Although we may have more than $40 billion in external reserve and less than $5 billion in foreign debt, we seem to unable to use our wealth to transform the lives of our people. We rank low even among poor countries of the world. On infant mortality, for instance, we share the table with Chad, Niger, Haiti, and Cambodia. In maternal mortality, we are at par with Haiti and worse than neighbouring Niger.
The Guardian Editorial “Nigeria’s High Infant Mortality Rate” on Friday January 31, 2007.

I advise all Nigerians to take time to read this very important and significant editorial on the abysmal state of the health of majority of Nigerians since President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as the executive President of Nigeria on May 29, 1999 to date.

Is it not ironical that while we are commending and extolling the exemplary service of Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili, the Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), who has done so much to save Nigerians from the distribution of fake drugs, we are still recording the worst infant mortality rate and the worst maternal mortality rate?

The administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo is even worse than the administration of the military junta of the late tyrannical dictator Gen. Sani Abacha.

The ruling party of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of Nigeria is one of the worst political parties in the history of Africa and has committed the worst political atrocities in Nigeria since the Second Republic. And it is our civic duty to vote such an inhuman political cabal out of office. Therefore, we must sack the PDP from office, lest the PDP will continue to destroy Nigeria.

The political devils in the PDP have perpetrated the worst political evils as witnessed in the political history of Nigeria since the Second Republic. And if we do not destroy these evils, they will destroy us.

The sooner we sack the PDP the better and safer Nigeria would be.

God save Nigeria.

If PDP is voted out of power which party do you suggest should be voted in?

Do we really have alternatives that we can trust based on promises or past projects?

Do not also forget that the majority of the candidates in the other parties will readily dump their parties if they are given any opportunity to become the flag bearers of the PDP in any elective post.

Afam,
Let us give others the chance.

PDP has failed woefully.

We cannot let the PDP wreck Nigeria.

Orinkinla,

Who are the others and what are the parties?

I do not believe in change for the sake of it.

Unless there are alternatives that are better than what the PDP is doing today I prefer a Nigeria under the PDP than one with unpredictable consequences and expectations, we have gambled enough with our future in this country already.

lets try the ANPP or the chris okotie's party (i don't know the name of the party). PDP has been a waste of time. nothing has changed for good in the past 8 years and we have had enough of it, so its time we go for another party that will help us.

The PDP has no doubt as an entire party done partly well, This is the truth.
But, when we consider all the injustices done during this past 8years, we may realy need to have a re-think as to bringing them back to power.

The national chairman has not being much of any help anyways, as he continues to run his month like a tap gone bad. Aside, the issues of the State primaries of the PDP has just told their story the way it is. there is simply no transparency in this government, yes, EFCC has done well, NAFADC has done very well, but aside 4rm this onces, the road stil remains bad, even d one leading 2 Obj. home town is nothing to write home abt.

I believe what nigeria needs is Change. and that includes a change in fed. government even if we decide to leave pdp in Ogun state. The candidate for d election, Yar'dua is simply informing nigeria that ahamdu ali continues 2 rule the country, along side his other god-fathers.

Who then shd we vote for? frankly, no idea!

Dr. Pat Utomi is there.

Do you imagine a Southern presidential candidate winning the next election considering the current clamour for power shift or rotational presidency?

Based on this, I think it will be too simplistic to be paying to much attention to the presidential candidates from the south at this point in time.

Afam,
Please, read this first Nigeria 'squandering' oil riches .

The Northern Oligarchy only wins the elections, because they have used their dominant Islamic religion and feudalism to cheat and exploit their poor majority and always fool them to vote for only their fellow Muslims even if the Muslim candidates are not better than devils.

If we continue like this, there will be another civil war before 2012.

The Islamic religion has been used by Northern leaders to perpetuate their corrupt leadership and we may need another Chukwuemeka Kaduna Nzekwu to overthrow them again.

Personally both our Christian leaders and Muslim leaders have compromised their faith and if I have my way, I will line them up with their corrupt patrons in the corridors of power and execute them in public.

The PDP has manipulated the the National census and voters registration for their master plan to rig the coming elections and if they get away again, Nigeria would be worse.

We need a Jerry Rawlings in Nigeria.

Good job Orikinla!
This is a very credible analysis based on fact. And it comes from no other than one of Nigeria's most noble newsprint organisation The Guardian. Their editorials have been very thorough and absolutely objective since independence.

That said, the PDP have failed and we all know though we do not all agree. We must vote them out. The ANPP are not an alternative now since their candidate is someone who has no respect for human dignity. In his period of governance, humans were treated with the least respect and he had no apology whatsoever. The truth remains that he basically does not believe in democracy and by his track record we cannot trust him.

Atiku is quite corrupt and desparate now. There are two options in Nigeria now that have sound minds- Fresh Democratic Party whose candidate is Chris Okotie and Pat Utomi of the African Democratic Party (I'm not really sure of his party).

Any of this two should be the better option for the federal level (i.e. the presidency). They have addressed issues in their campaigns and they have love for the people. Vote along these lines.

Orikinla,

The issue of rotational presidency or power shift is something that must be looked into with all sense of seriousness even though to me they are not democratic principles, yet ignoring them or wishing them away will not make sense.

The idea of hoping to see another southern president emerge for a possible 8 years is something I believe won't happen.

It is all about being a realist and not just basing my discussion on theory or idealism.

Enjoy. With time we shall get there but for now, we must all work towards building a united Nigeria.

Orikinla:

Afam,
Let us give others the chance.

PDP has failed woefully.

We cannot let the PDP wreck Nigeria.

who are the others exactly i just saw on the news some candidates are changing political parties; the elections are about 2-3 months away aren't they?

are you sure they are not fooling you too

This is hot and empty air. Of all the evils of PDP, infant mortality is what you're complaining about?
So PDP's greatest sin is that Nigerian doctors are incompetent? I didn't know that PDP was a hospital.

PDP led government continue to squander and pilfer the nation dry despite all the EFCC hoopla. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6316771.stm

PDP is a very corrupt party,out of all the governors impeached only Peter Obi's case is not fraud but the rest,even the president,take alook at their primaries,it has turned to a family affair,peoplelike Bode George bringing his latest wife Roli,Ali bringing his wife,what a mad party.

Seun:

This is hot and empty air. Of all the evils of PDP, infant mortality is what you're complaining about?
So PDP's greatest sin is that Nigerian doctors are incompetent? I didn't know that PDP was a hospital.

Seun,
Sometimes, you are really disappointing.

Are you not educated enough to analyze the salient points of the editorial and the latest report on corrupt practices by the PDP?

If Dr. Pat Utomi can convince the traditional rulers in the North and South, he can win.
The traditional rulers influence the masses more than the politicians. But, the Northern leaders said Obasanjo made a pact with them to return the Presidency to them and they have to rule for two terms before handing over to the South again.

Personally, I don't want any Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo to become President.
I want a credible leader from the South-South.

I have never seen pat utomi outside lagos, but the guy wants to leade[b] nigeria[/b]
tell him to do the walk like everyone else staying put in the south and speaking phd oyinbo is not it, tell him t come to sokoto and kafanchan my village to explain why he thinks he can rule nigeria, all this oyinbo kpraaaaaa he is speaking to ndi-igbo in southern nigeria wont win him shi shi

this is politics not some theisis- tell him

But, the Northern leaders said Obasanjo made a pact with them to return the Presidency to them and they have to rule for two terms before handing over to the South again.

i thought that was the whole pdp agreement not just obansajo 

I want a credible leader from the South-South.

List 10 5 credible "leaders" from the south-south

who is Pat Utomi's running mate?

Orikinla:

Personally, I don't want any Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo to become President.
I want a credible leader from the South-South.

Sounds more like the tribal/ethnic sentiments that seems to be dividing the country more than uniting it.

I had thought the present generation were more interested in meritocracy.

Our journey as a nation still far be dat.

I dont believe in party politics rather I have a strong sentiment for personality. My support for Yar'adua is never because he belongs to PDP but because he has good antecedents compared to Buhari and Atiku. Anybody calling Nigerians to vote out PDP has misplaced his prorities. Buhari is undemocratic, a Jihadist and a religious fanatic; Atiku is corrupt; Yar'adua is neither religously fanatical nor corrupt, then he is the best candidate among the three frontliners we have today.

, Atiku is quite corrupt and desparate now. There are two options in Nigeria now that have sound minds- Fresh Democratic Party whose candidate is Chris Okotie and Pat Utomi of the African Democratic Party (I'm not really sure of his party).

Any of this two should be the better option for the federal level (i.e. the presidency). They have addressed issues in their campaigns and they have love for the people. Vote along these lines.

Chris Okotie, a man who could not manage his marriage and opted for a divorce is not capable of ruling a complex entity such as Nigeria.

Pat Utomi is a technocrat who I strongly believe will perform better as a member of the Federal Executive Council in the capacity of Minister.

donnymikky:


Chris Okotie, a man who could not manage his marriage and opted for a divorce is not capable of ruling a complex entity such as Nigeria.

Pat Utomi is a technocrat who I strongly believe will perform better as a member of the Federal Executive Council in the capacity of Minister.

how many wives has OBJ? was he able to manage his so many marriages and family b4 he became president? if u dont have better things to say just keep quite and stop writting people off without reason.

PDP as a party has failed us badly but as it is now we all know they are still going to rigg their way through and wont allow better candidates to win. PDP as a party has no interest in nigeria and nigerians else why not take yaradua and donald duke as his running mate? why must it be goodluck jonathan whose wife was involed in a $1.5 million scandal shortly after becoming governor. PDP is not a party for us but we just have to keep sitting and watching them destroy our nation. how sad

Still on Okotie, this man is the chairman of his political party and at the same time the presidential candidate of that party, abi hin never hear of organisation/division of labour before?

How can one person run everything just like his church that does not have/entertain branches?

Yar'adua must be very very good for even his opponents not to have any negative thing to say about him apart from crying about OBJ recommending him and that he may not be as fit as a boxer as if say na fighting competition hin wan enter.

Hear me everybody, PDP ha ruled for some years now and the have showed Nigerian's the stuff the are made off, let other party rule and from there we can draw a line to compere the rulings of these parties who go about campagning and making noise in our streets, PDP has fail Nigerians. et's vote for other parties to see which has made more positive impact in Nigeria.

I don't think this is Afam and Ori's headache alone as I'm realy disappointed in this nation's poity as a whole!

The worst thing is that apart from Pat Utomi(technocrat) and Buhari (A die hard oppositionist) all other candidates are just making noise so that the almighty PDP will recognise them and offer them a dazzling Carrot.

We may swear to vote PDP out as evry one is trying,but are we not being fooled? I remember Enugu State where Party agents were working themselves to task to ensure the victory of their candidates only to hear that their candidates were writing result with the PDP,that was 2003 shaa.What a SHAME!!!!

But anyhow it'll turn out to be, I personaly will vote against the dreadful cult called the PDP  

Power in d hands of an infant is useless. This is d prob wit Nigerian masses. Who says a south-south can not be elected if there's someone from we can trust our fate wit? Who says we should vote 4 a party across board? If u prefer Okotie 4 presidency & Fash 4 gov, is there any law bannin u from votin Fresh 4 president & another party 4 gov. It's our future dat's at stake, let's get dat n enlighten people around us. Most importantly, shine your eyes. Dont allow electoral cannibals 2 rig dis election n plung us into another 8yrs of regression. (Pls see d thread 'Election 2007')

staloone:

Hear me everybody, PDP ha ruled for some years now and the have showed Nigerian's the stuff the are made off, let other party rule and from there we can draw a line to compere the rulings of these parties who go about campagning and making noise in our streets, PDP has fail Nigerians. et's vote for other parties to see which has made more positive impact in Nigeria.

this politics section sometimes read like the jokes section

Staloone, you are basically saying we should expirement huh lets see what other parties can do: what a joke
let other parties rule then we can draw a line lmao yea right. The best man for the job

lets remove labour and vote in liberal democrats eh, if they mess it up next time we wont vote for them lol

how many wives has OBJ? was he able to manage his so many marriages and family before he became president? if u don't have better things to say just keep quite and stop writting people off without reason.

Mazaje, You have the right to contribute to issues as much as i have but you lack the moral right to tell me to "keep quiet". If my contributions are not inline with your perception, the right thing to do is to give reasons why you "agree to disagree" with my point.s That is the beauty of Forum such as this!! I hope you know the right thing to do; I really hope you know!!

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Still on Okotie, this man is the chairman of his political party and at the same time the presidential candidate of that party, abi hin never hear of organisation/division of labour before?

How can one person run everything just like his church that does not have/entertain branches?

Yar'adua must be very very good for even his opponents not to have any negative thing to say about him apart from crying about OBJ recommending him and that he may not be as fit as a boxer as if say na fighting competition hin wan enter.

My brother I wonder o! NOT even just one person to point a finger at Yar'adua yet they say he is not good enough to be the next president of N I G E R I A, !Incredible!

Hear me everybody, PDP ha ruled for some years now and the have showed Nigerian's the stuff the are made off, let other party rule and from there we can draw a line to compere the rulings of these parties who go about campagning and making noise in our streets, PDP has fail Nigerians. et's vote for other parties to see which has made more positive impact in Nigeria.

Staloone so if you were to vote you will rather vote for a PARTY rather than vote for PERSONALITY? What a misplaced priority.

Anything PDP is a continuation of OBJ's government, so we do not want PDP again. Even if they are fielding[b] JESU KRISTI [/b] as their candidate we will not vote him as long as he is in PDP because OBJ may still be controlling him from Otta. PDP already have a bad reputation, so nothing for them. As usual they are already planning to rigg the 2007 elections.

Which party would have fared better, had they been elected to govern for the past eight years? In my opinion, judging by their composition, none! Infact they would have taken us back to the IBB era.
Events in Eastern Europe has proved that technocrats have been unable fare better and neither have Populists.

Anything PDP is a continuation of OBJ's government, so we do not want PDP again. Even if they are fielding JESU KRISTI as their candidate we will not vote him as long as he is in PDP because OBJ may still be controlling him from Otta. PDP already have a bad reputation, so nothing for them. As usual they are already planning to rigg the 2007 elections.

If this was said about MOHAMMED in Nigeria all muslims including you Ishmael will declare FATUAH on the person that said it.