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Continued from ...Read the full article.

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Mr Afilaka
You might want to read http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/samuel-akinyele-caulcrick/development-level-in-2020-will-remain-only-a-d.html
This is Mr Caulcriks view but it does shed more light .....Individual interests allowed to overshadow the collective interest ... the story of NIGERIA

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The government has just announced the formation of a 40 man committee on the Niger Delta. Another time wasting exercise. My advise, as I have already written in part 6 of my article titled "How the Niger Deltans can get their Freedom: The Action Plan!" available on nigeriansinamerica.com to the Niger Deltan militants is that THEY SHOULD TURN DOWN THIS PROPOSAL AND CONTINUE TO DEMAND FOR A NATIONAL REFERENDUM where all the respective ethnic groups will FIRST decide whether they want to continue to remain part of Nigeria - an evil creation of the British to serve its own selfish economic interests - and a colony of the north - which has become a perpetual liability, burden and parasite on the whole south.


Just like Prof. Okey Ndibe said in his recent interview "YOU CAN NOT FORCE PEOPLE OR AN ETHNIC GROUP TO LIVE IN THE SAME COUNTRY WITH YOU."

REFERENDUM MUST COME BEFORE ANY NIGER DELTA SPECIAL COMMITTEE! The militants must NOT allow Yaradua or the north to manipulate them with any committee or MARSHAL PLAN. Again, they need to be reminded that THE FINAL SAY lies with them and NOT with Yaradua.

Watch out for part which is 95% ready. I need to put some finishing touches before posting it.

I want to use this opportunity to appeal to anybody that knows the contacts of Gbomo Jomo, spokes man for MEND, Asari Dokubo or/and any of the leaders of the militant groups to please contact me. Thank you in advance.

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Mr Eleyura.. I am very careful and do not subscribe to the innuendo which suggest that Nigeria is an "evil entity"... All countries world over are products of periods of evolution either through human migration, nationalistic fervor, military conquest or mostly Colonial hegemonistic makeup... NIGERIA IS NOW A COUNTRY AND A REPUBLIC AT THAT.. I suggest we accept that fact and deal with the issues!!!

DO NOT THROW AWAY THE BATH WATER WITH THE BABY. NIGERIA IS ONE OF THE GREATEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD AND ITIS UP TO US TO MAKE IT THAT!!

:idea::idea:



Regards

DBA

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=DanielBAfilaka;4295094341>Mr Eleyura.. I am very careful and do not subscribe to the innuendo which suggest that Nigeria is an "evil entity"... All countries world over are products of periods of evolution either through human migration, nationalistic fervor, military conquest or mostly Colonial hegemonistic makeup... NIGERIA IS NOW A COUNTRY AND A REPUBLIC AT THAT.. I suggest we accept that fact and deal with the issues!!!

DO NOT THROW AWAY THE BATH WATER WITH THE BABY. NIGERIA IS ONE OF THE GREATEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD AND ITIS UP TO US TO MAKE IT THAT!!

:idea::idea:



Regards

DBA

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Ogbeni Afilaka,

Thanks for your post and article. Before I comment on your post, let me quickly point out to you that I am ELUYERA and NOT ELEYURA as you wrote in your post. Judging by/from your name, I assume that you are Yoruba, therefore, I expect that you should be able to at least write Yoruba names correctly - unless you are an AJEBOTA YORUBA BOY - in that case, you are forgiven.

My assertion that Nigeria is an 'evil creatioon' is well rooted in its history. Take your time and go through the history of Nigeria, and I can assure you that if you are sincere with yourself, you will eventually come to agree with me that there is not only very little to be proud of, but it's full of poverty, oppression, suppression, massacre, mismanagement, bad leadership, insincerity, tribalism, internal colonialism, military brutality, election rigging, et.c. Despite the fact abundance of human and mineral resources the country is endowed with, nevertheless, Nigeria and Nigerians are among the poorest countries/people in the world - with one of the lowest life expectancy. There is much more to be ashamed off in Nigeria's history than to be proud of - if at all there is.

Nigeria is an artificial country created by the British to serve their own selfish purpose. Despite the fact it's almost 50 years since the country got its independence from the EVIL BRITISH, the country has not only failed WOEFULLY to transform into a nation, but is even more divided now than at independence. Nigeria is an evil creation because it's made of diversified ethnic groups with very little in common with one another - especially with the north - who hate one another and would rather work to put one another down than join together for a common purpose. Nigeria is an evil creation and artificial concursion because all the ethnic groups in the south are being forced to live together by the north within the border that was drawn by the British in Berlin 1884. Don't you think that it is evil when southern Nigerians are being slaughtered like goats by northerners in the north? Don't you think that it is evil when the probability of a souther being murdered in the north is 1000 times higher than that of Indians, British, Americans, Palestinians, Lebanese, Israelis, Chinese, e,t,c, who are foreigners? You might want to read my series titled "Nigeria's 419 Constitution" in order to get a better understanding of why I referred To Nigeria as an evil creation in my post

It was after leaving the shores of Nigeria that I got to know that THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COUNTRY AND A NATION. NIGERIA IS A MERE GEOGRAPHICAL EXPRESSION AND NOT A NATION. The opportunity to mold it into a nation has been blown and frustrated by the north. IT'S TOO LATE NOW. NIGERIA IS NEVER GOING TO BE A NATION!!! THIS IS WHY IT NEEDS TO BE BROKEN UP! DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS MUST BE ALLOWED TO FORM THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES AND NATIONS. And for Godsake, please don't come back with another post urging us to keep on giving it a try TILL THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES. 50 YEARS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH MY BROTHER!!!

And I really don't understand what you mean by this expression: All countries world over are products of periods of evolution either through human migration, nationalistic fervor, military conquest or mostly Colonial hegemonistic makeup It sounds to me more of your CONFUSION and limited knowledge in this topic. You just can not use a genaral or sweeping statement to explain a concrete problem. As far as I am concerned, this only shows LAZINESS and poor understanding of the peculiarity of the issue that is being discussed.


Are you trying to say that the Yorubas or/and the south as a whole should resign to their fate and accept Nigeria as a MISSION ACCOMPLI even if the economic, political, military and social structures are OBVIOUSLY not in their interests? I am sorry, but YOU ARE NOT REALLY MAKING ANY SENSE. For example, what has human migration got to do with the formation of Nigeria? What has human migration got to do with the fact that the British NEVER sought the consent of the respective ethnic groups before lumping all of them together into one country? What has human migration got to do with the fact that the same ethnic group are FORCEFULLY scattered/divided into 2-4 African countries? And are you trying to tell us that the colonialists know better how to structure African countries? Or are trying to say that the south as a whole should continue SHUFFERING AND SMILING in the name of keeping Nigeria one? Are you trying to say that the south should put up with Nigeria's 419 Constitution that deprives bonafide owners the right to the use of their land and resources first and foremost for their own development all in the name of building a fake and non-existing one Nigeria?

What do you mean by this expression too? NIGERIA IS ONE OF THE GREATEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD AND ITIS UP TO US TO MAKE IT THAT!! First, I expect you to provide EVIDENCE based on facts/statistics that Nigeria is one of the greatest countries in the world? And BTW, what is your own understanding/definition of greatness? Does greatness mean LACK OF ACCESS to basic ammenities like water and light? Does greatness mean one of the highest mortality birth rate in the world? Does greatness mean one of the poorest citizens/country in the world? Does greatness include INABILITY to carry out a free and fair election? Does greatness mean being ruled by corrupt, incompetent, visionless and morally bankrupt retired criminal officers and civilians from the north? D


oes gretness include using QUOTA SYSTEM to choose where the presidents must come from? Does greatness mean the INABILITY of the govt. to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians. Does greatness mean spending billions of dollars of the Niger Delta oil money on a white elephant project called ABUJA while the bonafide owners of the resources wallow in abject poverty? Does greatness mean dilapidated roads, hospitals etc? Does greatness also mean STRATEGIC SECTORS of our economy being controlled by foreigners and multinational companies? You might want to read my article titled "One Nigeria: To be or not to be? (part 1)" for a COMPLETE LIST of your understanding of greatness and how Nigeria fits in.

Secondly, I notice a CONTRADICTION in that expression of yours. If you claim that Nigeria is ALREADY one of the greatest countries in the world, then, why do we need to make it that again? Do you understand why I said earlier that YOU ARE EITHER CONFUSED OR/AND LACK BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT YOU ARE COMMENTING ON.

Now moving over to your article. I did not want to comment on it before in order not to spoil your mood, but I am compelled to do that now. But, First you deserve commendation for your efforts and time to put down your thought in black and white. It's not easy. Having asaid that, nevertheless, I regret to say that YOUR ARTICLE IS WEAK. There are a lots of contradictions in your article. It's not a focused article. You have not demonstrated a sound knowledge of the topic that you have chosen to write on. You have not presented any ORIGINAL IDEA or SOLUTION. You are not convincing at all. Your article is full of commom/general sentences that are poorly connected to the topic that you chose to write on. In short, I am not impressed.

I would have loved to comment further on your article and show you many contradictory statements, unfortunately, I don't have the time. But,l if you don't mind, for comparison, I want to reccomend two of my articles that are somehow related to your topic to you for reading. The articles are titled "Election rigging and other atrocities: Obasanjo is NOT guilty. (parts 1&2)" and "What have you done recently for democracy in Nigeria? (parts 1&2)" They are available on this site.

And, since you still have some ILLUSION about One Nigeria, then I suggest that you read - with an open mind - my series titled "One Nigeria: To be or not to be? (Parts 1-6)" Keep us informed about your trip back to Nigeria. You surely deserve a BIG KUDOS for that bold move from London to Naija.

Finally, since we are from the same state, we all have to join hands together to uiplift our state and the Yoruba nation as a whole. But, I understand that the gov. is a THIEF and FASCIST. How I wished you could throw more light on his administration. Please don't take my asssessment of your article personal. Take it as a sincere feedback and learn how you can improve on future articles.

Best wishes.

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Egbon Eluyera.. I hope im correct this time.. :-)

Thanks for taking such a keen interest in this article.. i am truly over the moon at your response though lengthy; i will address every misjudgment you have stated with regards to your anti Nigerian sentiments!!

Regarding your name, well i am flattered to be referred to as an "A_JE_BO_TA Boy".. the reality is that you have actually missed the point!! The term Yoruba was only used to qualify people that spoke similar dialects to the Oyo peoples by the then acting Governor of Lagos State {Macgregor} during the 16 year Yoruba wars; hence i will beg to advise that the term Yoruba should NEVER be loosely used in intellectual discourses. This means in effect that the Pronunciation and meaning of your name "Eluyera" could be pronounced and mean different things to the numerous tribal leanings of the Yoruba tribe as you know it! From your utterances it shows me categorically that your knowledge of the Yoruba tribe is limited to the colonial hand downs you've been given as your history. Your apologies are needless as ignorance in the literati is a viable excuse for misstatements!!

I find it rather perturbing when a supposed intellectual uses common knowledge to discredit optimistic visions of a greater Nigeria!! All you have said by stating the numerous issues in Nigeria is common knowledge and i would beg to say that the catalogue of ills stated you are not genuine enough to discredit the functionality of the Nigerian state!! We look to people who have a genuine stake in the polity and NOT people who run away from the motherland and discredit us from afar because you reckon you now live in splendor in the land of your colonial overlords!! I dare say shame on you for running away from your Motherland with the pretence of seeking greener pastures!! Your castigation of your homeland only shows that you lack the nerve to effect change within your polity hence you find it easier to discredit any such laudable efforts especially by a younger and more agile generation that has the nerve to do that which you have neglected!!! All the current ills of our society are not unique to us as Great Britain suffered the same in the late 17th and 18th century when their nation was taking its first strides towards empire status!! The even had epidemics of the Black Death {plague} and a host of other issues on top of their infrastructural deficiencies!! Nigeria is just 48yrs old in comparison to the UK's 400 year old development as a nation under God!!

Interesting that you use the word "evil" willy nilly to describe the empires that have reigned in the past!! Once again i see that your knowledge of global history is in questions.. Nigeria is a product of the scramble for Africa by the European hegemony in those days namely France, England, Germany and Spain!! Hence what we find today as Nigeria is a show of British empirical might over and above the other European powers. If we are to follow your assertions of evil then every nation under the sun MUST be split apart to prove your point!! Israel is a creation from a Semitic providential occurrence, The Democratic Republic of Congo was a creation of Belgian royal decadence!! Britain is a product of Roman empirical might!! Northern Ireland is also another product of British empirical might!! If you know your history you will find that even the term Yoruba was coined because of the pre-eminence of the Oyo empire via the Ibadan war lords!! Should we then say that the Yoruba should cease to exist just because we were formed by the annexation of the Oyo empire!!?? Think my brother and see beyond the myopic view of self hate which you preach!! Regarding inter-tribal sentiments that abound in Nigeria we are to tackle this misnomer as the Yorubas and its neighbours lived in peace and harmony till the divisive tendencies of the Abrahamic faiths disturbed their coherence!! For your information according to history the Ifa oracle was imported into the Yoruba hemisphere from the Nupe peoples of the upper Niger!!

I don’t know how old you are but i implore you to stop quoting the old rhetoric of Tafawa Balewa and the late Obafemi Awolowo!! The statements that Nigeria is nothing but a geographic expression is now officially outdated!! We have lived together for 48 years and it s a bit too late to annul a marriage of 48 years don’t you think!!?? If you had a sister in a marriage for 48 years would you then advise that she lives her husbands house!!?? Food for thought, this your idea is lost to my generation and we do not ascribe to it!! I am not advocating that we continue to live in squalor but rather that we work proactively towards creating a coherent structure in our time and NOT let the mistakes of our fathers direct our actions towards a negative path!! Nigeria is now an entity and as such must be maintained to achieve the unity in diversity which is the basis of the new globalised economy!!

Regarding the "laziness and misunderstanding of the issue at hand" i have to educate you in this regard!! All nations are products of evolution due to nationalistic fervor i.e. Nigeria and most nations that followed the nationalistic movements of the early 50's and late 60's, human migration; this is obvious in the BANTU migrations that took place across Africa which explains the colloquial similarities of the Shona, Xhosa and Igbo languages of Africa!! Military conquest; this is aptly explained by the United Kingdom.. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which only joined the union by force of warfare and not treatises as you may have thought!! Once again i do not indulge in lectures as i believe a google session will enlighten you further regarding the above statements!! I am truly sorry that you had to travel all the way to faraway lands to understand the fundamental difference between a nation and a country!! Really sad, maybe when you left Nigeria the Internet wasn’t as proliferated as it is today!! My connection right now is in LAGOS and i'm writing from my bedroom. The Internet is a good place to start learning about the world and its misnomers!!

Once again you speak authoritatively about matters that you have no inkling about!!! Did the British seek express permission before lumping together the disparate entities that made up Nigeria.. I hate to do this butu i have to educate you AGAIN!!! The Yoruba 16 years war was ended by a British contingent that was invited by the Alaafin of Oyo in conjunction with the main kings of the Yoruba Land including the Emir of Ilorin. Treatises were signed that stated that the Yoruba hinterlands gave military control of their garrisons to the British to help sue for peace with the warring tribes!! Albeit that the weapons were supplied by the Brits they came in with their soldiers and 50 Hausa foot soldiers to disband the Ekiti and Ijesha parapo armies against the Ibadan war hordes!! I have a copy of these treatises and if you need to see them i suggest you go to the archives of Lagos state for more information!! Lord Lugard sorted out the North through indirect rule.. Enough of this education as it is belittling to be giving a treasured member of our literati such lectures as given to students of social studies in junior secondary schools in Nigeria!!

I see from your statements that you have very anti north sentiments, however as the President of a Nigerian Youth organization working towards a greater Nigeria i will NEVER ascribe to these defeatist ideologies. You may have an axe to grind with the North however you shouldn’t bring them to the fore in such discourses about Nigeria!! In this instance political correctness is a necessity. On this matter you mentioned above about using quota systems to select our Presidents!! It is rather unfortunate that the Nigerian reality states that the Federal character is an essential to remain as a coherent strategy. How would you feel if an Hausa man was winning all elections in Nigeria for the next 30 years. I promise you that there will be all out war in the land!! Think carefully before you make flippant statements that will fluster the structure that we have on ground now called Nigeria!!

I find it rather sad that you keep having to state the obvious regarding the issues that abound in the polity in Nigeria!! These are the problems that we MUST proffer solutions to and NOT just keep re-iterating the problem. I can tell you that all you have said regarding the issues are known to "Okada riders" in Lagos!! I would suggest that you discuss with them and you will find that the problems in Nigeria are known by all and sundry!!! The solution is what we expect of you and not a re-statement of the problem!! I will state here again with authority this time that NIGERIA is one of the greatest countries in the world!! There is a fact that states that Nigerians are one of the most educated amongst all Africans. Nigeria is the most populous black nation under the sun, Nigeria produces human resources that rival even western nations!! We have Nobel laureate as well as eminent personalities!! My reason for stating this is that our largest export which unfortunately now includes you is our human resource and hence we remain one of the greatest Nations under the sun!! Ask Phillip Emegweali is in doubt or Wole Soyinka for clarification!!

Failures of projects should not be mistaken as failure of country!! All i gather from your rhetoric is that you hate the entity called Nigeria and would do or say anything to discredit our little achivements!! Constructive criticism is welcome however i find yours a destructive criticism and hope that you are alone in your line of thought!! You find it very easy to pick on issues and blow them out of proportions!! I don’t know under which age you grew up but it appears like you grew up when the world wasn’t enlightened probably in a village in Yoruba Land and you were brought up with the North versus south ideology of the Awo days!! I'm sorry but i was brought up under the Nigeria must be one banner and because we belong to 2 different generations we cant see from the same pane!! THE DIFFERENCE btw you and i is that i will work for the progress of the motherland whilst you will work for the destruction of the little we have left!! Time will tell who wins this rat race for the Nigerian state but might i warn you that Biafra according to the eminent Odumegwu Ojukwu is a still born dream and all such ideologies will be trampled upon by the emerging coherence of the Nigerian state under our generation!!!

Regarding your critique of my article as weak, i will say thank you.. in literary circles theres what we call critical acclaim!! I am always glad when a strong worded critique is given regarding my write up because that means i have found a new reader for my thoughts though bizarre at they may be!! My article being weak with a reference to your article; i will say that you have read my article as a dissertation!! Yes you got it right; my articles are brain dumps and as such they are to be seen as my opinion and nothing else. I would have taken time to read your articles but from your uneducated statements above i will beg to differ for now {may some other time}!! Part 1-6 of someone stating the obvious problems of Nigeria is NOT something that i'd consider a worthwhile read!! Sorry to bust your bubble but your critique is more than welcome anyday as a log rote in response to my articles is NOT something that phases me in the least!!!!

Regarding us being from the same state, i'm glad about that though thats inconsequential to me because all Nigerians are one and the same!! The Governor being a fascist.. hmmm once again you use big words without giving adequate thought to the implications of your words!! Please provide one fact of what he has stolen that qualifies him as a THIEF and also traits of fascism he has displayed to you that qualifies him as such!! It is very easy to criticise governors but as a leader in my organization i do not have the liberties to use such words without adequate facts to back up my claims!! I do not agree to your statements except for the one that states that we should join hands in making our state greater!!

PS: I am trully surprised at your own contradictions!! You disregard Nigeria and then call for us to work towards making our state a better place.. Have you forgotten that Osun State is a part of Nigeria and that same constitution that you conveniently ridicule!!! Food for thought!!

DBA- NYL PRESIDENT