₦airaland Forum

This is indeed interesting.

mr.official:
So how do we end it now?

Those so-called Mend leaders that are accessible should be arrested, tried and possibly jailed. . The culture of treating Mend with care has actually escalated the crisis, they seem untouchable so they can do and say what they want . . . this will never end except we combat and defeat them. What a country would it be if group of untrained criminals could hold us to ransom?

mr.official:
Yes and they say, please give us food that will may stop. Silly you, always looking for excuse.

??

mr.official:
the governments will continue to prolong this issue if they do not do the right thing. One militant die, them born another one. Why can't they do what is right and end this. They've been milking the whole country for years now, ordinary electricity is privilege. Na wa ooo, now they are arresting looking for bombers showing smartness to continue their regular stealing. One thing i believe is that, if they do not meet the demand of the Naija Deltans things like this will not stop, because an idle mind is the devil's workshop.

You are not in your right state of mind . . . Is Niger Delta's problem different from that of Nigeria's and who do you think the bombing affects? guess who? common Nigerians- the politician's child has to be abroad for education or managing a business there. Tell me one politician that has been killed or even affected from the operations of Mends, mention one or don't we have political leaders in the ND region. I am from that region and i will tell you straight-up that region bags the highest electoral fraud and corrupt politicians from the History of Nigeria.

Show me a place in Nigeria that has constant electricity since that's your measuring rod. Nigerians are suffering - FG formed a commission specially structured to bring development to Niger Delta, this commission is led and administered by locals . . FG also formed a ministry specially for Niger Delta development - not to mention the state allocation formula where ND states has the highest state allocation . . .

People just don't get it. FG has done all it can to foster development in Niger Delta region - it is in the hands of the people to check the ministry and NDDC and question their governors.

There is no such thing as true federalism in Nigeria and we cannot have that because of our political history.

I have not dismissed the possibilities of Mend been used for political reasons for they has already proved to be bunch of hungry fellow searching for survival. I have not seen or heard of freedom fighters kidnapping for money – or demand for oil wells- does illegal oil business and not even a single social responsibility to the community they claim to represent.

These are not freedom fighters but criminals who will stop at nothing because this is what they do to acquire houses and cars in other part of the country – not where they represent.  It is just sad that some Nigerians could fall for this

otokx:
@ Yeswecan,

Confronting MEND head on where?? is it in ABUJA? because it definitely won't be in the Niger Delta.

So are we suppose to fold our arms and watch them take us for a ride? Do you know what they would do next - - they cannot just do what they want like its legal. This is a country of over 300 ethnic groups and an ethnic dominated group does whatever they want and go free. .   This has long pass the realm dialogue, they cannot be treated likely . .  Jonathan should deploy Nigeria army to Niger Delta zone – they are not invisible

President Goodluck Jonathan - now you know better.

This is obviously a game, why the attacks? what happened to the amnesty which they uniformly agreed on - has the federal government breached any part of the amnesty deal to provoke this mends action . .  There is an information gap here. .

My position has always been to combat Mend head-on, we cannot be held hostage by some bunch of criminals under the excuse of freedom fighting and true federalism.  Mend cannot be issued a blank cheque. The negotiations that led to amnesty is the biggest mistake in dealing with this crisis – I mean it’s  placing Mend in charge – I’m not surprised now it’s sliding towards a one sided conversation. We have not seen any peace even after the amnesty deal we’ve been busy combating mend’s legacy (kidnapping) which has been shipped overseas. Now it seems cool and they are back.

This is a war we need to fight – Kidnapping seems not good enough for Mend, they have devised bombing as the new method of operation . . .  And I tell you this is when it gets really ugly for the common man because the politicians are always safe.

The text message is obviously a sham

@labiyemmy:
@YESWECAN

Therefore, by your conjunction and analyses- anyone who beleives the emails sent my MEND to be true, must also have their brains examined for elements of craziness, right?

You should know it all looks childish . . . First Jonathan exonerated Mend hastily before any reliable investigation could have occurred apart from the fact that Mend claimed responsibility and apologized . . . what are we saying? It is either he is relying on bogus information or he is the one that is bogus.

Look, i am supporter of Jonathan but this episode will work against his return I bet you . ,    He underrated himself, i believe he could have defeated IBB hands down . . why the blackmail ?

The immaturity of Jonathan echoes in everything he does – he is like a controlled toy- He might not be behind this (directly) but it is visibly flawed. Anyone who believes that text message could equally believe OBJ is a 16 years old Chinese. I mean, this is obviously FAKE. and to think it was broadcasted on NTA . . , .  they must think Nigerians are bunch of fools who believe everything they see on TV

lannre:
I concur with your conclusion, because if all the economic theories in this world is to be applicable to Nigeria, forget it we should be one of the poorest country now. But your posit that we do not have patient I beg to disagree. how do you think we should wait, with the billions been siphoned everyday. We are not patient, legislators are earning more than American president and Govt find it hard to pay Doctors,teachers, we are no patient, we have mushrooms as schools and the leaders send their children to havard, we are not patient , 12 people were killed on friday and the celebration continues,

I feel you, i swear i do. You are right but without a proper economic model we can never make it no matter who's in the position of power.

When you tread without patient, you miss some important details that are crucial for your success and you want everything to change overnight- this is what has happened to Nigeria. The money derived from oil cannot take Nigeria into paradise - it can only provide some public goods. What we need to jump-start our economy is to answer the Nigeria question.

Forward to the corruption issue, we have corrupt politicians which is only a reflection of Nigeria as a country . . that is to say even if we have the world best leaders without our help it will amount to nothing. Leaders are socially constructed by the people, Nigeria is not different, the leaders we have is exactly what we have bargained for at this point in time. . This is why Muslim countries tend to have a powerful leader who rules for almost a lifetime, It is Koranic, this is the theory of social construct - what you give is what you get. . Nigeria will keep having the leaders they bargained for . . In my opinion Yar'adua was a good man - a honest and humble scholar so what do you need from him?

Leadership is not the main problem we have as a Nation though everything boils down to leadership -but the people selfishly neglect their roles hence they blame their leaders for everything . . It is never the leader's fault for having a flawed election but the people, i will say that again, it is Nigerians fault for not having credible elections not OBJ.

Economically, we are lost, we are heading no where, there is a need to re-access this country and stop the modernization model, it isn't working. What happened to vision 2010 ? Now its vision 2020. Development is a process, not what you attain overnight . . . it is what people do not government - if we can empower the private sector things will take shape . . All govt. has to do is provide public goods and empower the private sector with policies . , that's all . . and the invisible hand of the market will work the magic- it works all the time.

tkb417:
A group that has no record of attack on politicians.

A group know for kidnappins, killing of innocent lives, oil bunkering etc

A group that now wants an oil block. Hahahahahahahahah

Are these the freedom fighters? Lmao

Asswipes

You are hundred percent right they are criminals not freedom fighters. . . This administration made the biggest mistake of negotiating with them.

Mend - or whatever they call themselves- do not have control over all ND militant . . it is like a lawless club of criminals. They are not as organized as they pose to be because they have diverse groups and interest.

Those at the top are been fed and bribed so the younger once are angry because they are the once doing the dirty job, hence they attacked. . . My theory

It is easy but takes time . .  we do not have that patient in Nigeria and Africa at large . .

After independence most Africa countries wrote a short term developmental plan which was around 5 to 10 years. Tell me how is it possible to develop from scratch to heights with just 10 years - It is just not possible- Change takes time. We actually made a lot of progress during the first stage of our independence but it was nothing because the expectations were too high.

Also our model is flawed - up to this moment we do not have a realistic economic model- what we have is the western reproduction failing to note that the west only reacted to their environment in creation of an economic model. When we disregard our context and seek to come up with a plan, such plan might work out in a different place and time , but as long as its not a response to the things on ground  we will keep dreaming of the promise land.

If we fail to move forward, it is sensible that we go back to start all over again based on what we have on ground. I know of two countries (Japan and South Korea) who Sketched out a model that suits them . . we can do the same instead of trying to copy America and Europe who are only responding to what their environment puts out.

Goddex:
Really sometimes nairalanders amaze me. They jumped at seeking the head of their president who has got much more information at his disposal.

Nigerians deserve to know what happened on Friday - if Jonathan says Mend are not responsible then he should as well tell who is behind it. It is not enough to say Mend is innocent of the attack when they already put out a statement claiming responsibility - Jonathan's position is not acceptable to any right-thinking person.

The Mend issue is a sensitive one - more so for Goodluck Jonathan so he could use some professional help next time- he should know what to say and when to to say it.  He cannot be seen as a sympathizer of Mend - some of us still think Mend is nothing but a criminal and terrorist organization that should be treated as such.

She refers to Obama as her son . . . i like that

Ehoi:
The system is made to be less favourable to the niger delta states.

You have deceived your own mind. Apart from the fact that ND states bag the highest Federal allocation regardless of population, a commission was formed for the sole aim of Niger Delta development (NDDC) - now we have the Niger Delta Ministry which was created to tackle the challenges of infrastructural development, environment protection and youth empowerment in the Niger Delta.

The federal government cannot make ND zone a federal issue - they can only create channels controlled by Niger Deltans  and empower such and existing channels of development. This has been done- Mend should confront there local and state politicians before leaping to the federal level.

MEND are criminals and should be treated as such - they institutionalized kidnapping in Nigeria now its bombing.

Goodluck Jonathan is out of his mind, he should tell who is responsible for the attack since he says Mend is not.

The guy called Rhymz is not funny but foolish. . People are not met to have similar views – this I intent to respect but when one start making brainless statements you know there is a knowledge gap – he has to be in the wrong place.

Mend – if there is any such thing- should be a gang of criminals who will stop at nothing to gain attention. That’s the key word. . ATTENTION. They staged yesterday’s attack for headlines – more like a little kid begging for his father’s attention. Nothing else, if they are calling for development then I can only say they know nothing about that. They should have held state governors responsible because they receive the higher portion of FG allocation . . The NDDC is especially for this region. Mend should understand the concept of power and control . . they have regional and state leaders to deal with before going to the federal. The federal plays its part . . Niger Delta cannot be a federal project . . . A ministry was even created for Niger Deltans . . This is ridiculous, what else do they want? I am from that region . . what else do we want?

The selected justice we practice in Nigeria is not working, Mend should be met with maximum measures. . just like they did Boko Haram.

rhymz:
Am not even going to give all these small minds that see everything as white & black the pleasure of any seriouse debate, you lots are paper tigers that are yet to face any life threatenjavascript:void(0);ing situation.
some of you just sit in your arm chair abroad and type rubbish without the aids of your brains. When you lots are done eatind your Mcdonalds Cheese burger and drinking coke, you can shuttle back to reality and talk some sense.
Imagine that slowpoke trying to twist the import of my comparisons of unarmed men women and childrien because you want to make me look bad. . .lol. . Anyway, I am not here to make some politically correct statements to soothe your feelings, rhymz does not give a damn, am going to say it as it is without minding whose ox is gored, a lot of Nigerians are too detached to understand other Nigerians' plight. Sometimes you ve to do things the wrong way to make it right. This is not abt xpressing mere sentiments and cursing anyone that dares to say the MEND group were not totally unjustified afterall, it is either we tell ourselves the painful truth or continue to feign that all is well and whine and complain with no action or do sth abt it and let everyone sit up. I advocate for more this type of attack( with may be more precision to avoid or reduce innocent casualties) on these Morons politicians and their families. . . . I said it! Make una go grab high tension. . . Rubbish!!

That's a first class paradox . . you just proved your ability to comprehend.  advocating more of such attacks (hit on innocent) yet you want innocent people to be reduced. You are not classed for this debate believe me. It has always been innocent all along, no politician has ever been hit, as a matter of fact some of your mend hero are providing securities to corrupt politicians. You are confused dude - go learn something- these are not freedom fighters but criminals who kidnap for ransom.

I don’t know what this people are clamoring for. . The govt. has different channels for development in Niger Delta and each channeled is been fed to the brim. ND states receive the most allocation and a commission was formed strictly for ND development. . what else do they want? The man in the position of power is an Ijaw . . what do they want?

I told Umaru Musa Yar'Adua not to negotiate with criminal, if you do they have an edge over the government . .

The movement of national attention from Mend to the kidnapping squad made them jealous and they needed to shift back our mind. . They are simply calling for attention.

I know freedom fighters when I see one, these guys are criminals and the sooner Nigeria start treating them as such the better for us.

^^

You narrate beautifully

dayokanu:
Why should Okocha be nominated? Among Nigerian footballer would he even make top 5?

Oliseh, Finidi, Yekini, Amokachi and Taribo would rank higher

What are you talking about . . are you just trying to pick an argument or what?

Why Princess Alexandra  . . because she represented the Queen or opens the first independent Nigerian Federal Parliament in Lagos ? I don't get it at all . . where is Gani . . where is MKO that symbolsizes much and died in the struggle

Folks acting like Biafra's a country already. . Igbo this and Igbo that - writing in Igbo and sounding like it is a different country only show how difficult some of you guys could be. People's position are expected to change with time, if you remain constant you will live in bitterness.  You guys have to learn to see things from a general view point and stop this separatist philosophy. I understand and respect the Igbo a lot. . you will never find a beggar in the east, all productive, neat and industrious.  It’s time for us to stop talking about the civil war and concentrate on how to move this country forward. We are all brothers now the earlier you see that the better for us. we have fight on all front. The problem of the Igbo cannot be separated from that of Yoruba or Edo for instance. . we are the generation – we are catching the same hell from these political elites-   we are the once we have been waiting for it is better for us to start negotiating a better future for our children based on the part where we agree instead of concentrating on our disagreement. Even if the Biafra has worked out there would still be a bit of disagreement – people cannot agree all the time, we compromise and work out things.

this tread is pointless.

And people celebrate it without knowing what they are celebrating.

alldone:
They should both go and sit down.Enough is enough.

If they do Jonathan would be unopposed. I mean do you like that? would you prefer a situation when and where someone declares his or her ambition and there is nobody to challenge him or her? It strengthens our democracy to have more than one National figure contesting for presidency. This is why i am against Wole condemning everything Nigerian yet he doesn’t seem to point the right direction to us. If you think or say something is bad, at least you can offer an option. I respect Wole Soyinka and his scholarship but he is beginning to bore me with his endless rant on how bad Nigeria has turn out to be . . . Ask him WHAT DO WE DO?

playmode:
As usual the first Lady has demonstrated that she would be best fitted for the position of a housemaid. She is neither intelligent nor articulate. A baboon in "buba" will do a better job than here.This is just an election campaign strategy that has gone terribly wrong. She is not concerned about the hungry people. She is concerned about buying votes. Like someone said here on this thread, judgement day will come and we will all be alive when Jonathief and his wife will be  executed at the stake like common criminals.

For those of you flaunting Jonathief's Ph.D ,please don't waste your time. We all know that degrees can be bought in Nigeria.Jonathief does behave like someone who finished secondary school talk less of having a Ph.D.

You can disagree with him politically but it’s not enough to question his scholarship. I personally think Patience will do more harm than good to the patient man.

no legacies?

ekea2001:
how many of them can stand just 1 munite (60 secs) of shoot out with armed criminals? lol!

YOU ARE A JOKE.

matiltom_d:
Those uniforms look pretty new,  How come?
But on the other hand,i think they really deserve to be prayed for;a lot of demons working in them, 

Prayer is different from performance award . . I know you don't need me to explain that

hercules07:
He had the opportunity to do something and he did not do it, he has lost the right to comment on national matters, he is not morally upright to castigate others when he has been a contributory factor. How can a whole RCCG invite such a person to an important occasion? Obasanjo out of all the leaders we have had had the best opportunity to do what is right for the nation.

And what is RCCG again? Another church i suppose. Look these guys are out of touch, i do not mean to be blasphemous or anything but the leaders of theses churches are individual just like you and i, they are rich so they possibly do not understand whats happening in Nigeria. God could be using someone, that doesn’t mean he is perfect.  I say that to say this;  it is time for us to think for our selves. . OBJ is friend to both RCCG -as you’ve called them- and winners chapel.

He has a right to voice his opinion and he just did.