xtremeidea:

e no make sense on what grounds? how has he promoted peace? this aint rite o!!!!!!!

He has promoted peace if you look at it. I mean since he came into office (just 9months now) the tension in the world towards the US has reduced drastically, which is really commendable.

But again, on the other hand, thats his job as president so I dont know why that should be such a special thing. And no one wins that prize for making the world like your country. Its just not enough

Rosabelle:
All these expectations on one persons shoulders?
I dont know what people do to earn the Nobel Peace Prize,
but I think there were other known individuals who have done way more than him. Seems the "Obama bug" has gotten to Norway too.

Lemme make it easy 4 u; name one half a person that deserves the prize apart from Obama.
Ever heard of Mohammed El badei or something? - of course you haven't! He won it last year or 2 years ago. Even I deserve the prize for not letting my friend beat up his in-laws but who saw that? Only people in influential positions would easily get nominations.

the "brand Obama" connotes peace, logically he might not deserve it but technicaly and strategically, it's a honour well deserved,

Dis one man's presence on earth is shaping and will continue to shape same, events all over the planet, like we r chatting 'bout him!,

MUZBO:

Lemme make it easy 4 u; name one half a person that deserves the prize apart from Obama.
Ever heard of Mohammed El badei or something? - of course you haven't! He won it last year or 2 years ago. Even I deserve the prize for not letting my friend beat up his in-laws but who saw that? Only people in influential positions would easily get nominations.

Yes my friend, we all recieved the Prize with El-Baradei. He's the head of the IAEA and because of his exceptional efforts in talks with Iran and the inspections carried out by the Organisation he headed, he contributed in making sure the tension between Iran and the US never escalated.
Bush the war monger was more than ready to attack Iran and without the efforts of the IAEA and its director general, he would have suceeded. But due to their hard work, he never got reason to.
Dont think your being an illeterate makes everyone one.

I should name a few people who deserved it more? :
Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba who has campaigned for a peaceful solution to the almost 50-year-old conflict in her country, and Afghan doctor and women's rights activist Sima Samar are people who's hard work for peace cannot be over-looked.
Ghandi till today has never recieved the Prize and everyone wanders why.
Dont come at me with world affairs my friend, cos Im more than informed!

Congrats[color=][/color][color=][/color]

President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in a stunning decision designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.

The Nobel Committee lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation but recognized initiatives that have yet to bear fruit: reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the U.S. role in combating climate change.

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," Jagland said.

Obama's election and foreign policy moves caused a dramatic improvement in the image of the U.S. around the world.

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, a 1983 Nobel Peace laureate. "This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres. Let's give him time to act," Walesa said.

The award appeared to be a slap at Bush from a committee that harshly criticized Obama's predecessor for his largely unilateral military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Nobel committee praised Obama's creation of "a new climate in international politics" and said he had returned multilateral diplomacy and institutions like the U.N. to the center of the world stage.
"You have to remember that the world has been in a pretty dangerous phase," Jagland said. "And anybody who can contribute to getting the world out of this situation deserves a Nobel Peace Prize."

Jagland said the decision to honor Obama was unanimous.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who won the prize in 1984, said Obama's award shows great things are expected from him in coming years. "It's an award coming near the beginning of the first term of office of a relatively young president that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all," Tutu said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope."

Until seconds before the award, speculation had focused on a wide variety of candidates besides Obama: Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a Colombian senator, a Chinese dissident and an Afghan woman's rights activist, among others. The Nobel committee received a record 205 nominations for this year's prize, though it was not immediately apparent who nominated Obama.

"The exciting and important thing about this prize is that it's given to someone ,  who has the power to contribute to peace," Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said.
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the award: President Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919.

Former Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, said Obama has already provided outstanding leadership in the effort to prevent nuclear proliferation.
"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself," ElBaradei said. "He has shown an unshakeable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts."

The Nelson Mandela Foundation welcomed the award on behalf of its founder Nelson Mandela, who shared the 1993 Peace Prize with then-South African President F.W. DeKlerk for their efforts at ending years of apartheid and laying the groundwork for a democratic country.
"We trust that this award will strengthen his commitment, as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, to continue promoting peace and the eradication of poverty," the foundation said.

In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel stipulated that the peace prize should go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."
The committee has taken a wide interpretation of Nobel's guidelines, expanding the prize beyond peace mediation to include efforts to combat poverty, disease and climate change.

Congrats BHO !

However,he needs to come down harder on our grossly incompetent & thieving political class. . .

This is the biggest joke of the millenium, that u can win a Noble peace price
by promisisng change instead of by delievering it. It is also absurd that you must be
a democrat, unpopular in the US(especially by continually castigating your own country abroad like Obama, Gimmy carter and Al gore, previous winners always did) before you could get such award. Why didint they give such award to George W Bush for fighting so hard to rid the world of terrorism, a huge mess that Clinton left for him? Why not give it to some one like Morgan Tsangarai of Zimbabwe who has been fighting with his life to return zimbabwe back to normalcy.
This is indeed the biggest joke of the millenium.

this is both premature and wrong on so many levels.
if i were Obama, i'd reject this award because intensifying drone attacks in Pakistan, pouring more troops into Afghanistan, and tacitly supporting coups in South America do not seem likes steps that [promote world peace.

@spikedcylinder

OK, no disparge here, The "Man" Obama's personality remains enigmatic,

Let's all watch with keen interest how he'd surmount the numerous challenges he is faced with,

He's been 'My Man' way back into the 'very primaries' not just during the 'ferocious' contest that later ensued btw him and Hilary,

Rosabelle:

Yes my friend, we all recieved the Prize with El-Baradei. . .
Dont think your being an illeterate makes everyone one.

I should name a few people who deserved it more? :
Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba who has campaigned for a peaceful solution to the almost 50-year-old conflict in her country, and Afghan doctor and women's rights activist Sima Samar are people who's hard work for peace cannot be over-looked. .
Dont come at me with world affairs my friend, cos Im more than informed!

Well Miss informed lady (pun intended), its one thing to be informed and another to understand how things work. Isn't it apparent that your list of domestic troubleshooters don't have that international appeal to earn a Nobel? Your actions must have world wide implications on peace to be noticed! Who cares if Columbians are at war with themselves so long as it is within their borders. School me now!

MUZBO:

Well Miss informed lady (pun intended), its one thing to be informed and another to understand how things work. Isn't it apparent that your list of domestic troubleshooters don't have that international appeal to earn a Nobel? Your actions must have world wide implications on peace to be noticed! Who cares if Columbians are at war with themselves so long as it is within their borders. School me now!

Well Mr-Im-uninformed (no pun intended) read the papers and come back. Then you'l be ready to talk with my kind ok?
Ive said all I have to say and jumping into a conversation with an uninformed character isnt worth it. Sorry.

besides he has done nothing about Darfur in his 9 months in office. the AU force is begging for helicopters, al bashir is still a free man, and the genocide continues.
this is such a pig-headed move by the Nobel committee.

@Mzumbo: going by your illogic, contributing to peace in a part of the world (i.e within a country) is not the same as contributing to world peace abi?

Obama hasn't done anything to deserve the award but Congrats to him anyway.

, how did South Africa's "domestic" affairs affect world events when Mandela and de clerk won the award?,

semid4lyfe:

Obama hasn't done anything to deserve the award but Congrats to him anyway.

I concur!

fishaboi:

@Mzumbo: going by your illogic, contributing to peace in a part of the world (i.e within a country) is not the same as contributing to world peace abi?

Ase help me ask the man oh!

To all the doubters,the fact is he got the award partially to spite George Bush & also in view of all he can accomplish,in an increasingly polarised world. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Its just funny how people say he hasn't done anything.
Are you expecting him to get Iran to lay down their nclear arsenal before they give him??

You people need to understand one thing . . . unlike the prize for literature and science, you don't need to achieve somethingto win a Nobel Prize for Peace.
The Nobel Prize for Peace can be awarded for just starting the process or being a catalyst.
Arafat won one for a job he didn't even live to complete.

How can anyone say Obama has not put in efforts towards achieving world peace??

semid4lyfe:

[s]Obama hasn't done anything to deserve the award [/s] but Congrats to him anyway.

This comment,while understandable is indeed presumptuous. What can you tell me is the criteria for this award? Any President of the US,definitely has an impact on world peace or lack of it .

Is the award a bit pre-mature,maybe. . . has obama done anything,certainly:

1.Speech to muslims
2.Reset relations with russia
3.Committment to closing guantanamo & other multilateral moves as against Bush's unilateralism
4.For the first time in a while,a US president openly disagrees with israel
5.pulling out of iraq
6.Generally creating an atmosphere for peace in the world,where people can now believe/hope for the future not endless conflicts

and so on. . . . .

have all these well intentioned moves/ideas borne considerable fruit? No,but they are definitely a step in the right direction.

I,like most people was ^{and still is} surprised. . . .but don't say 'HE HASN"T DONE ANYTHING'  

Yoighaman:

, how did South Africa's "domestic" affairs affect world events when Mandela and de clerk won the award?,

I don't think the award is only about 'global' peace.

Morgan Tsvangari was nominated, but he has done nothing for world peace.

Congrats,

With so much joy and gladiness i want to say a big congratulations to my mentor. This is a lesson to all leaders in the world at large alot can be achieve with peace and good governace. Whether u like it or not it is a worthwhile award.

posakosa:

To all those who want to hate on Obama: abeg where is your OWN NOBEL PRIZE? ABEG what have you done for your own community ?

The award is a recognition and compilelation of his work in Chicago and throughout his career. An award well deserved.

Abegi!

When something lacks merit that is when we start getting such poor justifications as excuse for it.

What has community work in Chicago got to do with Nobel PEACE prize?

OMO IBO:

I dunno about this one man. . . . .

Not only is this award somewhat controversial but I do not understand why Obama has to go collect it.
He could have at least sent someone to pick it on his behalf.

His rating at the moment is pretty poor and i'm afraid this won't help at all.

E be like say the guy like 'owambe' sef

Come on now, the guy has no choice once he is announced as winner. He has to follow the tradition, if not then another thing would be read into it and lead to some euphoria and creative writing by the present day worthless media.

There is nothing he can do about "owambe" at the moment as there are a bunch of journalist that would write a page if just spits on the floor. Whilst waiting for things to go wrong so they can have a feast tearing him apart.

That is the level of the quality of journalism (and audience) we have nowadays.

_{All these European and Non- US People dey hate on Obama-}

Big ups to Obama no hate-

Europe is nothing

some of the comments on this thread have got me wondering what people really consider 'world peace' to be.

illusion2:

This comment,while understandable is indeed presumptuous. What can you tell me is the criteria for this award? Any President of the US,definitely has an impact on world peace or lack of it .

Is the award a bit pre-mature,maybe. . . has obama done anything,certainly:

1.Speech to muslims
2.Reset relations with russia
3.Committment to closing guantanamo & other multilateral moves as against Bush's unilateralism
4.For the first time in a while,a US president openly disagrees with israel
5.pulling out of iraq
6.Generally creating an atmosphere for peace in the world,where people can now believe/hope for the future not endless conflicts

and so on. . . . .

have all these well intentioned moves/ideas borne considerable fruit? No,but they are definitely a step in the right direction.

I,like most people was ^{and still is} surprised. . . .but don't say 'HE HASN"T DONE ANYTHING'

WORD!!! I agree with this all the way,Obama obviously has been making steps towards peace brokering in lotsa areas,and while it's a work in progress,it's definitel good work. Everyone was surprised when they heard the news of course,the question that reflexively comes 2 mind is,'What has he done?',but the question we should ask is,'If not him then who?'

That's a well deserved award there for Obama, especially now that the world needs a peace maker.

Ride on the son on Africa,

I thought Fashola will win one.

TO ALL THE HATERS AND CYNICS, I WILL APPLAUD OUR YARADUA 1O TIMES MORE IF HE ATTEMPTS HALF THE "OBAMA LEGACIES".

thank God @ least d guy no bribe them to win d prize What do u think if our govt had been given d opportunity to contest Ibori will bribe