₦airaland Forum

And for the first time, I'm beginning to believe denex.

So, far, all of the bombings and terror scare in the UK has not resulted to anything catastrophic. I think they want to initiate GB into their fold. And if he proves stubborn, or develop thick skin for this, they might go gaga!

The depraved world we're living in now.

babyosisi:
The glasgow bombers were actually Americans in Muslim clothing

I don't think you're very far from the truth. After all, we have Arab-Americans, African-American, Euro-American, Jewish-American. And remember, Osama Bin Laden was trained by Americans. So.

Well, the bit that I agree with in his (PeeD) write up is the one on OBJ being a thief. Understand?

Jakumo:
Or maybe you would like to share your theory that the 911 attacks in New York actually never took place, but were in fact an elaborately staged hoax created on a big-budget Hollywood film set which included an entire full-scale replica of Lower Manhattan, replete with the pyrotechnic demolition of card-board World Trade Center Twin Towers ?

Jakumo,
Someone, who lives close to where the US build their nukes, and is close to their intelligence network, actually told me that 911 was planned by the US government, using Arabs militants whom they have trained to carry out the acts. And when I asked her why her government did that, killing innocent people, she said, it had to be done to save several others who need the cheap energy from the middle east, to continue living in the US. I was tempeted to believe her.

Man, was I shocked to my bones!

Let us not deceive ourselves. We are adults. I agree totally with the last contributor to this thread.

And if OBJ wants to prove critics like me wrong, he should declare at the roof top of Otta Farm House - or elsewhere, where his assets might be located, how much he's worth in today's money - in the presence of our ever listening press. Nobody will (or can, anyway) arrest or attack him. He should come out and prove us wrong.

As far as I'm concerned, at the moment, he's the Baba of all thugs and his involvement in party talks/schemes and his other selfish moves makes me see him as someone who's doing all he can, while he's alive, to cover his evil tracks of thievery and corruption. He's a thief. Full stop.

If na Alams award the contract now, and de thing come break yakata like this one, them go say na Naija Delta people with their wahala.

We they watch una.

Rottweiler:
I laughed when I read some of the post by Nairaland users based outside the Niger Delta and outside the country. I don’t think some of them have step foot in the south south in the last 7yrs. They are terrorizing the oil workers and now most of them have already made arrangements to relocate a large chunk of their work force outside the state. Who is going to feel the pinch? Businesses in Rivers state. A similar thing happened in Warri some years ago. When SHELL relocated most of it’s workforce to Port Harcourt, a lot of business folded up in Warri. Night life died completely! At a point the indigenes were begging SHELL to come back. The same is repeating itself in Rivers State.
I can speak about the hotbed of the niger delta (Rivers State) because I live there.
Do you know where the problems of Rivers state lie? CULTISM!!! Cultism thrives in Rivers state the way departmental associations thrive on campuses! Ask anyone who lives in Port Harcourt. Different cult groups exist all over Port Harcourt and their quest for superiority leads them in search of deadly weapons. How do they get the weapons? They have to buy. Where does the money come from? That is the big question! It could be from robbing of banks, individuals, corporate organisations, ransom from kidnappings, contractual killings, bunkering (not as easy as before), etc.
About two weeks ago, a cult group from Ogbakiri terrorised the whole of Diobu and part of Old GRA for several hours when they came to avenge the death of one of their members. Just imagine a gang taking control of an area as large as Diobu where there exist not less than 3 police stations! When they were done with their mission, more than 20 people were killed in different areas. Only last night, at about midnight, there was sporadic shooting in front of my compound for about 30 minutes! We had to go flat on the floor of our rooms for safety sake. The state is gradually drifting to a state of anarchy! We woke up in morning and none of the inhabitants of the area seem to know what transpired. Scenes like this keep repeating itself in different locations.
It's a pity, the present guys claiming to be fighting for the Niger Delta are all criminals hiding under a popular cloak. Where were they when the late Ken Saro Wiwa was championing the course of the Niger Delta during Abacha's military regime? We see some of the self-proclaimed militants driving jeeps all over Port Harcourt. Even Asari cruises around in a Hummer Jeep. They are making noise for the sake of their pockets. A lot of them are self-centered. There is a case of one big traditional ruler in rivers state in whose palace there exist more then 4 bore holes! Unbelievable? He insist that any oil company that wants to install a water borehole project should do it in his palace.

Another wonderful post. This is the post of someone who knows, is on ground level zero and can pinpoint the problems of Rivers State in particular.


Rot,
I like the way you put this. You truly have been on ground here. I have seen and heard of rampaging cult groups around those areas, and I think that's the greatest problem we have on our hands in Portharcourt at the moment.

All these talks about 3 year old kid abduction, NDPVF and MEND are childsplay compared to the big one - cultism. Anyway, the girl has been released - unharmed, just like as I predicted. Those people should thank their stars that their kiddie wasn't ferried across to Okija or Ijebu-Igbo for money making rituals. They should thank their stars.

denex,
Those figures are largely cooked up. It is practically impossible for a militia group to ''ferry'' 300,000 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis across the creeks, after bursting pipelines, and sail through the Bight of Bonny, Bakassi or Benin to sell crudes to the outside world, without being sighted by the Nigerian security apparatus - The Navy. Except you're saying the Nigerian Navy Chiefs are collaborators in the theft of the Niger Delta crude (not very far from the truth anyway), I will quickly dismiss your claim. First use common sense and multiply 300,000 barrels by 10 days, come up with 3 million barrels and tell me if you can use barges to move that volume of crudes without being noticed. I did not know that MEND and NDPVF now have ocean liners sha. Please tell me of they do.

The folks that are benefitting from the largesse that's the Niger Delta crude oil sales are sitting way up there in Abuja. They care less about your safety and well being.

As per your intelligence write up, I must say your source must be myopic about the current state of things in the Delta. Well, for your information, I have a more reliable source of information about what external forces are up to in the current spate of things in the Delta, which I will never disclose on this forum.

Beline:
Those kidnapping people are not MEND neither are they NDVF, it just that our country fail to capture those criminal and now they attribute it to MEND and NDVF. Asari boys are not hidden our security men knew them, let them arrest his boys and we see if the crime will stop. As I always said our Government open a way for them and the criminal minded people hijack the situation. For your information those that are kidnapping are not only Niger Delta boys but the smart Nigerians who want to make money by any means.

The ''smartest'' post so far.

denex:
@ono & obong

This is the monster that NDPVF created. It transmutated into MEND and now it has lost control.

ono, thank God you mentioned that you're happy about the little girls condition. It gives us an insight into the kind of person you are.

Nna, are you, by way of implication saying that I'm with MEND people? or that I'll benefit from the ''largesse'' the girls abductors will get for their action?

Anyways, lets face facts: It's common knowledge all over the country that when people of other ethnic groups of this country kidnap children, they (for the most time) use them for money making rituals - something that seldom happens in the Niger delta.

So, in the case of Maggie, there's hope. She'll see her mother and dad in very soon. We just thank God that her abductors are not from some other weird places, where we know that no amount of pleading will lead to her whereabout, ever!

MEND has categorically denied any involvement in the barbaric act. But the past 8 years of misrule by OBJ and his ilks has led to the creation of comfortable breeding grounds for hoodlums across the country, especially the Delta. I find it difficult to rule out the possibility of some nearby ethnic groups boys (and girls too) cashing in on the chaotic situation in the area to make quick money.

That said, I must quickly point out that the security situation in the country is alarming enough. I'm personally much concerned, more than ever before, about my safety anywhere in Nigeria. If the amala-eating baba at Molete, Ibadan, can single handedly hold Oyo state to ransome, brandishing machetes, dane guns and other paraphernalia, typical of 18th century warfare in that area, killing, maiming (both protesting men and women alike); then what can mere mortals like me do!

The story is not different in Lagos and other places nearby. Some months back, several newspapers were awash with tales of abduction of school children, who were later beheaded, or their private parts cut off, for money making rituals. The signal strenght (of child abduction, kidnap etc) was pretty high during the election period, all over the country!

As per this British-Nigerian girl, me, I'm happy that the abductors kept her alive and are even going to release her. At least we know she's well, and nobody is planning to hypnotise her, cut off her private parts, head or limbs for money making rituals - similar to what obtains at Okija, Ijebu-igbo and in amala-eateries at Ibadan (Molete)!

MEND has categorically denied any involvement in the barbaric act. But the past 8 years of misrule by OBJ and his ilks has led to the creation of comfortable breeding grounds for hoodlums across the country, especially the Delta.  I find it difficult to rule out the possibility of some nearby ethnic groups boys (and girls too) cashing in on the chaotic situation in the area to make quick money.

That said, I must quickly point out that the security situation in the country is alarming enough. I'm personally much concerned, more than ever before, about my safety anywhere in Nigeria. If the amala-eating baba at Molete, Ibadan, can single handedly hold Oyo state to ransome, brandishing machetes, dane guns and other paraphernalia, typical of 18th century warfare in that area, killing, maiming (both protesting men and women alike); then what can mere mortals like me do!

The story is not different in Lagos and other places nearby. Some months back, several newspapers were awash with tales of abduction of school children, who were later beheaded, or their private parts cut off, for money making rituals. The signal strenght (of child abduction, kidnap etc) was pretty high during the election period, all over the country!

As per this British-Nigerian girl, me, I'm happy that the abductors kept her alive and are even going to release her. At least we know she's well, and nobody is planning to hypnotise her, cut off her private parts, head or limbs for money making rituals - similar to what obtains at Okija, Ijebu-igbo and in amala-eateries at Ibadan (Molete)!

Esss:
If there is electricity, water, roads, railways, security and a good working environment, I'm sure our local industries will be able to improve on their output. But until then let them allow better quality foods into the country abeg.

That's the meat of this matter. We can also point out the possiblity of buying high quality products like the Chivita fruit juices and other stuff of Nigeria, at a cheaper rate, if only government can make available the basic things the industries need to survive

Naija people buy a lot of made in Nigeria good that are of high quality.

In the meantime, if bottled water companies, food and beverage industries, pharmaceutical firms and others can operate and produce high quality stuff for the country, the harsh economic conditions as we have in Nigeria notwithstanding, then I suggest the ones that are folding up should learn from these ones how they're able to cope. There definitely is something they're not doing right.

aisha,
Your comment is quite discordant to the issue at hand. We're talking about Nigerian factories that are dying as a result of the harsh operating environment , made possible by Ota farm and Amala politico-economic engineering. This surely has nothing to do with what naija people buys from anywhere.

The big companies, mostly owned by loyalists to PDP led government, are booming larger than life, while others are gradually going into extinction. This has the adverse effect of making the lives of the average Nigerian miserable - if that's not the case already.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article04

Fact is that with The Guardian, that link's story will change to something else tomorrow. That's why I decided to do ''cut and paste''. I hope it's a not a drain on your site resource, gracious and merciful owner of the land.

IT may take the Federal Government sufficient demonstration of its commitment to the development of the Niger Delta before militants operating in the region can lay down arms.

A dominant militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which reviewed the recent overtures of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to the region, said it was at pain to trust the government.

The group therefore vowed to continue with the kidnapping of foreign oil workers and attacks on oil facilities until their demands for resource control and justice for the Niger Delta people were met.

In an Internet-conducted interview, MEND said that even the government's recent release of the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari from detention was not sufficient to make it trade off its activities.

MEND said that it does not trust Yar'Adua because of the antecedents of his predecessor, President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The release of Dokubo-Asari was one of the demands of militants for the cessation of hostage-taking and blowing up of pipelines and platforms in the oil-rich region.

MEND's spokesman, Jomo Gbomo said the group would also not cede the leadership of all militant bodies to Dokubo-Asari so that he could actualise his plans to reciprocate Yar'Adua's gesture in releasing him.

Gbomo said: "We view the release of Dokubo-Asari by the Yar'Adua government as a sign of the intention of this government to adopt a different approach to resolving the conflict in the Niger Delta. In the same vein, we urge the new government to release all held unjustly by the Obasanjo regime".

It also rejected the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) demanded by Dokubo-Asari and other prominent Nigerians.

He said: "Dokubo-Asari is entitled to his opinion. However, we do not share this view. MEND stands by the constitution, which brought the people of the Niger Delta into Nigeria. This is the contract we signed with our former colonial masters of which all sections of the country were co-signatories. If that contract is negated without our consent, we will likewise seek our exit from Nigeria."

Gbomo stated that "MEND represents the interests of the entire people of the Niger Delta and not only the Ijaws. We have no interest in a conference of any sort."

He said Dokubo-Asari has not reached the group on his plans to stamp out militant activities in the region.

"If Dokubo-Asari says he would stamp out militant activities in the Niger Delta, he probably has plans no one else is aware of. Hostage-taking and sabotage of pipelines are classic tactics employed by guerrilla groups across the world in fighting against more advantaged conventional armies. We will continue to employ these tactics until we achieve our goal for the Delta. We have had no contact with Dokubo-Asari since his release."

On the headship of all the militant groups, Gbomo said: "In answering this question, I will refer you to a recent interview granted by Prof. Kimse Okoko (President, National Federation of Ijaw) to one of the national dailies. He stated a mostly unknown fact. Before the emergence of Dokubo-Asari's NDPVF, there have existed in the Delta, very heavily armed, disciplined militia groups, which to this day prefer to remain silent. MEND encompasses all such groups and we have a structure. Ceding leadership of that structure to Dokubo-Asari is impossible."

The group would not even touch the President with a long pole.

MEND was asked if with the steps Yar'Adua had taken so far, especially on the release of Dokubo-Asari, the Supreme Court ruling on the Anambra State Governor's tenure, among others, wouldn't militants give the President breathing space to address other problems of the Niger Delta?

Gbomo replied: "Yar'Adua indicated his willingness to try a different approach to solving the unrest in the Delta by releasing Dokubo-Asari. We are watching to see what next. Dokubo-Asari is just one of several Nigerians held unjustly by the government."

But wouldn't MEND trust President Yar'Adua?

"It is difficult to trust a government known for breaking promises. We must be given good reason to think differently and so far, we have little cause to think Yar'Adua will be entirely different from other bad rulers Nigeria has been plagued with. It is too early for him to be trusted."

MEND emphatically said it had no intention of deterring hostage takers in the Delta without good cause. "It is only criminality when the oil companies offer ransom as is usually the case. The person offering and that receiving are guilty of the same offence. When the Nigerian government attends to the problems of the Niger Delta, we will call to order, all directly under our control, and chase out all criminal gangs in the Delta who are hiding beneath our cloak."

Gbomo equally spoke on the relocation of oil companies from the Niger Delta.

According to him, it was good riddance to rubbish: "If it were possible for these oil companies to relocate their installations to other parts of the country, it would have been good riddance to rubbish. As long as the oil remains on our land, we will eventually find more responsible companies to mine this resource. Companies which will show respect for those, whose lands have been stolen for the enrichment of a few. Companies in Warri (Delta State) relocated to Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and now to Lagos.

"There is an operational base under construction, intended to accommodate all oil companies. We will show how useless this is in future should the Nigerian government not show a genuine commitment to justice in the Delta.".

How would the militants swarming the zone now be reined in, in the future?

"When the Nigerian government satisfies the yearnings of the people of the Delta for justice, militant groups will reciprocate by ridding the region of criminal gangs. Something, which the Joint Task Force (JTF) will be incapable of achieving in a hundred years." Gbomo said.

Insisting on the minimum demands to guarantee cessation of hostilities, Gbomo said: "The focal point of our struggle against the Nigerian government and their collaborators - the oil companies - is resource control for the people of the Niger Delta. This will ensure a permanent end to militancy in the Delta and this remains our condition for a cessation of hostilities against the Nigerian government and its collaborators in the theft and enslavement of the people of the Niger Delta, the oil companies."

The MEND leader said it was impossible for all the weapons to be mopped up immediately after a final settlement may have been reached between the government and the militants. "Whatever weapons are hidden away will gradually re-surface for mostly criminal activities and will be mopped up in time. We will go after such criminals, ensuring safety in the Delta and the eventual mop up of most weapons presently in circulation in the Delta."

The group said it would not turn its attention to the malfeasance of governors and local council chairmen in the region because:

"When we decide to act as a policing agency in the Delta, we will surely lose focus of our goal. The government headed by sections of Nigeria and aided by oil companies have plundered the Delta for 50 years. Our aim is to stop this plunder, return what is left to the rightful owners and seek compensation for 50 years of atrocities committed by the oil companies against the people of the Niger Delta. This in a few words is our mission statement. How the wealth of the Niger Delta is used or misused by its elected leaders for now is of little concern to us. At the right time, these corrupt leaders will be made to account for their stewardship," he said.

Culled. www.ngrguardiannews.com

laudate:
And would the person who pasted this story about Mohadana's Niger-Delta, also post an update on Docokwy's Fake Drugs Market in Onitsha?

Good comment! That, will definitely bring about the desired equilibrum

De thing be say;

Hostage taking = Taking whites adults and other people hostage for ransome - david pls take note!
Kidnapping = Taking kids for ransome

True, there is similarity, but they are different.

chrisokw:
Affinity [/b]for money-making via kidnapping? No question about that.

Yea - as against [b]hostage taking. That's right.

Hmn. This one has political undertone. No cause for alarm, yet. And no one knows yet if these kidnappers are from some other ethnic groups parading themselves as Ijaws in Portharcourt. The ethnic group with much affinity for making money might be into this.

This hostage taking and militant things sef. Anyways, lets take a closer look at it.

1. Hostage taking started (and was encouraged by the government) when militants were ''rewarded'' for taking foreigners hostage in their den.
2. For crying out loud, the ratio of hostage takers in the delta, compared to the population of the people of the delta - responsible people is less than 0.0000005.
3. Hostage taking is a relatively new dimension to what some people term the ''Niger Delta Struggles'', and indeed is not a part of the true struggles of the Niger Delta people - but the tactics by a few cabal amongst us to make quick money.

And just as we have some bad eggs in other societies in Nigeria -  like the agberos and area boys in Lagos, who go about pilfering with impunity and dispossessing people of their belongings, and also the bakassi boys at Onitsha and other Igbo areas, so are these miscreants in the Delta. They are social misfits and should be treated as such. We have even requested that the FG draft their men to the area to quell their activities. What else do you want us to do beside all these. Why should you guys hold us (the entire Niger Delta) to ransome because some of them wants Alams released? It's not an unusual thing to have kingpins amongst thieves.

marlet01:
_*Yawns*

Me too.

debosky:
osisi carry your igbo mongering away from hia, kita!!
@ ono 'leaving us illiterates' is another sad aspect of you blaming the rest of Nigeria specifically the North for your ailments. These actions or inactions are by and large not sectional in nature but dependent on the whims and caprices of a few greedy people who got into power and are stealing for themselves.

The whole 'Nigerian state' sounds good in theory, but by and large, there have been people masquerading as reps of the Nigerian state but are in essence seeking their own individual benefit. including some of your ND leaders as well.

Illiteracy and sheer stupidity will lead to someone kidnapping people building a road/power plant to develop your area, that is not agitation against the 'Nigerian state' but self destruction.

many of your so called leaders (Alams, Odili, Ibori and co) are involved in the milking, yet your agitators demand for their release - so they can continue milking you dry eh?

Listen up, who do you want me to blame? I should blame debosky for our woes or what? When I say Nigeria, I'm not referring to mere mortals like you and me. I'm talking about the powers and principalities and rulers of this country. And I'll say the bulk of these set of people have always been from the major ethnic groups. So, even if they as individuals rise to become rulers and leaders of Nigeria, because of the present lopsided arrangement, the areas where the majority ethnic groups reside will definitely benefit more from the centre than the minority ethnic groups - cos they are the ones ruling. Now, this should not be a problem if the majority ethnic groups are the ones sustaining the country. But, the fact on ground is that a small area, the Niger Delta, sustains the country.

When the so called ''selected'' greedy people go home with their loot, from the federal capital and elsewhere, they don't come to the Niger Delta, they go to places like Onitsha, Aba, Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna to invest! And when they even come to places like Portharcourt, they come to milk the areas dry the more! I agree that there are bad eggs in the delta too but what impact will their ''badness'' make on the life of the average deltan?

And talking about ''milking'' leaders, I know of a surety that your own Chimaroke Nnamani, Andy Uba, Obj, the senate president that took bribe and was disgraced and would not leave Abuja, Alao Akala, etc etc are in the majority.

This hype about Alams stolen goods is being blown out of proportion. Fair enough Alams stole and fell out of favour with the powers that be, but the lynchpin of stealing and pilfering sits comfortably in Ota, where he feeds chicken and pigs with what he's stolen from Abuja.

If your basis for saying our people are illiterates is because some of them disturb construction workers, well, I'll say that's the result shallow thinking. You need to understand the intricacies behind their disturbing construction workers. Common sense will tell you that if they benefitted from such projects in the past - like the power plants that did not give them electricity, but other parts of the country have, you'll understand why they agitate for their inclusion in any project!

debosky:
I agree with you to the extent that a lot of things have gone wrong with oil exploitation and revenue division in Nigeria, but whether you choose to admit it or not, in the past 8 years, a lot has been given into the ND's leaders' hands to administer and they have failed woefully for the most part. I do not hear the militants talking about this for the most part, they keep chasing the Fed Govt around. deal with the rot easily accessible to you and then move forward intelligently with your protests showing you have cleaned up your act as well.

And I have said that the funds allocated must be compared to the enormity of the problems in the area. We all know that it takes more money to erect structures in the delta than in any other parts of the country. It will take three times the amount of effort and resources to erect a building in the Niger Delta compared to the one in Abuja. The structural engineering design is often more rugged to compensate for the poor terrain of the area. All these amounts to more money and that's why State alocation alone is not enough. Ibori built the Bomadi bridge and several other bridges in Delta State while he was governor of Delta state with monetary equivalents of the monthly allocation of some states. Those bridges linked up many of the villages and hamlets in the delta with the mainland. He touched the lives of several people in Delta State.

Stop blaming our leaders. Blame your own too for corruption. Blame them for laziness, reaping from lands that does not belong to them.

If any of our leaders fail to meet up to our expectation, we will definitely bring them to book. We do not need ''sinners'' coming here and preaching accountability to us.

debosky:
if you add statutory allocations with the 13% derivation, the ND receives at least 20-25% of the oil resources in Nigeria - is the development there commensurate with what has been collected?
on the issue of relocation, you are being picky with your examples and I will follow your lead - when NLNG Bonny was built, was New Finima not constructed with amenities, houses and all, including free electricity to support the displaced people? Is it not one of the few locales in the whole of Nigeria to enjo 90% electricity coverage and supply? or wait, isn't Bonny in the ND now?

I have already said, in case you missed it that the NIPP plants will supply the ND communities in a 5km radius directly with power.

IF the Papalanto, Geregu and Omotosho plants got completed, why wouldn't '80% of the NIPP' plants including incidentally the Afam that you say Shell is increasing, as well as the ones at Omoku being expanded in P/H and others? No one is disputing that the gas going to Egbin and co are coming from the ND, with the new stations being built, ND will have more than enough power supply for its uses.

What happened in Bonny is for Bonny and Bonny alone. Same with Kainji and Shiroro. Nembe produces oil and gas too, so also are the lands at Forcados and Escravos. How about constructing roads, bridges, building and hospital of world class standards at Nembe and all these places? Can you compare what you see in Nembe with what obtains at Kainji?

Well, lets wait and see. Time will tell.  And I will be happy to see all the plants in the Delta built first, before any other. Infact, it makes economic sense to build the ones closer to the source before the ones far away should be built. We're watching and waiting. And if you're with the planning team, please tell your people to make sure that the energy generated in the Delta stays in the Delta and used up in meeting the needs of our people before the rest is channeled to Oshogbo and other places, please.

debosky:
Oh really? is that why all the reputable construction companies are refusing to take projects in the ND because of kidnapping? it is on record, even the P/H airport renovation by Julius Berger - they withdrew their staff because of unrest, is that mumbo jumbo? It is sheer falsehood and mischief to say that development will occur in an unsafe environment, it will not happen anywhere. Setraco workers in Bayelsa were also kidnapped on road repairs, ending that project prematurely, even the governor had to start appealing for people to stop sabotaging themselves - which is what some of the ND agitators are doing

This is coming from you. I know many people are willing to come and work in the delta. Just let all this hulla balloo calm down a litlle bit, then you shall see what manner of people will flock in from everywhere in the world. Presently, the foreigners in the delta are living large, I know what I'm saying. All these little skirmishes as per youths disturbance is limited to some isolated areas. And for your info, work is progressing at a fast pace on many projects in the delta. Just don't cry foul where there is none.

Wetin barawo from the north dey yarn for that side?

Nuf read on this. Marriage ain't a bed of roses, it's full of ups and downs. It takes the grace of God, strong will and a very high sense of self control for both parties (men and women alike) to keep their heads high in the stormy waves of life.

That said, when either of the partners in a marriage cheats - the words cheat, infidelity, etc are with us because they are a part of what we see and hear in our everyday life, I suggest the grieving partner should forgive the weak one in love. This takes the grace of God, but it's just my suggestion for a way forward when any such thing happen anywhere. The option of divorce separation and all the other ''foolish'' acts only makes matters worst.

Couples should know when not to wash their dirty linen in public. Stay indoors, sit your wife/husband down and talk matters out. Hopefully God will see you through.

debosky:
Rivers state - population : 5.185million (2006 census) budget: $1.3billion (2006)

Benin Republic - population 7.85million budget: $613.2 million

Togo - Population :5.556million budget : $296.4million

if you need more figures I will gladly supply them

Is the development in Rivers state for any one year up to the 1.3billion they have collected?

http://hrw.org/reports/2007/nigeria0107/7.htm

keep chasing the FG while the thieves under your noses rob you blind.

Once again, you're not comparing apple with/for apple here. What has those countries got as resources, that can measure up to what Rivers State has got? I would rather you compare Rivers State with Oman and United Arab Emirates or even Kuwait! Then come back and tell me the people who are milking us dry here - our leaders or the several mouths sucking at us from the roots!

That's strange. And you're from the Niger Delta. Anyways, UST is known by all in Portharcourt and beyond as the ''short form'' for Rivers State University of Science and Technology. People removed the RS bit from it to come up with UST.

Well, I've got folks who told me a lot about how they ''survived'' up there. Not much different from the normal way of surviving anywhere. Fact is the bright chaps know how to get around when they go to the US and other places to study - and they sure come out pretty good. Sometimes, they come out tops in their fields. You see, it would have been hell on earth for you if you did not have anything in your brain to hold on to when you went to school abroad. So, to dismiss your Nigerian education bit of your knowledge base, is unfair. We know our eductaional system is bad as it is, but at least, something good's coming out of it.

But that's not what we're talking about here. My beef with you and Ess is the way you carry on with this illiteracy thing in the Niger Delta. I don't just agree with you both. See, we can quickly infer from your statements above that the folks milking us dry in the Delta are illiterates. Now, if they as illiterates are milking us dry, why on earth should we (illiterates in the Delta) allow then to continue doing us in?. Why should illiterates from other parts of the country come here, connive with outsiders to reap from our lands, pollute our environment and leave us as illiterates---the way they met us, why?

I think I'll rather live with a noise-making educated- illiterate, than a silent illiterate. Who knows, I could glean some stuff from the noise he/she is making.

Militia,
Have you ever wondered why illiteracy is a problem in the Niger Delta, given the fact that we're blessed with the means and resources to educate ALL of our children? I'm asking this not because I believe illiteracy is a major problem in the Delta ( for your information, and as a matter of fact, the region of Northern Nigeria is known by all to have the largest population of illiterates in Nigeria), but just to let you and Ess know that what we're dealing with here is more than some baseless write up about the level of educational exposure in the Delta.

If we are so blessed in the delta to provide good education for our people, what is it that's preventing us from getting this done?

Ess reminds me of someone on this forum who claimed he went to one US school. He said our graduates cannot compete with those from the US until he was proved wrong by some members on this forum. Now, if Nigerian graduates generally cannot compete with the graduates of schools in the US, Ess need not harp on the graduates from UST. In any case, I know many Nigerian graduates that are doing very well in their course of study in many other universities around the world. A lot of them are from UST.

I wanted to ask thesame question.

Politics. That's where it starts and ends. Somehow, I got in here - can't remember, like someone was here and I decided to follow the link.

Well, catch fun. I'm out.

Well, I've a lot of Igbo chaps as friends. I can't speak. nnenneigbo - (does this mean Igbo mother or what?)

My dear, na now I dey see this thread.

295 pages and counting. There must be something very interesting about the igbos.