₦airaland Forum

Timbuktuo:
Then why would you think of identifying as Biafran? You can be igbo and Biafran, or igbo and Nigerian. You can't be both. And yeah, that has always been my stand to igbos clamouring for Biafra. Let's see glimpses of your greatness before we put any faith in your ability to be the next world superpower.

I guess you have the liberty to analyze this after the fact. At the spur of the moment, I wished I did not have to say I was Nigerian after the country was butchered by the Ghanaian. Hey! if the boss is a generalist (and perhaps have not worked closely with a Nigerian before, to know that what matters is the individual, not the group), he could believe the Ghanaian that all Nigerians are bad. Next to being a Nigerian, the next name would be Biafra (after all, I will have no home in Africa than in Biafra if the agitators succeed in their mission) (also, you do not expect me to say I am from Ghana too, do you? ). Thank God I was bold enough to admit I am Nigerian.

ayokellany:
One of the greatest problem Nigeria is facing today which is greatly exploited by both military and democratic leaders is the division among the ethnic nationalities. A critical look at the problem of this country varies from corruption nepotism illiteracy and many more but these problems are not synonymous to only Nigeria. In fact nearly every country in the world is grappling with one problem or the other.

What make Nigeria problem unique is the varying need of the ethnic tribes. I happened to have travelled to the East North n live in the West. One problem which appear insignificant but is an essential determinant to a successful revolution which I believe is the only way forward is the divergent wants/needs of each tribe.

What the Hausa want is not what the Yoruba, Igbo. What's needed in the SS in not what the NC SW or NE needs. Until there's unity of purpose among the masses from the North East South n West Enough to force a revolution the Politicians will continue to act oblivious to those want but would campaign on it during election to earn vote.

So like I indicated, the followership is a big problem, right?

brize:
that will be the best i will wish for, but where can it happen? Don't tell me Nigeria

Yet, there is no clear evidence that any of the new countries will be without INTRA-ETHNIC (as opposed to inter-ethnic) tensions. Hey! Aguleri and Umuleri, Ife and Modakeke, are both Igbo and Yoruba, respectively. Yet they went to war against each other. Please tell me in which other country people of the same ethnic group fight and kill themselves.

Duru1:
If anybody thinks Nigeria shall see any form of progress as its presently configured, I shall beg the fellow to see a physician. Nigeria is similar to Czechoslovakia where ethnic tensions led to any form social decadence anybody could imagine. The Nigeria is even worse than Belgium where there Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north and French-speaking Wallonia in the south. Before Belgium overcome the ethnic menace with constitutional amendments, warning signs are posted to warn people entering each other enclave. In this case Belgium is better than Nigeria both in high intellect of human understanding and number of ethno-linguistic differences. The only solution to Nigerian case is total disintegration and I would not mind if the zoo is divided into 350 countries.

Duru, with the level of hate going on now, you had better wish to separate under circumstances that do not involve war (which would be almost impossible). With war (the only option I see), you as an Igbo man will not get a dime of your investment in other parts of Nigeria, not even in Rivers State. In this regard, other zones have been smarter than Igbos in not investing outside their ancestral homelands so heavily.

Duru1:
Nigeria is what your Ghanaian friend described. Ghana had never had a civil war as Nigeria did. In addition, the leadership in Nigeria has done nothing to ameliorate the issues that lead to the civil war which continue to set the stage for another war. Nigeria is growing increasingly apart and giving way to social decadence.

That in bold may be true. But even the civil war was avoidable, IMHO, had we not have hate for each other even from the start.

brize:
my dear i better wish for a drug trafficking [/b]country than a country that does not [b]value human life.... Do you get that

How about not wishing for any of those in bold? How about being wealthy, developed, yet relatively peaceful and crime free as Botswana (using an African country as an example)?

Timbuktuo:
Spectroscopic: You sef no get balls. You should have told your boss you are Biafran, which you are by the way, and answered any questions that ensued. Why should you not want to spread the gospel of the Biafran nation? We citizens of this zoo called Nigeria really don't need your help defending our already soiled name. Next time answer your papa name.

Because I really do not believe that Igbos will be better off with Biafra. If we were going to be, the state of our States (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, etc) would have indicated so. What have our own Igbo leaders and followers done with Igboland? What is the evidence that they would do things differently in a Biafra country?

MRBrownJ:
@spectroscopic
with a big smile on your face, you should have stopped him while he was talking trash about Nigerians, and said:" watch out now, i am Nigerian and you cant paint a whole nation because of the negative actions of a few."

I thought of that option, but on a second thought, I realized that the boss is not ignorant about Nigeria's image. So I may end up having to defend myself against the boss, and the Ghanaian would have really accomplished his mission.

brize:
Lol, Op if you can give me 6 ways we can achieve unity in this country....... 4 out of that 6 has already been tried and it didn't work for decades now..... NIGERIA IS NOT ONE & CAN NEVER BE ONE... Let the paedophil & child rapist Muhammed Buhari come and arrest me..

If we separate today, at the rate we have gone thus far, the only thing that will be different (reduced) might be inter-ethnic tensions, and that would be only in the SW and SE, because they are more homogenous than other zones. Online wars as experienced on Nairaland might not even abate. The North and SS will remain hotbeds of ethnic tensions. Boko Haram may not stop the killings in Northern country; Fulani will not stop killing minorities in the North.

Regarding corruption, all zones will still be faced with corruption and morality issues because we all have since deviated from the norm, and well advanced in the course we have taken, to make a quick turn-around.

I imagine then that the world will know Biafra for drug trafficking (similar to Colombia) and perhaps an Oduduwa country for another vice. We should be careful what we wish for ourselves.

ryd3:
A branch of my research topic is based on Nigerians in the diaspora, especially China. I find it disgraceful to see others look down us with such disgust. So before we start screaming "Gofment ", we should first look at ourselves.

Yes, that is the crux of this thread. What kind of followership do we have in Nigeria? These wicked leaders we have today were all followers a few years ago, some even a few months ago. So from where did they learn to be wicked and corrupt? Apparently, they were already wicked and corrupt as ordinary citizens, and becoming leaders brought out the full beast in them. Nigeria's problems are as much of followership as they are of leadership. Ask yourself, why do we as citizens find it hard to demonstrate against our leaders when they go wrong?

Background:
American (overall Boss; title of office = President/CEO)
Nigerian (staff) (me)
Ghanaian (staff) (colleague of mine)

My Ghanaian colleague and I were chatting with our boss. My colleague and I are at the same level, more or less; each extremely professional, with PhDs to boot.

Unfolding event:

The discussion happened during a dinner organized by our organization and the boss was going around meeting his staff and getting introduced to them; he is a new appointment. I was seated with the Ghanaian whom I considered a brother, and with whom, quite frankly, I have always gone along well. Besides, we are the only Africans in the organization.

The boss sat with us for quite some time chatting, compared to the time he took with others. I presume he did this because we were the only people ''different'' from the rest, and he would have been naturally curious to learn more about us. So he really chatted with us for a long time. In the course of the discussion, he had asked my colleague if he was Nigerian and he said ''No''. ''I am Ghanaian'', he went on to say, ''but Ghana and Nigeria are at the same wavelength'', he added. The boss replied, ''but you guys see things more similarly in Ghana than Nigerians do, as far as I know''. At that point I got really edgy, thinking the boss wants to throw a bombshell at Nigeria, and I am Nigerian.

To my surprise, it was my African colleague who did. Hear him. ''Sure, Nigerians are much more corrupt than us, and they hate each other with so much passion''. He continued, ''they always want to rip you off your money, and they kill each other in real time'' (that is, in reality) and online as well''. I was thrown aback and felt extremely betrayed, but I could not, and would not, start an argument, with a new boss around who is eager to know his staff, but who apparently knows one or two things about Nigeria (where I happen to come from). You know what they say in America about the ''angry black man'', right? So I was not about to lose my cool.

''So where are you from?", he eventually asked me. In a split moment I was torn between saying Nigeria or Biafra (I am Igbo, BTW). Saying Biafra would have given me immediate ''immunity'' from the problems associated with the name, ''Nigeria''. But then the boss, elderly enough to know about the Nigerian civil war, would immediately have asked ''Biafra? Do you have a new country now'', and all that kind of stuff. Then the discussion would have become even more tortuous and perhaps messier. ''I am from Nigeria'', I said smiling. ''But I am American too'', I added (just for disclosure, I hold a US citizenship see thread https://www.nairaland.com/1974578/received-us-citizenship-today-im

He turned his head and looked at the Ghanaian. ''Did you know he is Nigerian? he asked. ''Yes I know, but he is a different Nigerian from the ones I described to you,'' replied the Ghanaian. I could see that the boss was surprised that someone could speak so negatively about the heritage of another right in their face without any respect or regard for their presence.

I did my best to conceal my consternation with the Ghanaian until the boss left. I then tongue-lashed him, after which I stormed out on him. Since then, he has been apologizing but I find it hard to forget the betrayal, even though I know that the mutual hatred and killing accusations he had made about Nigerians are not far from the truth. Although I do not want to hate Ghana as a country because its citizen disparaged Nigeria the way he did, I feel I have to watch my interactions with this particular Ghanaian.

Lessons learned:

Nigerians should stop the morbid hatred they have been exhibiting, both offline and online, against each other. The world is reading and watching, and cyberspace has made everything accessible these days. Nairaland has been a ''good'' online resource for outsiders to learn how hateful we have been towards each other. If I were the Nigerian authorities, I would ban Nairaland at this point. The minders of this site have done a bad job promoting the unity of Nigeria.

As for me, I do not know if I have made any hateful and ethnically disparaging comments on Nairaland in the past. If I ever have, that would be the last such comment I would make here, and I ask to be forgiven.

If Nigerians must live together as citizens of one country, which I believe we should, then we should begin to actually live together. It is not for nothing that God (or is it the British ) brought us together, 250 ethnic groups. We should make this work.

Thanks for reading.

FowlYansh:
do not deer me oluwalfa

Go school, you no gree - ''dare'' not ''deer'' (wild animal)

CFCfan:
Sure. And as either a Green card holder or US citizen, he would have to pay US federal taxes on every income he makes in Nigeria; provided that he earns over the equivalent of $400 in a year in Nigeria.

Anyway, I would advise him to get naturalized just to clear any doubts.

Yes we all know you need to pay taxes

jjshanana:
Tell him to apply for a reentry permit. He can leave for an extended time (I think 2 years) without losing his green card. I don't know if that will affect his ability to apply for citizenship next year. A lawyer should be able to tell him that for free.

2 years? Sure?

Oxygen, nitrogen, both should be there instead of the last two, not everyone needs those two.

larrymoore:
4 Phosphorous
Phosphorous may seem endlessly abundant, and indeed it
can be found in many places on earth – not to mention
within your own body. But large, concentrated deposits of
this element are limited to a few regions, and large-scale
collection of phosphorous threatens to deplete the supply
within a century. That’s bad news, as phosphorous is the
most commonly used fertilizer worldwide, and helps feed a
hell of a lot of human beings.

False! The most used fertilizer is nitrogen, then of course phosphorus follows

tpiar:
is he planning to get his citizenship before he leaves?

No. The citizenship is next year, the job is in a few months.

thorpido:
How can he have both?Can a man be in heaven and be on earth at the same time?

I guess you could. Lol

thorpido:
It will depend on what his long term goals are.Does he want to settle in Nigeria in the future?He should take up the international job in Nigeria.If he is the type that doesn't care about having a future in Nigeria,then he can take the option of staying in the US.

Dude! This guy wants both: work in Nigeria and earn the good pay for immediate and short-term ''flenjoring'' as well as being able to be a US citizen for future purposes (you know na)

A Nigerian friend of mine has just found himself in a dilemma. He asked for my advise and because I do not have all the answers for him, I thought I might get ideas from Nigerians online. Could you advise what my friend can do to eat his cake and still have it?

Here are the scenarios:

1. He holds a US green card (GC)
2. He will be eligible to apply for citizenship next year (after 5 years of holding the GC)
3. He is working and earning $aaa per month in the US
4. He recently got an international job in Nigeria where he will earn $aaa+aaa (all paid in dollars)
5. He hopes to take the opportunity to invest in landed properties in Nigeria, something he has not been able to do from the US as of yet
6. However, moving to Nigeria has some implications for his pursuit of the US citizenship as you have to be resident in the US, and not be out of country for an ''extended'' period of time
7. It is unclear what ''extended'' means (six months, one year?)

Your suggestions are welcome
Please no cussing, envy, hating, etc. Thanks

BlackGirlsCode:


Error?




O se! Make I just jega you.

Yes, typo error. Read the next words and te entire context to understand.

“Ndigbo are enemies to the North or Western Nigeria but partners in Nigeria project and no one, including Asari-Dukubo should remind us of the past which is now history''.

Obviously, a ''NOT'' is missing after ''Ndigbo are''.......

Baba Buhari, na only Jonathan you see? What about Tinubu, Fasola, Obasanjo, Saraki, El Rufai and many others? Would they also not be arrested and jailed for corruption?

Touching GEJ without touching everyone else like you did during your ignominious military dictatorship will send the Ijaw boys back to the creeks.

Wallie:
I told you that already in my first post quoted below.

Fine! All Nigerians vote (or have voted) clannishly/religiously at different times in history. It depends on what's at stake for them. At the moment, the Yorubas have deviated from the norm and voted in a more balanced fashion and they get my credit for that.

Wallie:
If parties were joined based on merits, there’s absolutely no reason why APC should not have a huge following in the SE. You cannot honestly tell me that most Igbos that voted for PDP in the SE are happy with GEJ’s performance.

Could you tell me why far more northerners voted for Buhari than GEJ?

Kagame:
Topic and content of the thread are at huge variance.

How so? Care to explain?

Segeggs:
Too ba d for them. They were the ones that pushed GEJ into this quagmire. They made him believe all was well with their loud mouths, noise making and chest beating. It is now glaring to the whole world that their votes, even when added to that of the SS, is highly inconsequential, but they boasted as if other nigerians won't vote. I believe GEJ picked them because of their tribalistic tendencies which they used in destroying him to the extent which money couldn't repair. They stupidly abandoned their own ambitions for a failed president by standing down their sons and APGA party for him. What did they gain for all that? A picture bridge that might take long to complete and will be tolled. What are they going to lose now? No, nobody will marginalize them, but nobody will take them serious again. Let peace reign.

But the PDP is not dead yet. I still suggest that Igbos remain in PDP as much as many should join APC.

Wallie:
I think you actually missed one of the most important reasons - voting or supporting a candidate/party based on tribal sentiments. Until most Igbos, and other clannish Nigerians, evolve as a group and support a candidate/party based on merits, this type of problems will always occur. By the way, most Hausas have the same problem.

Whenever a group of people or an establishment lacks diversity, they are essentially putting all their eggs in the same basket because there is no “alternative”. There is a reason why fortune 500 companies do not just hire students from a single great school. You need people with different and sometimes contrary point of views to contrast your views with.

No! Actually Igbos are among the least culpable in this, historically. Now look at the voting in the North. How many did Jonathan get in Muslim and Hausa-Fulani areas? Remember Jonathan is not an Igbo person, yet Igbos supported him to the end. They just don't like Buhari for his religious fundamentalisms.

This is about the first time that Yorubas are impressing with this seemingly non-tribal voting pattern. Remember how they voted during Awo's time, MKO's time, and Obasanjo's first (they all voted for Olu Falae, the Yoruba preferred candidate) and second (they then voted for Obasanjo because Atiku was about sending him packing) terms. One can also suggest that they voted for Buhari now because of Osibanjo and his connection with Tinubu. Otherwise, how come they sat at home and not vote for Buhari during the last election when Buhari chose a ''less- compliant'' Bakare?

In any case, this is not the point of this thread.

For me, this is the koko of the matter

Now that we have embraced technology in the voting process by way of using biometric PVCs and card readers, is there anything Nigerians abroad can begin to do to see that they vote in future elections back home, at least electronically? I also do not mind going to queue at the country’s embassy to vote.

Can Igbos survive the murky waters of Nigerian politics?

Igbos are said to constitute about 18 million of the Nigerian population, even though no census in recent times has included ethnicity in the statistics captured. Some schools of thought suggest that Igbos could be upwards of 30 million, given their spread all over Nigeria. Whether 18 - or 30 - million strong, Igbos, unfortunately, have not had the opportunity to use their population to achieve ethnic political ends, unlike the Yoruba, and certainly, the Hausa-Fulani, the two other majority ethnic groups, who have managed to master the murky politics of Nigeria. Several reasons can be adduced for this history, but four reasons immediately come to mind:

1. Too many Igbos live outside of Igbo land in Nigeria.
2. Too many Igbos live outside of Nigeria.
3. The apathy of the Igbo towards actual participation in the voting process. Someone should please compare the number of registered voters in Igboland to the number of actual voters in the last election.
4. Igbo political immaturity in always tending to belong in one major party, in this case, PDP. The Yoruba own APC, yet their voting pattern clearly showed that they voted significantly for both APC and PDP.

In this short narrative, I will discuss points one, two and four. The Igbo who live outside of Igbo land in Nigeria are often the target of ethnic and religious fracas in the northern part of Nigeria, which often is rifer during election periods. As such, they tend to relocate to safer havens during election times. These Igbo, otherwise registered to vote in the North, automatically self-disenfranchise, due to this movement. In a recent photo circulated online during the eve of the elections, I saw hordes of Nigerians standing inside airplanes as they would do in molue buses. Such was the rush to move to safe grounds that safety was ignored. Now, do we know, or have we imagined, how many Igbos live in violence-prone northern Nigeria; and the effect that electoral disenfranchisement induced by sudden panicky movement outside registration areas have on the Igbo political clout in Nigeria?

Secondly, it is estimated (no official data) that about 17 million Nigerians live abroad. With illegal immigration not abating, and given the number of illegal Nigerians abroad who, therefore, are not officially documented as Nigerians in foreign countries, this number may even be modest. Now, considering 17 million Nigerians abroad, anecdotal evidence suggest that nearly half are Nigerians of Igbo origin. Such anecdotal evidence include how many Nigerians you see on the streets of non-Nigerian cities and their ethnic origins in Nigeria; how many Nigerians you know, see, read or hear of, working responsibly in foreign lands and their ethnic origins in Nigeria; how many Nigerians you know, see, read or hear of, studying in foreign lands and their ethnic origins in Nigeria; how many Nigerians you know, see, read or hear of, trading (buying and selling) responsibly in foreign lands and their ethnic origins in Nigeria; and how many Nigerians you hear of who have been arrested for one crime or visa infringement or another in foreign lands, and their ethnic origins in Nigeria. With this second background comes the question of the non-voting status of Nigerians in diaspora. Of these 17 million Nigerians, one reckons that given the average age of Nigerians who tend to travel out, that most would be eligible to vote (over 18 years old). Have we imagined how non-diaspora voting affects the Igbo political clout in Nigeria?

Now that we have embraced technology in the voting process by way of using biometric PVCs and card readers, is there anything Nigerians abroad can begin to do to see that they vote in future elections back home, at least electronically? I also do not mind going to queue at the country’s embassy to vote.

Regarding reason 4, presently, Buhari of APC is poised to win the election and be declared president. With likely no Igbo as Senator or Rep member in APC, Igbos will most likely face political exclusion for the next 4 years because they will not be among the 6 most powerful positions in the country, nor their deputies, nor the Secretary of State. But that may be a blessing in disguise for the Igbos to start to put their house in order. I have said many times that Igbo are too big a group to put all of their eggs in one basket. I have said that they should belong in equal numbers in both PDP and APC, even though I also hinted that they should not vote for Buhari because of his antecedents. Nothing stops Igbos from voting a good Igbo person in APC for Igbo positions at the federal legislature. Nothing stops an Igbo APC person from being the governor of an Igbo State. For Igbo immediate political survival, Okorocha should remain the governor of Imo State and APC should produce at least one or two more governors from the South East in the coming gubernatorial elections. Several Igbo senators or Senators-elect in PDP should consider decamping right away to APC, so that Igbos can have possible representation as Senate President or House Speaker.

Jonathan may have lost the election, but he has put the South-South into favorable political reckoning. If Niger Delta militants go haywire as a result of Jonathan’s loss, they will be assuaged with political patronage and life goes on. In contrast, the Igbo, as it is now, have little, if any, political bargaining chips. But they have another 4 years to prove that they can survive the murky waters of Nigerian politics, or they will go into permanent political oblivion.

abbeycial:
its beta to b a man of little words and more postive action.

naija pple don't need grammar or long- speech...

u damn know wat we need.

Did you hear yourself?

This is a real advert from the Washington Post of today. This Company is looking for volunteers to participate in an Ebola vaccine trial. You get paid for your time and travel expenses. If you live in Montgomery County (Rockville, Silver Spring) of Maryland, and even in DC, this a good opportunity to contribute to the fight against Ebola.

I am just imagining if this advertisement happens in Naija. There will be a long queue of those who are interested, not because of the trial itself, but for the money that comes with it.