RECESSION: A PATH TO RECOVERY

Introduction! In economics, a recession is a negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters. It is also a business cycle contraction which results in a general slowdown in economic activity. Macroeconomic indicators such as GDP (gross domestic product), investment spending, capacity utilization, household income, business profits, and inflation fall, while bankruptcies and the unemployment rate rise. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various events, such as a financial crisis , an external trade shock, an adverse supply shock or the bursting of an economic bubble . Governments usually respond to recessions by adopting expansionary macroeconomic policies , such as increasing money supply , increasing government spending and decreasing taxation. Albeit, an economy in 3-4 consecutive quarters (8-12 months) in recession is said to have spiraled into depression. Before depression sets in, of which we cannot afford to delve into. The good news is, this deep dive enables us to make good this moment to take our rightful place and catch up with other global players. A great teacher we'd never recourse to is HISTORY! In historical anals recession does not translate the end of that system but a sharp reminder such system has been floundering economic/political wise. Also worthy of note is for us as a people to desist the use of lexicons as BREAK UP, Nigeria (I'll not say "never") will not break up. What we need is reforms, reforms, reforms, in current parlance as RESTRUCTURING. States or regions must hence fend for themselves and remit to the center, no more handouts and hands on another's pie. AN IDEA(L) WAY OUT ROOSEVELT'S NEW DEAL Diverse economic routes (road maps) can be plied to recovery. But as a people who claim to have wealth of knowledge in economic history, development modules etc. A moment is set before us to harness the tools and techniques in history by consulting the past how notable countries like Russia and United States of America survived hard times. Besides, we copy or tend to copy much from these nations. This I think is the hour! I charge President Buhari and his cabinet to learn from Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous New Deal Economic Policies of 1933-39. The New Deal was a cursor that steered the US out from the Great Depression. The New Deal was pack of economic programmes to recovery. Government of the day ventured into deliberate reforms; massive construction, heavy government spending on agriculture, bank reforms/loans, employments. In nutshell, the crux of the New Deal was to put money in citizens pocket through employments that later enabled a burgeoned consumer spending and investment by end of 1939. *The New Deal was a series of social liberal programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938, and a few that came later. They included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term (1933–1937) of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were in response to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians refer to as the "3 Rs," Relief, Recovery, and Reform: relief for the unemployed and poor, recovery of the economy to normal levels, and reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression.* By 1939, the Roosevelt administration through shrewd and sheered determination rescued the United States of America from the depression and repositioned her economy back on track. Of which most of Roosevelt's lofty policies lives till date. The present administration of President Buhari can borrow a leaf if not all from the New Deal to revamp and reposition Nigeria back on track. STALINIST FIVE-YEAR PLANS History has it, Russia before and after the Bolsheviks Revolution was a feudal agrarian state. Russia's fortune changed through one man's shrewd and firm determination to position Russia amongst global powers. Note! This is not to say President Buhari needs to be a "man of steel" nor introduce "collectivisation" to turn our fortunes around. The lesson Nigeria could learn is the Five Year Plan of Stalin from 1928 - war time. To fan the embers for an industrialised Russia, Stalin in his inaugural speech in 1923 he said thus: our western neighbours are hundred years ahead of us, we must make good this moment to catch up with them in twenty years. Whoa! Catching up with nations whom are hundred years ahead in twenty years? How's that possible? This is how! The five-year plans were developed by a state planning committee based on the theory of the productive forces that was part of the ideology of the Party for development of the Soviet economy. Fulfilling the plan became the watchword of Soviet bureaucracy. The same method of planning was also adopted by most other communist states , including the People's Republic of China . Nazi Germany emulated the practice in its four-year plan designed to bring Germany to war-readiness. Thence the 1st Five-Year Plan that saw Russia moved from feudal crude agrarian society to a mechanized one from seventh in global index in production to number two next to United States of America. Each five-year plan dealt with all aspects of development: capital goods (those used to produce other goods, like factories and machinery), consumer goods (e.g. chairs, carpets, and irons), agriculture, transportation, communications, health, education, and welfare. However, the emphasis varied from plan to plan, although generally the emphasis was on power (electricity), capital goods, and agriculture. THE MURAL LESSON Without much ado, Nigeria must hone up and brace herself to economic realities through reforms, restructuring, downsizing executive compensation and economic drain before we nose dive deep into depression. Venture more into massive constructions, tax cut, employments into various sectors, ICT development in schools and government parastatals.

©CONCLUSION Having known recession is a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters. Technically, Nigeria is having a down turn in her economic fortunes. Why are we in this state in the first instance? Our combined actions and inactions brought us to this state of economic comatose. Beyond all the cacophony of blames, what is the way out? Aren't we tired of repeating what we know is the obvious? We are in economic recession yes- does being in recession means the end of nationhood? Economic recession is a slide in the fortune of a country's income and not necessarily a doom's end. Just like nations ravaged by war, earthquake and other natural resources is economic recession. Recession is when the tools of indices doesn't support your current realities. No economic team would increase the price of crude oil - that is a reality. No government can survive on import economy. We are in recession because of our age long laziness in all fronts. How many states are into Mechanized farming before now? You want to be above recession yet you have no food to feed yourself? Banks are not creating wealth but usurping the functions of the central bank by serving as vault for government agencies. In other climes, banks create small businesses, in Nigeria, banks survive on government patronage. The introduction of the TSA has exposed the inffectual dexterity of our banks as lazy institutions. Show me a business that was created by any Bank and I will drop this post. How can Nigeria's economy not suffer recession when a lawmaker is using N678m as running cost? Narrowing the debate to inactions of the present government is akin to regurgitating same problems and no solutions. You don't produce and you want to sell, you want to eat yet you refused to farm. You want to be amongst top world economies yet you produce nothing. Because oil money was at your dips, you puff and pontificate that you are Africa's largest economy. How did you arrived at being a large economy when even your toothpick is imported? We are a buying economy as almost all our essentials and consumables are imported. We want to be a buoyant economy yet indulge in financial recklessness. How can a lawmaker be entitled to N678m as mere running cost in an economy that is on her knees? Multiply the number of lawmakers who are exposed to these monies and tell me how you expect to be a buoyant economy? That airlines are packing up is a good omen for us to invest in our roads. Because we had access to free money, we abandoned the roads and fly on chattered flights. Necessity they say is the mother of all inventions, where we are today would afford us the opportunity to look inward for solutions of our problems. Bailouts were given to states twice yet the states refused to pay salaries. What did we do? We stay put to blame the President for hunger in the land when twice he has come to the rescue of our states . We enrich our governors because we don't ask for accountability. We are even the problems of ourselves. Charcoal fuel used for cooking is more expensive than kerosene because dollars has gone up. What is the relationship between firewood and dollars? Nothing will change until we are ready to address our fundamental flaws. We need overhaul of our laws where things can be done differently. Until then we are a revolving people in a journey to nowhere. *Lewis Omorodion ~ (Economically Musing) Patrick Inengite CT. MA. Diplomacy

23 Tips from Famous Writers for New and Emerging Authors

Millionaire’s Digest Staff Team, Author, Successful Living and Writing Writer 1. “I have advice for people who want to write. I don’t care whether they’re 5 or 500. There are three things that are important: First, if you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where you just put down what you think about life, what you think about things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair. And second, you need to read. You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. It’s the great writers who teach us how to write. The third thing is to write. Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour — write, write, write.” ― Madeleine L’Engle 2. “Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.” ― William Faulkner 3. “Read Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande. Then do what it says, including the tasks you think are impossible. You will particularly hate the advice to write first thing in the morning, but if you can manage it, it might well be the best thing you ever do for yourself. This book is about becoming a writer from the inside out. Many later advice manuals derive from it. You don’t ­really need any others, though if you want to boost your confidence, “how to” books seldom do any harm. You can kick-start a whole book with some little writing exercise.” ― Hilary Mantel 4. “Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that – but you are the only you.” ― Neil Gaiman 5. “Becoming a writer is about becoming conscious. When you’re conscious and writing from a place of insight and simplicity and real caring about the truth, you have the ability to throw the lights on for your reader. He or she will recognize his or her life and truth in what you say, in the pictures you have painted, and this decreases the terrible sense of isolation that we have all had too much of.” ― Anne Lamott 6. “I am always chilled and astonished by the would-be writers who ask me for advice and admit, quite blithely, that they “don’t have time to read.” This is like a guy starting up Mount Everest saying that he didn’t have time to buy any rope or pitons.” ― Stephen King 7. “You either have to write or you shouldn’t be writing. That’s all.” ― Joss Whedon 8. “Advice to young writers who want to get ahead without any annoying delays: don’t write about Man, write about a man.” ― E.B. White 9. “Write. Start writing today. Start writing right now. Don’t write it right, just write it –and then make it right later. Give yourself the mental freedom to enjoy the process, because the process of writing is a long one. Be wary of “writing rules” and advice. Do it your way.” ― Tara Moss 10. “Notice how many of the Olympic athletes effusively thanked their mothers for their success? “She drove me to my practice at four in the morning,” etc. Writing is not figure skating or skiing. Your mother will not make you a writer. My advice to any young person who wants to write is: leave home.” ― Paul Theroux 11. “It’s a great lesson about not being too precious about your writing. You have to try your hardest to be at the top of your game and improve every joke you can until the last possible second, and then you have to let it go. You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it…You have to let people see what you wrote.” ― Tina Fey 12. “Be daring, take on anything. Don’t labor over little cameo works in which every word is to be perfect. Technique holds a reader from sentence to sentence, but only content will stay in his mind.” ― Joyce Carol Oates 13. “First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.” ― Kurt Vonnegut 14. “To all the talented young men who wander about feeling that there is nothing in the world for them to do, I should say: ‘Give up trying to write, and, instead, try not to write. Go out into the world; become a pirate, a king in Borneo, a labourer in Soviet Russia; give yourself an existence in which the satisfaction of elementary physical needs will occupy almost all your energies.’ I do not recommend this course of action to everyone, but only to those who suffer from the disease which Mr Krutch diagnoses. I believe that, after some years of such an existence, the ex-intellectual will find that in spite of is efforts he can no longer refrain from writing, and when this time comes his writing will not seem to him futile.” ― Bertrand Russell 15. “Writing a book is a bit like surfing . . . Most of the time you’re waiting. And it’s quite pleasant, sitting in the water waiting. But you are expecting that the result of a storm over the horizon, in another time zone, usually, days old, will radiate out in the form of waves. And eventually, when they show up, you turn around and ride that energy to the shore. It’s a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you’re lucky, it’s also about grace. As a writer, you roll up to the desk every day, and then you sit there, waiting, in the hope that something will come over the horizon. And then you turn around and ride it, in the form of a story.” ― Tim Winton 16. “Advice to young writers? Always the same advice: learn to trust our own judgment, learn inner independence, learn to trust that time will sort the good from the bad – including your own bad.” ― Doris Lessing 17. “My advice for aspiring writers is go to New York. And if you can’t go to New York, go to the place that represents New York to you, where the standards for writing are high, there are other people who share your dreams, and where you can talk, talk, talk about your interests. Writing books begins in talking about it, like most human projects, and in being close to those who have already done what you propose to do.” ― Walter Kirn 18. “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” ― Maya Angelou 19. “If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories — science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” ― Ray Bradbury 20. “Whenever I’m asked what advice I have for young writers, I always say that the first thing is to read, and to read a lot. The second thing is to write. And the third thing, which I think is absolutely vital, is to tell stories and listen closely to the stories you’re being told.” ― John Green 21. “Imagine that you are dying. If you had a terminal disease would you ­finish this book? Why not? The thing that annoys this 10-weeks-to-live self is the thing that is wrong with the book. So change it. Stop arguing with yourself. Change it. See? Easy. And no one had to die.” ― Anne Enright 22. “On writing, my advice is the same to all. If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write. If you stop, start again. Save everything that you write. If you feel blocked, write through it until you feel your creative juices flowing again. Write. Writing is what makes a writer, nothing more and nothing less. — Ignore critics. Critics are a dime a dozen. Anybody can be a critic. Writers are priceless. —- Go where the pleasure is in your writing. Go where the pain is. Write the book you would like to read. Write the book you have been trying to find but have not found. But write. And remember, there are no rules for our profession. Ignore rules. Ignore what I say here if it doesn’t help you. Do it your own way. — Every writer knows fear and discouragement. Just write. — The world is crying for new writing. It is crying for fresh and original voices and new characters and new stories. If you won’t write the classics of tomorrow, well, we will not have any. Good luck.” ― Anne Rice 23. “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.” ― Dorothy Parker Article Credits: Amber M. Millionaire’s Digest Staff Team, Author (For Writing, Book, Journal Bloggers & More)

Why So Many People Dream of Writing a Book By Laura Caroll

Brian Tracy International claims 82 percent of adults dream of writing a book. I believe it! Last year it conducted a survey of 1100 people on their main reasons for wanting to write a book. What did the survey find? Check it out: To the question, “What is your main reason for wanting to write a book?”: 54 percent chose the response that they “have a great message or experience that they want to share to help inspire others.”< >This does not surprise me. So many of my clients who have written nonfiction book(s) share this feeling. BTI also asked respondents, “What is holding you back from writing a book?” 40 percent chose the response, “I don’t know where to start.” 18 percent chose, “No time.” 16 percent chose, “Lack confidence.” 15 percent chose, “Don’t feel qualified.” The rest fell into the “Other” response category. When it comes to writing a book, feeling a lack of confidence or qualification can be part of what is underneath the feeling of not knowing where to start. And feeling a lack of time to sit down and write is one of most common procrastination strategies. What can be underneath the procrastination? The same two things: feeling unqualified and a lack of confidence. When something becomes important enough, we find a way to make time. And there are some good strategies to successfully carving out that time. But before the “making the time” strategies, the first step is to identify a topic that you are passionate about! It could be a topic that you already know a lot about or one you want to learn more about. Many authors start with their area of knowledge or expertise. Others start with a question, and develop the book to answer their question. As the poet and novelist Rainier Maria Rilke once wrote, “Love the questions themselves. Live the questions now.” Writing a book is definitely one way to do just that! If you are dreaming of writing a book, what is your main reason? If you have not started, but want to, what is holding you back?

Bismarck Orji: Atiku, APC and the RESTRUCTURING Debate

and some Ohaneze Youth leaders at his Asokoro residence, the question on everyone’s lips was whether he meant R-E-S-T-R-U-C-T-U-R-I-N-G. He had recently at a book launch declared his support for restructuring Nigeria. According to him, that was the only way forward for the country in the light of the Biafran agitation and renewed militancy in the Niger Delta. It was borne out of the belief by many Nigerians that the Turakin Adamawa was either merely playing to the gallery so as to be in the news or voicing out his discontentment with Buhari’s Government. This was owing to the “Atiku Myth”. Since the return to civil rule in 1999, perhaps, no other Nigerian has exhibited so much understanding and control over the levers that power the Nigerian polity like Atiku. As such, whatever he says or does is bound to be scrutinized with political prisms. According to the myth, at the height of his political trajectory, in the build up to the 2003 presidential election, his boss President Obasanjo had to go on his knees to plead with him to make the PDP Governors who had overwhelmingly declared support for him (Atiku) to switch their support to Obasanjo thereby paving the way for his re-election. Yet, on that fateful evening at Asokoro, he pleasantly surprised the Igbo leaders present by stating that he, Atiku meant Restructuring. In fact, he stated that he had always believed in the necessity of restructuring Nigeria. Also, he stated that as far back as 1999, before he was sworn in as Nigeria’s Number 2 Citizen, at an International oil and gas conference in the US, he had stated his support for the privatization of the NNPC. He said President Obasanjo took exception to that statement then but confessed just months ago that one of his regrets was not privatizing NNPC while in office as president. Most importantly, Atiku boldly stated that the present structure has not favoured the North, a truth which no other Northern leader has had the courage to speak. Certainly, the North as a region under Ahmadu Bello was more productive than the present 19 Northern states. Today, the poverty index in the North is quite higher than in the South. Quotacracy which is an inherent aspect of the present structure has been a curse in disguise for the North. While providing them with short term local advantages, it has limited their international competitiveness. For instance, from the cut off for the 2016 entrance exam into Unity Colleges recently released, Amobi- a male pupil from Anambra has to score 137 whereas Adamu his brother from Yobe passes the same exam with a score of 2! Today, the world is a global village and Atiku has realized that the Adamu from Yobe will be grossly disadvantaged to compete for jobs at the international stage where merit is the watch word. Besides, Quotacracy in education opportunities creates a wrong impression that Northerners are less endowed intellectually. After all, Jamiu Aliyu- the Kebbi State born US based automobile designer did not get to become one of America’s foremost brains through quota but by merit. Aliko Dangote as well did not become Africa’s richest man by quota but by merit and hardwork. Atiku’s support for restructuring Nigeria at this critical juncture in Nigeria’s political history marks him out as a statesman and a patriot. If an ambitious politician like Atiku can support the clamour for restructuring despite his presidential ambition, why should others not follow suit? By that statement which he made and which he has been defending eloquently, he has joined the ranks of Northern progressives like Bishop Hassan Kukah, Alh. Balarabe Musa, Senator Shehu Sanni, Alh. Yerima Shettima, etc who have steadily been preaching restructuring without recourse to primordial sentiments. Therefore, it is ridiculous for the ruling party- APC to try to vilify him or chide him for taking such a courageous stand. Rather, the APC as a party should borrow a leaf from her national leader- Senator Bola Tinubu who recently reiterated his support for restructuring Nigeria now. Indeed, Senator Bola Tinubu has again shown why he is regarded as one of the political fathers of modern day Nigeria. For avoidance of doubt, Senator Bola Tinubu is a man whose views on Nigeria can only be ignored by fools. He, it was that made the Buhari Presidency possible by providing not only the vehicle for the mission but also fuelling it, both ideologically and materially. Before coming into power, the APC was seen as a party of progressives owing to her support for restructuring and other progressive ideas as espoused in the party’s ideology. It will amount to dubious hypocrisy for the party to now condemn restructuring simply because it is now in power. Nigerians expect the APC National Chairman- Chief John Oyegun to break his criminal silence over the issue by speaking out. He either supports Atiku, Tinubu, Shehu Sani and other progressive elements in the party who have been bold enough to support restructuring Nigeria now or joins the opportunists who seem to have hijacked the soul of the “party of change”. After one year in office, Buhari’s Presidency has proved one point. President Jonathan (PDP) was not the trouble with Nigeria neither is Buhari (APC) the solution to Nigeria’s trouble. The trouble with Nigeria is neither the PDP, the APC nor even APGA. Indeed, the trouble with Nigeria is Nigeria itself. An Igbo adage states that “ishi na-eshi nkakwu si ya n’okpukpu” meaning that the shrew’s stink stems from its marrow. A Yoruba Presidency did not provide the solution, an Ijaw Presidency did not, a Fulani Presidency has not and even an Igbo Presidency will not provide the solution. Religion is not also the trouble because even Bishop Hassan Kukah himself despite his established piety cannot save Nigeria as presently structured. President Buhari himself confessed that the present Nigerian political structure has failed when during his media chat on December 30, 2015 he stated that 26 out of the 36 states of the federation could not pay salaries when he assumed office. Today, after several Federal Government bailouts the situation has become worse with some State Governments now asking workers to accept half salary. That we are talking about Nigeria as a country today is because of the uncommon patriotism exhibited by President Jonathan by conceding defeat despite glaring irregularities in last year’s presidential election. However, the Buhari Presidency has been more divisive than any other Government in Nigeria since independence. For instance, this is the first time since return to civil rule in 1999 that Ndigbo have been shut out of the 11 man National Security Council comprising service chiefs and heads of other security agencies. Today, no Igbo is a service chief or heads any security agency! Even IBB and Abacha never treated Ndigbo so badly. That in itself is a time bomb. How can Buhari ask Ndigbo not to wish for and even die for Biafra when he has officially shown that their security is not guaranteed by his government? That is why Atiku has the blessings of Ndigbo for stating that the only thing that can assuage the ongoing agitation for Biafra is to restructure Nigeria. Whosoever wants to be a friend of Ndigbo must condemn the ongoing deliberate attempt to push Ndigbo into war. For avoidance of doubt, the Igbo is a global brand. Just like the Yorubas, they constitute a big percentage of blacks in the Diaspora and are indigenous to such countries as Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad& Tobago, etc. From DNA evidence, at least 45% of Afro Americans are of Igbo ancestry and the Igbo is the African tribe that contributed most to the making of the Unites States of America. That was why the US Government set up the Igbo Farm Village Museum in Staunton, Virginia in 2009. As such, America cannot for long look aside while Ndigbo are being grinded into the ground. Based on the foregoing and as well considering Buhari’s body language, it bespeaks irresponsibility for any politician regardless of his/her party or tribe to be talking about political permutations for 2019 when Nigeria is about to implode! A statesman is one who sacrifices his personal interest in order to safeguard the state. Therefore, it is time for Nigerian political leaders to rise and join Atiku, Tinubu and other concerned Nigerians in salvaging Nigeria. The leadership of the National Assembly, the State Governors and members of the Federal Executive Council must all speak out now! As such, the Ondo State Government is being commended for having officially supported restructuring. Also, Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s letter to the international community is commendable as such letters will help to bring international pressure on President Buhari to do the needful. The needful is to restructure Nigeria with the present 6 zonal structure as federating units. That way, the 3 major tribes will have 3 zones and the minorities will equally have 3 zones. That way, the separatists such as IPOB, MASSOB and Niger Delta Avengers may have a rethink. Indeed, the 6 Zonal structure remains Abacha’s best legacy since it was enshrined in the Abacha Constitution. Finally, Alh. Atiku Abubakar deserves commendation for opening a new chapter in the ongoing national discourse on Nigeria’s structure. According to another Igbo adage, “nwoke luchaa ogu, nwanyi enwere akuko” meaning when men finish the battle, women will start telling the story. Therefore, it is time for Nigerian elder statesmen such as Shehu Shagari, IBB, Obasanjo, Ekwueme, Tanko Yakassai, Ndubuisi Kanu, Emeka Anyaoku, Edward Clark, Soyinka, etc to shout in unison as elders so as to jolt our dear president to reality and draw Nigeria back from this looming precipice. Mazi Ikechukwu Bismarck Oji (B.Eng.) Engineer, Poet, Political Activist Former National Chairman, Ohaneze Youth Wing brandbismarck@gmail.com

"Delegates of 2014 CONFAB Boys" SGF

A former Minister of External Affairs and Vice Chairman of the 2014 National Conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, has criticised the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, for referring to delegates at the conference as boys. “I have no quarrel with the SGF reiterating the opposition of Government to the 2014 National Conference. But I find the language in which his views are couched to be crude, rude, offensive and unbecoming of the high office of state he occupies,” Akinyemi said in a statement “on the intemperate language” used by the SGF in the interview. Akinyemi expressed disappointment that the SGF referred to delegates at the conference including traditional rulers and scholars who had served the country excellently as boys. He said, “He (SGF) referred to the delegates as “boys”, BOYS!!!!!!!!!! Among the delegates are the Emir of Ilorin, the Lamido of Adamawa, King Arfred Diete Spiff, the Gbong Gwom of Jos, Emir of Yauri, Emir of Dutse, Emir of Askira, the Amanyanabo of Nembe HRM Edmund Daukoru, various judges of the High Courts. “BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!! Delegates included a former Chief of Defence Staff, a former Chief of Air Staff, three former foreign ministers, a former Inspector General of Police, two former Senate Presidents, a former SGF, several former ministers, several SANs, several former Governors, Professors etc. etc. etc. Presiding was a former Chief Justice of Nigeria and a former Minister of External Affairs.” “Most of the delegates there were people who had paid their dues, served this country in high and exalted positions, risked their lives in the civil war and other domestic insurrections and showed exceptional excellence in the performance of their duties, obviously more excellence than Engr. Lawal had demonstrated in his one year in office.” “Come on Mr. SGF, grow up. You have been in the office that funded the Conference and you have been there for over a year, and all you need to do is to send for the files to know that what members were paid is much less than N7m per member. You do not have to depend on rumours or “dem say”,” he said. He stressed that it was up to the government to implement the resolutions of the conference, saying, “Frankly, I will not plead for the Report of the Conference to be considered by your Government. Governments come and Governments go. The problems will remain. We will all be judged by whether we were part of the solution or part of the problems.”

Prof. Wole Soyinka say YES to restructuring...

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has lent his voice to the growing calls for the restructuring of the Nigerian federation, saying the sovereignty of the nation is negotiable. Speaking during a visit to PUNCH Place, the corporate headquarters of PUNCH Nigeria Limited, Kilometre 14, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State, on Tuesday, Soyinka said decentralisation of the nation would ensure healthy rivalry among the component units. The laureate said it was wrong for previous administrations in the country to say that Nigeria’s sovereignty was non-negotiable, submitting that the position was antithetical to development. Soyinka added, “I am on the side of those who say we must do everything to avoid disintegration. That language I understand. I don’t understand (ex-President Olusegun) Obasanjo’s language. I don’t understand (President Muhammadu) Buhari’s language and all their predecessors, saying the sovereignty of this nation is non-negotiable. It’s bloody well negotiable and we had better negotiate it. We better negotiate it, not even at meetings, not at conferences, but everyday in our conduct towards one another. “We had better understand it too that when people are saying ‘let’s restructure’, they have better things to do. It’s not an idle cry; it is a perennial demand. The Pro-National Conference Organisation was about restructuring when this same Obasanjo said it was an act of treason for people to come together to fashion a new constitution. Those were fighting words; that you’re saying, ‘I commit treason because I want to sit with my fellow citizens and negotiate the structures of staying together’ and ask the police to go and break it up and arrest us. “I remember that policeman, who said if we met, that would be treason. I wasn’t a member of PRONACO at the time. That’s when I joined PRONACO. If you’re saying to me, ‘I am a second-class citizen; I cannot sit down and discuss the articles, the protocols of staying together’ and you’re trying to bully me, I won’t accept.” He said Nigeria could not continue with a centralisation policy, which encouraged what he described as “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” mentality. Soyinka said the over centralisation of government had resulted in resentment among constituent states, adding that the phenomenon was insulting and promoted anti-healthy rivalry among states. He stated, “We cannot continue to allow a centralisation policy which makes the constituent units of this nation resentful; they say monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. And the idea of centralising revenues, allocation system, whereby you dole out; the thing is insulting and it is what I call anti-healthy rivalry. It is against the incentives to make states viable.” He said the centralisation of government led to the proliferation of states during the military era when, according to him, a state was created because the girlfriend of a certain military leader hailed from the state. He said it was high time government established state police to check the rising security challenges in the country, stressing that policing was more effective when localised. Soyinka added, “I know people get nervous about that expression. If you go to a place like England, you sometimes see two, three, four police (officers) just walking casually unarmed, but they are observing everything. “Now, if policing is all of that, then I think the police are more efficient if they are based within a smaller constituency than a larger one. Within such constituencies, the policeman virtually knows everybody. A federal, centralised system of police lacks that advantage. “So, I find it very difficult to accept that people can be nervous about the state police. State police has been abused. Nobody is denying that; it’s historical. Don’t tell us because we know already. But isn’t centralised police also abused? Look at what’s been coming out from the last elections, not just the police, but the military.” Soyinka said the intrusive nature of Fulani herdsmen was no longer a remote problem for him personally, alleging that some Fulani herdsmen had invaded the privacy of his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State. “It is no longer a remote problem for me. It is an actuality,” he said, recalling that the killings carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Enugu some months ago was mismanaged by the government. “In Enugu, why did it take so long to investigate the killings? It’s like the case of Ese Oruru. What is all this? What is security for? That thing should have been addressed immediately. (In Enugu), they shouldn’t have waited for directives from Buhari or anybody. This is a crime against humanity. There should be no debate about it. “The military should have been drafted there immediately; the police, first of all, and the military – if necessary. I found out that the victims were arrested; what’s all that about? This menace is underestimated. If they had reached my secure place in Abeokuta, then it is no longer a remote problem.” He faulted the proposal to create grazing reserves for herdsmen in the country, saying rather than do that, ranches, where members of the public could go to buy cows and goats, should be created. The octogenarian said the term “grazing reserve” would convey the meaning that government had carved out some people’s land for herdsmen to use for their commercial enterprise. “The word ‘reserve’ is the problem. If there are ranches, it doesn’t matter where they are built, ranches are a commercial proposition, it isn’t a Fulani issue. You can create ranches so that cows, goats could be bought there. This shouldn’t be an instrument of politics, race or ethnicity. “But when you talk about reserves, it suggests that people can bring cattle from Futa Djallon, Senegal, and if they get here, they can get reserve. If it’s a ranch, it’s a pure commercial proposition, you want to trade. I will like to see these cattle people go back to the position they were before in which there was mutual collaboration between them and farmers,” he said. Soyinka called on Buhari to consider the report of the 2014 National Conference convened during the tenure of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, lamenting that the country had been moving round in circles without direction. “We have a habit of consigning files to the dust shelves and then we start all over again. The (confab) report that came under Jonathan is even more superior to the one that I participated in as a member of PRONACO and I think that should be addressed seriously. “The recommendations strike me as workable, practical, and in fact, as answering some of the anxieties of this nation. This is something I think that Buhari should tackle seriously,” he said.

AMALGAMATION OF NORTH/SOUTH: A HISTORIC MISADVENTURE

**COPIED** THE NIGERIA OIL POLITICS: RUMOUR OR FICTITIOUS That's the real situation here. A system configured to stifle all into an oligarchs pocket. The Amanyanabo of Okrika, Nembe and Twon-Brass kingdom have a lot of oil wells situated in their kingdom. They have no oil well but the Sultan of Sokoto has over 10 oil wells in Niger Delta. The Amanyanabo of Bonny in Niger Delta has oil wells in his kingdom, but he has no oil well to his name but The Emir of Kano has over 5 oil wells in Niger Delta territories. The Amanyanabo of Kalabari has so many oil wells in his kingdom but has no oil well to his name in his kingdom but the Emir of Gwazo has over 5 oil wells in Niger Delta territories. In Ogonilands there are so many oil wells but none of the kings in Ogonilands have any oil wells but General Danjuma has over 10 oil wells in Ogonilands. The list can go on but Niger Delta people and their kings don't have oil wells . Such a situation, will you say it is fair to the Niger Delta people in Nigeria? Let's restructure and live in unity. The cheating is very bad and not fair. This is the bane of the corruption in Nigeria. [citation needed]

AMALGAMATION OF NORTH/SOUTH: A HISTORIC MISADVENTURE

HISTORY OF THE NIGER DELTA QUESTION...Part 1.

This author is from the Niger Delta area and believes in the unity of our dear country call-Nigeria. However, the situation in the region requires the political will from our leaders and the led to holistically and honestly address the problems facing the Niger Delta region. We have (3) Major Deltas in the world: Missisipi Delta, Metong Delta and Niger Delta. Of all, the Niger Delta is least developed in terms of infrastructure.. Mahatma Ghandi of India, a renowned philosopher of our time once quoted of saying “The things that will destroy us are politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity and worship without sacrifice.” This saying captures some of the Socio-Political-economic events in Nigeria. The region Niger Delta is not new to unlawful and repressive treatments against her people, this predates as far back pre-colonial Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Historically, the Niger Delta conflict dates back to the Akassa Raid of 1895, when the inhabitants of the area resisted economic domination by British merchants. The consequences of the Akassa Raid included the British invalidation and overthrow of the Royal Niger Company (RNC) and later colonialism. However, the region's feeling of domination was exacerbated in the 1990s. The reason being that after many years of oil exploitation there is yet to be any subsequent development. Instead, the region has remained impoverished, polluted and under-employed (Etekpe, 2009; United Nations Department of Political Affairs and United Nations Environment Programme 2015, p.11). This article is unique because it identifies the nexus between the politics of oil and CSR conflicts, and offers suggestions on potential abatement measures for providing peace and stability. In fact, the inhabitants of the region have been subjected to untold hardship through oil pollution, environmental degradation, and the destruction of both the entire environment and the local populations sources of livelihood (Oviasuyi and Uwadiae, 2010,p.110; Okolie-Osemene, 2015; Adams, 2014; Aghalino, 2012; Aghalino, 2011; Aghalino, 2009; Arinze 2010; Aghalino and Okolie-Osemene, 2014; Evoh, 2009). This is one of the drivers of the conflict because land is a resource that means a lot to the people. According to Aghalino (2011, p.6 ) the need for and occupation of land by the oil companies which construct flow lines, flow stations and other oil installations is the main driver of acrimony between the oil companies, the government and host the communities. This is due to the socio-cultural significance of land in such communities where some corporate practices clash with the traditional beliefs of the people. GEOGRAPHY

The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Bight of Biafra side of the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is a very densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil . The area was the British Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 until 1893, when it was expanded and became the Niger Coast Protectorate . The delta is an oil-rich region, and has been the centre of international controversy over pollution, corruption, cultism/gang related violence and human rights violations . The Niger Delta, as now defined officially by the Nigerian government, extends over about 70,000 km 2 (27,000 sq mi) and makes up 7.5% of Nigeria's land mass. Historically and cartographically, it consists of present-day Bayelsa , Delta, and Rivers States . In 2000, however, Obasanjo's regime included Abia, Akwa-Ibom , Cross River State , Edo , Imo and Ondo States in the region. Some 31 million people of more than 40 ethnic groups including the Bini , Efik, Esan, Ibibio , Igbo , Annang , Oron , Ijaw , Itsekiri , Yoruba, Isoko , Urhobo, Ukwuani , and Ogoni, are among the inhabitants of the political Niger Delta, speaking about 250 different dialects. The Niger Delta, and the "South South Zone", which includes Akwa Ibom State , Bayelsa State , Cross River State , Delta State , Edo State and Rivers State are two different entities. While the Niger Delta is the oil-producing region, the Nigerian South South is a geo-political zone. The Niger Delta separates the Bight of Benin from the Bight of Biafra within the larger Gulf of Guinea. Map of Nigeria numerically showing states typically considered part of the Niger Delta region: 1. Abia, 2. Akwa Ibom, 3. Bayelsa , 4. Cross River , 5. Delta, 6. Edo , 7. Imo , 8. Ondo, 9. Rivers

Sub-regions Western (or Northern) Niger Delta Western Niger Delta consists of the western section of the coastal South-South Nigeria which includes Delta, and the southernmost parts of Edo , and Ondo States. The western (or Northern) Niger Delta is an heterogeneous society with several ethnic groups including the Urhobo, Igbo , Isoko, Itsekiri , Ijaw (or Ezon) and Ukwuani groups in Delta State, along with Yoruba (Ilaje) in Ondo State. Their livelihoods are primarily based on fishing and farming . History has it that the Western Niger was controlled by chiefs of the five primary ethnic groups the Itsekiri, Isoko, Ukwuani, Ijaw and Urhobo with whom the British government had to sign separate "Treaties of Protection" in their formation of "Protectorates" that later became southern Nigeria. Central Niger Delta Central Niger Delta consists of the central section of the coastal South-South Nigeria which includes Bayelsa and Rivers States. The Central Niger Delta region has the Ijaw (including the Nembe-Brass, Ogbia, Kalabari people , Ibani of Opobo & Bonny, Okrika, and Andoni clans). The Ogoni and other groups which consist of Igbo, Etche, Ogba, Ikwerre, Ndoni, Ekpeye and Ndoki in Rivers State. Eastern Niger Delta Eastern Niger Delta Section consists of the Eastern (or Atlantic) section of the coastal South-South Nigeria which includes Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. The Eastern Niger Delta region has the Efik, Ibibio , Annang , Oron, Ogoja (including Ekoi and Bekwara ) people, who are all related with a common language and ancestor.

PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD The Niger Delta has been a crying baby ever since almagamtion. At a point they were at the head of coastal trade and politics... So now the question is, what went wrong? Collaboral corruption of her own people? Colonial cum neocolonialism injustice? One question too many. The area was the British Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 until 1893, when it was expanded and became the Niger Coast Protectorate . The core Niger Delta later became a part of the eastern region of Nigeria , which came into being in 1951 (one of the three regions, and later one of the four regions). The majority of the people were those from the colonial Calabar and Ogoja divisions, the present-day Ogoja, Annang , Ibibio, Oron, Efik, Ijaw, and Igbo peoples. The National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) was the ruling political party of the region. The NCNC later became the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens, after western Cameroon decided to separate from Nigeria. The ruling party of eastern Nigeria did not seek to preclude the separation and even encouraged it. The then Eastern Region had the third, fourth and fifth largest ethnic groups in the country (the Igbo , the Ibibio and the Ijaw ) after the Hausa - Fulani and the Yoruba. In 1953, the old eastern region had a major crisis due to the expulsion of Professor Eyo Ita from office by the majority Igbo tribe of the old eastern region. Ita, an Efik man from Calabar, was one of the pioneer nationalists for Nigerian independence. This era marked the outright play of tribalism in Nigeria's weaning democracy. After Azikwe lost his prominence in the Western regional election following Awolowo's.(Action Group) offering to his fellow Yoruba not to forget they are Yoruba before Nigeria. This call was well masticulated by the Yoruba, stamping the entrance of "cross carpet" in Nigeria's political anals. Event leading to Zik's loss of an important position to AWOLOWO'S AG, which he (Zik) may have emerged Premier of Independent Nigeria as leader of the NCNC. Meanwhile the North championed a clear regional party called, Northern People's Party. Azikwe coming back to contest from his homefront Ita was asked to relinquish for the leader of the party, in other for Zik not to be a floor member in his party. An incident which became a eye openner of concern. The minorities in the region, the Ibibio , Annang , Efik, Ijaw and Ogoja, situated along the southeastern coast and in the delta region and demanded a state of their own, the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers (COR) state. As a result of the crisis, Professor Eyo Ita left the NCNC to form a new political party called the National Independence Party (NIP) which was one of the five Nigerian political parties represented at the conferences on Nigerian Constitution and Independence. The struggle for the creation of the COR state continued and was a major issue concerning the status of minorities in Nigeria during debates in Europe on Nigerian independence leading to the initiation of Henry Willink's Commission (headed by former Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University) to come with a minority report as to the fears and measures to allay such fears in an independent Nigeria. "THE WILLINK COMMISSION REPORT OF JULY 1958” THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION APPOINTED TO “ENQUIRE INTO THE FEARS OF MINORITIES AND THE MEANS OF ALLAYING THEM” THE HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND. The Willink Commission named after Henry Willink, former Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University and head of a panel commissioned in September, 1957 to look into fears expressed by minority ethnic groups that the colonial imposed political structure would lead to the domination of the minority groups by the majority ethnic groups in the three regions of the federation. The commission was also charged with means of allaying those fears. A major contribution of the commission was the inclusion of much of the clauses of the European Human Rights Convention making Nigeria the first African country to have a broad human right clause enshrined in its constitution. 1. “More than 98% of people who inhabit this area (the ‘Ibo Plateau’ of the Eastern region) are Ibo and speak one language, though of course with certain differences of dialect. There are nearly five million of them and they are too many for the soil to support: they are vigorous and intelligent and have pushed outward in every direction, seeking a livelihood by trade or in service in the surrounding areas of the Eastern Region, in the Western Region, in the North and outside Nigeria. They are no more popular with their neighbours than is usual in the case of an energetic and expanding people whose neighbours have a more leisurely outlook on life.” 2. “Though there has been no great kingdom or indigenous culture in the Eastern Region, the coastal chiefs grew on their trade with the (European merchant) ships and they adopted customs, clothing and housing more advanced than those of the peoples of the interior on whom they had at first preyed for slaves. They came during the 19th Century to regard the people of the interior as backward and ignorant, and it was therefore a blow to their pride, as well as to their pockets, when the Ibos began to push outwards into the surrounding fringe of the country and particularly into the Calabar area, to take up land, to grow rich, to own houses and lorries and occupy posts in public services and in the services of large trading firms.” “It was among the Ibos, formerly despised by the people of Calabar as source of slaves and as a backward people of the interior, now feared and disliked as energetic and educated, that the first political party formed.” 3. “It is important to remember that of this (Ogoja) Province’s 1,082,000 inhabitants, 723,000 are Ibos, almost entirely in Abakaliki and Afikpo (Divisions), while the census classifies 350,000 as “Other Nigerian Tribes.” 4. The Rivers Province …includes the two divisions of Brass and Degema, both overwhelmingly Ijaw, and the Ogoni Division. The former Rivers Division also includes over 300,000 Ibos of whom 250,000 are in Ahoada Division and 45,000 in Port Harcourt. Port Harcourt is a town of recent growth and of rapidly increasing importance; it is built on land that blonged originally to an outlying branch of the Ibo tribe, the Diobus, but is largely inhabited by the Ibos from the interior who have come to trade or seek employment….Of the total 747,000 in the Rivers province, 305,000 are Ibos, 240,000 are Ijaws and 156,000 are Ogonis.” 5. “The strip to the south of the Ibo block, is physically, divided by a block of Ibo territory, tipped by the important Ibo town of Port Harcourt and tribally divided between the Ijaws and the Ogonis.” 6. “In the whole of this non-Ibo area there is present in varying degree some fear of being over-run, commercially and politically, by the Ibos….. if Ahoada and Port Harcourt, which are really Ibo, are considered with the solid centre of Ibo population, there are 54 seats for the Ibo area and 30 for COR (Calabar, Ogoja and Rivers) in (Eastern Regional House of Assembly).” Background Minority fears about unequal treatment in the three powerful regions of Nigerian were expressed at the 1953 constitutional conference. In 1957, during another conference, the British colonial secretary appointed an old chum, Harry Willink, and assisted by Phil Mason, a director of Race Relations Institute, Chatam, Gordon Hadow, deputy governor of the Gold Coast and Mr J.B. Shearer to look into the fears of the minority groups. The following terms of references guided the commission: To Ascertain the facts of the fears of minorities in Nigeria and proposing means to allay those fears whether well or ill founded. To advise what safeguards should be included for this purpose in the constitution. If, but only if no solution seems to the commission to solve the case, then as a last resort to make case for the creation of states. To report its findings to the secretary of State for the Colonies. Report Contrary to the voluntaristic expectations of classical federal theory, Nigerian federalism, as federal experiments elsewhere in Africa (mckown, 1988a) , was not necessarily a result of local impetus inherent in calculation of advantages each unit would gain while retaining its local autonomy. It was also not explicitly introduced as a mechanism for local development and self rule. Federalism was introduced as a British administrative expedience designed to cope with Nigeria’s ethnic pluralism though the latter, it is often argued, made its introduction as a mechanism of political accommodation almost inevitable (awolowo, 1966). There is even suggestion that federalism was introduced as a British stratagem for maintaining indirect influence on Nigeria after independence (okonjo, 1974-chapters 9 and 10). What is certain however, is that Nigerian federalism was built up from a process of devolution or fissiparity, not accretion or aggregation as was typical of older federations-canada, Australia and the United States. The state essentially devolved part of its powers to regional governments (nwabueze, 1983:34; bach, 1989:221; ekeh, 1989:27). While federalism was thus useful both to the outgoing colonialists and the nationalist politicians as a tool for striking a balance between regional and national identities (mawhood, 1983), the balance struck was, and remains uneven, considering the interest of minority groups in the country. The adoption of federalism also failed to meet its political ends in Nigeria in its early years. The system adopted in 1954 was structurally flawed right from start (awolowo, 1966:21; olowu, 1990b:203). The flaws include (i) the correspondence3 of regional administrative units with the geography of the three major ethnic groups-hausa-fulani, Yoruba and Igbo which effectively regionalized the ruling class (ii) imbalance in the composition of the regions with the northern region dominating the rest both in geographical size (75 percent of Nigeria’s landmass) and population (60 percent); and (iii) the majority-minority ethnic structure within each region which underlined a permanent state of tension and instability. These, with the weakness of the federal centre which made the regions the repository of original sovereignty and ethnicity as the basis for political support, resulted in a tripartite conflict structure aggravated by the challenge it posed to minority ethnic groups to assert themselves (afigbo, 1989:12). It also threatened the legitimacy of the centre and its ability to give leadership appropriate to the demands of nation-building. The reproduction of these structural defects at the level of exercise of state power informed perceptions that federal development resources were concentrated in the north. This promoted a structure of politics based on psychological fears of political and economic domination (elaigwu, 1979) and retarded political participation. Moreover, the structure posed difficulties for the ruling class in reconciling their private interest with maintenance of the conditions for local development. Ake (1988:48) forcefully suggests that: development, for sure, was never on the agenda. To the extent that it internalized the regional problem (dunford, 1988), early Nigerian federalism was, in awolowo’s words, an abominable disruptive heritage (awolowo, 1968:69). Under the colonial regime, the problems associated with this heritage informed the appointment of the Henry willink commission in 1957 to inquire, in particular, into the rears of the ethnic minorities. The willink intervention and thereafter. When alan lennox-boyd, the then secretary of state for the colonies appointed the willink commission in September 1957, its terms of reference included: to ascertain the facts about the fears of minorities in any part of niogeria and to propose means of allayin those fears whether well or ill founded and to advise what safeguards should be included for this purpose in the constitution of Nigeria, (Nigeria, 1958). this was part of the many efforts, some constitutional, some administrative, designed to reconcile the polylot elevemens which made up Nigeria. By this time, it had become obvious that Nigeria was a federation of an unusual composition, among other things because in each of the three regions it was possible to distinguish between a majority group of about tow thirds of the population and minority groups amounti8ng to about one third, (Nigeria, 1958:1) at his posed political difficulties which informed incessant claims by the minority groups for separate states at the various constitutional conferences in the 1950s. Given the structure of Nigerian federation at the time, the fears of the minorities were expressed mainly in relation to regional governments which were practically dominatve by the major ethnic groups in each region. According to the willink report, the fears of the mino9rities arose from two circumstances first the division of the whole territory into three powerful regions, in each of which one groups is numerically preponderant, and secondly the approach of independence and the removal of the restraints which have operative so far (Nigeria, 1958:2-3). In the western region, fears were expressed in the areas of Yoruba domination of, especially, the mid-west minorities; victimization in the process of maintenance of law and order by officially sponsored things, hooligans and strong arm p[arties, discrimination in the economic field and in the provision of services; gerrymandering and its effects on the distribution of parliamentary seats; conflict between ethnic and partisan loyalties in the intergovernmental context; and potential for the partiality of legislation. There were also trite fears by religious minorities among the Yoruba. Similar fears were expressed in the northern region. In the particular, the minorities were worried about the role of traditional rulers (emirs) who appointed district heads to rule over non-Muslims. There were also social fears and grievances concerning the use of contemptuous expression and discriminatory social practices; fears of political influence regarding the impartiality of the native authority police and the alkali (the legal aspect of Muslim law) religious intolerance; and fears that the political regime in the north was tending towards a foreign policy sympathetic with nations of the middle east based on their common allegiance to Islam. In the eastern region, there was the general fear amongst the minority ethnic groups that they might be ove run, commercially and po0litically, by the demographically dominant and socially mobile ibo. In particular, there were fears of autocratic government predicated on the perceived dictatorial conduct of the reigning (in the eastern region) ibo dominated national council of Nigerian citizens (NCNC); fear of public posts and services which included the deliberate object of the ibo majority… to fill every post with ibos; fears of local government and chiefs relating to insufficient devolution of powers which left ethnic minorities with limited powers to debate issues and little power to initiate action. There were also fears regarding public order and changes in the legal system similar to those expressed in the western and northern regions. In particular, the ethnic groups that made up the then rivers province of which ogni division was part, nursed long-standing grievances to the effect that the geography of their deltaic landscape and its associated difficulties for development were not understood at and inland headquarters. They were, therefore, united by fear of neglect at the hands of a government who in any case put the needs of the interior first. (Nigeria, 1958;50). The willink commission acknowledged the existence of a body of genuine fears amongst minority groups althou7gh these might have been exaggerated in a few instances. However, the commission fell short of recommending any form of self-determination, including the creation of states, on the reasoning that to set up a separate state would accentuate and underline to obliterate, (Nigeria, 1958, 33, 87). Rather, the commissions recommended panacea included (i) a vague constitutional provision of some fulcrum or fixed pointer outside and above politics from which absolute impartiality can be exercised; (ii) the establishment of a council in each minority area charged with fostering the well-being, cultural advancement and economic and social development of the area (iii) the development of special areas should be placed on the concurrent legislative list such that funds and staff should be contributed by the federal and regional governments into a board, with a federal chairman to be established for this purpose. Such a board was to initiate schemes to supplement the normal development of the special area’ (Nigeria, 1958:88,103-104). The commission reported on the imbalance in the three regions and also the situations creating the yearning for separate states by different groups, both points supporting the interest of minorities. However, the commission was guided from the get go against making recommendations for state creation and in its report, it stated that states creation would infact not be a solution to the fears of minorities, as additional states may not guarantee against the creation of another minority group in the new states. Also, the idea that the politics prevalent towards the nation's independence fostered ethnic animosity, but deep into self government, there could be a reasons or situations facilitating the abatement of hostilities, and the commission was against enshrining ethnic separatism into Nigerian politics. The practical and financial viability of any new state was weighed to ascertain the prospect of the new states. The commission recommended areas of distinguishable cultures and concerns to have their cultures and areas preserved with the creation of an advisory council, special areas for the Ijaws and designation of Edo and Calabar as minority areas. Also it recommended a unified police, a central prison system, and the promotion of minorities to position of power to balance any inequity in power. Demands for states The commission stated that about 9-15 demands for state creation were expressed, these included from the Western Region , a Yoruba Central state, Ondo Central and MidWest State, from the Eastern Region were demands for the creation of the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers States and from the North the creation of a Middle Belt State. Politically, in the North, the powerful party, Northern Peoples Congress went against state creation while its counterpart in the East, the NCNC, called for the creation of 17 states. In the West, the Action Group supported the creation of the Calabar Ogoja and Rivers States and the Middle Belt State with further avenue for state creation included in the constitution. Criticism A few scholars who over the years have analysed the recommendations of the report view it as offering little practical support to the agitations expressed by the minority groups, also it is viewed as solidifying the administrative boundaries of the colonial government which were created with little attention given to centuries old ethnic boundaries. Post-Independent Nigeria In 1961, another major crisis occurred when the then eastern region of Nigeria allowed present-day Southwestern Cameroon to separate from Nigeria (from the region of what is now Akwa Ibom and Cross River states) through a plebiscite while the leadership of the then Northern Region took the necessary steps to keep Northwestern Cameroon in Nigeria, in present-day Adamawa and Taraba states. The aftermath of the 1961 plebiscite has led to a dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria over the small territory of Bakassi. A new phase of the struggle saw the declaration of an Independent Niger Delta Republic by Isaac Adaka Boro during Nigerian president Ironsi's administration, just before the Nigerian Civil War. Also just before the Nigerian civil war, Southeastern State of Nigeria was created (also known as Southeastern Nigeria or Coastal Southeastern Nigeria ), which had the colonial Calabar division, and colonial Ogoja division. Rivers State was also created. Southeastern state and River state became two states for the minorities of the old eastern region, and the majority Igbo of the old eastern region had a state called East Central state. Southeastern state was renamed Cross River state and was later split into Cross River state and Akwa Ibom state . Rivers state was later divided into Rivers state and Bayelsa state . Nigerian Civil War The people of the Niger Delta sustained heavy suffering and many deaths during the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War , also known as the Biafran War, in which the eastern region declared an independent state named Biafra in that was eventually defeated. The loss of lives began when Biafran soldiers invaded the Niger Delta at the start of the war; many Niger Delta community leaders were eliminated, as the region was mainly on the side of the Federal Government. The entire Niger Delta became a major war zone as the Nigerian Army fought and pushed Biafran soldiers out of the region and deep into Biafran territory, leading to the end of the war. Over one million Niger Deltans died during the war, with present-day Akwa Ibom State , Bayelsa State , and Delta State sustaining most of the casualties, and Rivers State and Cross River State also severely affected. Many children and adults died due to starvation and disease, and as casualties of war. PRE-COLONIAL RESISTANCE THE AKASSA RAID 1895

King Frederick William Koko, Mingi VIII of Nembe (1853–1898), was an African ruler of the Nembe Kingdom (also known as Amayanabo of Nembe-Brass) in the Niger Delta, now part of southern Nigeria. A Christian when chosen as king of Nembe in 1889, Koko's attack on a Royal Niger Company trading post in January 1895 led to reprisals by the British in which his capital was sacked. Following a report on the Nembe uprising by Sir John Kirk which was published in March 1896, Koko was offered a settlement of his grievances but found the terms unacceptable, so was deposed by the British. He died in exile in 1898. An Ijaw , Koko(prosecutor of the Akassa Raid) was a convert to Christianity who later returned to the local traditional religion. Before becoming king (amanyanabo), he had served as a Christian schoolteacher, and in 1889 this helped him in his rise to power. The leading chiefs of Nembe, including Spiff, Samuel Sambo, and Cameroon, were all Christians, and after having ordered the destruction of Juju houses a large part of their reason for choosing Koko as king in succession to King Ockiya was that he was a fellow-Christian. However, there was at the same time a coparcenary king, the elderly Ebifa, who ruled at Bassambiri and was Commander-in-Chief until his death in 1894. With the settlement of European traders on the coast, Nembe had engaged in trade with them, but it was poorer than its neighbours Bonny and Calabar. Since 1884, Nembe had found itself included in the area declared by the British as the Oil Rivers Protectorate , within which they claimed control of military defence and external affairs. Nembe was the centre of an important trade in palm oil , and it had refused to sign a treaty proposed by the British, opposing the Royal Niger Company's aim of bringing all trade along the kingdom's rivers into its own hands. Admiral Bedford , who routed Koko's forces in February 1895 HMS Thrush, one of Bedford's ships Sir Claude MacDonald , British consul-general at Brass By the 1890s, there was intense resentment of the Company's treatment of the people of the Niger delta and of its aggressive actions to exclude its competitors and to monopolize trade by imposing heavy tax and trade restrictions on certain commodities e.g. alcohol and other European manufactured goods. Denying the men of Nembe the access to markets which they had long enjoyed along the Orashi River, Brass Sea, Furcado and Sombraro up to Aboh Kingdom. A restriction and taxation which dealt heavy blow on the life and economy of the people of Nembe. Similar with present day realities in the Niger Delta oil politics. In a bid to survive, the people virtually resorted to smuggling of goods which the RNC has sanctioned with heavy tariff. As king, Koko aimed to resist these pressures and tried to strengthen his hand by forming alliances with the states of Bonny and Okpoma. He renounced Christianity and in January 1895, after the death of Ebifa, he threw caution to the winds and led more than a thousand men in a dawn raid on the Royal Niger Company's headquarters at Akassa. Arriving on 29 January with between forty and fifty war canoes, equipped with heavy guns, Koko captured the base with the loss of some forty lives, including twenty-four Company employees, destroyed warehouses and machinery, and took about sixty white men hostage, as well as carrying away a large quantity of booty, including money, trade goods, ammunition and a quick-firing gun. Koko then sought to negotiate with the Company for the release of the hostages, his price being a return to free trading conditions, and on 2 February he wrote to Sir Claude MacDonald, the British consul-general, that he had no quarrel with the Queen but only with the Royal Niger Company. MacDonald noted of what Koko said of the Company that it was "complaints he had written the Consular-General, duty to listen to for the last three and a half years without being able to gain for them any redress". Despite this, the British refused Koko's demands, and more than forty of the hostages were then ceremoniously eaten. On 20 February the Royal Navy counter-attacked. Koko's city of Nembe was razed and some three hundred of his people were killed. Many more of his people died from a severe outbreak of smallpox. Worthy of note is the fact that, Koko's prosecution for the dawn raid on Akassa set the tone for the review and eventual revocation of the charter establishing the Royal Niger Company(RNC). Thence marked the full takeover of administrative duty from Goldie's RNC in 1900. MODERN RESISTANCE The genesis of modern Niger Delta struggle started from Oloibori in the Niger Delta region, The first place where oil was struck in commercial quantities in 1956. The scientific survey published in 1997 by the Niger Delta Environmental Survey { NEDES} reported that: “ Poverty is prevalent in the Niger Delta and has been linked to degradation of agricultural lands and fishing waters. Affected people become impoverished. In many cases, they tend either to migrate to become part of the urban poor or to remain in their villages to grapple with the low yielding lands and poor sources of water”. It is not only sad, but also heartbreaking to note that despite the fact that the region provides almost 90% of the nation resources {oil} and revenue, 75% of the Niger Delta people living in rural areas are without pipe borne water, electricity, roads and health centres. The whole region is devastated by oil exploitation, our waters polluted by almost daily oil spillage and the air poisoned by eternal gas flares, this led to the temper of the people bound to be short resulting to militancy and form part of the root causes of what has today become known as the Niger Delta struggle. The above characterisation can be said to fit, if one take into consideration the inter-ethnic clashes that have taken place among the people, which pitched notable nationalities like the Ijaw and Urhobo against their Itsekiri brothers and sisters. Now, The issue of Akwa-Ibom and Cross Rivers tussle over who owns the littoral waters and its rights is now rearing its ugly head. Not forgetting that of Soku disputed between Rivers and Bayelsa State. Today, Niger Delta is witnessing bloody clashes among the repressed and exploited with the benefactors of oil exploration in the country stoking the fires of ethnic hatred with the hope that these types of diversions would preoccupy the people while the naked exploitation continues. Indeed, the argument has been made that the basis of Nigeria ‘s unity is oil, this writer wonder what would have happened if the oil was not discovered , considering the fact in the early 50s before the discovery of oil in the Niger Delta, The three largest ethnic nationalities in the country provided the country’s major resources. The North dominated by the Hausa- Fulani produced groundnut, hides and skin, The west peopled by the Yoruba’s were famous for cocoa production and the East controlled by the Igbo’s had cola and palm oil. What then went wrong after the oil was discovered in the Niger–Delta region? It was argued that with oil becoming dominant, derivation was reduced from 50% to zero % which the Niger-Delta people seen as being grossly unfair and an insult to the sensibilities of the people of Niger Delta. In not too distant time ago, this injustice led to an uprising by the ijaws led by a former student leader , Isaac Adaka Boro. The revolt according to political analysts was stamp down in twelve days. It has also been argued that the Nigeria civil war that raged from 1967 to 1970 had the fight for the control of the Niger Delta oil wealth as part of its causes. Agitation after the war led to a 1%,then 3% derivation formula. Then a 13% derivation system was introduced by the military but the money was put in an oil minerals producing development commission{ OMPADEC} controlled entirely by the military from the centre. The struggle so far had claimed many lifes including Ken saro wiwa from the Ogoni land and some army officers from the government { JTF}. Today, it is sad to note hostage taking, employed by the militants since early 2006 to draw international attention to the Niger Deltians struggle , has turned into a lucrative , criminally driven enterprise, with local politicians and their relatives frequent victims.Then Nigerians including this writer are beginning to ask how long shall our people continue to be killed?. Instead of just the oil industry expatriates who were the original targets, the practise has now begun to spread beyond the core Niger Delta to Ondo state on the western fringe of the region and other parts of the country like Enugu and Abia to mention a few. President Yar’Adua's administration swiftly stepped in to address the situation in the Niger Delta twine in a 7 Point Agenda. President Yar’Adua identified the Niger Delta issue as one of the 7 point agenda of his administration. The president has not lose his opportunity to resolving the Delta crisis and has gone beyond rhetoric to establish a technical committee headed by retired General Orubebe, following a recommendation by Governor at the time Chief Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa state, who recommended amnesty for the militant leaders with a comprehensive demobilisation , disarmament and rehabilitation { DDR} program; an increased allocation of oil revenue to the Delta; urgent improvement of infrastructure and human welfare services; and new institutions for the regions long –term development . This committee has since submitted its report to the President with the first amnesty recommendation now being implemented by the government. While the report might not address all aspects of the crisis, its proposals however were sufficiently comprehensive enough to serve as the catalyst. While this writer believe in the sincerity of president Yar’Adua administration determination in solving the Niger-delta problems in an effective and peaceful manner. Contributions from, Benjamin Ogbebulu ,BA HONS, MBICs, London. An administrator, political Scientist/Analyst and campaigner for Good Governance. He lives and work in the UK, England. benjaminogbebulu@yahoo.co.uk oglobalservices@yahoo.co.uk Non-violent resistance Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP) The next phase of resistance in the Niger Delta saw the request for justice and the end of marginalization of the area by the Nigerian government with Ken Saro Wiwa as the lead figure for this phase of the struggle. The indigents cried for lack of developments even though the Nigerian oil money is from the area. They also complained about environmental pollution and destruction of their land and rivers by oil companies. Ken Saro Wiwa and other leaders were killed by the Nigerian Federal Government under Sani Abacha. Recent armed conflict Conflict in the Niger Delta

Unfortunately, the struggle got out of control, and the present phase has become militant. When long-held concerns about loss of control over resources to the oil companies were voiced by the Ijaw people in the Kaiama Declaration in 1998, the Nigerian government sent troops to occupy the Bayelsa and Delta states. Soldiers opened fire with rifles, machine guns, and tear gas, killing at least three protesters and arresting twenty-five more. Since then, local indigenous activity against commercial oil refineries and pipelines in the region have increased in frequency and militancy. Recently foreign employees of Shell , the primary corporation operating in the region, were taken hostage by outraged local people. Such activities have also resulted in greater governmental intervention in the area, and the mobilisation of the Nigerian army and State Security Service into the region, resulting in violence and human rights abuses. In April, 2006, a bomb exploded near an oil refinery in the Niger Delta region, a warning against Chinese expansion in the region. MEND stated: "We wish to warn the Chinese government and its oil companies to steer well clear of the Niger Delta. The Chinese government, by investing in stolen crude, places its citizens in our line of fire." Government and private initiatives to develop the Niger Delta region have been introduced recently. These include the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a government initiative, and the Development Initiative (DEVIN), a community development non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta. Uz and Uz Transnational, a company with strong commitment to the Niger Delta, has introduced ways of developing the poor in the Niger Delta, especially in Rivers State. In September 2008, MEND released a statement proclaiming that their militants had launched an "oil war" throughout the Niger Delta against both, pipelines and oil-production facilities, and the Nigerian soldiers that protect them. Both MEND and the Nigerian Government claim to have inflicted heavy casualties on one another. In August 2009, the Nigerian government granted amnesty to the militants; many militants subsequently surrendered their weapons in exchange for a presidential pardon, rehabilitation programme, and education. Nigerian oil

Nigeria has become West Africa's biggest producer of petroleum. Some 2 million barrels (320,000 m 3 ) a day are extracted in the Niger Delta. It is estimated that 38 billion barrels of crude oil still reside under the delta as of early 2012. The first oil operations in the region began in the 1950s and were undertaken by multinational corporations, which provided Nigeria with necessary technological and financial resources to extract oil. Since 1975, the region has accounted for more than 75% of Nigeria's export earnings. Together oil and natural gas extraction comprise "97 per cent of Nigeria's foreign exchange revenues". Much of thenatural gas extracted in oil wells in the Delta is immediately burned, or flared, into the air at a rate of approximately 70 million m³per day. This is equivalent to 41% of African natural gas consumption, and forms the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. In 2003, about 99% of excess gas was flared in the Niger Delta, although this value has fallen to 11% in 2010. The biggest gas flaring company is the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, a joint venture that is majority owned by the Nigerian government. In Nigeria, "...despite regulations introduced 20 years ago to outlaw the practice, most associated gas is flared, causing local pollution and contributing to climate change."The environmental devastation associated with the industry and the lack of distribution of oil wealth have been the source and/or key aggravating factors of numerous environmental movements and inter-ethnic conflicts in the region, including recent guerrilla activity by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). In September 2012 Eland Oil & Gas purchased a 45% interest in OML 40, with its partner Starcrest Energy Nigeria Limited, from the Shell Group. They intend to recommission the existing infrastructure and restart existing wells to re-commence production at an initial gross rate of 2,500 bopd with a target to grow gross production to 50,000 bopd within four years. Oil revenue derivation Oil revenue allocation has been the subject of much contention well before Nigeria gained its independence.Allocations have varied from as much as 50%, owing to the First Republic's high degree of regional autonomy, and as low as 10% during the military ictatorships. This is the table below. Oil revenue sharing formula Year/Federal/State*/Local/Special Projects 1958 40% 60% 0% 0% 1968 80% 20% 0% 0% 1977 75% 22% 3% 0% 1982 55% 32.5% 10% 2.5% 1989 50% 24% 15% 11% 1995 48.5% 24% 20% 7.5% 2001 48.5% 24% 20% 7.5% * State allocations are based on 5 criteria: equality (equal shares per state), population, social development, land mass, and revenue generation. *The derivation formula refers to the percentage of the revenue oil-producing states retain from taxes on oil and other natural resources produced in the state. World Bank Report Media The documentary film Sweet Crude , which premiered April 2009 at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, tells the story of Nigeria's Niger Delta. Environmental issues The effects of oil in the fragile Niger Delta communities and environment have been enormous. Local indigenous people have seen little if any improvement in their standard of living while suffering serious damage to their natural environment. According to Nigerian federal government figures, there were more than 7,000 oil spills between 1970 and 2000. It has been estimated that a clean-up of the region, including full restoration of swamps, creeks, fishing grounds and mangroves, could take 25 years.

AMALGAMATION OF NORTH/SOUTH: A HISTORIC MISADVENTURE

THE BIAFRA MYTH: THE IGBO, IJAW, EFIK, OGOJA, AND OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS RELATIONS. "O man, of whatever country you are, and whatever your opinions may be, behold your History, such as I have thought to read it, not in books written by your fellow creatures, who are liars, but in nature, which never lies. All that comes from her will be true..." JJ Rousseau. INTRODUCTION! Excerpts from A Paper Presented At The “National Conference On The 1999 Constitution” , At The Arewa House, Kaduna From 11th –12th September, 1999. The Yoruba elite were the first, in 1962, to attempt a violent overthrow of an elected government in this country. In 1966, it was the violence in the West which provided an avenue for the putsch of 15th January. Our present political leaders have no sense of History. There is a new Igbo man, who was not born in 1966 and neither knows nor cares about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu. There are Igbo men on the street who were never Biafrans. They were born Nigerians, are Nigerians, but suffer because of actions of earlier generations. They will soon decide that it is better to fight their own war, and may be find an honourable peace, than to remain in this contemptible state in perpetuity. The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have exacted their pound of flesh from the Igbos. For one Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa, one Akintola and one Okotie-Eboh, hundreds of thousands have died and suffered. If this issue is not addressed immediately, no conference will solve Nigeria´s problems. HISTORY The Bight of Bonny (better known as the Bight of Biafra) is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part (beyond the Bight of Benin to the West) of the Gulf of Guinea . It extends from the River Delta of the Niger in the north until it reaches Cape Lopez in Gabon. Countries located at the Bight of Bonny are Nigeria (eastern coast), Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea (Bioko Island and Rio Muni ), and Gabon (northern coast). On 30 June 1849, Britain established a colonial protectorate over the Bight of Biafra.From 16 July 1884 this merged into the British protectorate over Brass, Bonny , Opobo , Aboh and Old Calabar (excluding Lagos Colony ), which was confirmed on 5 June 1885, and named Oil Rivers Protectorate , where in August 1891 effective consular administration was established, headed by a consul general (5 June 1885 the aforementoned former consul Edward Hyde Hewett became the first). This area would in different steps merge further via the 12 May 1893 Niger Coast Protectorate , 1 January 1900 renamed Southern Nigeria Protectorate (into which on 16 February 1906 Lagos was incorporated), on 28 February 1906 made into the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, since 1 January 1914 part of Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. The bight was renamed within independent Nigeria in 1972, when after the Biafran War , the Nigerian government wanted to remove the name of the secessionist Biafra . Remember also how most of our grand mothers were IGBO women married into our clime aside same IGBO then been industrious slaves our fathers had to help their trade. Our intercourse with the IGBO predates civil war predilections. Over my years of research I realized even our old parents were mislead and misguided about the Biafra question. But good thing knowledge illuminates and permeate even the darkest of lies. 1• Yes! Inclusion of any boundary into Biafra should best be negotiated. While I uphold that truism. Before outbreak of the war, the minorities found themselves on a crossroads. On a meeting BTW the two southern provinces of Yenagoa, Degema et al and COL. Ojukwu. He told them the nature of the terrain they occupy was unsuitable for defence, that he could not offer great hopes of the biafran Army against attacks. He offered the chiefs if they would opt for Nigeria, and save themselves from reprisals, he would draw up his defensive line north of the two provinces and cede the remainder to Nigeria. Which he told them to go back home and talk it overover in council. They replied days later they'd opt to stay with Biafra. 2• Events birthing the Willinks Minority Report was as to fears of minorities not comfortable been juggled up with bigger ethnic groups. A sharp reminder on the part of the minorities in the East the maneuvering in the NCNC between Zik and Eyo Ita. Long story short, minorities were given window to decide their fate for or against... Plus, I could infer that Port Harcourt and her supposed Igbo descent were the key interest of the Biafra side, where Others to defend their front themselves. Aspects of indiscriminate killings of minority by Biafra I could infer as well was borne of excitement to maintain loyalty to the cause. Ojukwu had no ulterior motif as to overrun or juggle other ethnic groups into his wagon. In my findings I also discovered at the time of ceding from Nigeria, Ojukwu had no name in mind what to call the new nation. He was pressured by his team to christen it BIAFRA following federal government's creation of states from the former Easter Region. So much is kept untold much the history been circumvented. Further corroboration is found IN BIAFRA AFRICA DIED: the diplomatic plot by EMEFIENE EZEANI. Crown it all; A PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE IGBO AMONGST THEM WILL MAKE A STRONG NATION. BLIND LEADING THE BLIND! THE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH US IS THAT WE DON'T READ, WE DON'T PROBE, WE DABBLE WITH THE ANSWER WHEN IT IS PRESENTED TO US... ”We must know this, to continue the interrupted match to the Atlantic of our Grand father Dan fodio. The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grand father, Othman Danfodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We must use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as conquered territories and never allow them to rule over us or have control over their future. ” (Sir Ahmadu Bello October 12, 1960) I don't know when Nigerians will read meaning into the above statement and realize that we are all enslaved and stop bashing Igbos/Biafrans for demanding to be freed. One Nigeria is a farce! There are sound minds here. And I want us to have a look back, critically, it is obvious even our parents were ignorant of the cause of the civil war and the myth behind the IGBO prejudice. Our parents don't know the truth, we know better now, only that can set us free. Know that this fabrication called Nigeria is a calibration module as united - divided system. It's a gang of rouges who have grappled power just for themselves... it's a colonial stratagem passed on to the northern elite how they can perpetuate their hold on to power. Your governors do not give a ounce what her people think nor the squalor they suffer. Nigeria is also like a bully boy in a school who would not want to go forward, and likewise wouldn't allow others pass him. More so, this same country is like the dog that wouldn't eat the fodder and yet would not allow the cat to eat likewise. What am I saying? This system, parties, military elites and their hirelings are counterparts in this project. HOW OLD IS NIGERIA? AND HOW HAS THAT TRANSLATED IN YOUR LIFE AND THE FUTURE OF YOUR KITH AND KIN? DO YOU KNOW YOUR GOVT DOES NOT KNOW THE EXACT BARREL OF OIL DRILLED PER DAY? THEY ACCEPT WHATEVER FILLERS SHELL, AGIP AND CHEVRON PRESENT THEM. Patrick Inengite CT Twitter: @patnengi