:smh: So my countrymen cannot even tell fiction from reality again.

Good writeup though, I was getting angry till I got to the part about Brazillian Hair........ really cracked me up!!!

dayokanu:

They are all Yoruba leaders and were criticized during their tenure

No, leave him.

They are all in PDP and so must have Igbo mothers.

So was MKO Abiola when he was roundly hated in the SW in the early 80's and Awolowo too, when Akintola and other Yorubas spearheaded his imprisonment in the 60s.

They were all PDP and thus have/had Igbo mothers!!

Yorubas do not criticise true Yorubas

PROUD-IGBO:


^^^Pray, what's stopping you from posting them?

I wouldn't be surprised if we have a similar situation like this in Ondo, Ogun and other south west states; but i've noticed they hardly like criticizing their governors/state governments like we do in the south east/south (unless of course the gov'ts are PDP, as we saw with Akala)......they reserve their venom for the President and his ministers; but who knows......maybe there's nothing to critique over there, and nirvana has been achieved! See how two smug pric/ks up there^ are 'trying' to be sarcastic, saying we should blame Fashola and Awo?

You see what I don't get is that your first post on this matter portrays you as being able to think independently and intelligently; you tackled the issue by making us understand that if we look at the challenge holistically, we will be better placed to judge Enugu State Governmant's performance more fairly.

Stupid me, I then looked forward to your next post where I expected you to show you were a "Proud Igbo" by delving more into the situation and how to make it a thing of the past........ but your 3 following posts have shown your intial post was probably a fluke. So my brother, fight on, keep showing your Pride in Your Igboness by figthing the Awoist ACN devils that have suppressed your land and taken away your children's desks.

Herd mentality triumphs again.

HALL OF FAME: Occupy Nigeria led by the SNG. People might say they didn’t achieve much; but history and God will remember they actually[u] ACTED[/u]; thus casting the first pebble that caused the ripples which revealed this monumental corruption we have come to accept.

HALL OF SHAME: In any normal year it should be Judas personified by FarCrooK; but honestly I cannot understate the lasting damage Professor Achebe inflicted on the last vestige of my AFRICAN SOUL with his vindictive memoirs. All I have to do is close my eyes recollecting my youthful days immersed in his works and how I promised no matter where I found myself that my children would be inspired like me with the AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY I thought his books evoked; but with eyes open I now know better and that brings me inconsolable sorrow. To think he could allow the scourge of the blackman (our legendary pettiness) prevail so easily over such a great legacy so close to its crystallisation; it’s pitiably funny because he now looks no better that any of his famed narrow minded characters or the leaders he loves to criticise.

So unfortunately after I buried my “AFRICAN”, Aluu and a 1000 FarCrook bribes meant less to me.

Sometimes I wonder who would overpower the other with facts on an argument about 1960's Nigeria, would it be the authority that is DR DAWODU or NL's indomitable old soul KATSUMOTO- honestly I'd be a fool to choose a side if this ever occurred. Could the similarities go beyond their efficacious names??

Anyway, I continue to be pleasantly awe struck by our young Katsumoto, I doff my hat sir.

Prof Corruption:

It's only the last two points that are reasonable, the rest are worthless junk. .........

I disagree with you, as the first 4 points he mentioned shows why there seems to be no hope for this country with incurably mediocre and myopic local champions like this Eze Onlytruth regularly at the vanguard in this nation.

I mean whatever anyone wants to say about this slow-poke, he was chosen by a vocal majority of eastern NLanders as someone who could represent their aspirations and deliver to them something they badly want. I ask if the first 4 points he raised (which he organised by priority) are the burning issues a sensible Nigerian (Eastern or not) yearns for at this time:

(1) The federal government of Nigeria MUST tender an unreserved apology to Ndigbo and Eastern Nigerians; pay compensations (even if as tokens) where applicable.

(2) The federal government should accept and declare that Eastern Nigerians had the right to secede when they did, and that the response by the federal government was disproportionate and irresponsible. A singular act of removing Ojukwu from his position as governor of the East should not have been turned into a war against the East.

(3) The federal government should organize a period of mourning (at its own discretion) for all the innocent children starved to death in Biafra.

(4) The federal government should try ALL perpetrators of war crimes during the civil war, even posthumously. Those convicted must be put in jail; stripped of national honors (where applicable). The jailing is VERY IMPORTANT to forestall a repeat in the future.

If those 4 things were done now, would any of them directly or indirectly have any effect on the culture of violence and hatred that allowed us to witness what so many saw with their eyes in Aluu?? How does this help the Jos/Boko issue?? Will kidnapping in the east and errosion be fundamentlaly dealt with once this apology is issued? But no, I guess these are not the immediate challenges Eze Onlytruth's constituency face; not having that apology is what must be making their Nigerian lives so miserable.

Black Americans wanted "equality" with the whites because they wanted their children to live truly fulfilled lives- not for equality's sake. Instead of demanding equality straight away (or even apologies) they fought for freedom first; economic, educational and social opportunities next; the vote; and finally full civil rights. MLK's dream was not "I dream of an apology...." I mean would you not find it funny if an illiterate penniless disenfranchised slave called Obama told you he was equal to you and would like to be your president??

Black South Africans wanted to feel like they belonged in their own country and have the right to determine their own destiny, all which was being denied to them. They found a rallying point in Mandela and put all their dreams, aspirations and sweat behind him. I wonder why his first preoccupation (once the world was on his side and he was out of prison) wasn't to demand an immediate apology for his 27 year incarceration and all the crimes and injustices perpetrated by the racist minority white government? I wonder why he decided to first fight an election, empower his people and then teach them the divine power and supremacy you have over someone when you choose to forgive them and be magnanimous. Every day the white man now has to look into those brown eyes and be thankful that these people have not chosen to repay blood for blood- if I was a proud racist white Afrikaneer, this daily humiliating feeling of gratitude to sub-humans would be a fate worse than death. But I’m sure Mandela only told his people to forgive because he/they are weaklings.

My point is the kind of pedestrian demagogues the Nigerian society encourages is our bane. From internet forums, to social clubs, to the armed forces and obviously government- we are a society run by mediocre individuals who can’t help but put the cart before the horse. Are you telling me he could not deduce that prioritising points 5 &6 would make his dream of points 1-4 more acheiveable?

Honestly how can a sensible person not give up on this country??

God's Mercy:
May God have mercy on those criticising their leaders. It begins with you too as a leader in your own home. May your children not rebel against you. The measure you use for others will be the same you'll get. Goodluck Jonathan is the best God has for us this critical time. If others were in his shoe, there would have been nothing like Nigeria today due to the ways some leaders have turned against him. I'm afraid if southerners will ever agree to a peaceful country if a northerner ever emerged a president again. Do unto others what you want others do unto you. It's very good to call President Goodluck Jonathan names, but remember the precedence you're setting. May your generation not do same to you. God exist and reward every man for what they do. God pls give President Goodluck Jonathan the wisdom, strength and will to succeed in Jesus name. Nigeria is God's own country.

May God judge you for invoking his name to defend Mammon and the wicked, may he certainly judge you according to your deeds.

Mekusnwa: Where did they go to pick this character from? There's no end to what theses Gej haters will not do to get at him. Suddenly, they hve gone to generate a Ghanian professor to come and give a disjointed analyses of that interesting Media chat. Who interviewed this professor? Who made him world's foremost economist? I will not be surprised if this man was cloned by SAHARAREPORTERS or Kobojunkie to lend credibility to their falsehood. Let me assume that the man exist and face the issues raised.
1. He acted in ignorance when he said the president didn't declare his assets. The president indeed declared his assets but it was not made public. Even if you doubt it, the assets declaration that he did as Vp under Yaradua still subsists as he has not left office since then. So why the noise over assets declaration?
2. It is an insult on the sensibilities of Nigerians for the so called Ayitteh to label our President as insane and with unsound mind. Who adjudged Jonathan as having unsound mind? Did Ayitteh evaluate a medical report to that effect? How did he arrive at this weighty derogatory statement against a PHD holder? Who is Ayitteh to tell us we voted an insane President? please there must be an end to useless propaganda.
3. The so called Ayitteh questioned why GEJ has not fixed Maidugri airport for his usage. I want to ask, has Ghana even fixed the airport at Accra talkless of the one in hinterland? Is it Not the airport where a cargo aircraft crashed due to water logged runway. Meanwhile, Gej is carrying out massive reconstruction of airports across the country. He is doing in less than one year what many of his predecessors could not do all thru their tenure. Go to Abuja airport, the domestic wing has been closed down for intensive renovation. New car parks are being built. At the international wing, the runways are being built and the entire airport infrastructure is being rebuilt. Similar projects are going on simultaneously in Enugu, Lagos, etc
4. He said GEJ's Agric revolution is only restricted to distribution of palm seedlings. What an affront on truth. Even a toddler in Nigeria has come to know about the cassava revolution and fertilizer distribution reforms scheme.
5. Thankfully, the fake prof accepted the massive construction of rail lines across the country but only faulted the projects on account of what he described as non inclusion of Nigerians in the contract. Who told him? And since when has a Ghanian assumed the role of our local content enforcement officer?
6. He ended up betraying his true identity as an interested party when he said the president needed to consult the university authority and students body before renaming Unilag. What a joke!

Most people are already doing a good job of tearing your pathetic post apart, so I won't bother debunking all the other ridiculous points you put forward, but your pettiness did get me wondering, and thus I have spent some time trying to dig out a comparison of Ghana's fatal air disasters compared to ours.

Anyway despite you laughing off their infrastructure it seems Ghana has only had two major commercial air disasters since 1956 both independently certified to have been caused by poor weather and resulting in the death of a grand total of 16. You obviously know of the Nigerian inspired one recently, but here is a link to the only other case I could find.

http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/airline_detail.cgi?airline=Ghana+Air+Link

But according to WIki guess how many souls we have lost since that same amount of time in commercial flight mishaps (they didn't even add all our military disasters)- 1150 and still counting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_commercial_aircraft (CLUE: press CTRL+F to highlight Nigeria< and see how many times it comes up on that page)

So I guess you are right, we should keep painting our airport car parks and laughing at those uncivilised shoe appreciating electricity having Ghanaians.

People should stop acting as if they are omnipresent and debunking other peoples accounts- PLS IF SOMEBODY DID NOT SAY THAT THEY KILLED SOMEBODY IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE, SHUT UP AND LET THEM TELL THEIR STORY.

The intolerance and God attitude of the average Nigerian is f##kin nauseating.

I would just advise my brothers and sisters to wake up, this country is rotten to the core and we never hear the full story.

I have long believed that Otedola and the SSS lied about there co-operation in this "sting" operation and every day longer it takes to convict Lawan they expose there stupidity.

I mean everywhere in the world where I have heard of a Sting bribery operation, conviction is as simple as catching your kid putting his hand in the stew pot. They don't even need video evidence nor marked notes, all they needed to do was to arrest him at any time he was coming out of Otedola house with the dollars. So how can anyone tell me that a law enforcement body anywhere in the world would have known the date a man was coming to collect the money, watched the man on video collect it and let the man leave with the money on 3 different occasions without arresting him if that was indeed there intention. People are not even aware of this, but even Femi Otedola could have arrested him hmself and that would have been more helpful than the current situation. Everyone knows that the money being physically present and caught in the possesion of the alleged criminal is the most important evidence you need in this case, it even outweighs a confession, which a man can later deny. This is appears to be a simple and proven case of
BLACKMAIL
BLACKMAIL
BLACKMAIL
It's either
1.Femi Otedola did not tell the SSS and marked his notes himself and was conducting his own private blackmail scheme. Later when things went wrong he phoned a friend in the SSS and got them to corroborate his silly story
2. Who ever is behind this Sting opertaion was hoping the dollars would end up in more peoples hands hoping to blackmail them too ( I'm looking at Tambuwal as the target here).

Whatever the case, there was no sincere move to expose any form of corruption and thus Nigeria's future looks doomed. Oh and clearly the more the SSS is implicated in this joke of an operation, the delay of Lawans arrest and all the poltical witchhunting that has been going on as a result, suggests that our CITC (Commander-in-theif and cluelessness) hands are here too.

4reigningqueen: All the time its complain complain complain! What did you do, what are you doing and what will you do to change the situation. As for me and my household,we will never go with the crowd and do the wrong thing but regardless of how hard it could be, we will never give or take bribe, urinate where we are not supposed to, throw dirts anywhere we like,take what does not belong to us,be partial in our dealings with people,lie and deceive for personal gain,involve in examination malprctices and we will try our best to look out for our fellow citizens regardless of their race,tribe and religion. What about you

As admirable* as all what you said seems, it has nothing to do with democracy. This is a day set aside by our leaders to celebrate the struggle till 1999 and more importantly the fruits that struggle was suppose to have bore us. So I ask again, if one is not a politician or a corrupt government official, what exactly am I suppose to celebrate?

Nigerians, ronu o!!!

Everyday one wakes up, one wakes up to another story of billions in every shape and form dissappearing. This country is mentally exhausting.

musKeeto: Wonderful comments from Christians.. so much bigotry and hatred in your stupid hearts.. and you expect me toe believe Jesus lives in them? Holy Spirit led animals...

Pray tell what religion of love you follow ?

Fhemmmy:

Interesting . . . . Fear is not easy . . .

Don't mind the fake intellectual coward.

Nwa_Nimo:

Because he wasn't original - but a plagiarist.

A lot of whats been attributed to him was borrowed from either the Bible or Ancient African texts.

The people listed had an original message . . . Muhammed didn't.

This is one of the main reasons I find it hard to respect any of you aethist/nonconformist- you people are hardly ever sincere about anything, especially about how cowardly you really are.

I mean prove me wrong, you claim you did not include Muhammed because his message wasn't original, but most of what the Christ said was already included in the Old Testament. Biggie had little message besides consumerism and nothing Fela, Marley or Tupac said was original.

So as I said, prove me wrong at least about your cowardice (as I doubt you'll ever be sincere as to why you started this thread), add Muhammed to the title and let's see what's removed first, you or your topic.

alj harem:

Haba GEJ was right. There is nothing tresonable about the statement.

Maybe not treasonable but clearly some one in his office should not spread that sort of sentiment. Like I said earlier in the Military of most countries's you will be kicked out for that statement and any leader of a civilsed country who aired these kind of sentiments would be forced to resign.

Take the US for example, if Obama said the aquistion of Texas was a mistake all because they don't support gay marriage, he'd be on the first plane back to Nairobi before I could say Jack Robinson.

We never do things right in Nigeria and that has always been our problem.

Oh and like I said before, I agree the amalgamation was a mistake.

chima12: forget that useless nigerian oath;omar al bashir,the sudanese president swore to a similar oath but he couldnt stop the south sudanese from having referendum and independence.

Swearing an oath does not make you GOD (thankfully)- you can't stop what will happen but you must do all in your reasonable power to fulfil your duty to what you swore.

Personally I don't see how someone who swears numerous times to upholding a constitution that only recognises ONE NIGERIA (the Nigerian People are only mentioned once in that oath I beleieve) can try to turn himself into a some sort of regional champion or agitator.

I am free to do so, Buhari is and kpomo too if he wants; but clearly not a sitting President, the undoubted number one glorified slave to the constitution.

For all those who can be bothered, here is the official oath that GEJ and all his democratic predecessors swore to in their office as President of Nigeria. I have desisted from putting my own reading to it for now so this can be a blank canvass for all to do what they want with.

[b]“ I do solemnly swear/affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will strive to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions; that I will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will abide by the Code of Conduct contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President; and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria. So help me God. [/b]

Taken from another nairaland thread BTW

www.nairaland.com/608854/presidents-oath-office

BTW I agree that the amalgamation was a mistake, but my belief has no relevance as I did not swear an oath (before God and man) to protect it.

In the Military of any known country, one would be courtmartialled for this.

Kobojunkie:

Advice, never apply for a job as an English Teacher,or a Language Teacher! Please, we have enough evening market trained teachers dragging the Nigerian Education System down.

Sad but true.

It seems poor Frank is one of the many people we have in this country with qualifications but insufficient understanding.

Frank-C:
The OP is just spreading falsehood because i still can't see how he got to his conclusion. No look at this quote: 'from the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God suffereth violence.... And only the violent take it by force' Does this really mean that there was violence in God's kingdom the day John was born? Normally, a 'from' is followed by 'to' indicating a valid range of time within which a logic holds true. That is actually the essence of integration (calculus).
Following what Mr President's logic, he is actually saying that the things that went wrong ranges from laying poor foundation for such a gigantic structure to having the product of such poor foundation- including having non ideological political parties to states going to Abuja monthly for hand out to having a former president mentioning blood and election in thesame sentence.
The question any sincere person must ask himself is which of the problems for which the president is insulted just started today? Actually, we suspected that they have been there, but now we know the extent. But wait a minute, what is Fashola, Peter Obi and Babangida Aliyu's daily feeding budget? You obviously dont know because they sustained business as usual. Do you now get what Jonathan mean when he says that his team wants to change this country?

This is probably the best explanation you will find here on the actual "English" words that were spoken; but the conclusion of the poster given his correct citation of the prepositional clause form of "from", is a truly mind burgling pathetic indictment of our educational system.

Frank-C:
The OP is just spreading falsehood because i still can't see how he got to his conclusion. No look at this quote: 'from the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God suffereth violence.... And only the violent take it by force' Does this really mean that there was violence in God's kingdom the day John was born?

For the avoidance of doubt, YES, literally (the "from" part) and figuratively (the "violence" part), it does.

Pls respond to your email hastily.

Sir, check your email.

Ufeolorun:
Nice writeup and God bless that man for his honesty.

Amen.
Also may God bless the original poster for sharing his tale.

Dipwater: Thief dey wish him fellow thief happy bffday. Ibb and tinubu una do well eh.

lol.....though it's also clear bridges are being built for 2015- shame we won't be able to drive on them though.

Abagworo:

"Peace" is the answer to both questions.

Seems to be the most precise answer so far......funny how 40 something years after Awo hinted this, it's still a true concern.

Much thanks OP.

naijaking1: I agree Awo was very talented and even more realistic than his contemporaries, you know who.
However, my question to the Op is: why do you think you have the intellectual wherewithall to interpret Awo to us. It would be nice if could post a link to something like "Awo's explanation to his own statements" If you can't, I don't see any need to read Awo to us.

@ naijaking
I don't really understand your reply- is their anywhere in my OP where I exalted my intellectual credentials? Re-reading it all I can see is mentioning I am familiar with Awo's works and declaring myself an avid fan, is that wrong? I am no academic, in fact i have just noticed a grammatical flaw in my interpretation which I am going to correct; and I really didn't want to reduce such a great speech into flimsy footnotes in the first case- but who will be the voice for a man who devoted his life to being the voice for all of us for so long, certainly not him anymore and God forbid it be the Manchys or Onlytruths (who I know for certain knows better).

We all know all it takes is for good men to keep quiet for evil men to prosper- and I was really hoping a "good" Biafran would lead the charge in showing his comrades the error of their ways....oh well.

Anyway my footnotes are less than 5% of the material in that post, Baba eloquently interprets himself really.

My post is really just to make it clear that the illogical minds like Logic Mind have only ever had themselves to blame for breeding their children on lethal doses of hate and fairytales.

Maybe we might need to get it translated into etnic languages or pidgin for peace to reign.

While I have been on this forum I have earnestly tried my best not to get involved in the ridiculous daily jingoistic tribal wars fought on this forum. Though a vociferous political animal, I have tried so hard to subdue my inherent prejudice that it recently resulted into me being declared an Igbo man by our favourite Alhaji of all tribes lol. But recently my attention has been captured by the unnecessary Revisionist propaganda perpetuated by our wannabe Biafran Warriors* (mainly of the diaspora) trying to malign IMO, the greatest political speech of Nigeria’s 50 something wasteful year history. I wanted to title this “Awo’s speech for dummies”- but I have come to realise that though I love this speech so much as it captures everything I have loved and continue to love about Baba, it is not that easy to understand for those not familiar with his writings or the legal profession with which he belonged too. Anyway here’s me doing my part- Awo’s speech explained.

The aim of a leader should be the welfare of the people whom he leads. I have used 'welfare' to denote the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the people. With this aim fixed unflinchingly and unchangeably before my eyes I consider it my duty to Yoruba people in particular and to Nigerians in general, to place four imperatives before you this morning.

Self explanatory

Two of them are categorical*.........

Definition: categorical- unambiguously explicit and direct
Simple English- clear

.........and two are conditional*.

Definition: subject to one or more conditions being met. A conditional clause or conjuction
Simple English- uncertain, unless something happens.

(Remember he said 4 imperatives (directions/instructions) and he goes on to name them)

1.Only a peaceful solution must be found to arrest the present worsening stalemate and restore normalcy.
2.The Eastern Region must be encouraged to remain part of the Federation.
3.If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation.
4.The people of Western Nigeria and Lagos should participate in the ad hoc committee or any similar body only on the basis of absolute equality with the other regions of the Federation.

Now he goes on to explain/ give more info on each instruction in his own words, but before we get onto that lets deal with point 3, the main point of contention by wept over modern day adolescent Biafrans.

3.If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission* or commission* to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation.

Definition: an act of omission is a failure to do something
Definiton: an act of commission is doing something
Simple English: If Eastern Nigeria is allowed to leave Nigeria, because of something that was done or not done, then the Western Region and Lagos must also be allowed to leave Nigeria and do what we want.

I would like to comment briefly on these four imperatives.

I said this was coming. He now comments on each one of them in his own words. Here you can better appreciate the meaning of his 4 imperatives.

1.Only a peaceful solution must be found to arrest the present worsening stalemate and restore normalcy.
There has, of late, been a good deal of sabre rattling in some parts of the country. Those who advocate the use force for the settlement of our present problems should stop a little and reflect. I can see no vital and abiding principle involved in any war between the North and the East. If the East attacked the North, it would be for purpose of revenge pure and simple. Any claim to the contrary would be untenable. If it is claimed that such a war is being waged for the purpose of recovering the real and personal properties left behind in the North by Easterners two insuperable points are obvious. Firstly, the personal effects left behind by Easterners have been wholly looted or destroyed, and can no longer be physically recovered. Secondly, since the real properties are immovable in case of recovery of them can only be by means of forcible military occupation of those parts of the North in which these properties are situated. On the other hand, if the North attacked the East, it could only be for the purpose of further strengthening and entrenching its position of dominance in the country.
If it is claimed that an attack on the East is going to be launched by the Federal Government and not by the North as such and that it is designed to ensure the unity and integrity of the Federation, two other insuperable points also become obvious. First, if a war against the East becomes a necessity it must be agreed to unanimously by the remaining units of the Federation. In this connection, the West, Mid- West and Lagos have declared their implacable* (overwhelming/unquestionable) opposition to the use of force in solving the present problem. In the face of such declarations by three out of remaining four territories of Nigeria, a war against the East could only be a war favoured by the North alone. Second, if the true purpose of such a war is to preserve the unity and integrity of the Federation, then these ends can be achieved by the very simple devices of implementing the recommendation of the committee which met on August 9 1966, as reaffirmed by a decision of the military leaders at Aburi on January 5 1967 as well as by accepting such of the demands of the East, West, Mid-West and Lagos as are manifestly reasonable, and essential for assuring harmonious relationships and peaceful co-existence between them and their brothers and sisters in the North.
Some knowledgeable persons have likened an attack on the East to Lincoln's war against the southern states in America. Two vital factors distinguish Lincoln's campaign from the one now being contemplated in Nigeria. The first is that the American civil war was aimed at the abolition of slavery - that is the liberation of millions of Negroes who were then still being used as chattels and worse than domestic animals. The second factor is that Lincoln and others in the northern states were English-speaking people waging a war of good conscience and humanity against their fellow nationals who were also English speaking. A war against the East in which Northern soldiers are predominant, will only unite the Easterners or the Ibos against their attackers, strengthen them in their belief that they are not wanted by the majority of their fellow-Nigerians, and finally push them out of the Federation.
We have been told that an act of secession on the part of the East would be a signal, in the first instance, for the creation of the COR state by decree, which would be backed, if need be, by the use of force. With great respect, I have some dissenting observations to make on this declaration. There are 11 national or linguistic groups in the COR areas with a total population of 5.3 millions. These national groups are as distinct from one another as the Ibos are distinct from them or from the Yorubas or Hausas. Of the 11, the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group are 3.2 million strong as against the Ijaws who are only about 700,000 strong. Ostensibly, the remaining nine national group number 1.4 millions. But when you have subtracted the Ibo inhabitants from among them, what is left ranges from the Ngennis who number only 8,000 to the Ogonis who are 220,000 strong. A decree creating a COR state without a plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the peoples in the area, would only amount to subordinating the minority national groups in the state to the dominance of the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group. It would be perfectly in order to create a Calabar state or a Rivers state by decree, and without a plebiscite. Each is a homogeneous national unit. But before you lump distinct and diverse national units together in one state, the consent of each of them is indispensable. Otherwise, the seed of social disequilibrium in the new state would have been sown.
On the other hand, if the COR State is created by decree after the Eastern Region shall have made its severance from Nigeria effective, we should then be waging an unjust war against a foreign state. It would be an unjust war, because the purpose of it would be to remove 10 minorities in the East from the dominance of the Ibos only to subordinate them to the dominance of the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group. I think I have said enough to demonstrate that any war against the East[u], or vice versa,[/u] on any count whatsoever, would be an unholy crusade, for which it would be most unjustifiable to shed a drop of Nigerian blood.

It’s funny how our NL Biafran soldiers love to quote this part but never deal with the vice versa part.
Definiton: with the main items in the preceding statement the other way round.
Simple English: “I think I have said enough to say that any war againt Nigeria (obviously by Biafra or any of it’s allies), on any count whatsoever, would be an unholy crusade, for which it would be unjustifiable to shed a dropo of Nigerian blood (Nigerian blood in both statements includes everyone).

Therefore, only a peaceful solution must be found, and quickly too to arrest the present rapidly deteriorating stalemate and restore normalcy.

2.The Eastern Region must be encouraged to remain part of the Federation.
With regard to the second categorical imperative, it is my considered view that whilst some of the demands of the East are excessive within the context of a Nigerian union, most of such demands are not only wellfounded, but are designed for smooth and steady association amongst the various national units of Nigeria.
The dependence of the Federal Government on financial contributions from the regions? These and other such like demands I do not support. Demands such as these, if accepted, will lead surely to the complete disintegration of the Federation which is not in the interest of our people. But I wholeheartedly support the following demands among others, which we consider reasonable and most of which are already embodied in our memoranda to the Ad Hoc Committee....
That revenue should be allocated strictly on the basis of derivation; that is to say after the Federal Government has deducted its own share for its own services the rest should be allocated to the regions to which they are attributable.
That the existing public debt of the Federation should become the responsibility of the regions on the basis of the location of the projects in respect of each debt whether internal or external.

That each region should have and control its own militia and police force.

That, with immediate effect, all military personnel should be posted to their regions of origin....

If we are to live in harmony one with another as Nigerians it is imperative that these demands and others which are not related, should be met without further delay by those who have hitherto resisted them. To those who may argue that the acceptance of these demands will amount to transforming Nigeria into a federation with a weak central government, my comment is that any link however tenuous, which keeps the East in the Nigerian union, is better in my view than no link at all. (This is from a man who supposedly hates the Igbos with Hitleric passion, may God forgive )

3.If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation.
Before the Western delegates went to Lagos to attend the meetings of the ad hoc committee, they were given a clear mandate that if any region should opt out of the Federation of Nigeria, then the Federation! should be considered to be at an end, and that the Western Region and Lagos should also opt out of it. It would then be up to Western Nigeria and Lagos as an independent sovereign state to enter into association with any of the Nigerian units of its own choosing, and on terms mutually acceptable to them. I see no reason for departing from this mandate. If any region in Nigeria considers itself strong enough to compel us to enter into association with it on its own terms, I would only wish such a region luck. But such luck, I must warn, will, in the long run be no better than that which has attended the doings of all colonial powers down the ages. This much I must say in addition, on this point. We have neither military might nor the overwhelming advantage of numbers here in Western Nigeria and Lagos. But we have justice of a noble and imperishable cause on our side, namely: the right of a people to unfettered self-determination. If this is so, then God is on our side, and if God is with us then we have nothing whatsoever in this world to fear.

4.The people of Western Nigeria and Lagos should participate in the ad hoc committee or any similar body only on the basis of absolute equality with the other regions of the Federation.
The fourth imperative, and the second conditional one has been fully dealt with in my recent letter to the Military Governor of Western Nigeria, Col. Robert Adebayo, and in the representation which your deputation made last year to the head of the Federal Military Government, Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon. As a matter of fact, as far back as November last year a smaller meeting of leaders of thought in this Region decided that unless certain things were done, we would no longer participate in the meeting of the ad hoc committee. But since then, not even one of our legitimate requests has been granted. I q, therefore, take no more of your time in making further comments on a point with which you are well familiar. As soon as our humble and earnest requests are met, I shall be ready to take my place on the ad hoc committee. But certainly, not before.

And finally

In closing, I have this piece of advice to give. In order to resolve amiably and in the best interests of all Nigerians certain attributes are required on the part of Nigerian leaders, military as well as non-military leaders alike, namely: vision, realism and unselfishness. [i](all things you showed Baba, God will continue to bless your memory)[/i]But above all , what will keep Nigerian leaders in the North and East unwaveringly in the path of wisdom, realism and moderation is courage and steadfastness on the part of Yoruba people in the course of what they sincerely believe to be right, equitable and just. In the past five years we in the West and Lagos have shown that we possess these qualities in a large measure. If we demonstrate them again as we did in the past, calmly and heroically, we will save Nigeria from further bloodshed and imminent wreck and, at the same time, preserve our freedom and self-respect into the bargain.

May God rule and guide our deliberations here, and endow all the Nigerian leaders with the vision, realism, and unselfishness as well as courage and steadfastness in the course of truth, which the present circumstances demand. "