Some feel unhappy that the Nigerian government seems to value foreign lives much more than Nigerian lives. This is a very sore point.

There isn't much sympathy for the deaths of the two hostages because according to some "the British government and Shell weren't in the least bit bothered when they colluded with the Nigerian government to murder hundreds of Nigerians in the Niger Delta".

There is also a little bit of "serves them right". That "Cameron thinks he still is the colonial master of Nigeria and even though he can snap his fingers and get the Nigerian government to do his bidding. Great, even your much vaunted special forces couldn't do this right".

How does this impact on the average Nigerian? Does it make the Nigerian government more likely to intervene to save Nigerian lives? No. Does it cement the already widespread suspicion of Western control over our government? Yes. Does this play well in Nigeria's restive North? I doubt it.

This event in itself has little impact on the security situation in Northern Nigeria. It was a given that the British and Americans would want to do some special ops, but even if those special ops were successful, the impact on the security and safety of Nigerians would be zero. So why should we (Nigerians) be bothered?

There is also a vocal element in the South that rub their hands in glee at the latest misfortune in the North. The Nigerian society is rapidly unraveling and Nigeria is less of united nation than it was ten years ago.