Iyke-D:

@mazaje,


Maybe we visited two different Nigerias - I visited in 1998 and re-visited again last year, and YES, a
lot has changed. I visited towns in Delta and was shocked at the level of slow but gradual transformation
taking place. I was even shocked by how well maintained and functional the Lagos airport was - relatively.
I know the country is still besieged by water and power problems, among others, but to pretend that nothing
has changed between 1999 and now is just being [b]dishonest [/b]at best.

TELL ME WHAT YOU SAW THAT HAS IMPROVED?

the roads are still as bad as ever, no water,the hospitals are still as bad as ever , unemployment has never been this bad,petroluem prices have never been this high its still the same suffering and smiling ,nothing has happened to the educational system its still the same.no security at all,nigerians have never experienced this amount of bank robbery,road robbery and failure in security system. salaries are still unpaid,i just saw meet a military man who told me he has been here in abuja for over a week now, sleeping on the streets just because he wants to collect his pension.

Am talking about changes and you are talking about lagos airport what has the airport got to do with the average nigerian? if u don't know last year when i went to nigeria the conveyor belt was'nt working we had to wait for over 4 hours before we got our luggages so i don't know what airport you are talking about. am talking about changes that affect the day to day life of the average nigerian and u are talking about airport na wah for you ohhhh. the people of the niger delta didnt know what militancy was until now.Nothing has changed in the Delta as u are claiming people are still poor as ever,no road no food no water no nothing its still the same as in 1998 for the average citizens not for the politicians(because they have definately seen an over whelming improvment) am talking about the average nigerian here not the political class. nothing has changed for them povery has not been alleviated in any way and the infastructures have not been built in any way too.though they are claiming to have recorded an economic growth its yet to be felt by the average nigerian.  8 years is enough for any responsible goverment to fix NEPA and rehabilitate our refinaries at least because they wil have an impact on the lives on the average nigerian but its not done.

@mazaje,

I won't get into a shouting match with you, but like I said, to claim that nothing has changed
for the better since 1999 is at best dis-ingenious. And like I said earlier, maybe the Nigeria I saw was
different from the one you saw (beauty is in the eyes of the beholder they say). I arrived at the same
airport and had no problem what so ever. I was so impressed that I left a comment on the feedback
box on my way out - praises and suggestions for improvement.

Yes, I was in Delta State and covered more towns than I had previously seen or known and I was
amazed to say the least at the level of tarred road networks connecting the towns. In some cases,
some major streets where even tarred! I could the absence of this when I got to Benin however.
The one building primary school in my dad's village had no roof when I was there in 1998, last year
I met a 2 block building when I visited. To cap it, they had just completed the rail line (bound for port
harcourt) that ran through the village. I suppose I could have pretended not to have noticed the rail
line in a village that up till today may still not have a tarred road leading to it.

I can't remember the last time the Universities went on strike these past few years - I have brothers
that attended Universities within this period and have graduated. In the past, students go to school
without having any idea as to when they will graduate. Also, if I am not mistaken, the lecturers are
better paid (could be one the many reasons for the stability). Teachers are also better paid compared
to how they were treated 8 or 10 years ago.

Of course, I never said there are no more problems in Nigeria (there will always be), but to sit here
and pretend that the present administration for its many failures, has not impacted any facet of life
in Nigeria positively is completely false in my opinion. I also have friends who are neither part of this
"political class" nor children of the mega-rich who are doing relatively very well, what, are they not
average Nigerians as well? What constitutes an average Nigerian?

I know people don't eat cell phones neither will it provide you with lasting security, but last time I read,
about 30milliion Nigerians were carrying cell phones. This won't happen if the right policies were not
in place. Common sense tells me that for one to be worrying about cell phone expense, its most likely
that food was within their reach as well. And YES, even in Delta State, a lot of people do carry cell phones
as well. If your criteria for dismissing any achievement that the Obasanjo government may have scored
is based on NEPA alone, then you are right, they have failed, just like all the previous administrations in
the country!

Nigerian needs a young president, not old former military generals!!

stop who? when? how ? why ? , whattytttttttt!

mamajama,
who are the corrupt officials in nigeria that dropped from the presidential race?
obj was out to frustrate those he felt could give a fight to yar adua or isn't that obvious?
if he was fighting against corupt people, then what happened to Andy Uba? was he not corrupt?
you claimed to be in the usa and that you are close to the people in power, are you not aware of the case of money laundary established in the usa against uba which involved the use of the presidential jet in bringing us$170,000 into the country illegally.
was he not convicted and fined in the usa?
if the likes of odili and co dropped from the presidential race, what have happened now that they are no longer under imunity?
is it not obvious here that those who bargained with obj on the presidential election are still walking our streets tall.
does dropping from presidential election make sinners saints?
it is unfortuante that when topics like this pose questions, the author never give answers.
in one of your responses here u surported the idea that immunity was the only thing seperating atiku from kirikiri. is he still under immunity? are u not aware that negotiations have been on between him and FG otherwise he will nail all and they are sharing no more immunity.
the government was corrupt and her organisations were corrupt and the election it was organising was corruption itself.
the only known sinners were anti-obj's tyrany.
please you and afam should tell us here in this forum in which areas of obj's governance that he failed.