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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 23, 2016, 3:53:18 AM12/23/16
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I read a fellow from Lagos who  claims to be a civil rights activist, condemning those celebrating Ibori, but for a long time,  this fellow have been celebrating a politician of the Ibori Ilk from Lagos.

CAO.



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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 23, 2016, 3:53:47 AM12/23/16
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The people celebrating James Ibori are his people and they are doing so because other thieves in Nigeria are being celebrated by their own people. Although Ibori was convicted in Britain, he was however, convicted because of the political differences between him and the people in government in Nigeria then, but this should not be taken to mean that he was innocent.

Femi Segun

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Dec 23, 2016, 4:44:04 AM12/23/16
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So what is your argument? A rationalisation? A justification of this shameless act, whether is Lagos or Delta? Methink self acclaimed civil rights activists like you should be clear on where they stand on issues that bothers on decency and integrity

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Ibukunolu A Babajide

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Dec 23, 2016, 4:44:12 AM12/23/16
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Chidi,

So should two wrongs make a right?

Cheers.

IBK

Sulaiman Adebowale

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Dec 23, 2016, 6:12:31 AM12/23/16
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Adeshina Afolayan

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Dec 23, 2016, 6:12:31 AM12/23/16
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Thank you, Oga Femi. 

Sometimes, Oga Chidi surprises me. Is the main issue that others are also celebrating their thieves or that all thieves should be roundly excoriated everywhere we find them? Saying "this should not be taken to mean he was innocent" is an afterthought. What matters here is not the spurious justification that clans matter supposedly give such acts, as your quote suggests. What really matter is that stealing is morally bad, whether committed by an Igbo or a Yoruba. C'est fini! And human right activists ought to know better, except those unfortunately sold to the ethnic agenda that justifies all things terrible and bad. 

And Ibori was convicted because of political differences and not because he stole? Oga Chidi, your thought direction is betrayed already!

Na wa o!

 
Adeshina Afolayan, PhD
Department of Philosophy
University of Ibadan


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profoy...@yahoo.com

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Dec 23, 2016, 6:12:32 AM12/23/16
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Bode George who was declared guilty by a court of law in Nigeria went to prison with great fanfare. At the expiration of the prison term he was received by his friends with even greater fanfare and a thanksgiving service was held at a church to welcome him into society. So I would not be surprised if James IborI is given a national honour when he returns to Nigeria. In Yoruba language Ibori is elewon+ tokunbo= special status now. Weep not for my beloved nation.

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From: "Chidi Anthony Opara" <chidi...@gmail.com>
To: "USA African Dialogue Series" <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote
Date: Fri, Dec 23, 2016 5:23 AM

The people celebrating James Ibori are his people and they are doing so because other thieves in Nigeria are being celebrated by their own people. Although Ibori was convicted in Britain, he was however, convicted because of the political differences between him and the people in government in Nigeria then, but this should not be taken to mean that he was innocent.

CAO. 


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Kasim Alli

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Dec 23, 2016, 7:43:05 AM12/23/16
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By the way, the conviction of Bode George was overturned by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2013.

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Dr. Oohay

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Dec 23, 2016, 9:30:10 AM12/23/16
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I re-post my earlier post:

[In much of Africa, especially Naija, we (as Ali M. once noted), we produce what we don't eat and eat what we don't produce -- (and I add) -- we are not against corruption, we just pray that the wheel of corruption pass our way. 

Corruption more or less exists in every culture, but for our Naijirians, corruption is a way of everyday life. Let's start (everyday) to clean house (our OWN individual houses or households) and then clean or clear our conscience as we work or play in nonprofit or for-profit professional or educational or religious or secular organizations].



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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 23, 2016, 1:04:51 PM12/23/16
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Can't you all see that these posts point to the fact that the celebration of thieves in Nigeria is becoming systemic and that the problem should be tackled from that angle?

CAO.


On Friday, 23 December 2016 10:44:04 UTC+1, Samuel Oloruntoba wrote:
So what is your argument? A rationalisation? A justification of this shameless act, whether is Lagos or Delta? Methink self acclaimed civil rights activists like you should be clear on where they stand on issues that bothers on decency and integrity
On Fri, Dec 23, 2016 at 6:23 AM, Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi...@gmail.com> wrote:
The people celebrating James Ibori are his people and they are doing so because other thieves in Nigeria are being celebrated by their own people. Although Ibori was convicted in Britain, he was however, convicted because of the political differences between him and the people in government in Nigeria then, but this should not be taken to mean that he was innocent.

CAO. 


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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 23, 2016, 4:44:40 PM12/23/16
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A certain Tony Ita Etim wrote on facebook:

"URHOBO VAX POETICALLY VALLIANT. AS EYES BEGIN TO OPEN UP TO. MOSES WAS A MURDERER ONLY BECAUSE HE WAS HEBREW. I DID NOT SAY JEWISH, I SAID HEBREW. BUT EGYPT WAS MURDERING HEBREWS EVERYDAY AND OFFICERS OF PHAROAH WHERE NOT MURDERERS THEY WHERE SAINTS.

Ibori:
Minority groups should still have a voice...

I join million others to 'unashamedly' celebrate Chief James Ibori's freedom from incarceration yesterday, December 21, 2016. I owe none apology for my choice or that of millions celebrating Chief Ibori's freedom across the world today.

Until you tell me how/why known thieves serving in Buhari's government are holier than chief Ibori, spare your futile attempt at demonising a minority voice in Nigerian politics.

Ogheneochukome Lolodi's position slightly edited below profoundly capture all there is to the unnecessary controversy trailing the Ibori freedom celebration by millions across the world. Hear him...

"If we have not chosen to be hypocrites, we will have no issue giving Ibori the same treatment that his peers, Tinubu et al, have been enjoying. We will not throw a minority under the bus while you (majority) elevate their own thieves to positions of authority.

If you cannot bring Tinubu, Atiku, Adamu Muazo, Babagida Aliyu, Uzor Kalu, Maina, Obasanjo and others to the village square for all Nigerians to exorcise the thieving demons in them, then may Thunder dance Azonto on your head if you expect us to surrender our dearly beloved brother, James Ibori."

My take:
Except those ignorant of all that happened to Chief Ibori, he didnt go to jail simply because he allegedly stole, virtually all politically exposed Nigerians steal! He did because of the 'high-wired' political intrigue he engaged in with GEJ! I believe time and events have taught the Urhobo political voice a lesson or two, we have a moral duty as his kinsmen to support one of our own who has been through period of reformation in British prison.

My charge:
Chief James Ibori may have offended many because he is human. I hereby call on the Urhobo nation, Delta, South-South & Nigeria to forgive Chief Ibori. I urge all to desist from calling for his head after his travails in London. Like Ena Ofugara said, "we cannot have all your moneyed politicians like Saraki, Malaye, Ngige, Amaechi, Buhari, El Rufai, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi calling the shots nationally and have us (Urhobo, Delta, SS) castrate our only National figure.

Welcome home Chief James Ibori".

Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 24, 2016, 10:04:05 AM12/24/16
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Chidi, there are two types of thieves in Nigeria. Usually, one type of thieve is condemned to mob justice, death sentence or incarceration, while the other type is celebrated. The first type belongs to pick-pockets while the second type belongs to government and parastatal officials. Since the days of Ibrahim Babangida, Nigerians have been indoctrinated to believe that stealing (government) money meant to provide potable water, electricity, standard housing, standard hospitals, schools for children, good and safety roads, refine crude oil and defend citizens against terrorism by officials, is not theft. That is why those who steal from our collective patrimony is celebrated by those who think that it will be their turn one day to be appointed, selected, elected or employed in the system of turn-by-turn stealing of money appropriated to provide for the common good of all Nigerians.


Although Ibori was convicted in Britain, he was however, convicted because of the political differences between him and the government in Nigeria then.... - Chidi Opara. 


It is untrue that James Onanefe Ibori was convicted in Britain because of his political differences with the Nigerian government headed by Goodluck Jonathan. Of all the 23 Governors that were arraigned and prosecuted in courts for treasury looting after the expiration of their immunities in 2007, only the cases of Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State and James Ibori were concluded till date. It is on record that Lucky Igbinedion pleaded guilty to looting 5 billion naira from Edo State and Justice Abdullahi Kafarati offered him an option of 3.5 million naira fine!!


James Onanefe Ibori was first arrested on 12 December 2007, at Kwara State Lodge, Abuja, where he was given sanctuary by Saraki, then Governor of Kwara State. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail. On 17 December 2009, Asaba Federal High Court presided over by Justice Marcel Awokulehin, discharged and acquitted James Onanefe Ibori of all the 170 charges of theft of Public funds, abuse of office, money laundry etc. In 2007, Ibori bribed the EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, with $15 million, which Ribadu deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria as exhibit.


With regards to the trial of Ibori in Britain, the London Metropolitan Police began to take interest in Ibori in 2005 after coming across a purchase order for a private jet he made through his London solicitor. The London Police found out that Ibori had six different accounts in Barclays Bank, two in City Bank and several others in Channel Island where he listed his four months old baby as director in one of the companies. All in all, Ibori had laundered £250 million stolen from the Delta State in London. In 2010, Ibori travelled to Dubai, where most Nigerian treasury looters have invested stolen money which could have been used to produce thrice the beauty of Dubai in Nigeria, to check his properties there, unaware that the British police were trailing him. Britain applied to the UAE for repatriation of Ibori to London and secured it. At his trial, the prosecutor revealed that Ibori came to London late in the 1980s and was earning an annual income of £15,000 at Wickes Store in Ruislip. Ibori was, however, caught by his employer for allowing his wife, Theresa, for walking through the till he was manning without paying for the goods. They both pleaded guilty and were convicted at the Crown court of Isleworth on January 25, 1991. A year later, 7 February 1992, Ibori was again convicted at the Clerkenwell Magistrate Court for possessing stolen credit card. Ibori returned to Nigeria in 1993 and took refuge under Abacha. When Ibori was in London his date of birth, according to his passport, was 4 August 1962 but when he was repatriated from Dubai, his passport showed that he was born on August 4, 1958. His newly chosen date of birth made him just one month younger than his only surviving sister, Christine Ibori-Ibie, born of the same mother. The prosecution and conviction of Ibori in London had nothing to do with his political differences with Jonathan's government. In fact, charged along with Ibori in London on April 11, 2011 were Victor Obong Attah, former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, David Edevbie, a former principal secretary to Umaru Yar'Adua, Love Ojekovo, a former commissioner of Finance in Ibori's government and Henry Imasheka, a business associate of Ibori. In addition to that, it should not be forgotten that D. S.P. Alamieyeseigha, and Joshua Dariye were also prosecuted in Britain but they jumped bail. When Fawehinmi took the case of eligibility of Ibori as a governor to the High Court in Nigeria because he was convicted by an Abuja magistrate court for theft in 1995, the case was dismissed because, according to the judge, it could not be proved that the convicted Ibori was the same as the governor. That is Nigeria.

Happy Christmas

S.Kadiri  
 




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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 24, 2016, 11:23:03 AM12/24/16
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Salimonu,
Without the cooperation of the powers that be in Nigeria then, it would have been difficult to successfully conclude the prosecution of Ibori by the British and if not the political differences between the then President Jonathan and Ibori in the run up to the 2011 presidential election, that cooperation would not have been given.

CAO.

Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 24, 2016, 1:08:28 PM12/24/16
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Jonathan was elevated to substantive President on May 5, 2010, and Ibori travelled to Dubai in June 2010. At that time, discussion about if Jonathan was going to contest the 2011 Presidential election had not come up. In fact, the conviction of Ibori in London on the alleged looting of Delta State's treasury for which he had been discharged and acquitted in Nigeria, was a repudiation of Nigeria's corrupt judiciary. Nigeria played no roll, covert or overt, in the trial and conviction of Ibori in London.

S.Kadiri
 




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Salimonu,
Without the cooperation of the powers that be in Nigeria then, it would have been difficult to successfully conclude the prosecution of Ibori by the British and if not the political differences between the then President Jonathan and Ibori in the run up to the 2011 presidential election, that cooperation would not have been given.

CAO.

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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 24, 2016, 2:07:01 PM12/24/16
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Immediately Jonathan became substantive President against the wish of the anti Jonathan for President agitators, led by Adamu Ciroma, the agitation moved to the demand that Jonathan should serve out Umaru Yar'Adua's remaining mandate and quit but the pro Jonathan for President group led by Obasanjo and Clark insisted that Jonathan would contest the 2011 Presidential election. Ibori who was eyeing the Vice-president position joined forces with the anti Jonathan for President group.

This however, is not the main issue, the main issue is that the celebration of thieves in Nigeria is not limited to the Ibori admirers. It is fast becoming systemic, the problem should be tackled from that angle not by the current selective and hypocritical condemnation of the Ibori admirers.

CAO.

O O

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Dec 24, 2016, 2:07:16 PM12/24/16
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Waiting for the Wheel of Corruption to Come Their Way: The Mentality in Question Is Much Older Than You Think
["there are two types of thieves in Nigeria. Usually, one type of thieve is condemned to mob justice, death sentence or incarceration, while the other type is celebrated. The first type belongs to pick-pockets while the second type belongs to government and parastatal officials. Since the days of Ibrahim Babangida, Nigerians have been indoctrinated to believe that stealing (government) money meant to provide potable water, electricity, standard housing, standard hospitals, schools for children, good and safety roads, refine crude oil and defend citizens against terrorism by officials, is not theft. That is why those who steal from our collective patrimony is celebrated by those who think that it will be their turn one day to be appointed, selected, elected or employed in the system of turn-by-turn stealing of money appropriated to provide for the common good of all Nigerians"].

The genealogy of the mentality that motivates the attitude toward the looting of any public treasure in question precedes Babangida; both fictional and nonfiction literature provide ample evidence. Just read Naija literature since 1950's, especially Achebe's. The refrain -- which one concern you, na your papa or mama money?-- has a long history which predates Baba. Our everyday re-education (formal and informal) at all levels (from preschool to the university) has to begin exemplarily right now and has to focus on questions of the morality and economics of corruption in general and egregious corruption in particular.

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 25, 2016, 3:55:17 AM12/25/16
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Please remember those who cannot afford to be merry today. Merry Christmas.

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 25, 2016, 5:17:27 AM12/25/16
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A part of me died a while ago when at Rumuola Junction in Port Harcourt Nigeria, I saw some shabbily dressed children on this  Christmas day hawking assorted items.

Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 25, 2016, 8:44:37 AM12/25/16
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Why have you never asked what happened to the billions of naira appropriated for Universal Primary Education (UPE) and later changed to Universal Basic Education (UBE), to provide education for every Nigerian child of school age as propagated in the United Nations Millenium Development Goal (MDG) introduced in year 2000 and expired in 2015? Please don't let part of you die for those impoverished children, rather you should conform with what the forerunner to Jesus, Peter, said to the Pharisees when they asked, "What shall we do to enter into the Kingdom of heaven?" Peter answered,"He that has two coats, let him impart one to him that has none." 

S.Kadiri
 




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Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 25, 2016, 8:44:43 AM12/25/16
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Corruption in the !950s until the time of Babangida had to do with increasing the price of government's contracts and purchased goods. Babangida did not only introduce the euphemism, settle him/her, for corruption, it was he who permitted Permanent Secretaries and Directors in the Ministries to register personal companies through which they awarded government contracts to themselves. The contracts were never executed even though contract money were fully paid. That was how total and massive stealing of developmental money appropriated by the government began in Nigeria. Before Babangida, there was Financial and General orders regulating the behaviour of civil servants and curbing any financial misappropriations and thefts. The Auditor General of the Federation functioned as its counterparts in the Western World. I have wondered why Nigerian Intellectuals have not, through massive campaigns, compelled the National Assembly to pass the law to make asset declaration of Nigerian officials public.

S.Kadiri  
 




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Ibrahim Abdullah

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Dec 25, 2016, 10:05:02 AM12/25/16
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Can't be true. 

There was massive corruption in Nigeria before Babangida: from regional to federal government. And this involved evil servants as well as politicians. 

The era of the super per sec under Jack Gowon to Indigenisation to Shagari----it was looting galore. 

Check the register--littered with the blood of the masses!

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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 25, 2016, 12:34:01 PM12/25/16
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Even in the "first republic", Awolowo, Azikiwe, Okotie-Eboh and a few others had wealth their known earnings could not explain.

CAO.

Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 25, 2016, 2:18:14 PM12/25/16
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You have to substantiate your assertion about questionable wealth of the people you mentioned.

S.Kadiri
 




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Even in the "first republic", Awolowo, Azikiwe, Okotie-Eboh and a few others had wealth their known earnings could not explain.

CAO.

H O

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Dec 25, 2016, 2:19:16 PM12/25/16
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Chidi
Let that of part of you which "died" experience resurrection. That is because Christmas is not all about the sight and scenes of  plum and luxury; it is equally about the rude awakening to the dark recesses of life to which the whole idea of the birth of Jesus Christ speaks to.
 
Oladosu A. Afis
Professor of Middle Eastern, North African and Cultural Studies
Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies,
University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, Nigeria.
“The best of princes is he who visits scholars.”
- Jalal al-Din Rumi, 13th century Persian Sufi poet



O O

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Dec 25, 2016, 3:51:29 PM12/25/16
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Wanted: Relevant Laws and Relevant Associated Rules, Regulations, and Implementation Strategies

The fundamental problem in the case of public corruption is not merely the passing of laws but the kinds of laws and associated regulations and their everyday implementation apparatuses that are passed. Specifically, are the specifics of the laws and associated regulations and modes of their implementations crafted in ways that are compatible with the realities and ideals of Naija's infrastructural culture? Do the formal and informal rules and practices derived from many of our laws take into account the behaviors and habits of our peoples?

Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 25, 2016, 3:52:10 PM12/25/16
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When people say infrastructures in Nigeria are decayed, they are talking about the infrastructures that were built under Gowon. The super perm secretaries might have corruptly added ten per cent to the cost of those structures for themselves, nevertheless the structures were erected. From Babangida era onwards, the sum of fifty million dollars appropriated for electricity generation in Nigeria was stolen without a single Watt added to our National grid; More than ten billion dollars disappeared in what was called Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM) of our four oil refineries without refined oil products. The list of stolen appropriated funds for the development of Nigeria from Babangida's era onwards can be made longer. I agree that there was corruption in Nigeria before Babangida but massive stealing of public funds with impunity started from Babangida.
 




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Ibrahim Abdullah

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Dec 25, 2016, 3:52:22 PM12/25/16
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Awo and Dedeolu Estate; Awo and National Bank; Zik and African Continental Bank; Philip Asiodu et al in the civil service.

Evidence abound!
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Ibrahim Abdullah

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Dec 25, 2016, 4:36:35 PM12/25/16
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You are now shifting grounds!

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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 25, 2016, 4:55:00 PM12/25/16
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Salimonu,
Have you been "substantiating" similar statements against former President Jonathan and others? I made a general statement that the known earnings of the people mentioned could not explain their wealth.

CAO.

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 28, 2016, 1:56:19 PM12/28/16
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Classics are not flawless, the flaws do not make them any less Classic. Pointing out the flaws do not mean questioning the "literary masterpieceness" of such classics.

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 29, 2016, 1:38:30 PM12/29/16
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"A Nigerian pastor's baby was playing with her dad's phone and accidentally posted: "sdjmhryuiowq kdfshjsvfjj tokoloshika bskklspfrrrrrrrr" on the pastor's Facebook wall.

Within an hour, over 1,500 followers commented:  
"Amen man of God, I receive it!!! and about 900 people had shared the post." (Anonymous on Facebook). 

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Dec 31, 2016, 6:38:02 PM12/31/16
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My New Year Prayer: God, continue to give me the patience to continue to use poetry as the weapon and not the gun.

Salimonu Kadiri

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Jan 1, 2017, 3:18:58 PM1/1/17
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My own new year prayer is: May God punish all past and present looters of Nigeria's treasury. I pray for God's vengeance on members of Nigeria's Judiciary, Executive and Legislature that have participated, and are still participating, in the loot of our national patrimony. I pray that those whose harmful designs of cannibalistic thefts have denied the masses of Nigeria quality healthcare, infrastructural development, functional education, clean and potable water, good roads, good housing, and electricity, will get their lives cut off in gruesome manner. I pray to God that when looters of Nigeria's patrimony eat, their stomach would swell and burst open; and when they drink they would be afflicted with dysentery and cholera; and when they travel abroad for medical treatment, may God afflict physicians attending to them with blindness. I pray to God to target mansions built in Nigeria and abroad by looters of Nigeria's treasury with thunder, lighten and earth quake. I pray to God this way because lesser criminals than Nigerian treasury looters such as Ananias and Sapphira, according to the Acts of Apostles, Chapter 5 : 1-10, were struck to death by thunder and lighten for hiding part of their sold land-property from church taxation.

S.Kadiri   
 




Skickat: den 31 december 2016 23:38

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Segun Ogungbemi

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Jan 2, 2017, 1:00:39 AM1/2/17
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May God of mercy and kindness not hear your prayer Mr. Kadiri. My prayer is that those who looted the national treasury have a change of heart and willingly return the money for Buhari administration to utilize for the development of Nigeria. Aase Edumare. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 

Sent from my iPhone 

Cornelius Hamelberg

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Jan 2, 2017, 7:53:55 AM1/2/17
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In Equatorial Guinea there’s the case of Teodorin Obiang which begins today in Paris.

According to this morning's Dagens Nyheter, “Obiang is not expected to appear at the trial, nor serve his sentence if convicted. One of his lawyers announced that Obiang "has always said that he earned the money legally in their country".

If he can show that he made the money legally in his country then he has nothing to worry about. I expect his kind hearted countrymen to pray that he will share the money with some of the poor people in his Equatorial Guinea

Okechukwu Ukaga

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Jan 2, 2017, 7:53:59 AM1/2/17
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Why not? Mr Kadiri's prayer makes sense given the context and circumstances. I day a amen to that, perhaps with a friendly amendment that those who quickly return ALL they looted be spared.
OU

On Jan 2, 2017 12:00 AM, "Segun Ogungbemi" <segun...@gmail.com> wrote:
May God of mercy and kindness not hear your prayer Mr. Kadiri. My prayer is that those who looted the national treasury have a change of heart and willingly return the money for Buhari administration to utilize for the development of Nigeria. Aase Edumare. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 

Sent from my iPhone 

On Jan 1, 2017, at 11:30 AM, Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com> wrote:

My own new year prayer is: May God punish all past and present looters of Nigeria's treasury. I pray for God's vengeance on members of Nigeria's Judiciary, Executive and Legislature that have participated, and are still participating, in the loot of our national patrimony. I pray that those whose harmful designs of cannibalistic thefts have denied the masses of Nigeria quality healthcare, infrastructural development, functional education, clean and potable water, good roads, good housing, and electricity, will get their lives cut off in gruesome manner. I pray to God that when looters of Nigeria's patrimony eat, their stomach would swell and burst open; and when they drink they would be afflicted with dysentery and cholera; and when they travel abroad for medical treatment, may God afflict physicians attending to them with blindness. I pray to God to target mansions built in Nigeria and abroad by looters of Nigeria's treasury with thunder, lighten and earth quake. I pray to God this way because lesser criminals than Nigerian treasury looters such as Ananias and Sapphira, according to the Acts of Apostles, Chapter 5 : 1-10, were struck to death by thunder and lighten for hiding part of their sold land-property from church taxation.

S.Kadiri   
 




Skickat: den 31 december 2016 23:38
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My New Year Prayer: God, continue to give me the patience to continue to use poetry as the weapon and not the gun.

CAO. 


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Adeshina Afolayan

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Jan 2, 2017, 7:54:07 AM1/2/17
to usaafric...@googlegroups.com, Segun Ogungbemi
Professor,
Ease let us put Oga Kadiri's "prayers" in oerspective. If you consider the level at which our collective patrimony has been stolen by those who are supposedly leaders, then there is no point trying to be saintly with these people. They are thieves, simple. And outside of a revolution that will strike them off our national picture, the best we can do--the last resort of the powerless--is terrible epe; sending Soponna (the god of smallpox) on a terrible errand. 

These people do not need prayers; they need the most calamitous things to befall them as an example for others. Haven't they impoverished us all without any regard at all?

Segun Ogungbemi

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Jan 2, 2017, 8:59:07 AM1/2/17
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Oga Adesuna,
Ti Olorun ba ma sa mi ese  ta lo le duro? If God is going to treat us according to our sin, how many of us will survive? 
The republicans in the Bible were asked  to repent so as to enjoy the forgiveness of God. 
The above were/are the moral teachings in the Bible and I expect the born again to follow the injunctions. 
If our society had remained steadfast in their traditional moral teachings as Dr. Adesina had wished Soponna to deal with those who have stolen from the national treasury, perhaps there would have been no such thieves at all because they would have know the immediate consequences. 
I am neither a Christian nor a Muslim but a Humanist who takes pride in Yoruba culture and customs. A very rich culture and values I admire and respect. 
So, I am not a saint because such institution is not in Yoruba culture. 
Happy new year. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 

Segun Ogungbemi

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Jan 2, 2017, 4:06:35 PM1/2/17
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Oga Adesina/OU
Ti Oluwa ba'n sa mi ese, ta lo le duro? If the Lord treats us according to our transgressions,  how many of us will survive? 

The republicans in the Bible were asked  to repent so as to enjoy the forgiveness of God. 
The above were/are the moral teachings in the Bible and I expect the born again to follow the injunctions. 
If our society had remained steadfast in their traditional moral teachings as Dr. Adesina had wished Soponna to deal with those who have stolen from the national treasury, perhaps there would have been no such thieves at all because they would have known the immediate consequences. 

I am neither a Christian nor a Muslim but a Humanist who takes pride in Yoruba culture and customs. A very rich culture and values I admire and respect. 
So, I am not a saint because such institution is not in Yoruba culture. 
Happy new year. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 

Sent from my iPhone


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Cornelius Hamelberg

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Jan 3, 2017, 6:24:16 PM1/3/17
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Verily, Professor Segun Ogungbemi.

But for having a Merciful Almighty, we could be in mortal danger of having all our prayers answered and getting what we prayed for, even in-ad-ver-tent-ly.

It's only with some fear and trepidation that I have always said the the 12th Blessing of the Amidah which was aimed at heretics and informers at a certain period of history, and which still goes like this (in translation):

“And for the slanderers, let there be no hope;

and may all wickedness perish in an instant;

and may all Your enemies be cut down speedily.

The wanton sinnersMay You speedily uproot, smash, cast down, and humble - speedily, in our days.

Blessed are You Hashem, Who breaks enemies and humbles wanton sinners

When I read it out to him this evening Ogbeni Kadiri laughed and told me that “wanton sinners” must refer to the looters – he was laughing - but the fact is that “ wanton sinners” could include him and me  and some of the pastors too,  as repeat offenders of what the Catholics refer to as minor sins and that's why I say and have always said the 12th Blessing of the Amidah - not wholeheartedly, but with some degree of mixed feelings.

I remember when I entered the church that Sunday morning, with Rasta brother Prince Abaye of Bakana carrying a wooden cross on his shoulders - the preacher was preaching from his pulpit and when they saw us approaching, the guards had rushed to the door to prevent us coming in but did not succeed because Prince Abaye swung his cross and those who wanted to prevent us from coming in had to jump out of the way. What still echoes in my ears are the first words that the preacher said – addressing both the congregation and us directly we heard him say : “ Friend of the world = enemy of God !”

Someday, would hate to see a bolt of lightning flash through the synagogue and wipe out half of the congregation.





On Monday, 2 January 2017 14:59:07 UTC+1, seguno2013 wrote:
Oga Adesuna,
Ti Olorun ba ma sa mi ese  ta lo le duro? If God is going to treat us according to our sin, how many of us will survive? 
The republicans in the Bible were asked  to repent so as to enjoy the forgiveness of God. 
The above were/are the moral teachings in the Bible and I expect the born again to follow the injunctions. 
If our society had remained steadfast in their traditional moral teachings as Dr. Adesina had wished Soponna to deal with those who have stolen from the national treasury, perhaps there would have been no such thieves at all because they would have know the immediate consequences. 
I am neither a Christian nor a Muslim but a Humanist who takes pride in Yoruba culture and customs. A very rich culture and values I admire and respect. 
So, I am not a saint because such institution is not in Yoruba culture. 
Happy new year. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 
On Jan 2, 2017, at 5:55 AM, Adeshina Afolayan <shina7...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Professor,
Ease let us put Oga Kadiri's "prayers" in oerspective. If you consider the level at which our collective patrimony has been stolen by those who are supposedly leaders, then there is no point trying to be saintly with these people. They are thieves, simple. And outside of a revolution that will strike them off our national picture, the best we can do--the last resort of the powerless--is terrible epe; sending Soponna (the god of smallpox) on a terrible errand. 

These people do not need prayers; they need the most calamitous things to befall them as an example for others. Haven't they impoverished us all without any regard at all?


On Mon, Jan 2, 2017 at 6:43 AM, Segun Ogungbemi
May God of mercy and kindness not hear your prayer Mr. Kadiri. My prayer is that those who looted the national treasury have a change of heart and willingly return the money for Buhari administration to utilize for the development of Nigeria. Aase Edumare. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 

Sent from my iPhone 

On Jan 1, 2017, at 11:30 AM, Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com> wrote:

My own new year prayer is: May God punish all past and present looters of Nigeria's treasury. I pray for God's vengeance on members of Nigeria's Judiciary, Executive and Legislature that have participated, and are still participating, in the loot of our national patrimony. I pray that those whose harmful designs of cannibalistic thefts have denied the masses of Nigeria quality healthcare, infrastructural development, functional education, clean and potable water, good roads, good housing, and electricity, will get their lives cut off in gruesome manner. I pray to God that when looters of Nigeria's patrimony eat, their stomach would swell and burst open; and when they drink they would be afflicted with dysentery and cholera; and when they travel abroad for medical treatment, may God afflict physicians attending to them with blindness. I pray to God to target mansions built in Nigeria and abroad by looters of Nigeria's treasury with thunder, lighten and earth quake. I pray to God this way because lesser criminals than Nigerian treasury looters such as Ananias and Sapphira, according to the Acts of Apostles, Chapter 5 : 1-10, were struck to death by thunder and lighten for hiding part of their sold land-property from church taxation.

S.Kadiri   
 




Skickat: den 31 december 2016 23:38
Till: USA African Dialogue Series
Ämne: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote
My New Year Prayer: God, continue to give me the patience to continue to use poetry as the weapon and not the gun.

CAO. 


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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 4, 2017, 6:11:52 AM1/4/17
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"Someone please tell APC-President Buhari that A slogan is not a program, platitudes are not policies, and good intentions are not good governance" (Jaye Gaskia).

Cornelius Hamelberg

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Jan 4, 2017, 12:29:32 PM1/4/17
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Chidi,

Re - “A slogan is not a program, platitudes are not policies, and good intentions are not good governance" (Jaye Gaskia).


“ to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?” (Hamlet)


Today an obstinate senate is preventing progress on the anti-corruption front.

The money.

Monies are missing just as Conversations with Wole Soyinka is missing from the great man Jeyifo Biodun 's CV, as lodged in his Harvard website. That is maybe an oversight caused by a surfeit of intellectual achievements on his part, whereas for an academic pauper like me with no kobos to count (only the widow's mite) that would be a one item for which I would like to have a standing ovation from here to eternity, so that when the Almighty asks what have you done, I could point to that and to some songs unsung.

For Muslims, there are the questions at the grave before ascending to paradise or down to the other place...

Unloading a little of the fury after reading the report you posted about “Niger Delta people suffering more than almajiris”. I love the Ijaw people. I also love the seagulls...

In this epoch of pithy sayings I should just like to add another reality that cannot be denied : From the conscientious point of view, the looters are indeed the looters. Policy wants to recover as much of these looted national assets (“the national patrimony”) as possible and that's why guys like Ogbeni Kadiri are fuming and praying that if Buhari can't then the Almighty should bring their planes ( the looters' planes) crashing down from the sky, give them whirlwinds for roads and rain down on them a full measure of the curses in Deuteronomy

We don't hear so much about Buhari's vice president Yemi Osinbajo , do we?

It should be good to hear from Ogbeni Kadiri about this - since he is a walking encyclopedia of Nigerian lore, that today, what is missing from Buhari is his side-man Tunde Idiagbon who was probably the driving moral force behind his e.g. War Against Indiscipline. When the duo took over on 31/12/1983 many civil servants in my neck of the Niger swamp had not been paid for months , but were still going to work and doing their patriotic duty/duties. Within two weeks of that coup civil servants had been paid a few months arrears and those people were singing to the Almighty, “God bless Buhari!” Within three weeks, the mountainous heaps of rubbish at Mile One Market in Port Harcourt, where mango trees had taken root, their leaves reaching for the sun – those rubbish heaps vanished within two days, cleared by decree that came from military headquarters.

Today : Buhari gives 5,000 naira to the poor

A problem : should big government in Nigeria be downsized, that would only add to the army of the unemployed….

Cherie Bondowe ( extolling prostitution? Circa 1975

Afreen afreen

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 4, 2017, 1:01:42 PM1/4/17
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I did not post the Niger delta people suffering more than the almajiri stuff.

CAO.

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 9, 2017, 6:15:22 AM1/9/17
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Do prose writers write for prose writers? Do dramatists write for dramatists? Do artists carve or paint for artists? Then, why should poets write for poets?

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 9, 2017, 4:46:54 PM1/9/17
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There must be regulations for incorporated non governmental organizations in Nigeria and that includes churches and mosques.

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 9, 2017, 4:46:56 PM1/9/17
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There must be regulations for incorporated non governmental organizations in Nigeria and that includes churches and mosques.

CAO 


Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 10, 2017, 5:19:59 AM1/10/17
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"In keeping other peoples’ money, you have to prepare accounts. That is why churches fought me so badly, took me to court as a person and then my office too. Mosques and orthodox churches freely complied, but those Pentecostal churches called me to ask questions. They said: ‘This church is church of God and we are accountable to God.’ And I told them: ‘Very good, so you must take this church to heaven, you can’t operate it here’. When public funds are involved, government needs to ensure proper accountability.” 
(Jim Obazee, former Executive Secretary/CEO of Nigeria's Financial Reporting Council).

CAO. 

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 11, 2017, 5:19:49 AM1/11/17
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Joseph Caiaphas, the head of the corrupt Jewish Priesthood the year Jesus the Christ was killed and who masterminded the death of Jesus to stop his (Jesus)exposition of corruption in the priesthood was "an anointed man of God".

Cornelius Hamelberg

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Jan 11, 2017, 12:53:10 PM1/11/17
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Hopefully, some Bible-thumpers will sort this out for us.

According to you or/ and the gospels, Joseph Caiaphas is supposed to have been “an anointed man of God" Is that a fact?

I ask , because according to history sources ( probably mundane and unlike the gospels, laying no claim to being inspired by the Almighty or scriptural ) the man was appointed by the Roman colonial authorities and was a Sadducee

At this point it's only the “an anointed man of God" - not God in the mortal flesh or “the word made flesh” according to John or “the only begotten son of God” that is being contested.

Caiaphas, Joseph - Jewish Virtual Library

CAIAPHAS - JewishEncyclopedia.com

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 18, 2017, 7:13:14 AM1/18/17
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Is this the way we will live in Biafra?  Criticize Nnamdi  Kanu's method,  no matter how constructive,  you are branded a traitor and insulted by the IPOB praise singers. Is this not intolerance? Is this not one of the sins we accuse successive Nigerian governments of? Is Nnamdi Kanu the infallible almighty God that can never be wrong?

Cornelius Hamelberg

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Jan 18, 2017, 10:10:59 AM1/18/17
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Chidi,

It has been said that “a prophet has no honour in his own country”. In some circles just say, “not all Muslims are terrorists” or in sympathy, say, “the poor Palestinians” and someone wants to spit on you or you hear the words “idiot” and “traitor” and even “nigger” buzzing in your ears. It's just a matter of time, but let's hope that it doesn’t get to the point where the US media orchestrates a campaign against Melania Trump, accusing her of being a “Russian agent” First Lady in the White House. In the US, the levels of hatred and distrust are dangerously high, just like the very poisoned atmosphere that led to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.

Till this day, the temple in ruins, anti-Semitism a universal sentiment – not least of all at the United Nations, the descendants of those you refer to as “the corrupt Jewish Priesthood the year Jesus the Christ was killed” are still criticizing Jesus of Nazareth for not being the Messiah...

No superstar is he, but It may be that Nnamdi Kanu is the long awaited Messiah of the Igbo separatists – you will just have to be patient –to hope, to wait and see if he will deliver what the Igbo Messiah is supposed to deliver, namely an Independent Biafra living in peace and harmony with the rest of Africa.

The Biafra cause is unique and significantly different from the situation that the Civil Rights Movement aimed at addressing, certainly different from the Apartheid system that once obtained in Apartheid South Africa and obviously different from the Palestinian cause at the heart of the troubled Middle East.

The Biafrans/Biafran leaders / IPOB have yet to take their case to the United Nations for some kind of arbitration or to organise a referendum for their own Brexit-like Biafra-exit from the Federal Naija Republic...

There are these two competing role models and Nnamdi Kanu - no Ojukwu is he - seems to be an admixture of neither:

"The Measure of a Man" by Martin Luther King

"I am prepared to die" by Nelson Mandela

I should hope that in their zeal, the Nnamdi Kanu praise singers are not about to start comparing him to Malcolm X or a combination of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Steve Biko and Jomo Kenyatta.

Pray for us (mankind)

In the name of Octavio Paz

Sincerely yours

Cornelius

We Sweden

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 22, 2017, 8:57:55 AM1/22/17
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A good Poet should not aspire to be President, how can he/she when he/she is expected to continue to produce works that would be read by good Presidents as road maps to quality leadership?

Ibukunolu A Babajide

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Jan 22, 2017, 10:23:38 AM1/22/17
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Chidi,

Cedar Senghor of Senegal was a poet and a president.

I am sure many poets had and will become presidents.

Cheers.



IBK

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 22, 2017, 2:01:50 PM1/22/17
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IBK,
Senghor was a Poet, freedom fighter and "accidental" President in that order.

CAO.

Cornelius Hamelberg

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Jan 23, 2017, 12:28:13 PM1/23/17
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Kenneth Harrow

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Jan 23, 2017, 12:37:23 PM1/23/17
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Senghor was a politician in the French legislature, during the colonial period; rose to a ministerial position. Then with independence became president. He was a politician poet.

Another example is oyono, who became a politician in ahidjo’s govt, a major player for decades.

Oh, and no one would call senghor a freedom fighter! He who put dia in prison!

 

Kenneth Harrow

Dept of English and Film Studies

Michigan State University

619 Red Cedar Rd

East Lansing, MI 48824

517-803-8839

har...@msu.edu

http://www.english.msu.edu/people/faculty/kenneth-harrow/

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Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 23, 2017, 5:53:06 PM1/23/17
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Professor Harrow,
Was Senghor not actively involved in the fight for independence(freedom) for his country?

CAO.

Kenneth Harrow

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Jan 24, 2017, 5:30:58 AM1/24/17
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Not really a yes or no answer. In 58 degaulle offered the francophone countries an option of alliance within a French union. The only country to opt out, and take freedom was guinea, under sekou toure. Senghor favored alliance. By 60 that alliance ended and independence was granted. Senghor was not a “freedom fighter” in the sense that cabral was or would have understood. He was a francophone politician who worked with, not against, the French to transition to independence.
That’s my understanding of it.
ken

Kenneth Harrow
Dept of English and Film Studies
Michigan State University
619 Red Cedar Rd
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-803-8839
har...@msu.edu
http://www.english.msu.edu/people/faculty/kenneth-harrow/

O O

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Jan 24, 2017, 5:30:58 AM1/24/17
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Through Sengritude: African=emotion, European=reason

Chidi Anthony Opara

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Jan 30, 2017, 8:44:51 AM1/30/17
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"How did the Dollar stay at N170 for 4 years under "massive looting of surpluses"? How is it now at N510 under "massive savings"?"(Prince Ademola Ibrahim).

Salimonu Kadiri

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Feb 1, 2017, 3:24:03 PM2/1/17
to usaafric...@googlegroups.com

Chidi, dollar never stayed at N170 for 4 years, but I will concede that to you not to injure your humour. During massive looting of surpluses, Nigeria's crude oil export was two million barrels per day at a price that fluctuated between $100 and $146 per barrel. Now, crude oil price in the international market swings between $30 and $50 and Nigeria's production is below 2 million barrels per day, partly because of the activities of Niger Delta Avengers, and partly because of world's market demand for crude oil has reduced considerably. Since the value of Nigerian naira depends solely on crude oil exports, it does not require any sophisticated logic to understand that the value of naira must depreciate with falling crude oil income.


Constitutionally, all natural resources in Nigeria belong to all Nigerians and the Federal Government is only assigned the responsibility of exploiting and managing them for the benefit of all Nigerians. The population of Nigeria today is estimated at 180 million people. Let us, for the sake of convenience, assume that Nigeria is able to produce 2 million barrels of crude oil per day and share it to each Nigerian for individual sale at the world market, can you Chidi tell us how much crude oil every Nigerian will get per day and how much dollar or cents will the shared crude oil fetch each Nigerian? If you solve this arithmetic of simple proportion you will discover that the real exchange of a dollar is greater than N510 and thus kudo to Buhari and his team mates for limiting damages that Nigeria would have suffered due to monolithic oil dependent national economy.

S.Kadiri
 




Från: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> för Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi...@gmail.com>
Skickat: den 30 januari 2017 04:29

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