I read this thread and simply shake my head in disbelief. Not only is the govt bad, but it appears some of us simply have no sense of logic. No wonder we're in such bad shape. A few points:
1. OPC is a tribal group, such as MEND, Arewa etc. Therefore, Fasheun crying about marginalization is to be expected.
2. The more important point is this - how many Yorubas give/use OPC as a political lever? OPC is relevant to Yorubas only when the tribe is under threat of physical attack, and that might be overstating it. It's not even at the fore-front of any cultural drive.
3. If Yorubas are so concerned about these positions, wouldn't Bankole have been returned to office, thereby giving him a fighting chance at retaining his "exalted" position?
4. In addition, wouldn't Yorubas have voted for OBJ enmasse when he initially showed up again? Afterall, the presidency is the "juiciest" position of all, to coin a sadly, popular word.
5. The N.A members crying about marginalization are, of course, Yoruba PDP members. Is this worthy of explanation to any thinking adult? I guarantee you very few Yorubas give a damn. Test it, ask a few of the "lowliest" Yoruba persons you meet.
6. I CANNOT believe that any sane human being would vote for the PDP again (except, of course, if you're a fellow traveller on the road of thieves). It's like being assaulted once and going back for more, in the hope that the next assault(s) will be kinder and gentler.
7. What does it matter if your tribesman is speaker or whatever? Have these tribal crowns benefitted anyone, even the tribe?
8. In Ndigbo's unrelenting hatred for Yorubas, you simply choose to be dishonest if you disagree that we generally fly straight and don't condone crap from high office holders just because they're Yoruba (see 3 & 4 above). You will note how PDP was kicked out of the West, whereas you people are proud!! to vote them back in - for deputy speaker??!!. It is shameful. This is why they say any people gets the govt they deserve. My fervent prayer is that ACN takes a leaf from Fashola and begins the transformation of the West. Please keep all your super "juicy" positions. I'll settle for functioning govts, thank you very much.

@Gbawe

Listen - if I criticise my son, does that mean I hate him (or hate myself) ? Suppose I go further and criticise him quite harshly - it might simply mean that his behaviour has really hurt me and perhaps brought shame on both of us. Why would I care if other people are not crticising their own sons? I accept that many people have thin skins and cannot accept criticisms, but we must continue to be vocal in our opposition to failure. I continue to believe that the real failure is that we the people don't often pour into the streets and let these criminals know that we can do better than type. Like Fela said, "my people sef too dey fear".

@ aribasala0

Thanks sooo much for this post. I've often wondered at the sheer arrogance of our supposed "smartness", when 50 years hence, we're still digging one hole for water, one hole for our crap because we have zero or near zero sewage systems and now, we have to buy water filtration systems because our crap is contaminating our water!!!

I suspect the root of the problem is a fundamental laziness; on the political front, we're unwilling to hunker down to do whatever work is required if the return will not be nearly immediate, (so no sewage network, so national roads, no power, no water delivery systems). These things take time and the rewards are not immediate. On the part of the governed, we the people are unwilling to put in the long, hard, sustainable work to challenge our leaders to deliver. Furthermore, since we don't truly see ourselves as a nation (for all the obvious reasons), a collective sustainable push is unlikely.

ekt_bear:

Better choice or not, he made some very poor decisions and didn't make the right alliances. He gets the lion's share of the blame for this defeat. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

I feel no pity for him.

Regardless, I think Naija is the loser here. Maybe GEJ can redeem himself by appointing Buhari EFCC chairman (assuming the man will agree to work with criminals)

Eko Ile:

Unfortunately, many in this sad country prefer heartless, greedy, corrupt and incompetent leaders like the convicts and criminals loving clown they just sent back to Aso Rock.


God Bless Fashola
God Bless The Great State Of Lagos State
God Bless The Great Region Of SW

Eko o ni ba je

Couldn't have said it better myself!! Thank you !!!

Thanks to those still looking for leadership where none has been shown to exist in approx a year or more of holding office, we're once again stuck with the front man for the criminal enterprise called PDP.

Why would Buhari have been a better choice?
1. The bane of Nigeria's development is unrelenting corruption - even Buhari's detractors have never accused him of being a thief.
2. Corruption is the first born of unaccountability - remember the WAI? Do you think govt officials will do as they please in a Buhari administration?
3. Significantly, GEJ has never seemed to have a plan besides winning; what exactly has he done or even articulated in his time in office - you can hardly accuse Buhari of simply occupying space
4. Some say they don't want another Northerner - but with 8 years of OBJ what did you get ? - cellphones and a selective EFCC (even in his time) and billions spent on phantom power generation and, oh yes, rampant corruption. OBJ was and unfortunately, remains a live Southerner
5. Others say Buhari is a tribalist and ethnic and religious bigot - let's even say that's true (for the record, I disagree). Do you truly believe he'll allow a Muslim, Northerner to rob us? Once again, is theft of public funds borne of unaccountability not the root cause of our problems?
6. if you say you voted for the man - not the party, I remind you that all politicians are part of a political machine and cannot operate alone. Wise people say "Show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are"

I certainly don't blame the Ijaw or Delta folks for voting for him - one can hardly argue the need for a president from the region that supplies the glue that keeps the country from tearing apart, but all others who voted for him are what we Yoruba call "oponu" i.e. dunces. Foolish, illogical people continue to expect fresh wine from old skin.

Maybe ACN, CPC & ANPP, even APGA can eventually mature enough to form a coalition against these mobsters. It'll be the battle of the "not too bad" (one hopes) against the "really, really, awful"

For development, seems that voice s/h/b for Buhari. These people will keep robbing us.

@ rhymz

Regardless of who voted for whom, if we want a better country, I still don't get why anyone will vote for GEJ. This person is a visionless thief, just like his fellow travellers in the PDP. Even if Buhari is visionless too, at least, he's not a thief and conceivably, his VP may help him in the vision thing (like Idiagbon did), more than Sambo seems to have done for GEJ so far.

I'm curious why the SW voted for GEJ instead of Buhari. GEJ does not appear to have any vision or spine and is, at a minimum, as corrupt as his fellow travellers in the PDP. Even if you say Buhari does not have a vision either, at least, he's not a thief. So two equally visionless candidates and one is not a thief - choice seems clear to me. Furthermore, Buhari's VP could possibly provide the direction he never seems to have (kinda like Idiagbon did). Sambo, a fellow thief who claims to be worth $300M as an owner of an architectectural firm cannot seem to do the same for GEJ, at least not yet. Can anyone please explain the logic of voting for this person?

macjive01:

Andrew bro, realistically speaking we igbos don't need anybody to look after our interest becos our interest is insatiable what we need is a president who is liberal and industrial and Market oriented who would provide a level playing ground for all, 1. Reduce the superfluous of quota system. I think QS is needed but not in the state is it just now- currently most federal employment QS is based on biased equality eg Ogun state with 25000 jambite, over 30,000 graduates in a yr and a population of 5mil gets to produce same number of workers kebbi with 4000 jambites, less than 1000 graduates in a yr n population of just over 1mil. Same goes for Bayelsa. Fair?
2. [b]stem the flow of Yoruba nepotism in recruitment exercises - I specifically pointed out Yoruba becos it is most prevalent with them.[/b]3. stem the flow of oil revenue going to individuals and communities- NigerDeltas-my state get revenue as well. in uk for instance the oil is regarded as national wealth and nt community. Shell doesn't get to build state road, or drill borehole for anybody.
What we need is
1. A structure system where the oil co get to pay a % of profit on individual fields as royalty to state.
2. For communities that the oil co operations have disrupted their livelihood and environment, the communities shd be provided with a pathway to seek justice n compensation and follow up clean- up thru a tribunal. A fast track process. Tale a look at bp gulf of Mexico recent accident.  

GEJ:
If this fisherman gets in there, LAWD ! This I way we will get

I think you're generally correct, particularly on the bolded - all we should have is a level playing field for all and dumping the QS simply because it encourages mediocrity and is fundamentally unfair. Let anyone who can do it legally become a multi-billionaire - good for them. However your claim on item #2 is so so wrong. You Igbos are more tribalistic (which also includes practising nepotism), always using the "we're the most discriminated against" defence, even while practising EXACTLY the same thing. As for GEJ, this dude is just a clown, neither brave nor politically astute. God help us.

cecegorz:

We are not interested in their matyredom that brews complete darkness over the nation,( sounds so much like NITEL workers chant prior to 2001). That's the more reason they should go back to their villages and live happily ever after in the huts.

If any of them were your relatives, I bet you would be interested. Statements like that are exemplary of the rank selfishness that's ruined the country

Kilode?!:

You are right bro, but that is why It's a process not an event. I will always fault the lazy opposition and so called progressives we have in Nigeria i.e ACN, Save Nigeria etc for treating opposition politics and election like an event -anyway what do I expect. It is a process that needs to start early and involve better propaganda and aim for people's hearts and minds. I'm more interested in a broader intellectual awakening than a particular election though.

Raw thuggery will always attempt to hijack because there is a big vacuum of inaction for them to occupy. Even those thugs are part of the target, we will not convince everybody but we need to get more people. It will not work if we are simply aiming for the next election, it will work better if we have a long term aim in mind.

You are an individual after my own heart; hopefully we can get like-minded people to collaborate over the long haul and get Nigeria on the move. I couldn't agree more that ACN and co have been abject failures as the so-called opposition.

@ Kilode,

No argument. Do keep in mind though, that at polling time, good plans and intentions can be highjacked by raw thuggery. We must also have a plan for the actual election day - to ensure that the leaders we get are actually the ones the people voted for.

Omenani:

India is ranked 84 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index. Their electoral system depends on “black money” obtained though tax evasion and other means. In addition, politicians and civil servants are regularly caught accepting bribes or engaging in other corrupt behavior, even though a great deal of the corruption in India goes unpunished.

Vote buying is also a major problem in India. However, I will concede the fact that India does have free elections.

No, one is making excuses, I am just saying you shouldn't expect much, because we already knew about this corruption. Nothing happened then, and nothing will happen now even though everything is out in the open. It will be the regular business as usual.

Nigerian people have nothing to blame but ourselves.

Aren't you contradicting yourself? We should expect plenty; if we don't, then we won't get much and then we have none to blame but ourselves for not getting much.  No?

Kilode?!:

I quite agree. A worst scenario than the present realities will be one in which a bunch of lunatics motivated by money throws up a silly pseudo-revolution without any deep and workable ideology behind it. It will be years of foolish bloodletting.

I propose a more subtle, non-violent ideological battle for the hearts and minds of Nigerians, something you can contribute to within your own sphere of influence till we meet up in the larger public space to push for wider changes. I'm hopeful.

Yes indeed - more civic involvement by more of us is sorely needed. Too often, our demonstrations peter out so quickly. Gotta love those guys in Bangkok; maybe one day we'll occupy Abuja airports and NASS building and never leave, just rotate people in and out. I dare to dream,    These so-called legislators have no fear or regard for  us at all.

Intellectual laziness may have actually helped us for once; as the embassy officials said (or was it Shell) - they don't currently think there's any wattage up there among the ranks to effect one. Thank Jesus. Because, as bad as it is now, we have to endure this period of immaturity (however painful and prolonged) to get to a better democratic, functioning space. Military coups truncate that and only set us back to square one.

I am, and continue to be, one of those who believe that we foolishly blame the West for problems that are 99.99% our own making. People are angry at Shell for planting moles in strategic ministries in Nigeria and God only knows what else they're up to. If you see the landscape as a "battlefield", made particularly more so in the chaos that is Nigeria, it's a perfectly logical move. Afterall, it's our First Lady, govt secretaries and AG (!!!) asking for bribes without risk of consequence. It's our own late, "incorruptible" president in cahoots with the so-called Mr Fix-it (Dahiru Mangal). The embassy officials have a "contact" who happily avails them of all the going-ons in govt offices, at least those he's privy to. I'm actually surprised they need him; I'm surprised ALL relevant govt offices have not been thoroughly bugged (or maybe it's just so we don't think they've done so). Where is our SSS (a name curiously close to the Waffen SS, but I digress). Oh yes, they're too busy harassing the general populace at every turn. And probably waiting impatiently in line to access their own "share".

The tip of the iceberg is what we see in Shell's success in running circles around us like the self-flagellating buffoons we are. The contest is between citizens of an organized state and the chaos and thoughtlessness that is our dear homeland.  The real problem (and shame) of Nigeria in particular, and Africa at large, is that we are a fundamentally immature people. We are unwilling to sacrifice for our country: we are unable to put ethnic and religious differences aside long enough to create a strong and fairly free center that can protect all our interests (even if somewhat  imperfectly as all countries have some problems); instead we tear each other apart like beasts and are stunned when saner, more methodical people (who also have internal differences) take advantage.  Germany, Britain, the U.S., indeed all Western countries, are countries created by men of the same color (like we are also of one color), usually from different regions of the same real estate (like we also are from different regions of the same country). They had civil wars, like we've had, have Protestants and/or Catholics (yes, we have an added flavor of Islam, but so what). They usually but not always came together voluntarily, but a fair center smoothed such issues out.  

The second real problem is what that jackass IBB is purported to have said - we are intellectually lazy. Our military personnel are constantly running off to Sandhurst, our cops have to be trained by Indians or this or that country, our ministires have to go to Singapore or wherever to see how they pick their noses over there. Why can't the leaders in these institutions devise a credible training plan? But no, estacode is too juicy. Instead, we "re-brand"! If it weren't so tragic, it might actually be funny. If I were in the movie industry, I'd make a movie  -  "Ganstaland - Re-brand this"

9ijaMan:

It takes a bad leader to have bad advisers. A good leader will always surround himself with equally good advisers. I hate it when people blame GEJ's desperation on his advisers. The guy himself is clueless and directionless. He sure deserves the sort of advisers he has.

Yes indeed! This Jonathan person is simply an ignoramus !! So, so sad for Nigeria once again.

^^^ thanks, babapupa. We must bring this nation together, before it turns into a country like the DRC - rich, vast, but just all a waste.

@Anayordike:

While the various attempts by our foolish leaders at re-branding Nigeria will surely continue to fail (for the simple fact that we continue to fail to fix underlying problems like transportion, electricity, fair elections, corruption, murderous cops, etc), the re-branding of Ndigbo need not meet the same fate. While I don't agree that anything much can be done about the real or perceived lust for money by your people, this is not a problem peculiar to Ndigbo. I suspect the greater problem is actually two-fold, both of which you alluded to:
i) the persecution complex that apparently springs from the fact that an Igbo man or woman has not been president for 40 odd years and
ii) your apparent egomania that assures you that all your other countrymen are lazy, stupid, illiterates , etc and that if it weren't for Ndigbo, we'd all probably perish.

First, the fact that you haven't produced a president DOES NOT mean that your countrymen are all against you; it simply means that today's Ndigbo leaders have failed to play the political chessgame intelligently enough, afterall we all know that, at least currently, our votes don't count. It would seem that the next step should be to ally yourselves loudly with those Yoruba and Hausa progressives who seek to produce better elections, governance, etc even though we know there are no perfect politicians. But what do you guys do? Instead (and this brings me to point (ii) above), you seldom fail to diminish or belittle the accomplishments of others, refuse to call erring Alaigbo to order (do you remember Yoruba hatred of OBJ?) and generally resort to insular narrowmindedness. You assure all and sundry that all you care about is either Biafra or Ndigbo alone. This only serves to solidify the latent mistrust already there from your perceived love of money. But it is these same lazy, stupid fools you want (no, need) to vote your way in the future. Can Ndigbo or any single tribe (even the Hausas) win a free and fair election if no other tribe votes for you? I seriously doubt it.

Ndigbo are in fact an intelligent, industrious, entrepreneurial people and are an asset to any nation. But you are NOT the only ones so endowed. Simply stop telling us that you are the sun that warms Nigeria and try and love your countrymen a bit more (or hate us less, whichever is easier - you'll actually feel better ).

My brothers, I wish you Godspeed.

IGBOboyy:

You say we where shown compassion, Hmm, I say we where exploited, The house rents where inflated and you call that compassion? I wouldn't say its wickedness but its definitely not compassion!

IGBOboyy:


I am not one who goes into pointless arguments and make baseless claims. So i would say yes in some part of your statement you where correct and i have emboldened them. however in some parts you where absolutely off target. i would say some lights years off away, Yes you where that much off target and i would point out where you got it wrong! If we had an "all IGBO"  country of our own we would have been by far better off than Nigeria the reasons below are self explanatory.

1, We are very resourceful, so politics wouldn't be a source of lively hood for everyone

2, It is quite often speculated especially by your people that we are unruly, but the reverse is actually the case. I have never heard of A traditional ruler in the east getting beat up by his subjects, but of recent the Deji of Akure was "Manhandled" for an issue that could have been resolved in other possible ways.

3, Thirdly and finally there are quite a number of Natural resources we have and with the small geographical land mass it would be quite easy to disburse and implement the budget and the National revenue

I'm sure there were opportunists - but to believe that was the general attitude of all Yoruba people is just laughable. I know families who fed and housed Ndigbo (beleive it or not). You people have no hate for Yoruba people What do you call your constant raving at us? If Yoruba people were all poor and hungry and illiterate, then I'm sure you'd have no problem with us, because that's what the ego of the average Igbo man craves.

Politics is not a source of income for all Yourba people - neither is kidnapping

A monarch who disrespects himself deserves no respect, beating up a woman as if she were a man. If anything, this should give you comfort because if implies a desire for equity that the tribe pursues (notice Awo's free education programs for ALL)

Disbursing and implementing the budget is not the problem - the problem is a lack of proper, decent behavior, particularly the avoidance of theft of public funds. Can a Biafra avoid this? I doubt it.

asha 80:

so you do not know there are large igbo population in the north?are you ignorant?

Immediately after the war - did your people move right back North or not?!!! Or did you move west where you were assisted and shown compassion by Yoruba families? Do you have the spine or decency to answer that simple question?

chyz:

We are everywhere woman so that cuts away of your "pouring" into the west theory unless you say we are "pouring" into every part in nigeria. , BTW, Igbos also "pour" into other Igbo states that they are not indigenous to. So your point exactly is, ? , And you should be ashamed that you can call your own yoruba people such "horrible, horrible people" .  

To address the comment of, "If we were people such as you guys, you'd certainly be less inclined to move west? No?", first there are thousands of yorubas in igboland and they love it and never been attack by ethnic bigot groups like the OPC has done the Igbo in lagos. So ummm, lets not talk about hospitality.

Thousands of Yorubas in Igbo land = millions of Ndibo in the west.
Calling Yoruba people horrible people = sarcasm (do consult a dictionary or a thesaurus)
If Yorubas are ethnic bigots (laughable) = why do you have ONLY thousands of Yorubas in the east. Part of the reason is the parochial & narrowminded world view of you guys. Do you have any idea how many Ndigbo families were assisted by Yoruba families after the war? Did Ndigbo move North after the war? - Yes or No? Was it logical for your people to move North en masses after the war? Please answer me. But no - Yorubas are this, Yorubas are that? AH - go to hell!!!

IGBOboyy:

This actually confirms my claims that you my good friend, yes i can call you my friend because unlike the Yorubas the itsekiris are clean and neat to an extent. Anyways I was saying this confirms my claims that you are demented! My people in Lagos you say? the same ones that he duped? His intentions for us where quite clear. Although unfortunately for him, he did it to the most resourceful individuals on the surface of the earth!

Hey - Lord Einstein - Awolowo was brilliant enough to devise a plan that put a quick end to the war, rather than perpetuate the starvation of innocents, particularly children. The simple truth is that if that dunce, Odimegwu,  were his intellectual equal, you'd have Biafra today. For the record, any Ibo country will be in a worse position that present day Nigeria and will almost certainly disintergrate. Why? Because you guys all egomaniacs, insensitive to the poor or downtrodden and everyone wants to be boss (and a thoughtless one at that)

chyz:

His people in lagos benefited from the taxes that they paid not "his" "free education".

Yes, how many of those who stayed in Aba or Onitsha benefited from the taxes they paid over there? That's why Ndigbo keep pouring into the west - because Yorubas are such horrible, horrible people. If we were people such as you guys, you'd certainly be less inclined to move west? No?

IGBOboyy:

Which one,The Yoruba guy?

You guys do have a permanent inferiority complex, don't you? Always an "us against them" with way too many Ndigbo.

We can only hope that ALL these persons go to and remain in jail; we can only hope.

@afam4eva - What part do you find unclear?

@afam4eva - let me know what I've attacked that was because the person was Ndigbo

@ Mr 6 STDs - Cowards?! How many journalists and activists have been murdered by the various govts?!! And how many of those were Ndigbo?? Just curious. In the days of Abacha, Babangida, even Buhari, how many political agitators then were Ndigbo Kwenu? How many today are Ndigbo? The armchair Rambos are almost always absent or miniscule in count.

Since I'm clueless, kindly clue me in. What is with the constant bellyaching ? The frothing-at-the-mouth hatred? The fundamental issue that you have with Yorubas (and are unable to articulate) is that we are not as unsuccessful as you would wish!! Therefore you generally wish us ill. You wouldn't have any problem with us if we were as dirt poor as the average Hausa. This is simply sad, deranged egomania!!

Listen Mr 6 STDs and counting - you simply have an inferiority complex, period! That's not the fault of Yorubas; you might seriously consider seeing a psychiatrist. "They" almost never come to Eastern Nigeria because of the generally insular and unfriendly nature of most Ndigbo to most anyone who is not under their boot, as you wish the Yorubas would be.