This is quite an interesting topic.
I personally feel nigeria's problem isn't a privatization vs keeping companies government owned. We are generally suffering from decades of military rule, hence in reality we still act as though we are in a dictatorship.

First of all, who owns this resources that are being sold? The FG or the Nigerian populace? Under a democracy, resources belong to the citizens (private citizens) and the citizens elect officials (government) to manage their resources.

Here's a good picture of what is going on in Nigeria as regards to privatization. You (Nigerian) inherit a vast portfolio of businesses and you employ your uncle(FG) to manage it for you. Ur uncle has the mental disease of kleptomania so he just can't help himself but to pilfer your businesses to the last kobo. He then turns around and convinces you to sell your broken businesses. Because you love him since he is your uncle, you agree to sell ur businesses. He turns around and sells ur businesses at deadbeat prices to himself and his friends. To further make your situation worse, he tells you, you're too broke and can't afford to pay for the services your former businesses render.

We've all been turned into mugus by successive governments.

Think about this fact. Government has sold off PHCN (our collective national asset). government claims to have capacity to produce 5000 megawatts of electricity, yet only produces about 2,500 megawatts because of lack of gas(another collective national asset). This same government sells gas to neighboring African countries and other nations on earth, so the problem is not scarcity, but that Nigerians are too poor to pay for gas hence we are still suffering from epileptic power supply.

I can understand our paying for the labor cost it takes to extract the gas but I just can't phantom why we have to pay the FG for the material cost of gas production.

Cheap electricity is a necessity and not a privilege for economic growth. The gas belongs to Nigerians so we should not be paying for what belongs to us to a federal government the works for us.

Is the FG trying to tax Nigerians with style? Nigerians open eyes.

trillville:
This is quite an interesting topic.
I personally feel nigeria's problem isn't a privatization vs keeping companies government owned. We are generally suffering from decades of military rule, hence in reality we still act as though we are in a dictatorship.
First of all, who owns this resources that are being sold? The FG or the Nigerian populace? Under a democracy, resources belong to the citizens (private citizens) and the citizens elect officials (government) to manage their resources.
Here's a good picture of what is going on in Nigeria as regards to privatization. You (Nigerian) inherit a vast portfolio of businesses and you employ your uncle(FG) to manage it for you. Ur uncle has the mental disease of kleptomania so he just can't help himself but to pilfer your businesses to the last kobo. He then turns around and convinces you to sell your broken businesses. Because you love him since he is your uncle, you agree to sell ur businesses. He turns around and sells ur businesses at deadbeat prices to himself and his friends. To further make your situation worse, he tells you, you're too broke and can't afford to pay for the services your former businesses render.
We've all been turned into mugus by successive governments.
Think about this fact. Government has sold off PHCN (our collective national asset). government claims to have capacity to produce 5000 megawatts of electricity, yet only produces about 2,500 megawatts because of lack of gas(another collective national asset). This same government sells gas to neighboring African countries and other nations on earth, so the problem is not scarcity, but that Nigerians are too poor to pay for gas hence we are still suffering from epileptic power supply.
I can understand our paying for the labor cost it takes to extract the gas but I just can't phantom why we have to pay the FG for the material cost of gas production.
Cheap electricity is a necessity and not a privilege for economic growth. The gas belongs to Nigerians so we should not be paying for what belongs to us to a federal government the works for us.
Is the FG trying to tax Nigerians with style? Nigerians open eyes.

The problem is corruption then. Why can't we get it right and do what's right for the people? Privatization in a nation like Nigeria where we are only worth $500bil and 170mil people means some will starve. i don't believe in economic theories anymore as I have studied them kpali to kpali for the last 6 years and I'll tell you that economic theories are a mask on reality !!!! What's good is good and whats bad is bad.

It's bad for a rich man to buy what belongs to poorer people only for him to sell it back to them !!!! Regardless of your religion, you have to admit this is true !!!

We need money for social programs in Nigeria, we need our resources !! We are suppose to have management companies not selling them !! Do you know how much of nigerian economy Dangote can buy with his worth and credit worthiness?

In a nation of 170mil, if we are a truly equal economically, no one should be richer than $50mil so that everyone can have healthcare, best education and a quality standard of living.

Please don't try to counter my last statement with the example of the United States. 90% of America is owned by just the top 15%. This mean people are slaves (Their product is the wealth of another man).

Nigeria need only give management to credible companies and keep our profit to enhance our nationals !!!

I want to continue this topic to also seek what is good for Nigeria in this present administration.

I still believe for a nation like Nigeria, privatization is evil against the poor.

No one has been able to convince me that privatization is good. Everyone is just using USA as an example forgetting that America's wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few folks!

I want intellectual Nigerians to debate privatization !!!

These are the kind of topics that should be flooding NL not the stupid propaganda both parties are churning out !!!

Akanbiedu:
Saying corruption killed government-run enterprise is an oversimplification of the issue, it is much more complex than that. At the of the problem is ethnic disunity, Nigerians have so much been divided that its almost impossible to rally the people around a common cause i.e fighting corruption. I believe a private sector lead economy reduces the friction that disunity causes in the government.

In recent times, we have heard and read about nepotism in the aviation ministry, immigration and the army. It is like that everywhere in the Federal government. I am not advocating privatizing the Nigerian army thoug, but I hope you understand that privating business-like entities like PHCN, Nitel, Banks etc will help in reducing ethnic tension, create a competitive market which is good for the economy in the long run. A good economy will eventually make Nigerians forget their differences and maybe then we can talk about government having bigger control of the business environment.

A classic example is the case of Nitel. The Nigerian government spent over $20 billion over a period of 28 years only to give us less than one million lines, with very poor service if not non-existent. you needed to be a 'big man" before you can get a Nitel line(Same with PHCN now). But the private in less than ten years were able to provide over 90 million mobile lines investing about just ten billion dollars. Apart from when last did you hear hausa complaining about igbo or igbo complaining about Yoruba in MTN, Econet etc. Private companies most likely will hire based on requirement and not some primordial sentiment. But in government, what we have is a situation whereby a change in government brings about a new set of people trying to reverse what the previous one did or trying to bring "his/her people" to "right" the wrongs of the past.

How long are we going to continue with that?

Please, who was nitel sold to?

Thanks in advance for your reply

And the atikulators want to obliterate NNPC and disappear it into their pockets!

I swear to God come next election me too will not sai bubu anymore, and obliterate and atikulate. When we slay the goose that lays our golden oil finish you all can enjoy the bones we drop on the floor after we suck the marrow out of them too because some pdpeople mumu never start yet!

Nltaliban:


Please, who was nitel sold to?

Thanks in advance for your reply

I don't care. It doesn't matter to me. I am more than satisfied that I have access to Telecom service as against NITEL time, that the sector has created many more jobs and lifted many out of poverty than NITEL could ever.

If all these does not matter to you, and you are more interested in who bought what, Go and find out.

privatization was the biggest mistake nigeria did when you add the civil war to it....

as you said,emergin market....!!

how can somebody be so careless....??

nawa....