Nigeria: The Approaching Violence

Yes, I believe that the zoning system should be respected and upheld because this formula has worked in guranteeing every tribe a shot at the presidency, governorship, legislative, local government and judicial seats. However, the problem I have is crowning any PDP aspirant as the president. Who told you that Jonathan will win the election? Are there no other political parties?. If you are so traumatized about Jonathan's candidacy then you equally subscribe to election rigging and the use of the incubency factor to trample the rights of the electorate. Why are you not advocating or telling others to analyze and check the programs being offered by other candidates in other parties? To me Jonathan is not the best candidate. He appears to be inept and lacks the courage to make good decisions. How can we elect a president who lacks simple economic knowledge. This is a guy who wants to import dustbins for Abuja. This is a president that took hundreds of people to UN for a day's conference while the President of Iran took a commercial flight with less than three cabinet members. This is a president that authorized the purchase of million dollar aircrafts for his presidential fleet. This is a president who promised to develop the country's infrastructure but is unable to fix lagos-Ore road.
Please give me a break.

I dont quite understand the connection between Boko Haram's murderous jihadist activities in the North and Jonathan's perceived ill advised ambition to be President.

For the avoidance of doubt, PDP's internal arrangement should not be used as a plank to shred the national constitution.

because they are prone to the already on the way beast from the pit of hell, because they are vampires and cultists, because devil has failed when devil begged Jesus, 'kneel down to me and I will give you everything you wish for', because they run at the hearing of the name Jesus!, because they worship man, because they are atheists, because they are inferior, because they are hate peace, because they are revengeful, because they are hot-tempered, because they are prone to killing, because they are blood thirsty, because they faith-centered complex problem, because they know their faith is fake, because they see the name of "Jesus" as a threat to their blood thirsty inspiration...THEY WANT US TO BELIEVE THAT THEY DO NOT SUPPORT THE FEARS THAT THEIR BOYS IN THE NAME OF THEIR FAITH UNLEACH ON US. THEY SEE SUCH BABARISM AS PRESSURE GROUP FOR THEIR UN-ACKNOWLEDGED FAITH AND THEY CUNNINGLY WORHIP AND EQUIP THEIR PRESSURE GROUP!

@Okwuchukwu Ezeanyika: Please let this anonymous be bury in his ignorance and stupidity. Just like Jonathan he is blindly supporting, he has no principal and people like them are what is the core reason of moral decay in our society. Forget these IBB and Atiku rubbish, will GEJ supporters one reason why we should give him 4 years with the way he has been leading/distrating Nigeria? Let's make scrap zoning and see if minority will again have a shot at the top spot like GEJ did, let's not deceive ourselves by saying PDP is not the only party in Nigeria well knowing that whoever they present will carry the President, how can we trust this "free & fair" crap when there is not voter registration data and the whole system is full of corrupt individuals.

I will address you as Mr. Anonymous because you were not bold to state your real names or even use an alias. I am sorry if you misunderstood my comments that ICJ based their decision over Bakassi solely on the gentleman's agreement Mr. Ahidjo had with Mr. Gowon and that Ahidjo did not first raise the matter of their rights or lay claims over Bakassi to Mr. Gowon.

The fact is that when Mr. Gowon approached Cameroon's Ahidjo to blockade Biafra so that they do not acquire arms through their borders or grant their aircrafts landing rights, he raised their ownership of Bakassi. As a result of the expediency of the moment, which was to defeat Biafra at all costs, Mr. Gowon agreed.

You mentioned that Cameroon was surprised that Nigeria did not raise a counter case against Cameroon's submissions at the ICJ and you attribute this to Obasanjo's hatred for Bakassi and Igbos!! My friend, please, read your Geography. The people of Bakassi are no Igbos. One reason Nigeria did not present any counter case before ICJ was that they could not get Mr. Gowon to deny Cameroon's submission that he had agreed to hand Bakassi to Cameroon as a quid pro quo in 1967.

Or Mr. Anonymous (Man or Woman without a name), are you stating that Cameroon accepted to blockade Biafra and sought no gain from Nigeria? To use your words, "so, Mr. go do your homework. Such stupidity" (these are your words not mine).

To you Mr. Gowon is a "simpleton and nitwit" (your words again), but your Mr. Jonathan is a 'bolekaja' President! Who is better for Nigeria? I will choose Mr. Gowon any day and I am certain 145 million of Nigerians will do the same.

YOU ELOQUENTLY DISCUSSED THE RATIONALE FOR NOT VOTING PDP AND I AGREE. HOWEVER, YOU FAILED TO IDENTIFY AN ALTERNATIVE PARTY(IES) OR CANDIDATE(S) WHOM YOU WOULD LIKE TO MOBILIZE FOR. THUS, LEAVING YOUR ARGUMENT SOMEWHAT INCOMPLETE. I WILL BE INTERESTED TO HAVE AN INSIGHT TO YOUR ALTERNATIVE(S).

@ Okwuchukwu Ezeanyika:
Dr. Tilde “made your day”? Let facts bust it for you.
1. Bakassi, the most inhumane act since Biafra.
The ICJ decision was not based on a “Gentleman’s agreement.” As you delude yourself into celebrating. The ICJ decision was based on 4 factors:
1. Maps of the region drawn and redrawn by Colonialists
2. Shifting powers between Colonialists according to who won the Europe wars, the WWI and WWII, and how the loser’s colonial “holdings” were divvied up.
3. Written agreements between victor-colonialists and stipulated conditions for the losers.
The above are actually on record as to why the court ruled the way it did. Point 4 also came up at the review of that ICJ decision on Bakassi:
4. Much to the astonishment of the Cameroonian Legal Team, the Nigerian lawyers never presented any counter case, nor did they challenge their opposing team. The Cameroonian Team were stunned. Ordinarily, a legal team is pleased when the opposition is losing. The Cameroonian team was pleased, but actually more stunned than pleased, because they just couldn’t believe that the Nigerian Team would not present counter-argument.
So, Mr: go do your homework. Such stupidity!
As a footnote: where on Earth in the 21st Century do you settle the fate of millions of people by a handshake between rogues and hypocrites which Okwuchukwu Ezeanyika prefers to call “Gentlemen”? The simpleton and nitwit called Gowon was not a gentleman and would not dare transfer Northern Cattleheads to another country with a mere handshake, let alone peoples and their territory. The arch Igbo-hater, Obasanjo, did not mount any defense to keep Bakassi because what he prided himself on—the total defeat of Biafra—had become a mirage: by 1999, Biafra was resurgent, and Igbo masses are back to, and are backing Biafra today. In 1976 when Obasanjo still believed Nigeria had annihilated Biafra, Bakassi was defensible. But, now that he saw Bakassi as part of Biafra, why not humiliate the Igbo, the Bakassi and Biafra more?
We had asked Bakassi people to take their case to the UN, asking for a referendum. Surely, the world would be sympathetic were Obasanjo and his Northern friends chose to pepper the Bakassi people. Bakassi leaders demurred: they said that Obasanjo had promised them that he / Nigeria would never let Bakassi go. Now, talk about a “Genteman’s agreement or handshake.” The rest is history.
It is truly a mark of ignorance to compare a rogues handshake with the stipulations of a written constitution, or any "handshake or other parochial agreement for that matter.
Okwuchukwu Ezeanyika, you are the loser. Get your head examined!

Dr. Tilde:

1. The crux of your arguments is that Jonathan broke an agreement: what agreement?
a) When did PDP party agreement trump Nigeria’s constitution, to the extent that you practically call Jonathan (who was sworn in to uphold Nigeria’s constitution), a law-breaker just because he is opposed to PDP’s internal party Zoning? What is the law to you? Northern intimidated and dominated PDP’s corrupt internal wranglings, or Nigeria’s Constitution?
b) It would have been nice to hear you say that you supported Jonathan’s ascension to the post of President BECAUSE that’s Nigeria’s Constitutional provision—The Law—and not because of your personal, individual largesse and generosity.
c) You must have been consulted when “Zoning” was agreed upon—enough to attempt to drag CNN to your side of the argument? Do you see how ridiculous that is? CNN taking your side: Democracy arguing on behalf of Zoning; Rule of Law arguing on the side of rule of the Harem?

2. Dr. Tilde, the Emerging Voice and Megaphone of Boko Haram?
a) So, you are now the advocate of Boko Haram, and their Publicist, making efforts to polish their image to the public?
b) You are so quick to dismiss and forget the original crimes of Boko Haram: can you remember what they did? That was all before Nigeria Military, Nigeria police intervention. Their leader, of whom you are now so enamored, was actually beheading Christians who refused forced conversion to Islam in this macabre, totally uncivilized sub-primitive dastardly act. In your own time, Dr. Tilde: in your own time. Do you know who these beheaded Christians are? Do you care about that? Or, does your defense and monetary compensation scheme stop with the original perpetrators of the crime as you recommend, those whose original crimes you are so quick to forget?

3. Gratuitous citations:
a) As quick as you are to drag in an incident of another humiliation of the Igbo by Nigeria just to make your point, where have you been when more serious and bloody crimes have been committed by Nigeria against the Igbo? Even the current Igbo-on-Igbo crimes, are they not the result of a severely oppressed and subjugated people having no control over their own lives and their own security, which is exactly what Nigeria / the North is doing to the Igbo?
b) What have you said about the Igbo victims of Boko Haram: do you even understand that they exist?
c) The hypocrisy is really obvious.

4. “Counselor to Kings..."?
Where exactly did you get the idea that Jonathan should always listen to and obey what you say and what you think, else…?

5. “…Approaching Violence…” Prophet?
a) It is neither prophecy nor astute deduction nor fresh warning even to the unaware that Nigeria, already inextricably engulfed in violence, is going to experience more violence until its final implosion and explosion.
b) You know who the violent groups are (and I am not talking about the Niger Delta fighting for a tiny control of what is on their own land, which the North have seized for themselves) and you have defended and explained away their genetic and or cultural disposition to violence quite well elsewhere in your writings while acting like you actually condemn their violence. Like in this your current writing, you spend more time defending Boko Haram than you do looking at their original criminal acts. We do not need a prophet to tell us that they and the Hausa-Fulani will continue to violate their Nigeria and violate those others forced to live as Nigerians, and continue to spill the blood of the innocent. Their violence only continues; and you continue to explain it away—for whose benefit?
c) The thinly disguised threat of “…approaching violence…” if the North does not, as usual and as before, get their way (take over Nigeria’s presidency and continue their complete seizure of others’ resources) does not scare anyone any more, except for those still in psychological denial, and those refusing to see the fact and truth that this one-Nigeria which you cling to only for self-serving reasons, along with your fellow-Northerners, does not work and will not work. Everyone knows the North will visit more violence on Nigeria in order to protect its oppressor-super-parasite hold on the hapless. In the end, the North will lose.

6. The Problem
a) Dr. Tilde: one has to conclude that you are part of the problem. You see a “relationship” (Nigeria) which does not work. You insist that it must be forced to continue to work. While acting like you actually have some altruistic reasons for prolonging the agony of such a bloody and unbalanced relationship, you are in fact a partisan, the true and unrepentant oppressor-part of this unholy, unworkable relationship. Your writings have betrayed your true role while belying any self-projection as a caring individual
b) You prove, like the true Northerner you are, that all you are really interested in is what is GOOD FOR THE NORTH (actually, what is good for the Hausa-Fulani), of which one-Nigeria certainly is; NOT WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE OTHER PEOPLES OF NIGERIA, of which one-Nigeria is not.

7. FEARS
a) What are your fears? What exactly is the North (or the Hausa Fulani) afraid of? Why can’t Boko Haram go its own way with its people and adherents, and allow others to live with their “Western orientation” in the latters’ own social and geopolitical space and domain? Why defend their crimes and ways while continuing to force on the same environment of one-Nigeria, thereby creating and sustaining the same fertile ground where such crimes will certainly be committed, and wherein their ways will certainly clash with others? Why the “prophecy,” when we all see and know what is happening?
b) Why can’t you be honest and tell us exactly what the North really wants—in your / their own words—out of Nigeria, so that we can all separate that out and deal with it, instead of your insisting on the current violent structure of Nigeria with the belief that the North will continue to prevail, with its tradition of intimidation and violence, like it had before now, and continue to extract its needs with impunity, to the ongoing detriment of the rest?

8. Solution:
a) Nigeria can officially split now peacefully, or prolong the period of the split only to consummate it with a last spasm of violence. But, split it is.
b) A peaceful split happens with negotiation; the North’s issues will be on the table and be addressed.
c) If it comes to another spasm of violence ending Nigeria’s pernicious and evil existence, this will certainly deprive the North of whatever it had wanted and what it has been deriving, unchallenged thus far, out of one-Nigeria.
d) Know that Nigeria will not stand.

Nigeria is already steeped in violence—has been since 1965; Nigeria IS, in fact, the Violence. We can negotiate a peaceful break-up now, resulting in a win-win for all, and a preservation of whatever goodwill is left. Else, after what to you is “…Approaching Violence…” (but to the rest of us, is only typical “ongoing reality”); then, “…ask not for whom the bell tolls…”

Those who cannot, have not, and will not live together BEST live apart.

It’s time to negotiate “living apart.” You can be part of that solution, or you can prophecy self-fulfilling more violence, the result of your continuing to support already violent one-Nigeria.

I hope you make the right choice.

Mr Anonymous, I disagree with your choice of language. This writer is merely using intellectual fraud to present a case. All you need do is to tackle him one by one on the issues and arguements raised. For instance why separate the north into muslim/christian? Why not old/young? Is it that ElRufai and Ribadu are no longer northerners? Why is he hiding under innuendoes to refer to the midle beltas especially Benue and Plateau people derogatorily?

He should be adviced that Nigerians are not that illiterate, certainly not the internet generation of Nigerians.

@ Agha Egwu, thanks for spitting the truth. I read your comment, and I cannot agree more. The hausa fulani are still deceiving themselves with this big, huge north. They have forgotten that with the present Nigeria, hausa/fulanis have become minority. There is nothing like big north anymore. If Nigeria should break, I am so certain that milddlebelters will never go with Hausa fulani.Maybe then, the hausa/fulanis will think of merging with Niger republic because that is where they belong.

ALL THOSE CRITICIZING TILDE ON TRIBAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT SHOULD NOTE THAT THEY ARE THE REAL BIGOTS, INTOLERANTS, AND REAL ELEMENTS THAT DRAGGED THE COUNTRY TO THIS SORRY SITUATION. YOU ATTRIBUTE BAD LEADERSHIP TO HAUSA/FULANI MUSLIMS; OBASANJO RULED FOR 8 YEARS AND HE IS ACKNOWLEDGED AS THE WORST LEADER NIGERIA EVER HAD. NOW SEE THE KIND OF BLUNDER ANOTHER SOUTHERNER IS COMMITTING, DINING AND WINING WITH TERRORISTS IN THE STATE HOUSE. IN FACT YOU PEOPLE SHOULD THANK GOD THAT THE NORTHERNERS FORM A DOMINANT POLITICAL POWER IN NIGERIA OTHERWISE THE INTOLERANCE, INCOMPETENCY AND MILITANCY OF THE SOUTH WILL HAVE MAKE LIFE UNBEARABLE TO NIGERIANS. A GOOD EXAMPLE IS HOW MINORITIES IN THE NIGER DELTA BENT DOWN TO SABOTAGE GOODLUCK BECAUSE OF MINOR TRIBAL DIFFERENCE AMONG THEM. LET THE COUNTRY BREAK AND WE WILL SEE WHETHER THE IJAWS AND ISEKIRIS, WILL LIVE TOGETHER, ALLOW IGBOS TO ENJOY THE OIL WEALTH OR KIDNAPPING, BANK RUBBERING AND DRUG TRAFFICKING WILL EVER SUBSIDE DOWN SOUTH. AND FOR DEMOCRACY, IT IS A GAME OF NUMBER. NO ANY REGION OF THIS COUNTRY CAN DO THE SACRIFICE OF ACCEPTING ZONING APART FROM THE NORTH.

Dear Mr Tilde.

Do you not for once think you are taking too much credit for doing nothing other than expressing your
views in an internet medium? Who made you adviser to the President? You are not egoistic, are you?

Are you, honestly, comfortable with being led again
by folks like IBB and Atiku, after the monumental
wealth they stole from our commonwealth? Or are you
unaware that with the money looted by these two alone, all major motorways in Nigeria can be built
to international standard? Shouldn't you be calling
on these so-called ex-leaders to first, hand back their loot to Nigeria before having the impudence to say they want to rule again? Is Nigeria theirs?

Should it really matter, where the President comes
from, so long as they have vision?

Please provide answers to these gaping questions
before putting your pen to paper ever again on Ni-
gerian issues, PhD or not.

Dr. Tilde, Your message on this forum is actually baseless and has no truth in it. I think you should have sent it straight to JEG as I’m sure you have his email address. Why share such biased write up with us?, even if your party PDP had such agreement what does that has to do with Nigerian masses? You all are nothing more than low life greedy and uneducated beasts... We are not going to buy into such propaganda you and your cronies have always sold to us in the past!!

If zoning must be entrenched into our political process, we must start counting back from 1960 when Tafawa Balewa first headed Nigeria's government. Not 1999, because you do not start counting the number of goals scored in a match from the middle of a competition. The Aliyu Tildes and the Adamu Ciromas are demonstrating a kind of Judas' intelligence by insisting that the north must take over from President GEJ this time.

The north has led Nigeria for about 38 of the country's 50 years of independence. In those years the north-led soldiers restructured Nigeria and through state creation and proliferation of states in the north practically consigned decisions about Nigeria to the hands of the northern conservative oligarchy.

If now zoning is the answer to co-existence of the various groups in Nigeria, after the southsouth presidency, it should be the turn of the southeast before it goes to the northeast. This is what is supposed to be if Nigeria adopts turn-by-turn system in producing the nation's presidents.

The Tildes must stop intimidating others with the politics of threat of violence in order to get what they want. We are now in the 21st century, so no body can predict the outcome of the violence Dr. Tilde is predicting, if not inciting. After the violence, the Tildes may be the end losers.

yes tilde we are against your people ,because your moronic brothers are not capable of providing good leadership for this country.you guys have been tried and tested but you fools failed.precise your religion and culture promotes violence and mediocity,and nigeria deserves better.food for thought,chad,niger,somalia,sudan,nigeria can never be led again by bunch of smelly visionless barbaric people.As anything good ever comes from hausa/fulanis.

I have carefully read your article and noticed that you are sentimental and not objective ,there is nowhere you emphasized the need for good governance,
For example in paragraph 13 , exposed your falsehood.
For ciroma to tell jonathan to resign is unbecoming of an elder, it was a threat not a warning.
For you information not everybody is saying yes to jonathan, if you think that becoming a member of the PDP guarantees ones electral victory then you are leaving in foul's paradise.
Besides , jonathan , feels that he can do better than any of those nothern aspirants,zoning not withstanding,after all there was zoning arrangement when Artiku raise against obasonjor before he chased out the PDP because it is foolhardy to sacrifice nigerians under the alter of zoning, so if you are convince that your camp is popular amongs the north ,then you can stop him at the primaries .
I will cast my vote for Buhari.
let nigerian decides , it is one man one vote - stop crying for wolves where there is none.

but we will be making a great mistake if we allow such massively inept guy to be president again, clearly out of his league

Dr. Tilde,

Your statement that the Governor gave a hundred thousand Naira to two Boko Haram members shows the level of mediocrity in the rulers of Nigeria. Dr. Tilde, we in the South have had enough of the rubbish of the Hausa Fulani. It is not about Jonathan Goodluck. It is about respect for the bread basket of the country.
We in the south make up the vanguard of those spread all over the West suffering and hustling while we provide the money for people like you to jet to Mecca and Medina twice a year and marry four wives and 13 year old children while at it. We are tired of dancing to your tune.
We will only dance to ours. So to Adamu Ciroma, Boko Haram and every Fulani bastard out there that believes Nigeria is theirs or that they can achieve power through violence. Pls be warned, we will answer you ten fold for every act that you take. You are quick to submit to your arab overlords, when have any of you protested at the treatment of Blacks in Sudan and the Arab world.

You have been warned, do your worst, harm Jonathan and see what will happen!

Why is it an insult to say that the North must not think that the presidency is its birthright? Does Tilde not know that there are some in the North who think that they are 'born to rule'? So if the rest of the country (including some people in the North) don't agree with that, why is it an insult to tell them so?

You dont know what u r saying, u dont even know the PDP constitution, anyway I assure u you guys will definately come back to our hand (HAUSA, FULANI,MUSLIMS),then u will know. SAKARAI.

i read your article with utmost interest; you did raised a lot of valid points and i cant but agree with you in a lot of ways.i remembered your role during the 'dead man/president' debacle(UMYR ala Turai)and you really were on the side of the constitution-i commend you for that; GEJ and his 'cabals' really need to take a timeout and reevaluate their position in the current dipostion; he (GEJ) has tasted power and is intoxicated by it and now want more.Zoning is not a national issue and i could care less how the PDP(permanently demented people)deal with it, but Mr GEJ is just missing the opportunity to put his name down as the best president ever; he is too feeble minded,weak and distracted by his quest for power to deal with the nigerian issues in a very forthright and effective manner and unfortunately, he is surrounded by a bunch of rogues -like OBJ, Nwodo etc; His wife also doesnt help his course; It is so unfortunate;
Dr Tilde, why dont you tell your demented 'elders' to 'grow up' ; their stance on issues are so tribalistic and mostly unconstitutional that it exposes their ignorance and unpatriotic tendencies; they had the opportunity to improve the lot of nigerians and what did they do; loot the treasury and enrich themselves to the detriments of the country(including the northeners).
Nigeria need a new set of vibrant, patriotic and honest leaders to survive; the current (and former) crops of VIPs(vagabonds in power)-like OBJ,IBB,Atiku,Ciroma,Sarakis,etc need to be wiped off the Nigerian political scene for the country to grow and achieve its potentials ; as long as these parasites are allowed to dominate the polity, the seed of fairness, equity, growth, development and ultimately nationhood will never germinate;and groups like Boko Haram,MEND,etc will have a fertile field to recruit members and inflict more fatal wound to the already injured,raped and bastardise entity called Nigeria.The clock is ticking and the end is near for Nigeria unless..............................

Take it easy lady. I hope it doesn't come to blow for blow. While I agree your angle makes more sense, I really don't think it should degenerate to Alamo, the Mexican stand-off

Instead of tackling pervasive poverty in Nigeria, the politicians are busy angling to retain their posts. The absence of options has led to sections of the country being hijacked by urchings and criminal gangs.

Nigerians have seen it all, either continued democrasy or the military can come back, it doesn't matter. Only improvements in the quality of lives of our people is the solution. Brazen killings of innocent citizens will only worsen it and escalate the violence.
I hope you don't go picking bones with the Dr. since opinions are subjective, he's certainy entitled to his.

As I read this article the intension of the writer began to unveil itself.We are not fooled by this tactics because we are clever enough to read between the lines no matter are well hidden your intentions are. The Boko haram killings has been cleverly disguised as a vehicle of attack on the person of GEJ as clearly evidence in the deviation. This tactics are common by paid and sponsored writers like yourself.The concept of North and South Nigeria does not exist in the present day Nigeria. I can relate to a six geopolitical arrangement as a basis for for a fair distribution of power but not a south Vs North.PDP zoning arrangement on the other hand assumed that Nigeria is a one party state which we are not. For any zoning to be effective and have the backing of the law, steps must be taking to amend the constitution as to the best acceptable rotational arrangement for the nation agreed by the people and not by imposition.If the Chiromas and the Babangidas are what the North has to offer the nation then may I submit that it would be time for the different entity that form the Nigerian state to go their seperate ways.

what i have to say here is please Nigerians stop seeing yourselves as a Northerner or a Southerner,Christian or a Muslim..the earlier we start start seeing our selves Nigerians the better.

"These experiences inform the fear among diplomatic circles that abandoning zoning in the PDP might bring the demise of the current democratic dispensation..." Mr. Tilde, thank you for your impassioned analysis. We are indeed of the same mindset in this matter of PDP zoning arrangement. In fact, you have pre-empted the article I was writing on the subject and thus I have to retract mine, until yet another time.

The matter of the PDP zoning arrangement was what Mr. Jonathan and his PDP party faithfuls sat together and agreed upon. In 1999, when Obasanjo was being wooed to contest the PDP Presidential primaries and was the annointed one by the military government of General Abdulsalam Abubakar, I watched him on NTA shortly after he was released from prison. Adorning his famous khaki knicker and holding a hoe, Obasanjo retorted to a question posed by the NTA journalist who had gone to interview him in his Otta farm, that how many Presidents will they make out of him; that he was tired of ruling Nigeria and that they should look for someone else! Whether Obasanjo was simply grandstanding or indeed genuinely expressing disinterest to becoming the President of Nigeria I cannot say.

In 2007, Umaru Yar'Adua was the annointed one. Everyone knows that the party hierarchy wanted Mr. Peter Odili. The likes of Ojo Maduekwe and his co-Igbo travellers in the PDP prevailed upon Obasanjo to have Odili become the party's VP nominee. This was a fait accompli until the very last 48 hours of the primaries. Yar'Adua was not comfortable with Odili as his VP. He looked to the governors in the South south region where the VP position was zoned by the party. He felt comfortable with a docile personality, a man he felt would not have any unbridled ambition to challenge him in any manner. And thus, he implored Obasanjo that he would prefer to work with Mr. Jonathan rather than Odili. The rest they say is history.

When Mr. Jonathan became the Acting President, I believed candidly that when he went for Vincent Ogbulafor's jugular, bringing up a matter of a corruption case of 2006 against him, that we now have a leader who is ready to combat fraud and corruption. Little did I realize that he wanted him out of the way for the comments he made that Mr. Jonathan will not contest the 2011 Presidency and would respect the party's zoning arrangement. Since shoving the man out as the party's Chairman and bringing in the 'double-hand-shaking' and prostrate Mr. Okwu Nwodo as the party's Chairman, Mr. Jonathan's vaulting ambition to contest the PDP Presidential nomination has been reinforced by further inappropriate steps, like attempting to alter the Electoral Act 2010 so that bureaucrats like Ambassadors, Consul Generals, and some select group of civil servants can participate in any party's primaries!

In 1967, our Head of State, Mr. Yakubu Gowon, reached a gentleman's agreement with the then President of Cameroon, Alhaji Ahmadu Ahidjo, that if he supports Nigeria against then Biafra and economically blockades Biafra, he will cede Bakassi to Cameroon. When Cameroon decided to appropriate Bakassi, then Nigerian government of Obasanjo, went to the Hague, The Netherlands, to argue the case. Nigeria engaged the legal luminary, Richard Akinjide, to lead the country's lawyers in their position that Bakassi is part of Nigeria. The main force of Akinjide's argument was that Mr. Gowon did not seek the permission of the SMC at that time and that the gentleman's agreement was not binding. Mr. Gowon, the gentleman that we know he is, did not prevaricate in insisting that he indeed reached a gentleman's agreement with Cameroon and that that country's economic blockade of Biafra hastened the end of the war. At the end, the court handed Bakassi over to Cameroon. But the import of my recounting this scenario, is to emphasize that Mr. Gowon could have at the alter of expediency of the moment, after all the war had since ended, claim that such an unwriiten agreement was never reached. He chose to remain the gentleman he has been to date. This is the example I ask Mr. Jonathan to emulate instead of spinning the zoning arrangement of his party because it is presently inconvenient to his actualizing his Presidential ambition in 2011.

I have been accused on this site as selling my conscience to IBB; and someone has even claimed that I collected US$100 million from the IBB Camp like Henry Okah. Well, I am only a SR blogger, that is all. I do not think as inconsequential as I am, any person, group or affiliation will bring that sum of money for someone like me whose only contribution to the Nigerian state is to say his views the way he believes it on an Internet site.

My stand is that Mr. Jonathan, like Mr. Gowon before him, should be a gentleman. He should abide by agreements whether there are documentary evidence to support them or they are merely verbal 'gentleman's agreement.'

For those who want to know where my party loyalty is, I make bold to repeat what I have stated here on numerous postings, that the very day the PDP Presidential nominee is allowed by 145 million Nigerians to become the President of Nigeria in 2011, that will be the beginning of Nigeria sliding towards becoming a completely failed state. It is therefore left for us progressives to mobilize the 145 million Nigerians to effecting that change by rejecting the PDP candidates at the local, state and federal elections. Thank you.

I do sincerely think that if there was an agreement in PDP for zoning though unwritten, should be respected by Jonathan.

He ascended to power not by flexing his political muscles but by providence.It only makes sense for him to conduct free elections while aggressively fighting the hawks who wish this nation no good!

I would hope those who disagree with Dr. Tilde's write up will engage him with reasoned and logical arguments as he has done.

I think his analysis is brilliant, and his write up is logical and very articulate.

However, I disagree with him on all points. If Nigeria is to be transformed, we cannot contine to do business as usual.

1. Violent groups do not belong in civilized society. I agree with Dr. Tilde that government violence cannot be antidote to religious violence. Government must use a calculated and deliberate force to dislodge bullies even when their motive is religious.

A governor that goes around bribing people that should be made to face the law is a coward. He has no business leading any group of people talk less of being a governor.

3. Adamu Ciroma's opinions cannot transform Nigeria. We can do better. Our vision must not be mirred in the past.

4. I agree that Goodluck Jonathan is not showing the strength or wisdom one will expect of a transformative leader which really is what Nigeria needs today. For instance, he had no business offering an opinion publicly on the actors behind the recent bombing. He should have allowed his security chiefs or political advisors to present the government opinion, if the latter has one.

He has also been a bit too cautious on many issues making many people think he could lose the election by default. However, the relatively fresh blood - Ribadu, Utomi etc, are yet to command the kind of stature that should make the electorate take notice.

But there is still time to analyze all the aspirants. What we do not have time for is to waste a minute giving attention to the re-cyle leaders, especially Babangida and Atiku.

Saraki and Buhari do not belong to the group of despised leaders neither do they evoke the transformative dream of a greater tomorrow.

2. Zoning must take a second place to citizen rights. Sectional interests must be subjugated to the right of any individual Nigerian, including Goodluck Jonathan to aspire to the highest office. This premise must also translate every nook and corner. It should no longer be an abberration that a person speaking a minority language in Nigeria will seek the highest office. "Infrastructures" including but not restricted to zoning which hitherto have been erected whereby a few powerful individuals decide the destiny of a nation have to be pulled down. An incumbent President as in the last administration should not be deciding his successor (yes, he can have a candidate) rather the ultimate decision must rest with the electorate. So far, we have failed woefully in this regard; zoning is an element in that equation but by far not the only one and not even the most important one. As we move forward, we will be faced with each of these elements, as we now have with zoning. We should identify them as clogs and remove them, not be hampered by agreements reached by people who never sent to set up this agreement on our collective behalf.

Tildes view is no doubt the opinion of many other northerners
while not holding brief for him,I observe from comments following his article that Nigeria is deeply divided by religious and sectional bias.My fear is that we may not remain as a nation in no distant future if nothing is done to mutually assure ourselves that we will respect in sincerity our diversity.
I also hope that we will not wake up one wishing that
G G orka had succeeded in his coup because his perception of the problems of Nigeria and their solutions are grim realities to me now.However, we have to ask ourselves an honest question: Is it possible for us to stay together as nigerians void of animosity towards each other despite our diversity ? the early we face our answer,the better.

Beyond the blind hatred of the North, the discerning reader should acquaint himself with Tilde's article. The fact is the Police have failed Nigerians totally in Law Enforcement. Until and unless the ordinry Nigerians come to TRUST the Police as friends, we are still in for a shock come the elections of 2011.
The nations needs leaders who have vision and determination rather than championing their ethnic/regional agenda at State houses.
On Boko Haram, the Security agencies have failed woefully. The arrest of Yusuf; their leader and his subsequent killing by the Police denied Nigeriana a chance to know and learn how he metamorphosed into the threat he became. Who financed and provided succour for him? Instead the Police were telling us that billions were found in his bank account and many jeeps found at his house as if the money and jeeps were stolen! Someone with means must have provided them and certainly it was not for free!
Leave out tribalism and regionalism and face the fact that we are in deep trouble given the leadership we have had from 1999.

Mr. Tilde or what ever you call yourself, please stop writing stupid and bias article in SR and let me tell you it is not your business whether Ibos were stopped from holding meetings or not. As a Nigerian and an Igbo by origin, I must tell you that DR. Jonathan as a citizen of this country has 100% guarantee from the constitution of this country to exercise his political freedoms to the fullest without any body posing an obstacle towards his political ambition. I am ashamed that Somebody like you who claim to have a doctorate degree does not even understand that the constitution of Nigeria is greater than that of any party. Your best bet is to have channeled your write up in advising your power mongering masters to utilize constitutional means to seek redress, which I doubt they can. Please stop distracting Mr. president with your malicious and dangerous write up as he has not sought advice from you neither is your advice useful. Please give us a break 38 years is more than enough. Let me tell you, This thing is not a birth right. Tell them to bring all the cow money they have been selling for 38 years so that we can enjoy it together. That will be the beginning of unity and patriotism.