₦airaland Forum

@Kobojunkie and citizenY

You both conveniently side-stepped the main issue of irreconcilable differences I raised in my post and receded to your usual line of personal attacks. I'm not shocked. You are both TYPICAL NIGERIANS. Killers of blackman's hope.
But here is my quote again:

Onlytruth:
^^^
Utopia is surely sweet 

In real world though, the North Western region of Nigeria (the real dominant power in Nigeria) wants the Sharia law to be superior to the Nigerian constitution. They also want the oil wealth shared on the basis of population and for oil producing states to keep 8% instead of the current 13%.
History also tells me that the North really loves Sharia. It also tells me that the East really hates Sharia and will never live under it. I also know for a fact that the South South wants to control at least 50% of the oil produced from their land.
All these irreconcilable differences, plus Nigerians' hatred for truth and merit based appointments make me truly optimistic about Nigeria's future.

The day you people will gather enough courage to face the truth about Nigeria is the day hope begins. Else all we have are adults trying to deceive fellow adults. 

Everything else is Sophistry!

^^^
Utopia is surely sweet 

In real world though, the North Western region of Nigeria (the real dominant power in Nigeria) wants the Sharia law to be superior to the Nigerian constitution. They also want the oil wealth shared on the basis of population and for oil producing states to keep 8% instead of the current 13%.
History also tells me that the North really loves Sharia. It also tells me that the East really hates Sharia and will never live under it. I also know for a fact that the South South wants to control at least 50% of the oil produced from their land.
All these irreconcilable differences, plus Nigerians' hatred for truth and merit based appointments make me truly optimistic about Nigeria's future.

The day you people will gather enough courage to face the truth about Nigeria is the day hope begins. Else all we have are adults trying to deceive fellow adults. 

presido1:
Are u in Primary school?  From your argument the oil does not belong to Nigeria as well.

I don't think the guys can think that far!

Aloy.Emeka:
I don't think the Hyundais, Daewoos and Kias received any form of financial help from the Korean government. Must our government help in every sector?. The only help he needs from government is the provision of adequate amenities like power, roads and political stability in order to attract investors.

Ah, Ol' boy you sure so? I hate quoting Wikipedia but the quote below shows just a little of a WHOLE LOT that the auto manufacturing countries do to aid their local manufacturers:

In order to develop the automobile industry, the Korean government announced the "Automobile Industry Promotion Policy" in 1962, and The Automobile Industry Protection Act to protect the infant industry. Foreign automakers were barred from operating in Korea, except in joint ventures with local business entities. The government's efforts led to companies that were established in other businesses entering the industry, and the formation of new startups. Three companies were established in 1962:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_South_Korea

I boldly state that the top auto manufacturing companies in the world enjoy huge government subsidies and grants. Nigeria just need to get serious with these things to enable us start shifting away from oil money. We need to massively invest in companies and startups like this one. I'm only assuming that we have a country that sees prospect for greatness first in ventures before seeing tribe or region.

Frank-C:
All those things you dont like in Ojukwu is the very thing we LOVE in him. He first loved us passionately, and we'll forever love him for that. He represents the Igbo spirit and that is why a boy of 10 down east measures his 'Igboness' by how Ojukwu he is. Take it or leave it. Love him or hate him. Call him a hero or a coward. Insult him or praise him. You'll get what i mean if you fly this your mouth in the streets of UNN or UNIZIK or ESUT or FUTO among others. Those are our intellectual hubs back home and they love this man more than you can imagine. So stop wasting your time persuading any Igbo man to hate Ojukwu because you wont ever get that. That guy's approval rating in your domain may be 10%(that is from most Igbo inhabitants in your area) but his rating in the south east is like 99.5%. So, invest your time wisely and leave our 'cowardly' Ojukwu for us. We love him more than you can imagine and there is nothing you can do about that!!!

Well said. Thanks!

Will they listen? Don't mind the id.iots.

citizenY:
@onlytruth,

All this sophistry will get you nowhere. Where is the ''mission critical'' in the Eastern states ?
You should have imported administrators from Taiwan. We are seeing mission critical in Anambra.
You should learn to know when you are playing an LP, CD or single. Some of these cliches have
passed their sell by dates.

My friend you may not believe it but the Eastern states are gradually transforming. I laugh at folks who look at Anambra state capital Awka and draw all types of wrong conclusions. Anambra state-starting from the time of Ngige- decided to embark on massive rural road and other infrastructure development. I was shocked when I went around my town and other "back towns" of Anambra state. It was amazing!

Your problem is that you are thinking like the type of Nigerians who ruled this country from 1970 till date. All eyes are on the capital city be it Abuja or others(for show and sharing of money). We don't think like that in Anambra state. I boldly say that if Chris Ngige, or Peter Obi or even Soludo continue in Anambra for another 8 years, your type will be shocked one day to see a European standard developed state in Nigeria. I say that without shaking.

If a Ken Nnamani, or Charles Soludo, or Ngozi Iweala and many others like them in Igboland handle Nigeria for 8 years, I confidently predict a Nigeria never thought possible. I say that also without shaking!

The "fringe Biafrans" are my type who don't believe that Nigerians like yourself are capable of reason enough to let such ingenious people lead Nigeria. And we are by no means minority.

Sagamite:
Sharap say wetin?

Everyone should toil the soil and brain for wealth, not say we are drilling.

Work hard for your money.

Your argument is really incongruous. You say let the states keep 50% from products and everything over ground but surrender 87% of everything underground. What if I own oilfields or coal mine other minerals, should I then surrender 87%? Just like some states have fertile lands (north for instance) others (Niger delta) have polluted lands and rivers. How can those states survive?
If you want to be honest why not do so and stop being duplicitous!

^^^
Ol'boy you are wrong about most of what you said and I'll give my reasons. Most Nigerians often make this mistake of thinking that Ndigbo only want Biafra and that is the end. Ndigbo hate a dysfunctional and hopeless country no matter which country that is. If Nigeria has been functioning well, we would love to stay. Mind you that some of the greatest Nigerian patriots have been Igbo. Something tells me that Ndigbo want to give Nigeria one final chance to work.

Also there is an Igbo proverb that says "jere m (or gara m) abughi ozi" roughly translated it means that if you really want to get a job done well, you must do it yourself. An Igboman has never controlled the leadership of Nigeria and I often wonder what Nigeria would have been like if an Igbo ruled Nigeria for 8 years, not to talk of 40 years or so that the north controlled power. So, we cannot really say that Nigeria is unworkable until Ndigbo have actually ruled Nigeria and implemented some ingenious solutions which normally goes with an Igboman's sense of "mission critical".

The more states that the South East is asking for is the barest minimum of our prime demand in Nigeria and we decided to get that because other regions are only after their own selfish interests. The day Nigerians decide to put the nation first, we shall re-strategize We are learning to be selfish at last! Let the chips fall where they may.

Lastly, it is naivete to call Biafran agitators "fringe group". You should wait to do that after  8 years of  Igbo presidency of Nigeria. And by Igbo presidency I mean the type that a Ken Nnamani, or Charles Soludo or Ngozi Okonjo Iweala would bring.

sjeezy8:
The poster is dumb, with all the quality info in the article the idi.ot only outlined the North and sharia nonsense.

contrary to what odes think, The SW geopolitical Zone is the ONLY region that actually put both electoral reform and fiscal federalism to the forefront. wow!

North central is good in someway

The others did what was expected of them. Same story more oil money "allowance"(north) and more divison (East) only federalism is the main concern not free and fair elections( south south)
lol

Spoken like a goat as always

BTW No one trusts the southwest anymore in Nigeria. How sure are we you that your folks won't sneak out again in the dead of the night to sell out the southern position? It has happened several times before.

That the southwest "supports fiscal federalism" doesn't mean it will actually fight for that position when the chips are down.
Jobless fool.

I think the South east decided to stick to the state creation demand because during the last conference, we supported the south south on everything but ended up losing even the third position in the national leadership. Today we are the weakest politically among the six geopolitical zones.

I have no doubt in my mind that the south east would support resource control and state police;but, we are no longer willing to stake our national positions to save others. If others are only scheming to consolidate their national clouts, why should we care about anything else other than our interests? I think Ndigbo are learning fast.

It is clear that the north is not interested in dropping Sharia or even be fair with Niger Delta. The time has come for Niger deltans to lead the struggle for equity in Nigeria. We've done our bit, paid for it, and history vindicates us.

So basically what they are saying is that they should get more oil money, and then practice Sharia which basically discourages the owners of the money from living among them. Even colonial masters were more benevolent! Na wa for  naija!

I often wonder how northerners see Nigeria. So Sharia is now superior to the Nigerian constitution
Na Wa ooooo!
Dis one na open duplicity!

North West: Echoes of Sharia reverberated

The just concluded Zonal Public Hearing on the proposed Alteration to the provision of 1999 constitution in Kano saw the North West states canvassing for the supremacy of Sharia legal system over the constitution on one hand and calling for the entrenchment of population as the bases for sharing the proceed of oil wealth.

The North West block was unanimous that the staus quo ante should be maintain on Land matters, while jettisoning the current arrangement that concede 13%derivation to oil producing states of the Niger Delta Region.

Thei Kebbi state Government gave a hard knock to the current arrangement that concede 13 percent of the total oil revenue to the Niger Delta suggesting it to be reduced to 8%.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/12/17/constitution-review-what-geo-political-zones-want-from-senate/


These positions tell me what will ultimately happen in Nigeria. The two trains (North and South South) are inevitably headed for collision.

SapeleGuy

Please speak for yourself!

I, (and I can tell you most Igbo) are not afraid of the North, not by a looooooooog shot! We are only frustrated with Nigeria, and unlike you, have staked our interests several times for the sake of Nigeria. Some Igbos, for instance Zik ceded Igbo interest for the sake of an unbalkanized Nigeria. Igbo officers took action in January 1966 to arrest a national decay (you need to read Nzeogwu's coup satement), Ndigbo are fanned out all over Nigeria despite being killed occasionally by religious and tribal bigots (though I'm happy that we have started retaliating against such). Our public servants and sportsmen and women always go for gold medal each time they are called to serve (with the exception of a few hand-picked thieves like Maurice Iwu).

Bottom line is that I reject this dubious blanket blame of the so called Nigerian elites for Nigeria's problems. If there was no Obasanjo there would not be a Maurice Iwu. There was a Humphrey Nwosu who conducted the freest election in Nigeria's history. So, don't come to Igboland and pick a thief who will play according to your dictates and turn around to blame Igbo elites. I am an Igbo elite too, and so are Chinua Achebe, Peter Obi, Chris Ngige, Charles Soludo, Ngozi Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Emeka Anyaoku, Ken Nnamani, and many others . When was the last time any of these were given national tasks and they failed?

Do you think Obasanjo loves Nigeria more than Ojukwu, you'd be shocked! Those who love Nigeria  are not the thieves parading themselves as patriots all these years. The true lovers of Nigeria are the selfless lovers of human beings first. They are the ones who love justice and fair play enough to actually do something about it. Not the likes who handed over Nigeria's territory with 250,000 Nigerians to Cameroun. When was the last time Obasanjo did something for Nigeria? The man is almost narcissistic (extremely selfish). Everything he did was to secure him a life presidency.

So, I reject this "Nigerian elite to blame" deception and lie. There is nothing like that! Nigeria has always operated on the basis of tribe and region. We are fully aware of what role which tribe played at each turn of Nigeria's history.

Any attempt to lob everyone into one camp for the purpose of blame is a hoodwink!

^^^
That article convinced me that President Yar adua deserves my prayers because obviously he was prepared to do the right thing, but his northern brothers won't let him.

Ochereome Nnanna

of the Vanguard Newspaper.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/12/09/abba-aji-servant-or-sabo/

fearless columist.

For instance I believe that every unemployed Nigerian should be paid anything between 10,000 and 100,000 Naira monthly by the government.

There are many other ideas to implement. By the time the FG finishes paying billions to Nigerians monthly, they would achieve two core objectives:

1-Ensure that small businesses are growing and employing people, because the money will circulate by being in the hands of those who would spend it across the length and breadth of Nigeria, not the few who hijack the money and spend organising sex parties and or.gies.

2-Ensure that there is no extra money in the government coffers for politicians to loot

Nigeria's Presidency has become a weapon of marginalization and injustice. Not that it won't be good to control it and use it to make some positive changes, but what if the Igbo President is misunderstood by the usual owners of Nigeria's power? Ndigbo are progressive and pushy, which is why Soludo was able to revamp the Mint and CBN, and Okonjo-Iweala was able to push for a debt relief for Nigeria. Mind you, other tribes have held those two posts with no impact for years.

The challenge of having an Igbo President is to accomodate his aggressive progressive agenda. Those responsible for Nigeria's comatose state will fight that (much like they did against Soludo). I don't want another pogrom against us. Those are the reasons behind my belief that Biafra remains a viable option for us. Sorry OP, I had to cover all angles!

Ikengawo:
hausas have a near monopoly on government but i can count all the rich hausa men in the world on 1 hand, otherwise it's one of the poorest regions of the world and this is no exaggeration.

Even in my own village. Things owned by the government don't work and nobody listens to the LGC or anyone else if they're saying something that particular nigerian doesn't agree with.

I say let them have silly seats of empty power like the presidency, we should focus on controlling banking and finance like we're already doing a good job at, because that's where the real power is.
in Igbo land private schools and private institutions that proving what are supposed to be government services function A LOT better then the government alternative, so why not we just ignore the gov completely and stop acting like it matters or effects anything?

I dont even wanna hear about Biafra. This just silly and wont make a difference.

I don't think Ibeto and other Igbo people whose businesses were ruined by a malicious President Obasanjo would agree with you. We are doing well on our own, but there is nowhere in the world where all public goods are provided only by the private sector. It is just not possible.

They should start by paying $432,000,000,000 ($432B) which is 6 billion barrels at $72 per barrel. If not, we should say thanks but no thanks.
I wonder why the Chinese are sneaking around in Africa trying to snatch up oilfields. The western companies never did that for almost 50 years of oil prospecting in Africa. Why does the Chinese feel a sense of urgency in cornering African oil. The world is not ending yet (at least no one is sure)! I smell a rat.

Beaf:
You forgot the most important thing; true federalism. Your proposal is for a unitary system, so it falls far short of the minimum.
Also, an important part of any federal constituition is the right to secede and the process for secession.

Classic.
Can I add that ndu_chuks' sixth item should be replace with death penalty for anyone insisting on unity at all costs?! This unity at all costs is the single biggest killer of Nigerians. It continues to kill Nigerians daily. So, it deserves the death penalty. If anyone wants to leave the union, he should be free to leave without being killed for it. People aren't scared of all these war threats from forced unity advocates anymore.

Some key balkan figures like the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic are war criminals today because they fought Bosnians (croats and muslims) who wanted peaceful separation. I don't think the world will accept forced national marriages anymore. So, ndu_chuks, take note and also advise your northern brothers accordingly. Also, not only will the north lose the middle belt support next time, the world will remember the first civil war and remember that some war criminals are still at large. Of course they will only remember the unrepentant ones!

The fact is that the Nigeria of post 1970 is a maze designed by the civil war victors. The interesting thing about mazes is that they even confuse their creators occassionally. Ndigbo are like the air, and can fit into any shade or form and even thrive in them. Like someone said earlier, it is probably better for honest and good Igbos to stay away from Nigeria's presidency while others simply run Nigeria aground. We really don't need to do anything more. Someone alluded to the point that Ndigbo may be losing out in the power game in Nigeria. I simply laughed!

Head or tail we come up on top, and that is the fact. We are not powerless anymore, far from it! Nigeria should be worried that most of the top political players in the East today are in the PDP, and these are criminals with broad international connections. They are not the honest and dovish types. Obasanjo made sure he raised a new set of tough and fearless criminals, the types that can match others in Nigeria; -evil for evil, theft for theft, lie for lie, rigging for rigging, conspiracy for conspiracy, militancy for militancy, ojoro for ojoro and unscrupulousness for unscrupulousness.

We still have the good Igbo politicians, but, I doubt that they will continue to remain relevant in light of the growing awareness among Ndigbo, that Nigeria is a junlge only to be exploited and destroyed. New nations will emerge long after this dubious one is gone!

If Nigerians want to get to the problem of bad leadership, THERE MUST BE A SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE, and all options must be on the table, else we are wasting our time.
Remove that fear of the breakup of Nigeria, you will be shocked at how fast we get to the solution. Simple.

sjeezy8:
Nigeria cannot have a true federation right now, if so in about a couple of years Nigeria will be on FIRE. It will definately break up.

If anyone is looking for a concise definition of Nigeria's problems, the above quote is it!
I've been on NL specifically for one reason: to find out whether there is hope for the entity called Nigeria. I've been involved in serious, deep and often contentious discourse here. I've read from some smart, good and honest people here. I've also read from some smart, bad and dishonest people too. Nigeria's problem is with the last group of people. They were the victors in the 1966 saga and the civil war. Everything that has happened in Nigeria from 1970 to date has been to preserve that stolen collective patrimony. That is why the most anti-secessionists in Nigeria today are the most dubious and recidivistic Nigerians you will ever meet.

They are not interested in honest way forward ( because every honest attempt must allow all options on the table, including secession). They are even scared of a simple national conference and scared of resource control, or any true national re-engineering, because any of these could upturn their stolen advantage. My verdict is damning: the situation is hopeless.

One more point is that for any Governor to succeed in Anambra, he has to be humble and almost play dead occassionally, but must never compromised his goals. There were times when Chris Uba's motorcades ran Ngige off the roads of Anambra state, but Ngige never flared up or let his ego becloud his vision and focus. As a result he was able to deliver dividends of democracy against the designs of the thieves of Anambra state.

Ngige is humble,determined, fearless, strong, diplomatic, consultative, cunning, witty, smart, and action oriented.
Soludo carries his ego wiith him, which may work against him while he tries to navigate the waters swimming with the Andy and chris Uba, Arthur Eze, and all other political sharks of Anambra state.

I stand with Ngige!

Ngige is the most tested of them all. I wonder what Soludo will do with his gang of PDP thieves if elected. I see them already swirling around him. If they threaten to impeach him using their cronies in the house, he will likely cave in. Ngige handled them before. He is tested. Anambra is not Nigeria's presidency. It is a far tougher political terrain. So, Soludo should go to the Senate for now, and from there run for presidency in 2015.

jabbok:
@poster,

Your advice is most welcome @ this present time. Please be sure to take a look to this blog below:

http://ogeneike..com/2009/04/igbos-and-secession-another-excuse-for_14.html#comment-form

Your comments will be expected and most welcome.

Long live ndi be anyi, long live naija

Bros, I've read your article too, and all I can say is how I wish you are right! How I wish that the only thing stopping Igbo progress in Nigeria is our so-called mental self restraint. But, you and I know that is not the case. Take Enugu International Airport for example, why is it so enmeshed in politics long after even far less viable regions got theirs? Why can't Nigeria just treat Igboland as part of Nigeria? So if out of lack of choice, Igbo people advocate for Biafra or separation, do you blame them? You cannot reject a person and charge the person to reject himself also. This is simple enough.

I feel insulted anytime I see Nigerian troops brandishing AK 47s Does anyone realize how old that weapon is?
Even Biafra designed her own rifle from scratch.
South African military carry a South African rifle designed and deployed to service in 1982 called R-4 see pic.

And I also notice that the waist line of Nigerian soldiers have not reduced one bit! Someone rightly classified Nigerian military as a scare crow.

MrCrackles:
So OBJ is still pulling strings

Oh, you no know!
PDP= OBJ simple and short.
Look at the power axis of evil:
OBJ = PDP = INEC under Maurice Iwu
Once you remove OBJ, the rest crumbles!
That is why Iwu will remain INEC boss as long as OBJ remains the PDP board of trustees Chairman.
All these add up to why I would not support Soludo or any PDP candidate for governorship of Anambra state.
Keep your eyes on the ball folks!

However, all begins and ends with a properly negotiated constitution. Without that, all is TALK.

@OP

I can't seem to get past this your proposal. I find it quite interesting, At least it brings some measured degree of stability. And the rotation zones will drop to 3 and instead of 6 regions. Power can move around quicker. Still thinking though. Maybe we should add a single term of 6 years each to that. So, in 18 years, it would complete one cycle.