₦airaland Forum

No, there is nothing you could say that will change my mind about this petition.

And if you don't think I know that Nigeria has serious problems and have thought about how to contribute my quota then you don't know what you are talking about. This is one small quota I could contribute. Lend a helping hand IF YOU CAN, but resist the temptation to distract. I would rather have everybody supporting the petition, but it is not a necessary condition for pursuing a cause. It may only make a tiny contribution, but it would still be positive.

Contribute your own quota and see if I don't join you. What is important to you may not be important to me due to many reasons, but the aggregation of our various contributions is how we will help our country.

Thank you.

naijamini

kellorah:
There's nothing I will say that will make u change your mind about your petition, so Imma save myself the energy of basically repeating what some people have already said!!

But, please, do use your time to petition for/against IMPORTANT issues.

This movie should be the least of your worries.

@kellorah

And you are happy about that! FYI the rightness of a cause is not measured by how many people join with you, but the principle behind it and your means of achieving them. At least that is the way I see it. It is not a popularity contest.

Unnecessary things you say. Well, I 'll like to participate in the necessary things you are addressing to help Nigeria's cause. I am waiting.

Thank you.

naijamini

kellorah:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

You'll be lucky if u get 50 petitions!!

Some people know how to bother themselves with unnecessary things. Don't have HBP sha.

Use this time and energy to petition against important things pls. This movie is selling elsewhere, and the people are enjoying their money.

@must_a_far

Please re-read my post again.

It is not justifying any of our own reality, it is against the reality of double-standards.

Why couldn't Neil Blomkamp, a descendant of those who committed the most egregious crime against black people under apartheid South Africa, devote his movie to a true catharsis over that great crime if indeed his movie was about racism as he claimed? Why does he have to bring Nigerians into this movie? Does it perhaps have something to do with the role Nigeria played over the years to finally help defeat apartheid? If you can provide me with answers to that then you would be justified, otherwise please try to re-read my post for what it is really saying.

Thank you.

naijamini

[quote author=must_a_far link=topic=325776.msg4575530#msg4575530 date=1253376887]lets face our own wahala and leave the rest of the world to theirs. all this bring up Rabbi this, America also that doesnt justify our own reality.[/quote]

@Beaf

A metaphorical cannibal is not the same thing as a literal canibal. Are you accepting that you are a cannibal? That is what your questions: "Is Nigeria a cannibal? Do we really think others can't see us we truly are?" imply.

The over-generalization, and some Nigerians easy acceptance of it, is the issue. This prevents well-meaning Nigerians from doing anything about what is wrong in the society since we are condemned to hell, without redemption. It also allows those who perpetrate these acts to continue without impunity since in their eyes and the eyes of those supposed to know better, everyone is doing it too.

I hope you see my point.

naijamini

Beaf:
A cannibal is an animal that feeds on its own kind.

I posted some images to prove that we cannibalise each other, unfortunately they were deleted by the forum bot.
We live in a country were the rich steal remorselessly from the poor, the govt repeatedly bombs its own citizens, it is difficult to distinguish between police and armed robbers; thieves who are known worldwide are the powers in Aso rock

Is Nigeria a cannibal? Do we really think others can't see us we truly are?

@Jakumo,

I agree with you that we cannot make these things secrets, but at the same time we need to be careful to avoid over-generalizations. People are looking to burn us, and we cannot to be greasing ourselves as they prepare to light the fire.

Even if these things happen, it is not rampant (i.e. not holding full sway, common knowledge etc.) as I have not come across it in my entire life in Nigeria. Your description shows that this is underground activity that a competent police force would be doing all it can to put down each day. Reminds you of the recently broken up ring in New Jersey where a Rabbi was the linchpin for a kidney stealing and trafficing underground network with connections to Israel. Nobody in their right mind thinks this behavior is American or Israeli culture, and the same should apply to Nigeria.

My problem is that we so easily translate evidence of abhorrent behavior in Nigeria into a guilty verdict on every Nigerian. This is the attitude of individuals who see no good in us. An American once, without any indication that he is aware of the inappropriateness of his impending question, asked me if it was true that Nigerians are promiscuous. This is the same country whose president was caught doing it with an intern in the Presidential Mansion, ala Abacha, yet remains one of the best presidents ever. Not that I don't like Clinton, I do because he did his job, but the point is the double standard that we face from foreigners. Be that as it may, we cannot afford to join them in such generalizations.

We need to chart a middle-way to approaching the Nigerian problem. Neither accepting bad behavior, nor presenting gifts to our detractors.

Thank you

naijamini

Jakumo:
No sir, I am most assuredly NOT joking when I describe the decades-old EPIDEMIC of ritual murder in Nigeria as more than qualifying to be termed a rampant phenomenon.   You  have evidently chosen to remain blissfully unaware that there are indeed human meat departments in Jankara Market in Lagos, in Ibadan's Ogunpa Market, and perhaps most famously of all,  in the home-made fire-arms market of Ob'Anang in Calabar.  Buyers need only utter the code-word for human body parts in any of those markets, and a generous SELECTION of both fresh and smoke-dried human body parts will be presented for inspection and no-questions-asked purchase.

Those WELL KNOWN Nigerian human parts retailers represent the public face of a VAST underground network of kidnappers, murderers, grave robbers and mortuary attendants, all engaged full-time in the endeavor of processing human beings into merchandise for fetish believers, who seek to either eat human flesh, or utilize human organs as the ingredients for  always futile sacrificial procedures purported to generate free cash out of thin air and cadavers.

While I certainly respect your optimistic preference that these horrible Nigerian realities, and myriad others, be assigned the status of  "national secrets", reserved for hushed discussion amongst PATRIOTIC Nigerians and their well wishers, I will only add that such horrific practices, when so common as to become an inextricable part of any culture, CANNOT stay hidden forever.

@Tsiya

Thank you. Please endeavor to sign the petition.

naijamini

Tsiya:
This is a serious allegation. I particulary feel terribly bad about this movie. Despite the fact that we are suffering from bad leadership and caricature of a society, it doesn't mean that we should be subject of ridicule. The movie, if released, with its negative depiction of Nigeria, will go further to destroy our image. Imagine, the already battered image we have. Our present leaders are not us. They will die and we will have other leaders. Nigeria is not for a particular people but for 150million people. If very few people are corrupt, then why depict the image of the rest as barbaric.

I am particulary saddened. This is because my son and daughter will grow up in a society that already have a negative image of them.

Can anyone tell me what is the relationship between Sony Entertainment and the Sony that aired the PS3 commercial?

@Mudley313 and babapupa

Yes, we have to tackle this problem everywhere. I have lately being appalled at Nigerian movies bought here in the USA. Don't get me wrong a few have been quite enjoyable, but many are just senseless and meaningless, and a damage to Nigeria. I guess you could say it took a direct attack like District 9 for me to decide to do something, no matter how small - and this would not be the end of action. However, one person does not a forest make - we need to join hands.

I encourage you to sign the petition.

Thank you.

naijamini

Mudley313:
oboy, u get work o

n how do nigerians themselves portray nigeria in their own nollywood movies? osuofia in london? dat "i go chop your dollar movie?? ritualist corruption n so on

my broda charity begins at home so as u get so much work on your hand as depicted by your letter n concerns(?) about the image of our holier than thou country, why dont u start by petitining nollywood, a fast growing movie industry across the africa, to start portraying nigerians as saints n nuns? nonsense

babapupa:
let me know when you go begin petition naija government to stop corruption and begin eliminate the kain nonsense wey allow the depiction inside the movie to transpire in the first place.

@udezue

You say rubbish.

I am sorry that you cannot see the connection between how District 9 could turn your comfortable living in TX upside down. A couple of days ago I watched a documentary about the treatment of Nigerians in South African from this site http://www.viewnaija.com/site/. I cannot locate the video at this time. A fact mentioned in that movie is that most of the Nigerians that undergo this treatment in South Africa are Igbos. I point this out because you had the Biafran label on your post. In fact the movie showed the brave efforts of the Nigerians to organize and protect themselves, because as it turns out Nigerians are being specifically targeted, robbed and extorted by the police, even when they are involved in no criminal activity.

And you response to a protest over this treatment is RUBBISH? Why?

What I am trying to say is that Nigeria is not made up of imaginary people, but individuals, households, ethnic groups, and these are the real people affected by the depravity in District 9.

Please rethink how you approach the Nigerian issue. Yorubas would say that "the head cannot be so underserving as to loose its cap to the navel".

udezue:
rubbish

@Jakumo

I am willing to engage you and others in this forum on how we address the myriad of problems that confront Nigerians both home and abroad. One thing is sure however, you cannot call a place your home and continue to use it as a shit-house yourself. This is how I see the response by many to project Nigeria's dignity in any form in this forum. It seems as if some of you simply exist to put Nigeria down. You seem incapable of distinguishing between bad leaders, criminal elements and the generality of Nigerians.

If you are indeed a Nigerian and you don't get the implications of what movies like District 9 is doing, here it is again. It is not just that they depict some Nigerians as thugs and other things. It is the fact that they simply label them Nigerians. This is particularly troubling coming from descendants of people who committed the most egregious acts against black people in the history of mankind. Basically, they are saying that YOUR sisters, if you have any, and all the women you ever knew are prostitutes. That YOU Jakumo are essentially a thug and a cannibal, and you have no hope of redemption. Is this what you are? That is not what I am and my sisters and all the women in my life are decent people.

Again it is not just that certain actions are attributed to Nigerians, it is the depraved personal level of character and culture depicted in the movie. I am sure you know how messages are communicated in movies. The Italian Mafia and Russian mobs are always shown to maintain a high level of dignity and family honor, even as they murder and steal - the personal character and culture of the people are not assaulted because of this Scarface is more of an hero than a villain that he really is.

Please rethink how you see Nigeria and ask yourself if your approach is making a difference for good or adding to the problem.

Besides I don't know what you mean by "human sacrifice is rampant". Are you kidding me?

Thank you.

naijamini

Jakumo:
What the phuck to do you expect the depictions of Nigerians to be in a movie, given that in the real Nigeria, human sacrifice is rampant, the entire country has been ruled for decades by kleptomaniacs, there is NEVER any electricity because all the money allocated for its production is comprehensively looted by government officials both high and low, the police regularly murder people to steal their money, large gangs of bandits take over entire residential districts for hours of plunder, rape and homicide, the phucking roads make the lunar surface appear smooth by comparison, bribes are taken at every turn and for all activities besides inhaling that nation's foul, polluted air, and trash mountains the size of the Matterhorn rise from city streets  ?

I ask again, poster,  even as we try to ignore the justly-earned reputation of Nigerin citizens as the world's most relentless and prolific internet fraud practitioners,  what the phuck do you expect the depictions of Nigeria to be, when the reality of that country and the majority of those who attain any measure of power there are so utterly and irredeemably squalid ?

Fellow Nigerians,

I have seen the movie District 9, followed commentaries around the web, and read some of the writer and director Neil Blomkamp's interview. I find nothing convincing to dissuade my feeling of a delibrate, at best unflattering, but actually dangerous portrayal of our nation.

I have posted an online petition against these aspects of the movie. I 'll be happy to discuss my deconstruction of this movie in a separate post. However, the current post is to invite the 1000s of Nigerians on this forum to sign this petition. We need to start dealing with this serious and dangerous trend in the treatment of Nigerians around the world. The petition can be read and signed at (the text is also posted below):

http://www.petitiononline.com/ddd2009/petition.html

or go directly to the signature page:

http://www.petitiononline.com/ddd2009/petition-sign.html

Thanks very much.

naijamini

***************************************************

To:  Sony Pictures Entertainment Global Communications
Michael Lynton
Sony Pictures Entertainment Global Communications
10202 West Washington Blvd., Culver City, California 90232
Press Line: 310-244-7737
press@spe.sony.com

Dear Mr. Lynton, Neil Blomkamp and Peter Jackson,

I write you as a Nigerian about the direct reference in District 9 to a group of thugs, mercenaries, alien-mating prostitutes, witchcraft practitioners, and cannibals BY MY COUNTRY'S NAME, and to their leader by the name of our immediate past president. I wish to strongly urge you to mitigate the damage and potential harm that could come to Nigerians everywhere from your denigration of our entire nation in your recent movie. At a population of about 150 million, NIGERIA IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST NATION OF BLACK PEOPLE.

There is enough caricature of Nigerian citizens floating around without having to deal with mass dissemination of these patently false information through the cinema. It is not far-fetched to say that cinema represents a powerful medium, and has become one of the main means of information and cultural transformation in this age. Simply said, people take messages from these movies, especially if those messages are about people they love to hate. I am convinced that the message-relating potential of cinema is one reason why Mr. Blomkamp made District 9. Unfortunately, the message about Nigerians is not only unpalatable, it is untrue and most of all RACIST. This is completely different from the more familiar Italian Mafia or Russian mobs in many movies. Your depiction of Nigerians in District 9 concerned deeply personal character, belief and culture of an entire nation. I have read various articles about the movie, and Mr. Blomkamp's interviews in an effort to understand this treatment of my nation. A deconstruction of the movie shows that it relied on double-speak in almost all its aspects, but I will not attempt to present my views in great detail here.

The point of this letter is that District 9 depicted almost all its characters in both BAD AND GOOD LIGHT, EXCEPT for the NIGERIANS.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but these are the facts that stuck with me as I walked out of the theatre: (1) The only group of REAL WORLD people REPEATEDLY referred to in District 9 by their REAL COUNTRY were the Nigerians; (2) The NIGERIANS were also the only group in District 9 with NO GOOD SIDE to their actions. They were simply bad, beyond redemption. It is not just that this group of thugs were portrayed as Nigerians, but gory scenes of their acts were repeated again and again, and firmly tied to NIGERIA.

The deliberateness involved in portraying Nigerians this way in District 9 is all too clear, especially in a movie that relied on so much double-speak it's message is at best befuddled. In fact, Mr. Blomkamp says in one interview that: "It wouldn't be clear whether or not I actually had a message, but rather that all of these themes that interest me are being presented to the audience, and you can make up your own mind and you can view this hopefully in a somewhat honest environment." (see http://www.cinematical.com/2009/08/14/interview-district-9-director-neill-blomkamp/). Mr. Blomkamp asks the viewer to make "up your own mind". Perhaps this is true for all the other scenes, but the scenes tagged "Nigerians" were directly spoon-fed to the viewer, with nothing left to the imagination. Am I to understand that this is all that interests Mr. Blomkamp about Nigerians?

It is baffling that such RACIST scenes are presented in a movie intended to teach lessons about the "redemption" of an "indirect racist". I would like to ask Mr. Blomkamp to examine his heart and ask what lesson a Nigerian is supposed to take away from his movie. I am sure he will have no difficulty in concluding that this mass generalization of falsehood is a great damage to the soul of those concerned.

Please reply and let me know what you intend to do to mitigate further damage to the Nigerian nation from your movie. On the latter, I would suggest: (1) Editing out the offensive lines before your movie goes to video and TV; (2) Issue an apology, and a disclaimer to movie and news outlets, expressing regrets about this unfortunate aspect of the movie.



Sincerely,

The Undersigned

“African Culture” is a buzzword that has suffered the curse of overuse. Sure, there are clearly things that distinguish the African from his non-African global dwellers, and are decidedly the African way. Our clothes, songs, food, celebration of birth, death, marriage, etc. continue and should continue to be distinctly African. Yet, we do ourselves much disfavor by holding many things static and referring to them as our culture. The reason for this is that everything changes, the only choice we have are the when and how we change. In fact, many of the things that may be rightly considered to be culture (including those identified above) are gradually being swept away from us, and replaced with other cultures, while we continue to lay claims to them. The main argument of this section is to point out that African culture must be dynamic, not static, with the main aim of collective preservation and well-being.

Makgoba (1997) states that peoples of African descent (see Lassiter, J. E. 1999 at http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v3/v3i3a1.htm. Note: I do not endorse nor necessarily agree with the sentiments in the article on this site):

"are linked by shared values that are fundamental features of African identity and culture. These, for example, include hospitality, friendliness, the consensus and common framework-seeking principle, ubuntu, and the emphasis on community rather than on the individual. These features typically underpin the variations of African culture and identity everywhere. The existence of African identity is not in doubt" (1997:197-198).

There is no doubt that the above traits are easily accepted by Africans as part of “African Culture”, but I assert here that the true implications of such a culture are absent today on the continent. The evidence for this assertion is clear. Incessant conflicts all over the continent is a testimonial to either the lack of a “common framework-seeking principle, and the emphasis on community” among the warring parties.

The problem is that while the individual African may generally be hospitable, friendly, and consensus-seeking in his dealings with others, it is not carried to the collective. The reason for this is to be found in the criteria that underlies the "shared values" forming the bulwark of our group boundaries. In essence, what ought to be a dynamic definition of "shared values", focused on collective preservation and progress, is reduced to tribal groupings based largely on language - language being the preeminent measure of cultural origins.

The first implication of using language as the definition of our "shared values" is that it has degenerated into a cycle of conflict - language fragmentation - conflict - language fragmentation, and so on. By creating isolated language groups that continuously splinter into even more language groups, the singular and sufficient reason for a group to incur the wrath/hatred of another on the African continent, and indeed in Nigeria, is to be of a different culture i.e. language. As suggested above, this is not necessarily the case at the individual level. It has been demonstrated over and over again all over Africa how friends/neighbors of many years, but of different languages, do not hesitate to slaughter each other once they are caught in collective conflict.

A second negative implication of our approach to culture and collective grouping on the African continent is well-illustrated by Nyasani (1997) (see Lassiter, J. E. 1999 at http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v3/v3i3a1.htm Note: I do not endorse nor necessarily agree with the sentiments in the article on this site) who wrote

"(W)hat we experience in the practical life of an African is the apparent stagnation or stalemate in his social as well as economic evolution,  It is quite evident that the social consequences of this unfortunate social impasse (encapsulation) can be very grave especially where the process of acculturation and indeterminate enculturation is taking place at an uncontrollable pace.… By and large, it can safely be affirmed that social encapsulation in Africa works both positively and negatively. It is positive in as far as it guarantees a modicum of social cohesion, social harmony and social mutual concern. However, in as far as it does not promote fully the exercise of personal initiative and incentive, it can be regarded as negative (Nyasani 1997:130-131, emphases mine)."

The emphasis here is not on the African's authority structure and family/communal support system per se. The emphasis is on its static and encapsulating protection of a narrow (language-based) and continuously fragmenting collective that actually leaves the collective extremely weak. Perhaps this point is best made by reference to the biological functioning of the human body. It is well known that a human body that is overprotected from the many bacteria and viruses that seek to ravage it easily succumbs to the certain eventuality of illness. In essence, our language-based group boundaries creates isolation of thought and practice, fostering neither peace within the collective, nor preparing us to deal with external influences whose objectives are to conquer, exploit and destroy.

The acculturation described by Nyasani, while bringing certain positive changes to African life has caused more harm than good. This is apparent in the almost complete repudiation of traditional African views of the universe and its workings for other viewpoints. We have failed to recognize that there is really no correct worldview, but that of maintaining a dynamic (or even multiple) worldview subject to change under the light of new knowledge, but ultimately in the pursuit of our collective progress in the world. Today in the west, those who sing the highest hallelujahs to the eternal God (possibly embedded in a mono-poly-theistic trinity) are the same ones who continue to pursue scientific progress based on the diametrically opposite believe in the autonomous creation of the universe in which there is no need for and there is no God - God cannot be allowed to get in the way. In contrast, when a scientific subject bearing on evolution is broached before many an African he/she tends to interpret and respond on the basis of his religious professions, which today is likely to be Christian, Islamic, Judaic or other non-Afrocentric traditions. The fact is that while specific practices may differ African interpretations of the cosmos is not fundamentally different from those of other traditions. By repudiating our version of the shaping of the world and its associated system of knowledge we destroy a fundamental ingredient that connects us to our past. This point does not argue in favor of insisting that the world is flat, but recognizing, maintaining and enhancing the process of knowledge evolution, so that even though "truth" may change, our ties to the process that led us to today's truth is not severed in favor of knowledge that we cannot as yet verify.

It is not without reason that most of the world’s so-called monotheistic traditions have couched their “paganistic” past in other terms and incorporated them in their new world views. Halloween in the west has a similar ritualistic underpinning, much like certain Yoruba egungun festivals? Yet, a Yoruba Christian in the west would gladly put on a halloween costume, but would rather be caught dead than participate in egungun rites. Truth be told, many of these rites may actually need to be repudiated, but the argument here is between repudiating the origins of egungun rites versus modifying its modern practice in the light of new knowlege. The main difference between the African’s approach and those of the west is that the latter tends to focus on a dynamic objective of increasing knowledge as the basis for determining today's truth, progress and well-being, while the former tend to hold statically to one set of beliefs and opinions, until forced to give them up. This last point of "how" change takes place on the continent is the explanation for the paradox of our seemingly rapid acculturation and change, yet static and perhaps reversal of, well-being. Most of the things we have changed are those the "outsiders" decided must change, and have forced or induced us to change - in their own interests.

Lastly, we seem to believe that many of the things we consider our culture today are unique identifiers and invariably sources of “African Pride”. Sad to say, while there are many of our beliefs and practices that deserve such appellation, many of what we hold on to as cultures are neither unique nor desirable. The only thing unique about such things is that we continue to practice them, and unwittingly make them appropriately “primitive” as many like to call them. Many of the same things were practiced in times past by other nation groups, but have been abandoned or modified in light of the dynamic objectives of human progress. Yes, the Queen of England remains the titular head of the “British Empire”, but has been consigned to a ceremonial status and effectively replaced with a modern system of governance. On the other hand, the reign of "egoistical" African monarchs, interrupted by the colonial powers (which itself was the hand of the "egoistical" western monarchies), resumed promptly after independence, but with greater vengeance. Africa is littered today with many so-called democracies where one man rules for 20, 30 or 40 years. Even more recently the Chinese whose monarchical past is well documented, and were recent champions of communism, are transforming right before our eyes into the next great capitalist, and potentially largest, empire the world has ever seen.

We deceive ourselves, and demonstrate a certain cultural "egoism" when some state that the "west has no culture". Some of what constitutes the west's culture today are organization, innovation and individualism, among others. Although these have both positive and negative implications, the positives far outweigh the negatives by far, in my view.

I'll finish this write-up by using an on-going cultural discussion to illustrate the above points - facial markings among the Yorubas. Today, it is difficult to explain the exact origin of facial markings among the Yorubas. Some claim it is for beauty, others suggest it was for tribal identification, yet others say it is a mark of bravery. The second reason probably was true at some point, but may not have been the real origin of tribal markings among the Yorubas. I have seen pictures of black Sudanese with markings such that someone unaware would place them in a Yoruba city. The variation of facial markings among the Yorubas to distinguish citizens of different city states testify to its use at some point as a cultural identity card, and to the fragmentation of the Yoruba nation at that point in time. In any case, facial markings are now viewed by segments of the global village, mainly non-Yorubas and non-Africans, as a cruel practice that needs to stop, with the support of some Yorubas and Africans. This argument however tends to ignore the three possible reasons for such a "cruel practice", while focusing mainly on the "outsiders" view. This illustrates my above points about how cultural changes has visited and continues to visit Africa, by force, threats and other means. A dynamic cultural approach, in my view, would not discountenance these personal and cultural reasons, but focus on the rights of the children on which such practices are currently visited, making sure that the "cruelty" in the practice is eliminated. Such a dynamic approach would see the Yoruba facial markings as not a cruel, barbaric and primitive practice that must simply be eliminated - but set modern guidelines that for example: 1) Tribal markings are for consenting adults, which means only kids 18 and above, or however we define adulthood in the face of modern knowledge; 2) Current medical practices means that it can and must be done without pain. These balanced view would protect children, reject external imposition of cultural views, allow an adult the freedom to make permanent changes to his/her face, and preserve the essence of the culture.

As stated in the opening paragraph the point here is that culture is not an autonomous, endowment of a given people, but habits and practices that are developed over time. As such it must be dynamic and guided by a reliable system of knowledge. I leave it to the reader to attempt a listing of what may be considered Nigerian culture today, good and bad.

Bennyboy11:
Jerry Rawlings is one of the most deluded individuals in Africa. He has a completely over rated impression of himself and has trully gone past his sell by date. It is common knowledge in Ghana that he is not mentally all there, and is on medication hence his gaining as much weight as he has in recent times. He really should not be taken seriously. The most ridiculuous thing I ever heard from him along with with his current nonsense, was the fact that President Kuffour was killing people in Ghana. He actually came to the uk holding semininars and spreading such outrageous stories about the kuffour government which lost him respect in civilised quarters.

I mean lets face it how stupid is the above story? How can Nigeria a country that is yet to host an election the quality of what we have come to take for granted in Ghana, take any credit for our current achievements? An African Government in power losing an election to the opposition with around 40,000 votes and not a drop of blood spilt in the process. This is trully the best thing since sliced bread and Nigeria in my opinion is between 50 and 100 years away from achieving that

Ghana has achieved political maturity and are the true Giants of Africa. Democracy has trully blossomed and reached all areas of our society. For a nation to attain a bloodless free and fair election like we did, it takes more than just the leaders being convinced by others to step down, a fact that people on this forum will not be familiar with because of the lack of exposure to true democracy . In kenya both leaders begged their supporters to back down to no avail.

In conclusion I would completely ignore Jerry Rawlings's stupid statements like most Ghanaians have and concentrate your Nigerian efforts on saving your own failed state. The taliban type developments, unrest in your oil producing regions which have distrupted production, endemic corruption, the image as probably the one of worst nations on the planet are more real and factual than your claims of your involvement with Ghana's recent achievements which has absolutely nothing to do with you.

As a Ghanaian I will continue to bask in glory and pride myself with our recent achievements whiles patiently awaiting the death of Jerry Rawlings.

@Bennyboy11

Your post is interesting on many levels:

1. Before I read the part where you identified yourself as a Ghanaian I could tell. Lesson for the Nigerians: defend your country, hold it dear, heck, lie for it like Bennyboy11 if you must.

2. For all the Nigerians and non-Nigerians lurking in this Nigerian forum let me say that your continued talk about being the "Giant of Africa" is inconsequential. It is like a ground-walking chicken claiming to be the giant among flying chickens when what is required is to soar like an eagles in the sky. You can claim to be giants when you are 2 inches tall among people that are on average 1.9 inches tall - but are you really a giant. Africans need to stop parting themselves in the back so vigorously for doing common-sense things. This is preventing us from opening our eyes to our potentials - best thing since sliced bread hissssssssssss.

'Debo

This post reminds me of the discussion on the topic "Why Obama is visiting Ghana and not Nigeria". Now that the visit is over it seems we all missed the point of his visit, perhaps because he hid so well behind that "regional and bilateral" cooperation talk. The purpose of his visit was actually for the African-American constituency here in America to bring to the fore the fact that the slave trade was of equal magnitude on the scale of evil, or even worse, as the holocaust. Before anyone begins to jump to any conclusions this is actually one of the important things Obama has done for the A-A community so far - he is a genius - but I digress.

My main point here is that during the above discussion I had defended Nigeria on the basis of her footprint on the African continent, alluding to the fact that Nigeria was instrumental in ensuring that the same election being portrayed by some as the "best thing since sliced bread" did not degenerate into chaos. Confirmation could not have come from a better horse's mouth than Rawlings himself.

The pity is that it takes outsiders to tell the truth of their own situation before we realize the good that Nigeria represents in Africa. We need to start holding the country Nigeria dear, while vehemently opposed to bad leadership. As the Yorubas would say: "There is at least one day for a bad kid to be the pride of his/her parents".

'Debo

Fellow Nigerians,

This attack may seem insignificant but, if history is to be a judge, today is a sad day that may mark the unravelling of the entity called Nigeria and indeed West Africa. We need to note the following:

1. Events in the Niger Delta are about to go from bad to worse. No government no matter how illegitimate will stand for these types of attacks. Remember Odi. Yar'adua will be forced to throw caution into the wind. There will be blood in the land.

2. If he hesitates for too long the military would harvest a perfect excuse from these events to overthrow the current government.

3. A military takeover in Nigeria would likely lead to a second civil war - one that would be fiercer than the last. Here is the reason. Groups that were formed in the last days of Abacha (in anticipation of his self-declaration as President) are alive and well. OPC in the South-West. MEND/NDV/MASSOB never stopped their activties anyway. The extremist groups in the North that perplexed Obasanjo in his first term have recently become innovative and reportedly linked to Al Qaeda. In opposition to all of these is the Nigerian Armed Forces are firmly under the control of its Northern element. Think about all the possible guerilla groups that would pop up and we have the recipe for disaster in the entire West African region. It seems to me that MEND is attempting to forment a civil war. Sadly, I must say, they will lose. The cost to all sides would be uncountable within Nigeria and outside.

4. Yar'adua cannot possibly negotiate with MEND - whoever thinks that this would be an outcome needs to discard it, and quickly too. The so called amnesty is utter nonsense. MEND and its army HAVE (they never lost their freedom) their freedom but chose the path of armed resistance, so why would anybody think that freedom is something they would value. Yar'adua has just being dupped into letting go of Okah. If he actually committed the offenses counted against him no legitimate government would ever let him go without full and complete judicial adjudication. MEND has just found Yar'adua's quest for some form of legitimacy as a big weakness.

5. So what must Yar'adua do? Unfortunately what needs to be done to resolve the Niger Delta issue is not something an illegitimate, aparthetic government like this can hope to accomplish, but I may be wrong. Basically, he needs to come up with a just solution that goes directly to the heart of the people. Although implementation may not be simple the following must be done to resove the Niger Delta issue:

a. Each and every Niger Deltan family needs to start receiving a VALID check for their share of the oil that LEAVES their territory. It doesn't have to be much more than the current 13% derivation, but it must go DIRECTLY to each and every family to which it belongs.

b. The Nigerian government must become a champion for its own people in preserving their environment and means of livelihood  - land and water- from destruction by oil exploration and production.

c. The threat of force against criminal elements must remain strong.

Yara'dua seems to be substituting another bureaucratic setup in the form of Ministry for Niger Delta for (a) and (b), and has embarked on a forceful invasion to motivate his bogus amnesty program - is this what VP Jonathan derived from all his Harvard consultations? If the Niger Delta issue must be resolved (a) and (b) are the true solutions. Violence begets violence.

Praying to God to save Nigeria and the innocent that would necessarily become victims of these impending doom.

'Debo

@seges

It is amazing that out of the entire Rufai piece only these few lines pricked your interest, and were enough for you to conclude that Nuhu Ribadu is a fraud.

What we need to realize about our country's state of affairs is that there is a system of doing things that exerts an almost inescapable influence on individual actions. This system suffocates those who dare challenge it, and it takes STRONG conviction to even make a faint dent on it. No matter what anyone says Nuhu Ribadu is one of those who inspite of the system showed some integrity. The problem with us is that we look on while being robbed blind, yet when somebody does something meritorious about it we look for his faults and immediately label him a fraud. I don't know whether this is because of the many disappointments we have suffered over the decades or just some inscrutable vested interest. What I know is that if we cannot learn to discern and encourage people who are acting with integrity, in spite of their flaws, we are not going to get anywhere.

I hope you were not suggesting that Odili should have been allowed to be vice-president. Not that letting Yaradu'a become president was better either, but given the alternative we were presented, thanks to the "father of modern Nigeria", he was the best option. Someone whose name keeps showing up in almost all international corruption cases would have become our president.

What we need is to get someone better than Yaradu'a in 2011, if he doesn't get his acts together soon. Given the current structure of our political system my expectations are low, but we need to start weeding it of the influences of the oligarchy, both military and civilian, that has ruled us for 49 years.

I am suggesting to you that Ribadu provided hope. Yes, there are charges brought against him about the declaration of assets and allegations of Dubai houses, and I look forward to a complete rebuttal from him or to make restitution for any misdeeds. However, I have no faith in any Yaradu'an agency right now, and you need no convincing as to why(?)

seges:
El rufai has finally exposed to the world the fraud Nuhu ribadu is. First of all when he named the 31 corrupt guvnors before the senate which included Yaradua, He was persuaded by one of Nigeria power broker Genereal Gusua to remove Yaradua name from the list. The only reason he moved against Odili was not born out to stamp corruption from Rivers State but only because Yaradua did'nt approve of Odili as his running mate. So because of Yardua plea Ribadu blackmailed him to rejecting to vice presidential slot. This discloure by El Rufai has shown that ribadu was never interested in fighting corruption but only in serving the interests of the power brokers in the country. Ribadu lacks the moral character to go around the globe preaching against corruption until he clears himself from this revelations by El rufai.

My source of El rufai disclosure
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/umaru-yar-dua-great-expectation-disapointing-outcome-by-nasir-el.html

@AjaraEwuro

You make some interesting points here. These include how easily Nigerians forget what they suffered under Abacha, such that a couple of years after Obasanjo took over he was being told that Abacha was better.

However, it should not be a question of whether to lay Nigeria's woes at the feet of PDP and Yar Adua? It is essentially what the PDP and Yaradu'a accepted when they nominated him for President. An election is essentially about a people looking to HIRE a LEADER to address problems that they could not deal with by themselves. The oath of office is a statement that while you are not necessarily responsible for our collective problems, you are assuming the responsibility to deal with them. These requires three things of those vying for office:

1) They must be familiar with those problems, not merely in an academic way. The best ones must have felt, touched, smelled, inspected and thoroughly understand the various dimensions of our problems.

2) They need to have a deep involvement in the available options.

3) They must be capable of judging those options, implementing them and carrying along the populace.

The winner of an HONEST election should be, but is rarely the one possessing the best combination of these attributes, but for a country to make progress that person that CANNOT be the one described by characteristics opposite or even almost opposite to the above.

In the above lies Nigeria's dilemma. How do we get our office-seekers to fulfill the first requirement talk less of (2) and (3). The vast Nigerian populace certainly are too immersed in dealing with the day-to-day hardships from those problems to give any real thought to how to address them. They can only complain loudly about what affects them directly, but it is difficult to proceed to a deep probing and analysis that is necessary to even begin to understand the problems. That puts the onus on those who want to lead. Yaradu'a as well as most of our past leaders and most of those roaming the landscape continue to show they have no clue.

Using the above and judging from the reforms Obasanjo left in place (after his own 4-year of fumbling admittedly) Yaradu'a's two years is almost a complete waste. Instead of quickly moving to consolidate what his PARTY had achieved he proceeded to tear them all down one-by-one. Now he is picking the same things up. The list is long:

1. The sale of refineries were reversed and $742 million (yes that is right $742 million) returned to the buyers - guess who is looking for investments in refineries now. Suppose there was some justifiable reason to take the refineries back, a President who can see the depth of Nigeria's fuel crisis would not have allowed that money to go away. What is wrong with calling those investors and offering them juicy concessions to build a new refinery? Work on that new refinery would be wrapping up by now. Imagine the petroleum minister saying a couple of days ago that Nigeria is going to stop exports of crude oil - can you imagine something more cynical or ignorant or both coming out of the mouth of people who are supposed to be the best in these areas. This is the same way the Yaradu'a's appointed NNPC CEO promised to have the refineries all working in 5 months.

2. Think about Yaradu'a's promise to declare a power emergency within 100 days. That declaration is now scheduled for next month. Look at how much the national assembly spent writing a bogus report on Obasanjo's power program only to find out that the leader of that report was actually greasing his own palms massively. The same 6000MW target set by Obasanjo is now Yaradu'a's objective too.

3. Look at how EFCC was almost dismantled. Yes, there have lately been some arrests, but I can tell you that no thief is being scared by Waziri. Look at Halliburton, Siemens, etc.

4. Look at Ekiti State's election - 10 local governments and 10,000 policemen, and they still managed to mess it up.

I pray to be wrong, because it means more suffering for the people, but Yaradu'a seems to be a PRETENDER. He needs to get his acts together or Nigerians must open their eyes and get someone new in 2011. We MUST at least take advantage of democracy in this respect, and keep changing non-performing presidents until the right one comes along.

Ultimately for Nigeria a new approach must accompany or complement democracy, and it cannot be based on the violence of military rule or the aspiration to be titular leaders. We need a wide-ranging movement that would display complete devotion to national service devoid of personal gain or ambition.

'Debo

AjaraEwuro:
Nigerians are a bunch of confused people. They shout loudly here, YarAdua is not doing anything or has not done anything, this is a man who has been in power for two years or there about. I ask myself often, what is it Nigerians realy want this man to do? They want him to solve the problem in the Niger Delta - OBJ had eight years, he failed, the agitations actually didnt start from OBJ's time, it started from time immemorial, their state governors looted money meant for the development of the area, the community leaders looted money meant for them from the oil companies, yet they looked on - Abacha killed Saro Wiwa, MEND looked on, why is it now that MEND now wants to paralyze activities nationwide just because they want to prove a point? What point, I ask myself - points they couldn't prove to Alams, Ibori, etc? Are these not the people MEND should be fighting? why are they such forgetful or dull and of less ability to think?

Back to Nigeria - Abacha looted $3billion dollars - abandoned all the refineries, no turn around maintenance was done on all the refineries, no maintenace or money was voted in the power sector for NEPA, a single man looted $3billion naira, yet, people dont refer to him anymore when they talk of problems of Nigeria, OBJ came, even if he looted, could he have looted up to $3billion Abacha looted? OBJ touched Nigeria, if you like agree or dont, so many reforms, again, if you like agree or dont, spent effort, money, and time on the refineries, on the power sector, on the health sector, communication, transportation, banking, corruption and many more, he brought back what Abacha took away from Nigeria, Abdul Salam, the man who spent less than a year, looted and awarded contracts that noone could be seen executed, but people dont call for the heads of these people, they are calling for the headof a man who has only spent two years in office.

They say he hasnt done anything- ok, anything like what? If government announces they want to build roads, Nigerians says, no, we dont need roads, government announces they want to build airports, many people here say, airports are already enough, establish the health scheme for Nigerians, no, they say, it wont work, so, bingo, what is it you are saying the man hasnt done? For the Niger Delta, a problem that spanned years, you say, the man hasnt done anything to solve it, in just two years? It is quite easy to destroy, but it is extremely hard to re build that which has been destroyed.

Which one of you if given the opportunity to rule Nigeria for two years will even life a finger or move a pin? I ask, people seem to forget so easily, it is easy to criticise when you are far away from the hot seat, there is dwindling oil income, there is MEND shutting down oil stations, all these issues to contend with, yet, people say, he isint doing a thing, what is the thing thou want to see done?

Who could have done something better? Atiku, Buhari or which party could have done it better? AC, ANPP, Kris Okotie or who, please point me in the right direction. The problem of Nigeria can be laid at the feet of all of us, me and you, everyone, we only have mouth to talk without any corresponding brain to act or even think properly, the citizens abroad give the country a bad name, the country is ot seen well amongst the committee of nations, all they know about Nigeria is fraud, 419, drug peddling, are these things committed by YarAdua or by PDP, are these perpetrators not Nigerians? What is it all about then?

I am tired of sit tight critics who can only pull down without contributing anything, they are suddenly all over the place, thanks to the internet - different manner of blogs, different manner of newspapers, different manner of fora and people who know nothing about governance and who knows nothing about Nigeria spend hours beleiving what they read in there. The problem goes back to us all, if you like call me names, it is not a new thing here, but, when you cant contribute to anything in Nigeria, it is at best to keep shut or what is the point pointing out the problems and issues which we all know about?

How will you contribute to make things better, that is the point.

Eziachi:
I can too understand where you are coming from and it's called blind patrotism. If you can't see that Ghana in term of economy growth both in macro and micro economy term is now far ahead of Nigeria, what else is there to debate with you in that regards? If not tell us why corporate companies like Dunlop, Mechiline,PZ that had been in Nigeria for donkey years has closed shop and relocated to Ghana?
Why Nigerian own indiginoeus companies like OVATION magazine has left Nigeria to relocate to Ghana?
Why so Many Igbo businessmen are secretly and gradually reducing their investment in the northern Nigeria and moving them to Ghana?
Soon it will be Sierra Leon and Liberia too. mark my word! And Nigeria govt are busy shelling their own citizens in the Delta.

@Eziachi
Obviously you see this discussion as a dash for the extremes. Nigeria is all bad, Ghana all good. You keep ignoring the point of my message which is mainly how Obama cannot successfully conduct Sub-Saharan African policy without Nigeria. If anything is to be called the Obama doctrine, it is that you should aim to split the difference - focus on improving what is collectively good and reducing what you can collectively agree as bad. Do not by assumption lump me with those who don't see anything wrong with Nigeria. Please search for my post about "Top 10 or So Reasons for the Nigerian Situation" and you will see that I give considerable thought to what hails Nigeria. That is not blind patriotism, that is recognizing the good that Nigeria has done in Africa, even if it was done at our domestic expense. We praise Nigeria for the former, we knock our leaders (and very hard) for the latter, since we can (and should) engage in African affairs and develop domestically at the same time. In fact the two are not mutually exclusive.

When has anybody on the African continent raised a finger in Nigeria's aid. Almost never. They rush down to Nigeria once something goes kreeen in their countries, and then they go back and make callous comments about us. It was the Kenyans a couple of years ago ridiculing us because we cannot successfully conduct a census (which is true), but what did they do with their own subsequent elections? Did Nigeria start ridiculing them or stepped in to help. You be the judge. Instead of seeing Nigerian investments as contributing to their economy a Ghanaian officcial has summarized how they feel about it "they are afraid the their economy would be dominated by Nigerians." This is the same inordinate fear that informed Shagari's deportation of Ghanaians in the 1980s.

Kudos to Ghana on their elections and economic progress, it is a real challenge to Nigeria. That much I would acknowledge, but it is not the best thing since sliced bread some would have us believe.

Nigeria is not all bad, with a number of fundamental changes we can really go somewhere, but that discussion is for another day.

I am out.

Eziachi:
What has Ghana done lately for Africa you asked? You should know the answer but decided maybe to blind your eyes and closes your ears as to what they have done lately. Lately Ghana have shown the world that it's possible to have true and real democracy inside Africa, where an opposition party can actually win, where an election umpire is truelly independent, where a sitting president doesn't try to change the law in order to continue.
Ghana has shown us that we can successfully ran away from the bad images and memories of the past and forge ahead successfully without making excuses or posponing it progress just because it took many countries centuries to get it right therefore syconphancy is allowed.

Ghana has shown the third world that you can be successful wiithout crude oil and if oil is found, you don't abandone every other sources of revenue and rush into it head on.  Those who can't see a fresh and a very popular U.S president has chosen Ghana instead of a self proclaimed giant of African to visit first are either myopic or has lost their head. In the Southern himisphere of Africa, it's south Africa, in the north it's Egypt, despite their dictatorial regime, but important as a bridge between the Arabs and Israel and in the West coast of Africa, it was meant to be Nigeria but what has Obama done? He went to Ghana, unofficially telling Nigeria that they should get their act together. That being big is not enough.

The U.S has an embassy in Nigeria and their missions are not blind to what PDP/Army in Agbada govt in Nigeria are doing, camouflaging junta rule as democracy,stealing the collective wealth of their people, killing their own people in Odi, Biafraland and recently in the Delta. They are not blind to what happened in Ekiti just recently and they duly fed their govt about the carrying on in Nigeria.

@Eziachi

I would hope there is no need to question my intentions a.k.a. "decided maybe to blind your eyes and closes your ears as to what they have done lately" or call others intelligence into question a.k.a "either myopic or has lost their head." Still, this is mild compared with some of the things I have read on this forum.

Now to the actual reply. Your reasons are understandable, but you missed the fact that I am thinking not in terms of Obama wanting to be in "good" company necessarily, but conducting African policy. If you read my other post you will realize that I do think Ghana deserves commendation, but all this talk about Ghana being way ahead of Nigeria economically doesn't cut it. Ghana is in the same boat as much of Africa, and Nigeria was instrumental in resolving some of their recent logjams.

My point which focuses on Obama's Sub-Saharan African policy is more relevant because his stated goals on the trip was to deal with bilateral and REGIONAL issues. That regional part is what starts me laughing, because for a country with a population of almost 30 million Ghana is incredibly self-centered.

Let me throw out another angle on the issue of this visit, which is that the Sub-Saharan African lobby group in the U.S. has changed. During the Bush years Obasanjo rode high with the White House thanks to his connections with the President's father and the Andrew Young group. With the movement by African-Americans to visit, build and even take residence in Ghana over the last decade or so, coupled with the deservedly more mature approach to their recent elections, and Nigeria's sham election you could see how easy it is for Obama to decide on a visit to Ghana. Still to conduct successful West African policy you cannot exclude Nigeria. Hillary Clinton already moved to assuage the implication of this visit, showing that even the administration recognizes the damage that could be caused if this was portrayed as "teaching Nigeria a lesson".

I hope Ghanaians do not rely too much on outside help and make sure to develop from the inside out - although every country needs some outside help. However, this happened before, in a place called Liberia. There was a time not in the too distant past when inside and outside Africa Liberia was the toast of visitors and businessmen alike in sub-Saharan Africa. We all know the rest of the story. This is the reason why, when grappling with solving the Liberian debacle and not getting much help from the Americans, President Obasanjo retorted that we all know who were behind the carnage in the first place.

@walata44
Are you implying that election of ZUMA was rigged?

No I am not implying that at all, although you cannot take it for granted, but South Africa does have a better electoral system than Nigeria. However, the crime rate in South Africa, while not as public as Nigeria's, is judged by many commentators as among the worst in the world. Plus, they just elected a leader who has to choose which among his many wives to be first lady. The fight between Zuma and Mbeki was reminiscent of Atiku and Obasanjo, and the latter even wished at a point that he had powers to dismiss his vice-president like in South Africa. Doesn't sound like Nigeria to you(?)

@naliakar

I thought all along that Nigeria was a failed state. Can Nigeria guarantee continuous electricity supply for even one hour Obama may be on the ground if ever he visits.  Who will guarantee his security when all the security organs wil be fighting MEND in the Niger. Give Ghana  a break, the country is way advanced over naija (democratically speaking).

Yes, Ghana does deserve commendation, but focusing on Ghana and ignoring Nigeria will do neither Obama's Africa policy nor Africa any good. Not too long ago in 2007 the same Ghana had an electricity supply crisis, and you know who stepped in with 80 MW of power supply. The West African Gas project that will supply much of Ghana's gas needs originates where? Perhaps as we saw during the campaigns Obama's approach to achieving his ultimate objective tend to be less than obvious at first. I hope that is the case here, but making Ghana the focus of his Sub-Saharan Africa policy would be wrong-headed.

As for power supply, Ghana is in the same boat as Nigeria. I had the chance to visit Accra about a year ago staying about 30km outside the capital. You are met with almost exactly the same scenarios as Nigeria. Once you turn off the main road you are on your own dealing with unpaved and "gullied" out roads, cows were being herded indiscriminately for grazing, power supply was being rotated, and to complete the list a contractor had no qualms digging up the "road" with no consideration for how people will get to their buildings. The black market dominates currency exchange. Finding computing service was a big issue. In Nigeria the kids successfully avoided mosquito bites, but received 10s of bites just outside Accra. There was a radio station who, like most incredulous Nigerians, took the alleged affair between President Obasanjo and his daughter-in-law as gospel truth, and broadcasted it with the certainty of being a eye-observer.

I must say however that the sense of corruption being bread and butter of daily activities was largely absent. Nobody was pursuing you with wares as you traveled the roads, and no custom officer tried to hoodwink you into parting with your money. Still there were hustlers at the airport. I also got the sense that the campaign for President was more meritorious than in Nigeria.

My prayer is for democracy to keep thriving in Ghana and Nigeria, and elsewhere on the continent.

As for Nigeria we need to stop show-boating - the real facts is that our needs far outweigh our resources- and we do need help with technology, not aid. If our leaders will stop fighting among themselves like small kids, curb their slave-mentality driven pilfering ways, and start focusing on the millions that are living in the 19th century in our hinterland the world will really see that Nigeria not only deserves commendation for helping keep Africa from the abyss, but also needs REAL HELP.

If this report were true this would be a major miscalculation on the part of President Obama.

Make no mistake, like almost everyone else I think President Obama's achievement as America's first black president is a watershed. In fact I have often argued that a minority President is impossible almost anywhere else in the world. That he achieved this is a testimony to his unique attributes and the basic goodness of the American system.

However, it seems that Africa, unfortunately, is one of President Obama's weaknesses. A visit to Ghana and not to Nigeria does the continent no good at all. The question is what has Ghana done for Africa lately?

Corrupt as it may be it is Nigeria's footprint that you see far and wide on the continent putting out fires, fires that were most times set by America and its western counterparts - think Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Congo and during the apartheid era - South Africa. Nigeria was even crucial in ensuring that Ghana's recent elections -now being hailed as the best thing since sliced bread- did not deteriorate into chaos.

If this report were true, and I don't want to believe it is, Obama's approach to Nigeria is similar to that by many of the above nations who WE save from themselves time and time again, but tend to reward us with the most callous assessments. Not that I blame them necessarily - if a head of state is blowing (and stealing most of it) $12 billion to stop a war in another country while the same kind of war (Niger Delta) is brewing in his backyard, he deserves no respect. If a head of state is building a refinery in Ivory Coast while his brethen's refineries are in disrepair, he deserves no respect. If the privileged few decide to steal $300 billion from millions of people who leave in penury, that nation will be despised all over the world.

Despite the above, Obama's avoidance of Nigeria is still untenable, because there are people down there who are struggling against the Nigerian oligarchy and could use a boost to their efforts. Yaradu'a may be turning out to be less prepared than we thought, his election was definitely flawed, and he has certainly tarnished is Mr. Clean image by surrounding himself with corrupt people, and firing the person who brought the most intense and successful fight against corruption in Nigeria's history. Yet, a visit to Nigeria by President Obama carrying along one of those hard knocking speeches - perhaps adequately translated and broadcasted widely in Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo- would have done a world of good to encourage those keeping up hope in Nigeria and emphasize the need for Yaradu'a to move quickly to solidify democracy in word and deed. It would have also signaled that America's is watching and encouraged true democratic groups, who currently cower, to raise their voice and take Nigeria's destiny in their hands.

I simply don't see how President Obama is going to conduct his African policy without Nigeria. Ordinarily, the U.S. would have opted for South Africa, but that country is looking more and more like Nigeria these days. He is willing to talk to those that most vex U.S. interests around the world and is sharing banter with Hugo Chavez and other corrupt/authoritative leaders in the Middle East and elsewhere. Who elected China's President and government to which America needs to defer in many important areas today? (N.B. I do not supporting non-democratic rule, in fact I despise them.) I just don't see the need for Obama to avoid Nigeria, as long as he makes sure to express the fact that America is not satisfied with Yaradu'a's performance so far.

'Debo

Like many other things our Policing System suffers from over-centralization, sole reliance on hardware, and disregard for the people's wish. We need to restructure the system into a multi-level system with well-defined boundaries, interfaces and lines of authority - Village/Town/City, State, Federal. We need a system of measuring performance, then we can move on to good pay, appropriate equipment and all the rest.

By all means let's celebrate Nigerian/Nigerian-related achievements everywhere, but by no means look down on those who are holding the forth back home. This is not to excuse any bad behavior and there are plenty of bad teaching in Nigerian Universities (as all over the world). However, many of those "Nigerian Professors" were at one time more brilliant than even this young professor. Many of them came straight out of Nigeria and topped their classes in the foremost American/British Universities, then returned home - full of patriotism to support national development - only to have their dreams dashed on the alta of corruption, inefficiency and plain incompetency of those who claim to be leaders of the nation. Given the time, 1975,  that this professor's parents left Nigeria, they were probably among those took advantage of those golden years, but decided not to return. In retrospect they probably made the right decision for themselves and their family. Others returned and have managed to succeed, but the majority's high level of expertise have rotted away.

Mikeansy,

The point is that with military rule we have no options, while under the worst civilian rule there is always the hope that we can get rid of them in the next election, no matter how sham it may be. We have the option of organizing groups, we have the option of courts, we have options, What is more, military rule will always seek to return to civilian rule, but rather than clean the system, it destroys both the foundation of democratic rule while behaving FAR WORSE than the overthrown civilian administration.

In my original note it is stated:
"I do not doubt the intentions of Mr. Joseph Ambakederemo, but what he should be doing is warn military adventurists not to destabilize our democracy under any circumstances. He needs to express his faith in our collective strength to resolve the situation peacefully, and organize his group towards that end."

What we need to do is take advantage of the options we have under democratic rule to make the system more whole. I suffer no illusions, we are far from what could be called a nation, but the chance to make that happen exists ONLY under "democratic" rule. The option is absent under military rule.

Many are still missing the point. The deterioration in our civilian administration between 1960 and now is precisely because the military would not allow us to go through the birth pains of a true nation.

To use another metaphor, military rule is like shoving a baby back into the mother's womb and closing her up because she is having birth pains, then waiting until the pain stops to have her try again. The kid cannot stay permanently in the womb and closing in the baby could eventually kill the mother -- exactly like military rule (more corrupt than the most corrupt civilian administration you can find).

Unlike modern medicine, there are no C-sections to avoid the birth pains of nationhood. Planning a coup is no more courageous than the courage of those blowing themselves and other people up in furtherance of some cause.

To all who love Nigeria,

The drumbeats have started again.

Reminds you of how some Israelites in the wildnerness, at the first sign of hardship on the journey to the promised land, wished they had remained in Egypt with "pots of meat". In short order they had forgotten the entire nation was held as slaves under brutal inhumane treatment!

In Nigeria's case, this faithless section of society have succeeded in turning us back to the slavery of military rule again and again over the last 49 years. It is time we say it loud and clear. There is NO EARTHLY or HEAVENLY reason to justify returning our nation to military rule.

Nigerians must begin to think and act the true nation we desire. A true nation may not come to us in 1, 2 or even 10 civilian administrations, but we must keep working at it. It took 40 years for the Israelites to find their way to the promised land, but having that knowledge at the time of the wilderness rebellion would not have justified returning to slavery. For a modern example, we only need to look at the world's largest democracy, India. The violence that has accompanied rulership in that country since Independence in 1947 is immeasurable, but they kept at it. The fruits of maintaining an "acceptable" system of government is beginning to show. Like Nigeria, there is poverty among the billion or so population, religious/political upheaval is not uncommon, and they are at daggers-drawn with many of their neighbors. However, they have also developed science & technology, education, a respectable military, the arts and a global reputation that is the envy of many other nations. The SINGULAR reason we cannot say the latter for Nigeria is the unending interruption of democratic rule.

I propose a basic test of patriotism: "NO SUPPORT FOR MILITARY RULE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES."

We simply need to begin repairing our national psyche by COMPLETELY REMOVING THE MILITARY RULE from our options for achieving true nationhood. I do not doubt the intentions of Mr. Joseph Ambakederemo, but what he should be doing is warn military adventurists not to destabilize our democracy under any circumstances. He needs to express his faith in our collective strength to resolve the situation peacefully, and organize his group towards that end.

Enough said.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>See Full Article Below

Nigerian Tribune: Sylvester Idowu, Warri - 04.05.2009

THE national coor dinator of All Nige ria Youth Alliance (ANYC), Mr. Joseph Ambakederemo, on Sunday described the political situation in Ekiti State as “a clear invitation for a military coup in the country.”

He, therefore, urged President Umaru Yar’Adua to intervene. Mr. Ambakederemo, who was also the national coordinator of the South-South Elements Progressive Union, while speaking with newsmen in Warri, Delta State, expressed fear that the Ekiti political crisis, if not properly handled, could lead to a military take over.

He warned that the president must act fast before the situation “consumed all of us,” adding that “the political situation in Ekiti is a clear invitation for a military coup because I am sure that every right-thinking Nigerian is not happy with this situation.

“Even members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), I am sure, are not happy with the situation and they should call themselves to order.”

The youth leader advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare whoever won the rerun so as to move the state and the country to the next level.

Introduction

That Nigerians and other peoples of African-descent are collectively faced with immense problems is not exactly global news. What would be news, at least from my perspective, is a true self-understanding of our condition and the fundamental reasons behind them. This is an indispensable requirement towards appreciating the nature and size of the task necessary to confront those problems. This post begins to explain the reasons presented in the last one for the hitherto “unassailable” developmental challenges confronting Nigerians/Africans.

As a preface let me be clear that this is not to excuse the culpability of those who forced themselves on the African psyche over many centuries. Neither is this some attempt at self-flagellation or a guilt-trip. My intent is to focus on those barriers that, whether self- or other-imposed, must be scaled to escape the bands that hold us from deserved greatness as a people. Of all peoples, the African has suffered the most, but has remained resilient in the face of it all. However, our only hope lies in moving beyond resilience towards taking control of our destiny. This is undeniably difficult for a single human being even with all opportunities and resources available to him/her. As such, it is immeasurably difficult for the heterogeneous, yet singular, Nigerian collective. Thus, we must suffer no illusions.


#11. Lack of Proper Acceptance of our Current Situation

The above is my choice for the #11 reason not because it is the least important, but because it is the starting point. What I refer to by acceptance of our current situation is not just the constant, including by this author, highlight of what is not going right with Nigeria and Africa. The reference is to a factual, impassioned evaluation of our well-being as Nigerians and Africans, relative to the rest of the world or to an ideal. The fact is that the African in general lags behind other nation groups in almost all objective measures of human endeavor. The use of the phrase "objective measures" connotes some statistical underpinnings for this comparative evaluation. And there are such statistics available. Take a look at the below from the Worldbank (for year 2007). The numbers on top of the columns represent world ranks for the four listed countries based on the size of their economies:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 1 20 10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nigeria USA Indonesia Brazil
-----Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) 126  42  40  89 
------------------------------------ Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 5  2  2  2 
--------------------------- GNI per capita, PPP (current international $) 1760  45840  3570  9270 
--------- Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) 62  93  80  99 
------------------------------------------- Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) 5  3  11  4 
------------------------------------- Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 47  78  71  72 
---------------- Market capitalization of listed companies (% of GDP) 52  145  49  104 
---------------------------------------------- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) 57  23  49  22 
-------------------------------------------- Military expenditure (% of GDP) 1  4  1  2 
------------------------Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) 27  85  36  63 
------------------------------------------Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000) 189  8  31  22 
------------------------------------ Net barter terms of trade (2000 = 100) 168  97  105  108 
-----------------------------------------------Population growth (annual %) 2  1  1  1 
--------------- Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) 3  1  0  1 

Although, the statistics are obvious it remains difficult both at the individual, leadership and collective level for us to accept the facts. A possible reason for this is that some confuse understanding and accepting this situation with "degrading our race". I do not believe this at all. If you fall in a hole, you would have to first accept that you had fallen in the hole, no matter who you are or under what circumstances, before you get a clear idea of what must be done to get yourself out.

This simple realization seems to escape us all, but more so those who serve as our leaders. When those who have managed to collect the statistics and paid attention to it tell our leaders the level of malnutrition, poverty and disease in our land those leaders, out of “national pride” respond with rhetoric that feed and cure no one. They may have personal reasons to carry on such denial, but this only digs a deeper hole for us all. If they feel the need to deny these "external statistics" then where are the verifiable ones they have being collecting? Otherwise, how else can the goal of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020 be touted by our leaders as a vision? Has it occurred to them that Indonesia is today's 20th largest world economy? Have they taken a look at the above statistics for Indonesia? How can that represent a vision, except for those borrowing it? Still, do they realize how far away we are from this "vision", and more importantly that no nation is waiting for us to catch up with her? Do they realize that our approach over the last 40 years has being taking us in the opposite direction to progress? Do they also have a plan for raising our life expectancy from 47 years to above 70 years in the next 11 years? Look at the large difference between the fertility/mortality rate between Nigeria and the other three nations? The answer is that we simply do not allow our consciousness to accept the grim facts: things are wrong in Nigeria, and things are going from bad to worse, and most of all that this condition is not acceptable and MUST change. A firm grasp of these sorry facts is our first motivation for what MUST be achieved. If each and every Nigerian is well-informed on these facts, we would not have a President who promised to tackle power supply in Nigeria by declaring an emergency within his first 100 days in office yet, almost 700 days into his Presidency is still promising to declare that same emergency. Another case in point, the Senate President was quoted as saying that we owe no apologies to victims of 419. This is simply flogging a straw man as if it can be more dead. The 419 issue is not about apologies to diffuse victims, but what the facts of 419 and other detestable things we are now labeled with is doing to Nigerian reputation both at the individual and national levels. We need to be in command of the facts, and face up to the task that may be needed if we do not like the image we see in the mirror, but first we must learn to look in the mirror.

'Debo

Below are a number of reasons that seem to underlie the Nigerian situation. Until we clearly crystallize what hails us there is no moving forward. Here goes:

    * 11. Lack of Proper Acceptance of our Current Situation
    * 10. An Inordinate View of "Culture" and "Tradition".
    * 9. Failed Leadership
    * 8. Collective Sins of the Past
    * 7. "Eating" the Young and "Killing" off Prophets
    * 6. Haphazard Economic Management and Systemic Corruption
    * 5. Incapable/Outdated System of Justice
    * 4. Lack of Representative, Citizen System of Governance
    * 3. Disease
    * 2. Inadequate National "Language" and System of Civil Discourse
    * 1. Near Absence of a Documentation, Knowledge Generation and Innovation System

The above reasons are initial thoughts. In subsequent posts I will attempt to explain them, but feel free to interpret and rank these reasons as you see fit. Perspectives as to their validity or otherwise as well as other reasons are welcomed.

Thanks.

'Debo
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