Port Operations

17. There shall be no touting whatsoever by official or unofficial persons at any port in Nigeria. On duty staff shall be properly identified by uniform and official cards. Off duty staff shall stay away from the ports except with the express approval of the agency head. The FAAN Aviation Security (AVSEC) and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Security shall enforce this order.

18. All non-official staff shall be removed from the secured areas of airports. No official of FAAN, Immigration, security agency or Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) or any other agency is to meet any non-designated dignitary at any secure areas of the airport. The official approved list of dignitaries that have been pre-approved to be received by protocol officers shall be made available to AVSEC and other relevant agencies ahead of their arrival at the airport.

19. Any official caught soliciting or receiving bribes from passengers or other port users shall be subject to immediate removal from post and disciplinary as well as criminal proceedings in line with extant laws and regulations.

20. All relevant MDAs at the airports shall within 30 days of the issuance of this Order merge their respective departure and arrival interfaces into a single customer interface, without prejudice to necessary backend procedures.

21. All agencies currently physically present in Nigerian Ports shall within 60 days harmonise their operations into one single interface station domiciled in one location in the port and implemented by a single joint task force at all times, without prejudice to necessary backend procedures.

22. The new single interface station at each Port shall capture, track and record information on all goods arriving and departing from Nigeria and remit captured information to the head of the MDA and the head of the National Bureau of Statistics on a weekly basis.

23. Each Port in Nigeria shall assign an existing export terminal to be dedicated to the exportation of agriculture produce within 30 days of the issuance of this Order.

24. The Apapa Port shall resume 24-hour operations within 30 days of the issuance of this Order.

Dated this 18th. . . . . .. . day of May . . . . . . 2017.

SIGNED BY

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON

Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Source: http://sustainabilitywatchngr.com/index.php/component/k2/item/850-acting-president-prof-osinbajo-signs-three-major-executive-order-into-law

Ok

These exuactive orders are pretty swell. He's essentially signed into law single window for ports and brought order to these Hooligans at ports not wearing uniform. Everything should be implemented within 30 days. To put it simply this should speed up clearing times and reduce graft in best case scenario.

Hey free2ryhme how well do you think these orders will be implemented. You said you work at port I'd like your opinion. The red bold is most interesting one for me.

Cc: omohayek mapet BigIyanga EVarn Jetleeee

Blue3k:
These exuactive orders are pretty swell. He's essentially signed into law single window for ports and brought order to these Hooligans at ports not wearing uniform. Everything should be implemented within 30 days.

Hey free2ryhme how well do you think these orders will be implemented. You said you work at port I'd like your opinion.

Cc: omohayek mapet BigIyanga EVarn

the hooligans are still in the ports

The extortion is on another scale entirely for truckers coming into the port and it is a contributory factor to grid locks on port roads...

these access roads are always been patched and when the rains come it washes them away blocking the drainages. Apapa port access roads drainages are all blocked with sand and mud. Apapa port road was patched like something in 2012 but today it is at eyesore

all you hear are stories in the news

Blue3k:
These exuactive orders are pretty swell. He's essentially signed into law single window for ports and brought order to these Hooligans at ports not wearing uniform. Everything should be implemented within 30 days. To put it simply this should speed up clearing times and reduce graft in best case scenario.

Hey free2ryhme how well do you think these orders will be implemented. You said you work at port I'd like your opinion. The red bold is most interesting one for me.

Cc: omohayek mapet BigIyanga EVarn Jetleeee

I agree that the orders are great, at least on paper, but as you note, the issue is how well they will be implemented. Unfortunately, Nigeria's history is full of political initiatives that seemed great on paper, but were poorly implemented in the real world.

The huge disconnect in Nigeria between lofty political proposals and their terrible implementation is a clear-cut case of the Principal Agent Problem that I've mentioned on here in the past. Basically, given that the big boss at the top can't monitor everyone 24/7, how does s/he get underlings to do what is requested of them, rather than pursuing their own selfish ends?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_agent_problem

This is not a trivial problem to solve, and I've not seen the slightest indication that any Nigerian government has come close to solving it. That's why I'm so strongly in favor of deregulation and privatization: the fewer the laws and regulations, the smaller the scope for corruption and maladministration, while private owners have much stronger motives to be efficient at monitoring their staff than even the most honest and upright public officials - everybody cares most when it's their own assets being put at risk by lazy, crooked and stupid staff.

To cut it short, I think the optimal move would be to simply privatize the ports, by selling them off to international firms with strong track records and deep pockets, eg. PSA International, which manages Singapore's famously efficient ports.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSA_International

free2ryhme:


the hooligans are still in the ports

The extortion is on another scale entirely for truckers coming into the port and it is a contributory factor to grid locks on port roads...

these access roads are always been patched and when the rains come it washes them away blocking the drainages. Apapa port access roads drainages are all blocked with sand and mud. Apapa port road was patched like something in 2012 but today it is at eyesore

all you hear are stories in the news

I see you don't trust management for good reason. I do have confidence in the single window thing. I don't see why you guys wont do that one. The hooliganism will be part of work culture til heads start rolling for uniforms and bribes. Thanks for the insight.

If Buhari or Yemi doesn't enforce these orders are as good as trash understandably.

Seems change just started ...

Osibanjo media centres.. unleashed.

i said it.. if bubu step out..this guys go paint naija eldorado in two weeks..

i no lie..
afonjas are easily predictable.

pray for bubu..

he is sick, just like every human.

an not yet incapacitated..

so why should he resign?

omohayek:

To cut it short, I think the optimal move would be to simply privatize the ports, by selling them off to international firms with strong track records and deep pockets, eg. PSA International, which manages Singapore's famously efficient ports.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSA_International

That would be cool but every time we come close to that people get polarized. When they wanted to sell of refineries people got mad. Even now people want national carrier as long as Federal government not managing it. Personally I wouldn't mind. If they are better let them handle it.

Blue3k:


That would be cool but every time we come close to that people get polarized. When they wanted to sell of refineries people got mad. Even now people want national carrier as long as Federal government not managing it. Personally I wouldn't mind. If they are better let them handle it.

There is hardly any sensible economic decision that won't get at least some people to start screaming blue murder, but Nigeria simply can't afford to keep on drifting in the name of keeping those who are ignorant of economics happy. That's how billions were squandered on oil subsidies when oil prices were high, only for the same masses who were out protesting subsidy abolition to now be complaining that the government's coffers are empty. Politicians are elected to lead the masses towards a better future, not merely to pander to their momentary, ever-changing, ignorant whims.

The necessity of making hard decisions and sticking to them is precisely why Nigeria needs strong and competent leadership, which is what Nigeria has been lacking for so long: where Jonathan was weak and incompetent (but his weakness gave freedom to his more competent appointees) Buhari is "strong" but both sick and incompetent, robbing even his best ministers of the freedom to be truly effective. Obasanjo, for all his many, many faults, at least recognized talented people when he saw them (which is why he recruited Okonjo-Iweala), and gave them both the freedom and the backing to do a good job. Unfortunately, Obasanjo's desire to keep ruling from behind the throne led him to push first the sick (and economically illiterate Marxist) Yar'adua and then the thieving weakling Jonathan into the Presidency.

If Nigeria is ever going to seriously grow, it will need new blood from the younger politicians to make it to the top, someone like Fashola, Soludo, or a northerner with El-Rufai's brains and administrative skill, but without El-Rufai's ethnocentrism.

omohayek:

I agree that the orders are great, at least on paper, but as you note, the issue is how well they will be implemented. Unfortunately, Nigeria's history is full of political initiatives that seemed great on paper, but were poorly implemented in the real world.

The huge disconnect in Nigeria between lofty political proposals and their terrible implementation is a clear-cut case of the Principal Agent Problem that I've mentioned on here in the past. Basically, given that the big boss at the top can't monitor everyone 24/7, how does s/he get underlings to do what is requested of them, rather than pursuing their own selfish ends?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_agent_problem

This is not a trivial problem to solve, and I've not seen the slightest indication that any Nigerian government has come close to solving it. That's why I'm so strongly in favor of deregulation and privatization: the fewer the laws and regulations, the smaller the scope for corruption and maladministration, while private owners have much stronger motives to be efficient at monitoring their staff than even the most honest and upright public officials - everybody cares most when it's their own assets being put at risk by lazy, crooked and stupid staff.

To cut it short, I think the optimal move would be to simply privatize the ports, by selling them off to international firms with strong track records and deep pockets, eg. PSA International, which manages Singapore's famously efficient ports.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSA_International

If u sell your cashcow what do u have left? Nothing these investors are making he'll of a money through concession arrangement

free2ryhme:


If u sell your cashcow what do u have left? Nothing these investors are making he'll of a money through concession arrangement

How is it a "cashcow" when it isn't making any money? And how exactly do you know how much investors are making? Can you point to any financial reports to substantiate your claims, or is it just your imagination talking?

Frankly, it is extremely shortsighted to be concentrating so much on how much the government can squeeze out of a facility through which the vast majority of the entire country's imports and exports must pass through. Sensible people would be focusing on more important things, like how to ensure that goods get through the ports faster, more reliably and at lower cost, as these are all things that will benefit domestic consumers as well as Nigerian exporters, both of which are far more important than squeezing out a little extra cash for the government - most of which you and the rest of the Nigerian masses will never see anyway, after all the crooks have taken their share from it.

Part of being economically literate is recognizing that the key to making Nigeria a truly rich country is foreign trade, which requires efficient, reliable and low-cost ports. Sadly, too many Nigerians can only think in terms of a rent-extracting mindset, so they focus on ridiculous things like "cash cows" that drain more cash than they've ever made, or charging foreign businessmen exorbitant visa fees.

Any official caught soliciting or receiving bribes from passengers or other port users shall be subject to immediate removal from post and disciplinary as well as criminal proceedings in line with extant laws and regulations.

Will this really work? Who will catch them?

How many times the federal government have issued same ditective? Uncountable. We keep doing the same thing all the time. Nigeria will never make real development until politics is replace with sense for good development and people's welfare.

Dear PYO I did a risk assessment on some Jetties at Apapa Port, would love to hand it over to you personally. The port is in an abysmal state as you read this... please if you're reading this, DM me for proper details.
Yours in service

honjohnbright:
Dear PYO I did a risk assessment on some Jetties at Apapa Port, would love to hand it over to you personally. The port is in an abysmal state as you read this... please if you're reading this, DM me for proper details.
Yours in service

Getting in direct contact with president is hard, try NPA boss.

AISHA ALI-IBRAHIM (MRS)
Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex

a.aisha@nigerianports.org

Blue3k:


Getting in direct contact with president hard try customs boss.

AISHA ALI-IBRAHIM (MRS)
Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex

a.aisha@nigerianports.org

Bless your generations

omohayek:

How is it a "cashcow" when it isn't making any money? And how exactly do you know how much investors are making? Can you point to any financial reports to substantiate your claims, or is it just your imagination talking?

Frankly, it is extremely shortsighted to be concentrating so much on how much the government can squeeze out of a facility through which the vast majority of the entire country's imports and exports must pass through. Sensible people would be focusing on more important things, like how to ensure that goods get through the ports faster, more reliably and at lower cost, as these are all things that will benefit domestic consumers as well as Nigerian exporters, both of which are far more important than squeezing out a little extra cash for the government - most of which you and the rest of the Nigerian masses will never see anyway, after all the crooks have taken their share from it.

Part of being economically literate is recognizing that the key to making Nigeria a truly rich country is foreign trade, which requires efficient, reliable and low-cost ports. Sadly, too many Nigerians can only think in terms of a rent-extracting mindset, so they focus on ridiculous things like "cash cows" that drain more cash than they've ever made, or charging foreign businessmen exorbitant visa fees.

the truth is what nobody will tell you

The ports makes billions of naira every year

I will leave it at that

Okay, over to comptroller General

omohayek:

There is hardly any sensible economic decision that won't get at least some people to start screaming blue murder, but Nigeria simply can't afford to keep on drifting in the name of keeping those who are ignorant of economics happy. That's how billions were squandered on oil subsidies when oil prices were high, only for the same masses who were out protesting subsidy abolition to now be complaining that the government's coffers are empty. Politicians are elected to lead the masses towards a better future, not merely to pander to their momentary, ever-changing, ignorant whims.

The necessity of making hard decisions and sticking to them is precisely why Nigeria needs strong and competent leadership, which is what Nigeria has been lacking for so long: where Jonathan was weak and incompetent (but his weakness gave freedom to his more competent appointees) Buhari is "strong" but both sick and incompetent, robbing even his best ministers of the freedom to be truly effective. Obasanjo, for all his many, many faults, at least recognized talented people when he saw them (which is why he recruited Okonjo-Iweala), and gave them both the freedom and the backing to do a good job. Unfortunately, Obasanjo's desire to keep ruling from behind the throne led him to push first the sick (and economically illiterate Marxist) Yar'adua and then the thieving weakling Jonathan into the Presidency.

If Nigeria is ever going to seriously grow, it will need new blood from the younger politicians to make it to the top, someone like Fashola, Soludo, or a northerner with El-Rufai's brains and administrative skill, but without El-Rufai's ethnocentrism.

Any practical examples of how Buhari is stifling his ministers? From where I am standing Aisha, the NPA boss, does not appear to be shackled in any conceivable way, neither is Fashola nor was Amina Mohammed, for instance.

In my view no minister should hang their poor performance on Buhari's heavy hold. Because, if his relationship with Osinbajo is anything to go by, Buhari's trusts and respects competence and integrity.

Well... your belief in Soludo, as an leader, even without having held a national political leadership position, as well as your baseless depiction of highly competent El-Rufai as an ethnocentric leader, topped by your glowing (relatively) comments on the monstrosity called OBJ says a lot about your inclination.

DelGardo:


Any practical examples of how Buhari is stifling his ministers? From where I am standing Aisha, the NPA boss, does not appear to be shackled in any conceivable way, neither is Fashola nor was Amina Mohammed, for instance.

In my view no minister should hang their poor performance on Buhari's heavy hold. Because, if his relationship with Osinbajo is anything to go by, Buhari's trusts and respects competence and integrity.

Well... your belief in Soludo, as an leader, even without having held a national political leadership position, as well as your baseless depiction of highly competent El-Rufai as an ethnocentric leader, topped by your glowing (relatively) comments on the monstrosity called OBJ says a lot about your inclination.

Exactly. Omohayek is intelligent in the technical aspects of how to get Nigeria back on track, but very myopic on the personnel side of things.

Nigeria can never have an all-round President that satisfies all the whims. It is impossible.

Fashola, Soludo, and El-Rufai are not better than Yar'Adua or GEJ.

All 3 of these younger "bright" minds he mentioned are excessively more corrupt than GEJ both individually and collectively.

Yar'Adua was a Marxist but had the most respect for the rule of law of all Nigerian leaders post-1999.

GEJ was the first Southern minority leader in the history of Nigeria and he knew if he wanted to maintain any iota of legacy, he didn't have to be act like a strong military man putting enemies in the gallows. It was the smart thing to do but it wasn't even enough.

Fashola, Soludo, and el-Rufai would perform in their own way, but they'd also bring lots of baggage.

Fashola would tax Nigerians to the high heavens and make Buhari's pummeling sound like child's play.

Soludo doesn't know how to manage people and he'd fight with everybody.

el-Rufai may likely lead Nigeria to a civil war. All of them would be doubly corrupt than any Nigerian Leader in recent history.

Buhari should never have become President, that much is certain. But now that he is president, let us not pretend that he is the only one at fault. He increased Amaechi's Ministry allocation by 1000% compared to what GEJ gave the Ministry, and Amaechi squandered it calling completion of a 80%-completed project (he himself said it this week) an achievement.

Fashola's rating is a tad below average, for all the freedom, responsibility, and money given him. If GEJ had given Barth the same level of freedom and backing as Buhari has given Fashola, Barth would outperform Fashola convincingly.

Let's not even talk about Osinbajo and Adeosun who were in charge of the economy and took 18 months to put together a fiscal plan. 18 MONTHS!!!

Compare these so-called super ministers to ministers like Mohammed and Ibe and it becomes apparent that they have ZERO excuses.

You can't make hard line economic decisions without holding the polity in your grip comfortably. If Osinbajo had removed subsidy there would have been more protests than happened when Buhari removed subsidy. It has nothing to do with being weak, it's all about the mindset of the polity.

GEJ sacked the Attorney General and disbanded the cabinet to remove all Yar'Adua loyalists days after he was made Acting President while Yar'Adua was still alive. GEJ looked America in the eye and told them to Bleep off when they wouldn't provide weapons. He looked EU in the eye and told them to lick his backside when they brought their imperialist economic plan. He embraced China when the West was blowing hot. He privatized power despite the opposition. He implemented BVN and IPPPS despite the opposition from the polity. If he had worked out the kinks of the TSA and Whistle Blowing programmes in time, he would have implemented them.

Yet despite all of this, he is called a weak person. Someone who sacked the House of Representatives and cowed the legislature, something Buhari wouldn't dare do. Someone who disregarded the Northern Leaders and the Sultan to impose emergency rule in Northern states.

I don't know what you guys wanted from the man. 3 regions had already vowed to frustrate his government, 1 region was crying about marginalization, 2 others said he wasn't doing enough. There was evidence of complicity from people in his government, the military, and the polity in the rise of Boko Haram, should he have become a dictator like Erdogan, before he'd have been termed strong.

Or should he have placed his few core loyalists in a sea of open and hidden disloyalists on the chopping block just to please a populace that didn't see beyond their nose when he wanted to remove subsidy or the same disloyalists?

Omohayek can call GEJ's government corrupt, every government in Nigeria is corrupt including the present one, but never in his life should he call him weak and incompetent. That is completely untrue. For a minority civilian president, he was phenomenal.

-Lord

Jonathan's cluelessness is the fact that he thinks he can change the rule of rotation by contesting the 2015 election. He should have bowed out after six years. Period.

LordAdam16:


Exactly. Omohayek is intelligent in the technical aspects of how to get Nigeria back on track, but very myopic on the personnel side of things.

Nigeria can never have an all-round President that satisfies all the whims. It is impossible.

Fashola, Soludo, and El-Rufai are not better than Yar'Adua or GEJ.

All 3 of these younger "bright" minds he mentioned are excessively more corrupt than GEJ both individually and collectively.

Yar'Adua was a Marxist but had the most respect for the rule of law of all Nigerian leaders post-1999.

GEJ was the first Southern minority leader in the history of Nigeria and he knew if he wanted to maintain any iota of legacy, he didn't have to be act like a strong military man putting enemies in the gallows. It was the smart thing to do but it wasn't even enough.

Fashola, Soludo, and el-Rufai would perform in their own way, but they'd also bring lots of baggage.

Fashola would tax Nigerians to the high heavens and make Buhari's pummeling sound like child's play.

Soludo doesn't know how to manage people and he'd fight with everybody.

el-Rufai may likely lead Nigeria to a civil war. All of them would be doubly corrupt than any Nigerian Leader in recent history.

Buhari should never have become President, that much is certain. But now that he is president, let us not pretend that he is the only one at fault. He increased Amaechi's Ministry allocation by 1000% compared to what GEJ gave the Ministry, and Amaechi squandered it calling completion of a 80%-completed project (he himself said it this week) an achievement.

Fashola's rating is a tad below average, for all the freedom, responsibility, and money given him. If GEJ had given Barth the same level of freedom and backing as Buhari has given Fashola, Barth would outperform Fashola convincingly.

Let's not even talk about Osinbajo and Adeosun who were in charge of the economy and took 18 months to put together a fiscal plan. 18 MONTHS!!!

Compare these so-called super ministers to ministers like Mohammed and Ibe and it becomes apparent that they have ZERO excuses.

You can't make hard line economic decisions without holding the polity in your grip comfortably. If Osinbajo had removed subsidy there would have been more protests than happened when Buhari removed subsidy. It has nothing to do with being weak, it's all about the mindset of the polity.

GEJ sacked the Attorney General and disbanded the cabinet to remove all Yar'Adua loyalists days after he was made Acting President while Yar'Adua was still alive. GEJ looked America in the eye and told them to Bleep off when they wouldn't provide weapons. He looked EU in the eye and told them to lick his backside when they brought their imperialist economic plan. He embraced China when the West was blowing hot. He privatized power despite the opposition. He implemented BVN and IPPPS despite the opposition from the polity. If he had worked out the kinks of the TSA and Whistle Blowing programmes in time, he would have implemented them.

Yet despite all of this, he is called a weak person. Someone who sacked the House of Representatives and cowed the legislature, something Buhari wouldn't dare do. Someone who disregarded the Northern Leaders and the Sultan to impose emergency rule in Northern states.

I don't know what you guys wanted from the man. 3 regions had already vowed to frustrate his government, 1 region was crying about marginalization, 2 others said he wasn't doing enough. There was evidence of complicity from people in his government, the military, and the polity in the rise of Boko Haram, should he have become a dictator like Erdogan, before he'd have been termed strong.

Or should he have placed his few core loyalists in a sea of open and hidden disloyalists on the chopping block just to please a populace that didn't see beyond their nose when he wanted to remove subsidy or the same disloyalists?

Omohayek can call GEJ's government corrupt, every government in Nigeria is corrupt including the present one, but never in his life should he call him weak and incompetent. That is completely untrue. For a minority civilian president, he was phenomenal.

-Lord

linuxuser:
Jonathan's cluelessness is the fact that he thinks he can change the rule of rotation by contesting the 2015 election. He should have bowed out after six years. Period.

There is nothing like cluelessness there.

The rule of rotation was suspended the moment Yar'Adua died.

Jonathan should have been allowed to complete his next tenure so the SS would have 10 years.

Because if Buhari isn't incapacitated, he would have ruled for 8 uninterrupted years, which plus Yar'Adua's 2 years equals 10 years for the NW.

Today, if Buhari dies and Osinbajo becomes the President, he'd have 2 years which plus Obasanjo's 8 years equals 10 years for the SW.

After Jonathan's rule, Presidency had already being zoned to the North in all major parties. So why could the north not exercise 4 years of patience?

GEJ was hated for being a SS minority president, all this talk about weakness, incompetence, and cluelessness is bunch of nonsense.

If GEJ was a Northerner, he would have been called the best thing since sliced bread. All his faults would have been magically explained as strengths.

-Lord

The rotational agreement was never suspended at no time and Jonathan knows that. He became president by coincidence and he knows that too. Jonathan also knows that he is a lightweight politician and that if not for Obasanjo he won't even be vice president in the first instance. People should know their limits. Obasanjo spent 8 years. As at the time Jonathan took over, it was still the turn of the north to hold the presidency but the north conceded 2011 to him to enable him to serve his country. Jonathan himself knows that the north was agitating to get back the presidency come 2015. Why did he take so much time for him to declare his intention to contest in 2015? If the rotational agreement was suspended why would some people be against him?

Osunbajo will never be the presidential candidate of any party even if anything happens to the dullard Buhari. If Osunbajo wants to be president he is free to do that but it will never be automatic for him under APC. Osunbanjo will never even win his village election not to talk of the country. The benefit of the doubt that Jonathan got in 2011 will never be extended to Osunbajo no matter how good boy he tries to be.

I agree that had Jonathan being a Northerner the sentiment would have been different. That is perfectly corrected. But bear in mind that that sentiment will only hold because its the rotational time for the north. The main reason he got all the issues associated is because he broke the rotational agreement. It's not because he is from any minority. If the sentiment of the minority was to hold the north would not have allowed him to pick the ticket in 2011 anyway.

LordAdam16:


There is nothing like cluelessness there.

The rule of rotation was suspended the moment Yar'Adua died.

Jonathan should have been allowed to complete his next tenure so the SS would have 10 years.

Because if Buhari isn't incapacitated, he would have ruled for 8 uninterrupted years, which plus Yar'Adua's 2 years equals 10 years for the NW.

Today, if Buhari dies and Osinbajo becomes the President, he'd have 2 years which plus Obasanjo's 8 years equals 10 years for the SW.

After Jonathan's rule, Presidency had already being zoned to the North in all major parties. So why could the north not exercise 4 years of patience?

GEJ was hated for being a SS minority president, all this talk about weakness, incompetence, and cluelessness is bunch of nonsense.

If GEJ was a Northerner, he would have been called the best thing since sliced bread. All his faults would have been magically explained as strengths.

-Lord

LordAdam16:


Exactly. Omohayek is intelligent in the technical aspects of how to get Nigeria back on track, but very myopic on the personnel side of things.

Really? Or could it be that I simply don't share your blinders with regard to GEJ and the PDP?

Nigeria can never have an all-round President that satisfies all the whims. It is impossible.

And my point is that trying to be all things to all men is the exact opposite of leadership.

Fashola, Soludo, and El-Rufai are not better than Yar'Adua or GEJ.

All 3 of these younger "bright" minds he mentioned are excessively more corrupt than GEJ both individually and collectively.

This is utterly ridiculous! Where have any of these 3 men overseen gigantic scandals like Dasukigate or Malabu Oil?

Yar'Adua was a Marxist but had the most respect for the rule of law of all Nigerian leaders post-1999.

Which is why he reversed already signed privatization contracts, setting Nigeria's international reputation and economy back tremendously? You clearly have a different definition of "rule of law" than any I'm used to.

Fashola would tax Nigerians to the high heavens and make Buhari's pummeling sound like child's play.

This is just the oil mentality of the past 3 decades talking. You should look up some comparative statistics on taxation some time, and you'll see that Nigerian taxation is extremely low, far lower than is optimal for development. The reason why so few Nigerians care so little about policies and track records, focusing all their attention on candidates tribes and religions instead, is because they see the government merely as a source of "free" goodies to be shared out by tribal champions to their followers. A government that doesn't depend on citizens taxes doesn't have to care too much how they feel about its priorities, as long as it can keep the military and police happy.

Soludo doesn't know how to manage people and he'd fight with everybody.

Yes, because Lee Kuan Yew was a people person who avoided quarrels, right? Sometimes a man who is willing to fight for what he knows is right is what is needed.

el-Rufai may likely lead Nigeria to a civil war.

And who exactly nominated him? Perhaps you should have read more carefully what I wrote before responding. To repeat, "a northerner who has El-Rufai's brains and administrative skills, but without the ethnocentrism". I would actually have preferred SLS as a northern candidate, but becoming Emir of Kano has taken him out of the running.

All of them would be doubly corrupt than any Nigerian Leader in recent history.

This is simply fact-free conjecture on your part, and a nonsensical one at that. None of the men I've mentioned have the long track record of corruption and incompetence of an Ibori protoge like GEJ. Your blind partisanship has robbed you of all objectivity.

Fashola's rating is a tad below average, for all the freedom, responsibility, and money given him. If GEJ had given Barth the same level of freedom and backing as Buhari has given Fashola, Barth would outperform Fashola convincingly.

Again, more nonsense. Have you forgotten that the botched privatization of NEPA took place under your hero? Do you know what property rights and judicial independence imply in terms of what any minister can possibly do? And how exactly would "super-Barth" have gotten around Buhari's insistence on pegging the Naira, while denying the DISCOs the freedom to freely adjust the rates they charge? All I see here is more partisan rhetoric divorced from an understanding of the economic and political realities of the power sector.

Let's not even talk about Osinbajo and Adeosun who were in charge of the economy and took 18 months to put together a fiscal plan. 18 MONTHS!!!

Here you have half a point, but your partisan zeal blinds you to the fact that Buhari's ministers are only going to be able to do what he allows them to do, which is why we saw more positive movement during the 50 days Buhari was abroad than during the preceding 18 months.

Compare these so-called super ministers to ministers like Mohammed and Ibe and it becomes apparent that they have ZERO excuses.

Again, more partisan hot air. Has it occurred to you that they are constrained by what their boss (Buhari) is willing to hear? Since when has Buhari ever been a friend of any market-oriented policies? Why exactly do you think most major policy initiatives seem to happen precisely when he's off in London getting treatment?

You can't make hard line economic decisions without holding the polity in your grip comfortably. If Osinbajo had removed subsidy there would have been more protests than happened when Buhari removed subsidy. It has nothing to do with being weak, it's all about the mindset of the polity.

It has everything to do with being weak. You clearly don't appreciate that leadership is about leading, which means going out and making a positive case for what you believe, even at the cost of risking immediate disapproval. Try reading a political biography of Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill sometime, to get an appreciation for what that really means: real leaders can call on their followers to make tremendous sacrifices for the future, but to sell such a message, they have to possess a credibility that GEJ lacked, due to the insane amounts of brazen corruption he tolerated.

GEJ sacked the Attorney General and disbanded the cabinet to remove all Yar'Adua loyalists days after he was made Acting President while Yar'Adua was still alive. GEJ looked America in the eye and told them to Bleep off when they wouldn't provide weapons. He looked EU in the eye and told them to lick his backside when they brought their imperialist economic plan.

Where did you get this 1970s "anti imperialist" nonsense from?

He embraced China when the West was blowing hot. He privatized power despite the opposition. He implemented BVN and IPPPS despite the opposition from the polity. If he had worked out the kinks of the TSA and Whistle Blowing programmes in time, he would have implemented them.

Funny how you admit he privatized power, but fail to acknowledge that his selling off the assets to under-capitalized domestic firms had anything to do with the sector's current difficulties. And as for the TSA and "whistle blowing" programs you claim GEJ would have passed, wasn't 6 years enough to "work out the kinks"? Or perhaps "Fortunato" was too worried about getting his share of OPL 245 to want such programs getting in the way?

Yet despite all of this, he is called a weak person.

He is called "weak" because "weak" is exactly what he was, too weak-willed to rein in corrupt subordinates like Dasuki, Obanikoro, Diezani and so many others, and too weak in willpower to resist participating in ripoffs like the Malabu Oil scam.

I don't know what you guys wanted from the man. 3 regions had already vowed to frustrate his government, 1 region was crying about marginalization, 2 others said he wasn't doing enough. There was evidence of complicity from people in his government, the military, and the polity in the rise of Boko Haram, should he have become a dictator like Erdogan, before he'd have been termed strong.

And here you descend into the lowest form of tribalism and conspiracy theorizing. Are you counting amongst your "3 regions" the same SW that voted for GEJ in 2011, and from which came his loudest supporters when northern politicians were insisting he step down rather than run for re-election? Is that the same region which still gave GEJ 45% of its votes despite the numerous corruption scandals and the unchecked spread of Boko Haram?

You really should be ashamed of yourself for descending to such depths of rank tribalism. That's the only explanation for talking about "regions" supposedly "vowing" to "frustrate" a government, as if 30 or 40 million people all got together in secret somewhere to plot against your faultless hero. That you can't even conceive of a politician winning or losing support on the basis of his track record says a great deal about the limitations of your thinking, so oriented is it to tribalistic talk of "regions" and whatnot.

Or should he have placed his few core loyalists in a sea of open and hidden disloyalists on the chopping block just to please a populace that didn't see beyond their nose when he wanted to remove subsidy or the same disloyalists?

You'd make a fine spin doctor in Donald Trump's team, with all your talk of "loyalists", as if political appointees don't hold a primary duty to the Nigerian electorate before any particular politician. Again, this just shows how blinkered your mindset is by Nigeria's tribalistic, "national cake" sharing mentality, according to which principles count for nothing, while "loyalty" counts for everything, even when it is to an incompetent crook who just happens to be "our kinsman" or "our son".

Omohayek can call GEJ's government corrupt, every government in Nigeria is corrupt including the present one, but never in his life should he call him weak and incompetent. That is completely untrue. For a minority civilian president, he was phenomenal.

-Lord

Rubbish, rubbish and again rubbish! Who are you to tell me or anyone else what I'm to do "in my life"? Who appointed you chief arbiter? And what's this nonsense about "every government in Nigeria is corrupt including the present one", other than an attempt at pretending that since corruption can never be completely eliminated it ought to be overlooked?

All you've spewed here is a pastiche of apologetic nonsense intended to cover your blind support for rank incompetence and thievery, and it's as transparent as day that you're doing so because you see GEJ as one of "your own", to be defended to the death purely on the basis of tribe alone, otherwise, you wouldn't keep bringing up that nonsense about his being a "minority civilian president", as if that excused overseeing an orgy of thieving even as an insurgency was spreading like wildfire in the north-east.

The unfortunate thing is that I nearly mistook you for one of the few intelligent and reasonably objective commenters on Nairaland, but in blindly defending a regime that virtually all international observers - including the NYT, the FT, the Economist, Transparency International, the UK government, and now, the Italian legal system - damned for its festering corruption, you've disabused me of any illusions I might have had about you.

linuxuser:
The rotational agreement was never suspended at no time and Jonathan knows that. He became president by coincidence and he knows that too. Jonathan also knows that he is a lightweight politician and that if not for Obasanjo he won't even be vice president in the first instance. People should know their limits. Obasanjo spent 8 years. As at the time Jonathan took over, it was still the turn of the north to hold the presidency but the north conceded 2011 to him to enable him to serve his country. Jonathan himself knows that the north was agitating to get back the presidency come 2015. Why did he take so much time for him to declare his intention to contest in 2015? If the rotational agreement was suspended why would some people be against him?

Osunbajo will never be the presidential candidate of any party even if anything happens to the dullard Buhari. If Osunbajo wants to be president he is free to do that but it will never be automatic for him under APC. Osunbanjo will never even win his village election not to talk of the country. The benefit of the doubt that Jonathan got in 2011 will never be extended to Osunbajo no matter how good boy he tries to be.

The North did not concede 2011 to him. Stop trying to revise history.

The South outgunned the North and enlisted the support of the North Central.

In 2015, the North made it a do-or-die affair. The North Central was warned and the SW was coerced to abandon the Southern Alliance.

How can you say the SS was given the presidency on a platter of silver by the North. The North underestimated the Southern resolve and paid dearly. Because both Ribadu and Buhari fielded Yoruba candidates.

In 2015, they played their cards well and got Buhari elected. They never wanted GEJ to rule for one day.

The fact that Osinbajo would not win any election in 2019 if he contests is not because it is Northern zoning, it is because the North has experience in this situation and are vastly prepared in this situation. Furthermore, the Southern Alliance had been shattered beyond repair in 2015. So, there's no way the SW can upset the North like the SS did in 2011.

If the SW hadn't been myopic in 2015 and the saboteurs in PDP who were all in on the Northern conspiracy, GEJ would have won. He would have handed over to the North in 2019, with the Southern Alliance becoming the undisputed dictator of political careers in Nigeria.

Now the realization is haunting the SW because they realize Osinbajo may not take over if anything happens to Buhari, and they know that even if they cross that hurdle, 2019 is the final bus stop. The prize for breaking the alliance is that the North now dictates political careers.

So I maintain what I said, NW mandate was suspended when Yar'Adua died, and the SS would have returned their mandate in 2019. The North was never comfortable and impatient that we had a Southern minority president so soon in the country's democracy.

-Lord

DelGardo:


Any practical examples of how Buhari is stifling his ministers? From where I am standing Aisha, the NPA boss, does not appear to be shackled in any conceivable way, neither is Fashola nor was Amina Mohammed, for instance.

[1] Buhari's aversion to privatization shackles what can be done with the NPA, which would be better off in the hands of private international operators, just as the airports would be much better run if sold to private companies like the ones running London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Standsted airports.
[2] Buhari's refusal to allow the Naira to float has severely crippled the inflow of foreign investment, which is badly needed as the $1 billion that was allocated to Fashola's ministry for all of Nigeria is less than what was spent on a single train terminal in London, or half the amount spent on a single airport in Japan's Kansai region. Nigeria needs spending on the order of $40-50 billion just to make up its infrastructure deficit, yet people expect Fashola to perform miracles with the little he's given?

In my view no minister should hang their poor performance on Buhari's heavy hold. Because, if his relationship with Osinbajo is anything to go by, Buhari's trusts and respects competence and integrity.

Oh, is it Buhari's "trust" and "respect" for "competence" and "integrity" that made him ignore Ibe Kachikwu's repeated advice to deregulate the price of fuel, leading to needless long queues everywhere, or Kachikwu's suggestion to sell off the refineries, rather than wasting more money on "turn around" maintenance that never achieves anything?

Well... your belief in Soludo, as an leader, even without having held a national political leadership position, as well as your baseless depiction of highly competent El-Rufai as an ethnocentric leader, topped by your glowing (relatively) comments on the monstrosity called OBJ says a lot about your inclination.

On the contrary, these comments of yours are the ones that are revealing, as they show you to be just another tribalistic Nigerian incapable of the slightest objectivity. You have to be blind to see me blame Obasanjo for foisting weak leaders on Nigeria in an effort to continue pulling the strings in secret, and consider that "glowing": anybody who can see something positive in accusing Obasanjo of wrecking Nigeria's future for his own selfish purposes is the sort of addled tribalist who would happily insist that 2+2=5 if it suited his ethnocentric biases.

As for your claim that there's something "baseless" about calling El-Rufai an ethnocentrist, you must live in a different universe from mine, one where the man never openly said on Twitter the following:

We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.

https://twitter.com/elrufai/status/224577000218689537

and who didn't later reward Fulani nomads for killing people in southern Kaduna by paying them off:

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/weve-paid-fulani-stop-killings-southern-kaduna-el-rufai/

To a shameless tribal bigot like you, I doubt anything could ever count as an indictment of El-Rufai in your eyes.

Thumbs up for VP. He is carrying out his duties effectively. Do dull moments. See photos of the prison that has air conditioner and rooms for s33x
http://www.updatesflow.tk/2017/05/see-luxurious-prison-that-has-rooms-for.html

Active President!

weldone sir

The Mere commissioner turned coordinator should take it easy with giving orders so as not to annoy the cabal o