I just heard that the Nigerian authorities are offering amnesty for the Niger Delta militants as a way of resolving the current crisis that has crippled the region and the productivity of the whole nations as well. The Federal Government is hoping that in two months about ten thousand militants will turn in their weapons and go in for a rehabilitation program in which they will be paid a $433 monthly allowance. After reading on a BBC website, all I could scream out was “are you kidding me?” Is this the last desperate effort of a government that has run out of ideas on how to deal with a situation that they have allowed to become more complicated? I had written a piece some months ago on why I think this conflict could as well result in a civil war if not managed properly. I guess now that these militant are having the ‘liver’ to go as far as the Atlas Cove in Lagos to cause havoc, it is becoming clear the magnitude of threat which their continued existence poses to the security of the nation. In any case, I have a few things to say about this.
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Author Archives: Calabarboy
PRIDE: My Understanding.
We use the term pride so often that I think we have thoroughly watered down its definition and by extension its implication as well. I am not talking about what many call positive pride, which I think should be given a better description anyway, but I am referring to the negative pride here. When people make reference to themselves unduly, we call them proud simply because they have tried to highlight their abilities to the disgust of others, for whatever reason. We also make judgments on people about pride from what we see in their appearance or in their actions. I particularly do not like seeing men who wear conspicuous jewelry as I tend to think they are acting like peacocks and attracting too much attention. I would normally call that a form of pride and write off such persons as lacking in self control and hence proud as well. What error. Even though I still do not believe men should wear jewelry (in my infantile opinion), except for their wedding bands or watches (if that is even necessary), but those bling bling by no way or measure tell the state of a man’s heart. Continue reading
My Third Muse on Ideas
Today I was the United Nations Building in New York for a conference, and I was talking with a few people about some projects I ran when I was doing my mandatory Youth Service in Zamfara State of Nigeria. It was not known by most of my friends what I was doing because I didn’t want the information to leak out easily. Coupled with the fact that it was difficult carrying it out, there was also the issue of poor telecommunications facilities in that village. We only had one GSM service operator and they provided signals something like three days a month. My idea there was to create a reporting system through which I could inform the central Financial Crimes Unit in the State of things happening in the local government that needed to be addressed. Continue reading
Thoughts of a Calabarboy. 