I've spent the weekend mulling over the issues that have arisen on this thread, following my tardy deletion of some inflammatory posts.
One of the devils of moderation is getting it right, or as near right as possible, for all Rotorheads. There will always be conflicting opinions and demands from contributors, and I will not always please all the Rotorheads all the time. In an attempt to "moderate gently", I probably erred by not deleting the offending posts earlier, relying on a ban on the poster (olaolu Jacob) instead.
I did, however, delete the ensuing argument, which was largely irrelevant following the requested removal of the offensive posts. There was no intent to become "heavy handed" in this moderation, and there was no intention of offending those whose posts were deleted. I apologise to those who took this moderation as offensive, it was not intended as such. MM's post has been reinstated, but the rest remain irrelevant following the deletion of the offensive posts.
This thread has been long running and informative for many years, thanks to the contributions of many Nigeria hands. It has reached the status of belonging to all, and does not deserve to be deleted or distorted such as to lose its continuity.