₦airaland Forum

poiZon: my bro it isnt abt the govt but d governed. na ghost dey break traffic laws? ofcourse no. who dey pay bribe to police n road wardens? na we now. no be ghost. who drinks n still jump on to drive? na we. so we need to first work on ourselves then the work of d govt officials will be easy.

^^^^
Very good. Your post proves my point that this is a regulatory failure. Governments shape behaviour by applying incentives, rewards and penalties. If the penalties for overspeeding and dangerous driving were severe, and enforcement rigidly applied, drivers would sit up. If people knew they would spend 6 months in jail for reckless endangerment on the roads, they would be a lot more careful.

This is regulatory failure in action, pure and simple.

ratiken: You were so quick to blame bad roads and the government when you weren't told on the write-up that bad road was the cause.

Even if the entire roads in this country gets fixed, we need a paradigm shift to drive safely to avoid these incidents.

RIP to the dead.

^^^^
I am not here to get into a slanging match with anyone. I don't have the time, energy or patience for that.

I have my very valid reasons for my comments in prior posts. I stand by them.

I have driven (or been driven) across large swathes of Nigeria for many years. I have seen with my own two eyes horrific accidents of the kind being shown in this thread. Public officials in charge of road/highway traffic management routinely attribute the majority of road traffic accidents (RTAs) to driver error. As far as I am concerned, this approach is deeply cynical and discounts the contributory factors of very poor road infrastructure and a criminally incompetent regulatory system.

You explain away the very real problem of poor roads by glibly stating that 'even if the entire roads in this country gets fixed, we need a paradigm shift to drive safely to avoid these incidents'. For the sake of this argument I will let that bit about poor roads slide for now and take your point as given. How is this paradigm shift going to occur? Is it not through education and the proper application of incentives, rewards and penalties? Is this not typically administered by government through its regulatory agencies? Or do you have a proposal for highway traffic management/administration to be executed by your local fish seller or your neighbourhood/community watch?

Are you not aware of how thoroughly compromised the process of vehicle and driver licensing is in Nigeria? Is that a private failure or a government failure?

Focus on the real issues.

Those of us on these boards who are within a certain age group will remember when the FRSC was first created.

The 100km/hr rule was strictly enforced. The FRSC actually had radar guns (believe it or not) and they used them. If you wanted to avoid trouble with FRSC officials for breaking the speed limit you simply left home on time and planned your trip properly.

FRSC officials actually carried out vehicle inspection at the motor parks/garages and they made sure they enforced the rules on vehicle roadworthiness. Their officials stood out in stark contrast to the police.

Fast forward three decades and the Corps is a shadow of what it once was. The price we are all paying for that is the never ending carnage on our roads.

There is no law on God's green earth that says all good things are unworkable in Nigeria. All it takes is a reasoned choice by Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable and to insist that these leaders get the system to work for the good of all. (Failing which, these leaders should prepare for the consequences).

Until we grasp this simple truth, the pain, tears and sorrow will continue.

This is heartbreaking.

I am fed up with saying RIP with each fresh calamity.

I refuse to believe that the quality of our lives cannot improve. Nigerian roads have been slaughter slabs for how long? 10? 20? 40? 50 years? Don't we deserve better? These people had families and loved ones.

This harvest of death is totally avoidable.

We must choose governments that fear us (we the people) enough to live up to their responsibilities or these needless deaths will continue.

The choice is ours.

BadBoy25: who discovered all those resources you speak about? if automobiles was never invented and oil never discovered would Nigerians know what to do with the oil? The United states discovered Oil and gave Nigeria an oil rich economy. Nigeria has failed to utilize the opportunity.
no one forced you into slavery. no one can enslave you without your consent and without help from inside. black people had already been practicing slavery.
blacks sold each other into slavery, the white man was an opportunist who simply took advantage of the situation. the white man abolished slavery more than a century ago ,yet slavery is still ongoing in africa today in form of baby factories,maltreatment of maids etc.

now let me explain this ; Japan,South Korea, Botswana and Namibia etc. are doing very good because they are loyal and humble allies of the United States . Nigeria has the potential ,but Nigeria is a disloyal and rebellious nation.
those pan african guys such as nkrumah and the rest, died because of their ignorance and pride. if they humbled themselves and acknowledged their superior instead of rebelling and trying to oppose and measure up,they would still be alive today ,Ghana and congo and Nigeria would be developed nations .
when your younger brother who use to be under your wings and whom you are stronger than, tries to break away ,be independent and rebel against you and overpower you, you get sort of jealous and upset and even try to hinder or obstruct your brother's progress just to prove a point.
your brother would be more successful if he cooperates and acknowledge your superiority over him . all these little pan african stuff will keep black people and africa down forever and ever.

^^^^
This is just sad.

I am assuming you are truly Nigerian or African. Open your mind and read up on what Nkrumah et al were trying to say. They were mortal, imperfect men but they recognized the viciousness of the enemy without and they did what they could to let other Africans know about this.

For you to diminish their contributions is sad.

For you to claim the road to successful nationhood depends on 'loyalty' to a hegemon like the USA is the worst kind of simple minded reductionism. Rossike is no friend of mine but I hope for your sake that he doesn't see this thread.

Good post by the OP. Well said. But is this where it ends? People applaud the write-up and go back to their same old rubbish?


When we are well and truly fed up, we will know what to do.

As someone on this same messageboards said: Nigerians will wake up when the choice before them is "which of our children do we eat today?".

We are not ready yet.

As I have said so many times on these boards:


We are not ready.


When we are ready, we know what to do.

Not sure I agree with the OP. I spent quite a lot of time coming up with my business stationery et al. It seems to have come out fine and I know nothing about graphic design or brand management.

I would like to think entrepreneurs would be more concerned with the nuts and bolts of making their businesses work - getting product out and making sure it 'does what it says on the tin'. Solving complaints promptly and without excuses. Keeping communication channels open and keeping customers informed about their orders and any challenges faced. Quality control. Cash flow. etc.

These issues could make or break you in those industries that want quality products and don't care about brand management or media frenzy.

Someone should correct me if I am wrong. Is INEC not drawing on a first line charge from the federation account?

Rhemmymatician: Sir I would call your attention to a minor case I read of. The lady was arrested for something petty, I think the sentence was for her to do community service for 2 weeks or so. All through the sitting, she(the offender) was always chipping in snide remarks. After the Judge announced her sentence(community service) on her way out of the court she mouthed a 'Bleep-you' to the judge. Know what the 'wicked' 'brute' of a judge did? He called her back and handed the 'poor' 'innocent' girl a 3-month jail sentence, citing 'contempt to court' and some corny BS.
As a man of the law, wouldn't you say what the judge did is justified? Did anyone cuss the judge for that? No! He was praised gan sef.
My point is the judge was not blamed for using the extent of his powers against a 'poor', 'defenceless' lady. But when its a military man you now blame him?
As much as I respect you sir( I sure say you go reach my papa for age) I think you are not being objective.

^^^^
In your last post, you asked me to take a look at your post above and extract an analogy.

There is no analogy here. A soldier broke a young woman's back in a dispute over sleeping arrangements and you want to compare that situation with another young lady already in the dock who insulted a presiding magistrate? What are you saying? Where is the link between these two events?

I don't think you know what 'corny' means. If you did you wouldn't have used it in your write-up. I would also suggest you try to find out what 'contempt of court' means too.

Rhemmymatician: In hindsight the Captain was wrong. But, do you think he set out to injure her spine? You call him an animal, a brute. If you have seen/experienced the military in such 'controlled' hostile situation, you will know that first thing they do is rake the person down. Now he could have done that and she'dd probably get injured, or not. But its the norm to get the person on the ground, most often in anyway possible.
My point is he didn't set out to injure her spine. He wanted her on the ground, and unfortunately she got badly injured in the process.

And whatever happened to equality? Please you people should stop stressing the 'woman' factor here.

Will I say so if it were my sister or my mother? Yes I will. because the truth must be said. You wonder, why was she the one kicked to the ground? I'm an human being just like the captain you don't give me a mouthful in front of my subordinates and then I look at you, smile and move on. No sir.
If I was in that shoe, will I try to fight for my friends right? Definitely.
Will I take a garrulous path or a diplomatic one? Diplomatic
Will I respect that I'm talking to a senior officer? One that is likely older than I am? Of course yes.
Bottom line: if I was in her shoes I won't suffer the consequences she's suffering now.

That said, I wish her quick recovery

^^^^
What are you saying sir? What are you saying?

In one breath you justify the commandant's actions and in another you wish the victim a quick recovery. Show your hand and quit the doublespeak. There are incidents when blame can be assigned to all the parties in a dispute/conflict. This is NOT the case here. We should not blame the victim here. We have been doing that for far too long. And where has it taken us?

The soldier in question must be punished. Severely.

ablyguy: Well to clarify you. The orientation camp is under the command of the commandant, therefore it falls under millitary command and codes. I believe as a corper the moment you step into the camp you were read some rules and told to obey orders without questioning them. Is their any wisdom in the girl's act. Who is she?

The thing is that most of the people calling the man an animal are the same people that will slap a kid on the street for not greeting them. We Nigerians are rash, rude and most times irrational. So don't compare us with some other country. Millitary or no millitary, all are the same...

^^^^
You may defend this fellow's action from morning till night but it will not change the outcome. He is going to 'get served' and for that I am grateful.

The issue is not 'who the victim is or whether there is any wisdom in her act'. For the last time let me tell you that an NYSC camp may be under the supervision of a soldier as commandant but it is not a barracks and youth corpers are not soldiers. The rules of engagement are not the same.

In response to the rest of your post. . . let me assure you that there are millions of Nigerians who do not go round slapping kids for not greeting them. I for one do not. And yes, I may sometimes be rude, rash and irrational but I know my limits. Breaking young women's spines is simply not on the agenda. Your soldier friends clearly do not know their limits and they will soon find out.

With comments like 'military or no military we are all the same' it is clear you want to weaken the resolve of those who want to make sure this soldier faces the consequences of his actions. But you will fail.

phlame:

^^^^
Lethal weapon.

That is clearly a cobra. where was this picture taken? I wonder what it was trying to do - chase prey or what?

ablyguy: My brother I mean every word. You don't go into somebody's house and challenge the person for a fight. Whatever happens to you in there is justified. You were angry because I didn't call the commandant an animal like most people here who know nothing about millitary codes and practices. If she were soldier she would probably have gooten a bullet in the leg. The streets is different from a millitary camp or base. Know that before engaging a soldier for a fight!!! Most especially a commandant of the said camp. Yes he went too far but I won't call him an animal...

^^^^Sir,

Your reference to 'going into somebody's house to challenge him/her for a fight' as an analogy is inappropriate. The NYSC camp is not a military barracks. And even if it were, the soldier's conduct would still be inexcusable.

Sir, the commandant IS an animal. His conduct (if indeed this news story is true) shows him to be an animal through and through. The matter here has nothing to do with military codes and practices. The real issue here is a military that has institutionalized (for nearly half a century) a complete disregard among both the officer corps and the rank & file for ANYTHING remotely connected to civilians. This is the issue sir. Nothing else.

You say if the victim were a soldier she would probably have gotten a bullet in the leg. Fine. Your military friends can shoot themselves in the legs till nobody in the barracks can walk, but they should not bring that nonsense to the rest of us. We are not crazy.

Some posters have accused the victim of provocation and assigned half the blame to her. I cannot even bring myself to chide the victim, not even in the gentlest of terms. As I asked one of the other posters defending this nonsense by the NYSC commandant: Does the 'punishment' meted out to the victim fit the so-called 'crime'? Who among us has not had to relate with 'mouthy' women (and men!!)? Do we go round crushing their spines like lions in the savannah?

Some of us who are well adjusted individuals with a healthy sense of self are fed up with uniformed brutality. For 50 years the Nigerian army/navy/air force has behaved like an occupation force. And to what end? What have we gained?

South Korean military generals seized power in the last century and were determined to turn their country into an industrial powerhouse. As I'm sure you know, they succeeded. There are well known examples of how they simply blew up any steel plant that did not meet their strict standards for quality control. The Nigerian army on the other hand is better known for keeping unexploded military ordinance in open fields under the sun in a heavily built up urban area with no supervision. The negligence and incompetence was shocking (even by Nigerian standards) and it led to over 1000 fatalities when the inevitable happened. Over 1000 innocent people from all over Nigeria trying to earn a living in Lagos' harsh conditions - hardworking Nigerians determined to make something of themselves - and your army's stupidity cost them their lives.

Nigerian brasshats are a disgrace.

ablyguy: A captain in the millitary is trained to give orders and to see to it that they are obeyed. Moreso when it involves his turf. When you're in a millitary camp you follow their rules without questioning them. This girl should have known that before opening her mouth to challenge him. She obviously or stupidly don't know what the gravity of her disobedience is to his career and his command. Nothing would happen to the soldier. He was trying to restore order. Sorry girl. Next time don't leave your brain behind. You're asking a commandant in his turf after he gave an order if it was his sister would he push him? Imagine! I can imagine how your countenance would like when you said it. I pray you get treated and to think before you speak...

^^^^
The beautiful thing about life is that what goes round comes round. So many posters have made posts like yours on this topic. Some are doing it just to provoke a reaction. There are others though, who mean every word of what they say. Which group do you fall into? You have justified what the soldier did, non? Your words will stand firm against you at the appointed time.

There is something deeply wrong in a country in which hefty armed men wearing the uniform of Nigeria's so-called armed forces routinely brutalize young women at will. A few years ago, armed naval ratings beat up a young woman on the streets of Lagos and almost stripped her naked because she didn't move quickly enough out of the way of a rear admiral's convoy. Today an NYSC commandant (if this story is true) has crushed the spine of another young woman over a matter that can only be regarded as a minor misunderstanding. What will tomorrow's story be?

It is sad that so many of the aggressive fellows posting on here to support the soldier do not understand that their future was mortgaged by the very soldiers whom they idolize. The same soldiers who ran the economy aground and turned their country's youth into nomads wandering across the globe in search of a living. The same soldiers who racked up billion dollar debts to foreign creditors that took decades to repay, at great cost to the poor misguided fellows posting here in support of lawlessness. The same soldiers who do not have the discipline to obey something as simple as traffic laws on Nigerian roads. The same soldiers who cannot secure Nigerian's coastal waters from deadly raids by Camerounian gendarmes.

Shame.

Somorin#1:
The freedom I enjoy in Nigeria was worn by engaging the adversaries in mostly diplomatic ways.

You can call me lilly livered because I address issues in an educated manner that ALWAYS gets me my desired result but I am alive and well with no spinal injury.

^^^^
That was a low blow sir, and you know it.

Somorin#1:
She was given a direct order to go to her room. She refused.

A prudent person would have obeyed a command from a Commandant of the camp.

The jury will focus on why she was the one of all of the other girls there that got hurt.

The others followed direction = did not get injured. She did not follow command.

I am not saying that the Commandant is right, I've never said that.



Thanks for your response but I continue to award part culpability to the victim.

^^^^Mr Somorin sir,

Again I beg to disagree. Before we go on, I recognise that we are all acting on limited information that is in the public domain here - we may all have to revise our opinions when more information comes out.

But I disagree with your position. Strongly. The Nigerian army has a well deserved reputation for brutality AND indiscipline that has gone unchecked for decades. The rot is systemic. It is founded on a culture of impunity and entitlement that is encouraged and promoted by the military high command. It is this recognition (based on many years of experience) of how the average nigerian soldier/airman/naval rating behaves that has informed the position I have taken.

There is no need to be legalistic about this. Let us assume that indeed the young lady in question "did not follow command" as you said. I cannot imagine a jury anywhere would believe that a broken spine is a fit 'punishment' for her 'crime'.

The truth will come out.

Somorin#1:
To young folks, please learn a lesson.

There's a place and time for everything.

You don't argue with a superior officer in front of his subordinates especially when the situation is already volatile.

I wished that the Commandant had just arrested her and placed her in detention for a week for insubordination instead of this act.

Fela already said that "everybody get him power everywhere". I am not standing up for the Commandant but the victim is also culpable.

Be careful out there and watch your goings and comings.

^^^^
Sir,

You have spoken well. But I beg to differ. A lot of the time, the victim is NOT culpable. Perhaps we should even ask: culpable of what exactly? I say this as someone who has observed military brutality for a long, long time. I cannot count the number of times that soldiers/naval ratings/airmen have attacked Nigerians without provocation for the most trivial kind of misunderstanding. And even if the victim was "mouthing off", should paralysis be retribution for her "crime"?

I repeat, a lot of the time, the victim is NOT "culpable" (whatever that means). Not to trivialise the issue or go off-topic but I first got a clear glimpse into the crazy mindset of nigerian soldiers in the early 1980s at a NITEL office in Ibadan. A young woman got into a heated argument with one of the armed soldiers guarding the place. Bystanders intervened when the soldier threatened to assault her. The young woman then told us all what the problem really was - apparently the soldier had seen her coming to pay NITEL bills a few times and he liked what he saw. Instead of trying to win her affection the normal way, he had started threatening her with government issued sub-machine guns if she didn't give in to his advances. Matters came to a head on that particular day when the young woman had had enough. If there were no witnesses what would have happened?

30 years later and that mentality of entitlement and oppression is still very much a part of how the nigerian military operates. There is only one reason these goons do what they do: it is because they can. If the consequences for misconduct were severe, all this nonsense would stop and perhaps a young woman would not be bedridden today.

James Lucia: nonesense y would u refuse to get inside when d comandant asked u to go in? is it a small thing to become an army officer? u even ask him a stupid question, idiot what does nysc anthem say? can u do dt to ur dad? thank God he did not kill u.

^^^^

You wear your religion on your sleeve but you do not live by it. Your comment here shows that your heart is full of darkness despite what you post in the Religion section.

Hypocrite.

olumyde: For those claiming human right, you should know ur limit. Being rude to a senior army officer in the presence of his juniors is not the best thing to do. Anyway, the commandant should be promptly punished, he should have shown restraint. Remember, anger can make u do something u regret. I'm sure he didn't mean to cripple her.

^^^^Sir,

What are these limits you speak about?

olumyde: For one, it can even happen in civilised countries, only that the offender will be promptly punished.

^^^^Perhaps without meaning to, you may have zeroed in on the crux of the matter.

Shugamania: The way some Nigerians respond to issues on nairaland makes me wonder if there really is any hope for us at all.

I've been to camp and i know what happens there... a girl with a chronic illness had a seizure while serving punishment and d CC in my camp told d red cross staff to bring her back to continue her punishment once she was stabilised. That's just one out of countless stories.

I dont know the whole story sorrounding this case but i believe nothing she did can justify what was done to her or what she's going through right now.

This is why lawlessness will continue to thrive. God help this country.

^^^^
Madame,

You asked if there really is any hope for us at all. I am very sorry to tell you that it doesn't seem like there is. We say Nigeria has problems? Look at this thread and begin to understand why.

As a few posters have said, there are two sides to every story. We are waiting to hear the NYSC commandant’s side. But some people who call themselves Nigerians have already tried and condemned this young woman without even waiting for the NYSC to state its own side.

The worst offenders are alyarmouk, blink182, isarumah, ITbomb, iheneme, crazyman and some others who will undoubtedly weigh in over the next few hours . These posters should all be ashamed of themselves. One can only imagine their dysfunctional backgrounds and life experiences which have obviously warped and twisted their minds in a way that decent people cannot even begin to try to understand.

We will wait to hear the NYSC give its own version of what happened. But with what I know of the Nigerian military and how its people think and behave, I know who I think is guilty.

Emperoh: After my M.Sc, when job search was a pain in the neck, i had thought i could do well as a business person. Ideas flowed in. I actually gave some action to a couple. By the time i was harassed over some regulatory registrations, omo, i feel back in line, dusted my interview skills and went back to job search.

^^^^
Which business area was this? Some business areas in this place have fairly straightfoward procedures while others have nothing more than convoluted, contradictory nonsense. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from your experience.

Jarus: Leaving at 46 after 11.5 years as MD

Bank MD/founder at 34?

Sometimes you wonder how these guys did it?

No be the same work I dey do.

At 35, many people still banking officer

^^^^Honestly.

No be small thing.

TheRealMrStan: http://mrstanleynwabia..com/2013/06/obamaafrica-visit-ignoring-nigeria-is.html

^^^^
OP's quoted article is all over the place with no points of real value.

Where is the honour in being a client state and a captive market for the manufactured exports of other economies?

According to the author of the article, we buy Blackberries. We buy Toyotas and Kias. We visit the UK and buy up everything in sight. We have malls full of imports of South African origin. Guess what? We buy those too.

Not a word about what WE PRODUCE AND SELL. Not a word.

ifihearam: What is wrong with you people in this country? She is the first lady of the Federal republic of Nigeria,africa most powerful country,you expect her to trek abi? Michelle obama went to dubai for holidays and none was allowed access into the beach where she was relaxing with her 2 daughters,and thats not the soil of the United states so what has PEJ done now?

Abeg free my oga's wife you here?mugu

this was how reuben abati started,if this guy now is given the opportunity to work with the presidency like me you will see things from different point of view.

^^^^ Empty. Empty!

You are so predictable. I knew someone somewhere would throw in Obama's wife as a beacon for high rolling by first ladies and you did not fail to deliver.

As I have said before , the battle for the soul of this country will not be won on the internet. It will be won out there on the streets and in the cities and villages. Many Nigerians who genuinely want change and are prepared to work for it now spend a lot less time on the web and a lot more on the streets telling people to justify their decision to vote for the ruling party over the past 14 years. The results have been interesting. People are beginning to ask probing questions. We are getting somewhere.

For every minute that is spent countering your propaganda on the web, that is one less minute of valuable time spent in educating the Nigerian voter on the reasons why he has to take his destiny in his hands and kick out the ruling party. Nonetheless, some of your lies will not be left unchallenged.

The American taxpayer can afford to fund Madame Obama's holidays and whatnot. After all, the USA is rich. The USA is an industrial economy. Her currency is the world's reserve currency. She has a veto on the UN Security Council and is also a nuclear power. US manufactured exports and services run into trillions of Naira . Both the US government and privately owned companies have annual R & D budgets running into, again, trillions of Naira.

Despite all the above, the US is still a country in crisis with a trillion dollar budget deficit, widening poverty, rising racial tension & income inequality and no universal healthcare. With all of the USA's wealth and power, some US taxpayers have a problem with their government financing Michelle Obama's holidays, deploying a massive security cordon around her etc. And you say Nigerians should remain mute about their own first lady 'problem'?


You asked what is wrong with the people in this country. You sir, are the problem. The good thing is that the final solution is on the way. . .

Symphony007: unlike the british and americans, the chinese are not imperialist. They are'nt sending their companies to dominant and expliot countries. They do their buisness, get their profit, the host government gets it's profit and they leave. They are'nt hipocrites like the west who rant against corruption in africa and use the seven sister oil companies and corporations to exastubate that corruption so expliotation can be easier. Africa cannot grow on it's own. No country or continent did. We need someone to help us build up those fences and the chinese are the best.

^^^^It is naïve of you to say that the Chinese are not imperialist. Their imperialism may not take the form commonly associated with the West but it is there nonetheless. Do you really think that their relationship with Africa is as straightforward as what you have stated up here?

Our relationship with the US and Britain was (and still is) a highly unequal one, defined as you pointed out by double standards and hypocrisy. But have we learned anything? Are we dealing with China and other new powers on our own terms? No we are not.

Your post seemed to reflect barely restrained glee that the Chinese are now on the scene to 'deal with' the British and the Americans. That mindset is harmful, greatly harmful to our short and long term interests. The right approach is to ensure that we ALWAYS negotiate a fair deal that protects our interests, whether we are dealing with the Russians, Americans, British, Chinese, Uzbeks, Chechens, Guatemalans or whoever.

NONE of these groups is a 'friend'. They are here to protect and preserve THEIR interests. We have failed to protect and preserve OURS for so long and the consequences have been disastrous. This has to change.

Ile-Ife:
@ OP

Obasanjo is far better than any leader the north has produced. If Obasanjo stole #10, your uncles have stolen #100, Nigeria is still trying to recover some of the money from Switzerland.

You northerners (Your Uncles) laid the foundation for what we see today in Nigeria. Na turn by turn. When Hausas and yorubas were allocating oil wells to to their friends and family as if the oil wells were in Sokoto, nobody was bold enough to complain. Instead of leading, you people were trying to stay in power forever through religion and at the same time, stealing money and taking it abroad just in case your plans did not work.

I'm glad the Niger-Deltans are taking their share. They are Dan Kasa (Son of the Soil). There was injustice. it's their turn and no bagger born of a woman will do anything about it. Whatever beef you have for Obasanjo makes me happy, he handled you people well. Until you name one Northern leader that has 'embezzled' less than Obasanjo or that has improved Nigeria better than Obasanjo....keep shut.

^^^^Myopia.

Instead of taking the high road and pushing for a system in which NO public official (from East, North or West) can loot without paying dearly for it, you are defending the indefensible.

Shame.

So Rossike what's the update? Will the first segment of the project meet its scheduled completion date of 2013? we have just 6 months to 2014.

Or the negative energy of wicked, bad, thoroughly evil Nigerians has killed the project already?

Symphony007: China too does'nt need africa's oil but rather than looking down their nose at us they are helping us diversify our economy and owning the diversified buisness. They are building a huge fence around africa and putting up a toll gate and america will be so sorry in future when they have to pay tolls to china before entering africa to do buisness.

^^^^This mindset is wrong, wrong, wrong!!!

The Americans have owned you for over half a century now. The British owned you before them. Its now the turn of the Chinese to own you. Are you not tired of being owned by others? Shouldn't it be YOU (and nobody else!) 'building your own fences' and 'charging tolls' to anyone who wants to do business here?