Playing much better without Mikel.

Babamide:

I really think we need to play 4 midfielders. There is nothing going on at the wings. Just long balls and back passes

They should play 5 midfielders like Liverpool are: 4-2-2-1-1, if not more goals are definitely coming.

Mata needs to play in the middle, Malouda needs to come off for Sturridge, Mikel- Off! for Meireles obviously, Torres on for Drogba

Kobojunkie:

[size=14pt]Agriculture[/size]


Agriculture maintains its dominant role in the Nigeria economy. With the high dependence rain-fed agriculture, Nigerian farmers suffer tremendous crop failure whenever there are changes in rainfall patterns. Quite often farmers traditional ways of determining when to commence farming fails on account of uncertainties brought about by climatic changes.

This sector benefited from the continuous favourable weather conditions as predicted at the beginning of the year by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) through their Seasonal Rainfall Predictions (SRP) and information channels, which were designed to provide necessary warning and advice to farmers to circumvent weather uncertainties.

Farmers had cashed on this favourable weather conditions predictions to implement and monitor effectively farming activities in the third quarter of 2011 which resulted in significant boost in crop production during the period. The figure 6 below clearly depicts the pattern of rainfall in Kaduna State, typical northern location and Ondo State typical of Southern location.

In terms of agricultural output, the real agricultural GDP growth in the third quarter of 2011 stood at 5.82 percent as against 5.68 percent in the corresponding period of 2010. The contribution of this sector stood at 43.64 percent in the third quarter of 2011 compared with 44.30 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2010 arising from increased activities in other non-oil sectors of the economy. The sector has in addition, continued to benefit from various interventions by government especially the agricultural credit incentives/ schemes initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).


Culled from pages of the 2010 AND Q1- Q3, 2011 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT FOR NIGERIA

A positive note- it's all well and good to post rosy GDP figures but unfortunately a 7% growth is completely negated by an inflation of 12% coupled with interest rate and unemployment figures of about 20%. We talk about a growth in the agricultural sector when we still spend N600bn to import food- it isn't that much growth if you take a closer look.

The bread and butter of the Nigerian economy IMO remains the oil and trade sectors-they contribute 1/3 of the total GDP on paper- but in terms of added value to the economy- they actually shoulder a lot more because they attract FDI and create employment. Until we can start adding value to our agriculture and tweak the monetary policy, the effect of GDP growth won't be felt due to extremely high expenditure.

When we talk about GDP, we always have to keep an eye on expenditure and so many other factors- so while it's a positive note, I think there's still much work to be done.

Beaf:

I'm surprised anybody is questioning GEJ's words to investors. Some Nigerians are damn funny!
Should GEJ have taken them to Okija to show them fearful things and scare their d.i.c.ks into their arses? It is really hard to qualify some of the comments here with any degree of dignity, I can't tell if it is due to low self esteem issues or much graver matters to do with abysmal comprehension levels.

Fair comment, I don't think he should have taken them to the shrine. Let's not deceive anyone, Nigeria is not yet a choice investment destination for foreigners. Most people that invest look to take advantage of the system; the security issues might "fade" away but there are much bigger issues at stake here. Nigeria will never be an investment destination, if no money is being spent on infrastructure and most of the money is spent on salaries, debt servicing etc.

Puzzling how he went into details of how the subsidy was being handled but only assured investors that he was going to "combat it" when it came to security- that's just not enough! Investment in these troubled areas are the ones that would go a long way into developing Nigeria.

muyoto:

Nigeria? fiscal discipline?? I laff in 120 Nigerian delegates to CHOGM! 

. I know it sounds funny but it's actually true compared to the last couple years.

Dream on Jonathan! Fitch ratings and GDP growth means very little to the ordinary Nigerian. The leadership is still inept, public servants still take home some of the highest salaries in the world, and you spend very little on infrastructure- signs of a global investment destination indeed!

The only slightly positive note so far is the fact there seems to be some fiscal discipline restored to country's finances- hopefully they should be able to get 2012's budget out soon.

Hello Femmy

How much would you clear a 1999 ML320 from Lagos?

I've got one with Standard Chartered and please does anyone know how I could get my debit card from them? I was not in Nigeria when it was opened over a year ago. The manager said I had to be in Nigeria or add a cosigner to the account to collect my card. I get monthly statement sent to my email.

Any ideas on how I can get it sent to my home address? Same thing with GTB too.

Read the full article.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204346104576639211016347824.html

It's far from a finished product as some of the side effects include meningitis, fever etc. We would also need to talk about what happens if the plasmoduim mutates into another form. I do believe in the next 10 years Malaria will be history if we go by how much research is devoted to it.

aloy/emeka:

Gbam; do you see any connection such behavior has  with education among both genders?. It shows that people are truly more tolerant when they are educated. Igbo women are more advanced and educated than Yoruba women and vice versa for Yoruba men and Igbo men. You can now see that it is only education that can liberate Nigeria for the shackles of ethnocentricism. Northerners are highly uneducated and illiterate and thats why intermarriage and tolerance for others are lowest among the tribes of the North.

You're right to an extent, although I don't quite buy it when you say "Igbo women are more advanced and educated,  (and vice versa)" than their Yoruba counterparts. Advanced- maybe but educated? -Impossible!

I believe it has an educational as well as a social element to it. I think Yoruba's are just a bit more tolerant than Igbo people in general, and Igbo people tend to stick together. Nothing wrong with that except that we are in the same country and outsiders don't care about all this ethnic crap. All they see  is a Nigerian- If we don't get this basic fact correct, Nigeria will ALWAYS be stuck in the medieval times.

Just can't believe such mentality still exists in the 21st century. No wonder Nigeria is still decades behind the rest of the world, it's really mind boggling.

@ op: Follow your heart, try to get one of your parents (preferably your mother) on your side and the other half should follow suit after lots of persuasion. (Speaking from my personal experience)

Trust- The only thing that motivates me is my bonus. Ego, Kudi, £££££ 

Bandit C.:

No, just No!! If you believe that London or even UK as a whole is the preferred destination for property investors, then you are grossly misinformed. Have you ever heard of southern European countries and the Caribbean? Check those places out in relation to property investment by wealthy people and get back at me. Oh and if you believe the UK is not an old and outdated country, then you must not have been to so many advanced countries.

New York Beats London as Top Spot for Real-Estate Investment

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-05/new-york-beats-london-as-top-spot-for-real-estate-investment.html

Maybe Bloomberg is "grossly misinformed" too eh? The only city competing with London is NY, best believe that bro. Forget about the Carribean and South Europe- if you've got money and want to invest in the safest property haven in the world, London is the place to be!

Bandit C.:

Lol, my brother not so but for how long would they keep those ugly, outdated structures in the name of tradition? The world is moving on and they should too. Mind you that when i say old i also mean their whole lifestyle. These people still use toilets with push-handles when flushing. Talk about old.

Fair enough but those "ugly and outdated structures" is what makes the UK the #1 destination for property investors in the world. Ask any "wealthy" man worth his salt, if you ain't own a house in London- you just ain't there yet.

Expensive to live in YES, old- NO, and Overrated- DEFINITELY NOT!!

No be only BRIC, BLOCK nko?

mscheww,  BRIC ko CEMENT ni

Ifecotag:

Anyone who believes that guy pulled the deal alone must be very naive. Do not believe everything the media says. Do your own research!  A "Rogue" trader is a code word for a "Gambler/Crook" . You do not need to be a rocket scientist to do what he did. All you need is to be connected, know a few people at the top,belong to the right alumni, a COMPUTER TERMINAL,scant analysis of financial news probably from Bloom-berg or CNBC, with a courage and instinct of a Gambler AKA risk-takers and you are ready to go.

There are few questions I would like to ask, if anyone has answers to them.

Why are they not reported when they win money? They are thrown a party and given fat bonuses.

Where did the $2billion go? Someone always benefit from a transaction. As they say, "Money doesn't burn, it only changes hands". Still waiting for more information on that one.

Who was he under and how did the trade go on with no one noticing?

In the investment banking world, when you bring in BIG MONEY, you are celebrated like a hero. But when something goes massively wrong under your head, you become the "fall guy",called a "Rogue trader" or worst scapegoated by your superiors AKA the managers, directors, supervisors and CEO's.

In fact, I don't feel sorry for Swiss banks, they are the ones that have been helping African politicians keep their stolen money under the guise of their hypocritical "banking secrecy law".

OK fair enough, I would disagree and say it takes a bit more than watching CNBC and and being bold to become an IB, you're right when you say there are definitely more people involved, his direct boss just resigned- I would think he might have had a clue something was going wrong.

Although I don't agree with you where you say money "only changes hands"- that's making it too easy. First you have to understand that money isn't limited to cash. There are several other types of money and if you spread massive bets across companies in a country and the country decides to slash it's exchange rate- you lose across the board just like you lose when you invest in the stock market.

The guy took a very risky move in not protecting (hedging) his trades- I guess the impulse greed of a massive payout was too much.

igbo2011:

Why doesn't Nigeria's government support infant industries? They help foreign companies but not Nigerian companies.  Why don't they subsidize and help Innoson grow.  They can create more factories and diversify their products (more variation in vehicles).  Also put high tarriffs or ban imports on foriegn cars.  This will CREATE WEALTH!! This is like basic economics, what are they missing?

It's true that the government needs to support infant industries- and the government does support Innoson in some capacity. Whether the support is enough or not is left to be discussed.

The fact of the matter is that the Nigeria economy is import oriented for now,  it is impossible for Innoson to meet up the demand, and simply too costly for the government to support other start-up manufacturers. What Aganga has done is bring the supply chain closer to home so at least if they assemble here you could basically have the same brand of a car abroad (e.g. Toyota) assembled in Nigeria. This would force down prices of these brands and add jobs to the economy.

That local manufacturers are closing shop has 0 to do with Aganga or this policy, manufacturing plants need power and financing none of which the FG provides.

Sagamite:

The guy is one of my closest friend's friend. They went to Uni together and did the same course (Computer Science at Nottingham). Texts have been flying among us since morning when his name came up in the news and my friend could not reach him on the phone.

I have never met him before or heard of him till today, but apparently, he is a gentle down-to-earth guy. And considering when he joined the bank, he has flown through the ranks.

He is UK private school educated,  grew up in several countries (indicating his father must have been a diplomat) and posh spoken (not really Ghanian).

My friend says he does not appear to have the temperament to do this, most likely the senior people must have known and going the wrong way might be pinning it on him.

I don't know him so don't know how true it is, but if he did wrong, why fck up your good life for some stewpid bets? I would rather take the so-called "shame" of my authorised loss.

You'd be surprised that the most softly spoken traders tend to take the most risks with regards to betting. I have heard of this chap's department and they tend to house the brightest traders at UBS. He apparently bet massively against the Swiss Franc dropping (a sensible bet) but the Swiss National Bank forced the exchange rate down last week.

I'm actually quite surprised it happened at UBS because they're supposed to have best safeguards in the industry. All IB's have rogue traders, he definitely bit a bit more than he could chew.

manny4life:

Quite a good number of people fail to understand how our lovely economics defined unemployment. While different countries use different parameters, bottom line is the core makeup of umemployment remains. For there to be unemployment, it has to meet three criteria

A. You have to be within the "working class" population, preferably 18-65;

B. You DO NOT have a job over a certain period of time; however, many countries have defined what classification of the time frame is.

C. You are "actively seeking" a job, in other words, regardless of what type it is, as long as you're working, you're employed.

Now given these scenario, I strongly believe that that number is somewhat grossly overstated. 33million individuals on a 150million population scale


Correction, Electricity DOES NOT in itself create JOBS. There are other factors that contribute to creation of jobs in the macroeeconomic environment.

I don't buy that the number has been "grossly" overestimated, the official unemployment figure was 20% 2 years ago. Factor in all the banks/ companies merging and tough economic conditions you would agree that a 10% increase in unemployment is not too far-fetched.

It does take more than electricity to create job but the importance of power to any economy can never be overstated. It's just sad that in addition to the infrastructural deficits in Nigeria- the CBN's monetary policy makes access to funds impossible for small businesses which are primarily responsible for creating jobs.

wasobia:

This is not a good move!

The day the US, UK, France, Germany and those industrialized nations moved their workshop out of China, their doom begins. I am not sure if you guys know that their production capacity is more (in all ramifications) than their population. The shift is coming, no one really knows where it is going.

Remember, those developed nations will forever have their relevance in the global field of the noble, they built the field and they maintain it. Its like a family of a generational rich man who passes inheritance from one generation to the other. Its possible one child messes up but the inheritance still speaks. Who is China? Whats yuan?

Gold is far better than yuan, please correct me!

Sanusi a big fool.

You're right but the price of Gold has started to drop after reaching an all-time high. If it were 6 months ago-yes but right now I believe the Yuan is a good bet. China has devalued their currency for so long that now the only direction it's going is up.

Yeske!:

May be a good idea but i thought the naira was sort of pegged to the dollar or is it because there is a propensity for the yuan to rise and the dollar dropping in value in future, can someone expantiate further?

It's a good move because China is a bit more insulated from the economic downturn right now but if the Chinese continue to devalue their currency against the dollar as they have done in the past it could backfire.

The Naira pegged to the Dollar is a rubbish move because the value of the Dollar is dropping by the minute- saving our money in Yuan is completely different. If the Yuan rises- as it is looking likely to soon- the value of our reserves increase.

Gbawe:

Lets use figures everyone can understand instead of creating confusions with trillions. In 4 years, okonjo Iweala's 1% reduction per year target will only save $1.5 billion over 4 years i.e $375 million per year. Is an extra $375 million per year not a sick joke if the consideration , as Okonjo Iweala herself argued before gaining employment under GEJ, is to make an appreciable amount available for capital spending at the expense of recurrent expenditure? $375 million is approximately half of what the NASS consumes yearly out of the $30 billion budget i.e $750 million  !!!! 

How can Iweala's 1% effort then be seen as anything but a joke when Avenues to seriously wittle down recurrent expenditure are completely ignored such as reducing what is spent on the NASS, Substantive Ministers, Ministers of State, special advisors, etc etc ? This is why the articles states that Jonathan and Okonjo Iweala are "insincere". In real terms , no other word is apt given the highly dubious effort to reduce recurrent expenditure when so many areas of waste and profligacy remain ignored. We can all see the sort of stringent cuts being made by Countries a lot richer and more stable than Nigeria !!! Read the article below dispassionately to understand why many , experts and layman alike, are not impressed by Okonjo Iweala's "economic blueprint"

http://saharareporters.com/article/ngozi-okonjo-iweala-press-conference-much-ado-about-nothing

I think we need to cut Ngozi some slack. Let's try not to be cynical about things and look at the big picture. In your own words she is going to be doing away with "approximately half of what the NASS consumes yearly". That is not an easy feat because it would require some level of constitution amendment- and we know how cooperative the members of the NASS would be.

Secondly the recurrent budget is not just to do with salaries alone, it's to do with pensions, debt management etc. If she manages to get the debts down through negotiating interest rates, it would free some money for capital spending.

Lastly and most importantly, the recurrent expenditure was roughly about 70% in 2007, lots of money was thrown at the power sector then (about $16 billion during that period) with no results. This should be a hint that the problem is beyond the recurrent expenditure- even with capital expenditure at 90%, without fiscal discipline and proper financial management (which I think is her strength) the resultant effect on the economy would be zero!

We can't compare other countries to Nigeria's, even though other countries are mixing their stringent cuts up with tax breaks (U.S) and 1p petrol subsidies (U.K)- we might say it's nothing but it adds up in the end. Look at the bigger picture.

Gbawe:

Indeed. I like Iweala and have spoken in her defense many times on NL but she is doing an Abati far too early for anyone who respects her to be comfortable with. It is puzzling that the same Iweala who criticized GEJ heavily for the bloated size of Government , while at the World bank, is not talking about doing away with many positions we all know exist for the sake of sharing the National cake to cronies. Okonjo-Iweala , now she is a part of the Government, acts as if she tacitly endorses GEJ's announcement that "leaner Government not possible".

One has to also wonder why a neglible 1% decrease per year on recurrent spendings , amounting to pathetic savings not at all useful to impact positively on capital spending, is all that Iweala can offer given her vociferous previous criticism of the "unacceptably" high amount of our recurrent expenditure. To be honest ,and with all due respect to Okonjo-Iweala, this "economic blueprint" is highly insipid and uninspiring. it is not even one of consolidation let alone "transformation".

Whilst I agree with your logic, I think it's a bit too early and unfair to level criticism at her. A 1%/yr cut on the roughly N3trn recurrent expenditure amounts to N30bn/ yr, cutting the fuel subsidy- N1trn/yr. So in 3 years theoretically, she's talking about saving close to 4 trillion Naira, which is about  the size of the total national debt- a massive ask in 3 years if you ask me. We need to understand that it takes time to correct an economy that has been mismanaged for such a long time. It'll also take more than papers and theories but also the will of the government to fight corruption.

What I don't get is pegging the Naira to the dollar, a move China is currently regretting because America is inflating their domestic economy by printing more dollars- which is having ripples in the Chinese economy. It would be more sensible to disburse the monthly allocations to 3 tiers of government in dollars (or exchangeable certificates) and let the market conditions dictate the value of the Naira.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Wednesday, reacted to the comments about him made by  former President Ibrahim Babangida saying that he [IBB] was being foolish as his comments were not well though out.

According to him, former President Babangida should be pitied and shown sympathy rather than anger or condemnation as he was being foolish at the age of 70.


Obasanjo who spoke with news men in Abeokuta during the visit of an American Team on an inspection of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library [OOPL] said that his initial thought was not to respond but that on second thought he decided to reply IBB so that he would not consider himself wise.

He said  “well, normally when I read these things I don’t believe them. Yesterday when somebody phoned me and said this was said, I said don’t believe it. He said check on all the papers and I said get me all the papers, they got me the papers and I read; it’s a little bit unlike Babangida.

But if Babangida had decided on becoming a septuagenarian, that he will be a fool, I think one should probably do what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 26, verse 4. It says don’t answer a fool because you may also become like him.

“When you go to the same Proverbs chapter 26, verse 5, it says answer a fool so that he will not think he’s a wise man. So, I am now torn between which of the two verses I should follow in this respect. Some of the things he said unfortunately were not well thought-out.

“For instance, he talked about our energy. When I was the military head of state, I built Jebba dam; built Shiroro dam, I prepared the foundation of Egbin plant which President Shagari completed and commissioned. That time the money we were making was not up to the money Babangida was making annually for his eight years and yet we built two dams.

Because it was important, you know that power is the driving force for development and for any developing country. But since the building of Egbin power plant, until I came back in 1999 there was not any generating plant for almost 20 years and Babangida spent eight years out of that. Now, he has the audacity to talk about anybody; I think that is unfortunate.

“I also read where he said in his time, he gave the dividends of democracy and at the same time he regretted. When I read that, well I said Babangida should be pitied and shown sympathy rather than anger or condemnation because the old saying says a fool at 40 is a fool forever and I would say a regret at 70 is a regret too late. Well a regret at 70 is a regret to the grave.
“Then as elected president, I built Papalanto, Omotosho, others and I started five what they called Independent Power Stations which were stopped for two and a half years. Now that the present administration has started building a new power project at Uyo. As a country, Nigeria should be adding nothing less than 1,500 megawatts annually. South Africa with a population of 50 million generates 50,000 mega watts.

Nigeria with a population of about 165 million we are not generating, we as at 1999 met 1,500 mega watts before we took it up to 4,000 mega watts. What we started they are now allowing it to go on. I believe if they continue with the programme that we left, In another two years , we will get to 10,000”.

Further straightning issues, the former Presdent confirmed that he in fact blocked the sale of Nigeria Airways saying such a sale would have put the Nigeria nation in further debt.

He said “I blocked the sale of Nigeria Airways, not that I attempted to block the sale of Nigeria Airways. When I was military head of state, Nigeria Airways had 32 aircrafts, by the time I came back as elected president of Nigeria, Nigeria Airways had only one aircraft.

“One of the 32 was a wide bodied aircraft, they have all gone and the report on which we worked is here, the amount of money we will have to pay if Nigeria Airways was sold, what we would get out of it is less than 10 percent of the debt we have to pay. That will be the debt Nigeria tax payers will have to pay; that will not be the way to run the affairs of this country. I won’t run my own affairs that way, so I opted for liquidation. So, it was bankrupt, it was liquidated; in which case whatever you gain from liquidation which is also a form of sale, it means the burden will be shared by all the creditors and everybody. So, if I owe you 10 dollars and what I sell when I am liquidated is two. That’s what you get. So, I did not allow normal privatization or sale because it would have put very heavy burden on Nigeria.

“So, Nigerians should know that and in fact my administration should be commended for that. It’s not that I did not allow that sale because the law establishing it is sale and liquidation is also a form of sale”.

http://lindaikeji..com/2011/08/obasanjo-replies-ibb-fool-at-70.html

IBB is delusional! As much as I dislike OBJ, he's the best President we've had so far. Just the fact that he handed over power twice to civilians, which IBB refused to do and almost threw the country into a civil warrants some credit. OBJ birthed a Modern Nigeria even with his many imperfections, only Gowon comes close.

Only God can help Nigeria.

ronkebp:

Nigeria is still very far from economic growth, only if the leaders know what ther were really elected for, things would then start turning in the right direction.

I beg to differ, Nigeria is growing- only that the growth is not commensurate with the size of the population which is why "the common man" would  not feel the impact. With the resources at our disposal, the growth should be exponential but it isn't for a variety of reasons.

A classic example is the Oil and Gas sector, 10 years ago how many local players did we have in the industry? Fast forward to today, there are local players almost competing with the multinationals both up and downstream- which was unthinkable a decade ago.

There are so many other examples, just a few years ago as well, most Nigerians abroad would never think about going into Nigeria to do any sort of business but the climate is getting friendlier and more people are coming back- although there's still a long way to go.

These are the factors that lead to growth- the government and citizens have a massive role to play though. The CBN has to relax its tight monetary policy, accountability has be one of the priorities in government and individually. Our mindset has to change which takes time but is not impossible.

Tola.Dan:

Service flats for sale at Alaka Estate. 4 bedrooms, 5 toilets (all rooms en suite). ₦10million asking.

Service flats in a new house at Magodo. 3 bedrooms, 2toilets, all rooms with A/C. Also with close circuit television, ample parking space. ₦25m per flat.

Call Mr V. on 08063864968

How many flats do you have for sale? Is this Alaka estate next to Pampers? Please forward any pics and details to me @ oadamson@yahoo.com.

@ Justwise,

It's actually bad for the US economy and manufacturing because The Chinese carry a lot of U.S Treasury bills, so if that loses value- their currency loses value by default which would mean more exports for China . Secondly, in a few months time Bush's tax cuts expire, so there would be tax cuts- especially for the rich. This means job losses, and if you don't have the manpower- How do you want ramp up manufacturing?

Obama has shown himself to be even more spineless by leaving his CPS to address the nation after such an event. Bad move, although I still think he'll scrap through re-election next year.