@ Ono

Exactly, the constitution categorically states that "security and welfare of the people shall be the primary concern of the government."

This government is doing just the opposite. The state of the roads are pretty terrible and are anything but vehicle worthy. This country is nearly a failed state. It is only hanging on a few ghana-must-go bags going round now that elections are here. The state of the nation is a sorry state. OBJ claims he has put in over $10billion into electricity and till today, there is still no electricity at the busy commercial centres (Lagos, Kano, Abeokuta, Onitsha, Aba, PH, Calabar, Kaduna) to last at least 18hrs a day.

Central or FGs in other countries undertake projects that benefit the entire country. Nigeria is different. Ghana did not spend more than $3billion to get constant electricity. Ask whoever you can. OBJ claims he has spent 10billion and still the situation is the same or worse. Abacha gave this same contract with all these specifications to this same Chinese company and what happened? OBJ is doing the same thing again.

Well, I am not satisfied with mediocrity or half measures. My boss often insists on customer satisfaction. I have learnt it a a policy and have also made it my culture. What is worth doing is worth doing well. OBJ's best achievement is handling of Darfur crisis.

Let us change this government to one that has focus and loves the people. In my opinion there are only two parties now in Nigeria with ideology and principle, The FDP and the NCP.
I will vote along these lines.

Jaybaba
Is the country better or worse than it was before the elections of 1999

Ghana did not spend more than $3billion to get constant electricity. Ask whoever you can

you've been saying this before and you still haven't answered my question; does Ghana really have constant electricity, did Ghana spend only $3billion

OBJ claims he has spent 10billion and still the situation is the same or worse

if i throw 10billion at the power problems in Nigeria, i don't think i will get 24 electricity tomorrow

Ghana is a lot different from Nigeria, have you considered the state of the infrastructure before the current administration?

Well, I am not satisfied with mediocrity or half measures. My boss often insists on customer satisfaction. I have learnt it a a policy and have also made it my culture. What is worth doing is worth doing well. OBJ's best achievement is handling of Darfur crisis.

Nobody is satisfied  with mediocrity and half measures but if your reasonable enough you will understand projects do not take a day to complete and if projects are not initiated for the fear of overspending and transparency we will never build any thing in that country

Let us change this government to one that has focus and loves the people. In my opinion there are only two parties now in Nigeria with ideology and principle, The FDP and the NCP.
I will vote along these lines.

Are those people fresh of the boat?
Are they not nigerians havent they served in previous government?
what were their achievement during that time?

what is FDP and NCP by the way? this is the first time im coming across the name,
have they openly critised the current governement?
have they proposed solutions to the current situations in the country
Do they have a manifesto available for the public or have one amongst themselves?

Prior to 1999 elections what we had was a Military regime.At least everybody knew it was that but can U truly say this adminstration is a civilian dispensation?
The fact remains that by going with the current manner by which we are practicing our own democracy, then democracy is not a form of Government suitable for the Governance of Nigeria. We need to devise our own system of governance that suits us and as well curbs the excesses of these bloody politicians.Nigeria is like hedged in between the devil and the deep blue sea.It is either the military men with their abuse of power or the politicians with their insatiable thirst for wealth.The actions of these two group of people explains the situation Nigeria has found itself today.Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing is working in this our beloved country.It has gotten so bad that students now have to go to Ghana (yes, GHANA) to go and get quality education.And yet some of us are still living in a fools paradise thinking that all is well.
We have tried Democracy about 2/3 times and each time all that the politicians did was to fight over the ways to share money creating an excuse for the power drunk military men to step in. Let us not pretend that it can or will not happen again. Democracy, the type seen in Nigeria, is a waste of public funds!

I started this thread soley to discuss the railway system and the benefit in THEORY
I don't think anyone is suggesting all is well in nigeria- im not! It's far from well

The actions of these two group of people explains the situation Nigeria has found itself today

You didnt mention the the third group, the group that stood by the standlines with all the degrees and absolutely no POWER

The group that have studied all sort of governance in the world and know exactly what the country needs but has no power to implement it, they want the change so badly but they can't go outside of their comfort zones to get a result

If you climb midway up mount Everest with one of your footwear missing, theres absolutely no point in me standing at the bottom of the mountain, telling you or even the people around what you should have done! what i should be telling you is what to do now or finding a way to get the other footwear to you.

We can't go back to the drawing board, these politicians are there already.
these politicians are not aliens, they are nigerians afterall the only difference is that they have power!
He with the Gold makes the Golden rule

Hmmm, that third party from ur post did not actively participate in putting Nigeria in its pitiful and sorry state. They might be accused of doing nothing but at least they did not do anything to have Nigeria in its decadent state. I only concentrated on those that are actively and constantly involved in the day to day governace of Nigeria.
So let us not lose our sense of directions here in terms of where to point fingers.

If u insist on climbing the Mt Everest without ur footwear, then it means U are ignorant of the technique of Mountain climbing or that U are just headstrong and stupid.Either way, U do not have any biziness climbing the mountain in the first place.

_{sorry for seemingly going offline from the topic but then it is inevitable.We have seen other contracts come and go and it is only logical that we will look at the present situation bearing in mind what has transpired before.}

Hmmm, that third party from your post did not actively participate in putting Nigeria in its pitiful and sorry state. They might be accused of doing nothing but at least they did not do anything to have Nigeria in its decadent state. I only concentrated on those that are actively and constantly involved in the day to day governace of Nigeria.
So let us not lose our sense of directions here in terms of where to point fingers.

But the third party wants a change from the pitiful and sorry state and it will still be accussed of doing nothing to avoid the current state of the country

sorry for seemingly going offline from the topic but then it is inevitable.We have seen other contracts come and go and it is only logical that we will look at the present situation bearing in mind what has transpired before.

True words, but it is also logical that we look at the enormous benefits of what could emerge in the future from this project

_{If u insist on climbing the Mt Everest without your footwear, then it means U are ignorant of the technique of Mountain climbing or that U are just headstrong and stupid.Either way, U do not have any biziness climbing the mountain in the first place.}

_{Oops this one is from my phoney analogy books  , what i would like to know is a way out of my current dilemma, would you tell me to come back down to learn the techniques?}

So r u implying that Nigeria is at its half life
In the case of U inexplicably climbing a Mountain without as much as giving a thot to the rudiments of climbing, I would say carry on.Since U survived the first half without your foot gear then U might as well finish off climbing.My reason: It is too late to turn back. However, in the case of Nigeria it is never too late to start all over again if we admit that these politicians have failed us, not once not twice!

To be talking about reaping enormous benefits from this project lies on the assumption that the project is going to be completed.And going by precedents, that is a huge and "unsafe" assumption to make in the Nigerian context.

in the case of Nigeria, we wont loose anything by learning as we go along, constant review of the constitution, better oppositon (there no point gathering in one party;the opposition should be as good as thr ruling party)
better enforcement of the laws we have already

To be talking about reaping enormous benefits from this project lies on the assumption that the project is going to be completed.And going by precedents, that is a huge and "unsafe" assumption to make in the Nigerian context.

Back in 1990s, the assumptions then were that mobile phone would forever be a luxury to normal citizens, our debt will spiral out of control, queues for fuel will grow longer and we would still be under military rule going by previous situations 

And that was why OBJ for want of acievements to flaunt, decided to flaunt the introduction of GSM in the country. What a shame something that is taken for granted in other neighbouring countries is now seen as an achievement in Nigeria.Giant of Africa indeed.

Our debt did it not spiral out of control

How can U sit down there and assure urself that the Military will not strike again. They did it before. Instead of assuming that all is well, let us admit that we have problems.When we admit that we have problems, it is then we can really sit down and try to solve our problems. Then we can be assured of running water,electricity,schools and even keeping the military in the barracks.Apart from that, dont assume that we are safe.It has happened before and it could happen again

And that was why OBJ for want of acievements to flaunt, decided to flaunt the introduction of GSM in the country. What a shame something that is taken for granted in other neighbouring countries is now seen as an achievement in Nigeria.Giant of Africa indeed.

If the rail system becomes successful we shouldnt really worry about how other countries see it their systems, better late than never

As Nigerians, our favourite past time would probably be gisting about the number of problems we have
When are we going to start solving the problems? if we don't start solving our problems we will basically have more problems. When we resolve our problems as we go along, it will have an effect on other problems and we will inevitably have less problems to contend with.

We can always ammend sections of the constitution,
IF we sit down and scrap the whole process we really wont achieve anything
We can just sit back and not initialise any project just because we havent don't anything in some other sector
We have to modify our version of democracy as we go along

I agree ,,,better late than never! But in Nigeria's case it is always a never.
Just like the National ID scam, Just like the Universal Basic Education scam, Just like the Vision 2010 scam, Just like the PTF scam, Just like the revamping of the Power Sector scam (unless if a mere change of name is enuf for U), Just like the current civilian to civilian transition scam,Just like the Census Scam etc. I can go on and on. The problem is not only that most of these projects NEVER saw the light of the day but millions and millions of naira were sunk into it. Any project initiated in Nigeria is just one more avenue for some politicians to make more money and that is how I view this railway stuff. Tho' I honestly pray that I will be proved wrong for once!

GSM is working in Nigeria because the populace is paying thru thier noses for airtime. The Govt is making money thru tarifs (most politicians do not even buy recharge cards, the phone companies give it to them free of charge) , the phone companies are making money thru airtime and so everybody is happy except the common man who has to pay thru his nose to buy airtime. But who cares about him,anyways

That rail can never be better than a molue on cmpletion!

Noone wish the country well, maybe we can change our prayer line along what most of us wish for the county - something like this - may every plan of the government fail, may our children fail to enjoy the plans of government because we dont see it working, and may we as a citizen never see good from the government - can we say Amen to all these prayers?

I have never seen a people who doesnt wish or see anything good in their country. I wonder. I realy wonder.

If wishes were horses then all Nigerians will be riding. Wishes dont make things work dedicated leaders make things work.

alabiyemmy:

Noone wish the country well, maybe we can change our prayer line along what most of us wish for the county - something like this - may every plan of the government fail, may our children fail to enjoy the plans of government because we don't see it working, and may we as a citizen never see good from the government - can we say Amen to all these prayers?

I have never seen a people who doesnt wish or see anything good in their country. I wonder. I realy wonder.

@Alabi , u got it all wrong!

What kind of rail do u expect when the infrastructure to get a world class system is absent?
As I am typing this post, I am using a generator with fuel sourced at N100 per litre from the black market!
u seem to have lost touch with reality prayers for nigeria
Come home if u wish and stay here

@boladonas

Come home? I am home as we speak - I come home five times a year. I have a business at home, I have only been gone for four years. So I know what I am talking about. Nigeria is not the only country with political and economic problems, even America had it once, they never willed bad to the country because of that.

We do not have political or economic woes rather we have incompetent leaders that hoist those woes on us

In other to move forward let us bring in positive issues to help.
I personally think that the railway lines should have been privatised and let it run like GSM.
That is, we get the investors pay for licence to build and run the railway. Bring in different companies which will compete with one another and that is it simple. Govt set up a commision to watch over them simple. Project will be finished to specification, on time and to deadline, and will not affect Govt change, but to hope one chinese company (hopefully well funded) will deliver Nigeria from rail-travel problems will be unrealistic especially when the guys who gave them the contract is about to leave haba!. I believe they (Govt) know this anyway so no need to ,

Most projects like this gets scrapped when a new Govt comes in this is normal, especially in Nigeria. More crucial issues at the new time will have to be exercised.

@Alabi, i am sure you are benefiting from this project so there is no need to argue with you. Also if you belive in Nigerian infrastucture why don't you host your web page on .ng and not .com HA ha ha ,

The good part is that we hope something useable will be acheived before this Govt expires so we can enjoy that little bit God help us,

@Alabi can you hooke me up i can help with providing railway slabs (steel and wood), Gis surveys, local labour, project management tools and maps e.t.c. Make me i chop too oh

I personally think that the railway lines should have been privatised and let it run like GSM.
That is, we get the investors pay for licence to build and run the railway. Bring in different companies which will compete with one another and that is it simple. Govt set up a commision to watch over them simple. Project will be finished to specification, on time and to deadline, and will not affect Govt change, but to hope one chinese company (hopefully well funded) will deliver Nigeria from rail-travel problems will be unrealistic especially when the guys who gave them the contract is about to leave haba!. I believe they (Govt) know this anyway so no need to ,

The Railway contracts have been left to a variety of companies, The Koreans aswell. The masterplan has been designed and all that needs to be done and is being done is to get the companies involved to follow through on the deal, apart from the nation wide railway line, there is also the Abuja metroline to be realised. My only problem personally, is the transparency of these railway deals. And poske yes we can espect the chinese along with the nigerian companies involved to deliver the nation from rail travel problems

@dblock
so why are we paying them (the investors) and not them paying us, why did mtn pay us $245mill and not us pay them to set up GSM. We could easily have given Nitel or a chinese firm $10Bill to set up GSM. You need to think carefully. Also there is no competition when you have awarded contracts instead of them bidding for your license, which can easily be taken back if they don't perform. A good way to measure and maintain performance. Incase you don't know you can make almost the same money as GSM, running a fully working railway network.

@alabi
Just another word for you, why are you claiming that you run a business, yes you do but do you know that you are a foreign investor. You should compare yourself to other foreign investors and not local guys that are trying to cope with all sorts of issues light,roads e.t.c
you setup your website in good economies and you come down to pretend to be making it in a difficult local nigerian climate welldone,

Yeah that may be true poske, but The railway facilities and the orders for the trains will be fully financed by the investors and not by Nigeria, we get the service they, get the oil blocks e.t.c

poske, At the moment I don't really think anyone will buy the railway as it is- it's basically not there; plus its bloody expensive to start from scratch Its better the government do their bit to a certain level before they can think of getting investors. if it was privatisable someone would have suggested it to the team. remember the Canadians also wanted to develop it so they (the govt) can privatize it

I don't see them as the investor they are contractors,the contract is for them to build and maintain they wont really be operating it, if they build and maintain it,

Yeah but the deals cannot be said to be under the "Build and Transfer" concept, simply because the projects that are being proposed and those that have already being approved aren't going to be handed to the Nigeria Railway due to the immense need to keep these infastructural developments under private control. Most of the projects proposed have already being approved, so this Railway Mega scheme is no longer  a dream but a reality. @ Loverbwoy, you seem to express your concerns about the state of the Railway Lines in the nation, but if they were up to standard Nigeria wouldn't be at the drawing board today .

Here is a Video for Ya'll
[url=http://www.ibctoday.com/News/ViewNewsItem.aspx?newsItemId=11407&rootVideoPanelType=2&rootRegionId=4http://[color=#990000]NEW RAILWAY EXTENSION: President Obasanjo performed the ground breaking of the Lagos-Kano railway[/url]

where's the video

Here's the proper link: http://www.ibctoday.com/News/ViewNewsItem.aspx?newsItemId=11407&rootVideoPanelType=2&rootRegionId=4

If development was measured by the number of flagged of projects in a country, then Nigeria will be the most developed nation in the world.

Warri girl go say "Na today!!!!!"

@POSKE.

I don't find you funny - I just found what you wrote is not worth more than the page on which it is written - so, no comment. The only sure thing is this. I run my business in Nigeria, I have physical presence in Nigeria, with offices and infrastructure on grond, so dont give me that bull about "you setup your website in good economies and you come down to pretend to be making it in a difficult local nigerian climate welldone". You are simply mis-informed. Businesses dont just exist on pages of the internet as you think. Also, what does it mean to you when a website is .com and not .ng? Abeg zip up the leaking posterior.

LoverBwoy:

where's the video

Oops My Bad

@alabi don't take it personal what is your point, say you dey follow chop money abee,

Latest

Railways gets new CEO
By Rasheed Bisiriyu
Published: Thursday, 25 Jan 2007
The Federal Government has appointed Mr. Jetson Nwankwo as acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

Nwankwo, who until the new appointment, was the Director of Operations at the corporation, replaces Alhaji Abdulrahman Abubakar, who has been redeployed to the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

It was learnt that Nwankwo was named as new chief executive at an emergency meeting of the NRC board held on Wednesday at the Ebute Meta, Lagos headquarters of the corporation.

Although Abubakar is on annual vacation, he has been directed to report to the Ministry in Abuja on February 1, for his new assignment.

The Chief Public Relations Officer, NRC, Ms Nneka Ubanwa, who confirmed the changes to our correspondent on Wednesday, could, however, not provide details on Abubakar’s new posting.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, the erstwhile managing director also said that nothing was clear yet on what he would be doing at the ministry.

But a source said that he was being considered to head a proposed department of railways, which would take care of the various projects for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the nation’s railways.

Abubakar joined the Nigeria Railways in 1983 as a principal personnel officer and was managing director of the corporation for five years, according to Ubanwa.

An indication that the changes were imminent came last week when Abubakar handed over the mantle of leadership to Nwankwo before proceeding on his annual vacation.

The practice was for the most senior director to act when the substantive managing director was away. Nwankwo was, however, not the most senior director at the time of his appointment.

It was not the first time an officer next in rank to the chief executive officer of the corporation would not succeed an out-going managing director.

Another source said the changes were made in connection with the revitalisation of the railway system.

Ahead of its eventual privatisation, the Federal Government had indicated its willingness to reactivate the ailing rail system and make it attractive for local and foreign investors.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, had on November 28 2006, inaugurated the construction of a new rail line from Lagos to Kano on standard gauge. The double track project was awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation at the cost of $8.3bn.

Government is also discussing with a South Korean firm the details of another rail line construction to link Port Harcourt with Maiduguri.

Source: http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200701251463328

So?

Uche2nna:

So?

So what