₦airaland Forum

Jokes apart, in a country that works, I believe the Federal government can sue SONY for DEFAMATION. Here's the definition from Wikipedia:

"In law, defamation–also called calumny, libel (for written words), slander (for spoken words), and vilification–is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. It is usually, but not always,[1] a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person defamed (the claimant)."

Is Nigeria working? That is an entirely different question. Otherwise we may see a lawsuit soon.

Fela Kuti sang "water, lightie,  foodu, housie" i[/b]n later 70s. We still don't have them after 30 years! What d'you expect SONY to do with us?

I saw they were obsessed with 99. eg 299, 399. [b] I'm sure they were thinking 419!

naijaking1:
Communication is key. The idea is that somehow MEND doesn't want the dregding for political reasons, if their reason is that of safety and release of EIA report, then every well meaning Nigerian should support them. Disasterous flooding of the delta will not only affect MEND, it will affect Oguta, Onitsha, and even Lokoja.
So, let's focus on the implementation of the EIA, and not on forcefully stopping the project.

I came to the same conclusion too. I really would caution MEND and Tompolo to thread softly on this. I do not think that anyone in the East wants a flooded Niger Delta as[b] Ibime[/b] has pointed out and that should guide MEND here. We all need a safe and environmentally stable Niger delta. Therefore, if an EIA or EMA exists, it should be followed to the letter. However, MEND should really think strategically and politically here and avoid a political misunderstanding with Igbos for instance. Igboland needs those ports in Oguta and Onitsha and MEND knows this. If they want to continue enjoying support from Ndigbo, then they should tone down their opposition to this dredging exercise and rather push for support from Igbos concerning the implementation of the EIA reports. A word is enough for the wise.

People are still talking of Biafra today (through groups like MASSOB) because there are people out there who reason like you -the Igbo must never be trusted again because of 1966. These latter groups (not MASSOB) pose the greatest danger to Nigeria's continued existence.

You are only trying to wriggle out of your attempt to justify a 44 years old grudge against the Igbo which you "reason with" or "understand", and by implication justify. I disagree with you. Sanusi (though a northerner) disagrees with you. If he takes an unreasonable position (one which threatens the peace and unity of Nigeria) I would still disagree with him. Facts are sacrosanct.

Facts represent themselves no matter who puts them forward.

And don't try to view Igbo survival or success from the perspectives of your individual success. Not every Igbo is an IT guru who could still be employed in Westmoreland. Collective marginalization of a restless Igbo only portends danger to the peace and progress of Nigeria.

@Afam

I never set out to dictate to you what opinions you should hold. I'm only saying you should at least be reasonable and objective, and not simply parrot positions which reflect a perfidious perpetual guilt of a people for the crimes of a few in 1966.
Even a northerner sees my point. Here is what Sanusi Lamido Sanusi wrote in an article published in 1999 posted here:

Having said that, this nation must realise that Igbos have more than paid for their foolishness. They have been defeated in war, rendered paupers by monetary policy fiat, their properties declared abandoned and confiscated, kept out of strategic public sector appointments and deprived of public services. The rest of the country forced them to remain in Nigeria and has
continued to deny them equity.

The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have conspired to keep the Igbo out of the scheme of things. In the recent transition when the Igbo solidly supported the PDP in the hope of an Ekwueme presidency, the North and South-West treated this as a Biafra agenda. Every rule set for the primaries, every gentleman’s agreement was set aside to ensure that Obasanjo, not Ekwueme emerged as the candidate. Things went as far as getting the Federal Government to hurriedly gazette a pardon. Now, with this government, the marginalistion of the Igbo is more complete than ever before. The Igbos have taken all these quietly because, they reason, they brought it upon themselves. But the nation is sitting on a time-bomb.

After the First World War, the victors treated Germany with the same contempt Nigeria is treating Igbos. Two decades later, there was a Second World War, far costlier than the first. Germany was again defeated, but this time, they won a more honourable peace. Our present political leaders have no sense of History. There is a new Igbo man, who was not born in 1966 and neither knows nor cares about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu. There are Igbo men on the street who were never Biafrans. They were born Nigerians, are Nigerians, but suffer because of actions of earlier generations. They will soon decide that it is better to fight their own war, and may be find an honourable peace, than to remain in this contemptible state in perpetuity.

The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have exacted their pound of flesh from the Igbos. For one Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa, one Akintola and one Okotie-Eboh, hundreds of thousands have died and suffered. If this issue is not addressed immediately, no conference will solve Nigeria’s problems.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-282326.0.html

Having said that, this nation must realise that Igbos have more than paid for their foolishness. They have been defeated in war, rendered paupers by monetary policy fiat, their properties declared abandoned and confiscated, kept out of strategic public sector appointments and deprived of public services. The rest of the country forced them to remain in Nigeria and has
continued to deny them equity.

The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have conspired to keep the Igbo out of the scheme of things. In the recent transition when the Igbo solidly supported the PDP in the hope of an Ekwueme presidency, the North and South-West treated this as a Biafra agenda. Every rule set for the primaries, every gentleman’s agreement was set aside to ensure that Obasanjo, not Ekwueme emerged as the candidate. Things went as far as getting the Federal Government to hurriedly gazette a pardon. Now, with this government, the marginalistion of the Igbo is more complete than ever before. The Igbos have taken all these quietly because, they reason, they brought it upon themselves. But the nation is sitting on a time-bomb.

After the First World War, the victors treated Germany with the same contempt Nigeria is treating Igbos. Two decades later, there was a Second World War, far costlier than the first. Germany was again defeated, but this time, they won a more honourable peace. Our present political leaders have no sense of History. There is a new Igbo man, who was not born in 1966 and neither knows nor cares about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu. There are Igbo men on the street who were never Biafrans. They were born Nigerians, are Nigerians, but suffer because of actions of earlier generations. They will soon decide that it is better to fight their own war, and may be find an honourable peace, than to remain in this contemptible state in perpetuity.

The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have exacted their pound of flesh from the Igbos. For one Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa, one Akintola and one Okotie-Eboh, hundreds of thousands have died and suffered. If this issue is not addressed immediately, no conference will solve Nigeria’s problems.

I never gave Sanusi a hearing chance after he became the new CBN boss.  I couldn't rationally equate his pedigree with that of CC Soludo. After reading this article, I am forced to reappraise the guy. He certainly has depth and represents the type of philosophical leadership which the north has failed to give Nigeria since independence. Mark my word this guy is more than a banker or economist. He is in fact a seasoned philosopher, social theorist and visionary. I won't mind replacing Yar adua with this guy in 2011.

@Seun

I'm surprised you don't know Ochereome Nnanna He is a veteran Vanguard columnist.
Here's the source

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/08/31/nigeria%E2%80%99s-northsouth-divide/

@ rhymz

I couldn't add anything more. You said it all.

@Afam

I agree we should not be discussing our survival strategies on public forums of the internet. Any information I give here passes that survival test. Do the same. Think carefully about what you say here.

@Bilymuse

Suspected Igbo hater!

Bilymuse

AWOL poster!

My point still remains that only Igbo businessmen settle in hostile areas hoping that the locals would be reasonable, rejoice and cheer their successes. Envy is a powerful force which can only be tamed by force of arms. Already other migrating peoples do it. That is why Fulani cattlemen routinely sack  entire villages in the south for disturbing their grazing cattle even if the cattle are grazing farmlands. If I were a businessman, I would not settle outside Igboland without considering my security first. It is only sensible. If I can't provide enough security for myself, I won't settle outside Igboland, period! And in the case of Ndigbo and Nigeria, the situation becomes even more urgent. Let every settler all over Nigeria be adequately armed where they live. I can assure you that all these Almajiri and Alaye nonsense will end unnoticed.

Personally I think there's some level of unreasonableness on the part of migrating Igbo traders. There is no other place in the world where settling merchants or farmers establish their presence without being armed. If you don't have the liver to arm up and defend your business or farm from envious locals, then you have no business venturing outside of Igboland in the first place. Migrants are the most aggressive of all peoples. White settlers in Africa came heavily armed, Jewish settlers even inside non-dispute areas of Israel are armed, Fulani cattlemen moving from place to place are armed. So why would an Igbo business man settle anywhere in Nigeria outside Igboland without being armed to the teeth? Baffles me!

@Bilymuse
I'm still waiting for your take on things! I'm not going anywhere until you post your own views on this.

@Afam

I'm resisting the "here we go again" feelings. I truly wish you would just address the kidnappings thing and forget about Igbo position in Nigeria. I have a question for you; what do Igbos need to do to win the trust of other Nigerians? You implied that Igbos are condemned for ever to seek an elusive "forgiveness" for a "crime" they never committed in the first place.
As for the kidnappings, it is just like 419 and only represent one of the many by-products of an evil conspiracy to keep a people under yoke. There are others (MEND for instance), and they will continue until Nigeria decides to either bring Igbos back into Nigeria as equal partners or watch helplessly as Nigeria disintegrates. Do I expect people here to rationally appraise my prognosis? NO!
It was Sigmund Freud who theorized that just[b] below the surface of the human mind is a violent, primitive, libidinous, dangerous sub-surface which is irrational and guided by such irrational desires and fears.[/b] That is how we have first class Nigerian graduates serving third class "never- do- wells".
The fear of the Igboman has kept Nigeria prostrate for 40 years. That fear will surely keep things the same way for the next 40 years!

So what d'you say `MUSE? Put forward a possible solution, then let's debate it.

Yikes! Check out dem OBJ knuckles! Abi na "kuturu" hands or "Amusu" knuckles! Spooky as hell.

mccloud224:
@Topic

It's unfortunate but as things are, no one is safe even those that earn honest living.Too bad.

@Kidnappers

I know most of you are educated, therefore i know some of you surf through these forums from time to time (I'm referring to active kidnappers and those planning to kidnap).Please, anything worth doing should be worth doing well.If you are to kidnap, please go after those causing you despair, go after those in power.All roads lead to PDP camp.Quit kidnapping people who struggled to be what they are today through blood,sweat and tears.I empathize with some of you (especially the militants) but if you come around me or any of my family and i happen to be around, we will shoot ourselves to death.I mean it.I have an unlicensed TEC 9 and i don't care about your AK47's.We will exchange fire from dusk till dawn.

There are thousands of delicious targets out there e.g the president, president wife, president children,relations and so on.Governors,senators, dem dey there.Leave struggling Nigerians alone.It's senseless and without cause.It makes no sense.If you don't have the balls to do it then you have two options.You either continue to struggle from hand to mouth as always or drink poison and die.Simple as that.However, if you need some pointers on how to kidnap the president, here are some hints.

Here's what you need to kidnap the president :

(1)50-60 able bodied who are ready to die for the cause
(2)Anti-tank/Anti-aircraft rockets (with launchers of course)
(3)GPMG's and a few M16's (forget AK47's.They ain't all that)
(4)2-3 trained snipers
(5)C4 or SEMTEX explosives
(6)High projectile/caliber resistant body Armour

Set up an ambush.Take out all the body guards and whatever feeble security the president has with anti-tank rockets (some of the cars might be bullet proof but none are missile proof.This can be launched from a portable launcher.Kill everyone in sight.Leave no witnesses.There are all thieves.After this, split into three groups.One goes in to get the president and the others cover all areas against some gallant "mopol" that would like to join the game with their little AK47's.Repress them with GPMG's and if they want to be "Rambo", take them out with rockets.Go in for the president.If he refuses to come out of the bullet proof car, plant Semtex on the windscreen and time it for 15 secs.The "rat" will run out with full speed.Disable the Semtex.Affix it to a jacket and wear it on him and make sure it's not "fail safe".That means, if anyone security agent tries to act "James Bond", the president gets blown to smithereens.

Add in your own ideas but dis na the basics.

Chei! Ol' boy na wa o!
You sure say you no be kidnapper?

What should get everyone concerned is that the kidnappers these days are sophisticated. They operate in suits and speak impeccable English. What does that tell us? Our university graduates have finally started to find "job". That means they may be more intelligent than our average "olopa". Who knows which next job they may be drawn to? But does anyone in government of Nigeria care? People who should be employed as policemen and women are now the kidnappers!

OBJ the best president since independence?? Na wa o! Well, I don't think the man was better than even Abacha. At least Abacha stabilized the Naira at N84 and there was security. No MEND, no kidnappings (though there was a few assassinations sha! ). Abacha protected Nigeria's interests while OBJ sold all of them to the highest bidders including NITEL, NICON Hilton and others. Actually he sold them to his cronies and lackeys.
I guess in the country of blind people, one eyed man is the king!

naijaking1:
I can see a weak Unity (northern) bank "acquiring" Union, Intercontinental, or even Oceanic. [i]Afterall, gofament go provide abinchi for aboki[/i]

!!! Naija sef!!!

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last fall, will be nominated by President Barack Obama for a second term, The Associated Press learned Monday night.

Bernanke masterminded what is now seen as a successful strategy to lift the economy out of recession, unlock credit and stabilize financial markets in part by using unconventional and unprecedented lending programs.

Many on Wall Street and in academic circles believed that he would therefore be the best choice to lead the country into a sustainable recovery and would be in the best position to figure out when and how to reel in the trillions of dollars pumped into the economy to battle the crisis.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bernanke

The bolded is the same strategy employed by ex-CBN chief Charles Chukwuma Soludo to launch Nigeria's financial systems unto new heights. When he announced the "Strategic Agenda for the Naira", he forgot he was in Nigeria. He was aiming to make the Naira "the reference currency in Africa". Little did he know he was walking a minefield. He was termed "too aggressive". Before he could say "electricity", he was yanked down and replaced with a familiar type. We are back to where we started!
In a country that appreciates ingenuity, Soludo's contemporary is having his deserved second term in office. I'm not weeping for Nigeria. I need out!

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last fall, will be nominated by President Barack Obama for a second term, The Associated Press learned Monday night.

Bernanke masterminded what is now seen as a successful strategy to lift the economy out of recession, unlock credit and stabilize financial markets in part by using unconventional and unprecedented lending programs.

Many on Wall Street and in academic circles believed that he would therefore be the best choice to lead the country into a sustainable recovery and would be in the best position to figure out when and how to reel in the trillions of dollars pumped into the economy to battle the crisis.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bernanke

The bolded is the same strategy employed by ex-CBN chief Charles Chukwuma Soludo to launch Nigeria's financial systems unto new heights. When he announced the "Strategic Agenda for the Naira", he forgot he was in Nigeria. He was aiming to make the Naira "the reference currency in Africa". Little did he know he was walking a minefield. He was termed "too aggressive". Before he could say "electricity", he was yanked down and replaced with a familiar type. We are back to where we started!
In a country that appreciates ingenuity, Soludo's contemporary is having his deserved second term in office. I'm not weeping for Nigeria. I need out!

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last fall, will be nominated by President Barack Obama for a second term, The Associated Press learned Monday night.

Bernanke masterminded what is now seen as a successful strategy to lift the economy out of recession, unlock credit and stabilize financial markets in part by using unconventional and unprecedented lending programs.

Many on Wall Street and in academic circles believed that he would therefore be the best choice to lead the country into a sustainable recovery and would be in the best position to figure out when and how to reel in the trillions of dollars pumped into the economy to battle the crisis.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bernanke

The bolded is the same strategy employed by ex-CBN chief Charles Chukwuma Soludo to launch Nigeria's financial systems unto new heights. When he announced the "Strategic Agenda for the Naira", he forgot he was in Nigeria. He was aiming to make the Naira "the reference currency in Africa". Little did he know he was walking a minefield. Before he could say "electricity", he was yanked down and replaced with a familiar type. We are back to where we started!
In a country that appreciates ingenuity, Soludo's contemporary is having his deserved second term in office. I'm not weeping for Nigeria. I need out! 

@Ezeagu
Thanks for the maps! I know that dubious anti-Igbo elements will go to any lengths to try to convince the world that Igboland is just in 5 states of Nigeria.

stillwater:
Thank you!!!

Thank you!!! Take that crazy state Anambra as a case in point.

Classic!!! I don't put the bolded past them. Igbo man is very very arrogant. Use their responses on this thread for example.

I give this post 5 stars!!! Make una hit your head on the wall.

And that is the classical Nigerian mindset towards anything Igbo! Your current CBN governor is making a complete fool of himself trying hard to reverse the gains of the Soludo years. While he is at it, he may bring down the Nigerian financial system too! That is Naija! Unrepentant, irredeemable and resolutely fixated with superficial sectional agenda. Someone even termed Soludo arrogant too! The problem with that term "arrogant" is that it is a highly relative term. All the past pace setters of the Obasanjo administration : Okonjo-iweala, Ezekwesili, Soludo, Akunyili, Ndi Okereke Onyuike and others were all arrogant!
I would rather be arrogant than wrong and backward thinking. You must accept Igbo with our arrogance or we must leave you to form our own country of arrogant people. You must chose one!

Any tall woman (at least 5' 11" in the house please?!
She sounds short and angry

akigbemaru:
If Igbo people can pack all their loads and move down to Biafran land. The five tiny states with just 27,500 km2 shore and 1,500 km2 off-shore. I would be glad.[/b]Then, when you subtract that from 920,000km2, Nigeria still has 891,000 km2. You and I know that after Biafrans realized their dreams, [b]any Igbo present out of those aforementioned states would be extradite back to Igboland. That's why many Igbos in other parts other than SE denied their Igbo heritage. 

Why can't you guys come up with REAL reasons why Biafra will fail other than the usual lazy "land is wealth" logic? I'm sure you haven't heard that Israel is the most technologically advanced country in the Middle East despite their size (they are the smallest in landmass). Please come up with something smart and stop sounding dumb! My friend just returned from Abuja and he reiterated the problem with Nigeria. He said that Abuja is a beautiful city (compared it with a city I know abroad); but he said the problem is that the city is not sustainable. People are just carrying around money with no clear skill-set. No industries (jobs and skills). All they do there is to wait for the oil money to be shared and people simply become re-reimbursed again. You touch a small piece of land and you hear N250 million, N150 million, N1 billion! When he tried to find out the real sector which propels this stupendous property prices, he came out empty handed. He prognosticated that Abuja property values will inevitably collapse when the country is restructured to make sense. Meanwhile he is an optimistic Nigerian. Biafrans don't need to be convinced! The hand writing has been on the wall since 1970. So, when Igbos get "extradited back to Igboland" (a la Akigbemaru), you know what will happen to those properties. I pity their owners then!

To put it in better language, these leaders become "institutions" instead of being the custodians of the institutions. There is no way a governor like Obi could become the same thing as the Igbo institutions (eg state or local governments, omenala or omenani, or the Ohanaeze). He is only a tenured governor and once his tenure ends, he leaves! And the institution of state government remains. Ohanaeze remains. In Igbo culture, the enforcers of collective or popular will are the youths (which Massob represents today). Whether you agree with them or not, Massob commands more trust and credibility in Igboland than Nigerian government officials. People don't normally accept this fact. It changes nothing. Anybody in Igboland who refuses being bought over by Abuja will continue to be trusted in Igboland. Ndigbo know them. Yes, even a Massob!
Governor Obi learned his lessons and that is why he remains popular in Igboland.

Without Abuja's protection, people will physically accost their leaders and demand accountability. Abuja protects these people and it takes a sober leader like Obi to reflect and retrace his steps not withstanding the protection. Other governors are not that charitable (especially the crooked ones). Ngige for instance battled through his checkered tenure against Abuja agents like Chris Uba (who had more police protection than the governor and still do!). Ngige delivered the dividends of democracy to his people against all odds. And we will never forget him, ever! The agents of one Nigeria are desperately trying to prove than "all Nigerians are the same and corrupt", so as to make a prospective Biafra unnecessary. But we know better!

nsibidi101:
Mr Eziachi, I am very disappointed with the response u gave on the Gov Obi issue. you owe  no one any apologies howeva slapping the Gov on the head as you put it is completely wrong not because it is Obi as a man but because [b]by so doing you have desecrated the highest political position in the land.you have shown total contempt and disregard to the good people of anambra state and the igbo nation as a whole.[/b]you claim you guys put Obi at the helm of affairs.I am only aware that he remains there today as a result of triumph in his many legal battles against the powers that be in abuja after duely obtaining his mandate from the anambra people.However if you are correct, anambra may as well bid bye bye to any credible candidate in the next election as you are only interested in those who would remitt money to massob.pity.on Okonjo Iweala's valied assesment I stand and not on those of a self serving organisation.Or is madam Iweala MD of world bank in whom we are well pleased, also sponsord by abuja? my heart desire is that igbos take their own destiny in their hands by coming home and getting the right materials to lead us.Igbo land will never fall into the hands of a few strong men who will cut off the balls of candidates who refuse to do their biding, while the masses are neglected. Chineke agaghi ekwe ihe ojo.tufiakwa. Ndigbo know a ruse when they see one.Imagine Obama bonked on the head for refusing to let some funds into the drain.Are we supposed to be going forward or backwards

This your line of reasoning is exactly what is wrong with Nigeria! Nigerians have developed this mindset whereby leaders become gods and super humans once they get sworn into office, whether elected fairly or not. Yet, we turn around to complain that these leaders do not lead us well and account to us. Obi, much as I like him a lot (and I suspect most Igbos like him as well), committed the most heinous crime against his own people by ordering a "shoot at sight" in Onitsha (just like Eziachi has explained). The army and police he gave these orders to were the same forces that killed Igbos indiscriminately when they marched into Onitsha as the war was ending. It therefore amounted to the worst form of irresponsibility for Obi to have forgotten so quickly the history of his own people.  For you not to even understand this point makes me look at you as either an Igbo with aloof parents (your parents never taught you your own history -no offense please), or part of an aloof generation of Igbos who must be called to order, and properly reminded that history repeats itself if forgotten.
A popular revolution is not possible in Nigeria because of the same mindset you have (leaders are gods who represent the heavens!). That allows them to kill the same people who put them in office. Obi obviously learned his lessons, which was why he ordered his security aids to stand down after they threatened to shoot his Massob aggressors. Please think!
Those who believe in Biafra know for instance that the leaders will be accountable to the people or else Igbo people (like Massob did to Obi) will march to the government house and physically drag out and lynch the motherf***ker! Now, that's a FACT!

It is obvious the writer is also trying to scare people (though he made some true observations). The biggest exaggeration he made is to assume that the Igbo will stand by and absorb being "ethnically cleansed" together with the minorities of the East. Even Igbos in the north won't move down south this time. So let that be understood. As for the relation between Igbos and middle belt (especially Benue) there is a possibility of a rapport or accord to join in a new nation. I don't see why not.
The final truth is that this frightful scenario is very possible in Nigeria (since we can't even conduct a simple election peacefully). So no one should think this is far fetched. The only thing that could prevent a senseless bloodbath is that the usual prey (Igbo and deltans) is armed enough to make the usual aggressors think twice before embarking on any funny moves. It is possible for the whole south to team up against the north, but the Yoruba remains the weak link. I see them teaming up with the north again (out of fear) to want to force their will on the East (unless if discouraged by armed Easterners in Lagos). Anyway you look at it, the only thing that will prevent a bloodbath is enough deterrence from the East.