₦airaland Forum

May God spare your life to witness it.

@post,

If you want to be a career politician and a good one my suggestion to you is that many of the issues you will encounter are not taught in classrooms anywhere.

1 - People. First, develop interest in people. Second, develop interest in people. Third, develop interest in people. Your interaction and study of people will solidify your understanding of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in humans, so that when you look a person in the face you are able to evaluate and respond to the desires of the soul.

2 - Identify your path to fulfillment. What fulfills you? Not everyone will be a President and people often become disillusioned in life by focusing on the Presidency that they neglect the position of the Council Chairmanship. Do you want to serve the people and would that involvement bring satisfaction in your life? If so, then you can serve the people from any political position in the council, the state legislature, as governor or as president or even as an ambassador.

3 - Have a cause. You must have an ideology, a philosophical value, a creed, a mission, . . some greater force beside yourself but in which truth you passionately believe and are driven to see manifest.

4 - Enjoy life. Nurture yourself onto noble lifestyles. You do not have to be rich to live nobly. Enjoy good music, enjoy good party, enjoy good company, enjoy good movies, elevate your mind and soul, never miss an opportunity for a healthy and intense sex. Sex is a process of rebirth, an act of rejuvenation for renewing your potency. You dispose static charges and you acquire fresh energy from the cosmos. Politicians bring newness into society, they need constant renewal in their own life.

Good luck buddy!

If the USA come to liberate Southern Nigeria will you support them. I mean from the river Niger and benue to rivers state and lagos down. Will you help the USA to liberate you from the north.

You have been told by many respondents already and I don't think my response add any more weight but I need to get it off my chest anyway - you are uninformed! . . . and if you must get a liberation at least keep Lagos or any part of the West out of your ambition, I am sure you are likely to get told off by Easterners as well. The Northerner is not leading, he is ruling and we need to educate and inform him that leadership is more noble than ruling and we demand change. If he fails to yield after that elinghtenement has reached him then he will have himself to blame for the aftermath disaster.

Communicate first, educate next, follow up with warning and then anihilate and restore healing.

So what will now be the solution (the way out), I believe Nigeria must first take control of the situation (create a committee, supported by a foriegn commissions) then this will lead to gradual improvement and way of executing the present and past politicians in government that has and have being involved in any criminal or ilegal act.

Charles,

I like that word "gradual improvement", a creeping but ground solid build up, very inspiring! Thanks!

Part of the problem that we want to resolve and restore is human dignity. Our politicians are college graduates but their academic discipline have not empowered them to practice philosophical leadership. They understand how to rule but they lack understanding on how to lead. They are conducting themselves in manners that they witnessed their predecessors ruled. They do not know any other way of doing it. The ones that have a different understanding and a desire to introduce philosophical living are few in number and are dwarfed by the multitude that are ignorant. So while I understand your sentiments on how to dispose past and current office holders that have victimized us and I must admit that I share your sentiment, however, we need to practice restraint and approach the issue with prudence.

Somehow, in a non-extreme way, they should be made to account but the method of accounting should equally leave allowance for their redemption. We want to win people to our side, not further alienate. We definitely want to be a model of leadership and not of rulership. Also, It's okay to have foreign sympathisers but foreign sponsorship or support will corrupt the cause.

there is a lot wrong with the way nigeria is presently governed,but what i see most alarming is our collective complacency and despondence as nigerians to the situation.
the change i ll advocate for nigeria is us shedding our complacency and believing in change,not the obama change as i really don't ant to sound too cliche,but change in the way we approach issues instead of injecting tribalism,change in the way we vote our leaders in, we should stop collecting bribes and vote our conscience, if we want to vote the best people in or else collecting 200 naira will continue to empower godfathers to annoint their chosen candidates and we really wont have a say because we have collected our pay off,
we should be patriotic and always stand up for and always work for the betterment of nigeria,secession from whichever tribal affiliation is not patriotsm!
i have more solutions but i believe these few are great starts on a road to socio political,economic recovery.
nigeria should not be dissolved because dissolving nigeria wouldnt really solve the endemic corruption which has eaten deep into our very psyche, if we dissolve and get divided into a million different states,the same problems will still be prevalent in these nation states as the very politicians,business men/women ,technocrats are from all the tribes in nigeria, true commitment to the experiment called nigeria.
the reason why i reckon we are sceptical about democracy in nigeria is because of its attendant negatives and its perception based on the current leadership, i believe a true and purely uncorrupted form of democracy will work in nigeria and is the way to go towards empowering the people into making the choices in their own political and socio economic self determination

Lucabrasi,

I can tell you have a lot to say, I see the depth and the eagerness. Please share. I know you are cautious not to overwhelm and turn off readers but you can build talking points and just throw them out here for now. Later we can revisit the points for elaborate dialogue and expansion.

I agree we are complacent. Our people have withstood years of oppression, generations have been born into the same stagnant system and lived through it and passed it on "as is" or worse, to successive generations. We are not trained for leadership. Somehow our parents and their parents before them and the ones before those saw Western culture as a successful society. Anything from the West was progressive and desirable. Truth is, not all of them are fine and dandy. White man did not come to Africa to teach us to be like him but he came to rule over us, he wanted us to have enough understanding, writing and reading, so we could be a better servant to him and his children. When he left and our people took over, the same expectation of servitude was practiced and in fact expanded. Our rulers are black and look like us but they govern us in exact same fashion that the White man intended. To change that, we need academicians that are willing to learn leadership and practice leadership. Leaders that are willing to be of service to the people, instead of expecting the people to serve them. We must educate and have information to raise awareness. The local media will be our partner in that.

There is no true and uncorrupted democracy anywhere in the world but sharing in your spirit of optimism I believe we can make ours far better than what it is currently and rise out of the stagnancy and into dynamism.

We should begin the discussion on this by defining what the GOAL should be. To help in your definition here are few clues. These questions are not surveys, they are clues, a simple aid or check list to help formulate the wording or the result you desire to see. After the idea is formulated then respond with your GOAL or the OBJECTIVE that you will like to see accomplished with this effort.

1. Is something wrong with the way Nigeria is governed today, YES or NO?
2. Would you like to see a change and what should that change be?
3. Should Nigeria be dissolved or do you believe that given the right people in leadership and the proper agenda, a patriotic commitment can bring about sustainable change for all regions?
4. Who should have the democratic power to effect policy, the people or their government?


I used the same clues above and here is my response :

OUR GOAL
- Engage the human element and invest in a complete overhaul of the political and socio-economic landscape of Nigeria through active and dynamic empowerement of its indigenous citizens.
______________________________________________________________________

On a separate note, I want to ask the moderators here and Seun in particular that, I intend to turn this discussion into a political movement for transformation on the ground and before it is fully unwrapped I am interested in knowing if this will be tolerated and accomodated on NAIRALAND or do I need to move it elsewhere. It will be everything except this:

WHAT IT IS NOT = This is not a anti-government movement. It does not seek overthrow, coup, impeachment, war or riots.

WHAT IT IS = It is a voice for communicating legitimate grievance and seeking resolution that produces reasonable and widely accepted satisfaction on the ground.

Thanks.

I really cannot tell when it was taken but the fact that they had the cut out of Clinton in the piture would suggest this was after he got on the Obama campaign team.

You know how they do it, right now anything of political embarassment whether in picture or words is being collected as weapons to beat opponents with in 2011.

Oh my!, lol, well let me blow that virus out of ya eyes. Acting his age? Exactly why he should be dismissed - his age is unpredictive. Obama is a steady hand, he does not need surprises.

@post,

I don't know. . . I am not too comfortable going into a woman that wears pants/trousers all the time. I prefer women that wear clothings that give breathe, . . .everything else being okay of course.

I was forewarned and so had settled on an alternate bride in case warning became fact. I will show up with alternate at the wedding next morning.

Oh, before I forget. . . I need refund, I want my dowry back.

Charles,

I see that the seed for change is already planted. Change is difficult, we desire new things but not if it requires sacrificing old and familiar ways. Through persistent persuasion and demonstrated outcomes people will begin to yield to favorable gains. Stay around, you have a role, I have a role, other people will share this view and join in with their roles and we all will need each other to execute for incremental but measurable outcomes.

and what makes you think it would be successful in Nigeria? English is Nigeria's lingua franca and there's no reason the country's name should be changed. you are just adding makeup to the problem. which language would the new name be?

Are you familiar with Lagos Island? There is a street called DOCEMO Street. The correct spelling is DOSUNMU and not DOCEMO. It’s an Edo name but belongs to Oba Dosunmu of Lagos. In the late 1800s the Governor-General of Lagos Protectorate at the time commemorated the street in honor of the King.

Can we do anything for ourselves without asking the Queen’s permission or sending a delegate to London to see if okay to abandon Anglo-Saxon in favor of a return to our ancestry? We were not the only ones colonized and we are not the only country that speak Queen’s grammar. India returned to the practice of ancestral philosophies and languages. So did Iran. We know where they are today and thats where we want to head in terms of nationalism. Let’s take examples that worked.

This is embarassing and could hurt Obama in 2012 if its not immediately resolved. I say dispose his ass! What do you say?


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/04/one_more_question.html

@Post,

Tpia is correct. It is difficult to extract the full content of this interaction and place accurate meanings to it without a review of multiple shots from dfferent perspectives.

However, given this one shot and asked to analyze it for meaning this is what I will say:

The guy in green hat is plotting. His eyeballs and facial expression show resounding confidence. He is relaxed and no anxiety – he is even counting on his prayer rosaries which means his thoughts are not scattered. He is leaning in, shoulders straight, with questioning gaze directed at red beads – the look of an interrogator.

The guy in brown hat is his accomplice and whatever it is they are plotting this time, the guy in brown has done it before with successful outcome. He does not own this plot but he is there for moral support, to sweeten the deal and squeeze out a commitment.

These two are imposing.

The guy with red bead around his neck is vulnerable and has some control over something – he holds the key to something that green hat wants. He is not trusting and you can see this in the way his fist is clasped, instead of barred. He is burdened by something on his mind. This guy is someone guided by his conscience and his eyeballs and countenance reveal that. He has something to loose if things did not go smoothly as planned - soul, family name, credibility, etc… He is aware of this and is thus taking caution here. He is sitting in the dead center to everyone else – he is the focus.

Brown pants appeared to have come there to support red beads and fend off predators but green hat appeared too much to handle. Green hat is slick. Here, brown pants is depicted as a eager student, subdued and obedient. He is the tallest of the crew of four but he is slouched in his seat and appears impatient, as if waiting to raise his hand and ask a question. For a man of his size, he should sit into the chair and stretch out his legs, not doubled up and squeezed for room. He should be the inimidator, not the intimidated as he appeared to be in here.

These two are cornered.

so how exactly did a name change help congo or burma?

Bawomolo,

We do not need to look for our examples in failed models. We should seek our path in the examples of those that tried it and succeeded. There are few of them.

personally i don't think anything i say can actually change the heart and mind of any nigerian

Lucabrasi,

Remember, we complement one another. There are those of us that are strongly tactical but can’t be bothered with the strategy and need someone to show them the way; and there are some in us who have the power of vision but lack the practicality to execute their own ideas and must depend on others to implement the goal, yet amongst us are those who are strong in communication and power of influence and can energize the crowd but really don't know what else to do with the people until they are shown by someone else how to control human resource. If each of us would commit to what s/he is best at and pass the problem task to the next stage of ownership then it will be a easy and team effort that could in turn become a nationalized movement and a galvanizing point for changing our country.


@Post,

If anyone is wondering how the Thai people forced their government out of power without violence, I just told you . . .

. . .it took obama to wake millions of americans up

- complementary effort of grassroot movement powered by a few. Let us be that few.

. . . and if you were giving a speech or writing an article on PATRIOTISM, how would you persuade that cohesion given the NIGERIAN political and cultural climate?

No two countries are the same given similar circumstance, there are situations we handle much better than other people and in which they point to us as models. We kill each other for political losses but unlike many other countries we do not go on rampage and kill opponents for losses on the sports field.

From Lucabrasi on another thread,

". . .these are the kinds of issues we should be looking more closely at to identify these fanning the embers of discord and hatered amongst the different ethnicities rather than allowing some politicians to deceive us"

I have wanted to ask members of NL a question but kept holding off and waiting to gauge the measure of response that will come out of the Jos uprising to see the extent of the resulting polarity. We live in a mix but because our interaction here is for most part at the mental level we can insulate the emotions and the physical from a lot of tensions that would otherwise be the outcome if we were in physical contact. In your response to this thread, I beg you to bring that same mental acuity to bear so that your opinion and insights on this question can positively add value and enrich the dialogue. I am not dismissing the various emotions and anger over the incidences and or the political state of the country, however there is a minimal cushion of tolerance left for the Igbos to continue to accomodate targeted victimization.

We have seen increase in the call for a second rise of Biafra, though I disagree in that approach as a solution, nonetheless I agree with those that want Nigeria dissolved. There are many ideas in my head - and I'm sure in your's too - for the way forward. Let's take a moment here and tackle a primary issue, that of commonality. As you can see in the opening quote, I am not the only person that have this view. It's a popular view, even though many of you have not expressed it, you without doubt advocate for it. Share yourself with us on the topic of TRUTH & RECONCILIATION.

We need a common point of rallying for our country, a shared patriotism that lepas beyond tribal boundaries. What is it? If you don't believe there is one, then what can you think of that could become one? Here is mine at the bottom -

NAME - Name is a powerful value in our culture. It has ancestry and legacy, it is the past, the present and the future and it is invoked for spiritual intercedence. The name of the country, NIGERIA, should be changed and it should be given a new name that each region can satisfactorily identify with. Nigeria does not have any meaning in any of our indigenous dialects. We do not identify with it as our legacy and thus we failed to see it as our past, our present or as our future. I propose that we hold a national review and change the name.

What is your idea for our commonality?

the main problem of 9jarian police is[b] ignorance[/b]. they need education and seems not to be getting enough from their police colleges. polic-ing is not only about physique; intellect and decisiveness is also needed. if policemen are made to pass through d four walls and study the course for solid four years, i guess we would have a brand new police force in nigeria. i think we should do that. abi wetin you feel?

It's a good initiative for you to open a discussion on it.  You said they need more education to eradicate ignorance.  The same can be said for our leadership generally, from the Presidency down.  You are correct that policemen need to learn strategy and the use of discretion, the education path you propose does not correct their ignorance.  It is enlightenement that corrects ignorance.  You can go through academic education and earn a phD but never come out of ignorance.  Nigerian Defense Academy went from a basic training facility to a four year degree university with courses in policy and still their rank and file is at the same level of development that the police force is.

Are these government policies or you are just brainstorming on ideas?

Are these machete mercenaries foreigners? From where?

No, not yet.

On the blackwater deal. I know the[b] Yorubas would be able to pay blackwater $1 billion , if Blackwater can remove us from Nigeria[/b]

Did you review your opinion before you posted? Why do yo want a foreigner to come and solve your grievance for you? If you have a grievance with Nigeria you solve it your own self, through discussion or through confrontation, whatever works for you.

The Almajiri heritage is, like the madrassahs in Central Asia, a system of Muslim education that dates back several centuries. With the imposition of British colonial rule between 1902 and 1960 on parts of the Sokoto Empire that currently constitute northern Nigeria, the North's amalgamation with Southern Nigerian British protectorates in 1914, and the formal abolition of slavery in northern Nigeria in 1936, this heritage underwent major structural and functional transformations.

Given the lessons from the 1980 Maitatsine terrorist insurgence in Kano, Nigeria, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in northern Nigeria since 1999, a potential exists that the heritage may have evolved into an apparatus for perpetuating terrorism.
There are reasons for the growing terrorist potential of the Almajiri heritage.

These people and their culture and ethos perpetuate a constant threat of terrorism against the state of Nigeria and its people as a whole.

It is truly sad that the Government of our "One Nigeria"  does not see fit to do anything about this despite the havoc that it is wreaking on Nigeria and the hundreds of lives lost.

I weep for my fatherland

Amaka,

While your account of history is correct, I differ with you on the evolution of the Almajiri caste from the Madarassah establishment.  This does not in any way excuse that there is periodic wave of violence in the North and its impact is very intolerable.  We know generally that the North is violent prone against Southerners and it is predictive.  The government must come up with some draft solutions to safeguard and protect lives of civil servants under its custody.  Youth Service Corps members are civil servants because their duty is a civic duty that is established by a Federal statute.  

To differentiate between Almajiri and Madrassah, the individual Almajiri is an acolyte.  One who takes on the adventure of self discovery and spritual ascent by living a modest and austere life removed from worldly ambitions and material gains. He subsists on alms for his livelihood as he journeys on to become spiritually adept and gain mastery over his own weaknesses. Thus becoming a venerable teacher in the art of self-mastery and can teach others.  The teacher status is Mallim or Mallam.  Martial arts like tai-chi, karate, kungfu, judo and all that are step-courses in the art of self-mastery and is taught by a Monk or Mallam.  Above the Monk status you have the Hermit.  The course of Amaljiri is to search for spiritual truth, not religion or dogma but for a path to spiritual ascent.  Notable Almajiris today, beside the Hausas are the Tibetians of China.

Madrassah is where Muslim children go to learn the Islamic creed and teachings.  Muslims all over the globe attend Madrassahs.  In Yoruba its called Ile Kewu.  It is not a system of Muslim education. It is the pathway to understanding God through understanding of the Quran. Madrassahs are supposed to teach faith, not religion.

Religion is not faith, it is a pretense on the practice of faith.  When you take selected teachings of a base scripture, mixes it with doses of ethnic customs and cultures, adds to that propaganda and dogma of ideological values then it becomes religion.  With the wrong leadership, religion can become instrument of destruction and damage as we have seen with the Northerners in Nigeria, as we have seen with Western governments through the ages, as we have seen with Israel over the Palestinians.  Once people are re-educated and made to understand that you don't need a Mallam to practice your faith with your creator and that the posession of the access key to heaven is in the individual's hand and not of the Mallam's then the leadeship will be isolated and their religious influence will evaporate.  MaiTatsine succeeded because he blocked outside influence with his flock, kept them in the dark and made them believe they can only redeem their nature through a holy war against the outside, the infidels.  The same path that modern day Almajiri is pursuing.

Th South can reshape the North by re-educating its footsoldiers, the Almajiris.

To an extent that they were discussing about a dog that was accidentally killed somewhere in the US when over 400 Nigerians are being slaughtered

LMFAO. . .

RedHot, Listen, we have a very porous borders. I fear that in not too distant future these machettes will be replaced with explosives smuggled in from Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and other areas. It' only a matter of time. . ., the massacres are becoming very frequent and predictable.

H2,

The gas price drop is a miracle, and it stayed low for so long. We will not know the events that happened behind-the-curtains for some time. It is my suspicion King Abdullah stepped in to influence supply and cut Bush a slack on the domestic front, or like you said the light bulbs went on and he suddenly figured out what to do.

Bush said to Charlie Gibson that Barack Obama got votes because of him.

Honestly, I have no response, cat got my tongue! I want to bet $100 Bush still has a choo-choo train set that he assembles on the floor and play with from time to time when cameras are turned off. Oh, another thing, why isn't the . . .oh shyyt. . Never mind.

Keep listening. . . . may God spare his life, it won'tbe too long before Honorable Igodo Migodo earnes himself an entry in Guinness Book of World records.
Missing that, his outstanding mastery of the art of poetry and rhyme in Latinish, or Englotin if you prefer, might soon be recognised in Oslo.

Anyone have any more sayings from the Honorable? I love this drama. .

Kai Muza, bansan kai ko Bahaushe bane ko wane yare ne, amma nasa yawanci Muza sunan Muzammil ne ake shortening dinsa,  In any way, ya kamata kayi karatun ta Natsu, ka tambayi kanka, wai Allah ne ya hada Najeriya ko turawan Ingila? Sun hada Najeriya ne saboda su samu saukin fitar da kayan gona daga Arewa ta Kudanci, saboda haka ba dan Allah suka hada kasar ba, ai daman can ba'a hade muke ba, amma saboda Man fetur 'yan Arewa suka mayancewa Kudu.

Auwal,  This is the blueprint of the English gnerally in all their colonial conquests in Africa, Asi, Middle East and even in America.  Their calculation paid off as you correctly observed. The groundnuts pyramids are gone, the millet farms are gone, the cocoa farmer is a victim, palm oil, gum arabic, . . name it, all squandered.  In particular cocoa - because it is a staple of their menu whether as beverage or confectionaries and sweets; marketed at very profitable margin.  Why should Nigeria be importing cooking oil. . .why?  They were selfish, greedy and inhumane in their treatment of indigenous people for the protection of their motherland and their royal throne.   The North imposing on the South because of oil revenue is as callous and cold as the English amalgamating non-integral tribal groups into a self-living and self-stirring cauldron of hate and chaos.

Thanks for your obsevation.

Ruby, now I can'texplain this pciture to you. I am not sure his mama can explain it either, maybe Palin can.

Sometimes you meet people that naturally turn you off and there are some that are just naturally charming and appeal to you. Bush is a turn off. However, after 8 yrs of constant presence in our lives you get to see all of him and find there are some sides of him that are admirable. Its like listening to a new tune that you don't like. After many times listening to it you will begin to hum to it.

Don't worry people, Obahiagbon is a reincarnate. In a previous lifetime the Honorable served in Ceasar's Palace and was the Latin-English interpreterfor Roma.

. . .discharge of my parliamentary onnus probandi ……, It is one of a micro cossum in a macro cossum. It is terra ferma for me and not terra incognita to contribute efficaciously in a utilitarian modus. If you don’t bathe yourself in the aqua of the political cross currents, then you are going to be deuced, Sactas Simplicitas. . . vendi, vidi, vicki: I came, I saw, I conquered.

He really jerked himself off here when asked about the effectiveness of his communication to the public. . .

Well, let me say that I have been maniatally bewildered, in the words of Peter Pan, “overghasted and flabberwhelmed” when I am confronted by people as to what they stigmatize as my verbabodical dimosophy gyrations .But let me use this opportunity to say that I have never set out…, I don’t deliberately set out to confuse my audience. Certain you want me to be dumb, when I talk, they just come I just come. . . packadoo .

Hillarious