₦airaland Forum

Variety, ­spontaneit­y, listen and oblige. Compliment and complement­.

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Do Muslims in southern Nigeria think that it is important to have Sharia courts that can hear their cases? If you are a southern Muslim please respond,

I think Christians in Northern Nigeria should be allowed to practice their religion in CHURCHES up North without Threat or Discrimination either

A group, Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) rose from their 5th annual general conference in Kaduna State, declaring that they will ensure that the introduction of Sharia legal system in the southern states as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

The group said this against the backdrop that it concerns the determination of Islamic personal laws as it relates to marriage, divorce and inheritance.

The lawyers also called for an end to the trial of the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, demanding that the judicial process be accelerated to end his long travail and persecution.

In a communiuque at the end of the conference in Kaduna, MULAN said it would collaborate with the National Assembly to abrogate all discriminatory provisions in the constitution of Nigeria that tends to strengthen the settler/indigene dichotomy that has precipitated many crises in various parts of the country.

The communiqué signed by the National President of the body, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladoja, the body also urged the Federal Government not to hesitate to invoke its power under the constitution by declaring a state of emergency in any state of the federation plagued by ethno-religious crisis.

The group decried the alleged constant breach of the fundamental rights of Muslims across the country with impunity under the pretence of National security.

The association said: "It has become a routine exercise for security agencies to arrest, detained and harangued, intimidate and torture Muslims, especially those who wear long beards in the name of curbing the Boko haram menace" and called on the security agencies not to be partisan when discharging their duties.

"They also called on security agents to respect the fundamental right of Nigerians and to desist from indiscriminate arrest and torture based on facial outlook and or dressing in the name of stemming the tide of ethno-religious crises in Nigeria."

The body also called on the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to license non-interest banking for interested Nigerians, irrespective of their religious persuasions and not to be discouraged by critics of the ideal.

They also accused state government in the country especially those in the north of paying lip service to the formalisation of the Almajiri educational system thereby increasing the level of illiteracy in Nigeria, particularly in the north.

They also accused states in the southern parts of the country of failing to recognize the rights of Muslims to have their disputes adjudicated on the principles of sharia as enshrined in the constitution of the country and congratulate the National Assembly for criminalizing same-sex marriage.

They asked the government not to add to the hardship already existing in the country by removing fuel subsidy, asking the government to forget about the idea in the interest of the ordinary Nigerians.

SOURCE:THISDAY NEWSPAPER

I will say Nigerian Leadership has been a disappointment. Leadership Matters and i most say that we have been lacking in visionary and creative leadership since the 1960's. Goodluck Jonathan is still in the early stages of his presidency, so i wil give him a benefit of doubt. The system was has been rotten for sometime now, i do not expect him to fix it in a year. Although, i believe he has started badly, i hope he improves.

ghazab, it is on youtube

My advise to you is to GO TO CHURCH!!! You will find a higher percentage of innocent/virgins girls. At least compared to the general population, Jesus is Lord    and that is my two cents  

This is the first encouraging News that i have read in this whole Boko Harem Saga, If our intelligence agencies, in co-ordination with friendly countries have been working behind the scenes to kill of the source of finance and the fuel that is lighting the fire, then, i am partly confident that like Mr.President says, this incidents will soon be a thing of the past.

As much as it has been frustrating, the public handling of the entire boko harem saga, i am encourage by the covett work being done. When there is poverty, people can be tools for any kind of mischief, I just hope that once the boko harem saga is over, our government learn some lessons from the experience. One of which is to mandate quality education in nigeria, especially nothern nigeria, and provide clear, concise and effective economic policies that lift people out of poverty.

solajacobs:
WHY ARE PEOPLE EASILY FOOLED LIKE THIS? FOR GOD SAKE, THIS IS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROJECT AND AREGBESOLA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. OSUN STATE UNDER HIM IS CONTRIBUTING NOTHING TO THIS. WISE UP MY PEOPLE AND SEE SOMETHING GOOD IN THIS GOODLUCK GOVERNMENT FOR ONCE INSTEAD OF ASCRIBING HIS ACHIEVEMENT TO ANOTHER PERSON.

THANK YOU MAN, These people sound like our republicans here, who bash the federal government, only to turn-around and claim the credit for all the work being done by the federal government in their states,

Nigeria and South Africa should be working together for the betterment of the continent. But on some issues now (cote d'ivoire, Libya), they appear to take divergent views. I think our foreign ministries should have co-operation and co-ordination, else foreign governments will exploit our differences in approach to play one againt another. I believe they call that " BALANCING " OR " COUNTER-WEIGHTING"

24 Aug 2011
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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru


By Paul Ohia in Lagos and Damilola Oyedele in Abuja with agency report



As pol breached the official residence of the country’s leader for 42 years, Colonel Muamar Gaddafi yesterday, the Federal Government formally recognised the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya as a legitimate representative of the northern African country’s people.



But this has drawn some flak from South Africa.



Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, told reporters in Abuja that Nigeria would back Libya in its bid to install democratic rule and enforce the rule of law.



But the Secretary-General of African National Congress (ANC), Mr. Gwede Mantashe, criticised the decision at a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.



“Nigeria is jumping the gun in recognising the rebels as representatives of Libya. The AU position stays,” Mantashe said.

But Ashiru said the NTC headed by Mr. Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil should be magnanimous in its victory and pursue a model to encourage post-conflict reconciliation and nation building.



Ashiru urged Gaddafi to take the path of honour and relinquish power immediately to allow the Libyan people decide their future and that of their country, stressing that the event of the last 48 hours showed that the regime was retreating.



Several countries – United States, United Kingdom, France, Palestine, Norway, Qatar, UAE, Sweden and 35 others – have recognised the NTC since its formation in February this year. The African Union (AU)’s Peace and Security Council met yesterday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, without issuing a statement.



The AU’s High-Level Panel on Libya, which includes leaders from South Africa, Mali, Uganda, Mauritania and Republic of Congo, will meet tomorrow, followed by a Peace and Security Council meeting the next day.



South African President Jacob Zuma yesterday said air strikes by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) went further than a United Nations resolution to protect civilians in Libya and undermined Africa’s role in seeking a ceasefire, Bloomberg reported. “The situation in Libya has been of concern as it has been accompanied by the undermining of the African continent’s role in finding a solution,” Zuma told reporters in Cape Town after meeting Ghanaian President John Atta Mills.



Mills said Ghana had not decided whether to recognise the NTC as Libya’s authority. “Ghana is studying the situation and will take an appropriate decision,” he said.



Gaddafi, a Libyan military officer, sacked a monarchy in a military coup in 1969. The man who styled himself as the brother leader abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951, and adopted laws based on his political ideology. His nearly 42 years in power has made him the fourth longest-ruling non-royal leader since 1900, as well as the longest-ruling Arab leader.



In Tripoli, rebels overran Gaddafi’s fortified Bab al-Azizya headquarters after heavy fighting and immediately hoisted their flag to mark the symbolic end to the strongman's rule.



As rebel leaders proclaimed they had "won the battle" in Tripoli, fighters celebrated by firing automatic weapons into the air, chanting "Allahu akbar" (God is great), and raiding the armoury for ammunition, pistols and rifles. The defenders had fled, and there was no immediate word on the whereabouts of Gaddafi or his family after the insurgents late afternoon breached the defences as part of a massive assault that began in the morning.



"We have won the battle," Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the insurgents' Tripoli commander told Al-Jazeera television from inside the complex.



Bab al-Azizya had been the site chosen yesterday by Gaddafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, to make an appearance before journalists to refute reports that he had been arrested by the rebels, AFP reported.



"Tripoli is under our control. Everyone should rest assured. All is well in Tripoli," Seif said at the compound, smiling broadly and flashing the V-for-victory sign. "I am here to refute the lies," the 39-year-old said about reports of his arrest, and accused the West of waging a "technological and media war to cause chaos and terror in Libya".



Seif, like his father, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity. He said Gaddafi and his entire family were still in Tripoli, denying rumours he had fled but without specifying the exact location.

His comments were backed up by the Russian head of world chess who said Gaddafi had told him in a telephone call that he was in Tripoli and did not intend to leave the country.



"I am alive and healthy. I am in Tripoli and do not intend to leave Libya. Do not believe the lying reports by Western television companies," Kirsan Ilyumzhinov quoted Gaddafi as saying in the conversation, the Interfax news agency reported. Ilyumzhinov had met Gaddafi in Tripoli in June.



In Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he had agreed with his US counterpart Barack Obama to continue military action against Gaddafi until he lays down his weapons. Sarkozy's Elysee Palace said in a statement that the two leaders had held telephonic talks during which they "agreed to pursue their military effort in support of the legitimate Libyan authorities for as long as Gaddafi and his clan have not put down their arms".



They were referring to the NATO-led bombing campaign launched in March under a UN mandate to protect civilians in Libya.

SOURCE: THISDAY NEWSPAPER
http://www.thisdayonline.com/

WILL YOU "SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE HEAD", "HUG A TRANSFORMER" and "JUMP IN THE OCEAN" ALL AT THE SAME TIME DRINKING NHCL??

Corruption started when there became no accountability in Government & Governance. When the Nigerian Citizens stopped caring about how they were governed, but rather became interested in fighting tribal wars for the crooked politicians that they were suppose to be watching. And when i speak of Governance i mean in Government, Business, and religious affairs.

I think a simple answer to your question is "LEADERSHIP". Trust me Good Leadership can overcome all issues that have been mentioned so far. We need Visionary Leadership and i am convinced that we cannot get it with the current crop of Leaders (both in Nigeria and Africa as a whole).

BTW I have always figured that to solve a lot of our economic problems, we need to go BIGGER not Smaller. By BIGGER, I mean that the Economic space has to be BIGGER than a single country, thus Tarriffs, Taxes, Borders ETC need to be non-existed amongst most sub-saharan african countries and trade & competition encouraged. So rather than competing with only the Businesses in your individual countries, you have the entire sub-saharan africa as your competition. (but we know france for instance has prevented french speaking countries from integrating with their african neighbors).

I think another important issue that needs to be tackled is CORRUPTION. This issue is endermic in all African countries, it is a Cancer that needs to be tackled with everything we got. I believe that the best way to tackle corruption is transparency in Governance - political, Business, and Religious.

Your are a silly human being!!! Out of the terrible choices we had in the last election, we choose the "least terrible" or may i say "the best of terrible's"!!! I watched the debates and can assure you that what we have is better than the other possibilities.  

A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGUNS WITH A SINGLE STEP .


Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

The poster is a hypocrite, there are American Men who go to Russia, Ukraine, Columbia, Brazil, etc to find Wifes. Because they are Old and No One in America will Marry them, These Men get the benefit of sleeping with young pretty girls , while the Girls get the benefit of coming to America, Everyone knows that these marriages for not for love but are mutually beneficial,

How is that different from an African, Carribean, South American, and Yes European man who dates an American Girls, give her love and affection, plus heavy Mandingo (that they will never experience in their lives) and benefits by getting a Green Card.

Guys please wake up, every relationship/marriage is a contract that both parties are gaining from one way or the other, unfortunately it does not last forever,

My recommendation to the Nigerian Government are the following,

1) Create a division of labor within the Nigerian police force
-Create an anti-terrorism unit with the Nigerian police force
-Create an investigation unit with the Nigerian police
-Create an intelligence unit with the Nigerian police
-Create a peace keeping unit with the Nigerian police force
-Create a research and analysis unit within the Nigerian police force
-Create a patrol unit with the Nigerian police force

each of these units will have different levels of qualification for entry

2) Establish Zonal police headquarters, because i believe that each zone of the country have different types of crimes that are prevalent

3) Establish proper training guidelines that have to be strictly adhered to by all police officer's

4) Establish a training system were every two years based on your rank and division you go for additional training ranging from 3months to 9months

5) Establish a Government backed Fund for Mortgage, Education, and Medical Expenses whereby every policeman is guaranteed loans for these three basic expenses at very low rates for them and their immediate family members.

6) Offer a substantial compensation for any police officer killed on duty.

7) rebuild every police station in the country, assuring that each police station is properly maintained and all amenities available.

Establish a Community/Police annual event where the people within the Community and the police can interract in a fun and relaxed enviroment, while discussing community affecting issues.

9) Build Jails and prisons all over the country that are had to break out of, world standard.

there are many more things that i would recommend, but if the so far are implemented, we can at least solve 40% of our problems.
I also believe that some of these should apply to all security forces, including the military,

p/s: some of these might already be in place, but not being implemented effectively.

If i were president,

i will tackle boko haram on several fronts,

1) I will create a special anti-terror unit within the Nigerian police force ( about 5000 to 7000 personnel), properly equiped and trained for about 9months by Israeli, American, and Chinese special forces trainers.

2) Within the police force i will create a special intelligence unit (about 200 to 500 personnel), with proper training in analysis, human asset development (i.e informants), advanced tracking and surveillance technology. You must have a college degree and undergo 18months of training on a special police intelligence facility located in Ebonyi state

3) I will create a Ministry for Religious Affairs, And Also another Ministry for Northern Development ( to help create a framework for the development of Northern Nigeria, as well as a proper doctrine for Religious matters as it affects northern Nigeria.

4) Within the Ministry of Education. I will create a department to handle improving literacy within the Northern region (Women at least 50% to 60% Literacy, Men at least 65% to 70% Literacy)

5) With Co-ordination between the Presidency, Military Command/intelligence, Nigerian Intelligence Agency, and ministry of Foreign affairs, i will draw-up a Plan for infiltration, engagement, operations, security partnership between Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Sudan, Cameroon in other to stamp out militias from all of these countries.

6) Finally i will try to set-up a system where the security threats to Nigeria are reviewed every six months and a frame work to resolve them are discussed, between the security agencies, local, state, and federal goverments,

Onyocha:
Nigerians be smart and beware.

the north is full of muslims and it is muslims that these un-islamic boko haram has being targetting and killing.i doubt how someone who claims to be northerner and muslim can kill fellow notherners and fellow muslims.that does not make sense to me.there is something fishy here!

Nigerians be smart enough to realize that boko haram can be the invention of the CIA and the mossad.if you're well informed you will not ask how can americans support and nurture an "islamist" group.the CIA nurtured the "mujahideen" and Bin Laden in afghanistan to fight the soviets.they created bin laden and made him rise to who he was and what he became known for.later when he turned to bite the hand that fed him,his tongue was cut-off in the name of the same terrorism they taught him.

the same americans have given a deadline of 2015 for the disintegration of nigeria as one entity.this is the time nigerians must be wise and read very carefully between the lines.something dirty from the outside is being brewed for Nigeria.the west led by america have plans for nigeria.suddenly a foolish group that started as a movement against western education (a move that islamically does not even make sense since islam teaches its adherents to gain knowledge) is rising to fame as a force to reckon with.you can see that the words of this group is now source of news for western medias.the western media would be used to execute the plan if this group is a CIA invention.

they have a group in the north causing mayhem and panic and they also have ways to make the south ungovernable.i do not see the reason why any northerner would want to make nigeria "ungovernable" by spreading chaos in his own backyard and against his own people.those words are not issued from the balls of boko haram.those words are bigger than boko haram.someone big outside nigeria must be pushing them to say these things with heavy money being put into play.

these are my 2 cents from what ive read so far and observed.i may be right 100% or i maybe wrong 100%.lets be careful.dont jump into conclusions.these are times we should be united and prove the 2015 deadline wrong and dead.otherwise we will suffer for it to execute the plans of the foreigners.our lives and properties and our country will waste if we are not careful and united in these difficult times.

This is a bunch of crap write-up here, you are 100% wrong.
The CIA or MOSSAD has nothing to do with this issue, so please provide commentary that makes sense.
Until the Nigerian Governments and her Elites learn how to be strategic in Governance we will continue to have all these kinds of crap come up from time to time, and if we are not careful, we will go back to the days were there is conflicts all over africa.
The Nigerian Government needs to do several things,
1) Sharia Law has to be repealed and Religion needs to take the back seat to proper policy making that eleviates poverty and provides jobs.
2) Education must be made compulsory for all Nigerians up til your first year in university, after which you can do whatever you want.
3)Religious schools or Madrasas must be made to expand their curriculum to include five other subjects outside of Koranic studies and Arabic studies (Mathematics, history, sociology, a technical science subject, and any other elective that the student chooses), i recommend this b'cos religious schools are a fact of lift in Islam, thus rather than get rid of it, modernise it.
4) if Sharia Law cannot be repealed then it needs to be modernized. Thus, any judge or Lawyer in the Sharia Legal system has to get a regular law degree first and then specialize in Islamic law as a subset of their main law degree. And every Sharia court must be part of the regular Court system (just as a section of it, and not the whole thing)
these are a few things that i think can be done to accomodate islamic law but within a modern setting.

Which countries have had most, and least, GDP growth per person since 2001?

FOR all its faults, GDP per person is still the measure that gives the best indicator of economic progress or lack thereof. The countries where GDP per head grew fastest between 2001 and 2010—Equatorial Guinea, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan—are all rich in natural resources, and were beneficiaries of the past decade’s boom in commodity prices. China is an exception to this rule, which makes its growth even more impressive. And while it usually helps to start relatively poor, a bad start does not necessarily result in success later on. Haiti and Zimbabwe have both explored how much ruin there is in a nation over the past decade and show little sign of improving. They are two of only 15 countries that have seen negative growth since 2001. Slow population growth also helps: although America's economy has grown considerably faster than Japan's since 2001, Japan’s population has shrunk while America's has risen. This means that income per head in Japan has grown almost as rapidly as in America over this period.

My Exact point is that Outside of the Big Cities (Lagos, PortHarcourt, Enugu, Kaduna , etc), which for reasons i have mentioned are supposed to be ahead of the rest. The states i will be watching will actually give you a true sample group, which can be used to judge proper governance on the local, and state level. If these states can get it right, things will start to look up on the national level.

It would appear to me that there are certain states within each region that act as leading indicators as to how the Governance of that region is going. As every tribalist on Nairaland seems to think that their region is superior to everyone else's, please pay attention to how the following states are being governed as a parameter for judging success within your region in the next 4 years;

SouthEast - Anambra State not Enugu is the heart of the region and until Anambra gets it right the SouthEast will not progress much.

SouthWest - Oyo State not Lagos is the heart of the region and until Oyo gets it right the SouthWest region will not progress much.

SouthSouth - Delta State not Rivers is the heart of the region and until Delta gets it right the SouthSouth region will not progress much.

NorthCentral - Plateau State is the most important NorthCentral State. I believe that Once Plateau is working most if not all NorthCentral states will be working (if i may borrow from Fashola's Slogan).

NorthWest - Although Kaduna is the political capital, i believe Kano is more important. If there is effective governance in Kano, the NorthWest will benefit entirely.

NorthEast - This region is a little bit tricky for me. I like to think that their fortunes are tied with the NorthWest, but since they are mostly Kanuri (diff from Hausa/Fulani). My thinking is that there needs to be a state that acts as a leading indicator for the region. I will go with two states Adamawa and Taraba. I do not think that either is more important when compared.

Lagos, PortHarcourt, Enugu, Kaduna, Abuja are states that have SeaPorts, Airports, Population, Major Government/Education Institutions and as such should be expected to ahead of the rest.

Whatyathink?

That is a very welcomed development,

BullCRAP!!!

Killing by either Christains or Muslims is Wrong, A lot of these religiously tainted Crisis stem from politics. I believe that the origin of this political/religious issues is Sharia Law. Once that was introduced into the North the line between religion/politics was blurred. Thus, every political crisis is seen with a religious lens.

ziccoit:
@vedaxcool. May GOD bless you for the embolden. I really love it.

The problem is the strong hatred and bitter venom against the Islam/Muslims. I don't know a perfect way to explain the reason why a man want to be knowledgeable than the mufti, when holding a view to wrongly islamise what is non-Islamic. More so, in the face of heavy proofs to the contrary, he is still proving pigheaded.

I pray that he Succeeds in providing Good Leadership,
I pray that he Governs with Wisdom,
I pray that where all of his enemies are gathered they shall scatter,

AMEN

Nigeria does not have a population problem. Nigeria has a management problem. Sorry UN, your plans ain't gonna work.

Dude !!! He is doing a Good Job, Give him Credit and Move on, He maybe overhyped, but in a society as ours where mediocrity is celebrated, we gotta give credit to people who perform their duties as well.