system will get messed up and we end up like Zimbabwe.

At that time, we will be on our knees begging investors and their terms will be so unfavourable for us. It is better buhari swallow his pride and beg NOI who can bring the nigerian economy and foriegn investors to a table for negotiation and get us a good deal now. If he keeps being stubborn, and messes things up real bad, there won't be room for negotiation, we will just have to take whatever they offer.

Most Nigerians will say, to hell with foriegn investors, we can make it on our own.

With the kaduna and PH refineries shut down, Nigeria needing to import fuel and pay subsidy, importers needing forex to import. How long will it take before we run out of forex?

Then it will be 10k to a dollar and mega inflation. Buhari better swallow his pride and do the needful before he grounds this nation.
Anywhere you put Ibo without supervision it ends in ruin! There are track records to prove it, from 1960 till today.

If Ngozi wants to.come back and assist its fine but she will be under the supervision of Kemi Adeosun.

Is this cool?
FoodRe: Food Brings Peace....inviting My Ibo Brothers To Join Hand With Me. by MayorofLagos(op): 2:08am On Jan 25, 2016
Sunnybobo3:
Is that dog food?














Just asking.
We are not ready to have dogs gaining political smartness. No need to feed amala to dogs...otherwise he will start wondering and questioning why he is the altar offering for Ogun, when cows are abundantly available to use. grin
No no no!
PoliticsRe: The Elders Of Iboland Need To Come Together And Stop This Nonsense by MayorofLagos(op): 2:02am On Jan 25, 2016
Bhella5:
You were making sense until went and invalidate your admonition with ur 'I dont like Ibo' statement. Mayor oya wear your crash helmet coz bashing will start to rain on you.
What is your input on the part calling for Elders to show up and save the youth?
FoodRe: Food Brings Peace....inviting My Ibo Brothers To Join Hand With Me. by MayorofLagos(op): 12:26am On Jan 25, 2016
FSU:
Only under acute starvation can you overlook the "face" of food and hope that it tastes good. I hope they are not starving you to death in the part of Yorubaland you live in.
I knew the guy will soon be attacked. grin grin
We are going to snatch APGA away from non performing people....people that do not feed on amala and ewedu....and give to capable brains sustained by amala.

Join me to eat this amala my brother so we can make APGA great!
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op): 12:16am On Jan 25, 2016
millionaireman:
But Seun said no body must promote Biafra on his blogsite, so why allow matters about Biafra here where no body can defend anything BIafra or risk ban? Bringing Biafra matters here is for Biafra to be ridiculed. That is not what balancing of opinion on a blog site to make it stronger is all about..
If jihadists bring message of terrorism here i dont think Seun will tolerate them. However, if muslims discuss virtues of jihad i believe Seun will tolerant of them.

This topic and the article reveals a major missing link in the history of the war and aspects the 20pound accusation and controversy in a new light not known before. This is educative but moreso discredits Chinua Achebe's claim or the popular myth in alaigbo that Pa Awolowo cheated Ibo out of their life savings. That classifies it as a mythbuster!

Kudos to P.J Symes for this article. Im only a messenger.
FoodRe: Food Brings Peace....inviting My Ibo Brothers To Join Hand With Me. by MayorofLagos(op): 12:04am On Jan 25, 2016
phantom:
I am igbo BUT funny enough i enjoy amala and ewedu. My mum used to make it while we growing up and i guess i got used to it.
if you can look beyond the "face" of that soup and taste it.its tasty and quite nutritious.
That explains why you are politically wise and ahead of other nwafors. grin
FoodRe: Food Brings Peace....inviting My Ibo Brothers To Join Hand With Me. by MayorofLagos(op): 12:00am On Jan 25, 2016
baby124:
Lol. Even the Amala get cap. Very delicious looking meal right there. How ever, very naughty OP.
Lmao. grin
I love your kind of black...lets be naughty together.
FoodRe: Food Brings Peace....inviting My Ibo Brothers To Join Hand With Me. by MayorofLagos(op): 11:30pm On Jan 24, 2016
FSU:
Disgusting piece of shiiiit. No wonder your brain is vacous
grin grin

That food was yummy!!
PoliticsThe Elders Of Iboland Need To Come Together And Stop This Nonsense by MayorofLagos(op): 11:24pm On Jan 24, 2016
I read news almost daily now of youths getting shot and killed in East. This is not a happy moment at all and no one who cherishes life will sit by and watch children killed like this. This is getting out of hand.

The elders of Iboland need to converge at home...in Iboland...not in Lagos and not in Abuja, but in the heartland of Igbo and come up with a way forward. If their desire is for independence then they should rally a pr message that outlines in their favor a palatable argument for independence. If their desire is to remain in Nigeria then they should hold rally in each state of Igboland and address their people on the way forward.

Dont leave these children alone to their fate to be wasted by bullets, the elders ought to shield them from the risks.

Yoruba say....Agba kin wa l'oja k'ori omo tuntun wo!
There is no English equivalent for this adage but in effect it is a admonish calling the elder to protect the interest of its future.

****

i just find it irritating that the soldiers are killing people over there everyday and looks like they are taking liberty in the elders silence to escalate the killing. Shyyte! angry
FoodFood Brings Peace....inviting My Ibo Brothers To Join Hand With Me. by MayorofLagos(op): 10:41pm On Jan 24, 2016
Amala and Ewedu with goat meat.

PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op): 4:29pm On Jan 24, 2016
superstar1:
Mayor,

This is another epic myth bursting of the many lies of the sons of bitterness from the land of gully erosion and dawning sun.

This reinforced what we have been telling this present deluded generations of nyamiris who are too intellectual lazy to read up but would rather believe their make-me-feel-good heroic lies of their defeated and shameless fathers and uncles, that they looted CBN, they had no money in any bank, how many of them had bank account if Nigeria is still grossly under banked in the year 2015AD, how much more in the 60s.

Kudos bro.
Thank you my brother.
Ojukwu was a war criminal and a thief.

No money in Bank of Biafra for people to withdraw, those who had money could not use it bdcause tbere were no commodities to purchase. They couldnt eat their money. The refugee aid sent in to feed people he cornered it for an elite group. Finally when he fled....instead of rescuing lives and airlifting them out of war zone he chosdd his mercedes to evacuate. If bank had no money for people tobwithdraw, where did Chukwuemeka get the millions he escaped with?

Is any Ibo capable of asking qhestions about these gaps and lapses?

Their leaders point to Yoruba in order to push them away from probing internally and discovering the lies and deceit.

Biafran leaders stole Ibo bank savings. Yoruba owe Ibo nothing, Nigeria owe Biafra nothing. Ibos should go and recover their looted savings stashed away in Switzerland and Portugal by their own brethrens.

My brother, Its time for me to go eat delicious amala and ewedu.
PoliticsRe: The Most Detribalised Nairalanders by MayorofLagos(m): 7:56am On Jan 24, 2016
mulattoclaro:
I've often noticed the comments made by nairalanders in respect to some sensitive issues. These people as far as I'm concerned are the most detribalised nairalanders. They're:

1. Tonyebarcanista

2. Simplycaro

3. Princedebola201

4. Spanishkid

5. Martineverest

6. Goodboiyy

6. Fineguy11

7. Coolitempa

8. GspotAngela

9. Searching4love

10. Enahi

11. Edcure

12. Freemanan
Im looking at this list and wondering to myself if this op know what tribalism is, not to come mention detribalised.

Im going to school op anyway.

A tribalist is in the same category of patriotism with a nationalist and a racist....they all love their kind first and defend the emotions of their people and land before any other.

A detribalised person is one who puts the interest and affairs of other tribes ahead of his own. In other words, someone who is not passionate about what sets him apart from other tribes....someone who suppresses the emotional impulse to differentiate, discriminate and belong.

Now, you say barcanista doesnt discriminate between Ijaw and Ibohuh If anyone ought to be awarded a place on this list it is Mayor because I dont give a dayamn if a person is Ibo, Biafra or Yanmiri, I cuss at them all, no discrimination, no differentiation...they were all created equal and who am I to say one is a better tribe than the other two. You hear me? cool
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op): 7:35am On Jan 24, 2016
TonySpike:
The summary is that Ojukwu and his cohorts stole nothing less than £50 million from Nigeria Central Bank to fund their ill conceived Biafra. Someone should please convert that to today's Naira. .
Yep! The truth is we now know that Awolowo did not give them ᤾20pounds as a substitute for their bank savings. There were no savings...whatever they had, it evaporated with Bank of Biafra. Awo was very kind to give each Ibo a new start in life with 20pounds. Each one was worth less than 1pound, out of his generosity he gave them 20 anyway.
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op): 7:28am On Jan 24, 2016
mallamseifaldin:
I will never read this scrap u posted..

You lack summary skills......
Don't use my post to hide the fact you have attention deficit and easily bored by reading. grin
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op): 5:29am On Jan 24, 2016
Ojukwu speaks through his diary....


            In his ‘Diary of Events’ for 1 September 1968, Gen. Ojukwu again records – ‘Acute shortage of currency due to Hank Wharton’s Plot.’ In the Biafran towns and cities the shortage of money was one of the many problems people faced. Banks would go for days without opening because there was no money for withdrawals, and when some was available it was rationed – people being allowed to withdraw no more than one pound a day.



Who stole Ibo savings? Ibos had money in bank, after war they lost their money, na who be the devil that stole their lifetime savings? We want know now now!

Where is EFCC...I need EFCC to investigate Biafra. cheesy
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op): 3:54am On Jan 24, 2016
,,,.
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op): 3:43am On Jan 24, 2016
,,
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op):
........,
PoliticsRe: Mythbuster - Read What Happened To Igbo Bank Savings. Biafra, Wahala Dey O! by MayorofLagos(op):
The second bank note issue

Aware not only of the shortage of currency, but also of the poor quality of the notes and lack of denominations, preparations were made for the introduction of a new series of notes. It is not known exactly when these notes were introduced, but it was probably around February 1969, as Gen. Ojukwu announced the following in a speech to the Consultative Assembly and Council of Chiefs and Elders on 10 February:
‘I am happy to announce to you that we have now been able to produce real Biafran currency of the highest quality. The new currency notes are of the wide range of £10, £5, £1, 10/–and 5/-.’ (Ojukwu, 1969)
            While each of the notes of the second issue have a degree of common design on their front, each denomination is distinct in its layout. The common features are the rising sun (now a much smaller representation), the palm tree, the names of the Republic and the Bank, a white disc to the right of the note, and patterns imitating engine work surrounding the note.
            The back of the 5-shilling note is very similar to the first issue, with the picture of the four Ibo girls and the manilla being used in the same manner. The back of the 10-shilling note uses the manilla in the same manner as the 5-shilling note (enclosing the value of the note in a white disc) and has a picture of an oil refinery – possibly the one at Port Harcourt. (Although the refinery, if that is what it is, may well have been the one built by the Biafrans at Uzoakoli following their loss of access to Port Harcourt and the coast.) The 1-pound note is again dominated on the back by the coat of arms, but lacks the ‘Alo’ (spear) of the first issue.
            However the ‘Alo’ makes its reappearance on the back of the 5-pound note, this time having a white disc with the coat of arms laying over its shaft. Also on the back of the 5-pound note is a picture of a woman weaving on a hand loom. The 10-pound note has a male carver depicted on its back, as well as having the coat of arms in a white disc to the left.
            The notes of the second series are printed on non-fluorescing paper embedded with red and blue fibres. The use of this paper is the dominant security feature of the issue, however there is a very interesting attempt to use an early form of ‘micro printing’ on all notes of this series. The front of each note has a coloured pattern (around the outside of the central design) which contains very small print repeating the words ‘Bank of Biafra’ followed by the denomination of the note – e.g. the 5-shilling note repeats ‘Bank of Biafra Five Shillings’. The small print appears as continuous lines, however the print is made less easy to detect by being overlaid with a pattern of lines – the pattern being different on each denomination.
            With such an interesting attempt at ‘micro printing’ it would be pleasing to know where the notes were printed, but the printer of each issue is a mystery. Beresiner and Narbeth (in The Story of Paper Money) claim that the notes were printed in Portugal and Switzerland, and this seems to be a reasonable proposition. Only several countries recognised Biafra during its secession – Tanzania, Zambia, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, and Haiti – while a number of other governments expressed support for the Biafrans, amongst these being the French, Rhodesian, South African, and Portuguese. Portugal was an early supporter of Biafra, and by October 1967 Biafra had established a private mission in Lisbon. As a supporter of the Biafrans, Portugal would seem a likely place for producing one or both series of notes, and Hank Wharton is known to have been flying from Lisbon when he dumped the cargo of Biafran notes at sea. This possibility is further enhanced by the knowledge that the Biafran postage stamps were printed by the Portuguese State Security Printers in Lisbon. The postage stamps were reportedly released on 5 February 1968 (which varies by a week from the date announced by Ojukwu of 29 January) and it would not be difficult to conjecture that the postage stamps and the bank notes were printed by the same printer for release at the same time.
            From January 1968, a Swiss public relations company, ‘Markpress’ of Geneva, looked after various interests of the Biafran government, operating the ‘Biafran Overseas Press Division’ and providing access for journalists to Biafra. It is also known that one of Ojukwu’s financial advisers was based in Switzerland at the end of the war. These Swiss connections support the argument of one or more issues being printed in Switzerland.
            In addition, Biafra was reported to have bought many of its armaments in Geneva and Lisbon – reinforcing the probability that one or both of these cities may have provided printing presses for the notes. Because of the early support by Portugal and the later connection with ‘Markpress’, one could conjecture that the first series was printed in Portugal and the second in Switzerland.
            While not known for certain how many notes were produced for circulation in Biafra, a reasonable estimate can be made by extrapolating the number of notes prepared for each known serial number prefix. For the first series, there are only two known serial number prefixes, while for the second series there are four prefixes. Each prefix has ten million numbers, there fore the number of notes prepared for this issue are estimated to be:
          5s.  A/O & A/P                       20 million
          £1   A/A to A/D                      40 million
            There were many more notes prepared for the second issue of notes with the serial number prefixes being distinct for each denomination. The prefixes commenced with a letter that was assigned to the denomination, followed by a second letter that cycled through the alphabet from ‘A’ to ‘Z’; although the letters ‘I’ and ‘O’ were not used due to their similarity with the numerals one and zero. The two letter serial number were followed by a seven digit number. However, the first numeral in the serial number for all notes of the second issue is always zero. Thus, only six digits are used and this means that only one million notes were prepared for each prefix, and not the ten million that would be initially supposed. The known prefixes and the number of notes issued is summarized as follows:
          5s.  MA to MZ  (except MI & MO)      24 million
               NA to NR  (except NI & NO)      16 million
                                Total 5s.      40 million

         10s.  GA to GW  (except GI & GO)      19 million

          £1   BA to BZ  (except BI & BO)      24 million
               CA to CZ  (except CI & CO)      24 million
               DA to DX  (except DI & DO)      22 million
                                 Total £1      70 million

          £5   WA to WF                         6 million

         £10   ZA to ZC                         3 million

            The total value of each series printed, based on the numbers extrapolated above, was £50 million for the first issue and £148.5 million for the second issue, making a total of £198.5 million. Many of these notes were not delivered to Biafra, but it is not known how many were successfully conveyed to their destination and how many remained in storage at their point of production. However, at the end of the conflict it was estimated that between £115 and £140 million in Biafran currency was in circulation, indicating that a large proportion of the currency was delivered into circulation. While this amount may seem large, it must be remembered that Biafra had a population of 14 million, and the amount in circulation would equate to £10 per person at the most optimistic estimate.
            Although Biafra had made a concerted effort to produce the second series of higher quality bank notes, it would appear that their circulation was limited. By the time the notes were introduced in 1969, the country controlled by the Biafran forces had been reduced to a circular area approximately 85 miles across (roughly 5,000 square miles) and all consumables had long been sold. When a foreign journalist, Michael Mok of ‘Life’ magazine, asked a nun working with the Biafrans whether he could make a cash donation to help the starving children, he was told that cash would be useless, as there was nothing left to buy in Biafra. This may have been one of the reasons why so many Biafran notes remained in Europe undelivered – they were a cargo that could bring little practical purpose.
            At the end of the civil war there was a critical shortage of the new Nigerian currency, which retarded efforts to replace the currency in circulation in the east. The Central Bank began recalling the Biafran currency and the old Nigerian currency in the war-torn region but, because of the shortage of new Nigerian notes, only receipts were issued to those who surrendered the notes; although during this period of recall it was unclear what rate of exchange would be made for the Biafran notes. Rumours as to what value the Central Bank of Nigeria would place on the Biafran notes became widespread, with many believing one rumour that twenty Biafran pounds would be given the value of one Nigerian pound. Many impatient people surrendered their Biafran notes to speculators who were purchasing them at fifty Biafran pounds to one Nigerian pound. Ultimately the speculators got ‘burnt’, as the Central bank decided that there would be no exchange of Biafran currency for Nigerian currency, deciding instead to pay a flat rate of twenty Nigerian pounds to each depositor of Biafran or old Nigerian currency with the Central Bank.
            It is not known what happened to the Biafran currency that was surrendered, but it was almost certainly destroyed. In addition to the notes that circulated in Biafra, and those which were dumped into the sea (first series), there were also thousands of undelivered notes that survived the war. These undelivered notes were sold into the collector market once they became unusable, and were sold in such numbers that the market became flooded. The sale of the notes had begun in September 1968 when agents of the Biafran government in Geneva offered sets of the second series of Biafran bank notes for sale to ‘collectors and others’ at the price of £20 10s (sterling) per set. It is not known whether the sets were sold at the behest of the Biafrans, or by their agents in an effort to recoup unpaid costs. As the situation in Biafra deteriorated it would appear that the sale of notes escalated and it is probable that some of the larger dealers of coins and bank notes offered to take large amounts of the notes.
            The sale of undelivered notes included remainders as well as notes in issued form. Remainders are available only for the second series (with the apparent exception of the 10-shilling note which has not been positively recorded), and can be recognised by the lack of serial numbers – which are to be found (if present) in the top right and bottom left on the front of the notes.
            No matter in what form the notes are found (the remainders are now getting scarce), the notes of Biafra offer an interesting piece of history – a piece of African history, and a piece of bank note history. So next time you come across one of these notes, don’t reject them out of hand – collecting bank notes doesn’t have to revolve around scarce notes, and this series proves that cheap notes can be just as intriguing as their expensive counterparts.


Bibliography
– Akpan, Ntieyong U. (1972) The Struggle for Secession, 1966-1970, Frank Cass, London.
– Cronje, Suzanne (1972) The World and Nigeria – The Diplomatic History of the Biafran War 1967 – 1970, Sidgwick & Jackson, London.
– Beresiner, Yasha & Narbeth, Colin (1973) The Story of Paper Money, David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
– Einzig, Paul (1949) Primitive Money, Eyre & Spottiswoode, London.
– Forsyth, Frederick (1977) The Making of an African Legend: The Biafra Story, Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth.
– Keesing’s Publications Limited Keesing’s Contemporary Archives – Volume No.XVI 1967-1968 – London
– Mezu, S. Okechukwu (1971) Behind the Rising Sun, Heinemann, London.
            – Mok, Michael (1969) Biafra Journal, Time-Life Books, New York.
– Niven, Rex (1970) The War of Nigerian Unity 1967-1970, Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Ltd, Lagos.
– Ojukwu, C. Odumegwu (1969) Biafra – Selected Speeches and Random Thoughts, Harper & Rowe, New York.
– Pick Publishing Corporation (1970) Pick’s Currency Year Book – 1969, New York.
– Pick Publishing Corporation (1971) Pick’s Currency Year Book – 1970, New York.
– Steiner, Rolf (1978) The Last Adventurer, Little, Brown and Company, Boston.
– Waugh, Auberon & Cronje, Suzanne (1969) Biafra – Britain’s Shame, Michael Joseph, London.
– Europa Year Book (1968) Europa Publications, London.
– The Secession that Failed Time Magazine, January 26 1970, pages 18-24.

            – The Times newspaper – London, United Kingdom
(The references in brackets refer to the page number and column location of the relevant article.)
            1967 – October 25 (25g); May 29 (1e); June 9 (7d)
1968 – January 3 (5d); January 23 (1e); January 26 (4g); January 30 (4h); April 17 (10f); June 20 (4h)
            1969 – September 26 (6h)

            – The New York Times newspaper – New York, U.S.A.
(The references in brackets refer to the page and column number of the relevant article.)
            1967 – May 31 (14:4); December 31 (10:1)
            1968 – January 16 (17:7); May 2 (3:7); September 8 (Section 2, 40:5)
            1970 – January 27 (14:3)

© Peter Symes 1997 & 2003

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