bluespice:

Nigeria's islamic unrest never affected any other country. There's a reason they are called internal religious conflicts

naijaking1:

Until Christmas day 2009, Nigeria's internal religious conflicts never seemed to affect an outside country, but the idea has always been foreign influenced and foreign based. We can go back in history to as far as the overthrow of legitimate Hausa states by Fulanis proclaiming "purer form of Islam", to Maitastine riots, to the Danish cartoonist, to the English Sudanese teacher who blasphemed Mohammed, to spontenous demonstrations in support of Osama bin Laden in some northern cities, to Boko haram. The idea of religious intolerance and hatred for westerners run dangerously deep and has been brewing in Nigeria for a long time before Christmas day. Mutullab, they say was just one of those with the financial means to carry it out.

bluespice:

Do you guys watch the news or follow the story at all?
he confessed himself he was recruited while in London, So unless london is now the name of a city, street, local government. . .you get my point in Nigeria, I absolutely do not see the reason or the justification for placing Nigeria on the list, and this is not because i happen to be a nigerian.

Kobojunkie:


@Bluespice, could it simply be that you make the assumption that the blacklisting starts, and ends with the events of last month? I don’t believe to be the case here.
Our apathetic approach to dealing with our many internal terror issues, coupled with the absence of our government for 45 days and counting, is probably seen as a cause for concern, especially for the United States and its fight against terrorism.

naijaking1:

^^^^
Didn't you also see a report that said the guy got his explosives from naija?

The would-be bomber has told the United States authorities that he was operating under instructions from the al-Qaeda network based in Yemen. US news station ABC says he was trained north of the Yemeni capital Sana’a by a Saudi bomb expert, from whom he acquired his explosives. US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says he acted alone and was not part of a wider conspiracy.

bluespice:

actually it does, they had intel two months prior to his failed bombing, why wait until he tried and failed and then it became a public specter before going public on the need to have Nigeria on the terrorist list?

bluespice:

I don't know what list you have been looking at ma'am but Nigeria was recently put on the list
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre6044eg-us-security-airline-nigeria/

sammyzacks:

Terrorism being referred to here is "Islamic extremism". And the lack of proper handling of our religious crisis by the Nigerian Gov in the country over the years, simply points to the fact that Nigeria is already on the LIST of countries to WATCHout for as far as EXTREMISM is concerned.

Let's not wait for others to tell us the truth. We should tell it to ourselves.

Precaution is always better than cure!

bluespice:

do avail me of where to find such information when you do find it

bluespice:

You guys,
Let me state it that i honestly don't see anything wrong in using the full powers of the law against countries or people with terrorist inclinations or supporters of terrorism, I would have understood if Nigeria was placed on the list at any other time when the safety of ANY country was threatened by the activities of Nigerians, but placing Nigeria on the list solely because the terrorist hails from Nigeria and had a pit stop in Nigeria before he continued onwards to the US is what i have problems with. Being Nigerian just got ten times worse.

I'll accept any day that there are people of terrorist inclinations in Nigeria, which country doesn't have them? but if the US was being just, England too should be on that list because of the shoe bomber.

Jakumo:

Gigantic undersea oil reserves have just recently been discovered in vast swathes of international waters stretching between South America and Africa, so the potency of the petroleum card as a tool of modern diplomacy could well be on the wane already.  The Nigerian government may have discovered as much when it hastily retracted a laughable "ultimatum to behave" earlier bleated at the US government in protest over the blacklisting of Nigerian air travellers triggered by the failed Xmas day terror attack which had been perpetrated by a Nigerian-born 72-Virgin seeker from the country's looting class.

Vigorous prosecution of those who foment religious strife in Nigeria would be a good start on the path to redeeming what is left of her international standing, but good starts are as rare and unlikely in Nigeria as honest policemen.

Gigantic undersea oil reserves have just recently been discovered in vast swathes of international waters stretching between South America and Africa, so the potency of the petroleum card as a tool of modern diplomacy could well be on the wane already. The Nigerian government may have discovered as much when it hastily retracted a laughable "ultimatum to behave" earlier bleated at the US government in protest over the blacklisting of Nigerian air travellers triggered by the failed Xmas day terror attack which had been perpetrated by a Nigerian-born 72-Virgin seeker from the country's looting class.

Vigorous prosecution of those who foment religious strife in Nigeria would be a good start on the path to redeeming what is left of her international standing, but good starts are as rare and unlikely in Nigeria as honest policemen.

SEFAGO:

Yeah I read about that. However, I am skeptical about the potential of the oil reserves since technology to extract the oil might outweigh the profits. I agree though Nigerian Oil is losing its appeal to the west .

naijaking1:

Here's a counter view, very well expressed: http://www.nigeriamasterweb.com/paperfrmes.html

[size=18pt]US is right on Nigeria[/size]
By Ikenna Emewu [ikenna@sunnewsonline.com]
Saturday, January 9, 2010

I understand the outrage by Nigerians over the decision of US to include us in the terror list. It has become so bad that we are listed alongside the deadly Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and even Iraq. Yes, that serves us right. We had it coming, and we watched folding our hands to wait for it. Today, it is here at last, and the same people who did nothing to curtail it are the same ones squealing.

I don’t make sense in this cry over whether Nigeria is a terror nation or not. The simple and practical truth is that one of us, a terrorist, a suicide bomber, a potential murderer in incubation by his association is a terror merchant. He was caught and never made any denials because he was caught in the act. We may complain and cry or rail at US, but these wont change the reality that Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab is a terrorist. His father saw the signs before he bared his fangs and ran for cover. But for his timely move to report to the US CIA and others on time, today, he would have been quickly branded by US and Britain as Al-Qaeda financier given his heavy cash chest. He escaped it, and I am happy for the old Mutallab.

Terrorism is high crime. It is no child’s play and whoever is caught in the act pays highly. The after effect is that even the clean and good citizens of the nation are all tagged bad alongside their heady brother who had the guts to blow out 300 lives in a flash.

Let us sincerely put ourselves in the shoes of the US and ask if we would not have taken drastic action to safeguard ourselves from threats such as terrorism. The nation has taken its position on Nigeria. That may be so harsh anywhere, but it is unfortunate that we could do a little about it.
It does not make sense to me that our Senate is blowing hot on this, because I am sure when the chips are down, they would understand that their ‘we will fight it out with US’ approach would compound our case.

We are not all terrorists, no doubt, and no nation is. But do the victims care about our sentiments? All they know is to apply their measures and get redress and safety.
Before Farouk took to the skies with death in his hands that would have sent 300 souls yonder and the damage to the airline operators and the shock to the world security, he imbibed the art from somewhere. I am sure that some two years ago, it made news that US warned Nigeria that people with strong Al-Qaeda links are in Nigeria, and also alerted of their possible attack. I don’t know how the matter was treated or reacted to, but I know that Nigeria is a nation so familiar with internal terrorist attacks of its peculiar nature that occurs every now and then. Mark you being terrorist does not mean being a plane or suicide bomber. It means being a terror to other people’s existence and peace.

We have always been that to ourselves in Nigeria. So are we not terrorists, maybe not to US but to Nigeria. Sometime between the end of August and early September last year, the Boko Haram took the stage in Maiduguri and Bauchi. Last week kalo kato struck in Bauchi and many killed.

When the Boko Haram leader was arrested and later assassinated by the police, we cried it was wrong and that he should have been spared to get more information from him. But all were gross nonsense. Boko Haram and the conspirators just got a slap on their wrist and continued. The second nature and name of Nigeria is a boiling cauldron where lives have no value. People are killed in their hundreds at least twice every year in the north, and I say it boldly, including the killings of last year that nobody was ever prosecuted to serve as deterrent. The northern governors at the last massacre by Boko Haram came out to delude themselves of a plan to create laws (as if they never existed) to punish offenders. Since August last year they made the promise, what else have we heard from them?

That culture we sowed the seed in Nigeria over time has matured and grown tall to reach the skies where it blazes with the fire to spill blood in hundreds of litters. Although he might have been trained outside Nigeria, Farouk just climaxed that attitude that has been in us – of killing and killing again without any guilt of punishment. As we condone the known killers, we empower the trainee killers to sharpen their teeth into axes and kill more and boast about it because nobody will ever punish them.

What is happening to us now may be the accumulation of the rewards of a nation that saw no evil in a woman teacher being snatched out of the classroom by her pupils and butchered in the presence of her crying baby in Gombe State. It is not done anywhere else. We can’t hide this forever, and the busy bodies are crying and shouting themselves hoarse to convince the world that we are not terrorists. We are not terrorists to the level Mutallab has taken us, but we had been that since the 1950s among those we call our brothers in the country.

While the massacre goes on within Nigeria, the whole world hears and takes note. So when one of us goes international with killing, they take more than a passing interest in him. That is the basic truth we should admit. US believes very strongly that those killers in Nigeria who slaughter their brothers with impunity are potential international suicide bombers and with Farouk already unleashed, they simply conclude that more will still come from here to seize the skies.

Unfortunately, while Nigeria holds dear to terrorism among the citizens and doesn’t punish terrorists, the outer world criminalizes it. They caught one and want to show him some example of the weight of his act. Painfully, all of us, including those that cannot spell Al-Qaeda or suicide or bomb are victims. It is pitiably our lot, and too bad.
It has touched on our international image that is why they are jumping around to make claims on why US is wrong or right. While I know what it means for a country to have a bad image before the world and the value of good name, I also don’t place less value on the lives of the citizens of this nation. The least Nigeria does is to step up action and defend her citizens at home or abroad from danger to their lives. That is why Charles Taylor killed Nigerians in thousands only for Obasanjo to bring him here and take care of his family with our resources.

When issues like this arise between Mutallab and the world, the countries involved thrash it out at the diplomatic level. But we have no ambassador in the US, and our president is not available, so who would have blocked the loophole as to save us the embarrassment.

If a society or an individual forms the habit of taking things for granted it affects him in more ways than he could imagine. The health of our president and the need for his deputy to act until he comes back has been an issue for endless lies and baseless politics. We have unwittingly built a nation of lies managed by people who feel information management means telling blatant lies. As we practice it here, so we do at the outside world.

I am of the firm assertion that the people in power should blame themselves for not playing the right diplomatic game or pushing the right button to throw open the doors of the US before they labeled us terrorist nation. They have not even established that the state of Nigeria sponsored Farouk before they moved against all of us. But when I have a problem, I should first assess myself to know how I contributed to it. Can we actually say we managed the situation well since December 25 the name of the nation became the song or more appropriately a dirge on international media?

We needed to move in experts to commence the lobby, but the people that have access to power are cut-and-nail party members who don’t know more than their ingenuity in funding and sponsoring thuggery in political parties and are compensated with appointments.
The case of the drastic action and red letter US placed on Nigeria is a sign of the pains they feel about one of us who hit them at the heart. Whenever a man is defending himself, he might take very bizarre steps, but they are all justifiable to him so long as he gets the safety he wants.