Very interesting piece of news!

What we should be asking are who are these people in the ministries that have sold many Nigerians birthright. The oil companies played their role, but it was Nigerians who sold themselves to them.

The Saros

Saros or Creoles in Nigeria during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century where freed slaves who migrated to Nigeria in the beginning of the 1830s. They were known locally as Saros (elided form of Sierra Leone) or Amaros: migrants from Brazil and Cuba. Saros and Amaros also settled in other West African countries such as the Gold Coast (Ghana).

They were mostly freed and repatriated slaves from various West African and Latin American countries such as Sierra Leone, Brazil and Cuba Liberated "returnee" Africans from Brazil were more commonly known as "Agudas". Most of the Latin American returnees or Amaros started migrating to Africa after slavery was abolished on the continent while others from West Africa, or the Saros were recaptured and freed slaves already resident in Sierra Leone. Many of the returnees chose to return to Nigeria for cultural, missionary and economic reasons.

The Amaros

Unlike the Saros who were principally from Sierra Leone, the Amaros, who were sometimes called Nago in Brazil (Nago, indicates Yoruba ethnicity) were liberated slaves from Brazil and Cuba. Returnees from Brazil and their current day descendants were and are more commonly called "Agudas". They went to the New World as slaves from different sub-ethnic and ethnic backgrounds but approached relationships among themselves as equals.

They came back to Nigeria, principally to re-connect with their fatherland. In Lagos, they were given the watery terrains of Popo Aguda as their settlement. They were not brought up in the Anglican faith like the Sierra Leoneans but chose Catholicism, the dominant religion in Brazil. By the 1880s, the Agudas comprised about 9 % of the population of Lagos. It should be remembered that some of the Agudas were Muslims. Some of the Catholic Brazilians also worshipped African Orishas which they had also worshipped in Brazil.

The ex-slaves were notably technically skilled artisans and were known for the distinctive Brazilian architecture built in their settlements and later in the Lagos environs. During the time, modern European architecture was not only meant to be a nice abode but also a dominating advertisement to show Africans of a different style and culture.John Michael Vlach, The Brazilian House in Nigeria: The Emergence of a 20th-Century Vernacular House Type, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 97, No. 383, Jan., 1984. p 6 However, in due time, the Brazilian style emerged as a viable alternative and modern style used by African contractors working on public and large private jobs such as the Holy Cross Cathedral in Lagos and the Mohammed Shitta Bey Mosque.

The Brazilians introduced to Nigeria elaborate architectural designs, two story buildings and bungalows with stucco facades. The Brazilian returnees also popularized the use of Cassava as a food crop. Faluyi p 11,12. They had pioneered trade with Brazil in the mid nineteenth century. But by the 1880s, ruinous competitors and an economic downturn had forced many to abandon the export trade. Agriculture soon became an avenue to supplement shortfalls in economic activity. They also introduced introduced Cocoa Plantations together with Saro, J.P.L. Davies.

Blame everyone but yourselves.

Uncle Tom Africans are willing to sell themselves to the highest bidder like an ashawo. Reminds me of Mobutu Sese Seko.

This would not have happened in a Biafra though.

There needs to be memorials. The East has not forgotten. And the people who keep the Ndi Igbo from power, definitely have not forgotten.

Is it me or does it seem like there is something nefarious about Shell?

archive:

read the first part of this amazing leaked cable on www.thenigerianarchive.

Enormous potential to be stripped of its wealth is what they mean.

Why do Africans have a hard time relinquishing power? Power at all cost.

Africans never learn.

Let us not forget about Lagos either. But since it is an international city, that is expected.

I am staying comfortably in the states. I wish I was in my village this year, because this cold weather is horrible!

All I am hearing is Federalism, Federalism, and more Federalism. Who is going to give you all this federalism? The gov't itself, is not going to do it themselves, because it takes away from their power. Federalism in my eyes is a pipe dream. Where in the history of the world, has the gov't voluntarily relinquished power? I never heard of such.

Why do Nigerians seem so shocked? You actually thought the oil companies were playing fair? This nation is rotten to the core. Haven't you people realized it?

I don't blame the Nigerian leaders, I blame the people. The Nigerian leadership is just representative of the people. The people don't rise up and all they do is just complain.

Right now, I could care less.

abadaba:

Fodio's crusade in Northern Nigeria was basically politica,l though had a religious undertone.

Yes, the Hausa kings were unfairly taxing the Fulani pastoralist. Religion was also used, because the rulers of the different Hausa states were nominal Muslims.

Cyber warfare at its finest!

East, North, Midwest and West

The four regions that should be in existence.

Maybe South-South and Middle Belt

Is Regional Democracy the Way Forward for Nigeria?

Regional Government a Solution for Peace, Unity and Progress in Nigeria.
Written By Adeyinka Grandson.

Nigeria democracy is in crisis. Confined to the poorly ventilated corridors of Aso Rock, this year our stagnant politics turned fetid. Many commentators have leapt to draw parallels between the political crisis of zoning and this year's other calamity - the collapse of security and the economy. Many even argued that this double whammy is the reason we need PDP to limp out of power.

In fact, aside from the corruption and instability in government, we all know that this problem is systemic. This is not just a problem of corruption. It is a problem of power; not just power in a narrow legislative sense, of rights and representatives. It is a problem of control over our lives, of the ability to write our own life story.

We feel powerless in Nigeria for three reasons:

1. Nigeria Presidential Democracy is Unrepresentative.
Our votes do not count, in the sense that we feel that when we vote, the incumbent always rigged and even at that we cannot sway the government one way or another. Just like the billion allocated for the Nigeria @50 party, in spite of Nigerians rejection of the party, the government ignored us all.

2. Nigeria is far too Centralized.
We feel powerless because only a tiny minority have far too much power. In South Africa the ratio of voter to elected officials is 120:1. In Nigeria, it is 10,600:1. Real power in South Africa rests with the local people because of their regional democratic system that recognizes ethnic nationalities that make up the country. Real power however in Nigeria rests with a handful of special advisers in Aso-Rock. This creates two problems: it is neither fair, nor effective.
However well meaning, a small coterie cannot effectively address any more than the immediate crisis of the moment. Power is too concentrated. It is too distant unlike what we had between 1952 to 1966 where each region is different, each need different solutions, and only Regional Government know what those solutions are.

3. The State is too Confusing.
Most people’s day to day interaction with the state is not with a Senator or Councillor. It is with our doctor, NEPA official, traffic attendant, bus driver or Police Officer and these services are often so complex as to be regressive. They exclude some, and infuriate others. We can appoint Senate Committee chairs or regulate budgets, but we will not make people feel powerful unless we also put people in control of accessing the 90 per cent of the state that is not constitutional. To be successful you have to dare to be different. There's no reason why every linguistic region has to be the same in Nigeria.

Nigerians always look to America. Yet, for all we can learn from the failures and successes of their democracy, Africa is a better teacher on democracy in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual country. Countries like Ghana and South Africa for instance had their democracy devolved along Central, Regional, State and Local Governments structure with executive power vested in a Prime Minister or President in which each of their regions also had its own Government and Premier.

The most enduring way of closing the corruption gap and encourage political, social and economic development in Nigeria is to get the people, politicians and civil society groups to demand the agreed parliamentary democracy as established in Nigeria's first constitution - This means not only a permanent reduction in the inefficiency of Nigeria government but also an increase in growth by getting the linguistic regions to develop at their own pace, while contributing to the national objectives.

We need more women involved in Nigerian politics!

Sometimes I am ashamed how many of our women are treated by men. Many Nigerian men need to learn how to respect women and stop being misogynist.

In what ways can we empower women in our beloved country?

Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio of Sokoto

Founder of the Sokoto Caliphate

The northern Nigerian city of Gobir itself faced a powerful threat from the Fulanis. Austere and fanatical in their religion, they no longer tolerated the laxness and growing corruption of the Hausa rulers. In 1804 they revolted against these regimes declaring jihad on the rulers. William Winwood Reade, author of The Martyrdom of Man, gave an account of the relevant facts: "Othman [sic] Dan Fodio, the Black Prophet … went out of Mecca, his soul burning with zeal. He determined to reform the Sudan [i.e. that part of Africa] … Dan Fodio sent letters to the great kings of Timbuktu, Haoussa [sic], and Bornu [sic], commanding them to reform their own lives and those of their subjects, or he would chastise them in the name of God … Dan Fodio united the Fulah [i.e. Fulani] tribes into an army which he inspired with his own spirit. Thirsting for plunder and paradise, the Fulahs swept over the Sudan; they marched into battle with shouts of frenzied joy, singing hymns and waving their green flags on which texts of the Koran were embroidered in letters of gold."

Many ordinary Hausas joined the Fulani campaigns. They empathised with the Fulani attack on the luxury, injustice, and high taxation associated with the Hausa Sarkunas (i.e. kings - plural). Moreover, the government officials were not above confiscating livestock and other goods of ordinary people. Nor were they above capturing young women to serve in the harem.

In 1812 the Shehu (meaning 'teacher'), Uthman Dan Fodio triumphed over the Hausa kings. Ruling from Gobir, he changed the name of the city to Sokoto. The empire he built became the Sokoto Caliphate. Establishing a centralised government, he began a stability in the region that ultimately created an economic boom. Hausaland had seen nothing like it since the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Kano cotton, for example, clothed half of West Africa. Furthermore, the Shehu and his descendants were scholars of impressive intellects. Dr Davidson wrote that: "To Uthman, his brother Abdullah and his son Muhammad Bello are attributed some 258 books and essays on a variety of theoretical and practical subjects."

http://www.whenweruled.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=28

Entrepreneurial

Sani Abacha has a stadium named after him, why doesn't this woman have anything named after her? Is it because she was a woman?

This woman is just amazing! Why don't they teach us about her achievements?

‎[1] Do you know that prior to Nigeria's independence, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was one of the most widely travelled Nigerian ever?
[2] Unlike most of our people who had only ever been to the UK and the US, she had actually been to China and Russia too
[3] She actually met with Mao Tse Tung in 1956
[4] After that, the British refused to renew her passport because it was said "It can be assumed that it is her intention to influence women with communist ideas and policies."
[5] She was also refused visa into the US because the American Government alleged she was a communist
[6] Prior to independence she founded the Commoners Peoples Party challenging the ruling NCNC, denying them victory in her area. She got 4,665 votes to NCNC's 9,755 thus allowing the opposition, Action Group 10,443 votes to win
[7] She was actually denied an NCNC ticket because she was deemed as too radical. Shame on the NCNC or she would have been our first federal female MP
[8] She was one of the delegates that negotiated Nigerian independence with the British government in 1957/58
[9] In 1953, she founded the Federation of Nigerian Women Societies which formed an alliance with the Women's International Democratic Federation
[10] While in the NCNC, she was the treasurer and then president of the Western NCNC women's Association

-Ayo Akinfe

In 1949, she led a protest against Native Authorities, especially against the Alake of Egbaland. She presented documents alleging abuse of authority by the Alake, who had been granted right to collect taxes. She also led the successful abolishment of separate tax rates for women.

In 1953, she founded the Federation of Nigerian Women Societies which formed an alliance with the Women's International Democratic Federation. Originally, she was a member of NCNC, but was later expelled by the party after she chose to run as an independent when the party snubbed her as a candidate for a federal house seat. After, her suspension, her political voice was diminished due to the direction of national politics, as both powerful members of the opposition, Awolowo and Adegbenro, had support close by. However, She never let her voice and activism be diminished.

-Ayo Akinfe

Her 10 greatest achievements:

[1] First Nigerian woman to drive a car
[2] First Nigerian woman to ride a motorcycle
[3] Co-founder of the Nigerian Union of Students
[4] Co-founder of the Nigerian Union of Teachers
[5] Founded the largest African women's organisation ever with 20,000 members
[6] As the leader of Egba women lead a campaign against arbitrary taxation of women, that led to the abdication of the Egba king Oba Ademola II in 1949
[7] Was Nigeria's first ever representative at a women's international conference in the USSR in 1963
[8] She ran the junior section of Abeokuta Grammar School
[9] Led a concerted campaign to ensure that girls went to school
[10] Brought through a whole hos of Abeokuta kids, including her nephew Wole Soyinka. It is no accident that Abeokuta has produced the greatest number of Yoruba leaders to date.

Contributed by Ayo Akinfe. . .

Funmilayo Ransome Kuti

(25 October 1900 Abeokuta, Nigeria - 13 April 1978 Lagos, Nigeria), born Francis Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas to Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas and Lucretia Phyllis Omoyeni Adeosolu. She was a teacher, political campaigner, and women's rights activist. Ransome-Kuti's political activism led to her being described as the doyen of female rights in Nigeria and was regarded as “The Mother of Africa.” Early on she was a very powerful force advocating for women's right to vote. She was described in 1947, by the West African Pilot as the “Lioness of Lisabi” for her leadership of Egba women on a campaign against arbitrary taxation of women. That struggle led to the abdication of the Egba King Oba Ademola II in 1949

Another woman dead, because of cancer!

In the U.S., they are talking about the death of Elizabeth Edwards.

I support this move!

Ileke-IdI:

That would be walking on ICE! Not water.
If you're really an old member, okay. But if you're that origami shaped head EzeUche, I am not amused.

Ice is frozen water. Are you always like this?