Idowu Samuel and Jacob Segun Olatunji
Sunday, January 14, 2007
The Federal Government has condemned a popular Nigerian movie actor, Ikem Owo, over his song “ I go chop your Dollars” which it said has been giving Nigeria a lot of bad image across the globe.

The government expressed misgivings on the lyrics of the song, which glorifies the practice of Advanced Fee Fraud, in Nigeria, lamenting that the song has painted the Nigerian people as fraudsters since it hit the international market more than a year ago. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Joy Ogwu gave the government’s official position to the song by Ikem Owo, during a National Policy Retreat for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in Abuja.

Mrs. Ogwu said she first came across the 419 glorifying song for the first time in 2006 in far away Chicago and felt terribly disgusted, sad and disappointed at the lyrics. The song, she said, was in bad taste for its tendency to spoil the image of Nigeria abroad considering the wider circulation, which she said it enjoys outside Nigeria.

The Osuofia’s song had earlier been reported to have featured the footnotes in a controversial documentary on Nigeria released in the United States by a civil society group in an attempt to prove to American citizens that Nigeria is a haven for fraudulent and corrupt practices. According to reports on the negative documentary on Nigeria carried by some newspapers in the country, the documentary was televised on major television stations, in the U.S, prompting the Nigerian Embassy in the US to complain officially to the US government.

However, the minister in her paper titled “Foreign Policy Objectives for a New Can-do-Nation” suggested that Nigeria needs to shift her paradigm on foreign policy that will incorporate the principle of self defence into its international agenda. Nigeria, she suggested, must focus attention on the pattern of growth and development of key countries in Asia, tagged “ Asia, Tigers”, the country noted to have developed on their own initiatives.
www.tribune.com.ng

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Love is not a choice - it is a Commandment ~ Pastor Bimbo Odukoya

This is just another way of seeking publicity from a government in turmoil. It's just a song for crying out loud. You don't hear Americans complaining that rappers are giving America a bad name and bad reputation. I just don't understand these incompetent African governments.

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"The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence."

"A river does not run through a forest without bringing down trees".

It is in Africa especially Nigeria that u hear things and it gives u the cause to question the level and the focus of the minds of our so called buckwitts we call our governments. the song is not the problem but the government that wouldnt provide employements for ppl to be able to fight the temptation of the devil finding work for their idle minds in the name of 419.

What do the government say to the naive americans who falls for this in the name of quick money making.

Abeg this government woman condeming should be brought out naked flogged till her senses comes back to normal.
here is my question for the lady, how many government officals in the US vacationing Nigeria? Her common sense should say something. Useless woman, imagine saying she first heard song in Chicago, eyeyeye woman, r we really sure she was vacationing at the right time not while she is suppose to be workin in make a diffference in the country.

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Only God can fill the empitness of an aching heart!
The race of life is run by faith and won by grace!!
Failure is not defeat unless you stop trying!!!

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"The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence."

"A river does not run through a forest without bringing down trees".

Here we go again...BLAME BLAME BLAME instead of fix fix fix. I guess they will 'deport' Osuofia. Is it the same song that I listened to or something else? Yeah u see...somebody farted in the midst of friends and instead of a simple "My bad" he goes to accuse Johnson for being so ugly that all the fart in his yansh couldn't hold...

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NIGERIAN ANIMATED WEB SERIES

ummmmmmmm

Its the same mentality that makes them dash Andrew Young billions of our oil money to place ads on CNN for the so-called 'Heart of Africa'.

Now imagine if govt. invested just $1 million in Nollywood? But they won't.

the lyrics of the song na waya sa, let's face the truth. i was also shocked the first time i heard it. yeah the government is wrong and so are the lyrics very embarrazing.

The government should first berate itself for being a theiving, power hungry, murderous and absolutely corrupt group of individuals. They should remove the truck load of timber from their eye first.