₦airaland Forum

The best arrangement we've had in Nigeria was the three regions, and that is why the three biggest parties in the 50s and 60s -NPC, NCNC and AD fought to ensure there was no division in their respective regions (North, East and West). Those were the days of sanity.

The Mid-west was even created because the AD was in disarray and had broken into two. So, it was basically forced upon the West.

Gowon in his "wisdom" created the twelve states and it has been downhill since then.

Current state system is a drainpipe siphoning away scarce national resources.

The best state creation today should be mergers.

Gbawe:
Indeed. I for one hopes that Jonathan succeeds so that zoning of the Presidency is abolished once and for all. It is a crude political contraption that is moving Nigeria backwards. We simply need a system within which the best leaders are allowed to emerge through a transparent process . I would prefer Duke but , realistically and without the power of incumbency, he cannot win. Jonathan won't find it easy , and he might even fail, but he is the only non-Northerner who can win the 2011 Presidential election because of his current position.

I would hope that Jonathan would be extremely wary of OBJ. OBJ has now stated that Jonathan "must run" as if our current President is his anointed candidate. This brings back memories of how this treacherous old man fooled virtually all Nigerians into thinking that Odili was his man , back in 2006, and that there was no zoning formula in place. Odili actually believed OBJ and thus plunged himself into a massively expensive and laborious campaign for the Presidency that was totally unnecessary and ultimately futile .

In the end OBJ , in recognition of his deal to return power to the North, coolly brushed Odili, Duke et al aside to produce lacklustre  Yar Adua !!!! OBJ has a penchant for handing over to the North - especially to the least competent Northerners (perhaps so he can look good)  -  to the detriment of our nation . We can all remember Shagari instead of Awolowo in 1979 and the wasted 3 years under Yar Adua is still fresh in memory . I feel he will attempt to set Jonathan up to be a fall guy of his scheming and double-dealing because that is all that OBJ knows how to do i.e callously sacrifice others for his own motives .

Someone shares my view of OBJ!

OBJ is all about saving his own hide. If the northerners go after him now, he would drop Jonathan like hot potato.

Pennywise:
Lets create time for a little maths. Three wives in their 30s will require like three shags each per week. That comes to 9 encounters/wk for Jay Zee. In the real world a man with 3 wives will have a minimum of 3concubines. That comes to 18 mandatory shags per wk.

Now if this 68yr old man is permanently high on viagra and does nothing else (including being president) how can he meet up?

Lol! @ Pennywise

You'd be surprised at what a real stud can do. Some guy was still doing it at 86.

Deep Soul:
So it's now about which tribe gets more coverage from the press?

Tell me why the Igbos do these extreme things. . .
Their kidnapping randomly chosen innocent passers by and torturing them is some sort of personal conviction?
They dont even have the common sense to have a target.
They just carry any and everyone they see on the road
What's the difference btwn them doin that and a mad man chasing people up and down the street?
But we also know that in this case, it is the Igbos.
I'm not saying the Igbos are responsible for all the crimes in Nigeria.
Just saying this newly-discovered crime and their modus operandi within this particular territory is disturbing!

Anyway, e don do. I don go sleep.
Igbo kwenu. . . .

You are still making a sweeping statement. There is a good possibility that these goons are not completely Igbo.
Has it occurred to you that Igbo land is a perfect target because more people have money in Igbo land than elsewhere in Nigeria? That is another perspective.
I'm still giving you a break. No hard feelings.

@Nchara,

Just ignore the slowpoke, he/she/it will eventually see that he/she/it is talking alone - typical portion of the mentally deranged.

Nchara:
We know that some of the robbers in Lagos are not Yoruba
We know that a cultist and a human ritualists of Yoruba origin have been arrested in port harcourt
We know that some Igbo kidnappers were arrested in northern Nigeria
We know that northern robbers operate in the south and vice versa

It is up to the police to prevent crimes, but they seem incapable of doing so or are actually part and parcel of the criminal  gangs. Most policemen that operate in Igboland are Yoruba and hausa.

Which is why I have always argued for local police formations. Nigeria is a country of approx 150 million. Pray, how can one police formation handle a nation this big and diverse? How can one police boss oversee all parts of Nigeria?
This is even a no-brainer, but everything is big deal in Nigeria.
I specifically would vote for IBB (yes IBB!) because he promised to introduce state police among other true federalism things. Other candidates are too afraid to even touch the subject.

Deep Soul:
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]So, before kidnapping got to Rivers, Bayelsa etc, it existed elsewhere, yes?? So we can say it's a cycle. . .maybe.
But my point is, the Igbos have a way of taking things to the extreme.
You claim ritualism might have come from Yoruba land. Maybe.
But the Igbos took it and brutally redefined it. Now they are doing the same with kidapping.[/font]

You can't even hide your bias!
How did Igbos redefine rituals? As we speak now, can you in all honesty say that Igbos do the worst or most rituals in Nigeria today?

You are entitled to your opinions but try to at least be fair minded.

I think the question is whether there is still northern unity. Obasanjo really did them in during his term in office.

Jonathan is using some tricks from Obasanjo's playbook. Having said that, I would say this again: Jonathan is not Obasanjo.

Comparing the two is like comparing pounded yam dish with spaghetti bolognaise. 

I would still advise Jonathan to seek northern acquiescence first before contesting.

tkb417:
AWO must have been a god when he was alive cos even in death people wont stop talking about him

cant see any thread on tafawa balewa, zik and co
why? anybody with a reason?

hehehehe, the more people talk about him, the more you people indirectly assert that he was the greatest!!!

continue hating, history can not be re-written on Nairaland

In a funny and twisted way, you are right! He single handedly shaped a failed state. We had a chance but he killed that chance, all in his schemes to unfairly give you the upper hand. In all his "wisdom", it never occurred to him that the Yoruba could have continued to lead Nigeria in progressive ideology like what obtained before 1951.

He polluted Yoruba land and damaged Nigeria for ever.

Andre Uweh:
Ijaws are not up to 10 million.
2 million in Bayelsa.
5 hundred thousand in Rivers state
4 hundred thousand in Delta state.
40 thousand in Ondo state.
15 thousand in Lagos state.
200 thousand in other Nigeria cities.
Do the maths and tell me how they number up to 10 million. Perhaps someone is counting the fishes in the creeks as well.

Thank you Andre. You should know that guy by now. He is a product of what I'm talking about.

The lesson of Obafemi Awolowo is one which every young Igbo should learn. I will summarize that lesson:

There is nothing like the "Nigerian interest".

Awolowo killed that in 1951.

He killed Nigeria BEFORE it had a chance to be.

The dangerous part is his evil legacy; a legacy which shape an invidious and recidivistic mindset resulting in a situation whereby a Nigerian from the west cannot be trusted by other Nigerians unlike before 1951. A legacy which makes complete nonsense of promises, agreements, conventions, and contracts. On three solid occasions, Awolowo proved that words are only weapons that must be used to snare the unsuspecting enemy. The Nigeria that came to be after carpet crossing of 1951 was a dead horse. That dead horse had other opportunities to be revived, but alas Awolowo kept double dealing until he completed his mission in 1971.

For me, the biggest strategic mistake by Nigeria (and I would blame the Eastern leaders for that as well), was ever allowing Awolowo to see the light of day after his imprisonment in Calabar. His  survival, and his eventual coming into relevance again, was as a result of Igbo leadership inability to accept realities, but instead to always see things from an unrealistic progressive angles even when there are no basis for that.

I see that even in this forum. I'm not saying that you should not trust Yorubas. Just know that until "Awoism" is exorcised from them, we must see their politicians in light of Awo's antecedents.
Nothing more, nothing less.  

ChinenyeN:
You're correct.
I'll have to go back and verify though. I may be wrong.

@ topic: Are there indigenous Igbo in Bayelsa? or do I have things mixed up?

Thanks!

As for Bayelsa, I think that Abagworo should know the answer to that.

sjeezy8:
Onlytruth is a psycho lmfao hahahaha

hehehe! I'm only a Genius!

If Igbo had my type anywhere near leadership positions in 1950s and 60s, the Awos of this world would have been effectively neutralized. For one, he would have died in jail in Calabar. 1951 was enough lesson.

Abagworo:
the only justifiable capital will be yenagoa.it will be sandfilled like lagos and reconstructed like abuja.na one nigeria we dey.

Not a bad idea at all. In fact if I be uncle Joe, I go move am now sef.  Wetin dey dia.

^^

I could have sworn that a small part of Akwa Ibom state speak Igbo. Am I wrong?

Kobojunkie:
Simple, because I prefer to type IBO. If you prefer start shoving a stick up your arse each time I exercise my right to spell the word as I feel it ought to be, in hopes that it somehow destroys me or stops me from continuing to spell the word as I choose . I mean you are free to do that. So many have already taken that path somehow pretending it hurts me in some way. But if you ask me, I think it makes more sense for you to get back to the issue at hand( the thread), unless you are trying to sidetrack here because you are unable to answer the question asked you.

I just took a peek at your profile picture and I can see that you are a thoroughly demented hermaphrodite. 

sjeezy8:
esp with your crazy ways of thinking One day you say biafra the next day you want to live and buy property in the west - LOL

Hmm Oil wells for me and paddies (Imo and Abia) sounds good better yet off shore River state- One Nigeria for Life jare. Just dont kidnap me when I come to the east and get an Oil well.

Go get the oil if MEND allow you.

As for me, I'll define Nigeria and occupy it the way I want. Not the way your evil pa wants it.

I'm the one laughing because you guys think we are desperate to secede

I promised you that your people would be begging to secede one day.

Kobojunkie:
And what does "packaged right" mean here? Again, where do you get this notion that Ibo language is DYING?

These governors ehn . . .  na wa oo !

Why do you want to continue insulting a nation of millions. If I start insulting you now, you will act as if you are shocked.

Someone has already pointed out your deliberate IBO this IBO that, but you don't think it matters.  Why can't you type Igbo? Why are you this invidious?

Na wa for you o! 

2CatWoman:
This is just my veiwpoint :-

1) Teach kids in the local language at primary school level, English language being the exception.

2) Introduce more Nigerian-centred history and literature. Forget Shakespeare, even some UK kids struggle with this. Mungo Park should never, ever be mentioned again

LOL! @ 2CatWoman

Kobojunkie:
That still does not answer the question I asked there. What has 40 million to do with the question I asked? By the way, are the 40 million all of the same dialect and language or are we speaking of the Ibibios, Ijaws, and all other ethnic groups in the Eastern region here?

Why do you like being deliberately mischievous? So suddenly every one in Eastern Nigeria is Igbo.  

Anyway, Ndigbo in Nigeria are in these states, Anambra, Imo, Delta, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and even Edo state. A proper Igbo language harmonization is not a bad idea, and that is part of what Peter Obi is trying to do.
If the language is packaged right, the chance of it dying would be reduced.

sjeezy8:
lol yorubas dont want to secede they are comfortable in Nigeria - INFACT I LOVE NIGERIA EVEN WITH ITS CORRUPTION- as long as it goes my way.

Buy all the land you want- who cares invest heavily in other regions- good for you

BUT WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE YOU TALK ABOUT BIAFRA ONEDAY AND THEN IN THIS THREAD YOU ARE SAYING YOU WANT "ONE NIGERIA"- which one is it do you want biafra or Nigeria?

Thank you very much for that question. Here is the answer: It is because people like you who were molded by the evil sage Awolowo say one thing today and do the opposite tomorrow.

We the new Igbo age group have decided to study you and move ahead whether you like it or not.

Give us ONE Nigeria, fine by us; give us Biafra even better. Our aim is to survive and be ourselves whether you like it or not. You are hoping to remove the drive (the lion in us) in order to "Nigerianize" us, but we want to define our own Nigeria. The Nigeria we want, which we must have, is one that allows us to thrive. And we would bulldoze all obstacles to our thriving in Nigeria.

While you are busy dilly dallying, we are consolidating to a point where we would fight you if you ever dream of breaking up that country to steal our property.

Portugal is approx 10 million people.

Kobojunkie:
And that answers the question HOW?

Do you realize that Ndigbo is a nation of about 40 million people?

Kobojunkie:
Why in the world would you NEED to read or write in IBO is you are in College and not a LANGUAGE major?

Why in world would any Nigerian and African ask this type of silly question?

Do you realize that MILLIONS of Africans speak this language?

Tuyis:
Assuming only Igbo's are buying lands in Nigeria and all other Nigerians use their money to eat guguru and epa!

I never said that! In fact I would say let every Nigerian buy lands where ever they can afford it.
Only the weak is afraid of competition.

Awolowo wanted a Nigeria where the Yoruba would garner the corporate wealth of Nigeria by crook. My grouse with him is that he wanted to achieve that by unscrupulously annihilating his perceived opponents -the Igbo. Only a weak person will beat a man whose hands are tied behind his back. That is what Awo did in 1971 after the war. Thank God Igbo have bounced back and are moving full speed ahead to capture that same wealth through sheer grit and discipline. And this time, you have about 40 million Igbos to stop -an impossible task.

We will get there soon. Nigeria is "getable". Awo planned to deny relatively fewer Igbos their bank accounts in 1970, today there are millions and millions of Igbo with not just bank accounts, but hard properties all over Nigeria.
This country is really ours. And guess what? That is what Awolowo never thought would happen. Try to secede now and see pepper.

Igbo have a wise proverb which say " when an evil and duplicitous man dies and buries himself, one of his hands must stick out from his grave".
One of Awos hands is sticking out, . . . and it stinks! lmao!

This is the time for us south easterners to put on our thinking cap and start making REAL consultations. Of course we can also decide to sit the whole thing out on the fence entirely. I am not in government so I wouldn't know how Igbo leaders perceive Jonathan. We must not make another historic mistake. The ball is in Jonathan's court. We cannot take unnecessary political risk for him. He has to earn it.

sjeezy8:
It might work in the SE though- because Ojukwu already has thrown his weight behind IBB.

If PDP is having a southerner run as president then there no way the AC and other southern parties wont throw up a southern president.

and I dont know how they think thats possible in the SW after IBB was shunned by the Whole AC, and after Atiku decamped to PDP.

This could possibly be the time for a SW to steal the show as president maybe Tinubu for president.

You seem to be underestimating these northerners. Just bear one thing in mind, when they are desperate for power, they will get it.
All they need do is to rally round one party, even an unknown party like NDP.
These guys are astute politicians. That is one vital historical lesson to learn.
I said it once and I'll repeat it, as Nigeria is currently constituted, if the north wants power back, no southerner can stop them.

Okay, back now.

sjeezy8:
lol no hes still thinking backwards like an igbo man - If anything you people would study the yorubas and be like them.

You see yorubas know theres no power in investing in other lands beside your own because this is is Africa. My uncles have houses in ABUJA for simple leisure and because they are PDP,not for investments.

Actually, we are studying the Yoruba and then we would TRANSCEND them. Why should I study my opponent to be like him?

And you are wrong about owning land. As long as we are Nigerians (and Igbo man will fight to keep Nigeria ONE), there is power in owning lands everywhere in Nigeria. That is why the emerging Igbo leadership is undergoing a paradigm shift in our survival strategies in Nigeria.

Awolowo introduced tribalism into Nigerian politics- He sowed an evil seed that has grown to devastating consequences for my people and Nigeria.

Tuyis:
If a rabid ethnocentric fellow like EzeUche is the future of Igbo leadership, I think you have a big problem.

Actually what I admire in him is his honest acceptance of the truth about our situation in Nigeria which most of Igbo are still denying. Only few of us have come to see our problems the way they are. Others are not even thinking at all.
I don't hate anyone who does not hate me.

Oh, how I love this topic!

I'll be back. Gotta run an errand first.