₦airaland Forum

Nigeria included in a summary list of Terrorist Home States!

So what?

What truly is terrorism?

How should we define it?

Who sets the rules and the criterias for what terrorism is?

Are there separate rules and accountability for terrorism originating from the West and executed on their behalf by companies like Shell, Pfizer. . .than there is by groups like MASSOB or individuals like Abdul Mutallab against Western interests?

How many Nigerians have been killed both in the Delta and in the North by direct actions, respectively, of Shell and Pfizer?

They call us a terrorist nation and we are freaking out in a panic. . .when we ought to dismiss their label as nothing more than an attempt to find scapegoats to dump their failure on. They are not to blame for the attempt, we are. We failed soon after the incident to voice our patriotism and vent our anger on al Qaeda, instead we immediately started to cannibalize Umar Farouk's character.

Nigerians. . .you are terrorists; suck it up!

Mariory, Umar will not get the death penalty. There is a precedent in Richard Reid's case. His penalty and sentencing will not be as severe as Reid's. Umar is not a enemy combatant and beside, depending on who defends his case. . .he could subponea his father's advance notice to the US embassy and if admitted by the judge he could call the US government as a witness. This could then get him into a deal and a lesser penalty.

My personal feeling is he needs to go for life. God forbid. . .what if he had succeeded in setting off the trigger?

I would have issued a response absolving nigeria of complicity concerning the incident.

Isn't that apologetic?

Beside, Umar never said Nigeria sent him. . .he made it clear first day in detention that he was on errand for al Qaeda.

Then summarily start the blaming game- Yemen first, then Britain and infact start my own media propaganda- British-Yemeni terrorist attempts attack in America would be all over NTA

In all of this you have attacked everyone else but the culprit; al Qaeda! You see how easy you missed the whole issue and went on the wrong battle?

Here is leassons learnt for you - Don't attack and carp on other people opinion unless you have a better argument.

You are focusing too much on the subject. In that narrow vision you are missing the much bigger strategy and the advantages.

You are locked into news feed and responding with a mob action. Take a step back and pretend you are the foreign minister for our country. How would you handle this situation?

Some years back when I did staffing for my organization, we had what is called situational judgement. You will be given a scenario and it doesn't matter if you ever had that role or not before now. . .you are expected to respond. There is no one correct answer but there is one correct judgement. The best decision maker proves leadership nd gets the job.

My friend. . .how would you handle this situation if you were in position of authority as a nigerian official?

On the international scene, we need a differentiator.  

We can be like Atlantis and rise out of the ashes of our ruin or be like Titanic. . .sunk and buried in deep sea.

We can respond to national tragedies magnanimously or we could dismiss them nonchallantly.

Today Britain lodged outcry in condemnation of China's execution of its citizen. It is symbolic!  The man had gone into China with intent and pre-calculated motive to commit crime and profit from it.  Britain did not deny his crime or the magnitude of the impact to Chinese people, but they consistently intervened on his behalf by recreating a character for him. The move was not to absolve him of the crime but rather to impose the British Sovereignty and as a protectorate for its citizens.  This is magnanimous and this is what evolved nations do.  

There were hundreds of European citizens released from Guantanamo because their nations stepped up and intervened on their behalf with America . . .not in a move to excuse their act but rather as a political instrument of exchange and goodwill.

Where is our goodwill. . .where is our magnanimity?  Has our embassy staff gone to visit Umar? He carries Nigerian passport.  I am not asking that he be excused. . .he has done a damage that he cannot repair sitting in jail.  The damage need to be repaired nonetheless and that responsibility rest with us.  Unless of course we wan to be like Somalia.  They don't look back when their citizens are arrested in international territories for acts of  terrorism.

Where is our differentiator in this matter?

Negro whatever you call yourself.

Today I went to work. Everyone was talking about the "crazy Nigerian terrorist" who tried to bomb a plane. Immediately I came into the office everyone kept quiet. But the damage was done. Now anytime people stare at me for a long time (even if it is a ridiculously hot girl) I think its because of Mr Umar. Man I just want to grab his head and crack it open.

Sefago, how would you reclaim your damaged image? Can you share?

@OP
As much as I want to be compassionate, I have to take a rain check on this one.
This young man almost succeeded in killing innocent people, and has disgraced a whole nation.

I do agree with you that it is a great misfortune for everyone.
Even though you are not advocating an easy pass for this man, your intent might be misconstrued as
apologetic -- hope not though.

Eyesonyou, redemption is secured through remorse. Remorse can take many forms. I hope it is seen for what it is. . .a remorseful approach to limit damage and recover our national pride. Thanks for youe clarity by the way.

My Fellow Nigerians,

In light of everything else going on in the news and on the web, let us exercise caution and restrain our tongue in the way we condemn Umar.

It is indeed a very great misfortune for everyone. Many Thanks and Praise to the Almiighty God that the attempt failed, no life was lost and out of the mishap is an instructional outcome for a leap forward.

The part played by al Qaeda must not be overlooked. Acting as a predator, al Qaeda seized upon and exploited this young man's desire for religious understanding and purpose.  Umar did not set out to join aQ, instead he aspired for a deeper meaning and purpose in the Quran and to do that he wanted a first hand experience in the Arab culture and language.

Everyone that seeks an identity and intimacy in the Quran will testify to the fact that as they studied its 114 chapters they ultimately ended up with one or two chapters that give them the spiritual bonding they seek. I am one of those and for my testimony I find meaning and purpose in chapter 55, Surah Al Rahman (The Beneficient). Life purpose lead us to devote energy and sacrifice and a commitment to connect spiritually with our divine core.  If the message in Al Rahman were anything to die for, then I am ready to lay down my life. The message is about humility and content. On this note, it is necessary to understand which one of the Surahs Umar intimated with. The message in that particular chapter will give some clue to his state of mind and the ease with which aQ was able to convince, albeit exploit his vulnerability, away from his adventurous journey and into their camp.

The enemy is al Qaeda, not Umar. Umar is our countryman and our brother. He must stand and face justice for his bad judgement. Whatever his conviction and sentence he must accept it with faith. Allah has commanded the faithfuls to fight the oppressor and when they wage war on you, to retaliate with a force greater than the attackers. Umar need to reconcile within himself if the people in that aircraft with him had oppressed or waged war on him or his homeland.  None of is perfect and none of us is above trial from above. This youngman is sunk, physically and spiritually and I am in no doubt sure that he is taking toll in his own mind what got him where he is and wishing he could relive the moment and pick a different option.

We, Nigerians, have the duty now to reclaim and redeem him. Talking bad and negatively about him will not accomplish that. We need to give witness to his character and not assassinate it in public. That action alone from our part will reinforce to the world that we are a benevolent people to one another and portray a strong value in our sense of patriotism. We do not yet know how many other Nigerians may already be in aQ contact and grooming. We must intervene at this point to reject al Qaeda from our country and region. This is an international matter, not a domestic case. Let us speak with one voice and point accusation finger at al Qaeda and vent opposition to whayever cause they stand for.  This is not Arabia, this is Black man land and their war is their war, our war is our war. We will not fight their war with the blood of our sons and daughters. They should not fight our wars with theirs'.  

Per chance,. . . out of the goodwill to uphold Umar's character on the international front, we may all discover a new avenue for forging harmony in our domestic differences.

To Umar Farouk, you owe apology to America, you owe apology to the occupants of that airliner and you owe apology to Nigeria. In the midst of your misfortune, I wish you God's light.

Peace!

From God we come, and unto Him is our return. May her soul rest in peace.


Do not speak ill of a dead person, however bad they lived and however much atrocity they left behind. The deceased one is no longer in a position to speak in response to her guilt or innocence in all these alleged charges of corruption. Let her soul rest now as she goes to faace her Lord.

hmmm. . .  

I am shocked, given that the post was opened by Debo and judging by the credibilities of respondents, that no one has questioned the 'nature of the assets' they are offering to sell for $5B.  I am going to assume that it was an oversight and not an error of judgement.

let's begin by asking why Shell would sell 'assets' valued at $5B and what those assets could be?

in a recent post I mentioned that this hoolabaloo about global warming is nothing more than 'pocket warming' in reality. I don't know how many of you are aware that carbon credits was already being traded in mercantile exchanges around the globe, at least since 2008; long before Copenhagen summit.

About 2 or 3 years ago, even though it was illegal to flare gas, the Nigerian government under Obasanjo, offered to trade 'gas flares' as credits on the global market.

Prior to joining the Obama regime, Larry Summers, as  economic adviser to World Bank declared that Africa is 'under polluted'. What does this mean? It means that in exchange for monetary rewards, servings as statutory compensation for damages, Africa should open itself to receive the disposals of undesirable pollutant wastes from 'over polluted' industrialized nations. In other words, Western societies are unrepentant about their wasteful lifestyles and its effects on the eco system but rather people of under developed economies ought to step up and balance the gap since their environments is by far and to a large degree still in its natural 'virgin' state.

We saw this demonstrated in the speeches coming out of Copenhagen.

Here is how it works; say GE operates a coal mine in USA. GE has a carbon cap of 5 million cubic tons of emissions allowance per year and that value on the market equates to, say, $50 million. That carbon cap becomes an asset worth $50 million. GE can offer to sell all or part of this asset. If GE produces more than 5 million tons of carbon emissions then it has exceeded its cap and will be penalized. The penalty is a heavy tax. It could either pay the tax or go shop on the market for additional carbon credits to buoy its cap.

What would be the case if GE was located in Africa? It would simply not have a carbon cap, or if it did. . .it would be set at very low ceiling, so that at all times and year round, . . .GE is always having to sell 'assets' on the market to bidding customers in industrialised nations, through global mercantile exchange markets.

In the case of Shell Petroleum of Nigeria, it is sitting on a pollution hotspot, much of which it helped to create in the Delta. It also has a contentious support of the Nigerian government in its failure to halt the flaring of gas, much to the shocking surprise that the Government indeed declared this atmospheric and ecological pollutant 'an asset' for carbon trading.

For those that often misjudge my posts as 'conspiracy theory, this is far from it. Right under our nose and our acute claim of intelligence, the Western world has reduced our quality of life to a commodity tradeable in the market. We give you dollars in exchange for the right to f*#k up your eco system.  

Here is my prediction. . .ultimately and in few years from now, marketers will launch bottled air. It will start in developed nations but it will eventually find its way to our continent and become  a vogue.

At all times, we must ask questions! Trust, but introspect!  

michelin,

yeah, I see what happened. you know, this is our playground. to bring about reformations in Nigerian politics, which a ll of us agree needs to be done, we must sharpen our skills at influencing and acting as change agents online. challenges such as this one is a good practice.

I am not shocked at the spambot filter. I am no rookie online, it was expected.

Whats important in relationship is HARMONY! Education is desired because we live in a society where lack of education becomes a liability. Having education however does not necessarily make you an asset. There is a totality of the persona and that totality can be segmented into various value categories. When the values you see in this girl matches with your ideal and you find her harmonious to your aspirations, then its no problem. You cannot purchase harmony, but you can purchase education. You can pay and send her to university later on.

As an African man, it is your duty to foot the bills 100%

Lmao! We do. You graduated college believing your worth can only be validated in employment. You can be a graduate, a housewife and a mother. In that role, you are far worthier and more valuable to your family, your children and the community. When you work, your husband, your children and yourself all suffer a consequence far burdensome than you have the fortiude to bear.

When your boss tell you in the office to do something outside your job definition you dont rebel. Why rebel when your boss at home tell you he is not doing dishes or mopping your floor?

Stop the nonsense!

lmao!

at momennt my compass is pointing in NY.

mon lo sun jare. . .orun wakati merin kin to ji jade lo. Olorun ji wa re!

we talk tmrw. gd nite and gd morning. lol!

So the married man did not intend to carry on with the other girl? He's married, why are his eyes still roaming?

oh. . .you will be surprised what men go through sometimes.

it is not uncommon that a man might loose his sense of direction sometimes. he has spent the last 5years travelling every year between Lagos and Abuja with no problem. Now he was found in Zungeru, lost and roaming around not knowing which way home.  

my sister, these are some of the problems have to deal with in life. we do not suffer from menstrual pains or hot flashes or emotional spikes . . .we have our own gyroscopic moments. when the compass points in a different bearing. . .that's just where we are headed, home or not!

well. . .I will say it is short sighted. calling it cheating is, again, questioning the intent!

the line that separates manslaughter from murder is very thin . . .and it begins with 'intent'.

his intent by sampling the flock is not to hurt the wife at home but rather to be guarded in his decision making so that the addition of the new comer does not disturb greatly whatever harmony was already established in that household. the new bride's ways and mannerisms takes time to uncover. she must be a supplement to the existing members in the household. . .so in the time it takes to fully assess and arrive at decision, yes, it is wise to be discretionary with her identity so far that it is not done with a malicious intent.

the cheater on the other hand is intending to disrupt and cause disharmony. the action is malicious and so is the thought, discordant at best, that went into the initial contact when this act of immorallity took off.

she knows I only advocate but not a practicing polygamist.

any woman is better off with a polygamist. . .the devil u know is better than the one you don't know!

u don't know what that cheater is doing behind your back. . . he could be fuc-king another man and you don't know it.

krayola,

no need to turn something so simple into an academic study.

ordinary interaction is telling a nice looking woman 'i like your dress, fits nicely on you'. Bias and Sensitivity creeps in when she misinterpretes that as a sexual comment and complains of harrassment.

 you know. . .I just recently found out I was born a polygamist!

My day is coming, I have never marched for anything. . .that will be my first. I will march to Congress. 

don't tell your sister I said that.  

cheaters marry hoes/whores - google will not like that line at all at all

lmao!

oh if you think I use big grammar wait till redsun get in here.  lmao!

well. . .talking of developed nations, I cherish their struggle in every way, including sometimes personal sacrifice, to uphold the right to free speech. lately, due to broadspread of liberal ideas into mainstream circles, free speech is slowly being replaced by 'free tongue'.

bias and sensitivity issues, pushed by both civil liberties union and feminine rights advocates, have made it extremely difficult to interact ordinarily without the possibility of being labeled as anti-social or at worst, referred for 'sensitivity training'.

how soon do you think it would be before the society is de-sensitized and what shocks us today as immoral and intolerable in an infidelity case is reversed and accepted as the norm?  very soon my dear, in developed nations, polygamy will be as valid a civil right as homosexuality is.

lol. . .of course hell will break loose the moment the wife is told that another wife is joining the household. a man must always handle his business in the most forthright manner possible. we are not perfect but something that significant has no room for error. so he needs to disclose upfront before his first marriage and let the bride know that he will be a practicing polygamist. this way she is prepared and ready to handle the moment of truth when it happens.

but because men have gone through successfful stages of 'sissification' by women that demand their men bake cookies and mop floors . . .nowadays, men are cowered into handling business with tepidation, fearful it will upset madam.

he forgets that madam is a roller coaster of moods. . .everything is upsetting to her. so. . .yes, men need to share that propensity for polygamy before the first wife, not after.

I am an advocate of polygamy and I maintain that its not cheating. there is planning and deliberation going into it. its not a spontaneous action like infidelity is.

Gator,

you are not wrong. . .he tests his ground during the search. the keyword is 'intent to disclose'.

the polygamous man intends to find additional woman to introduce to the wife/wives at home.

the cheater intends to keep his mishief hidden . . .and possibly replace the wife at home with the woman he is having the affair with.

polygamy is not cheating! the women know one another and are aware of their status in the relationship. when your wife or gf isn't aware of the other woman or if you are having affair behind her back and not intending to voluntarily disclose the affair. . .then that's cheating.

@ topic,

The number '7'.

Western culture and African culture rarely find harmony; you need inner harmony to be logical, philosophical or creative.

Root yourself in your culture and you can't go wrong.

. . .adding to that, "if you control the language people use, you can control how they think and reason"

Some of you need to sit with the elders in your community and learn your history. Just because you are educated does not in any way make their knowledge irrelevant to your philosophical understanding of who you are and what your identity is. I cannot believe that people are sourcing unauthentic Yoruba history from the web to authenticate their own identity and history. Shame!

@topic,

Forget the influence of the colonial government and politics, the pre-colonial history as told through ages of oral tradition has it that Ife was the sipiritual (Ori or Head) seat of Yoruba people. Odu Ifa is a spiritual oracle and so I would expect, for God's sake, that if it spoke of any principal land then that land would be Ile-Ife. Ife has power over Yoruba rituals and deities. It is not out of place that Ooni was invited to give lecture on Ifa. . .he was in the proper role doing that.

Oyo is the seat of Yoruba political power. The army, the cavalry, the generals, the prime minister, the hunters, the Sovereign Crown, the slaves, the vaults, . . . . all these should expectedly be under the control of the custodians at Oyo. Aare Ona Kakanfo is the Generalismo of Yorubaland and the title is rightly under the Oyo custody.

It is unfortunate that the rivalry between Ladoke Akintola and Obafemi Awolowo was allowed to spillover into politics and that the Oyo kingdom was made to pay a price for its support of Akintola. . .but that's just a speck of event in the total timeline of Yoruba history and should not in any way become a marker around which the history is rewritten.

I must remind that the existence of a Yoruba spiritual throne and a political throne side by side and in rivalry is nothing new in our total past. Our founding father emigrated out of the Kushite culture. . .and back in their glory, precisely in Upper Egypt, there was a King named Akhenaten. I talked about him in one of my posts a while back. Some of the Egyptian Kings were elevated to the status of god. . .they were believed to have divine powers. Akhenaten was one of such. There had always been two Egypts - Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Lower Egypt was the military outpost and Upper Egypt was the spiritual and Sovereign seat. The King was the Sovereign power and god and so the two powers were invested in one person and in one location.

In our case, Ooni of Ife is the Spiritual power, the god. Alaafin is the Sovereign power, the Crown. In expanding Yoruba political empire, the duty will always, as it had been for ages, fall upon him. In expanding Yoruba philosophy and religion and customs, the Ooni will forever hold that responsibility.

I wasn't blaming religion for anything. I was trying to draw a parallel between the evolution of thinking in Europe and in Modern day Africa/Nigeria.
We seem to be moving backwards.

It would seem from this statement that you are benchmarking Europe as the standard for thought and philosophy.

this is why when in America you would want to marry a black woman. White woman would let the cat out of the bag and in public. Black woman would bring out plenty drama and misunderstandings to the point you would wish the ground open up and swallow u. . .but trust me, she will keep it all in the house.

White woman manages marital stress better than black woman but black woman manages husband infidelity better than a white woman. If his wife was black all these would never have happened. . . Every sport star that had a similar outing as Tiger's was married to white. It's not that the ones married to black women were not fuck_ing on the side. . . it's simply the attitude of black woman about husband infidelity. I love my black ass women. . . I bow for una!

Do we have a lobbyist in Washington? If so who is the person or the entity?