Mr
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is paying too much to get elected for
another term.... Nobody understand that president anymore...
It is
also difficult to understand the whole senat.. there are women as well
as men in that Senat... they do not give a damn about what is happening
in the northeast of Nigeria. This is what the people all over the
"western" world is saying about that useless parliament of Nigeria. I just tell you about what can be heard overhere.
Blessing ObomovoIt
does not matter let him keep his opinion about our country to himself
jare. Its our problem and we will sort things out ourselves.
Thomas Ramseyer@
Blessing Obomovo: I am living in a country where everybody has the
right to build his opinion. Also everybody is allowed to speak up. You,
Blessing Obomovo, are the very last man to forbid me to talk. Also I am
your elder, father of three children (two
men 33, 37, one woman 27) as well as one grandchild. I have numerous
godchildren I am taking care. AND YOU, Blessing Obomovo, have the guts
to teach me, what is appropriate. Are you supporting BH?? What did you
do for your country but hanging around the corners in the street? Just
tell me!! Also I believe that your parents did not bring you up very
well. YOU must be an arrogant RACIST.
You mean that I should not care about a country where my family are living.
Thomas RamseyerAlso it is the concern of every human
being if people are slaughter, hacked to death, getting cut their
throats, burnt in their own houses, mosques or churges, abducted from
schools.
I
suggest Blessing Obomovo to read some books about history as well as
getting interested in whatever is happening in Westafrica, Eastafrica,
Northafrica, Southafrica as well as in the whole world. Because finally
everything might have its impact even on Nigeria Mr. Blessing Obomovo
included.
Benjamin AmaechiIs
it not even better that we air our views than saying them behind..i was
in the midst of some European /american investors some years
ago...during the conference they are all hailed Nigeria and made
promises..in our private moments...for some reason they started trusting
me or felt i am harmless...what they said were unprintable...i was mad
and kept talking and talking...but i took a few things home
Benjamin AmaechiBO:
In my case ..the non Nigerians turned everything update down...concern
for the country was genuine...but they stuck to their views...as i
remember them now and i picked some tings from them..i hope they picked
some from my submissions too
Thomas RamseyerBO must not blame the forgeigners.. he must blame the corruption in his country which he is part of.
Thomas Ramseyer@
Blessing Obomobo: It is clearcut why the Nigerian armed forces always
are too late. Its soldiers simply do not want to die. Somehow they are
even right. They are the breadwinners of their families. Once they get
killed in action the army and the government are not taking care of
their wives and children which means starvation and poverty to them.
There are some small things to do which this government evidentially is not doing..
Maybe
this government is cynically thinking that given the number of
Nigerians it's not that bad when some of them - be it wives, elders,
children, young men you name it - are losing their lives...
Blessing Obomovo@BA
I will not want to continue on this debate bcoz I may av to insult
thomas too bcoz the whites are actually the reason why we are where we
are now and he can't claim to love my country more than me. RACISM is
their way of life
Thomas Ramseyer@
Blessing Obomovo: since 1960 the Brfits have left Nigeria with a lot of
Infrastructure; roads, railways, upstream facilities, schools, houses.
For buying 1 USD you needed only 50 Kobo (half a Naira) Now for buying
one USD you need 170 Naira. This is the result of corruption as well as
ignorance. Look at the roads, the Nigerian governments let them
deteriorate...
Thomas Ramseyerand
now start the discussion about slave trade... get yourslef
informed... the black people fought other tribes, abducted their people
brought them to the coast and sold them to slave traders right there.
The white people did not even have to intrude the country. You did it
yoursleves, you sold your own people. You hear me....
A United States Army Special Forces captain with leaders in Amaloul, Niger, one of the nations in an antiterrorism program.Credit
Peter Tinti
"The New York Times" on United States Special Operations troops forming elite counterterrorism units QUOTE
WASHINGTON
— United States Special Operations troops are forming elite
counterterrorism units in four countries in North and West Africa that
American officials say are pivotal in the widening war against Al
Qaeda’s affiliates and associates on the continent, even as they
acknowledge the difficulties of working with weak allies.
Libya, Niger, Mauretania, Mali - where is Nigeria?
The
secretive program, financed in part with millions of dollars in
classified Pentagon spending and carried out by trainers, including
members of the Army’s Green Berets and Delta Force, was begun last year
to instruct and equip hundreds of handpicked commandos in Libya, Niger, Mauritania and Mali.
“Training indigenous forces to go after threats in their own country is
what we need to be doing,” said Michael A. Sheehan, who advocated the
counterterrorism program last year when he was the senior Pentagon
official in charge of Special Operations policy. Mr. Sheehan now holds
the distinguished chair at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
As
the United States military seeks to extend its counterterrorism reach
in Africa, President Obama is expected to appear at West Point on
Wednesday to emphasize a foreign policy that would avoid large land
wars, like those in Afghanistan and Iraq, and instead stress the
training of allied and partner nations to battle militants on their own
soil. 9/11Sept. 11, 2001 kicked off counterterrorism Djibouti, Somalia, Mali, Mauretania, Libya
Since
the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the United States has slowly built a
multipronged counterterrorism strategy in Africa: It has carried out armed drone strikes in Somalia
from its only permanent base on the continent, in Djibouti; backed
African proxies and French commandos fighting Islamist extremists in
Somalia and Mali; and increasingly trained African troops to combat
insurgents.
Under
the new Africa plan, the Pentagon is spending nearly $70 million on
training, intelligence-gathering equipment and other support to build a
counterterrorism battalion in Niger and a similar unit in nearby
Mauritania that are in their “formative stages,” a senior Defense
Department official said.
In
a cautionary note about operating in that part of Africa, troubled by a
chronic shortage of resources and weak regional partners, the effort in
Mali has yet to get off the ground as a new civilian government
recovers from a military coup last year. In Libya, the most ambitious
initial training ended ignominiously last August after a group of armed
militia fighters overpowered a small Libyan guard force at a training
base outside Tripoli and stole hundreds of American-supplied automatic
weapons, night-vision goggles, vehicles and other equipment.
As
a result, the training was halted and the American instructors were
sent home. Libyan and American officials have been searching for a more
secure training site in Libya to restart the program. But last summer’s
debacle and the political upheaval in Libya since then have caused
American officials to rethink how they select local personnel.
“You
have to make sure of who you’re training,” said Maj. Gen. Patrick J.
Donahue II, the commander of United States Army soldiers operating in
Africa. “It can’t be the standard, ‘Has this guy been a terrorist or
some sort of criminal?’ but also, ‘What are his allegiances? Is he true
to the country, or is he still bound to his militia?’ ”
The
American military uses conventional troops and elite Special Operations
forces to train foreign armies all over the world. The tasks range from
teaching basic marksmanship to more advanced counterterrorism tactics
and techniques.
In
the past decade, the Bush and Obama administrations put a premium on
training and equipping foreign troops to combat terrorists and other
Islamist extremists and persuaded Congress to approve funding for those
programs.
The
new program to train small counterterrorism forces in Africa resembles
larger efforts by American Special Operations troops carried out in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Pentagon officials declined to comment publicly on the
new program, but budget documents reveal some details.
In
Libya, the Pentagon has allotted just over $16 million from a
train-and-equip fund to develop two companies of elite troops and their
support elements “to counter terrorist and extremist threats in Libya,”
according to budget documents. For the aborted training outside Tripoli,
the Defense Department also tapped into a classified spending account
called Section 1208, devised to aid foreign troops assisting American
forces conducting counterterrorism missions.
For
Mauritania, about $29 million has been set aside for logistics and
surveillance equipment in support of the specialized unit.
For
Niger, where the United States launches unarmed surveillance drones to
fly over Mali in support of French and United Nations troops, the
Pentagon is spending nearly $15 million on the country’s new
counterterrorism unit. The funds are part of $39.5 million this year to
train and equip the West Africa nation’s army as it struggles to stem a
flow of insurgents across Niger’s lightly guarded borders with Mali,
Nigeria and Libya.
Maman
S. Sidikou, Niger’s ambassador to the United States, said he could not
comment on the counterterrorism unit, but he added in an email,
“Training remains a critical part of our needs to further increase our
men’s readiness to face the many challenges of our regional
environment.”
Mr.
Sheehan, the former Pentagon official, said a 12-member Army Special
Forces team could train about 50 soldiers initially, and expand after
that. “It can be done,” said Mr. Sheehan, who conducted similar training
in Latin America in the 1980s as a Special Forces commander.
J.
Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council, a
policy research group in Washington, said the United States must make
tough political judgments before investing in ambitious counterterrorism
training programs. Mr. Pham cited the lessons of Mali, where
American-trained commanders of elite army units defected to Islamic insurgents that seized the north last year.
“The
host country has to have the political will to fight terrorism, not
just the desire to build up an elite force that could be used for regime
protection,” Mr. Pham said. “And the military has to be viewed well or
at least neutrally by a country’s population.”
American
counterterrorism officials also warn that without a commitment to
support the specialized units, training can stall. “It’s very difficult,
very challenging dealing with African forces,” said Rudy Atallah, the
former director of African counterterrorism policy for the Pentagon.
“You train them to a certain level, and then they can run short on gear,
communications, even tires for their vehicles.”
American
officials say trainees must be carefully screened and monitored for
possible human rights violations or shifting allegiances. “Any unit we
train could be used to go after political opponents rather than Al
Qaeda,” said Frederic Wehrey, a senior policy analyst with the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace who has visited Libya frequently.
Libya - gotten out of hand
No
episode is a more sobering reminder of these risks than the collapse of
the American counterterrorism training mission last August at Base 27,
also called Camp Younis, a Libyan military installation about 15 miles
from Tripoli, the capital.
The
American trainers issued the Libyans M4 automatic rifles, night-vision
goggles, Glock pistols and armored vehicles. The Libyans took custody of
the weapons and equipment and were responsible for safeguarding them in
a warehouse at the camp, American military officials said.
In
a predawn raid on Aug. 4, gunmen believed to be from one of the local
militias overpowered the Libyan guards and seized the weapons and
equipment in the storage area, American officials said.
The
American trainers were not at the training camp when the raid occurred
because they regularly stayed at a nearby villa that served as a safe
house at night, American officials said.
American
military officials briefed on the raid suspect that the theft was an
inside job in which a Libyan officer or soldier tipped off some local
Tripoli militia members about the matériel stored at the base. Much of
the stolen equipment was later recovered, but not before news reports
indicated that some of the pilfered weapons had showed up online for
sale on the black market.
The
episode abruptly ended a weekslong training course that American and
Libyan officials had hoped would restart broader training efforts that
were suspended after the attack on the American Mission in Benghazi on
Sept. 11, 2012.
A
former American Special Operations officer said there was a broader
lesson for any future Libya training mission: “The take-away here is
they’re going to take a lot more adult supervision to make sure the
checks and balances are in place, so you don’t have outside militia
taking over.” UNQUOTE
Green: parties involved Red: money and equippment involved Lilac: countries involved
A lot of different parties involved; even in the US it seems to be difficult to co-ordinate
USD 171.50 quoted, some more may be reckoned
Six countries in Africa, five thereof in SubSaharaAfrica, Nigeria was joined of recent; action not yet taken.
Remarks The picture on top might not have been taken as of recent. Also it is somewhat strange that the majority of the instructees cover their faces. To cover one's face does not forcedly has a religious meaning. Covering faces in the first place is meant to protect from sand.
Somehow it is weird that State Department's Hillary Clinton then refused to declare Boko Haram a terroristic group.
About the US-Admininistration's building up the Taliban to fight the Russions in Afghanistan - another failure - the former does not even talk. Omerta!!! Trained by the US the Taliban actually picked up their fight against the USA. Wrong pick when picking Bin Laden, a member of the Saudi Arabian Family.
Calling all those Al
Qaeda and its affiliates "Islamist" extremists causes bad feelings against Islam, Muslims, Moslems and the Qu'ran.
It is NOT a fight against the Islam; it is a fight of all the peoples around the globe against terrorism and crime.
The
United States should send in special forces to rescue the hundreds of
girls kidnapped by Boko Haram—whether the Nigerian government gives
permission or not, according to Sen. John McCain.
“If they knew
where they were, I certainly would send in U.S. troops to rescue them,
in a New York minute I would, without permission of the host country,”
McCain told The Daily Beast Tuesday. “I wouldn’t be waiting for some
kind of permission from some guy named Goodluck Jonathan,” he added,
referring to the president of Nigeria.
Fadima IbrahimYes,whenever Maccain speaks,evil action will follow. What they r saying about our president is correct but Maccain? Huh!
Peter Durah@Fadima
you are right. But if I were one of the parents I'd ask anybody to do
anything, right or wrong to bring back my girl. If you were in their
shoes......
Thomas Ramseyer@ Fadima Ibrahim: it is all about having US-soldiers on soil in Nigeria; the rescue of the abducted girls is false pretense: you are right; in fact the US-Administration - not the American people - is arrogant. ...
geopolitics
- politics - economy - econometrics - central bank action - financial
markets - spilling systems - doubted action - fraud
Aiyekooto OriloniseIt
is not a question of anyone knowing anything, just let them bring back
the girls, I will then be in a position to listen to all this
postulations. It is very easy to pontificate when we are not at the
receiving end. Just give thoughts to the pains, ...See More
Thomas Ramseyerdo
not lecture me, Aiyekooto Orilonise. I am far away from
"pontificating". What you are doing I am doing since it happened. It is
kind of arrogant of you to tell other people what to do. By doing so you
insinuate that you might be one of the only ones...
Aiyekooto OriloniseThomas,
are you a biological father to a child? If you are, then answer my
question please. It has nothing to do with where you live.
Thomas Ramseyer@ Aiyekooto Orilonise: i am the biologial father of two sons born 1977, 1981, one daughter 1987, one granddaughter 2013.---
Aiyekooto OriloniseGreat!
Now, please, do me a favour and answer my question: If the girl was
kidnapped with the probability of raping being 1 and probability of
further harm done to her 0.98, when you are helpless and everyone around
you is helpless, if someone whose gifts are PERCEIVED to be GREEK,
with success probability of 0.8 offers to help , would you accept or
not?
Thomas Ramseyer@ Aiyekooto Orilonise: As I am a trained soldier I would take matters in my own hands and revenge my daughter if they did any harm to her.
Thomas RamseyerAlso I believe that my sons - they also are trained soldiers - would follow me in the action.
Aiyekooto OriloniseThank
you very much, I really appreciate this and respect your stand. But how
does this fit into the Issue at stake? I mean what is the correlation
between what you have just said you will do and the problem at hand
facing Nigeria as a country being offered assistance to save herself
from herself? Any relationship?
Thomas Ramseyer@ Aiyekooto Orilonise: Think
about your dialectics; you are jumping from one corner to the other.
The problem is neither the abduction of the girls nor Boko Haram. The
problem is the development of the country's domestic economy due to well
known reasons. Thus if you want to know more about the assistance
Nigeria must be offered get informed. http://www.nidoeswiss.ch/vocational-training-i/
Thomas Ramseyer@
Aiyekooto Orilonise: now the crucial question: What are your
suggestions to solve any problem?? How are you engaged in solving the
Nigerian population's problem? What does your country GB do for
assisting Nigeria in solving her problem?
Archaeological research, pioneered by Thurstan Shaw and Steve Daniels,[1] has sh...See More
Thomas Ramseyer@
Aiyekooto Orilonise: it is my strong belief that knowledge, science,
experience, skills have to be transferred for free from the northern
hemispherians to subsaharaafricans. Nidoe Swiss' vocational training
initiative supported by Switzerland's admin...See More
geopolitics
- politics - economy - econometrics - central bank action - financial
markets - spilling systems - doubted action - fraud
Thomas Ramseyer@
Aiyekooto Orilonise: it is my opinion that in fact the
multiple-hundred-abduction is a collateral battle field. right now there
is a worldwide concerted uproar pointing out the helplessness not only
of the Nigerian Government but also the Nigerian po...
Aiyekooto OriloniseThomas,
it would appear we are not reading from the same sheet. My stand is
against those saying America is not here to save the children but to
have a hold on Nigeria. Jumping from. ....to.....? That certainly is not
me, it is not my style. Thanks for the links, i will read them soon
and revert to you. Cheers. Meanwhile, let them bring back our girls.
Thomas RamseyerIt is my opinion that the US-Administration is there to save the children but also to get hold of Nigeria.
Aiyekooto OriloniseOh, I am happy to hear that. I will address the other issues you raised when I get home.
Aiyekooto OriloniseYes,
Thomas , I am home now but before reading your links, let me quickly
touch on your " It is my opinion that ................." in no
particular order. You the rescue of the girls will ONLY bring relief to
the families. I agree but it does much more than that. The rescue is the
primary and most Important while others are secondary. The relief goes
beyond the immediate families in that, in the process of rescuing,
skills and knowledge would be acquired, sponsors that hitherto been
wrapped with cotton wool would be exposed, having been exposed , people
can now stand up to them and say thus far no more. Their Impunity can
never go unchallenged as before. There will now be further collateral
damages as people will now extend their to the extended families of the
vampires. I can go on and on and on but this should suffice for now.
You
said having rescued the girls, America will not want to leave. And I
ask, : What is leadership of a Country about? What was the basis of
their coming in the first Instance? If my Govt is so amorphous and
Irresponsible enough not to separate the Nation's Interest from personal
Interest and use that to draw a line beyond which America should not
go, who are we to blame? I do not like passing buck of our own
Irresponsibility to others. America can not stay If we have responsible
leaders who do not want them to stay.
You
said " It is the duty of ...................", that is exactly my
point. Too often, we choose the line of least resistance and at times,
no resistance at all. Tell me, whose duty is it to manage Nigerian
Economy? How can a country that is the 6th largest oil producer be this
poor? How could a country with abundance of mineral resources begging
to be exploited be begging others nations? Is it not tragic that our
currency that exchanged a few years ago at N0.80 to a Dollar now goes
for N170 to the same Dollar? Who we blame?
When
we talk of exploitation, Nigeria has enough in our "kitty" that we are
supposed to be the one "exploiting" others Including America and I am
not exaggerating but ask me If we know/have anything about R&D.
Unless of course, if our R&D is in corruption. If I am ready to
short-change my country because of corruption, do you have to blame the
other party or me? All said and done, we don't have to look too far for
example, just peep into that South American country that just lost her
leader and now having his alter-ego as president. In short, we should
learn to take responsibility for our actions. For now, please, let me
take some water.
Thomas RamseyerIn
fact the ones to blaim are the people. Every people gets the government
it deserves as the people chose their government themselves. Also in a
democracy the majority's will must be executed. This means 50% of the
votes plus one single vote decide. As it is overhere in our direct
democracy.
When
it comes to managing an economy so it is the duty of the lawmakers to
creat an environment for the economy to prosper. The president with all
the various ministers are responsible to execute within the frame given
by the lawmakers. The lawmakers must supervise the governments as well
as the ministry's activity. This just according to the textbooks.
OIL:
Nigeria is ranked number 12 regarding daily production of 2'524'000
BBL/day of oil. (no 1 is Saudi Arabia producing 11'730'000 BBL/day)
It is ranked number 5 regarding export 2'341'000 BBL/day (no 1 Saudi Arabia 6'880'000 BBL/day
Regarding proved reserves Nigeria is no 10 with 37'200'000'000 BBL (Venezuela 297'600'000'000
When
it comes to population Nigeria is number 10 with 177'155'754 people
(this must be compared with the population of the other big oil
producers/exporters; in fact to get a good judgement use export by
capita)
Monetary
reserves: Foreign Exchange and Gold Nigeria is no 43 owning USD
47'700'000'000 (e.g. Switzerland is no 5 with USD 536'300'000'000'000)
(e.g. USA rank 19 USD 150'200'000'000) (also break it down to money available for imports by capita)
Nigerian
government's expenditures sum up to USD 31.51 Billion the revenues to
USD 23.85 Billion resulting in a budget DEFICIT of USD 8.66 Billion.
Nigeria
may look like being a rich country when looking at the big economic
financial figures. Already looking at the same figures by capita in the
case of a population of 177 Million people shows that the big figures
must be brought into perspective.
Example
OIL: if the total revenues generated by the oil exports were given to
the population in equal shares (per capita) - this is hypothetical
because it is NOT possible - the outcome would be as follows:
