Rstc: So much social entropy, that the nation can give way at anytime.
And yet some people still wants buhari to win. I am not even talking about the hopeless bigots who are voting for him because of the fake Yoruba pastor.
I am talking about genuine patriots who actually believe buhari is the best thing for this country. How misguided they are.
Are there patriots in nigeria? a country ithout common value wouldn't have a common definition of who a patriot is.
JERUSALEM — Nigerian separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu announced that he is in Israel a year after he disappeared from his home in southeast Nigeria.
Kanu has been campaigning for an independent state called Biafra in south-eastern Nigeria.
A video live-streamed on Friday on social media showed him praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, wearing a kipa and tallit.
Kanu claims the Igbo people, who are the majority in southeast Nigeria, are a lost tribe of Israel and that he will lead them to the promised land of Biafra.
In a broadcast Sunday on his pirate radio station, Radio Biafra, Kanu announced “I’m in Israel.”
“I owe my survival to the State of Israel,” he said, noting that he received help from Israel’s Mossad, though he did not indicate what kind of assistance he may have received from Israeli authorities.
In 2015, Kanu was charged with “criminal conspiracy, intimidation and membership of an illegal organization,” which are charges that could amount to treason, according to the BBC. He was released on bail last year after spending more than 19 months without trial on treason charges.
Nigerian troops raided his home city of Umuahia in Abia state, southeast Nigeria, in September 2017, after which he went missing until Friday, including failing to show up at his scheduled trial.
In his broadcast on Sunday, Kanu called on his followers to boycott elections next year in Nigeria unless there is a referendum for a state of Biafra in the country’s southeast on the ballot. He said he would not return to Nigeria for his trial, the Daily Post of Nigeria reported.
I am not a fan of these so called prophets but this trending youtube video of a pastor in March 2018 giving prophesy about the return of Nnamdi kanu caught my attention. He said he sees "a great danger coming to Nigeria...i'm seeing darkness". he said he sees a "dangerous preparation" and the return of "a firehorse with an angry spirit". According to him people should forget about the prevailing calmness for what people experience isn't really calmness because there will be "a rising of action in a full force". "I am seeing a firehorse coming to bring his vision through...I'm seeing everywhere shaking"
It's no longer news that Kanu has resurfaced but in the closing speech of his broadcast said that " I am coming back to Biafraland and i'll bring hell with me"
the out come of this election will play strongly on nig-Us relations. it will determine trump's response to killings in MB, buhari's anti Israel policies and their official position on Biafra. I so feel.
This article was written a year ago. You might want to read it if you are Igbo and still shout one nigeria.
Just over 50 years ago, on May 30, 1967, Biafra, a region in southeastern Nigeria, declared its independence. A few weeks later, the government of Nigeria began a bloodthirsty war against the secessionist area. In the course of this two-and-half-year conflict, in which the Nigerian army committed unspeakable atrocities, some 1.5 million people died, mainly members of the Igbo ethnic group. Some 80 percent died due to famine.
Nigeria was formed as a colony by Britain and received its independence in 1960. Today it is a presidential republic. It calls itself a federal state, but in fact, it is strongly centralized. It has a population of some 190 million, made up of about 500 different ethnic groups. Deep divides
The largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, who mostly live in the north and account for about 30 percent of the population. Other large groups include the Yorubas in the southwest, with more than 20 percent of the population, and the Igbos in the southeast, also accounting for about 20 percent. The Hausa-Fulani are nearly all Muslims, the Yorubas practice Christianity and Islam with strong influences from traditional religions, while the Igbos are mostly Catholics. The overall literacy rate is about two-thirds, but it is very low in the north and very high in the southeast.
The Igbos were an easy target – they were better educated, more industrious and they were Christians
The southeast is prosperous. As the region of the country where oil and gas are produced, it is crucial for the Nigerian government. All revenues from fossil-fuel exploitation go into federal coffers, leaving the southeast only with the environmental repercussions.
Gowon’s repression
When Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon, a northerner, took power in Nigeria in 1966, a murderous pogrom against Igbos in the north began. The Igbos were an easy target – they were better educated, more industrious and they were Christians. Some 30,000 to 50,000 men, women and children were massacred under the auspices of the federal government.
The repression that followed under the regime of then General Gowon led the Igbo-inhabited southeast to declare its independence as the Republic of Biafra. The result was a murderous war and the intentional starvation of Igbos.
General Gowon had the support of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the Arab countries and diplomatic backing from the United States, despite his horrific tactics. France (at the time under President Charles de Gaulle), Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Israel, Taiwan and especially the Vatican tried to help Biafra’s people. United Nations Secretary-General U Thant deliberately closed his eyes to the suffering. The defeat of Biafra and the murderous revenge the federal troops took in 1970 did not close this dark chapter in Nigerian and African history
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a supporter of the Gowon government, said at the time: “All is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I don’t see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder.” Still marginalized
The defeat of Biafra and the murderous revenge the federal troops took in 1970 did not close this dark chapter in Nigerian and African history. Igbos continue to be marginalized. They are underrepresented in nearly all top government positions. The southeast is thoroughly neglected by federal authorities, except in the quasi-confiscation of oil revenues.
President Muhammadu Buhari received few votes from the southeast in the 2015 elections. When, during a trip to the U.S. later that year, he was asked what he would do to help the region, he responded: “I hope you have a copy of the election results. Naturally, the constituencies that gave me 97 percent cannot, in all honesty, be treated [in the same way] on some issues with constituencies that gave me five percent. I think this is a political reality” – indicating a willingness to give the areas that support him preferential treatment.
Last year, at a gathering of Igbos commemorating the start of the Biafra war, federal police killed some 50 people. The 50th anniversary will take place this year, and we can only hope that there will not be a repeat of such a massacre.
No wonder new secessionist movements in Nigeria are gaining momentum. Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of a growing group demanding Biafran independence. “Nothing seems to be working in Nigeria,” Al-Jazeera quoted him as saying. “There is pain and hardship everywhere. What we’re fighting [for] is not self-determination for the sake of it. It’s because Nigeria is not functioning and can never function.” Corruption trap
Nigeria, with its geographic, ethnic and institutional structure, is a political and economic monster – a real “Frankenstein.” The wish for self-determination is natural and understandable under the circumstances, with such discrimination ongoing. A peaceful separation would be the best outcome.
The only way out of Nigeria’s corruption trap is for the regions to have strong governments within a true federal system, or to secede
Unfortunately, since Nigeria’s corrupt federal state apparatus lives off the oil revenues and has neglected non-oil-related economic development, it is unlikely to agree. If a situation like the one 50 years ago recurs, we can only hope that the international community will act more responsibly, and not try to maintain the integrity of an inherently corrupt state at any price.
The only way out of Nigeria’s corruption trap is for the regions to have strong governments within a true federal system, or to secede. The problem is that not only the federal government, but many of the regions depend on the oil revenue earned in the country’s southeast.
In doing business with Nigeria, it must be kept in the back of one’s mind that Biafra’s secession would drastically change Nigeria’s financial situation. In terms of the country’s politics, one has to consider the possibility that Nigeria could become much poorer than it is already.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague has said it will investigate the September 2017 invasion of a community in Abia State by soldiers of the Nigerian Army during a military exercise code-named Operation Python Dance 2 (Egwu Eke Abuo).
The Office of the Prosecutor, ICC, stated this in response to a petition filed to the court by a Nigerian journalist, Ahaoma Kanu, following the military occupation of Afara Ukwu community in Umuahia, Abia State, in a bid to arrest the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, which led to the killing of several unarmed members of the group.
In the letter obtained by Daily Sun with reference number OTP-CR-413/17 dated March 20, 2018, which is the second response by the court to the petitioner, it was confirmed that the military invasion and deaths recorded were already under preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor.
Part of the letter signed by Mark Dillon, head of the information and evidence unit at the Office of the Prosecutor, read: “Accordingly, your communication will be analysed in this context, with the assistance of other related communications and other available information.”
The Federal Government had proscribed the IPOB even as its members came under attack by security agencies in the country, including the Nigerian Army, Department of State Services (DSS) and the police, leading to the alleged extra-judicial killing of hundreds of IPOB members since 2015 when Kanu was arrested on charges of treason.
After the September 16, 2017, attack on his country home, Kanu and his aged father have not been seen till date, fuelling speculations he was being held by the state.
However, following petitions by civil rights groups, the ICC commenced and concluded preliminary investigations into the alleged killing of over 200 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in December 2015 as well as opened preliminary investigations into the killing of members of the IPOB by the Army in October 2015.
The petitioner, in his petition of September 24, 2017, to the ICC, called for an investigation and prosecution of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, and all members of the Nigerian Army involved in the extra-judicial killings of IPOB members during the Operation Python Dance 2 exercise.
Dillon stated that “under Article 53 of the Rome Statutes, the prosecutor must consider whether there is reasonable basis to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the court have been committed, the gravity of the crimes, whether national systems are investigating and prosecuting the relevant crimes, and the interests of justice.”
He went further to say that “analysis will be carried out as expeditiously as possible, but please be aware that meaningful analysis of these factors can take some time.”
He further promised to provide reasons for any decision reached by the court to proceed with the investigation.
It was the second time that the ICC would exchange correspondences with the petitioner on the killings in Abia State by the Nigerian military.
Afara Ukwu community recently said it would require about N500 million from the Federal Government to cleanse its land reportedly desecrated by the military invasion,
Ilovemystate: BITTER tribe can't stop Innoson http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31536706 From Motorcycle king to vehicle manufacture and other products Nigeria has Africa's largest economy. It is mostly known for oil, but that wealth has not trickled down. As it joins the global economic top table, what kind of businesses and businesspeople are thriving in Africa's most populous nation?
"You're supposed to hold something," I was told. "Hold what?" I replied naively.
"A sample, you're supposed to hold a sample of what you're selling."
Amaka was wondering what a reporter holding a microphone was doing hanging around Onitsha's main market, neither buying nor selling. She looked at me with pity, as if to say, "if you don't even know about samples, you have a lot to learn."
I had been at the market for less than five minutes, and someone was already trying to get the measure of what my business was about.
There's plenty to learn about Nigeria in Onitsha, a city in Anambra state on the banks of the River Niger in the south-east of the country.
Something like three million people flock here every day, and some call it the biggest market in west Africa. They come from across the region, to buy everything from high-end mobile phones to low tech plastic containers.
But in Onitsha and elsewhere while making Six Routes for the BBC, the people I met show that the Nigerian economy is finding other lubricants.
Innocent Chukwuma is a successful businessman. He owns five different manufacturing companies around the south-east, and is very optimistic about Nigeria's future.
Looking out over his sprawling complex just down the road in Enugu, it's easy to see why. The government gave him land to expand his business and now he's probably the largest private sector employer in Enugu state. 4,300 people work at the plastics plant we visited.
"In Africa today anyone who can invest in manufacturing - in a short time you'll make money as you want," says Innocent.
Innocent started small. He was a spare parts trader in his native Nnewi. He had graduated from turning his brother's spare parts side business to establishing his own import venture.
As the prices of motorcycles coming in from Japan increased in the 1980s, he noticed something about the way they were shipped.
They were coming in by barge in containers. And being a spare parts trader he recognized that a motorcycle is made up of individual parts.
And so, he thought, if he imported the motorcycle in pieces it would take up a lot less space in the shipping container. And he was right.
At the time importers could fit about 40 pre-assembled motorcycles in a single shipping container. But as individual parts, Innocent could fit more than 200 motorcycles in each container. He now had a significant advantage over his competitors - and could sell his motorcycles for much less. Image copyright Innocent Image caption Importing bikes unassembled gave Innocent a key price advantage Labour costs
Another advantage he had over his competitors was the cost of labour in Nigeria being relatively cheap. A factory worker in Nigeria would earn around $500 a month.
He explains, "When I brought the first one I called the local people, and gave them some training, they assembled it perfectly and the price was cheaper."
Much cheaper in fact: "When they are selling for about 150,000 [naira] for one motorcycle, I sold my own for 80,000 ($400; £260)."
Innocent's bikes were nearly half the price of his competitors. He sold three containers' worth of motorcycles in about three months.
"So I went back and brought about 10 containers, and the 10 containers took me about one month to finish."
By the time he had the process down he was buying 200 containers.
But Innocent's advantage didn't last forever, and soon everyone was copying his strategy.
"The price crashed to 60,000 but when I saw that the price had come down and everybody was doing it - that's why I built this plastic plant."
Motorcycles were just the beginning for Innocent. He had another realization, that he could manufacture some of the motorcycle parts himself. Specifically the plastic parts. Image caption Innocent's business now makes a range of plastic goods Power cuts
The Innoson Group now makes all kinds of products. His motorcycle business has expanded to cars and buses while his plastics plants now manufacture tables, chairs, water drums, plates, boxes for electricity meters, and much else.
He believes anyone can follow his lead in Africa, which he refers to as a virgin place for entrepreneurs. Innocent's optimism is infectious and it's easy to get swept up in the euphoria of success, but business in Nigeria is not easy.
Back in Onitsha market it's also a microcosm of the obstacles entrepreneurs face every day.
The day I was there the traders were protesting against a new levy. The trade association decided to charge for a CCTV system, which the traders said the state governor had given them for free. It's the sort of surprise cost that wrecks a business plan.
But corruption is not even the biggest problem in Nigeria. Other countries have thrived despite corruption, and Nigeria shouldn't be different.
The lights go out constantly and nobody bats an eyelid or feigns surprise, everyone just carries on. Image copyright Innocent Image caption High energy costs are a limiting factor for many Nigerian businesses 'Credit tomorrow'
People make do with costly diesel generators, and that even applies to big factories.
For Innocent the high cost of energy is a necessary part of doing business in Nigeria. But it puts a real brake on what entrepreneurs can achieve.
The people I met are not put off by these obstacles. If you walk into some shops in Nigeria, there's a sign which reads: "No credit today, come back tomorrow."
If you keep waiting for the perfect conditions in which to do business, you'll be like the shopper who returns day after day, hoping that the shopkeeper might sell them goods on credit.
everyone is watching them. yorubas are very very hateful and bitter lots
Innoson: GTbank In Desperate Move To Stop Customers From Closing Bank Accounts
Abuja – Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) on Thursday put up desperate moves to calm customers who were aggrieved over the arrest of Innoson Motors’ boss, Innocent Chukwuma, from closing their accounts.
Many aggrieved customers of bank stormed the branches of the bank in Abuja requesting their bank accounts be closed.
Many others were seen transferring their deposits to other banks.
But the banks requested some aggrieved customers to officially write and wait for the bank’s response while the bank’s staff were seen speaking one-on-one with others.
Some who requested for fund transfers were told that the “network was down.”
Speaking with some of the customers, they blamed GTbank over the arrest of Chukwuma by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission.
INDEPENDENT correspondent who visited many of the branches following threats of closing their accounts on social media saw long queues.
The customers were told at the Customer Service Section of the bank to apply to their account officers and wait for response while those wanting to make inter-bank transfers were told to either wait or come back the next day.
A miffed customer in one of the branches engaged one of the Customer Relation Officers (CRO) on a heated debate asking why he should apply.
“Why should I apply?” he asked in a loud voice with support from other customers who were queuing to make the same application.
“It’s my account so I want it close now, now! And don’t send me any alert again after today,” he boomed.
When approached why he was ending his relationship with the bank, John, as he could only identify himself said, “The bank owes Innoson billions of naira but they are using EFCC against him.
“They don’t want to pay; that is fraud. They are committing fraud and using government against Innoson. We won’t allow that.”
One of the CROs when approached said, they are just doing this out of anger adding, “They might regret it later.
“It’s not their problem; it’s an issue that would be resolved in the court of law. I wonder why they are angry,” she said hiding the name tag on her chest.”
At the Wuse 2 branch, the queue extended outside with the security finding it difficult to control the crowd.
One of the customers who spoke in Pidgin English said, “Any person who wants to bring down Innoson would go down first.
“I am here to show solidarity with my brother, Innocent Chukwuma. GTbank will fail.
“Innoson has won the bank in many court cases so they want to use EFCC so that he will forget his money. That won’t work,” he thundered.
Another customer who volunteered to speak said he had transferred millions to another bank. He also said the wife who had travelled would do same as they were ready to move their domiciliary accounts as well.
Inside the banking hall, the aggrieved customers were seen chatting and discussing the Innoson case with the bank and why EFCC was involved.
When INDEPENDENT approached a middle-aged man said to be the branch manager, he declined to comment, urging our correspondent to write an official letter to Lagos.
Innoson Group has been engaged in serious court cases with GTbank. It accused the bank of being indebted to the auto manufacturing company to the tune of N8.5 billion in a series of damages stemming from illegal service deductions by the bank. An initial fraud case brought against Mr. Chukwuma was withdrawn earlier this year.
Some members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) are currently marching across major roads in Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State ahead of the November 18, gubernatorial election in the state.
Lilimax: Not true! Most Anambra parents still frowns at their children marrying non-native. The same thing affected me... But for the most Imolites, they don't care.
As for me, you can find love anywhere provided the person is God fearing and there is love among you
lie. MOST IGBOS dont allow inter tribal marriage. That most Imo allow is more of online stereotype. The truth is that imo pple tend to relax in a foreign land and are the least homeward when in a foreignland. Since the bulk of few Igbos that engage in inter tribal marriage involve Igbos resident in non Igboland, the probability of getting Imo becomes HIGHER. Even so, most of the men still travel home to get a wife.
abdelrahman: I made a thread where igbo women always run after us ,they can die because of us!
the problem with u you yorubas is that your social inferiority complex towards the Igbos is gross. It is this complex that lead to jealousy and hatred. It is only inferiority complex and low self esteem that can make a grown up yorubaman go wild in ectasy cos an Igbo girl smiled at him, to extent of declaring that Igbo girls love you more than even Igbos. No other tribe do this except you guys. Are girls scarce in yorubaland? Do you often consider how your girl see that? Sometimes sha i just dey shame on una behalf.
Unik3030: abeg no come out on d election day ooo Na beg I dey beg, just stay indoors dey chop ofe nsala while buhari install another okorocha in anambra
Politics › Re: Israeli TV Interviewer Didn't Believe Nnamdi Kanu Is A Jew by Noneroone(m): 11:30am On Oct 30, 2018
