Aircraft mishap in Nigeria can be prevented. President Jonathan's government must be proactive in ensuring that 2013 is not another year of rampant, avoidable aircraft mishaps.

SIX years after a Nigerian 18-seater Dornier 228 Air Force transport plane, carrying 15 senior army officers and three crewmembers crashed leaving only three survivors that sustained serious injuries on September 17, 2006, 2012 will go down in history as the year that recorded the most recurrence of plane crashes in the country since the first recorded incident, which happened on January 22, 1973, when Royal Jordanian Airlines flight 707, carrying 171 Nigerian Muslims returning from Mecca crashed in Kano, killing five crewmen.

Though air transportation is seen as the fastest and safest of the three forms of transportation; water, land and air, but it is not short of its disasters.

The first of five crashes that threw the country into national mourning this year was on Wednesday, March 14, when a helicopter conveying the newly promoted Deputy Inspector General of Police, Haruna John, with three other senior police officers crashed in Jos. The Police helicopter was to convey the officers from Jos to Abuja, and took off from the Jos prison field. However, after one and half kilometer of flight, it crashed into a house where the occupants were said to have escaped before the planed finally crash landed.

Just before Sunday, June 3, when the nation was thrown into mourning again as a Dana Airlines Flight 9J 992 carrying 153 passengers on board crashed into Iju-Ishaga, a densely populated residential area of Lagos, killing all passengers on board, a Nigerian cargo plane, attempting to take off from the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, crashed few hours earlier on Saturday night, killing 10 people and injuring an unspecified number of others. The plane smashed through the airport’s fence before slamming into cars and a bus loaded with passengers on a nearby street.

Four months after, precisely October 25, governor of Taraba State, Danbaba Suntai and five of his aides narrowly escaped death when a Cessna 208 aircraft marked 5N-BMJ and was piloted by Suntai, reportedly lost contact with the Yola Control Tower 38 miles to landing, after leaving Jalingo, the Taraba State capital and crashed into a hill in Adamawa.

Just when the nation thought they had seen an end to air crashes for 2012, the nation was jolted with the news of four persons, including Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State and former National Security Adviser to the president, General Owoeye Azazi, who were reportedly burnt in a helicopter crash that occurred in the forest of Okoroba community in Nembe local government of Bayelsa State.



HERE is a chronicle of some recent plane crashes in Nigeria.

December 10, 2005 – A Nigerian Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 crashes in Port Harcourt, killing all 103 on board. Most on board were school children going home for Christmas.

October 22, 2005 – A Nigerian Bellview Airlines Boeing 737 airliner with 117 people on board crashes and disintegrates in flames shortly after take-off from Lagos. All on board killed.

May 4, 2002 – Nigerian EAS Airlines’ BAC 1-11-500 with 105 people on board crashed and burst into flames in a poor, densely populated suburb of Kano killing 76 on board and 72 on the ground, a total of 148 dead.

November 7, 1996 – A Nigerian ADC (Aviation Development Corporation) Airline Boeing 727-231 flying from Port Harcourt to Lagos with 142 passengers and nine crew members crashed on landing, plunging into a lagoon with all on board killed.

November 13, 1995 – Nigeria Airways Boeing 737-2F9 crashes on landing in Kaduna killing nine.

June 24, 1995 – Harka Air Services Tupolev 34 crashes on landing in Lagos killing 16.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107842:2012-air-crashes-too-many-in-nigeria&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Johndoe100: She chose her puzzy over her life. Was that wise?

How do reprobates like Johndoe100 find their way to social sites like this!!!

"America, where babies will inherit the large debts of the boomer generation, languishes back in 16th place. Despite their economic dynamism, none of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) scores impressively. Among the 80 countries covered, Nigeria comes last: it is the worst place for a baby to enter the world in 2013."



Countries where a new born child in, 2013, have a better chance of leading a decent life than one born in Nigeria include the likes of Sri Lanka, Ecuador, India, Morocco, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Kenya.

http://www.economist.com/news/21566430-where-be-born-2013-lottery-life

Which way forward Nigeria!!!

If Nigeria were a ninety eight and a half year old man who is looking forward to his 100th birthday in 15 months' time, will you complain that he is frail, stooped, ponderous and absent-minded when he should be vigorous, strong, matured and well-ordered?

Since, somehow, the expectations of a human being's progression with age are inverted when it comes to a nation state, people expect a 100 year old country to be robust, steady, powerful, well-fed and well-led, hence the general disappointment with the state of Nigeria as it rapidly approaches its Centenary.

On January 1, 2014 we will be celebrating 100 years since Lord Lugard, a man who was many things in Britain, picked up his quilt pen and applied an eraser across a map of Nigeria. He erased the boundaries of kingdoms, caliphates, chieftaincies and autonomous communities, amalgamated all of them into one entity and launched them into a new life as one country. His wife Flora Shaw helpfully supplied the name "Nigeria" to aid his effort.

Did the experiment succeed? It depends on what the intention was. To be founded by a man who at one point in his eventful career was a British mercenary in Nyasaland may not look like good omen for a country. Old man Lugard probably was not thinking of a strong, united, harmonious political entity with an evolved national identity, a strong economy and an on-going political concern when he sat down to do his Amalgamation work. Uppermost in his mind was the desire to institute an outpost for the supply of cheap raw materials to the British Empire. He also saw the natives in the amalgamated land as potential consumers of British textiles, cutlery, earthenware, Raleigh bicycles, Rothmans cigarettes, Austin, Morris, Comer and Land Rover jeeps and trucks. That intention paid off handsomely and is still paying off, though some bigger imperial powers have supplanted the Brits over the years in reaping from Nigerian sweat.

Yet, as human enterprises so often turn out, Lord Lugard's creation made much progress in an unintended direction. That Nigeria became such a prominent demographic power in Africa and the dominant economic power in West Africa was probably not intended by Lugard. That Nigeria sometimes refused to dance when the imperial powers pulled some puppet strings must have annoyed Oga Lugard.

That millions of Nigerians relocated out of their tribal areas and resettled in other areas, leading to a thorough mixture of ethnic groups, the spread of languages and the evolution of some common national passions [football being the chief one] was hardly outlined by the Colonial Office.

Pretending to love it, in recent decades, the British and other Westerners have insisted that Nigeria must democratise, hold free and fair elections, respect human rights, eliminate corruption and generally institute 'good governance.' There are reasons to doubt their sincerity in this matter because in the 60 years in which the Secretary of State for the Colonies used to appoint rulers for Nigeria and its regions, they were not elected by any Nigerian. The Governor General, Regional Governors, Residents, District Officers and Assistant District Officers were not democratically elected, though they believed they were good and effective rulers.

Today, even though many people think poorly of us, Nigerians certainly have a very high rating of themselves and most Nigerians believe we should have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, casting a veto as regularly as the Russians say "nyet." Old man Lugard will not believe this.

The surprise there is, even as so many Nigerians overrate our standing in the international arena, they are full on complaints about our own worth and efficacy right here at home. Nigerians bitterly complain about what they call today's state of insecurity, even though life is more secure in the country today than it was 100 years ago, when slave raiders still lurked outside city gates. Most Nigerians will tell you that today's infrastructure is dilapidated, when in 1914 there was hardly an asphalt road anywhere in this country. So, on the day that Nigeria clocks 100 years, expect to see screaming newspaper headlines with vox pops saying "Nigerians lament state of the nation."

Who created the imaginary lamentable situation? Everyone thinks "they" did, not him. Nigeria's youth, who are demographically dominant today, are approaching the centennial with a collective feeling of betrayal.

They feel that they have not been given enough educational, recreational, inspirational and job opportunities.

The elders too feel betrayed, that their years of hard work as civil servants, rail labourers, postmen, police sergeants and Army corporals who fought in the Civil War were not rewarded. They accuse the youth of throwing away the good values inculcated in them in favour of foreign cultural values, including a passion for foreign football and foreign films, 419, wild parties, cultism and beige drinking.

Almost any Nigerian you ask will blame the leaders for problems, saying they are corrupt, inept, nepotistic etc. Listening to Nigerians talk, you often get the feeling that the leaders are aliens who fell from the sky.

The leaders themselves, if you manage to find them, would say the problem is that the followers are not following. Traditional rulers often say that their subjects are now off into many bad things and are not doing what they are told to do, as was the case in the olden days. Clerics, for their part, feel that today's flocks are no longer listening to preaching. Some upstart young priests often come up and upstage the Old Guard clergymen, rewriting the Divine message in the process. The Muslim clerical establishment, for example, is having serious trouble having its message of "Islam means peace" to be heard above the click, clank and boom of Boko Haram rifles and IEDs.

So, when it comes time on January 1, 2014 to mark 100 years since the Amalgamation of Nigeria, don't expect Nigerians to sit down in quiet contemplation and chart a course forward for the next 100 years. Expect to see instead a pan-Nigerian congress meeting marked by endless finger-pointing, multi-directional name calling, mutual recriminations, equal opportunity blame-apportioning, and collective self pity.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201210010340.html

By the time the senators have sucked the nation's coffers dry, they will find cause to sit down and reason with true economists.

Sanusi and Aganga, you have the full support of progressive Nigerians on this one.

Visionaries are proposing to tackle issues that are the real curses to Nigeria's economic growth (epileptic electricity, ridiculous national assembly pay, rampant corruption), Atiku on the other hand sees the boon of Nigeria and proposes to attack it. Na wa for this country.

Is the 10% tax to attract new businesses? What prudent coorporation will want to do business in a climate where it has to contend with epileptic electricity, a lack of good roads, rampant corruption, and ever worsening restiveness across the country. These are the challenges to doing business in Nigeria and not the current tax rate.

How on earth will a decrease in corporation tax rate translate into job creation when the appropriate climate to do business just doesn't exist in the first place! Even if the climate exists, what warrants the current crop of multinational companies to reinvest the savings they realize into business expansions to create jobs, boost growth of the economy - instead of just repatriating their profits overseas? China for instance ensures that multinational/non-indigenous companies establish a long-term base and expand in their country, instead of just repatriating their profits overseas.

The coorporate tax rate Nigeria employs is not the problem. Any leader that means well for Nigeria, would be looking at tackling the epileptic power supply, corruption, electoral reforms, excessive pay for members of the NAss., and other real impediments to Nigeria's economic growth.

China, Russia quit dollar
By Su Qiang and Li Xiaokun (China Daily)

With all the talk about America gradually being overtaken by countries like China and India, this might be the biggest blow yet to America's global super-power status.

A development like this could seriously exacerbate America's struggling economy, affect Nigeria's own economy (not like we have plenty dollars at the moment anyway) and accelerate the shift of global super power to China or Russia. Especially devastating would be if Japan or South Korea adopt either the rouble or the remnibi for bilateral trade.

Is any other person concerned about a development like this? This could cause some turmoil in the markets.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-11/24/content_11599087.htm

We were lucky to detect this covert testing, unfortunately after the loss of many innocent children's lives.

One just wonders how many more drugs Pfizer, and other drug companies, are covertly testing.

^^
So Israel has such an advanced solar-power industry!

By the time the whole world adopts alternative energy sources like these, and move away from reliance on oil, people will be amazed at how Nigeria will start to get her act together.

The solar technology from Israel looks like a better option than nuclear but you can always bank on our leaders to devise creative ways to chop money.

I mean, in some Niger-delta states, the gas bursting out of wells is just flared, but in keeping with the Nigerian federal character, the mandate to convert the million cubic meters of gas to electricity (in turbines) must come from Abuja.

We can only wait and see what comes out of these nuclear intentions, hopefully we don't end up with one massive, radioactivity-emitting, white elephant after a decade or two like we now have many abandoned power stations (hydro and gas).

Abi oh! Tell me about it. Person done tire no be small.

The parties present, Obasanjo selects, Nigerians elect.

The elections just don't matter because whoever the godfathers select is the person that emerges as the winner of any election.

Wetin man go do!

Looks like the Nigerian govt is learning to become more strategic in their handling of security affairs.

Certain security measuress that should have long been in place are gradually being implemented.

Lol. People are entitled to their own opinions after all is said.

@ topic

“tribe” and it’s derivatives are words that should be censored from Nairaland. “Tribe” basically means a pack of monkeys or baboons. And it is rarely and is unlikely to be used in this context on Nairaland i.e. to refer to a group of monkeys in the bush or in Yankari National Park, Bauchi. 

One only gets “tribes” of humans in Asia, and Africa but never in Europe where there are small communities (countries as they are called in Europe) of several thousand peoples like Montenegro, Malta, and Andorra (Andorra is a country with a population of 80 000).

In Africa and Asia, the word colonial settlers selected to describe small communities of people, of which there was and still are many in Europe, was “Tribe”.

You now hear people say they are from so and so tribe many of whom don’t know the self disparagement that comes with addressing oneself or others as belonging to a “tribe”.

This word because of its roots ranks alongside (and is possibly worse than) other derogatory terms used as ethnic slurs. To help enlighten unwitting Nairalanders that this word is just wrong, the word should be filtered out.

If person want some serious wahala, ask Kenyan person "Which tribe him from". Those who know the origins and true meaning of the word just don't use it.

Please filter "tribe" and it's derivatives off nairaland.

We are going to need progressive and visionary leaders to introduce life changing tech like these into Nigeria.

[flash=425,344]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwrXdsFUmRQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="[/flash]

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Work those biceps while you drive.

Introducing the 100 percent human powered car


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwrXdsFUmRQ&feature=related (Crude form)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXUJjFvgOdk (Polished and complete car)


Tried embedding videos but haven't figured out how to do it yet.

Katsumoto:


If you unhappy, with the perception that is held of you, then perhaps all you need do is tone down the unnecessary rhetoric. Changing your name without changing your style will not achieve much. Intelligent posters will identify you in a few days. Just ask Mekus who keeps rebranding himself and still keeps getting found out.

Mekuszxy, mekusxyz, mekusyxz e.t.c., e.t.c. . he he. . . What moniker is Mekus currently assuming?

,

It is for threads like these that we need a development subsection. . . Seun you dey there?

We can easily have a record for and track the progress of projects like these and others.

You know, keep a watchful eye on our leaders when they set out on projects. . . Make them aware that Nairalanders, and the whole world (via twitter and facebook) are watching them.

PapaBrowne:

Friday, Sep. 17, 1965
[size=14pt]Africa: The Nigerian Millionaires[/size]


Along with pride in status and problems of self-government, independence for the 31 nations of black Africa means the emergence of black businessmen. . . .With a population of 55 million and an economy that grows 4% each year, the number of Nigerian millionaires is growing almost as fast as the country itself. . .
. . .

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842145,00.html

The period after independence was opportune for prosperity but which kind aphrodisiac we dey consume for this country! ! !

Population of 55 million in 1965, and a population today of at least 150 million. Some other nations, like the U.K. for example, with roughly the same population as Nigeria in 1965 have not experienced the same level of population growth Nigeria has experienced (UK current population is under 65 million see quote and link below).

In 1965, the UK population of 54,349,500 was being augmented by a much higher total fertility rate [live births per woman] than now. In England and Wales, the rate in 1965 was 2.85. In 2006 the rate, despite recent increases, was only 1.87.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7060676.stm

Like I said, which kind aphrodisiac we dey consume! Despite the many scourges that Nigeria has been beset with, the one thing that has thrived is the population growth.

bermuda1:

@Papas

Please use google, its there for a reason.

check in the list and see where Nigeria ranks in the list of Oil Producers. Don't just use OPEC list

You did not call USA and you are calling china? List the natural resources Nigeria has, then check the commercial value and production

Please don't buy the myth that Nigeria is a rich country, surely there is potential but not nearly as much as you think

It is generally well known that Nigeria's resource wealth far exceeds that of the countries I previously highlighted (South Africa, South Korea, Malaysia), and most of the countries you have listed (I stress resource wealth).

Have a look at this recent CIA table on the ranks of countries based on proven oil reserves.

1 Saudi Arabia   266,700,000,000
2 Canada   178,100,000,000
3 Iran   137,600,000,000
4 Iraq   115,000,000,000
5 Kuwait   104,000,000,000
6 Venezuela    99,380,000,000
7 United Arab Emirates    97,800,000,000
8 Russia    79,000,000,000
9 Libya    43,660,000,000
10 Nigeria    36,220,000,000
11 Kazakhstan    30,000,000,000
12 Qatar    27,190,000,000
13 United States    21,320,000,000
14 China    16,000,000,000
15 Brazil    12,620,000,000
16 Algeria    12,200,000,000
17 Mexico    10,500,000,000

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/rawdata_2178.text


You are right that when we look at current revenues being realised from resources, such as oil for instance, Nigeria is doing badly. This doesn't, however, mean Nigeria cannot get her act together in the future.

A lot of things just need to be put right first, which will happen eventually.

Nigeria has a lot of resource wealth my friend.

bermuda1:


Your statement is very ambivalent but I will give you 16 countries that match and beat Nigeria in the criteria you have set. That is taking everything into context including potential and blessings as you call them

1. USA
2. Russia
3. China
4. Japan
5. UK
6. Australia
7. South Africa
8.  UAE
9.  Saudi Arabia
10. South Korea
11. India
12. Brazil
13. Canada
14. Malaysia
15. France
16. Mexico

Most of these countries do not stack up against Nigeria when resources are taken into account. A few of them like (Russia) just narrowly might but most of them you have listed do not have the diverse array of resources Nigeria is fortunate to have.

Ileke-IdI:

according to becommrich

aloy.emeka=beaf=EzeUche0=chyz=Onlytruth=komado=seun osewa= dayokanu

All of you are fake. One person posting with the diff IDs

ha ha! Becommrich also thinks the poster of this belongs to the list. And in fact, everyone that has replied to this thread. Apart from me of course.

Beaf:

[size=14pt]Goldman’s Mboweni says Nigeria may be Africa’s new economic ‘Gold Rush’ [/size]
Tuesday, 12 October 2010 01:00


“Nigeria is going to be Africa’s growth story for the next 15 to 20 years,” Mboweni said after returning from a visit to Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and the commercial hub, Lagos, as part of a delegation from Goldman Sachs. Nigeria is targeting economic growth of 10 percent in the coming years as it boosts spending on power plants and attracts more investment, finance minister, Olusegun Aganga, a former Goldman Sachs executive, said on September 3. The government is preparing to sell its first Eurobond of $500 million this year. Goldman Sachs, which doesn’t have an office in Nigeria, is bidding to advise on the sale of state-owned power-generation and distribution companies, the Bureau of Public Enterprises said on August 31. The government hasn’t said who will manage the Eurobond sale yet. [/b] . . . .



http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14324:goldmans-mboweni-says-nigeria-may-be-africas-new-economic-gold-rush-&catid=85:national&Itemid=340

It will be great if Goldman Sach's offers the country the advise (as they have proposed), wishes the country well, bids Nigeria farewell and just hopes for the best for her (Nigeria). Question is, will they and other multinationals do as they initially propose?! ! !

dappssee:


“What we need in Nigeria is continuity in policies and leadership to sustain the growth,” he advocated.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Sanusi at the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington DC, Aganga said the economic prospect was bright because despite the fact that Nigeria was yet to take advantage of opportunities  and resources available within the country, it achieved 7.4 per cent growth and 48 per cent increase in revenue in the first half of the year.

Among the advantages he identified were existence of 33 untapped  solid minerals, steady increase in the oil revenue and 75  million telecommunic-ations subscribers.

“If we have continuity in policy, a lot will be done in the economy and we will do more as shown with the increase in oil revenue by 46 per cent during the first six months of 2010,” he said.

However, Dr Aganga said “the Federal Government requires N100 billion to finance infrastructure development for the next four years in order to add two per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria.”

He made reference to the state of the manufacturing sector, where operators put 40 per cent of cost on power generation, saying, if infrastructure in Lagos and other places were upgraded, there would be a major relief across the country.

“This could be our decade. I am more excited about the country today than few years back,” Aganga said.


http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/11934-more-bank-directors-ll-be-jailed-sanusi-nigeria-is-worlds-3rd-fastest-growing-economy--imf

"33 untapped  solid minerals, steady increase in the oil revenue (submaximal crude oil output). . . . .  This could be our decade."

Brash as Aganga might sound, with facts/stats like those highlighted, hmmmm. . . . Nigeria's economy might be in for a fine decade.

NIGERIA TO MAINTAIN 7.4% GROWTH RATE TILL NEXT YEAR – IMF

7.4% growth after just over 10 years of a rather fickle democratic dispensation is great news indeed, It can and will only get better.

Great news!!!

@ Twy,

Isn't this meant to be a divisive article?

Welcome to nairaland.

fact, when the crude oil was struck in Southern Protectorate or more correctly Eastern Region, there was noting called Nigeria.

Exactly Dede1, there was nothing like Nigeria in 1914, 1945 or 1960 let alone the "South-South". The professor may as well have "asked where was Akwa Ibom State, or Edo State or even Bayelsa State in 1914". No one should be lashed at for trying to present a case for the South-south because the question the professor asked is in itself ludicrous.

There is one fact that cannot be denied regardless of people's likes. . . I quote below. . .

Nigeria was incorporated in 1914 when Frederick Lugard who became its first Governor-General amalgamated the two British protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria and the Crown Colony of Lagos into a single entity. The primary reason for amalgamation was economic rather than political. The Northern Protectorate which became the Northern Province had annual budget deficits, while the Southern Protectorate which became the Southern Province had surpluses.

http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/5783/State_and_Governance_Nigeria.htm

Here's a quote from a fairly comprehensive article (and a rather authoritative source - world bank).

Nigeria was incorporated in 1914 when Frederick Lugard who became its first Governor-General amalgamated the two British protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria and the Crown Colony of Lagos into a single entity. The primary reason for amalgamation was economic rather than political. The Northern Protectorate which became the Northern Province had annual budget deficits, while the Southern Protectorate which became the Southern Province had surpluses.  To eliminate the subventions from the British treasury, the budgets of the two components were integrated. In addition, some central institutions were established to anchor the evolving unified structure.  The Governor-General organized a Central Secretariat at Lagos, which was the seat of government, and established the Nigerian Council (later the Legislative Council) to provide a forum for representatives drawn from the provinces.  Certain services were integrated across the Northern and Southern Provinces because of their national significance—military, treasury, audit, posts and telegraphs, railways, survey, medical services, judicial and legal departments—and brought under the control of the Central Secretariat in Lagos.

Here's the link to the whole article http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/5783/State_and_Governance_Nigeria.htm

If you don't mind me asking though (@coolier), do you have a link or source to your highly esteemed info? I wonder why the ePassport is not also stamped with the inscription, you have mentioned, as was the case with the old machine readable passports. . .