by Akintokunbo Adejumo

  "The future of the north lies in our hands. We should today begin to shape our destiny. As a Nigerian of Northern extraction, I feel very unhappy when somebody describes me as a parasite because of oil, when I know that I have the capacity to solve my problems and probably do even better through agriculture and education." - Dr Mua'zu Babangida Aliyu, Chief Servant of Niger State.

The above statement is, in my own opinion, probably the Declaration of the century as far as Nigeria unity, progress and development is concerned. It was well said, although with many hidden meanings and insinuations. The Governor rightly echoes the feelings and insinuations of other parts of Nigeria that has been going on for decades, and which had never been fully addressed or even acknowledged by previous leaders, military or democratic.

It has been an issue that we Nigerians dodge and wont to speak about publicly as to initiate debates but which we like to discuss in pepper-soup joints and with friends only.

The questions that arise are multifaceted. How united is Nigeria as a country? If we are not united, why? What steps can we take, the whole divisive 140 million of us, to unite the country? Despite fighting a very debilitating and divisive civil war, which instead of splitting the country, still kept us together, we do not seem to have learnt much from it. It is that inability and unwillingness to learn from our experience and mistake that is one of the roots of our problems almost fifty years on as a country.

In most countries that discovered oil, that was never a problem. It is a God-given wealth which needed to be harnessed, by the right leadership, to alleviate the problems of its people. In Nigeria, it became a curse, simply because we had poor leadership all our history. These leaders, military or democratic, were selfish, greedy, corrupt, murderous, and parasitic, devoid of ideas, unfocused, visionless and lacking in foresight. But it is no surprise that they were all these. Most of them either forced their way into power through the barrel of a gun or rigged elections to get to power. All because they want control of these natural resources.

With such people in control of the government and the country’s resources, it had always been an accident waiting to happen to Nigerians. And sure, the accident had been happening for the past forty eight years. I do not need to recount how many lives have been lost unnecessarily directly and indirectly through the actions of these bastards. They fan the embers of both religious and tribal hatred to keep Nigerians subservient to them. This is another of their crimes.

Now, the Niger Delta, the source of Nigeria’s wealth. The people of this region have had a very raw deal, and that is putting it very mildly. They deserve much more than they are getting now. All they are asking for is very simple: if they can produce the wealth that is oiling the machineries of government and keeping other parts of the country going, then they deserve to get more than what they are getting now, which is virtually nothing. Their environment has been damaged, probably beyond repair; they have been maimed and killed; they have been abandoned and no iota of progress of any type is seen in the area.

Now, if we put the shoe on the other foot, which is, the oil is in the Northern or even Western part of the country, would we have shared the wealth equally with the Niger Delta? The answer is probably No. This is because we are all selfish and tribalistic. In fact, it is probable that the North would have left Nigeria by now, or the Yorubas would have called for their own country. The Ibo’s will definitely have their own Biafra by now.

What the Northern governors, and the Arewa Consultative Forum did not address is the fact that if the North had been more subtle in their quest to continuously rule Nigeria, and not keep on saying that it is the birthright of the North to rule Nigeria, Southerners and even the disenfranchised Niger Delta people would have been a bit more patient with them in their now-averred intention to develop the North through agriculture and education. There are other issues that contribute to this resentment of the North from the South, as put succinctly by Dr Reuben Abati (The Guardian, 01 August 2008) “the population of the north, the political delineation of the North, resource allocation, the relatively low contribution of the North to national GDP, and the unusually large presence of the north in positions of power and authority. At the centre of this is the politics of oil, the allocation of federal revenue accruing mainly from the sale of crude oil”.

Again, for the past forty eight years, when the North had been for most of the time, the rulers of Nigeria, what impact has this domination of Nigerian politics and governance had on the development of the North? Col Abubakar Umar, himself a scion of the Northern elites, rightly and eloquently gave the reasons for the North getting left behind. If the 43 local governments in Kano State contribute 2 million Naira each to the Emir of Kano every month, how is this helping to develop the North? It is not even constitutional for this to happen. Since he said this, nobody in Government, Federal or Kano State, has come forward to explain this or deny it or assure us that this matter will be looked into. Everybody in government circles was quiet.

In the same Northern Governors Forum, Governor Danjuma Goje of Gombe State has recently approved for himself and his predecessor in office a sum of N200 million as "executive pension". Please tell me what Gombe State contributes to the GDP of Nigeria. That N200 million Naira is coming from the oil of Niger delta, where the Ijaw and the Ogoni men and women and children are finding it difficult to even catch fish in their own rivers and lakes to eat. They do not even have N200 Naira in their pockets, but their so-called brother in Gombe want the cushion of N200 million Naira after he has left office, not to count the amount he would have embezzled whilst in office.

All in all, the Northern governors, in order for us to take them seriously about this new-found quest to develop their region, must tell what us happened to the billions and billions of naira that have been pouring in from the Niger Delta, ostensibly to develop the North, all these decades. What happened to the numerous River Basin Authorities, many World Bank grants, the Wheat Initiative of the Shagari era, the Dairy Initiatives, the famous Kano Pyramids of groundnuts, the Sokoto Gudalis, the White Fulanis and the Red Bororo cattle, and more recently, what were the Governors doing while their traditional rulers, senators and other Northern elites were getting over 84.5 percent of the allocation, while the whole of the South got 15.5 percent? (“2008 Grain Release Beneficiaries” Submitted to the Nigerian Senate ad-hoc Committee on Food Crisis by officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources - 81 (?) beneficiaries) I suppose the Southerners do not like or eat grains, abi?

It is such waste of money which they do not work for or deserve nor appreciates that ignites such resentment amongst all of us, not only the Niger Deltans, to be fair to ourselves. In fact, most Northern Governors and elites see themselves as more of feudal lords than democratic leaders, and their lifestyle and attitude to life is not commensurate to their aptitude to govern and be leaders of men and women.

Again, walahi talai, the problem of the North with other Nigerians is not with the common talakawas, it is with the parasitic feudal lords and latter-day elites which spring up everytime. The common Northerner suffers far more than the common Southerner. This is because of the neglect and selfishness of their elites. Their elites and feudal lords treat them as slaves, not worthy of any progress or development to invest on. They prefer to call them to their vast palaces every Friday to feed them, rather than teach them how to read and write or to do other things in life which will make then independent and self-sufficient. In such a way, the elites and corrupt politicians can easily manipulate them, as we have often seen, to carry out religious and tribal riots, for their own selfish ends. They want it that way, and as long as this feudal practice, and many such others, continues, the North will always be behind the rest of Nigeria, and we will have no peace or unity in this country.

This is the opportunity and the time to change things in the North. I am glad that a man of such intelligence, capabilities and eloquence as Governor Aliyu, supported by Gov Murtala Nyako, recognised their deficiencies and decided to say it out. What is now left to them is to put their words into action. Let us forget that they probably said the Niger Delta should go to hell with their oil, or that the North can survive without oil, I am sure that if the rest of Nigeria started seeing improvement and a change in the attitude of the North towards the rest of us, we will support them in their quest to educate their people as well as to make agriculture their forte and mainstay of their regional economy. You produce the food, and let the Niger Delta produce the oil, ba wahala! The North must give up their policy of their inalienable right to be the rulers of Nigeria.

The Niger Deltans, militants or no militants, are not opposed to sharing the oil with other Nigerians, all they are asking for is that they are compensated for the destruction of their lands and rivers adequately, in order that they will not become displaced or extinct. All they asking are that the future of their children is guaranteed under a Nigeria that appreciates their almost 100 percent contribution to its wealth. I do not subscribe to the popular call these days that Nigeria is stealing from the Niger Delta. Niger Deltans, as far as I know are still Nigerian citizens, holding Nigerian passports. The Vice –President of Nigeria is a Niger Deltan, and there are enough Niger Deltans in government to ensure that this region is well represented nationally. They also have their leaders. What they are not getting is fairness and equality in the distribution of Nigeria’s wealth or dividends of democracy, as we like to call it. Those other holier-than-thou Nigerians saying that Nigeria is stealing from the Niger Delta have enjoyed the benefits of Niger Delta oil for decades in one way or the other, be it through education, scholarships, good roads in their areas, jobs, healthcare, electricity, etc.

Countrymen, despite the acknowledgement by the Arewa Consultative Forum that Northerners are indeed "lazy and parasites who rely on other regions for survival and that there is no reason to run away from the truth”, Northerners are no more lazier than the Southerners, and I think it is a bit unfair for the North to be specially targeted and labelled an unproductive part of the country. Nigerians all abandoned farming and other areas of constructive activities when oil became our main source of income and we all started getting on the act of sitting on our back waiting for the money to roll in easily. This unfortunate phenomenon was not helped by corrupt leaders who fought tooth and nail, by hook or crook, to get into government, where the money is, and then started to steal the money, neglecting or totally abandoning the rest of us, instead of utilising the income from the oil for the benefit of their people, be it Northerner, Niger Deltan or Southerner.

Look at it this way: How many of our 36 states are actually viable? Are Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Abia Edo, Gombe, Borno, Anambra states viable? Yet people are still clamouring for more states. What is viable about the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where a lot of Niger Delta oil money has gone into, and in fact used to build it from scratch? The only state that could be said to be viable in Nigeria today is Lagos. Not even the Niger Delta States are quite as viable as we think although the reasoning here is that if they are left to control their resources wholly or in greater part, they will be viable, but knowing the leaders of this region, who are every inch Nigerian in behaviour, thinking and attitude, if left to them, the problems of the region has just started. That is the truth.

One positive outcome of the Northern Governors’ Declaration is the hope that we are becoming mature in our politics and the way we relate with each other in the country. For Arewa Consultative Forum and the 19 Governors to come out publicly and admit to many faults and resolve to tackle their many problems with the rest of Nigeria and in their own regions, not minding the strange balancing act of the ACF, as Dr Abati put it, has shown a lot of political maturity and it offers hope that our leaders are perhaps listening to us and are aware of the holes in our shoes. Now that it is out in the open, and practically from the horse’s mouth, we can only hope that action will follow without the necessity to be ambiguous or pretentious about the problematic issues at hand and what actions need to be taken.

Another outcome of this is that the North may possibly be inclined to embrace the inevitable change that is now washing across the face of the earth and possibly move them into the modern ages. This is perhaps going to be more difficult, painful and slow, but this is certainly a path that must be taken, an opportunity to be seized, because, as Barack Obama said, change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. Those of the progressive Northern Governors are probably the ones the North have been waiting for or seeking, and may be catalytic in a new dawn, not only for the North, but for Nigeria as a whole. I really do hope I can believe in my own optimism.

To my mind, we can no longer dodge the issues surrounding the Niger Delta, even as slow and indecisive to take positive action as the Yar’Adua Administration is; we can no longer evade the issues of Northern underdevelopment and it’s real underlying causes, and not shifting the blame to other parts of Nigeria; we can no longer shy away from the fact that Nigeria is not a united country, though we all seem to love being called Nigerians. One thing is certain; Nigerians want change, we want something different; we do not want a government which wastes, mismanages and steal the oil money and neglect where the oil money is coming from. We do not want that anymore. The truth is that for decades, it is the Northern elite, NOT the Northern common man and woman, who have been benefiting from the oil wealth of Nigeria, more than any other region in Nigeria, while the Niger Delta have been short-changed, abused and neglected for the same length of time. Even my own unproductive state of Oyo benefits more from the oil than the people of Bayelsa State, it would seem.

Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder, especially with the Niger Delta and all the issues surrounding it. Things are degenerating very fast in this region and only sincere, focused, impartial and committed leaders will be able to defuse these problems, or else there will be no North, South, Niger Delta or indeed, Nigeria for anybody to call their own. This is as simple as I can put it.

The truth must be said always.

Akintokunbo Adejumo lives and works in London, UK. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1979) and University of Manitoba, Canada (1985), he also writes on topical issues for newspapers and internet media including Nigeriaworld.com, Nigeria Today Online, Nigerians In America, Nigerian Village Square, Champions Newspaper, ChatAfrik.com, African News Switzerland, New Nigerian Politics, Gamji.com, Codewit.com, etc.

He is also the Coordinator of CHAMPIONS FOR NIGERIA, (www.championsfornigeria.org) an organisation devoted to celebrating genuine progress, excellence, commitment, selfless and unalloyed service to Nigeria and Nigerians.

Robot  Villager

# 1 ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 04.08.2008 06:49

allaccess  Villager

# 2 Nigeria cannot be united as a country just as India and Pakistan were unable to sustain a joint ticket; it had to be divided for some sanity to return. Any society with a sizable Islamic population must not be allowed in any unions with other faith believers, you are asking for trouble. History has thought us that. You mentioned steps; what steps have you in mind to make Northern Nigeria remove all aspects of Sharia law and be governed in the same vein as southern Nigeria, using the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria? The civil war was not fought conclusively, if it was a joint effort involving all of southern Nigeria, the North will be well cut off from us today. But, the Igbos’ were greedy and it is the same greed that will lead them to another bloody defeat if they try same again. Unity should not mean a united Nigeria, it should be a united southern Nigeria; because in as much as we try and slice it, the South is more united and has similarity in terms of religion and culture than a complete Nigerian federation. And yes, we have learnt a lot from the Civil war, it can happen again and I pray it happens if that is what it will take to redefine our national positioning and psyche. There you go again towing the same silly Nigerian line of “These leaders, military or democratic, were selfish, greedy, corrupt, murderous, and parasitic, devoid of ideas, unfocused, visionless and lacking in foresight” If our bad leaders forced their way into power it must have taken the weakness of 140 million people to allow it happen, it must have taken the corruption at the heart of the average Nigerian to allow tribalism and favoritism take place. Foresight and the ability to see beyond pettiness and greed is not our forte, if we cannot stand as a union then break it into two manageable unions. The Northerners have absolutely no problems with themselves, they are quite happy to have an Islamic republic that will serve their national interests. If indeed that can say they are not parasites then the dye is caste, we are getting to a point that parting ways will become inevitable. Geographically The north will still benefit from cheap oil products from Southern Nigeria perhaps in exchange for agricultural items, and in future (if they get round to it) educated expatriates. The killings of innocent Southern Nigerians will stop, the North will get a rude awakening and realize they have to create economic opportunities like that mallam governor said; in exchange for which no one will call them parasites anymore. We in the South can better utilize our resources and develop the Niger Delta with the cash we used to waste on 70 million northern parasites. We may run into other tribal issues along the way with ethnic groups but they will be no more deadly that say the English disliking some welsh people or so. Posted by allaccess| 04.08.2008 07:46

denker  In Purgatory

# 3 Any society with a sizable Islamic population must not be allowed in any unions with other faith believers, you are asking for trouble. Gbam..Gbam..Gbam...good thought, mr. allaccess! But, the Igbos’ were greedy and it is the same greed that will lead them to another bloody defeat if they try same again. mr. allaccess, you need to talk extensively on dis o...you dey hear..? if we cannot stand as a union then break it into two manageable unions. ..if no be real confederation..me i go say make you go answer your papa's name..period! Posted by denker| 04.08.2008 08:11

toksyleigh  Villager

# 4 Thanks Toks!!! For once, an intelligent article about what is wrong with Nigeria. It is a shame for the whole of Nigeria that we allow the Ijaws to live the way they are living; to put it mildly it is sub-human. Well, the Ijaws are not the only people living in sub-human conditions amidst plenty. Thank God almighty, that the Ijaws have finally decided and legitimately so for reason not based on greed, ethnic/tribal or religious differences to take their own fate in their own hands. I have never been to any of the Ijaw areas but from friend’s personal experiences, you will be shock when you find out the life expectancy of the people in that area. You know Toks, you asked a question as to why the Northern people have been able to subtly ruled Nigeria for so long? I have an answer for you but I am not sure that you or some folks on NVS will like the answer; but I will give it anyway. You see, most of the people in the South are all cowards, we lack vision and our ideals and values are totally screwed up and I am talking about the so called "Highly educated ones" amongst us. All you need is either one Yoruba, Igbo or Ijaw guy give him a ceremonial position like Vice -President, Senate Leader or some other ridiculous position where they can enrich themselves before you know what’s going on the Igbo guy is blaming the Yoruba’s for Biafra and Yoruba is busy prostrating for his Hausa boss and calling for IBB's return...well you know the rest of the story. I am of the strong opinion that the Ijaws MUST take their destiny in their own hands. Why should a Yoruba, Igbo or an Hausa man own an oil block in the Ijaw land? Why do Chinese, Indians, Lebanese, British people and many more like them own oil blocks in Nigeria? Why can't the Ijaws negotiate with the oil companies (because we are so incompetent that we can't drill and refine our own oil) directly, then repatriate some subsidies to the Federal Government and some none oil producing states? Oh yeah I remember why not; the answer to the questions are simple, the Ijaw people, tribal leaders, Governors that will be in charge will probably enrich themselves first and the battle will be internal then and at the end the situation will still be the same; the ordinary folks will still get screwed and raped royaly only this time by their own fathers, brothers and sisters. The fact of the matter is that we lack people with any leadership skills in Nigeria and the few ones we have either been or will be killed (sometimes by their own kinsmen) if they return home; because of our inferiority and tribal complexes. We prefer to be lead by and be the "yes sir" man for an un-educated Indian, British or Dutch man than a fellow Nigerian that re-located back home. We have this "He is acting like he is better than me" inferiority complex that have and is still keeping many African Americans and Caribbean folks down in the West. I don't think that people of African persuasions are in any way inferior to any other race but we sure have a lot of self inflicted hatred for one another to last us till the Lord God almighty come back. God help us all, Goriola Abamieda Jr. Posted by toksyleigh| 04.08.2008 09:13

allaccess  Villager

# 5 I am fed up hearing this rubbish “we lack people with any leadership skills in Nigeria and the few ones we have either been or will be killed (sometimes by their own kinsmen) if they return home; because of our inferiority and tribal complexes” Again, the issue is not about leadership, it is about the people who produce the leaders, after all the leaders are people too!! Look inside yourselves first and change you mentality to one of literacy and unity devoid of silly things like God and juju. There is a starting point for you, and hey it’s not that the mallams are good at what they do, they are just united even with their differences. Well it is not that the people don’t know the Indians, Lebanese and whites are bagatelles; people just have to look at those countries to see how better organized they are than Nigerian, is that not enough to respect them? As for bowing down for them you should blame it on civilization! It is not the fault of a kebab seller from Turkey that your people think he is God. And if your relocated Nigerians can do it they would have done it since Nigerians have been relocating for over 40 years with no impact on the development of Nigeria. And your silly suggestion about Ijaws negotiating with oil companies is rubbish; Nigerians are not good enough to do these drilling or we would have been doing it ourselves by now. It is not about studying drilling and petroleum engineering, there is organization, policies for safety, project management, scoping and human resources. Corruption alone will see to that the project stops before they even start. Petroleum production is the lifeblood of Nigeria, if we leave it in the hands of mediocre church goers called Nigerians like we did with Ajaokuta and Dicon we will starve like Somalia. The inferiority complex is not by color, it is by mentality and self enhancement; get with the program or the man ahead is your boss. Works like a charm all the time!!! Start somewhere to fix Nigeria and maybe in half a century you will be at a point where the Bulgarians are; first start by changing the people’s mentality. The civilization you claim to have use it to make people better understand the physical rather than the spiritual; People in your country still believe in iron and goat, they spend all their bamboozled lives worshipping and waiting for A God to fix their problems..Born again stupidity. Then upgrade to a simple civil society by removing people who live by a bloody Islamic code, mallams; invest in amenities like a birth and death database like in Britain, that has the records of all Nigerians so you can better manage policies, infrastructure and allocations. Place a 2 child per couple birth policy so people don’t have children for the sake of making hungry babies. Responsibility breeds some morality. Stop blaming the leaders; get at the heart of the nation so Nigerians can wake up from the black man’s disease of irresponsibility and semi- literacy – decent leaders are better created from a pool of an enabled society. Posted by allaccess| 04.08.2008 10:18

Babatoks  Villager

# 6 Well said Sir, and I agree with you in almost all aspects except saying "I am towing the usual silly Nigerian line". Absolutely no call for that. We can only express ourselves and opinions whichever way we feel best, and while we are acutely aware that not every reader will see things the way we see it, we still have to say it. I am not towing any line. It is my own line that I tow; you may agree or disagree, but that is the way we all learn. Posted by Babatoks| 04.08.2008 10:31

emenanjo  Villager

# 7 Dear allaccess, Could you please enlighten us the Igbos on what you mean by this sweeping statement so that some of us can respond appropriately: "But, the Igbos’ were greedy and it is the same greed that will lead them to another bloody defeat if they try same again." Apart from that I have nothing against your comment on the article. Posted by emenanjo| 04.08.2008 10:34

Akpu-Nku  Villager

# 8 =allaccess;4295079067>Nigeria cannot be united as a country just as India and Pakistan were unable to sustain a joint ticket; it had to be divided for some sanity to return. Any society with a sizable Islamic population must not be allowed in any unions with other faith believers, you are asking for trouble. History has thought us that. You mentioned steps; what steps have you in mind to make Northern Nigeria remove all aspects of Sharia law and be governed in the same vein as southern Nigeria, using the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria? The civil war was not fought conclusively, if it was a joint effort involving all of southern Nigeria, the North will be well cut off from us today. But, the Igbos’ were greedy and it is the same greed that will lead them to another bloody defeat if they try same again. Unity should not mean a united Nigeria, it should be a united southern Nigeria; because in as much as we try and slice it, the South is more united and has similarity in terms of religion and culture than a complete Nigerian federation. And yes, we have learnt a lot from the Civil war, it can happen again and I pray it happens if that is what it will take to redefine our national positioning and psyche. There you go again towing the same silly Nigerian line of “These leaders, military or democratic, were selfish, greedy, corrupt, murderous, and parasitic, devoid of ideas, unfocused, visionless and lacking in foresight” If our bad leaders forced their way into power it must have taken the weakness of 140 million people to allow it happen, it must have taken the corruption at the heart of the average Nigerian to allow tribalism and favoritism take place. Foresight and the ability to see beyond pettiness and greed is not our forte, if we cannot stand as a union then break it into two manageable unions. The Northerners have absolutely no problems with themselves, they are quite happy to have an Islamic republic that will serve their national interests. If indeed that can say they are not parasites then the dye is caste, we are getting to a point that parting ways will become inevitable. Geographically The north will still benefit from cheap oil products from Southern Nigeria perhaps in exchange for agricultural items, and in future (if they get round to it) educated expatriates. The killings of innocent Southern Nigerians will stop, the North will get a rude awakening and realize they have to create economic opportunities like that mallam governor said; in exchange for which no one will call them parasites anymore. We in the South can better utilize our resources and develop the Niger Delta with the cash we used to waste on 70 million northern parasites. We may run into other tribal issues along the way with ethnic groups but they will be no more deadly that say the English disliking some welsh people or so. allaccess You are a bigger fool than I thought. How can you fault what the man wrote? Instead of you to add to what the man wrote by suggesting the things you think will work by utilising that "pontificating genius" you wave like N20 note, you embarked on crass stupidity. Who told you the North is 70million!, my as.re. If that is the case then the population of Southern Nigeria will be 150million because the South is twice as larger in population. It's an open secret, if you haven't heard that the British rigged the MINORITY NORTH into government to protect their interests. Do a serious research before writing things you will one day regret. And as for your dig at the Igbo, you have not been able to tell us anything about that "greed". Next time like you threatened, we will know who we are fighting and when the smoke of war clears, we will be adding new territories to our vitorious Igboland. Your Nigerian propaganda will not work anymore because this is the age of the internet in the 21st-century. The dynamics of war have changed with time and so is the rules of engagement. Next time you pout crap to justify the evil you perpetrated on the Igbo, you will do better to find a believable excuse. Posted by Akpu-Nku| 04.08.2008 10:38

Babatoks  Villager

# 9 Mr Allacess. While you arguments are very valid, what spoils them is your choice and use of language - abusive and aggressive - to come accross. Many of us are as angry, if not more, as you about issues relating to our country, but we must still be reasonable and respectful in our discourse with others. Personally, I do not write articles in order to be abused, what I need is constructive critiques and feedbacks, so that I can also learn something new from others. As siad before, I quite agree with your comments, but I cant take the obtuse references to my intelligence and thinking, Sir. Posted by Babatoks| 04.08.2008 10:41

emenanjo  Villager

# 10 =Babatoks;4295079116>Mr Allacess. While you arguments are very valid, what spoils them is your choice and use of language - abusive and aggressive - to come accross. Many of us are as angry, if not more, as you about issues relating to our country, but we must still be reasonable and respectful in our discourse with others. Personally, I do not write articles in order to be abused, what I need is constructive critiques and feedbacks, so that I can also learn something new from others. As siad before, I quite agree with your comments, but I cant take the obtuse references to my intelligence and thinking, Sir. Akin, Please forget about this guy called "allaccess". The article never betrayed your penchant to look at issues concerning Nigeria from a purely national outlook. It was well written. However, my take is that those Northern elites never meant what they said. Just read their lips, those statements were mere mockery of the Niger Deltans. Until we see them address the issues you raised, I am wont to take those their statements with a pinch of salt. We have heard such proclamations before and no concrete attempts were made to address them. Like "allaccess" rightly pointed out before he spoilt his arguement, the unity of the South is the anti-dote to this Nothern arrogant posturing. Posted by emenanjo| 04.08.2008 11:06

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