@ Londoner, i love it when Nigerians keep asking "why" everyday when the solutions lie around them!

The number 1 problem of Nigeria is that of FAILURE OF CITIZENSHIP! Go to Nigeria today and all you hear about is zoning, quota system, federal character, land use act e.t.c. We are nothing but a geographical contraption to borrow the words of Obafemi Awolowo. Sir Ahmadu Bello in 1953 described Nigeria as the "mistake of 1914".

These men were not seeing double when they made those statements and more than 50 yrs later, their very words have come back to haunt us. Let anyone deny that Nigeria's greatest moments of economic growth was during the period when we were a proper FEDERAL structure with each region solely responsible for itself.

Now we have a lopsided unitary system of government masquerading as a federation, unviable states that are no more than a drain on the "federal purse", we have bred a new generation of Nigerians who think solely in terms of the cost of a barrel of oil. For decades we have taken oil from the Niger Delta and left them impoverished, downtrodden and intimidated. What of the Igbos who spend the better part of their lives wishing Biafra had succeeded?

The north is suspicious of the south, igbos dont trust yorubas, Ijaws and Itshekiris are at war and we sit in our comfortable homes in the West daydreaming about Nigeria's greatness? We forget that building a house does not start from the roof and that the easiest way to sabotage a house is to weaken its foundation.

Yes Rome was not built in a day, yes America took 200 yrs to get to where it is today but we forget that one of the first things they solved were the questions of:

- who is an American?
- What are the rights of an American?

Today our only definition of a Nigerian is that he/she was born within ever changing borders! Bakassi people woke up one day and suddenly discovered they had been Cameroonians all along. We have a constitution that begins with "we the people" but was actually crafted by "them the millitary". We parade a flawed political system with virtually NO opposition, a political system that is more about ethnic politics than leadership.

We can keep crying till the cows come home, as long as we leave the important questions unanswered prefering instead to bury our heads in the sands of "i am a detribalised Nigerian" we will never progress!

davidylan:

Hate is a strong word and i should point out that i do not "hate" the northerners. It is not so much what the northerner represents as an individual that rankles but what they represent as a group that has consistently remained a stumbling block to Nigeria's progress.

And just what do they represent as a group?

Please note: In Nigeria, the political elite represent only themselves and their own belly or selfish interests. They cut across every ethnic group or region. Period!

davidylan:

@ Londoner, i love it when Nigerians keep asking "why" everyday when the solutions lie around them!

The number 1 problem of Nigeria is that of FAILURE OF CITIZENSHIP! Go to Nigeria today and all you hear about is zoning, quota system, federal character, land use act e.t.c. We are nothing but a geographical contraption to borrow the words of Obafemi Awolowo. Sir Ahmadu Bello in 1953 described Nigeria as the "mistake of 1914".

These men were not seeing double when they made those statements and more than 50 years later, their very words have come back to haunt us. Let anyone deny that Nigeria's greatest moments of economic growth was during the period when we were a proper FEDERAL structure with each region solely responsible for itself.

Now we have a lopsided unitary system of government masquerading as a federation, unviable states that are no more than a drain on the "federal purse", we have bred a new generation of Nigerians who think solely in terms of the cost of a barrel of oil. For decades we have taken oil from the Niger Delta and left them impoverished, downtrodden and intimidated. What of the Igbos who spend the better part of their lives wishing Biafra had succeeded?
The north is suspicious of the south, igbos don't trust yorubas, Ijaws and Itshekiris are at war and we sit in our comfortable homes in the West daydreaming about Nigeria's greatness? We forget that building a house does not start from the roof and that the easiest way to sabotage a house is to weaken its foundation.

Yes Rome was not built in a day, yes America took 200 years to get to where it is today but we forget that one of the first things they solved were the questions of:

[b]- who is an American?
- What are the rights of an American?[/b]
Today our only definition of a Nigerian is that he/she was born within ever changing borders! Bakassi people woke up one day and suddenly discovered they had been Cameroonians all along. We have a constitution that begins with "we the people" but was actually crafted by "them the millitary". We parade a flawed political system with virtually NO opposition, a political system that is more about ethnic politics than leadership.

We can keep crying till the cows come home, as long as we leave the important questions unanswered prefering instead to bury our heads in the sands of "i am a detribalised Nigerian" we will never progress!

Interesting points, what practical steps do you consider necessary to tackle the issues of citizenship/national identity, distribution of wealth within the nation, developing an adequate opposition in Nigeria. I agree with you that, something needs to be done, beyond prayer or declaring patriotism.

Doing things the same way only ensures that the status quo survives.

laudate:

And just what do they represent as a group?

Please note: In Nigeria, the political elite represent only themselves and their own belly or selfish interests. They cut across every ethnic group or region. Period!

Period? You are entitled to your own oppinion which may not be correct. You cannot expect us to accept them as the gospel truth.

The political elite do not represent themselves only, they represent specific ethnic interest groups. You can deny it all you want.

@londoner

londoner:

Hipernetix, thanks for the response, how do you suggest we begin to bring communities in  together under a new national identity?
How do we begin to replace the percieved notion of  tribal marginalisation/neglect that many people feel in Nigeria?

You see like so many fellow Nigerians who feel some form of antagonism towards the Nigerian project or a section of the country, I have my own issues with the Nigerian project which, like you said, I can only make suggestions on how to deal with those issues.  Obviously not everyone may agree with my approach but that is the whole idea of forums like this, for us to brainstorm together and share ideas on how to MOVE the country forward.  Rome was not built in a day and a journey of a thousand miles begin with the first steps.

My own approach towards conflict resolution and reconciliation is based on 3 principles.

1. RECONCILIATION: Now reconciliation can range from  simple domestic family squabbles to wide scale ethnic conflicts and there is not a single systematic definition that is applicable to states or communities, but let us take it at its simplest, that reconciliation means restoring trust, friendship, harmony or communion.  Reconciliation does not posit harmony between two states or peoples; it does, however, create a more felicitous environment within which conflicts can be addressed. The need for reconciliation presupposes a traumatic experience locking two or more peoples/communities in an ongoing cycle of mistrust, fear, and/or hatred.  The challenge varies based on the gravity and duration of the conflict. Charles Maier examined divergent examples of reconciliation from which he identified three patterns: Christian reconciliation, political reconciliation, and structural reconciliation. The first incorporates confession and forgiveness; the second tends to eschew a settlement of accounts, focusing instead on new political arrangements intended to overcome past injustices. In a structural approach, reconciliation is an unintended by-product. U.S.-German relations after World War II are the best example of that pattern, according to Maier.

2. EDUCATION:  We need to educate our people (from across the Nigerian geographic boundary) - because believe me we have educated miscreants, that are bent on promulgating the wrong solutions or approach, or should I say who prefer to take a hostile approach.  Basic education from the grass roots right to the top is key.  We need to educate our people on the basic principles of power.  People need to understand that power is vested in them and not in those corrupt leaders or elders, we need to educate the people that their vote is worth more than the meagre N1000 or whatever it is these politicians pay people for their votes.  When the people understand this, and understand that WE the people put YOU the politicians in public officies, it makes them ACCOUNTABLE to us.  How are they accountable?  By setting out key performance indicators and the establishment of a result driven and analytical structure that can weigh and adjudicate on the deliverables of these public office holders.  Part of this educational process should instill educating Nigerians on their own multiculturalism.  We have a great deal of Igbo communities in the north who live and reside in the north, their children were born in the north and they have assimilated into the northern culture, likewise there are northerners in the south in the same shoes.  This is the beauty of diversity, and it is only through educating each other on our cultural and religious differences that we will begin to understand the need to co-exist peaceful.  Not every northerner is a lazy ignorant cattle herder clingin onto oil wealth and I know not every southerner is an ethnic bigot.  Infact I believe through education, we can accept each other on the basis of what we have to offer and what we can bring to the table, rather than from which part of the country we hail from.  I as a northerner, am probably one of the most vehement advocates of bringing people like Babangida, Abdussalam, and whoever it may be to account for their ill-gotten wealth.  Because at the end of the day, it is not just the south that is suffering from their bad leadership, they have offered nothing to the north either.  Being from the north, I believe one of my responsibilities is to educate my people on the fact that these men are not patriots and are not people you should idolise, rather  we should abase them at every opportunity.  Through this educative process, a truly federal system will emerge that will promote a progressive, fair and cohesive co-existence between communities.

3. POVERTY ERADICATION:  Whatever form of reform we put in place will be to no avail as long as we do not tackle the issue of abject poverty.  We can start by forming our own initiatives individually, organisations or as groups.  There are people I know here in the UK, who have sent money home and established small to medium sized businesses and this is providing employment and a means of livelihood for others.  We can no longer wait for the government to initiate these changes.  Nigeria is blessed with a wealth of natural and human resources.  If we are so good in 419 and fraudulent activities (anywhere in the world, it is common knowledge), then we definitely are not stupid people, and when you provide a legitimate means for people to earn a decent livelihood, even if it is one, two or three people, it is one, two or three more people off the 'abject poverty ladder.'  Ofcourse these changes will not automatically and drastically transform the standard of living of the ordinary citizen, but like I said, the journey of a thousand miles begin with the first steps.

Others might have better and more workable solutions than what I propose here, but this is my own approach and I'm not suggesting it is flawless, infact far from that, but I'm a believer that changes can and will happen, and Nigeria will prosper as a united, indivisible and progressive nation.  Change takes time, and we may not live to see this change in our lifetime, but at least we owe it to our children and their children.

londoner:

Interesting points, what practical steps do you consider necessary to tackle the issues of citizenship/national identity, distribution of wealth within the nation, developing an adequate opposition in Nigeria. I agree with you that, something needs to be done, beyond prayer or declaring patriotism.

Doing things the same way only ensures that the status quo survives.

1. We need a brand  new constitution that should be determined by the representatives of the people NOT the thugs who steal our mandates and parade themselves at the Senate and must be ratified by a free and fair referendum.

2.  a quick return to the regional system of government that worked brilliantly until a certai Yakubu Gowon came and "nationalised" everything thus setting the stage for the present rot.

3. Give us a federal system of government that ensures that resources are in the control of whichever region owns the land, the farce of "oil belongs to Nigeria" is a fraud that is only perpetrated in Nigeria by those who are too lazy to think of doing anything besides oil.

4. Please Please scrap federal character! If only Igbos are qualified to be ministers then so be it. Rather than make me go sit in a corner sobbing about marginalisation it shoould be a wake up call for me to go and improve myself. Quota system has engendered a system where merit is sacrificed on the altar of mediocrity!

Here is my take on hipernetix's flawed rehash of the same old rhetoric we've been hearing since the era of Yakub gowon;

- Reconciliation - Based on what? How can we claim to be reconciling when we dont even know why we must be pursuing a reconciliation? Have we been at war?

- Education - Education does not make you a model citizen if not nations like the USA should have not a single criminal. What education does is empower you to create wealth. We have a low literacy level but that is not a fault of the individual but a failure of government policies.

Hipernetix says WE the people put the politicians in power, nothing could be further from the truth. WE the people did not put those crooks, election riggers and thieves in power.

- Poverty Eradication - Call it SAP, NEEDS e.t.c. we have heard it over and over again. The bureaucracy of the nation is itself a burden to the people. Poverty will be eradicated when public officials stop spending N500m to refurbish brand new homes and allocate 12 cars to a single individual.

davidylan:

Period? You are entitled to your own oppinion which may not be correct. You cannot expect us to accept them as the gospel truth.

The political elite do not represent themselves only, they represent specific ethnic interest groups. You can deny it all you want.

Nobody is expecting you to accept anything as the gospel truth. Do your own research and if it conflicts with mine, paste the evidence here and let the public be the judge. Don't rely on hearsay to fan anti-Northern sentiments in cyberspace.

The political agenda of the political elite has always been their own belly and their own interests, irrespective of what part of the country they come from or claim to represent. If they claim to be representing any constituency, it is only on paper and by word of mouth. No one knows the name of the House of Reps member that is supposed to be representing my area or your own sef for that matter, neither do we know who the Senator is or what he stands for. They all rigged themselves into office, and celebrate their so-called achievements on the pages of Nigerian tabloids! The masses are the ones left to suffer. Ask Saminu Turaki what benefits the talakawas of his state enjoyed, as he was pocketing the billions he looted from the treasury!

laudate:

Nobody is expecting you to accept anything as the gospel truth. Do your own research and if it conflicts with mine, paste the evidence here and let the public be the judge. Don't rely on hearsay to fan anti-Northern sentiments in cyberspace.

You made a bogus statement, slammed "period" after it without a single proof and yet you ask for research?

- For proof, look no further than the leprous governments of Shagari, Babangida and Abacha. Quota system, federal character commission and zoning did not appear on our political scence by magic and without reason.

davidylan:

You made a bogus statement, slammed "period" after it without a single proof and yet you ask for research?

- For proof, look no further than the leprous governments of Shagari, Babangida and Abacha. Quota system, federal character commission and zoning did not appear on our political scence by magic and without reason.

My statement was not bogus. And yes, I slammed period after it, meaning I had finished what i wanted to say. It did not mean anyone else could not pass a comment or even disagree with what I had said if he had a valid point.

As for quota system, federal character and zoning. . . .do you actually understand what they mean or represent? Federal character is a method of trying to have equal representation of all sections of the country in a government parastatal, institution or cabinet. That is why we have such a bloated number of ministers and aides, because all states are to be represented in cabinet.

Zoning is another thing. What was zoned from where to where? Am still trying to figure that one out. How has that benefited the masses, in the north or south? Beats me. As for quota, it was supposed to help candidates from educationally-disadvantaged states get into government-owned institutions and parastatals. But what happened? Did it benefit the masses even from those areas? No! Politicians used it to benefit themselves, their pockets & their immediate families, and also used it as a form of patronage. Go and live in different parts of the North, and see if you can identify the benefits that quota system brought to the masses of those areas. Don't use your one-year youth corps experience in one village as a reservoir of experience. Talk to the talakawas and the educated common Nigerians on the street, and feel their pulse.

So you can see what I mean when I say the only constituency that politicians represent is themselves and their bellies.

laudate:

As for quota system, federal character and zoning. . . .do you actually understand what they mean or represent? Federal character is a method of trying to have equal representation of all sections of the country in a government parastatal, institution or cabinet. That is why we have such a bloated number of ministers and aides, because all states are to be represented in cabinet.

Dont worry, when i use federal character or mention quota system you bet i know exactly what they mean.
Now here is the question - where else in the world do you hear of Federal Character and WHY do we have it enshrined in our constitution? We all love to pretend as if tribalism does not play a role in our politics, its similar to the Americans who love to pretend that since there are no more pubs marked "for whites only", racism no longer exists.

The question is not what federal character means, every Nigerian older than 12 should be able to answer that. The real question is what is the idea behind it? Why was it instituted? Because politicians irrespective of tribe where only looking for an avenue to steal public funds?

laudate:

Zoning is another thing. What was zoned from where to where? Am still trying to figure that one out.

I'm surprised you dont know about zoning. In developed nations, politicians are elected on the basis of capability to perform the expected task, in Nigeria all we talk about is "it is the turn of the southwest, no biafra has had no one, lai lai the north must go now". . . is that a nation that is intending to develop? Are we still playing hide and seek with tribalism?

To build ordinary secondary schools, we take geopolitical zones into consideration, to build ports, the north wants one too even though they are not bounded by the sea, we rotate the national team to play in the north, south, east, west just because we must zone, to build federal universities, we have to make sure one "zone" does not have "undue federal presence". Nothing is done because it is necessary but rather because we dont want to be seen to marginalise.

laudate:

How has that benefited the masses, in the north or south? Beats me. As for quota, it was supposed to help candidates from educationally-disadvantaged states get into government-owned institutions and parastatals. But what happened? Did it benefit the masses even from those areas? No! Politicians used it to benefit themselves, their pockets & their immediate families, and also used it as a form of patronage. Go and live in different parts of the North, and see if you can identify the benefits that quota system brought to the masses of those areas. Don't use your one-year youth corps experience in one village as a reservoir of experience. Talk to the talakawas and the educated common Nigerians on the street, and feel their pulse.

So you can see what I mean when I say the only constituency that politicians represent is themselves and their bellies.

lol the average nigerian on the street probably understands tribal politics better than those who hide behind computer screens making grandiose statements about a country they have largely been away from. I do not need to live in an area for 20 yrs before i can make a judgement, ordinary 2 weeks is enough. I did plenty of talking to the talakawas on the street, u'd be surprised most of them are more realistic than the rest of us who claim to be educated.

@laudate

Sometimes I wonder why you bother with people like davidylan. The guy is so blinded by his own antagonism and prejudices that any point he makes has the same ol theme again and again. Practically the guy is bored, frustrated and has lots of time on his hands.

hipernetix:

@laudate

Sometimes I wonder why you bother with people like davidylan. The guy is so blinded by his own antagonism and prejudices that any point he makes has the same ol theme again and again. Practically the guy is bored, frustrated and has lots of time on his hands.

excellent alhaji. You simply parrot the same tired old cliche that your cousins in the north always gave each time i asked them why Nigeria was the way it was. I dont blame you, free oil money if not you would have been no better than Niger Republic.

Where could all these arguments and hate take us.

At the risk of being branded a tribalist, i have to agree with davidylan here that the Northern oligarchy has indeed been a stumbling block to Nigerian progress. Not all Northerners, mind you, but certain powerbrokers exist with a vested interest in keeping the Nigerian masses oppressed and impoverished. Like he pointed out several posts earlier, FISCAL FEDERALISM, REGIONAL RESOURCE-CONTROL are the keys to accelerate Nigeria's progress.

If there wasnt so much money at the centre then we wouldnt be witnessing this mad scramble for federal positions we have today.


Let the Delta control their oil, the North their groundnut-pyramids, etc as is being done everywhere, so that people would be more hardworking and explore their own natural resources too. And give us the EFCC to umpire the entire affair.

We know from history that the Brits decided to merge their Northern Protectorates with the Southern Protectorates in order to use resources from the South to augment the North.Nothing has changed since then.Living standards will improve in the South and fall in the North if that decision was reversed.

Nigeria's problem is the mismanagment of the resources we have. In all honesty we don't know whether the result would be different if the managment of oil was under the jurisdiction of Ogoni/Ijaw/Delta etc. Its always very easy to imagine that things would be drastically different. We don't actually know that it would, human beings often change with the prospect of immense wealth.

The biggest catastrophy to befall Nigeria is the neglect of all its other treasures, especially human resources. With proper investment and persistant growth we could have moved away from reliance on oil by now.

I believe we are starting to move in that direction now.

When are we going to get off these high horse if ethnicity and prejudice?

When can never go forward when we are hating. We must learn to embrce each other

with national progress on our mind and forget about who is sipping whose Oil and

concentrate on getting Nigeria to be a better place for our children and our children's

children.[/color][color=#990000][/color][color=#990000][color=#990000][/color]

@ Davidylan
I think you need to stop being regressive in your thinking & start being forward thinking! We all live in a different era from that of our fathers, where people were not as accepting of different ethnicities. Move with the times!!

@ All
As rightly pointed out by a few previous posters, I do not think pointing fingers at which section of the country was/wasn't responsible for the situation in which Nigeria is presently, is of any significance if we want to move forward & make positive changes to our country, Nigeria. What is the way forward?

I do not think a situation whereby control of certain resources should be TOTALLY with the region from which it is derived, is a way forward as someone wrongly stated. As long as we are one country, having all the wealth generation & utilization in one region & depriving the other region from sharing from the benefits will not improve the situation. The poverty in one region is bound to rub off on the rest of the country as a whole.

I haven't got the solution, but one thing that I think is needed is educating the massess about the 'negative effects of corruption' and the 'negative effects of being tribalistic'. I believe these are the 2 main vices ruining our Nigerian society and they are constantly along side each other. The issue of tribalism is evident in the posts made by "davidylan". Whereby Hipernetix & Sookie are trying to make sensible contributions, Davidylan has constantly used ethnicity issues to respond. It's a sorry state! The other issue of corruption needs no introduction.

Please for the sake of a greater Nigeria, the only country that is truly ours (for those of us not born outside its shores), let us move past the tribal wars & make a difference, even if it is just in our way of thinking.

Long Live Nigeria!!!

Let anyone deny that Nigeria's greatest moments of economic growth was during the period when we were a proper FEDERAL structure with each region solely responsible for itself.

Exactly!

What really baffles one is that, the north are the only section that are vehemently kicking against the issue of state's management of its resources and yet, they've not given any tangible reasons why?  Frankly speaking, it only goes to show that they are lazy; hence thier fight. How would a governor stay in a state for a whole month doing nothing to generate revenue; only to blare sirens at the end of teh month to abuja for the state monthly stipends?  It's uncalled for!  

I am not trying to be biased here but its not ideal to be sentimental in some critical issues.

Davidylan's words are very very harsh, but if you read carefully you will see his saying the truth.   We fought a civil war in the 60's, and yet we still having the same leaders, problems, etc How is that moving forward?  Now the slogan in Nigeria is "if you get beat them join them".   Yeah solo and hiper might be northerners with very open minds, but what about the other northerners that are ready to slit a throat at the urging of their spiritual leaders?  Because the are still doing the same barbaric acts (this time anybody not from the north is open game).

ziddy, i qiute agree with you that resources should be shared abi?, think about it, when the groundnut pyramids where there whathappened to them, what about the coal in enugu or the tin in jos, have you been to the bukuru area in jos to see how the place was devastated fror the sake of mining, an average of 50 people are lost to the artificial crates cretaed during the mining, most of us live for the present, the north was raped to biuld nigeria but alas 65 years on the niger delta wants the oil to themselves, i hace gone to enugu and the sight is not pretty, the environment has been polluted for decads in plateau state where i come from but we do not kidnap government workers, have u heard of hawan kudu?, pls find out then we can continue this debate

londoner:

Nigeria's problem is the mismanagment of the resources we have.

That is not true. Nigeria's REAL problem is that we have bred a culture where states like Zamfara can "demand" revenue allocation without making any effort to generate their own revenue. We have essentially created an unviable system of parasitism where the entire nation depends on oil pumped from under the feet of an impoverished people. We have created a bunch of lazy "bureaucrats, governors and political office holders who spend all their time squabbling over modalities for "sharing" resources not found within their locality.

We have bred a lazy citizenry, God help us the day oil runs out. Perhaps that is when people will realise our problems went far beyond merely "mismanaging the resources". Americans alsoo mismanage their resources in Iraq and Vietnam, however they have a system that ensures that each state does not have to pay for the profligacy or ineptitude of another.

londoner:

In all honesty we don't know whether the result would be different if the managment of oil was under the jurisdiction of Ogoni/Ijaw/Delta etc. Its always very easy to imagine that things would be drastically different. We don't actually know that it would, human beings often change with the prospect of immense wealth.

In all honesty ma, this is an insult to every Niger Deltan. Perhaps if you had managed your own resources well your governors would have something better to do than sit down with calculators and current prices of oil on their laps.
Now that the resources are being brazenly looted by the Nigerian state, have they managed it any better?

londoner:

The biggest catastrophy to befall Nigeria is the neglect of all its other treasures, especially human resources. With proper investment and persistant growth we could have moved away from reliance on oil by now.

Until we start to talk seriously about true resource control, we will never harness our other resources.

mellow:

When are we going to get off these high horse if ethnicity and prejudice?

When can never go forward when we are hating. We must learn to embrce each other

with national progress on our mind and forget about who is sipping whose Oil and

concentrate on getting Nigeria to be a better place for our children and our children's

children.[/color][color=#990000][/color][color=#990000][color=#990000][/color]

By the time our children's children are born there will be no more oil to drill. I hope you have other plans in the pipeline for them.

dinvestor:

@ Davidylan
I think you need to stop being regressive in your thinking & start being forward thinking! We all live in a different era from that of our fathers, where people were not as accepting of different ethnicities. Move with the times!!

If to think like the Americans, Greeks, British, Germans, French, Spanish is equivalent to regressive thinking then i leave you to your "forward thinking" that ensures that you will perpetually remain a third world nation begging for handouts from other governments who engage in "regressive" thinking.

dinvestor:

As rightly pointed out by a few previous posters, I do not think pointing fingers at which section of the country was/wasn't responsible for the situation in which Nigeria is presently, is of any significance if we want to move forward & make positive changes to our country, Nigeria. What is the way forward?

The first step on the road to recovery is understanding what your problem is in the first place. To hide your head in the sands of "i am a detribalised Nigerian" is to decieve yourself. No doctor can treat you without a proper diagnosis.

dinvestor:

I do not think a situation whereby control of certain resources should be TOTALLY with the region from which it is derived, is a way forward as someone wrongly stated. As long as we are one country, having all the wealth generation & utilization in one region & depriving the other region from sharing from the benefits will not improve the situation. The poverty in one region is bound to rub off on the rest of the country as a whole.

Lord, if there is a price for regressive thinking then this should take the cake. Depriving other regions from "sharing" from what "benefits"? Why were we better off in the early 60s when groundnut was for the north, oil for the Niger Delta and palm oil for the west? So in order not to deprive Niger Republic from "sharing" from the "benefits" of oil we must share part of our oil proceeds with them too?

That the poverty in one region will rub off on another is false! The educationally backwardness of the north did not regress the south UNTIL the advent of JAMB and the unifying of schools under the administration of an inept northern government whose idea of "catching up" is to "drag back".

dinvestor:

I haven't got the solution, but one thing that I think is needed is educating the massess about the 'negative effects of corruption' and the 'negative effects of being tribalistic'. I believe these are the 2 main vices ruining our Nigerian society and they are constantly along side each other. The issue of tribalism is evident in the posts made by "davidylan". Whereby Hipernetix & Sookie are trying to make sensible contributions, Davidylan has constantly used ethnicity issues to respond. It's a sorry state! The other issue of corruption needs no introduction.

The sorry state is the state Nigeria is in presently. What is even sorrier is that we have citizens who cant even recognize the problem and are prepared to continue basking in mediocrity and poverty under the guise of not wanting to sound "tribalistic". Is it racist that an American demands that you have a visa before you travel to his country?

What are the contributions Sookie has made? That we all go home and try to generate millionaires? How many millionaires do the west have that even those considered poor have a much higher standard of living than our non-existent middle class?

dinvestor:

Please for the sake of a greater Nigeria, the only country that is truly ours (for those of us not born outside its shores), let us move past the tribal wars & make a difference, even if it is just in our way of thinking.

You dont make a difference by pretending that all is well because this is the only country that is truly ours. Americans criticise their country much more than we do, you bet they will NEVER dream of swapping their nation for yours.

Cindy Sheehan may oppose the Iraqi war, but she is a better American patriot than those of us who choose to chase shadows.

DAVIDYLAN, why are u treading the same path of reasoning that leads to d hollow grave.U claim to be raisn valid points yet tribalistic.immature,incitn rage and myopic.Gani Fawehinmi has spoken all u,ve raised and many more yet to accept an appointment he is jittery.Mandela too acknowlegded that it is easier to be on the opposing side fighting for your so-called rights than governing the people.U re bitter with the North because u read some pre and post colonial info n data. A vibrant mind in this generation should not be swayed by the letters from the past but be optimistic and participate in the rejuvenation of Nigeria.
Keep on lamenting david boi.Gradually, things will take a great shape and we the optimistic ones will hold our heads high.

Dangote's investment in the country in a landmark.Ur reaction i guess wl be: He bribed his way to obtain licence to import sugar, cement etc This man is an achiever and i do not c him as a notherner. he is A Nigerian.

Tom Iseghohi left the U.S. to pick up the job at transcorp.Fashanu is back in Nigeria. Stay there n continue blabbing blaming colonial masters, notherners,governments.

herbsman:

Dangote's investment in the country in a landmark.your reaction i guess wl be: He bribed his way to obtain licence to import sugar, cement etc This man is an achiever and i do not c him as a notherner. he is A Nigerian.

Tom Iseghohi left the US. to pick up the job at transcorp.Fashanu is back in Nigeria. Stay there n continue blabbing blaming colonial masters, notherners,governments.

Yep, and what have been the contributions of the aforementioned to the improvement of living standards, power generation, education, health? In Nigeria we still deal in the currency of individuals - mentioning names. In western countries the emphasis is on policies that touch the lives of the man on the street.

You mention 3 names, what about the other 150million - 3 Nigerians?

Talking about schools, did Mariam Babangida not say her school was created for the rich and not the poor (something to that extent) when she was told the school fees was out of reach for less privileged children? But knowing some people they will come here and talk about how she is impacting the lifes of the Nigerian children. Most of our super wealthy citizens probably got rich through dubious means, I mean how does one explain how corruption has eaten so deep into our society.

If truely ILOVENSE has common sense, he should realise that this thread is NOT about the personalities discussing the issue but about expressing oppinions and the right to hold same.

I'm way too comfortable to be bothered about hating northerners, i dont need to. I just wish that with all her resources Nigeria should at most be the most powerful nation in Africa.

The first step to solving any problem is understanding it-Chinese proverb

Maybe we could be on the right track to national development if we looked seriously at the points raised by daviddylan. the best years of Nigeria still remain the pre-1966 years when everybody controlled resources in their regions unlke now when a state contributes less than 5 million to the fed purse and expects to collect 5 bill at the end of the month, this is a seriously flawed style of governance all brought on by the real Arewa elites running this country.

Perhaps people need to understand that there is no way forward if you dont even know where you were coming from.

Religious Crisis Averted in Kano
From Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano, 09.29.2007. Thisday newspapers.

There was panic in Tudun Wada Local Government area of Kano State yesterday as youths unleashed terror on Christians living in the area. The action was as a result of speculations that a Christian teacher in the area drew a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad and displayed it in his sleeping room in the area.
The protesting youths caused serious pandemonium. Ten shops belonging to Igbo traders in the area were set on fire.
The cartoonist was said to have relocated to the house of the district head for safety, before the intervention of the police. The police are now on red alert in the town to prevent escalation of the crisis.
THISDAY gathered that an emergency security meeting was yesterday quickly arranged by the joint security team in the state to ensure that the crisis did not escalate to other parts of the state.
The police spokesman in Kano, Baba Mohammed declined to speak to THISDAY.
In 2004, Kano became a battle ground as Muslim youths attacked non-indigenes that mostly live in Sabon-Gari area.

@post

One should tell me how a christian teacher drawing cartoons of prophet Mohammed related to burning of shops owned by Igbo traders? Are the Igbos the only christians in the state? The teacher was not even an Igbo man.

The poster and her team should first go and educate the north on how tribalistic they have been before coming here to tell us how we should move forward as "one Nigeria".

This is just one of the many points Davidylan was tryining to let us see.