felifeli:
My best of Nollywood Yoruba are Liz Silva and Ibrahim Chatta. Both can act any role quite perfectly and naturally.

.
Ibrahim Chatta is part Nupe as well.

Does anyone here watch any YouTube streamer?

Staphylococcus:


Trump was given a detailed intelligence report with recommendation to shut down boarders. The economic impact was gruesome and why he neglected it.

When in read on Israeli times that USA gave them Intel in November last year, I was weak. This was a well planned out if ignorance.

If he had done earlier, The economy would be opened by now and the count can never be close to what's on ground now. Same economy you trying to protect has been grounded. So whats the gain of the delay. Now you have a crashed economy and high death and infected toll.

Let this pandemic pass over, I believe alot of revelations still in stock. America got Intel about this pandemic early enough. It was downplayed.

When he restricted flights from China, he was called Xenophobic. Even the media downplayed it, WHO said there is no person to person transmission. I tell you, handling a pandemic in a. Country like the USA is no mean feat, given the nature of the country and the fact that you don't want to come across as authoritarian.

Heyzee5:
Hi all. I was just thinking, from an economic perspective, is it advisable to share money to all Nigerians in this pandemic period? Won't that result in Inflation/HyperInflation? I am just looking at the economic angle of this.

I am aware that this is currently done in the US, but I just want to hear our opinions. I also understand that there is hunger in the land but, kindly note that this is merely a discussion before you bash me

Everyone is welcome to submit his or her opinions especially if you are an Economist in the house.

Thanks.

You deserve one chilled bottle of kunu for this question. If the stipend is just monies currently in the banks/system, then it may not necessarily lead to inflation. However, if the government does Quantitative easing by printing and injecting new monies into the system then inflation is possible.
Another possibility is artificial inflation when the economy resumes as prices may be hiked to make up for lost income.

Dshocker:


Stipends can't cause an inflation...

Actually, stipends can cause inflation if it is just monies printed from thin air as against monies in the government reserve.

mrvitalis:

Naira is not tied to gold or any precious metal...I said it u don't understand what a naira means

Bro, your comment was ambiguous. If you are backing up my pint then more power to you. I was indicating if the president wants to share 100k to all Nigerians today,he can and people will celebrate him for it. However, the ripple effect will be crazy especially with inflation going into overdrive given the fact the production levels are dropping due to the isolation and stay at home orders.
Why Can't the Government Just Print More Money to Get Out of Debt?
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/national-debt-guide/faqs/why-cant-government-print-more-money.html

mrvitalis:

Do u know what 1 naira really means ? ...if u do u won't say that rubbish u just posted up there

Hold up, do you have challenges with reading. I made a point and provided a counter argument to the point.
A government can print money it does not have if such currency is not tied to anything such as gold or precious metals. Printing money always usually leads to inflation since you aren't matching the money with goods and services.

GamalNasser:


They can't do it

That's the point I made, you wouldn't print money due to the cons outweighing the pros. The Federal Government will not deplete the little foreign reserves neither will it try to print money giving the rapid inflation currently in the country.

GamalNasser:
I hate unrealistic people wallahi , so at his age he doesn't know Nigeria cannot to afford to give all it's citizens 50k which amounts to over 10 trillion naira or 23billion dollars , does he realize the Buhari govt is looking for how to fund its over 10 trillion naira budget still?

Actually the Nigerian government can do it but it would come at a cost. Just print more money and credit accounts while we suffer for it in future. Printing money in ways such as this leads to hyperinflation.

The professor is asking the right questions. Buhari is setting a precedent here, with respect to declaring the restrictions in 2 states. I believe that the outcome may be different if the two states affected had governor's from a different party.

wowcatty:
Thanks for your concern but only Yoruba can set what is legal and operational in the security of their territory. It has to be one rule and It needs to start as regional and then chapters, while every governor pays for those under him and the governors can still be held responsible individually and together. The governors have agreed to do this together and that's what's important. Yoruba abroad should be asked to pay a certain amount every month to support this project because if Yorubaland is safe again, most will want to move back home.

I am fully Yoruba, but I want this to move beyond amotekun to a full blown state/city police.
Let's take an example of a similar regional setup, Ladoke Akintola University. We all know the struggles of finding and others issues that have bedeviled the university co-owned by Oyo and Osun states. The regionality should only be needed in the area of collaboration for interstate issues.
P.S: There are a few things the governors should have done before launch including passing legislation providing the modus operandi and logistics of the outfit. This would be needed in the event of a lawsuit by both the Federal Government and any other "aggrieved" parties. Even the criminals arrested may counter sue stating the outfit that arrested them is "illegal".
We have to be forward thinking and not just think in the interim.

Conner44:


Amotekun members are being paid N13,500. Why wouldn’t they renegade and become full blown nuisances once their operation kicks off?

Don’t worry, it’s about to be proscribed

Source

FriendNG:
1. Every state in Nigeria is independent and there is nothing like regional force. Therefore each southwest state assembly should pass a bill establishing the security watch vigilante group.

2. Each state Amotekun must have a unique registered name (example: Lagos State Amotekun Security Watch, Oyo State Amotekun Security Watch etc).

3. Each state "Amotekun" should have it own individual leader. (Although leaders from different states can have a forum just like Governors forum to exchange ideas)

4. Amotekun members of a particular state cannot work outside the state upon which they are recruited. Example: An Amotekun member of Ekiti state cannot make an arrest or any other security function in Ondo state.

In summary Amotekun cannot be a regional force but state force, unless the constitution is amended for regionalization. In such a case the Southwest House of Representatives will establish it own regional security.

This is the way to go. Not only legally but operationally. By making it a state based outfit, the governor of the state will be held responsible, also the operations in terms of salaries and equipment may differ across states. Lagos State may decide to pay 40k while Oyo state may decide to stick to minimum wage.

WiLdFLame:
You jokers; Ayo Adebanjo, Okunromu and co should please shut up when it comes to Tinubu on this matter. We Omoluabis are very wise and aware of the games you selfish elders are playing..PLAYING POLITICS WITH OUR LIVES

Amotekun being a good measure has been BASTARDIZED IMMEDIATELY THE AFENIFERE and 2023 PRESIDENCY REGIONAL/CABAL PUPPET FAYEMI /schemers hijacked it. This is more of a political scheme than what it’s meant for..it’s dicey now since you all now made it political, something which was meant to be for the whole southwest. It’s the best blackmailing coven hatched by the Tinubu antagonists since it was so easy for the afenifere and co to hijack it easily

Lagos and Ogun state being the cash cow here. Amotekun was rushed. Major stakeholders has not been consulted. Tinubu for one is very much indeed Involved in the Yorùbá Project, he’s calculative and reflective; a strategist..so when he’s reluctant to give his words on something..we should try to reason it in all way too not being one sided

Amotekun needs to be centralized unlike the shit those selfish governors came up with and control taken away from the governors but semi regulated by the them..each Amotekun should stay in their domain of operations until concrete plan is made to go around this....This is more of a political strategy to the governors. So as an Omoluabi. I’m on the fence for now until how Amotekun is to be controlled and afenifere and co not allowed to hijack it.


P.S : Majority of the comments above andbelow me are from Online Ibos ..Tinubu is a man they love to hate so expect more mastubating and name calling of Tinubu person here by them. Isn’t it funny and dicey they have been so involved in the Amotekun of a thing even than the Omoluabis themselves. Kanu preaching hate agains us all of a sudden wants to provide 1 millions volunteers. We all see through y’all games. Igbos sef don hijack Amotekun

I mostly agree here, let each governor move a bill to the state house. Then, modalities for interstate collaboration can be make subsequently.

ITbomb:
For the Hisbah, they were legalized by their respective State Houses of Assembly.
Sometimes we need to be objective.

The Western governors have realized this and they are making efforts to get their respective HOA to pass a bill on that.

That way it will be a stalemate if it gets to court

The challenge is the pseudo-regional structure of amotekun. Each of the 6 states should have separate units with some form of headquarters. By making it states based, each governor can cater to the different needs of each state while the hq can handle information and strategy for interstate crimes and disputes.

Realdeals:


The machines that run on fossil fuels are manufactured by who? The manufacturers are making their intentions of shifting to renewable energy known, you are giving excuses. Do you think they care about Africa?

Renewable energy is still in its infancy and would take maybe an extra decade before it is viable. For developing economies, they do no have the luxury of spending the little they have on renewable energy/engines which are more expensive then fossil fuels.
The premise of my argument is not about the US or the developed economies, it is focused on developing economies like Africa and SouthEast Asia. Going green is not an issue, paying for green is the issue.

Anambralstson:
The world is in the middle of moving to clean energy transition, while Nigeria is building world largest Petroleum refinery.

Don't run before you walk. Fossil fuels were key in fuelling economic growth in the West and will be key to driving Africa's growth thus decade.
Renewables are good but expensive .

0monnak0da:

Efficiency must be reflected in financial statements.
Let us look at profitability from a different accounting perspective.
As a going concern trains need to be cleaned and serviced t
he whole business has costs. Will it sustain itself? We must not forget it is being paid for in dollar denominated loans
How will it be repaid?
Prayerful desire for knock on development will not provide the dollars to repay the loan.

We have seen naive exuberance calling itself optimism before.
Being optimistic does not mean the same vision.
I think passenger trains at this time are an unaffordable unmanageable luxury.
We should be spending most of our money on educating and or training our young people.
If we must have trains let them focus on using them commercially for the time being. Also they should be concessioned because we know government cannot run them and are building them with no vision for management

I will assume you are an economist or accountant with your use of financial terms. There are 2 ways to address your concerns and I have expatiated on one way which will be to treat the project as a public good with the possibility of stimulating economic growth in the southwest region. The economic growth across the 3 states will ultimately reverberate across the nation.
The other option will be to strive for financial productivity in order to repay the loan, not that transport infrastructure have payback duration longer than 2 decades. As someone who is very anti-central government, I wouldn't mind the rail system taken over by Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states with the possibility of outsourcing the management to a private company.
At the juncture, I rest my case

0monnak0da:


Public good is an ASSUMPTION

It is not necessarily true
Rail is most efficient means of transport you claim
Another sweeping ASSUMPTION
By what metric is rail MOST EFFICIENT
What does efficient mean exactly
When you go through life without analysis and have so much faith in dogma you become lazy intellectually.
There is NO PLAN for this project other than to complete in ,cut the tape and take the photos.
Immediately the decay will commence .
It is not necessarily a good thing
Technically it is not viable because we lack the human capital and no strategy to develop that
Financially it is not viable because there is no management plan or strategy

It is just something to do to show activity but the conceptualization is flawed on many levels

Efficiency: http://theconversation.com/rail-travel-is-cleaner-than-driving-or-flying-but-will-americans-buy-in-112128
https://www.aar.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/AAR-Environmental-Benefits-Movig-Freight-by-Rail.pdf
https://ib.deutschebahn.com/ib2016/en/group-management-report/group-performance-environmental-dimension/progress-in-climate-protection/energy-efficiency-increased/
Public Good: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good_(economics)
This is not dogma and don't get me started on analysis or research.
Let me recap:
1: I am not a fan of central/big governments, I prefer this project be owned by the 3 states it passes through and the managed be done privately.
2: Rail is far efficient that cars and flights, there are numerous articles supporting that claim. I also added, that the routes can be shared with cargo trains on a nightly schedule as obtains on some routes in the USA.
3. Many of the infrastructures (especially transport) in Nigeria are public goods in the sense that there is no real direct profitability, however these public goods create indirect profitability to the economy at large. The rail way it self can easily lead to the developments of new towns and cities in areas near the tracks.
Some of the points you made are very pessimistic and I am optimistic about the growth of the country and projects such as these will go a long way into showing the rest of the country that we can make changes in out little way.

0monnak0da:


It will improve productivity is speculation
How will it operate as a business
That is the elephant in the room
Nigerian government bodies have repeatedly proven their ineptitude and corruption anywhere there us revenue.
Putting concrete and steel together is just the start
Already we hear of racketeering on the Lagos Kaduna route that only just started.
Eventually government will be forced to privatize especially when the loans fall due.
This is not a viable business with any concretel financial return to pay off the loan
Just speculative and nebulous gains like

" improve the productivity of the region"
Human capital is what improves productivity and we are not investing in that.

When the British left us we were transporting 11 million people a year by rail see what happened afterwards.

Having trains like this carrying passengers is a nice looking thing.


It will lose money
It will not bring developments unless it focusses on transportation of goods primarily

Bro, I am no fan of government, in one of my earlier posts I recommended that the ownership be transferred to the 3 states that the rail crosses.
Productivity will increase since rail is the most efficient means of transport. I don't have to worry about traffic or pot holes etc.
Profitability is a catch 22 situation, very few rail lines globally are close to been profitable, hence why I suggested the term Public Good. Privatization may be a good option for management only and not ownership.

0monnak0da:

Y
My point is that passengers are not economically viable in Nigeria and essentially are a white elephant project from tha perspective

Ah airport maybe be constructed for passenger and converted to cargo use if the numbers do not add up

When the British brought the rail to Nigeria and indeed when rail was invented it was for cargo originally.
Passenger rail came later as society became more prosperous

In my opinion there is too much poverty in Nigeria to make the passenger side viable. I hope I am wrong

Yes, cargo trains and passenger trains can share the same track as obtains in the USA. Also, with respect to profitability, some projects can be run as a public good without the prospect of any profits in near future. However, Nigeria as a nation will profit through indirect means since it will improve general productivity of the SouthWest region.

0monnak0da:
I think rail for goods /commercial freight will be more viable.
I wonder how much the average commuter would be prepared to pay and whether that makes business sense considering what we borrowed.
How would the loan be repaid?
Not by the likes of those sitting in those pics for the next 30 years.

It needs to be run like a business otherwise in future I see it being privatized at huge loss to the taxpayer

Cargo trains can use the rails at Night.

Vanhooijdonk:

It is true that 99% of road projects are inflated in Nigeria. And at the end of the day most of the contract sum will still be looted and they will still deliver sub-standard road.

Do you Namibia with a larger landmass than Nigeria and with an annual budget of $4 billion dollars a year has the best road network in Africa.

Namibia is smaller than Nigeria, it is more arid, plain, less populated. These factors are important in road construction and maintenance.

9jaRealist:


Perhaps you should follow your own counsel on the highlighted...

Nigeria is NOT be the first country to have tolled roads and/or bridges. Even in most (if not all) of the advanced economies where tax compliance is actually much GREATER than in Nigeria, toll roads (and all manner of usage taxes) exist.

Meanwhile, this bridge currently does NOT exist and if a private entity takes the investment risk of raising the capital (most of which will likely be in the form of DEBT from banks, etc.), it deserves to recoup its investment by tolling the road.

Not sure where you got the "double taxation" theory from. If the FG charges for the new trains being put into use, would that be double taxation? If Lagos charges for the new Light Rail or LagFerry or BRT, is that double taxation?

A NEW tolled road is substantively no different from VAT (or other consumption/usage tax). You don't buy VAT-covered goods, you don't pay VAT!
>

I want to agree with your summary, I just feel that tolls should not be too much to cause a huge dent in pockets. O
Also, the alternate routes should be developed as well.

slimderek:
I hope for all our sakes this doesn’t go the way of Ajaokuta

It's private so we expect it to happen.

Racoon:
Nawa o! What is going on in the US.Guess they really need this gun-control law?

Gun control law for what? Shouldn't they rather solve the underlying issues of lack of opportunities and lack of fatherly leadership in the inner cities? Do you think criminals care about laws? Cure the sickness not the symptoms.

This thread in spite of attempts to detail has actually been insightful. Lagos has to build this bridge given that the 3rd Mainland bridge was build over 30 years ago. Given the private funding model, I expect the toll to be implemented to give ample time for the recoup of funds maybe 20-30 years.

That section of the line seems to be the most difficult due to the terrain and the built up structures around. I believe that the 2021 timeline is a possibility, I just hope that it will be properly managed.

Rossikk:


I keep telling folks that Nigeria is not a rich country. Our annual budget is 35 billion USD, whlle South Africa's is 125 billion USD. The oil income is not enough. We need to diversify.

Unless we sell our soul to China, it would be an uphill task to increase our budget.
I really want to see this blue line kick off and hope that it will be managed appropriately. Imagine Okokomaiko to Marina in 40 mins, that will reduct the traffic along the whole axis down to Iganmu. I also agree with the fact that we are not a rich nation given our population and annual budget such that cutting salaries to the top senators and governors may not necessarily make any significant change to our spending power.

Gerrard59:


Apt!

It's the reason why there are less F500 companies in Sweden or Norway compared to the US or Japan even on per capita basis.

However, I must say that overall, Nigerians pay low taxes than their counterparts in other parts of the world. I saw a tweet comparing tax rates across the world and to be honest, even as a free market proponent and an avowed supporter of low taxes for individuals, I was stunned by our personal income tax rate compared to other countries. Although, that of CIT is high, it's fairly OK compared to other nations. My issue with this statement is that these taxes aren't used judiciously and even if so, they are spent on inflated projects. Regarding the analogy that higher taxes = increased development and/or a more vocal civil society, I don't see that in Lagos or Akwa Ibom.

Lest I forget:

- Ogbeni Rauf is a low budget Karl Marx.
- NO rich person will pay any tax. Such an individual will simply contact some of the best accountants, lawyers, real estate agents etc and japa either investments or self to low taxed environments.

The challenge is Nigeria's budget is too small to do anything tangible. Using the US as an example, 13 states do not have state income tax but make that up with higher property, gas or sales tax. I would like the tax code to be revised and make it easier to capture the informal sector. On the flip side, an increase in say corporate tax may lead to higher prices of good and services.

surgical:
dangote is a government backed monopolist

I am not a fan of monopolies but what is the alternative? The nation continues to bleed in the name of paying subsidies.

surgical:
in Nigeria you don't compete with dangote,you won't have the opportunity

Kindly expatiate on this point. Remember that refineries are run quite differently from cement factories.