₦airaland Forum

The idea that the best way to deal with the Nigerian University system's inability to cope is to somehow "discourage" potential graduates from taking up degree programmes is preposterous.

It sort of reminds me of the Zimbabwean who claimed that his country men's starvation to death will help alleviate the food situation since there will be fewer people to feed.

The question is whether too many Nigerians are going to University.With a literacy rate estimated at 57%,how can we claim that there are effectively too many people seeking an education?For a nation and economy of its size,the actual numbers of University graduates in Nigeria are comparatively far smaller than other similar nations.

It is not only the Nigerian University system that is failing to cope with the number of potential users.We haven't got sufficient tarred roads vis-a-vis Nigerian motorists,should we restrict the number of people who can drive?Even at Sec/Primary school levels,we face challenges,why not reduce the amount of people who seek to get an education in the first place?

The Nigerian University system only reflects a greater Nigerian malaise-the abject lack of resources to meet the needs of Nigerians-and the solution is not to discourage and reduce potential users but to work on developing these resources.

See the fraud highlighted above, the average marginal tax rate for the middle class increases while that of the rich reduces.

This is one of the change Obama is talking about, no one is TOTALLY against tax cuts but when the bulk of the income gain is by a certain income bracket, the stimulation to the economy is non-existant.

When Bush entered into office,the economy was in the midst of a slowdown which tipped into a recession shortly thereafter.Bush's policies didn't stimulate economy?Unless you want to ignore the fact that the US economy bounced back from the 2001 recession to post GDP growth rates above US historical and OECD averages.If that isn't a stimulation,I wonder what is.

As for the supposedly skewed nature of Bush's first 2 tax cuts.The question is whether you actually want to stimulate the economy or simply play class politics.The rich,like it or not,own a disproportionate share of the country's wealth and any major tax cuts that doesn't include them is often futile.When Reagan cut the top rates of income tax from 70% to 40%,did the economy tank?Absolutely not.Instead,as we have seen with the Bush tax cuts,the rich now bear a higher share of the nation's tax burden.http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/77xx/doc7718/EffectiveTaxRates.pdf

Lets not be fooled the by the idea that Bush's tax policies only benefit the rich.In 2000,the bottom 40% collectively paid no income taxes.With the 2001 tax rebates-which mailed $600 to couples on low income and $300 to those who are single,the bottom 40% collective share of income taxes fell to -4% between 2000 and 2004.

Secondly he proposes incentives to companies that will grow and build the American Market against those that take jobs abroad (this is another arguement)

Companies are guided by economic logic.Using US taxes to subsidise decisions that may go against a companies' economic logic is hardly a judicious use of money.

Furthermore, the most ridicolous aspect of Bush is that in a time of war, the bush govt has kept on reducing taxes from the $1.6 trillion tax cut to this (which as i have shown above is different), the effect is that you have rising Government Expenditure, but reducing Revenue/Income, the effect is you start driving the level of budget deficit so high it can't be sustained, it is at level almost 4% of GDP (almost), that my friend is an economic disaster.

Stay factual,the biggest Bush tax cuts(the 2001 $1.3trillion tax cuts) was signed into law in July 2001-hardly a time of war:http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/07/bush.taxes/

If you are referring to the smaller 2003 tax cuts,that led to an increase in the GDP annual growth rate from just 1.7 percent in the six quarters before the 2003 tax cuts to,in the six quarters following the tax cuts, a growth rate of 4.1 percent.

Does such expansion of the GDP growth rate lead to a fall in the Govt revenue/income?Your complaints about higher Govt expenditure is ironic given that Obama's campaign promises require a monumental increase in Govt expenditure that will only serve to widen the deficit and wipe out any theoretical revenue benefits from ending the Iraq war and letting the Bush tax cuts expire.You do remember that all these campaign promises have to paid for,don't you?

McKren:
I have no reason for backing Obama.

Ever seen a virgin girl fall in love with a thug?? Thats how I feel right now.

Na 'tribalism',even me sef,if Obama wins,I will be delighted.

My heart wants him to win but my head tells me he is not the best candidate.Na win-win situation

almondjoy:
What is the difference? If people are used to making $10/hr and you outsource their jobs to people who come in for $2hr, what do you call that. To add insult to injury--most of these people do not pay taxes with fake SSNs--never filed for being illegal, then sap the healthcare system with 20 babies per second!

Then send the money they worked for under the table oversees!

Please ma friend think again!

Haba,leave the Mexicans na,wetin dem do you? They want to enjoy the same America you are enjoying.

I agree sha,illegal immigrants 'shaft' those at the lowest levels of the income scale but they benefit the middle and upper classes.

As long as most Americans ultimately benefit,albeit at the expense of the working class,those illegals will never be fully locked out

McKren:
David Axelrod or David Plouffe are not Nigerians let alone being members of nairaland.

You have as much responsibility to show us that Obama's claim to Change is a hoax as we have to prove that it is real.

Nigerians sef.When you claim that the burden of proof lies with the person disputing an assertion,in this case those disputing Obamaniacs claims of change,you are effectively waving the white flag.

Why is it that the best way you can establish such change is by referring us to a website we have already dismissed? Surely,your belief in the genuineness of Obama's change slogan would mean that you can articulate here on Nairaland why you hold such beliefs without referring us to Axelrod,Ploufe and Obama.com.

The simple question is,why do you as a mature and rational adult hold this belief in Obama's change message?

4Him:
and even if they secure the border what about outsourcing of jobs? Illegal immigration is not what is stealing jobs, it is the outsourcing of every single industry to Asia. Imagine i ordered an Ipod from the apple website and it got shipped from China, my hanes underwear is from Pakistan . . . is that the fault of leaky borders?

Outsourcing doesn't as a whole steal jobs.Its about comparative advantage

If there was no outsourcing,you would have to pay more for those goods you bought.If you had to pay more for each good,you will have less to pay for others.If you have less to pay for others,less money in your pockets means less spending generally which means the economy suffers.When you take all that in total,you find that outsourcing has net benefits.

It allows countries to concentrate on where they have comparative advantage thereby ensuring lower costs and keeping the economy efficient

4Him:
no wahala. I have not endorsed Obama either . . . i have adopted the customary Nigerian attitude of siddon look.

The way una dey talk of this endorsement,like una carry the same cachet as Kennedy or Oprah. Your endorsement of APGA no make any difference in the Nigerian elections

almondjoy:
WoW!

Well, that was a heart full! This is why you need to get past where you are. I like to really hear what a lot of others are saying about these subjects of "change". That in the least has got me to the point of demanding some specific plan on how policies are to be implemented. Obama has yet to prove that he is different from Hilary or MCcain. I don't even see blue prints not to talk of plans! They are all the same in that regard.

You are still there asking for evidence of this "change" Obama is offering when an Obamaniac has told you this:

Obama and Clinton have almost the same policies with slight variations, the core content is the same Democratic policies on taxation, immigration, the economy name it,

Obama is going to bring "change" by offering the same polices with slight variations.Change by doing broadly the same thing is certainly change we can believe in

@ 4play Which joke are u on about, referring to a website. Not every numpty can do that if not America wont be at war. Your statement on preinternet age is at best laughable, i have sought to stay away from issues with people like u (apologies) because its pointless, Obama and Clinton have almost the same policies with slight variations, the core content is the same Democratic policies on taxation, immigration, the economy name it, for McCain its Republican policies never changing so i really don't understand except the people calling for it don't understand the party ideologies.

The devil is in the details.No candidate has ever run for the Presidency without outlining policies but giving policy details is as important,if not more so,as making a broad outline of policy.

If for instance you say you will provide $4000 of tax credits per year for college students,how do you fund it and will there be spending cuts in other areas?Is it through a tax increase,through spending cuts or through borrowing?

Obama and Clinton have almost the same policies with slight variations

I used to think Obama was the man of change,while Clinton is beholden to the lobbyists.If they are offering the same policies,how does Obama represent this change he has been championing?

Unless of course the polices we are talking about are mere boilerplate campaign policies that the Democratic party has been offering since time immemorial.So where again is the "change" we have been hearing?

away4real:
@ almond if you want the full details you will have to read the policy papers in the link provided by Mckren.

There is an inside joke about Obama supporters always refering people to Obama's website whenever they are asked for specifics.I wonder what they would have done in the pre-internet era.The strange thing is that the site contains relatively little and even goes to further substantiate the charge against Obama.

There are economist and political scientist in Harvad/Yale that have the answers and empirically proven solution,leave the issues to the technocrats. The presidents job is the ability to bring them all together, and choose the right mix of solutions not a lobbyst solution, Obama has that. Hillary and McCain just don't have it.

What you are effectively saying is that one of Obama's strengths is his ability to call on Ivy league technocrats.Any numpty as President can do that.How do we know Obama has the "right mix of solutions" until Obama spells them out in detail and we can compare and contrast.

If Obama doesn't want to be beholden to lobbyist,why prevaricate over the issue of restricting campaign funding for the Nov 08 elections to Govt sourced funding?

almondjoy:
You and them politicians, I really do not know who is worse! More rhetoric and emotional entrapments with words like--"the will", "bringing people together", "the right solution" and all those emotionally charged propagandist terminologies people use to hoodwink the economically and socially handicap.

Obama girl or not --let Mr Barack Hussein Obama come as well as all others and let me know how they intend to implement all these policies! The policies all look and smell gooooooooooooooood! No be so Bush and co talk last year. But please, I need the details. They are all waiting till the last minute to pull out the rabbit from the hat. I am waiting too. Till then-I will listen to music on ma Ipods and watch cartoons!

I will definitely read the link Mckren provided--but as you know, I have an analytical mind--I just hook up with the talking heads on CNN and talk radio hosts and the rest of the Americans who have not lost that ability to think. They usually do the analysis for me so I make my own decisions from there--based on common sense. Short cuts!

With Obama,its the triumph of style over substance.There is a certain "wait and see" element to his candidacy.Most people don't know what he will really do until he becomes President.Unfortunately,style can be more important in what some political analysts call a "beauty contest",the US Presidential race.

RichyBlacK:
Living dead? A highly inaccurate and rather skewed description.

Castro is hail and hearty!

Hail and hearty? It would help if you could spell ,never mind giving an accurate description of Fidel's health.

rjimid:
I been chatting and on the phone with a girl from Warri for about 9 months now. We are ready to move to the next level. And, I want to see how much I can learn about the culture, life, food, and all that, because this is what I want.

Reading Nwando's post,who would have thought Nigerian women may be interested in foreigners,when she made this comment:

don't mind them
are white men in vogue?
who will see better black man go pick overripe yellow paw paw,call am man
abeg!!!!!

If rjimid is saying the truth,could it be that the Warri girl did not see "better black man" in Nigeria? People can seek to deny reality but reality has a way of mugging people in denial.

@Kobo

All the article is pointing out is that [i]poverty remains high despite various economic reforms[/i]It is entirely silent on whether poverty has been reduced or not and despite the fact that it dates to 2008,it is only using a survey done in 2004 to come to its conclusion on the level of poverty.

A poverty rate of 70% is high and if reduced to 55%,the poverty rate remains high.Past studies tell us Nigeria had a poverty rate of 70%:

Statistics show that the incidence of poverty using the rate of US $1 per day increased from 28.1 percent in 1980 to 46.3 percent in 1985 and declined to 42.7 percent in 1992 but increased again to 65.6 percent in 1996. The incidence increased to 69.2 percent in 1997. The 2004 report by the national Planning Commission indicates that poverty has decreased to 54.4 percent.

It seems that the 2004 figures are the latest surveys done on the issue.Again,no where does the article state that the poverty rate remains the same or that there has been no reduction in poverty,all it says is that poverty remains high and it reaches this conclusion using 2004 data.Having no post-2004 data to refer to,it can't draw any conclusions yet on the state of the poverty rate post-2004.

4Him:
Mugabe would rather die than resign from office.

To be fair on Old Bob,he has only been in office since 1980. Fidel was in office since 1959 and only resigned when he became a "living dead". . . . . .I think Old Bob would resign if he was in Fidel's condition.

Kobojunkie:
Did you even spend time to read the article It does not say anything about any reduction in poverty at all even with all the so called "IMPROVEMENTS". Please read it.

If an article fails to mention something,this doesn't mean that as a matter of fact,nothing has happened.That the article failed to mention poverty reduction doesn't mean it hasn't occurred.The article in itself is not wholly conclusive on the issue of poverty in Nigeria.

The article notes the level of poverty in 2004 to be at 55%,this is a marked improvement from previous IMF and World Bank figures of 70% during the 90s.Whether these figures are accurate is another debate but the earlier point I made still stands,the level of poverty we have in Nigeria will take quite longer than most expect to be significantly dealt with.

4Him:
It also works both ways . . . most of the nigerian women who claim to want to "know" . . . who claim to be concerned that nigerian men are more willing to slave for foreign girls are simply two-faced. Many would drop their pants for a white boy in a flash . . . however since they know they can't get that chance (no thanks to their low self esteem . . . cloaked by pretended aggression) . . . they hate on others with foreign partners.

There is an element of that in the constant whining by many Nigerian women.The key obstacle for a Nigerian woman is that as a woman,and this applies to women in general,women tend only to get to choose male partners who approach them.So many Nigerian women may "lust" after foreign men but apart from those that merely want to sleep with them,very few are interested in marrying them.

However,many Nigerian men also lust after all things foreign.The key difference is that we have,as men,greater leeway to act on our impulses to the 'envy' and obvious irritation of many Nigerian women.Fundamentally,we are the same.

But seriously I don't like our men marrying oyinbo and talking ill of Naija women like we're trash
If you see how they worship these women like mammywota

But it works both ways.The key problem is that we have a high degree of self-loathing.Most Nigerians cherish anything foreign and this includes foreign partners just for the simple fact that they are foreign.

Kobojunkie:
Even with all the "IMPROVEMENTS" outlined poverty remains high

To be frank,even if we were implementing the best economic policies on the face of the planet in the history of humanity,it will take a long time to reduce poverty from their high levels.

Obviously,this depends on which time frame we are looking at but if we started now,it may take a decade to reduce the incidents of poverty to a minority of the populace.

jesusfreak:
poverty is a state of the mind

_{Trying to make sense of this}There is a certain truth to this,in as much as we are talking of relative poverty.Check out how many people in the West are classified as "poor".These are often people who own cars,vast ranges of electronics,live in decent houses in addition to drawing a relatively decent wage.

The way poverty is measured entails that there will always be poverty .As average income increases,the standard for determing who is poor goes up.In an economy where average wages are $4000,income below $1000 may fall below the poverty line.In a $40,000 economy,this may be increased to $10,000.Thus,"poverty" is guaranteed irrespective of what is going on in the economy.

@Uche

You are trying to be logical in a forum where we regularly discard that quality.You see threads claiming "Nigerian women all have smelly Instruments or are money grabbing whores",which by implication should apply to the poster's mum and sisters.

Or the whining about Nigerian men,again,by implication applicable to their fathers and brothers.

The key underlying fact is,Nigerian men are a reflection of the Nigerian society which society,Nigerian women are an integral part of.Both genders reflect each other,both the negative and positive qualities

Nigerian men are a reflection of Nigerian women.

Talk about throwing one's self at the feet of foreigners,you only have to see how Nigerian women will throw themselves at the feet of a Nigerian with a UK/US passport, ditto for the menfolk.

Kobojunkie:
Can you prove that statement you made there is for a fact Or is this just a case of You said it and so we should all believe it ?? Other countries have been able to counter such habits but in Nigeria's case, it is impossible?? So, the law then does what if it can not counter the habit

I thought it was for you to prove the truth of your assertion.You are the one who brought up the point that Nigerians peculiar habits of handling paper money can be countered,well,the ball is in your court.

Kobojunkie:
Here is a simple and direct question for you. What stops the government from using the same money now to produce and get into circulation better quality bills right now to counter the "habits" of Nigerians? Just the answer to this question is what I seek, nothing more.

There is no amount improvements that can "counter" such habits.No such technology exists.

Unless we want to discard of paper notes all together but there is no evidence that our Naira notes are of poorer quality than say the dollar and that the dollar will survive the kind of treatment Nigerians usually mete out.I can envisage a situation where such treatment will even get worse if there is a perception the notes are more durable.

@SkyBlue

Unless this law applies to "spraying" alone,your argument is invalid.The govt deals,literally with hundreds of measures per annum, and I don't see how dealing with this amounts to a failure to prioritise.There are tangible financial benefits to this measure.

I don't support the criminalisation but I full understand why they are considering it.

@Chacal

Myles Palmer wrote that? Then he has more wisdom than I initially gave him credit for.I must admit,I never read articles written by the "enemy" so I wouldn't know Myles Palmer from my testicles.

I cannot even bear to click on the link Loyika provided,can't be found reading an Arsenal link,its like being found checking out pedophile sites. . . . . . .the Police might barge in through the door.

@Loyika

You standing up for Mr P makes me think he must be clueless.That is how I see it.

70%? People can't stand objective analysis,that is why!Not that I agree with your figure but I am an objective fan who is fair to all teams including Arsenal

PS:I have my own football blog but can't be bothered to read it,I have forgotten the link

I'm sorry but i believe it really is that simple. In england it is very easy to see 2p or 1p on the ground. However, you would never see a note on the ground or rough handled. Why? because the currency has value. Isn't this what Soludu should be focusing on? Even without that, a £20 note is surprisingly durable even considering it is not the most commonly used. If people in charge have really run out of ideas and direction, they should let others lead.

There is no fiat by which Soludo can cause the Naira to be more valuable unless he embarks on a re-denomination,remind me again what happened the last time he tried that.

As things stand today,the value of the Naira suffers if the Govt has to keep printing notes more frequently than normal just to keep up with the "habits" of Nigerians.

Here is another not so flattering description of Myles Palmer,Loyika's idol,by fellow Gayners:

ANR (Arsenal News Review)[/b]An idiosyncratic site, making it a good read. Main columnist Myles Palmer is more of a Myles Palmer fan than an Arsenal fan, but his interesting/irritating [b]ramblings are nicely offset by Ian Grant. He's a real fan whose concise and revealing (but not as frequent as we'd like) round-ups of Arsenal stories from the media are as good a way of keeping up with things as they were back when he started ANR started here, as Arseweb News Reviews.

[url]http://www.arseweb.com/cgi-bin/linkindexer/cat.pl?cat=Fan%20Sites[/url]

With such a reputation,even amongst Gayners,why anyone will take him serious beggars belief.I would rather quote Milly Vanilly on Football than such a 'rambler'.

If an only if the contract is ever proved as forged,we get our £6m back from Lyn and Utd can very well afford another £6m.Its not like as if Chelski had already paid us the full £12m anyway

Is it not possible for the Scum to win the CL Huh Damn even Liverpool can win the CL, ITS A FLIPPING CUP COMPETITION!!

Is that why you guys have never won it? Its just a 'flipping cup' competition.When you tits were celebrating the Almighty Amsterdam Tournament,one would have thought you won the World Cup(hey,the WC,another flipping cup)

PS:According to Gayners,Myles Palmer is unbelievebly stupid

By the time Inter dumps the inbred Scousers out of the UCL and they are left only with the 4th Place Championship to fight for,they will be crying in Latin,Greek,Arabic and Esperanto all at the same time

loyika:
By the way, Capello reckowns we will do in the Old Lady;

http://sport.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/02/18/Champs-Lg-Capello-on-ArsenalMilan/?facets/sport-space/great-britain-locale/

What is your conspiracy theory on that, The FA forced him to say that as well
GOONER 89

Since you seem to regard Capello's prediction as 'quoteworthy',did you happen to miss this?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/2008/02/19/fabio-capello-says-manchester-united-will-win-champions-league-89520-20324342/

What is it they say again,if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.The only way you can get the creme de la creme of Nigeria to join the legislature is by paying them well.Who remembers that Abacha was officially on 70,000Naira a month?

We had this same issue with regards to Okonji-Iweala.If you don't pay well,you are not going to attract the brightest.

The problem is not the declared salaries but the undeclared 'democracy dividends'.However,in so far as corruption is concerned,higher wages curb and not enable corruption.

toshmann:
for good times
and bad times
i'll be by your side
forever more

that's what fans are for

:'

you will never walk alone

Are you crying in Swahili too?

This is one of the messes made by Bill Clinton.The US should never have intervened in 1999.The immediate problem for the region is Serb reaction although that can be quelled in the long term.

Kosovo has historical significance for Serbs as a cultural and religious centre and they are entitled to feel hard done by this decision.

Of course,that region,especially the former Yugoslavia,has seen such emergence of new nation-states before so they have 'form' in that respect which reduces the shock of such breakaways.

My key problem is those Albanians looking for a Greater Albania,this won't help with the Albanian separatist situation in Macedonia and will cause all sorts of problem in the long term between Albanians and non-Albanians.