I recently read a post here on nairaland about yar'adua being a very honest man. I also learnt that he had about 7 billion in the state coffers (naira or dollars I don't know).

Is he not an absolute waste of space?

No good roads, no proper health systems, no resorts, absolute waste of good money.

What is the use of money when it is only allowed to gather dust and depretiate in value.
What is the use of money if it is stored in a foreign land (I dont know if he did this)

I came to a conclusion that he is visionless and would lead Nigeria to the gallows.
A visionless man is better dead than alive.

At Least Hes Something. Even If It Be A "Curse".

Now Tell Us. Who Art Thou?

stranger12:

I recently read a post here on nairaland about yar'adua being a very honest man. I also learnt that he had about 7 billion in the state coffers (naira or dollars I don't know).

Is he not an absolute waste of space?

No good roads, no proper health systems, no resorts, absolute waste of good money.

What is the use of money when it is only allowed to gather dust and depretiate in value.
What is the use of money if it is stored in a foreign land (I don't know if he did this)

I came to a conclusion that he is visionless and would lead Nigeria to the gallows.
A visionless man is better dead than alive.

At least is in the state coffer not in his pocket,
i dont know where you gather your info about his state but you do more research.
are you one of the rebels (AC)

Pain:

At Least Hes Something. Even If It Be A "Curse".

Now Tell Us. Who Art Thou?

stick to the topic

would you not complain if your father refuses to send you to school despite having inherited millions from your grandfather?

Donald Duke did better for his state and for Nigeria. He knows the use of money. You guys need leaders with visions.

You're wrong.

While it might be true that Donald Duke is much more "glossy", younger, hipper, and generally had more exciting development programs, Yar'Adua still managed a sound governance agenda including the building of over 200 schools in Katsina state, building roads, and strategic bridges.  You've got to realize that each state must use its resources (human or natural) in a way that highlights its comparative advantages.  Tinapa would not work in Katsina.  Katsina is essentially a quite, conservative and generally peaceful state.  Yar'Adua recorded some successes in fighting desertification, which if not checked, threatens Nigeria as a whole.

If I'm worried about anything, it's that Yar'Adua will find it difficult to envision himself and will have to depend on younger, enthusiastic but proven individuals of high calibre.  This is in contrast to Obasanjo who appointed a few technocrats like Dora, Ribadu, NOI, etc. but pretty much saturated his cabinets with worthless psychophants such as Kema Chikwe, Fani Kayode, Nweke, Borishade, etc.

Give the man a chance! Better be optimistic and constructive for a better tomorrow.

Yar'Adua's Record as Katsina State Governor - Reuters

KATSINA, Nigeria (Reuters) - The poor farmers, camel herders and market traders of far northern Katsina state give their governor credit for new roads and schools but few are so impressed that they want him to be Nigeria's next president.


Umaru Yar'Adua, who is little-known beyond the remote expanse of semi-desert he has governed for almost eight years, emerged as the ruling party's presidential candidate last month.
This makes him the front runner to succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo at the helm of Africa's most populous country and biggest oil producer after elections in April.

Back home in Katsina, there is little enthusiasm.
"He has tried. But in my village we still have no water and no power," said Dalha Tasiu, a subsistence farmer, as he loaded jerrycans of brown water from a stagnant reservoir onto an ox-drawn cart. He was taking the water home for drinking.


Asked who he would vote for in April, Tasiu did not hesitate: "Buhari," he said.
Muhammadu Buhari, a former army dictator who is also from Katsina, is a top opposition candidate. It was much easier to find Buhari supporters than people who would vote for Yar'Adua.

Elders say this is partly because the governor is reclusive.
"He has kept to himself. People complain that they don't know him, they don't see him. He is not accessible," said Ibrahim Coomasie, a respected state elder who knows Yar'Adua.


Many Nigerians are convinced Obasanjo backed the discreet Katsina governor so he could continue to pull the strings after the elections, but Yar'Adua's supporters and critics in his home state agreed that he would be no puppet.
Opponents called him headstrong while loyalists preferred the word resolute. Civil servants said he was a micro-manager who had ultimate control over what went on in every department.

Born in 1951, Yar'Adua comes from a famous political family.
His father was a minister in the first government after independence and his older brother was number two in Obasanjo's military regime in the late 1970s. Umaru Yar'Adua was a chemistry teacher until he went into business, then politics, in the 1980s.

MIXED PICTURE

Katsina is a traditional, Muslim state and one of the poorest in Nigeria. Farmers grow millet, sorghum, or beans in tiny plots dotted around the flat, barren landscape. They live in mud-brick villages, mostly without electricity or water.
More than a quarter of children die before their fifth birthday, according to the state's statistics from 2004.

Against this backdrop, Yar'Adua's record as governor offers a mixed picture. Everyone agrees he has built new roads and added much-needed classrooms to many schools, but critics say his administration has been disappointing in other key areas.

Yar'Adua says food security is a priority for Nigeria, but his government has not delivered it to Katsina. In 2005, foreign aid workers fed thousands of severely malnourished children in emergency camps in Katsina for months during a food crisis.

Almost no irrigation projects have come to fruition, while potable water remains in short supply. Even in the state capital, the taps run dry daily and residents rely on young boys who push carts loaded with jerrycans of water from boreholes.


The Jibiya dam and reservoir were built more than 15 years ago but not a drop of water flows through the network of cement irrigation canals because there is no fuel to run the pumps.

State government officials said the dam was a federal project and therefore it was not up to them to deal with it. But local farmers said the state government should have stepped in.

VALUE FOR MONEY?

Katsina's budget grew during Yar'Adua's time, as did other state budgets, thanks to high oil prices that boosted Nigeria's export revenues. The state's projected spending in 2006 was 41.3 billion naira ($322 million), 30 percent more than in 2005.

Yar'Adua's opponents said there was not enough to show for the money spent for eight years and the priorities were wrong.

The state government headquarters, a sprawling complex of air-conditioned offices powered by generators, is the most expensive project completed by the administration to date.


The total cost was $29 million, of which $17 million was contracted to Lodigiani, a company chaired by a cousin of Yar'Adua. The top civil servant in the state ministry of works -- also a cousin of the governor -- said the contract was signed before Yar'Adua's time and he just revived it when in office.

State house of assembly members complained the government had never presented audited accounts as required by law. The state finance commissioner said these would be ready soon.


The general hospital in the state capital boasts a new dialysis unit, but health workers questioned whether this was a priority in a state facing acute problems in basic healthcare.
They said the addition was perhaps connected to Yar'Adua's own health. He suffered from a severe kidney condition a few years ago although friends say he has recovered.

A gov who left 7 billion in the coffers of the state while Almajiris flood the street of Katsina is a governor who lacks ideas about how to tackle the problems at hand. What is the use of money in the coffers when Katsina is still one of the most under developed state in Nigeria? It is one of the few states that still boast of cases of wild Polio in Nigeria and are still exporting it to the outside world? Are you still wondering why the state gov, after 8 years still travel abroad to treat constipation?

So Nigeria would have 100billion dollars in reserves and the populace would be suffering no Light, bad roads no amenities and he would claim that he does not steal money

Reminds me of a story of a man who was saving, had a fat bank account and died of hunger

Despite all the bright colours the PDP tried to paint him with, we can see beyond the surface that he is just a siddon look governor Loads of money but no development.

i wont be surprised if he died during his tenure. i mean, the guy looks very fragile. last weeki saw him playing squash(a way of telling nigerians he is healthy).
a guy like that can be killed easily,yes they might suffocate him with a pillow.i will advise him to do to whatever he is told.

Nothing go happen to am. He will live long I promise you.

@Topic
AT least we have a graduate as a president for the first time.

lmao


Yu right.I see him as a man who will dance to their tune initially but opt out when he knows his way around and dt shld take some months.I dnt see him as one who will cross his legs dere and wait for PDP to rule the Country cos now hes under fire and he knows for him to be a success he needs to prove his critics wrong.I cant wait to see him come into power.

As for Goodluck i see him as one who wld turn around and bite Obasanjo the same way he did to Alam,  I still tink Donald wld have been d best choice but since dese guys are coming in we cnt help but support them and pray for the best.Since dey r educated they should know wats up.As a patroitic Citizen i wish dem well and pray for Gods direction to be on them.

yar'adua is another shagari.-yet another reluctant president who may well turn out to be obasanjo's man of straw.

its so unfortunate that all the elected presidents we've had in the history of the nation were either begged or cajoled to offer themselves up for service. from shagari through obasanjo's 2nd coming, up to yar'adua now.

how the heck then can they be expected to move us forward when they didnt actually have the fires of ambition and  purpose burning deep in their bellies?

they were all propped up to serve some selfish factional interests. they're all puppets and retards.

just dont want this thread to be one way

"He has tried. But in my village we still have no water and no power,"

Yup no power no water everywhere in the country not just katsina

Elders say this is partly because the governor is reclusive.
"He has kept to himself. People complain that they don't know him, they don't see him. He is not accessible,

theres no point giving people (selected by the elders) okada, bags of rice, cash and other thing like other governors especially when they have not done anything to deserve it! Atleast he/his administration gave out scholarships

Civil servants said he was a micro-manager who had ultimate control over what went on in every department.
Hmm he probably felt poeple were/have been taking the psss and were geenral not trustworthy enough to be left in charge! thats a good thing dont give out contracts you dont really care about

Yar'Adua's record as governor offers a mixed picture. Everyone agrees he has built new roads and [color=#000099]added much-needed classrooms to many schools, but critics say his administration has been disappointing in other key areas. [/color]
hmm like majority of governors in nigeria

Almost no irrigation projects have come to fruition, while potable water remains in short supply. Even in the state capital, the taps run dry daily and residents rely on young boys who push carts loaded with jerrycans of water from boreholes.
the place is a desert! like most parts of northern nigeria portable water is scarce! theres no point splashing out money just so you can be on NTA for a project that the will stop working the next day

The Jibiya dam and reservoir were built more than 15 years ago but not a drop of water flows through the network of cement irrigation canals because there is no fuel to run the pumps.
State government officials said the dam was a federal project and therefore it was not up to them to deal with it. But local farmers said the state government should have stepped in.

BIG ZERO for Effort!

Civil servants said he was a micro-manager who had ultimate control over what went on in every department.
Hmm he probably felt poeple were/have been taking the psss and were geenral not trustworthy enough to be left in charge! thats a good thing don't give out contracts you don't really care about

That his fragile health is going to be ruined faster than you can say 'contract' if he should for one day try to micromanage Nigeria.

True, Nigeria na something else

Like i said somewhere, he will be around sound and exposed proffessionals

Yar Adua abeg do us proud oh.

Thanks ooh 9ja4eva, because at this point, no matter how many protests or election tribunal petitions take place,

It is a given that Yar 'Adua will be sworn in as President on May 29th (Unless of course God wants otherwise).

So the best we can do right now is ask Yar 'Adua to do us proud as you have rightly stated 

Yes oh.He needs our support and prayersSomeone told me today dt hes a strong advocate of Sharia.(Is it true).If it is den we shld have enough Politicians with one hand cos he will cut their hands if they steal.It wldnt be bad though.

LOL

ziddy:

yar'adua is another shagari.-yet another reluctant president who may well turn out to be obasanjo's man of straw.

its so unfortunate that all the elected presidents we've had in the history of the nation were either begged or cajoled to offer themselves up for service. from shagari through obasanjo's 2nd coming, up to yar'adua now.

how the heck then can they be expected to move us forward when they didnt actually have the fires of ambition and  purpose burning deep in their bellies?

they were all propped up to serve some selfish factional interests. they're all puppets and retards.

you've hit the nail on the head!


There is no zeal for the job. Tony Blair was on fire when he came into office as PM of United Kingdom.

In Yar' Adua, I see complacency.

Siddon look will be his motto.

He is not driven. A president of such an active country as Nigeria needs to be active.

basically you want someone who will be on television with about 12 PR assistants huh?

In Yar' Adua, I see complacency.

based on what exactly? based on the fact that he looks calm and collected?
everyone cant be an oshomole* (the ex-labour guy), people lead in different ways

Atiku was hungry for the job does that mean he can actually deliver?

Dis Guy:

basically you want someone who will be on television with about 12 PR assistants huh?based on what exactly? based on the fact that he looks calm and collected?
everyone can't be an oshomole* (the ex-labour guy), people lead in different ways

Atiku was hungry for the job does that mean he can actually deliver?

its not based on his calm demeanor, its based on not being able to use up the budget allocated to his state

It is obvious Atiku is/was hungry for all the wrong reasons.
He was only trying to keep his arse away from jail when his immunity expires.

i give them my support and i just hope they do well.

His performance in katsina are proofs that the man is a dummy.If he recieves allocation from the federal government,all he does is to pay salaries and dump the remaining in the bank.The sick man should step down for Duke so that Nigeria would acheive the 2020 dream.

Putting the money in a bank is actually equivalent to giving it away. I don't know how to explain it, but it's true.

Siddon look will be his motto.

How about using the word "may" instead of "will", you are jumping the gun as he is yet to be sworn in.

@Seun

Putting the money in a bank is actually equivalent to giving it away. I don't know how to explain it, but it's true.

So is the money in your bank account mine now? Are we saying the $43billion in our external reserves have been
given a way? Please explain a bit more.

I will think the opposite is the case. Having more money or reserve places you in a better footing to finance bigger projects. It also makes it easier for you to convince partners overseas to invest their money in your projects. The
key is do you undertake projects for project sake or are they impactful projects? If Yar Adua lacks ideas, lets hope
he surrounds himself with people that have good ideas, at least his educational background gives him an edge in
understanding the potential benefits of those ideas.

Conversely, you can empty your treasury on meaningless or white elephant projects and in the end you will be left
with no reserves, abandoned projects, and less ability to even initiate key projects in the future. Take your pick.

Seun:

Putting the money in a bank is actually equivalent to giving it away. I don't know how to explain it, but it's true.

yea nigeria should use the so called reserve and build hospital, farms, and more refineries then

_{I really wonder sometimes if other governors basically use up the allocations and get some sort of loans from private and international firms to build infrastructures are not doing so at the expense of the the next administrator or FG with some over optimistic projects making waves with NTA and co}

Its so sad.With Goodluck as his vice we shld some positive changes

Seun:

Putting the money in a bank is actually equivalent to giving it away. I don't know how to explain it, but it's true.

Seun is right,

you will earn some little interest on your money but that interest is usually only a fraction of the gains it would have made for the bank itself. It is even worse if the bank is foreign based. The purpose of external reserves is to speak in dollars. You can't build a refinery with Naira only (even if is to be built in Nigeria).

There is a difference between keeping your money in a foreign bank and buying stakes/companies abroad.
Ideally, the latter is what external reserve is.

. . .off topic.
I'm ashamed with Atiku for using the dollar as tuition fees in his school.

@seun


you are wrong.

if you had 100 millionaire from this your website and you kept it in the bank and declared it you know alot of people will run and meet you for advice on how to run the business.

SINGAPORE 2 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE $128 Billion.

If you have a fat account people will be careful with you and want to do BUSINESS WITH YOU.

YOU MUST CAPITALIZE TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT.

Backslider:

@seun


you are wrong.

if you had 100 millionaire from this your website and you kept it in the bank and declared it you know alot of people will run and meet you for advice on how to run the business.

SINGAPORE 2 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE $128 Billion.

If you have a fat account people will be careful with you and want to do BUSINESS WITH YOU.

YOU MUST CAPITALIZE TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT.

I bet you think Singapopre's billion is cooling off in a current account in Lloyds Bank PLC.

Bad belle people una don come again,abeg make una leave the man alone,afterall he no steal the state money,as for him health,GOD GIVETH AND GOD TAKETH,leave that one for God.

Are we saying the $43billion in our external reserves have been given a way? Please explain a bit more.

The $43 billion in our the government's reserves = an interest-free loan to the entire dollar-spending world.
While any money in naira left in a state government's accounts = an interest-free loan to anyone who spends naira.
The moment the government chooses to spend that money, it's equivalent to asking for the loan to be repaid.