All Out Infrastructure Build Out – Will Create Jobs! Jobs!! Jobs!!!

• Electricity – will ensure survivability of businesses, and provide added revenue for the government
• Roads – immediate boost for commerce
• Railways – North-South; East-West; a more efficient means of transporting goods to/from market centers.
• Robust Internet Infrastructure – Gold mine for foreign outsource ventures. Today India is at the forefront of outsourced services from the US and other developed countries. The internet is the stable for the digital age, Education, Invention, eCommerce, eBanking – young bright minds would not have to leave the Nigerian shores, thereby reducing the brain drain.
• Security – to ensure foreign investment. If there are jobs for young people this will be a very small part.
• Investment in Education – prepare Nigerian young people to be significant in the global economy.
• Move towards total resource control – by reinvesting in other non-oil potential revenue streams.

All Out Infrastructure Build Out – Will Create Jobs! Jobs!! Jobs!!!

• Electricity – will ensure survivability of businesses, and provide added revenue for the government
• Roads – immediate boost for commerce
• Railways – North-South; East-West; a more efficient means of transporting goods to/from market centers.
• Robust Internet Infrastructure – Gold mine for foreign outsource ventures. Today India is at the forefront of outsourced services from the US and other developed countries. The internet is the stable for the digital age, Education, Invention, eCommerce, eBanking – young bright minds would not have to leave the Nigerian shores, thereby reducing the brain drain.
• Security – to ensure foreign investment. If there are jobs for young people this will be a very small part.
• Investment in Education – prepare Nigerian young people to be significant in the global economy.
• Move towards total resource control – by reinvesting in other non-oil potential revenue streams.

Have you given a thought to the fact that corruption has not allowed all of the above to be possible? Think about that.

Education in Nigerians schools is important too. Whether terrorism has its roots in leftist doctrine or in religious doctrine in Nigeria, they are all spawned in schools and colleges. That's where the children and the youth start reflecting what is right and what is wrong; which, in turn, leads to deliberation as to what they should do to put the entire Nigeria right. A multi-tribal and multi-faith open-mindedness can come from education alone. Even if a small part of Nigeria is left ignorant on this level, the country will still not be a safe place. So all the big thinkers and good minds in society today must ponder on a holistic, healthy education that will help us retain the virtues and values which we are all naturally endowed with. Together, we must help spread the significance of human values, broadmindedness and warm hearts; that should be our goal while bringing up our children.

Define nigeria

asha 80:

Define nigeria

Nigeria is a country established by God with great natural resources, conquered by British, gained independence in 1960 but still in the dark looking for the right switch to turn on the light.

Nigeria is a country established by God with great natural resources, conquered by British, gained independence in 1960 but still in the dark looking for the right switch to turn on the light.

Very apt definition.
Nigeria can only see the light if the root cause of her problems, which is corruption, is given priority treatment. Instilling in all citizens the consciousness to doing the right thing in all aspects of our lives will get us out of the dark.

jamace:

I can see from the polls above that corruption and power supply are running shoulder to shoulder as the desired problems to be solved immediately. I still hold we take on CORRUPTION as number one for elimination, else we will continue to pump huge amount in that waste pipe called PHCN (Please Hold Candle Now).

It's a given. If there is little to no corruption in this world, every country would be in pretty good shape. Addressing corruption is an obvious first step.

Hellow everyone, just wanted to add that Nigeria could be greater than it already is. Please visit http://nigeria-news1..com/
to find out more,

Before addressing anything, I think the very basis of Nigeria should be addressed.
For most thinking Nigerians, it's easy to see that the root of all our problems lie in the fact that the people of Nigeria are not together by choice, and should not be together at all, honestly speaking.

power sector.

No doubt it is the law enforcement process.

If you have a police force that is efficient and effective, a robust judicial process and highly punitive prisons or laws then you are solving a foundation problem that will reverberate across all aspects of problems.

If we had a police force that can arrest anybody (president, godfathers, chief of army), that is not corrupt and knows the law, and a judiciary that is speedy (does not delay justice), and harsh punishments for convicts (death sentence for corruption above a certain amount e.g. £100K) and a jail you do not want to go to then:

- Corruption would decrease
- Electricity would be generated as corruption is less
- Employment improves as electricity improves industrialisation
- Security improves as crime is subdued due to employment opportunities
- FDI increases as risk diminishes due to better security environment
- Infrastructure and education improves as they are correlated with vibrant econnomy which is correlated with FDI and good policy.

There is nothing much wrong with the current constitution.

Deal with the Police and Judicial system.

Have about one thousand Ribadus spread across the country and see how corruption would be subdued.

I see those voting for corruption are in the majority. But let's ponder a bit while longer.

CORRUPTION! Yes it's the most popular "sloganed" _{(from slogan)} Nigeria problem. But is it a self-generating problem(does not have a cause)? I say NO! IT HAS CAUSES; IT IS AN EFFECT!. It is a result a result of many and varied systemic faults: the political nature of our nation, greed, selfishness, planlessness of former leaders (starting from Gowon).

@Uchebobo, you see I disagree with your defintion of Nigeria. NIGERIA is a country of many NATIONS made (created) by God and (FORCIBLY) JOINED/UNITED/WED together by Western colonialists, and the majority of the people are trying make the marriage work despite all distractions (corruption inclusive). GOD DID NOT CREATE NIGERIA, GOD PERMITTED ITS CREATION. The colonialists did the creating for their own good not the citizens. And unfortunately the Military rulers and their political co-travellers have perpetuated this colonialists' intents by Creating for us Constitutions which are premised on their own good and not the good of the entire citizenry: constitutions that had encouraged and is still encouraging corruption.

The kind of federal constitutions and federation we have know where the centre is the almighty, capable of forcibly appropriating your father's farmland and diatributing the proceed almost equally, on the basis of some evil quota to the rest of the federating units some of which are places where their fathers are not ready to cultivate the land God has cos the yield will not be as big as your father's land, CAN ONLY BID CORRUPTION. It has given birth to majority of politician/"leaders" who are loyal only to themselves and not even to their fathers' houses.

CORRUPTION: How deep is it in our system? I say very deep! I believe that we will all agree that Mummy's spending of 75% of cooking/food fund on food/cooking and 25% on her petty personal needs is Misappropriation (corruption), same as inflating school bills to get some extra ("unacceptable" allowances. Every office, private & public in the land is involved.

CORRUPTION! How long will it take to eliminate it. I say ETERNITY. The developed economies are still fighting it daily (the news report of trials and investigations are evidences).

So are we going to wait till that long for there to be improvement in the land? I say NO.

Lets take our leadership/rulership as is. What is having the worst effect on the citizenry? LACK OF/INSUFFICIENT STABLE STEADY INCOME. And that in itself is one of the major primary causes of widespread corruption.

What will change the income situation? EMPLOYMENT (adequate and proper), BOTH FORMAL & INFORMAL (self or wage earning).

Who will provide the Employment? CERTAINLY NOT GOVT (oversized civil service = greater bereaucracy + redundancy = Corruption)! SURVIVING AND SUCCEEDING PRIVATE SECTOR BUSINESSES (formal and informal).

What will make businesses succeed in modern economy? I adequate and functional infrastructure, security and stable political atmosphere and policies.

What are the major infrastructural problems that have the most direct impact on businesses today? I say, POWER, ROAD/TRANSPORT.

The Yoruba will say "t'ebi ba ti kuro ninu ise ise buse (take hunger out of problem/suffering/poverty, the situation is solved)". Provide adequate stable POWER the industries will run; provide adequate ROAD/TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, there will be easy movement and Trading will thrive. The result will be more EMPLOYMENT. Poverty will drop cos income will increase: Then more people will have time for the grammar of Anti-corruption, Custitution amendment public hearing, Popular mass movement against corrupt govt & policies.

SUMMARY:
Of the post list, to acheive result starting from now, I will present priorities as follows:

Uninterrupted Power Supply
Social Amenities (Roads, Water)
Communication
Industries / Currency Regulations
Oil/ Petroleum Challenges
Agriculture
Spending and deficit
Injustice

I did not put corruption cos the present majority in the political class and the govt cannot and will not sincerely fight corruption. Also corruption will drop if the policies are such that the economy is private sector driven.

Most other things will fall into place with a Proper Federation structure in place.

@sagamite, I beg to disagree with these:

Sagamite:

There is nothing much wrong with the current constitution.

A lot is wrong with it. It is more a Unitary constitution than a Federal constitution. We need to have a True Federal republic.

Sagamite:

Have about one thousand Ribadus spread across the country and see how corruption would be subdued.

I'm afraid that we will just have 1000 more political tools to stop prominent political opposition candidates cooking up fake allegation if need be and clearing their masters' candidates no matter how corrupt.

Mowire:

@sagamite, I beg to disagree with these:

A lot is wrong with it. It is more a Unitary constitution than a Federal constitution. We need to have a True Federal republic.

Whether you feel it is perfect or not, it is minor and workable. It is not our major problem and what is stopping us from progressing.

Mowire:

I'm afraid that we will just have 1000 more political tools to stop prominent political opposition candidates cooking up fake allegation if need be and clearing their masters' candidates no matter how corrupt.

Get a grip.

What fake allegations? Balogun? Alams? Odili? Igbinedion? Bode Goerge? Dariye? Ahmed Sani? Audu? Chimaroke Nnamani? Boni Haruna? James Ibori?

So they are all opponents of OBJ?

Corrupt crooks are screaming discrimination and you are supporting them.

I'd say the mother of all which is electricity, if we can get 24hrs uninterrupted power supply Nigeria will automatically take shape. Individuals will be able to help themselves out with small business. I personally have loads of business ideas, but they are all connected to electricity which is making me put my plans on transfer to the future when electricity will be stable.

Im suprised corruption should be no1, power supply not being serviced is due to the money the corrupt loot instead of power supply.!!!

Just shows Nigerians aren't ready for change, unless its electricity- selfishness again lol

dinggle:

I'd say the mother of all which is electricity, if we can get 24hrs uninterrupted power supply Nigeria will automatically take shape. Individuals will be able to help themselves out with small business. I personally have loads of business ideas, but they are all connected to electricity which is making me put my plans on transfer to the future when electricity will be stable.

How will Nigeria take shape from just having elecricity? How does electricity help us stop corruption? How does electricity help us to get competent public officials due to fraudulent elections?

The aim of this thread is to find what is best addressed to help the nation, not just you.

power sector is the first.And how do we go about it? lets pursue vigorosly the NIPP projects initiated by obasanjo.

[/quote]Have you given a thought to the fact that corruption has not allowed all of the above to be possible? Think about that.[quote]

The only way corruption can be solved is by empowering the populace, and the only way the populace can be empowered is by ensuring that they're employed. And this' assuming that the question posted truely has a solution, all things being equal. In essence if Yar'Adua was to ask this question, this is the answer I would provide him - because he already knows there's corruption in all sectors of Nigerian economy. When the average Nigerian can support his family, he/she will more than likely be more progressive and seek a better Nigeria. But if he's forced to be a hussler - he'll be just that, anything goes. As human beings we all have some moral compass that allows us to do that which is right.

So a prosprous Nigeria is a Nigeria that re-invest in the development of the country, not just in Abuja and Lagos. Lagos today is the only true business heart of the Nation, but Lagos can not care for the rest of the country - everyone can not live and work in Lagos. That which works in Lagos needs to be spread accross the nation.

The only way corruption can be solved is by empowering the populace, and the only way the populace can be empowered is by ensuring that they're employed. And this' assuming that the question posted truely has a solution, all things being equal. In essence if Yar'Adua was to ask this question, this is the answer I would provide him - because he already knows there's corruption in all sectors of Nigerian economy. When the average Nigerian can support his family, he/she will more than likely be more progressive and seek a better Nigeria. But if he's forced to be a hussler - he'll be just that, anything goes. As human beings we all have some moral compass that allows us to do that which is right.
So a prosprous Nigeria is a Nigeria that re-invest in the development of the country, not just in Abuja and Lagos. Lagos today is the only true business heart of the Nation, but Lagos can not care for the rest of the country - everyone can not live and work in Lagos. That which works in Lagos needs to be spread accross the nation.

Looking t the highlighted, you've agreed that corruption is the bane of our backwardness. I know corruption can not be 100% eliminated but it can be reduced to the barest minimum, where those who misapply anything (money,power, leadership) will be conscious that the law could catch up with them. The way it is today, there is no fear while misapplying anything because the wrong doer is confident that his godfather will support him or he could use his stolen wealth to make a way for himself. If you observe well, it is the rich/those in power that are more corrupt. The ordinary citizens are only trying to survive because those in power have denied them their right ; and moreover, the ordinary citizen is more conscious of repercusions of the law than our so- called leaders. Therefore, corruption is the monster that must be dealt with first, if we must progress.

@ OP

How come you left out [size=14pt]POWER[/size]

@ OP

How come you left out POWER

You mean power supply? If yes, it is not omitted. Check item 2 on the list- uninterrupted power supply.

It is simply the Nigeria Police Force. That is one institution that comes under the purview of the Federal Government and whose performance at least from independence has been unsatisfactory. If the police force is reformed and performs adequately then the primary purpose of Government which is to uphold law and order can be attained.

Lets look at some the other issues mentioned:-

Employment It really is up to graduates and school leavers to become more creative and consider creating business/ employment opportunities for themselves.

Resource control. Which resources are we talking about here since oil accounts for 85% of foreign exchange earnings? 

Utilities. These are best dealt with by deregulation and privatisation not by the FGN pumping more money into failed systems.

Constitution. Clearly Nigeria's problem is not its constitution so we don't need to convene another conference to frame a new one. Any perceived inadequacies therein are best addressed by the national assembly whilst taking cognisance of the pressures on legislative time.

tensor777:

It is simply the Nigeria Police Force. That is one institution that comes under the purview of the Federal Government and whose performance at least from independence has been unsatisfactory. If the police force is reformed and performs adequately then the primary purpose of Government which is to uphold law and order can be attained.

The NPF is a blood-thirsty evil force of largely illiterate men in black willing to send innocent people to their early graves. I would like nothing more than a TOTAL reform of the NPF.

Firstly, only graduates can apply to be in the NPF
Secondly, the minimum salary for the NPF should be N100,000 a month.
Thirdly, they must pass exams on human rights, the rule of law and due process
Fourthly, they must take classes and pass rigorous exams on the basics of our constitution, the Geneva Convention and the UN Charter on Human Rights
Finally, they must be well trained in modern equipment, firearms, surveillance, telecommunication and vehicles (land, sea and air). And funds must be set aside to not only provide them with the most modern equipment but also to maintain them.

The immediate problem the government should tackle is ELECTRICITY. If we have frequent power supply, prices of commodities will go down, there will be lots of jobs created and lots of infastructures working.

it is corruption that is keeping the power from being STABLE.

If your ELECTRICITY was in the hands of competent people they electricity would not go out.

It is CORRUPT that the power goes out.

**********************

If the power goes out in America - the Electrical people GETS SUED and they MUST repay all food that spoiled due to their negligence.

***********************

If Nigeria can stem corruption - then Nigeria could prosper. Otherwise, you will continue to have a group of filty rich running the show.

If we tackle the problem of Power Generation and Distribution, al other things shall be added unto us.

RichyBlacK:

The NPF is a blood-thirsty evil force of largely illiterate men in black willing to send innocent people to their early graves. I would like nothing more than a TOTAL reform of the NPF.

Firstly, only graduates can apply to be in the NPF
Secondly, the minimum salary for the NPF should be N100,000 a month.
Thirdly, they must pass exams on human rights, the rule of law and due process
Fourthly, they must take classes and pass rigorous exams on the basics of our constitution, the Geneva Convention and the UN Charter on Human Rights
Finally, they must be well trained in modern equipment, firearms, surveillance, telecommunication and vehicles (land, sea and air). And funds must be set aside to not only provide them with the most modern equipment but also to maintain them.

Good points, but I don't think first and second are really practical and, in the case of the first, in the best interest of functionality.

I don't think graduates would want a job of standing in the sun and being shot at, so the first point would lead to recruitment difficultities, if not turnover/retainment problems. We need graduates at higher roles and those that can read and write very well in junior roles who would be provided with additional training as stated in your third and fourth points.

Secondly, I don't think we can afford to pay N100K per month to every officer.

Ad+:

The immediate problem the government should tackle is ELECTRICITY. If we have frequent power supply, prices of commodities will go down, there will be lots of jobs created and lots of infastructures working.

Good points on the outcome of electricity provision.

the only way we can deal corruption in Nigeria is  to let those who want to have there own republic to have it, because Muslim got there own way of dealing  and Christen, as long we still romaine in one Unbrieler call Nigeria while we have deference that can not be manage ,favouritism will continuing and seen the well been of his people first before others then corruption gos on. all great country's in the world got 1to 6. language. leas face reality that only thing that can save Nigeria, we can not manage our deference's NEVER

I agree with Mowire.
Corruption in itself is not an issue. It is an effect of so many other causes.
The principle of cause and effect is not very hard to understand.

Scenario: ears of corn on a farm
Cause- a seed of corn was put into the ground by man or other force of nature
Cause - sunshine, pollination, water, photosynthesis, etc all work on that seed to germinate and nurture it
Effect- seed grows and produces corn stalk, corn stalk produces corn cob.

So it is with corruption, It has several root causes and we cannot deal with it conclusively nor eliminate it absolutely
no matter how hard we try.
One of the causes of corruption is POVERTY. Other causes exist. But that is a major cause and to get that bearable we need

Infrastructure - Electricity, roads, railway etc
Those in turn will generate Employment.

Nothing will put man permanently in utopia till He comes. But we can get things to a better level.

OMG I am sad to say Nigerians are so facking dumb like seriously, how does electricity stop politicians from taking money. I mean shet Nepa only take light because corrupt Nigerian politicians take the money that needs to be put into new technologies for power supply i mean DUH.

WTF  now i see what everyone is talkin about, when they say Nigeria can't change if Nigerians dont change. The government does only what the Citizens allow them to do. It seems everyone is OK with corruption but need light, soon Ghana will supply light and money will still be stolen by the Government because everyone thinks Electricity is the problem.

I mean facking shit you people are so dumb like forreal. IF MONEY WASN'T BEING STOLEN BY THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT THERE WOULD BE ELECTRICITY, BETTER ROADS,  BETTER SANITATION, MORE JOBS, LESS CRIME, DECREASE IN POVERTY LEVEL,  I MEAN I DONT KNOW HOW NIGERIANS REASON