₦airaland Forum

Naijacost22:
The Nigerian youths of today are sooo stupid they can,t use Google. Who on earth would google Abacha and still wear a shirt with his face?
It has to be an Idiot. No wonder we have a fulani Idiot in Aso rock.

Murtala Mohamed was the main actor in the Asaba massacre and he has an airport to his name and his portrait on the 20 Naira note. please free the girl abeg....

obailala:
"At least he hasnt broken the record of the last thief who stole $90billion."

**the 2 statements above hover in similiar level of silliness**

u must be a mo.ron to think that one individual can steal that large amount of money......do you think its 90 billion naira??

i detest rapist and homosexuals........

This is not about racists. This is about not-racists. You’ve seen them before: the special class of white people who say racist shit and do racist

things but declare themselves the “least racist person you know.”

Their racism isn’t always intentional. Sometimes it is a byproduct of privilege, sometimes it is a deflection, and sometimes it is caused by the

vapid, shallow inability to care about or understand anything that they don’t agree with because they are the majority.

The population of not-racists is steadily growing. Not-racists voted for Donald Trump. Not-racists say that kneeling for the flag means you want

to slit the throats of veterans. Not-racists believe in Blue Lives, White Jesus and black-on-black crime. So we decided to do a countdown of the

10 most popular phrases so that you can easily identify not-racists, or play a game of not-racist bingo in your spare time:

10. “Why must everything have to be about race?”

One of the most used ideas in the not-racist handbook is that talking about race creates divisiveness. The theory rests on the premise that the

more people point out racism, the more ... umm ... I really don’t know how the second part works.

The truth is that talking about race makes white people uncomfortable because it reminds them of the filthy history of white supremacy. That’s

why Texas schoolbooks referred to slaves as “immigrants,” and Confederate-flag-wavers have twisted the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history into

something about states’ rights, tradition and the North’s hatred of sweet tea ... and declaring human beings to be personal property.

And I get it; it is very uncomfortable for white people to hear about the atrocities of racism knowing that their people are complicit in centuries

of mistreatment. It would give me the heebie-jeebies, too. It’s like cheating on a woman, confessing and then wondering why she’s always

bringing up old shit when you come home late.

But the only way America will ever cure the cancer of white supremacy is by talking about it and treating it as if it were a disease. If you found a

tumor in your left lung and your doctor brought it up every time you lit a cigarette, it would be stupid to respond with, “Why does everything

have to be about lung cancer?”

It’s killing you, man. It’s killing you.

9. “I dated a black guy/girl ... ”

A few days ago I received a message from a not-racist woman who genuinely wanted to know why I used the phrase “white people” (and its

more hilarious cousin, “wypipo”). I patiently replied to her (I don’t always clap back, but when I do, it’s in the mailbag), and she wrote back that

she understood. She explained that she wasn’t racist because her ex-husband was black and she had half-black children. Which left me

wondering:

Who are these black men and women dating these clueless white people and leaving them as unwoke as they found them?

You gon’ let her raise your kids, bruh? For real?

Who told wypipo that when a black penis enters a white vagina (or vice versa), the orgasm gives them a special immunity to being a bigot?

If so, where does it go? (The racism, not the penis, stupid.)

Instead of the March on Washington or the Montgomery Bus Boycott, should we have just marched around the country having orgies?

That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.

8. “I don’t see color.”

Do you stop at green lights? How do you play checkers, then? Not-racists will actually try to convince you that they don’t care about race and

that erasing the concept of race from our minds is a self-righteous, egalitarian attribute.

Bullshit.

Here is the thing: The idea of a post-racial society is really the desire for a white society. Even nonracist Caucasians don’t mind this because

they don’t understand that whiteness has surpassed the classification of a racial category in America and has become the default.

Black people want to be treated like everyone else. We don’t desire to be seen as everyone else. Most African Americans, Mexicans, Jews, etc.,

love their race and their culture. It is a large part of who we are. We don’t care that you see our color. We just want you to respect it.

Also, how do you play Uno?

7. “You’re the racist!”

In the September 2013 global quarterly Not-Racists, the executive board decided to introduce a clever bit of trickery into the racial discussion in

America. According to the memo obtained by The Root, Caucasians were instructed to respond to any claims of racism, no matter how subtle,

with the charge that black people were the racist ones. Since then, according to a poll never conducted by Pew Research, claims of reverse

racism have risen more than 389 percent.

I’m not one of those people who believe black people can’t be racist, because I, too, felt racism creep into my heart once when a Caucasian co-

worker offered me leftover potato salad. Even though black-on-white racism technically exists, it is rarely injurious.

Because—feeling butt-hurt is not a medical symptom.

6. “I grew up around black people.”

There are people who grew up in the “inner city” or played Pop Warner football on the Negro side of town who believe that they can’t be racist.

According to them, growing up around black people—along with Mandingo penis and black vagina—completes the Holy Trinity of racism cures.

When asked why the white boys raised on slave plantations; the millennials who went to integrated schools but carried tiki torches in

Charlottesville, Va.; and Darren Wilson, who worked his entire career as a police officer in a majority-black town before he shot Michael Brown

Jr., still had remnants of racism in their bloodstreams, white people collectively paused, gazed at their flip-flops for a few brief seconds and

replied, “Why does everything have to be about race?”

5. “Not all white people ... ”

Nothing upsets the #NotRacist stomach more than hearing the phrase “white people” used in any capacity. Only the term “white privilege”

causes more consternation.

That same woman who wrote the letter I mentioned earlier said this:

First & foremost, many of us “white people” could careless what racial label you bestow upon us because at the end of the day the same loving

GOD that created white skin created dark skin ... Why does there have to be a label? Why must we classify as a “color”? When we are all God’s

master piece? No one runs from what the classification of one’s skin color reminds them of! What happened years ago is embarrassing. It’s

hurtful! And morally disturbing. I am fortunate, my family did not participate in the barbaric behaviors as other whites. And God help our soul

had we ever considered using a racial slur at another person! No my family was not and is not perfect but sir not all of us were mentally

disturbed. And that is what someone has to be in order to hold another against their will in captivity. And sir, why would you want to write such

things that fuel the hatred? Why would you assume that ALL whites fit into one general spectrum? If this is so, does this mean that because you

are black sir that you are a gang banger? Do you see the issue here sir? ”

Although this is one of the most interesting uses of the “not all white people” variations, it raises an interesting point: I have a friend who is

black and owns a Tesla. When she hears a mechanic advise people to change their oil every 3,000 miles, she doesn’t say, “Not all cars!” My

friend is intelligent enough to know that the mechanic is referring to most cars or the typical car. Nothing in this world is 100 percent.

Somewhere there exists a cat who likes having mice around, but for the most part ...

People who object to the word combination “white people” do so only because they aren’t used to being stereotyped. When the letter writer

considered every black stereotype and decided to ask if I was a gangbanger, it did not bother me. You know why?

Because I am not a gangbanger.

I am also accustomed to living with the knowledge that my skin engenders certain thoughts about who I am. She does not have to navigate a

world that presupposes her psyche on a day-to-day basis.

And that, dear reader, is called “white privilege.”

4. “Go back to Africa!”

Not-racists believe that America belongs to them and that whiteness endows them with the power to excommunicate the offenders of their

country at will. This, too, is white privilege.

White privilege is believing that you have the right to tell anyone to leave the country they built with their own hands, for free. White privilege is

believing that America is in decline and can be made great again only by a billionaire trust fund baby, but simultaneously saying that black

football players have no right to criticize America because it made them rich. White privilege is the belief that this country is yours, and anyone

who doesn’t like it should kick rocks. White privilege is the belief that kneeling is cause for being called anti-American, but not the actual,

unconstitutional mistreatment of Americans.

That’s why I’m proposing that whenever we hear anyone complain about big government, high taxes, Black Lives Matter, traffic, not enough

pineapples on their pizza or ask whether something is gluten-free, black people should cup their hands around their mouths and bellow into the

world:

“Go back to Caucasia!”

3. “Why must you always be the victim?”

Another not-racist premise posits that when black people play the “race card,” they are blaming the failures of black people on racism. According

to them, we want to make white people the villains and ourselves the victims.

They are partially correct. Black people kill too many other black people. The black family structure is falling apart. Blacks should focus more on

education. Those things will help black people immensely.

But if black people did all those things and ignored the fact that a black college graduate is more likely than a white high school grad to be

unemployed, and on average earns less than one; or that schools with majority-black students receive less funds than white schools with the

same tax and income bases; or ignored mass incarceration, sentence inequality, the drug war, the history of redlining, banks giving blacks

higher interest rates, disproportionate police brutality ...

... that would be stupid.

It’s like asking someone who was sexually abused to never talk about it or even to keep quiet when the cops ask about it because it turns the

survivor into a victim.

We are the victims ... of racism.

2. “I don’t want to sound racist, but ... ”

I have been told, on numerous occasions, to never consider anything after “but.” The oldest sleight of hand in the book of racism magic is to
proclaim oneself “not racist.” It is a wondrous trick that never works.

It’s akin to R. Kelly opening up a day care center and using the motto, “I’m not a pedophile, but I’d love to babysit your kids!”

Also, whenever anyone says they “don’t want to sound racist,” brace yourself. Because they are definitely about to say some racist shit.

1. “Make America great again.”

I can’t even ...

http://www.theroot.com/notracists-be-like-the-top-10-phrases-used-by-peop-1819142064

we are in the land flowing with milk and honey with gen buhari.

we have land in Anambra state if they want they can come and use. after all, the Nigerian government is no different from the U.S. morally, they dont have any reason to complain. let them set up their base any where they want. after all, Nigeria isn't a nation.

Tolexander:
The 2nd world war is over, the Japanese accepted defeated and the US apologized and claimed responsibility for the atrocities destroying the two cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with little boy and fat man resp.

Can the above be said about Nigeria?
Has anyone really claimed responsibility for ordering the massacre?
Who had claimed responsibility, Late Muritala Muhammad who was the commanding officer of the 2nd division in 1967, or Ibrahim Haruna who replaced him in 1968?
Though we know the major participating soldiers then.

Asaba massacre is meant to be discussed to make peace with people of Asaba and not this time when Nigeria is sitting on a gunpowder keg to avoid further disaster.

The Japanese have forgotten but have they forgiven America?

bloo.dy civilians.....

KingTom:
He lives large in a hilltop mansion and would probably die a natural death at old age Brruuuuuuhh isn't that the wish of every man? Ghost ko Ghost ni Mamman Vatsa ghost no haunt am Na Abiola?

welcome back to the dark days...

madridguy:
Funny you bro well, from your write up seem you're the type that only give fish without teaching your siblings how to fish

Teach two of them how to fish and the rest will stop calling you alone.

strangely,i would have to agree with u...

AWO HALL .....PLEASE if you want decent accommodation,go to FAJ HALL....

*"A serious government will fix power problem in six months." - Babatunde Raji Fashola (November 12, 2014)*
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*"Stone us [APC] if we do not perform after two years." - Tony Momoh ( April 3, 2016, The Guardian)*
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*"The only way to have stable electricity is to vote out PDP." - Babatunde Raji Fashola (July 12, 2014, The Nation)*
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*"We seriously frown at President Goodluck Jonathan, over the unceremonious removal of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Andrew Yakubu." -(APC, August 4, 2014, Channels TV)*
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*"It's Time To Restructure Nigeria: The present situation of things where all component units get monthly allocation from the Federal Government only makes the states lazy and unproductive." - Nasiru El-Rufai (August 2010)*
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*"Jonathan should resign if he has no solution to the violence being unleashed on some parts of the country." - Nasiru El-Rufai (August 2012)*
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*"The only solution to the present political uncertainty in the country is for the National Assembly to set machineries in motion for the impeachment of ailing President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua." - Muhammadu Buhari (March 10, 2010, Sun Newspapers)*
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*"Waste: Let me give an instance, presently, there are more than 6 aircraft in the presidential fleet. What do you call that? "Billions of naira is budgeted every year for the maintenance of these aircraft not to talk of operational cost and other expenses." - Muhammadu Buhari (February 2015, Nigerians in UK)*
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*"We intend for instance, to bring back our National carrier, the Nigerian Airways. We shall do this by bringing all the aircraft in the presidential fleet into the Nigerian airway and within a year increase the fleet into about 20." -Muhammadu Buhari (February 2015, Nigerians in UK)*
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*"Why do I need to embark on a foreign trip as a president with a huge crowd with public funds?*
*"Why do I need to go for foreign medical trip if we cannot make our hospital functional?" - Muhammadu Buhari (February 2015, Nigerians in UK)*
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*"Why is the nation?s currency, the Naira, now trading for N180 per Dollar, while the South African Rand is trading at R11 to one United States Dollar?" - Babatunde Raji Fashola (Dec 26, 2014, The Nation)*
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*"Give Nigerians a daily update on the health of President Umaru Yar'Adua to stem the growing rumours surrounding his state of health." - Lai Mohammed (December 21, 2009, The Nation)*
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*"Amaechi is not only clean but a tool to free Nigeria from the corruption imposed on us by those who hate our nation." - APC (October 24, 2016, Vanguard)*
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*"The recent proscription of Boko Haram and Ansaru violates the Constitution." - Lai Mohammed (June 10, 2013, The Nation

Legolast:
To him whom Brain is given, sense is required...

i could give you a long list of people i know and what happened to them in the military.i still have friends there. so he is saying the truth. u need someone to push you thru.

IamGeorgie:
PATIENTLY WAITIN FOR THE DAY NAIRALAND WILL BE FREE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU

u need to be realistic dude. that is exactly what happens in the military.

the many problems the british caused in africa..............

LUGBE:

that old man sef.....

As the lift in his luxury London hotel rushes upwards to the 11th floor, Olusegun Obasanjo squeezes my arm warmly as he recounts his busy schedule of late. His aide and two PR people nod approvingly as he talks of his jet-setting across Africa, his upcoming appointment with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and his trip to New York straight after.

With a new book to promote, the former Nigerian president from 1999 to 2007 has been busy. So too has the PR firm behind the book, offering him up for interviews far and wide.

Obasanjo can certainly handle it. Aged 80, he may look like a cuddly grandfather. But he still has plenty of fuel in his tank and fire in his belly, as I am to find out later this morning.

As we enter his hotel suite, an American news channel is blaring on the television. He instructs his aide to turn it down but not off. “I won’t know how to turn it on”, he says. His assistant shows him the big red button on the remote before pressing it. The screen goes black. “Now how will I turn it back on?” the former president asks, a touch irritated. The aide quietly reassures him that he’ll personally see to it as soon as the interview is over.

Obasanjo’s new book, Making Africa Work, describes itself as “a guide to improving Africa’s capacity for economic growth and job creation”. Co-written with Greg Mills, Jeffrey Herbst and Dickie Davis, it provides a detailed overview of various political and economic challenges facing the continent. It warns of a growing youth bulge, and provides dozens of recommendations on how to encourage the private sector, diversify the economy and deliver forward-thinking leadership.

As we sit down across the small table in his plush hotel room, I start by asking Obasanjo how well his own president, Muhummadu Buhari, has been faring on these fronts since coming to office in 2015. One thing the two men have in common is the extent to which they polarise opinion, though Obasanjo here is unrelentingly equivocal.

“Buhari has made some announcements. He has tried to keep on going in the area of agribusiness, but not enough,” he says, slowly and cautiously. “It is not yet enough to prepare the ground for uninhibited growth of the economy, which we need”.

“Not enough” seems a sparse and generous reading of an administration that has presided over Nigeria’s first recession in 25 years, rising youth unemployment, and endless policy deadlocks. But even when pushed on specifics, Obasanjo picks his words carefully as he repeats familiar combinations of faint praise and sympathetic criticism of the man he backed for office.

“Is Buhari doing enough about it?” he asks at one point of youth unemployment. “I don’t believe he is. Can he do enough about it? Of course he can.”

Obasanjo’s vague and uncommitted answers contrast with the book he just co-wrote, which packs a handful of statistics into virtually every paragraph and offers dozens of recommendations. But the former president does eventually hone in on one specific: Nigeria’s frustrated young people.

The median age of Nigeria’s population is under 18, and the youth demographic continues to swell. There aren’t enough jobs for them, and if Obasanjo were back in office, his priority would be education. “Youth empowerment, skill acquisition and youth employment – education must be able to do that,” he insists. “If you do that, the ticking bomb of possible youth explosion out of restiveness and anger will subside.”

Obasanjo attributes young people’s frustrations to many of Nigeria’s problems today, including the ongoing agitation in the south-east. Over the past couple years, the region has witnessed widespread protests, violence and military intervention as calls for some states to secede as the independent nation of Biafra have grown in volume.

The former president maintains that secession is not the solution, and says that the government’s military interventions – through which hundreds have reportedly been killed – have “made things worse”. But he accepts that young activists have real grievances.

“All youth in Nigeria have legitimate reasons to feel frustrated and angry,” he offers. “The protesters don’t even know what the struggle is all about, but if it gives them false hope, why not hang onto it?”

What would be his solution to the escalating crisis over calls for secession?

“Let the elders handle it or ignore it until it loses momentum,” he counsels. “There are elders in any community who are still respected…After all, they’re their fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, and can still be used effectively.”

Empowering old people may seem a counterintuitive approach to resolving a problem he ascribes to young people’s sense of disempowerment, but it is perhaps fitting advice from a man trying to carve out his own role as an elder statesman.

I ask Obasanjo whether devolution of powers could also help assuage the regional disillusionment. The idea of “true federalism” and “restructuring” has recently escalated into one of Nigeria’s main hot button political issues, with politicians, commentators and the media all debating the topic at length.

But at this, the former president sits up and fixes me with a stare from across the table.

“I don’t believe in true federalism. What is true federalism?”, he asks. The man whose tendency in office was always to centralise rather than decentralise power is suddenly bristling. He interrupts with more questions as I respond.

“Why are they not accountable? What powers do they not have?”, he interjects. “They have power,” he insists, poking his finger, claiming that in all but a few sectors, states can do whatever they want.

“In fact, state governors are more powerful than the president. That’s the truth,” he says. “If anybody tells you they want devolution or true federalism, he doesn’t know what he is talking about.” With an audible huff, he leans back.

A broad range of current and former lawmakers, civil society groups, and millions of Nigerians would beg to differ. So too would the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which Obasanjo backed in 2015, at least in its manifesto, which pledged to “amend our constitution with a view to devolving powers”.

But a frustrated Obasanjo doubles down. “The fact anybody talks about it doesn’t mean it’s right.”

—

In Nigeria, Obasanjo’s eight years in office remain highly controversial.

On the one hand, those who see him as a saviour can certainly point to some impressive successes. Coming to power in 1999, he inherited a country that was fragile, coup-prone, indebted and corrupt.

In response, he defanged and professionalised the army. His government tamed rampant inflation, earned debt relief, and built up considerable foreign exchange reserves. And he established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a body that went on to prosecute various high-profile figures – something many Nigerians never thought could happen – and recover billions of dollars in the process.

Obasanjo’s supporters argue that, unlike his predecessors, he left the country in better shape than he found it. That’s no mean feat.

But on the other hand, Obasanjo’s critics have no shortage of ammunition either.

They point out that his macroeconomic successes depended on high oil prices and did little to improve the lives of the vast majority of Nigerians. They complain that Obasanjo imposed a handpicked successor – the relatively inexperienced Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who died three years into his first term – on the country in chaotic elections in order to maintain his influence.

Obasanjo’s critics also say that the EFCC ended up being a politically-wielded weapon and that, if anything, systems of corruption ossified under his watch. The House of Representatives recently labelled Obasanjo the “grandfather of corruption”, while the EFCC’s former chair is reported to have said corruption under Obasanjo was worse than under his notoriously self-enriching military predecessor.

Ten years after he stepped down, Obasanjo still divides opinion. Many Nigerians – both those who love and hate him – wish he would retire gracefully on his farm. But that doesn’t seem to be on the cards in the foreseeable future. The 80-year-old continues to pull strings and enjoys significant influence within Nigeria’s complex political web.

As Nigeria approaches the 2019 elections, for example, the question of who Obasanjo will back has been subject to much speculation. Buhari has been ill for much of his time in office and wannabe successors, of which there is no shortage, have been positioning themselves carefully.

Obasanjo is tight-lipped on his front. “I don’t cross a bridge until I get to it,” he states.

One thing that seems clear, however, is that he won’t be supporting his former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. The two fell out in dramatic fashion in 2007. This month, there have been growing suggestions that Abubakar is lining up to run in 2019. Two days before I spoke to Obasanjo, the former VP had issued a challenge, calling on anyone with evidence of his corruption to come forwards now.

When I ask whether he will respond to this challenge, Obasanjo is unmoved. “Read my book”, he says, blinking at me. Is Abubakar corrupt? Is he fit for presidential office? Would you support him?

“Read my book”, he repeats in answer to each follow-up, unafraid to let his silence fill the room.

By his “book”, Obasanjo is not referring to the carefully-researched and co-written Making Africa Work, but his autobiography My Watch. Published in 2015, it comes in three volumes, extends to 1,578 pages full of copy-and-pasted speeches and reports, and is the size of a small watermelon.

Obasanjo refuses to speak further about Abubakar as we sit in his hotel room, but the former president is not usually known for holding his tongue. He is certainly not afraid to pick fights and condemn his opponents is public. However, the reverse is also true: many Nigerians continue to demand that he be held accountable for his time in office too.

As one might expect of a man who has published 2.2kg worth of autobiography – not including previous memoirs My Command and Not My Will – Obasanjo is highly sensitive when questions over his legacy are raised.

“Come off it. I had the largest poultry farm before I became president, the largest in Africa. The fact I have N20,000 in my account does not mean I’m not wealthy,” he snaps, referring to questions over how he came to be a multi-millionaire despite having just a few dollars when he entered office. “Do you understand that?”

When talking about abstract policy, Obasanjo tried to stay in ponderous elder statesman mode, but the moment his own reputation is under scrutiny, he switches to street-fighter mode. He turns to attack and starts pre-emptively answering questions I haven’t even asked.

What’s your response to people who say that while you were in off-. “My response is that while I was in office, all sorts of accusations were made!”

When your successor came into office, he-. “My successor was ignorant! Totally ignorant.”

I raise the ongoing problem of electricity supply in Nigeria, and lessons learnt from his efforts in office, but he interrupts before I can finish again. “That is absolute nonsense. There was a report from the House of Representatives that proved that wrong… So what the hell are you talking about?”

I’m no longer sure. But what he is now talking about are ongoing allegations that much of the $16 billion spent on electricity under his watch was lost through corruption. Incidentally, contrary to his claim, the report he says “totally absolved” him in fact recommended he be investigated and be “called to account for the recklessness in the power sector during his time”.

It’s around this time that the PR person, who has been sitting dutifully in the corner, proposes that now might be an apposite time to wrap up. The former president and I agree, but he is not quite done.

As I try to explain that many Nigerians still want to know about his time in office, he accuses of me having been sent to interview him by Abubakar and of being a “bloody idiot”. I feel like I’m getting a taste of why the octogenarian is still feared in Nigeria today.

I collect my things and thank the ex-president for his time. My notes remind me to ask for a photo, but as he scowls at the floor, I think better of it. An uninformed and “disrespectful” youth, I have already displeased the elder. Now is the time for me know my place, bow out and be quiet.

http://africanarguments.org/2017/09/28/an-interview-with-olusegun-obasanjo-up-close-and-a-little-too-personal/

7Alexander:

“He told me that he only slept with my wife five times, but my wife denied it and said it was only four times and I paid the doctor to do it again.

4 times and 5 times whats the difference? some people sha.......you see why God destroyed the world before

crazy family.

obonujoker:
We yoruba muslims support our muslim lords

stanluiz:
Guy no be lie north is dragging this country backward.

The Chairman of both the Patriots and Project Nigeria Movement, PNT, Professor Ben Nwabueze has said that Nigeria is a federation in name

and not in practice and called for the restructuring of the country to reflect its true status to ensure a new beginning. He also said that the

widespread clamour among Nigerians was not aimed at breaking up the country but to ensure fairness and equity for all irrespective of tribes or

religion, just as he condemned the unilateral proscription of the Indigenous People of

Biafra, IPOB, without engaging in dialogue with IPOB. This was contained in a statement he issued in Enugu Thursday. Nwabueze, in the

statement entitled “Press Statement on Restructuring to mark our 57th Independence Anniversary,” said, “The object of re-structuring for which

there is a widespread clamour among Nigerians, is not to break up the country or to enable agitators to secede from its sovereignty and

territorial integrity. “Far from that, the object is, by reforming the governmental structures and attuning them to the needs and wishes of the

people, to ensure that the immense diversity of ethnic nationalities comprised in the state will continue to co-exist together in peace, prosperity

and progress as citizens of one country united by common interests, common aspirations and a common destiny. “The clamour for re-

structuring must therefore be seen as a clamour for the setting up of appropriate platforms or fora to renegotiate suitable governmental

structures for the pursuit and realization of our common needs for development, good governance and national transformation. “In short, the

clamour for re-structuring is more than a clamour for the reform of our governmental structures. This is only its primary focus. In its wider,

more fundamental focus, it is a call for Nigeria to “make a new beginning” under a new Constitution approved and adopted by the people at a

Referendum, a new politico-legal order that will cleanse the country of the rottenness that pervades it and enable to “chart a road map for its

destiny” or what has been referred to as “re-structuring of the mind.” “This aspect of re-structuring, which is as necessary as its primary focus,

will need to be led by a President, as the elected Leader of the people, imbued with an ardour for national transformation. “The governmental

structure that needs particularly to be reformed by re-structuring is our federal system. Federalism is commonly agreed to be a compelling

necessity for the maintenance of peace, stability and development of Nigeria as one country. “The 1960/1963 Constitutions of Nigeria

established a federal system with three (later four) regions each invested with sufficient autonomy to govern itself in matters that concerned it

alone – internal self-government – without undue control by, or interference from, the centre, thus giving each region the impetus and incentive

to develop optimally in healthy competition with the others. “The federal system under the two Constitutions (1960 and 1963) may fairly be

described as a model of true federalism. “Regrettably, the intrusion of absolutist military rule for 28 years after 1965 has brought about the

accretion of a vast amount of additional powers to the Centre, over and above what they were under the 1960/63 Constitutions, resulting in the

system being turned virtually into a unitary system; the system is still tagged federal, but it is so largely in name. “There are certain matters

involved in this, undue concentration of powers and financial resources at the Centre that need to be specifically mentioned, viz “It is a manifest

contradiction to conceive of a government, whether in a federal or unitary system, without a constitution. There is just no such thing. The very

notion of a government necessarily implies a constitution. Separate governments, as required by federalism, necessarily imply a separate

constitution for each of the governments. “The contradiction of a state or government without a separate coercive force of its own and under its

independent control to maintain its existence and authority as a government and to enforce its laws. States exist, says D’treaves, according as

they have a coercive force to exact obedience to their commands. It is certainly incompatible with the notion of a separate government for each

of the constituent units in a federal system that the only coercive force for the maintenance of their existence and authority as a government

and for the enforcement of their laws is placed under the control of the Federal Government. The federating units in Nigeria need to have their

separate and independent police force to conform with the requirements of federalism. “The incompatibility with the autonomy of a constituent

unit in a federal system that the election of its political functionaries – governor, members of its legislative assembly and local government

councils – should be conducted by an organ of the Federal Government. “The extension of federal power to the control of land. Land title is now

largely exclusive to the Federal Government, for not only is the Land Use Act 1978 entrenched in the Constitution (s.315(5)), but also its

provisions are to “continue to have effect as federal enactments and as if they related to matters included in the Exclusive Legislative List set

out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.” “Aspects of local government are now also brought within the purview of the Federal

Government. The extension of federal power to aspects of local government offends against the principle that local government is an example

par excellence of a matter of local concern which places it squarely within the exclusive competence of the Regions or States.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/09/nigeria-federation-name-not-practice-ben-nwabueze/

Proud of its own identity and language, Catalonia is one of Spain's richest and most highly industrialised regions, and also one of the most

independent-minded.

With a distinct history stretching back to the early middle ages, many Catalans think of themselves as a separate nation from the rest of Spain.

This feeling is fed by memories of the Franco dictatorship, which attempted to suppress Catalan identity, and is nowhere more clearly expressed

than in the fierce rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, Spain's top football clubs.

A roughly triangular region in Spain's far north-east corner, Catalonia is separated by the Pyrenean mountains from southern France, with which

it has close historical ties.

Building human towers - "castells" - is a Catalan tradition originating in the 18th century

Most of the region's population lives in Barcelona, its vibrant political and economic hub and a popular European travel destination.

Holiday-makers also flock to the Mediterranean beaches of the Costa Brava and Costa Daurada/Dorada, and the Pyrenees are popular with

hikers, making tourism an important part of Catalonia's economy.

At a glance

Politics: Catalonia's leader is pushing for a referendum on self-determination

Culture: Catalonia's laws require teachers, doctors and public sector workers to use Catalan, an official language along with Spanish

Economy: Catalonia is one of Spain's wealthiest but most indebted regions. Harsh austerity measures have boosted separatist sentiment

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

But it is manufacturing - traditionally textiles, but more recently overtaken in importance by the chemical industry, food-processing,

metalworking - that make the region Spain's economic powerhouse, along with a growing service sector.

History

The area first emerged as a distinct entity with the rise of the County of Barcelona to pre-eminence in the 11th century. In the 12th century, the

county was brought under the same royal rule as the neighbouring kingdom of Aragon, going on to become a major medieval sea power.

Catalonia has been part of Spain since its genesis in the 15th century, when King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile married and

united their realms.

Initially retaining its own institutions, the region was ever more tightly integrated into the Spanish state, until the 19th century ushered in a

renewed sense of Catalan identity, which flowed into a campaign for political autonomy and even separatism. The period also saw an effort to

revive Catalan, long in decline by then, as a language of literature.

Catalonia's beaches attract tourists from across Europe

When Spain became a republic in 1931, Catalonia was soon given broad autonomy. During the Spanish Civil War, Catalonia was a key

Republican stronghold, and the fall of Barcelona to Gen Francisco Franco's right-wing forces in 1939 marked the beginning of the end of Spanish

resistance to him.

Under Franco's ultra-conservative rule, autonomy was revoked, Catalan nationalism repressed and use of the Catalan language restricted.

Independence moves

The pendulum swung back with the emergence of a democratic Spain after Franco's death. Catalonia now has is its own parliament and

executive - together known as the "Generalitat" in Catalan - with extensive autonomy.

Nationalist fervour soared in 2010 after a ruling by Spain's constitutional court that set limits on Catalan claims to nationhood. The region's

president at the time, Jose Montilla, said the ruling had "attacked the dignity of Catalans".

Spain's painful economic crunch has fuelled enthusiasm for sovereignty.

Many Catalans believe the affluent region pays more to Madrid than it gets back, and blame much of Spain's 2008 debt crisis on the central

government.

Catalan language on the rise

A regional government backed by the two main separatist parties - in power since snap elections in November 2012 - held an informal, non-

binding vote on independence in 2014, with 80% of those taking part voting "yes". The Spanish government says Catalonia has no

constitutional right to break away.

Plans for a new referendum in October 2017 created new tensions between the region and central government.

The use of Catalan - a language as close to regional languages of southern France like Occitan as it is to Castilian Spanish - has equal status

with Castilian and is now actively encouraged in education, official use and the media. However, Castilian predominates in Barcelona, and is still

the first language of a narrow majority of Catalans, who are nearly all bilingual.

Variants are also spoken in the region of Valencia to the south, and on the Balearic islands, leading many Catalan nationalists to regard all three

regions- as well as the traditionally Catalan-speaking Roussillon region of France - as forming the "Catalan Countries".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20345071

GeeString:
How?

You think this is WWII abi? You think modern warfare involves man-to-man combat?

Better wake up.

All it takes is one ballistic nuclear missile (Nigeria has none, not even a conventional one) shot from even outside Nigeria and Lagos is reduced to radioactive ash.

I'm waiting for your to tell me about our newly acquired "jets"

Those "jets" are a joke in modern warfare. More like escort planes.

Better don't bite off more than you can chew.

they cant even be used as escort planes

NigerDeltan:
Thief that is suppose to be in jail is now been worshipped in the west, no problem

***modified**

For those of you quoting me, I know in this country truth is always bitter

But your insults cannot stop me from saying it, a former Mobil staff moving around with private jet?

Common! Make una wake up small nah

His wife is a senator
His son is in the house of assembly, governor in waiting
His daughter is a LG chairlady

every other tribe have thieves excerpt theirs.....

AyakaDunukofia:
Like I said, Biafra is a developing story. I respect the guts and intellect of Chief Nnia Nwodo. IPOB and it's "proscription" by the fulani helmsman, is an intellectual argument they will never win. The debate is now on the internatoonal podium.

For Buhari and his co-travellers, what a weak position to argue from before the learned world.

Ndigbo need active Ohaneze President in this critical time, and there is one in Chief Nwodo.

i really admire this nwodo guy and i would always continue to say it. he is the first and only ohaneze president that i like. very smart and intellectual.

paiz:
I believe one day I will be proud to call nigeria my country

maybe when you are dead.......

We are not obliged,even for a second, to try to prove to anybody and especially to blacks and Arabs that we are superior people – we have

demonstrated that to the black and Arabs in 1001 ways.

The America we know today was not created by wishful thinking.We created it at the expenses of intelligence, sweat and blood…..we do not

pretend like other whites that we like the blacks – We must admit,without any fear,that we don’t like them,and for so so may many valid

reasons.

The fact that blacks and Arabs look like human beings does not necessarily make them sensible human beings. Hedgehogs are not porcupines

and lizards are not crocodiles because they look alike. if God had wanted us to be equal to blacks and Arabs, he would have created us all of a

uniform colour and intellect. But he created us differently.Whites, blacks, yellow, the rulers and the ruled. intellectually we are superior to the

blacks and Arabs.That has been proven beyond the reasonable doubt over the years.

I believe that a white man is an honest, God fearing person who has demonstrated practically the right way of being a human.By now every one

of us has seen it practically that blacks and Arabs cannot rule themselves. Give them guns and they will kill each other.They are good in nothing

else but making noise, dancing, marrying many wives, alcoholism, witchcraft, indulging in sex, pretending in church, jealousy, fighting and

complaining of nonsense.

Their only main concern (which according to me is stupidity of the highest magnitude) is same – sex marriages.They keep pointing fingers to

us,we the west,that we have legalised it in our countries,and that we always outspokenly support gay people around the world.And because

they always foolishly want to demostrate their ignorance,hatred and fear about the subject,some of them have even enacted harsh laws to

codemn their own gay citizens.This shows that beyond illusions and doubt,what people do with their own bodies is Africans main concern.I hear

they even strip their women publicly.

Let us all accept the fact that the black man is a symbol of poverty, mental inferiority, laziness and emotional incompetence.To make the matter

worse,he can do everything possible to defend his stupidity.Give them money for development and they will fight and create hatred and enmity

for themselves.Drill oil wells for them and they will not have peace all the days of their life.See,for instance,what’s happening in

Nigeria,Southern Sudan,Malawi,DRC just to mention a few.

this proves to anybody including a stupid fool that Africans do not know what they want. isn’t that plausible?

Therefore that the white man is created to rule the black man, Africans will always have day dreams.And here is the creature (black man) that

lacks foresight but only sees what is near him and still fails to know what to do. A black man is stupid to the extent that he cannot plan for his

life beyond a year. Therefore how can they develop and live longer.

Corruption in west (And China) is a big abomination but in africa,it’s so huge that it is slowly becoming an acceptable way of life.They sing and

rejoice to their corrupt political leaders.They worship their scandal-ridden religious leaders like their gods.Lest you forget,these so called

Africans are praising,dancing and praying for the people that have impoverished them,and who comes to hide their loot here.

Then which fool argues that the black man is not born a beggar, grows a beggar, looks a beggar, falls sick as a beggar and dies a beggar. this

has been proven beyond reasoning. I wonder why even up to now most Africans still go to school by force and those who are at school are are

just drug addicts who don’t know what took them there.This is a pregnant stupidity in Africa that needs Jesus’s immediate second coming. the

body of Africans is a very fertile ground for all diseases in the world because they don’t fear even HIV/AIDS. This leaves me with a question: are

our eyes created the same with those Africans,,.? I hear there are still cultures in Africa that prohibit them from using latrines which is very

annoying.

They cried for independence but have failed to rule themselves. For sure being African is a very untreatable disease that even prayers are not

enough.

They have minerals but they cannot do anything with it.Therefore let us (whites) go to Africa and pick what we can pick and leave what is of no

use.Poverty is a disease to the whites but to the blacks it is very normal.

The worst tragedy in Africa is that if you dare stand up and speak up for what’s right,you may end up regretting.The few wise and open-minded

Africans who have tried to educate these fools about civilization have met the worst.They have been pushed hard on the wall,they have been

silenced and others have been killed.

Before I finish,let me tell Africans that before you jump and call me a racist,an anti-blacks or whatever term you may wish to use against

me,first tackle runaway corruption,dreadful terrorism,tribalism,poverty,unemployment, diseases, illiteracy ,ignorance and inequality that have

put your whole continent on the verge of collapse.Hate me or love me I don’t care.I know this is the plain truth which will never see the light of

the day to the cowards that are afraid to be told as it is.



By, Donald .J. Trump

NigerDeltan: