alj_harem:

lol maybe he knows festus keyamo as well

alj_harem:

Is that not what Falana told Iweala and co at the open meeting on channels. Why have they not done that yet before the removal ?

care to answer

Beaf:

^
Yeah, I can point out his family compound. Die if you like.

I 100% agree with the above.

If anybody is suggesting riots and burning for the purpose of reducing the salaries of NASS members; then I am all for it. We have been taken for a ride for too long by a group of overpaid loafers, who know more about corruption than how to legislate progress.

Hitting the streets to force through a change in the constitution that will bring about smaller govt also has my support.

Beaf:



Hitting the streets to force through a change in the constitution that will bring about smaller govt also has my support.

Aigbofa:

It is just a lot easier for your boss to put the squeeze on the Nigerian people than to confront the armed robbers operating right in front of his face!  

Beaf:

@Gbawe
Keyamo is asking for evidence that he can take to court. He did not ask for slow dolts to take to the streets, neither did he make a single inflamatory or hypocritical statement like your useless shiit called Aregbesola.

We have a right to protest peacefully and we should continue to do so until this policy is reversed.

Beaf:

If it is easier for GEJ to remove the subsidy than for you to push for constructive changes in the constitution, then something is fundamentally wrong with your priorities.

You are one of those that rants about true federalism, yet here you are screaming for freebies. Under true federalism, the FG would have little say in the petroleum sector, talkless of handing out slow subsidies. I have asked earlier, why don't we subsidise toilet roll or maybe things like wood, plates, spoons etc?

Gbawe:

Who will do that when GEJ cannot lead by example in that respect? You and others spammed the forum shamelessly before the election telling us GEJ will show strenght once elected for 4 years. Now that this has happened, you are then putting the onus of change at the feet of Nigerians and inadvertently admitting that the man most empowered to lead by example in securing this change is not up to the job. What is the point of having a President when you will then ask the people to do everything? Did Amosun not write the Ogun State legislators to achieve the same thing i.e secure a change in the law to facilitate cuts in the salary of Government officials including himself? Keep shifting the goalposts. Nothing new here since we all know your shifty nature.

Beaf:

Falana told Iweala and co that they should hit the streets. You are a real donkey.

alj_harem:

You are a real goat. Is that not part of the reason why we are protesting ?

WE TOLD THE GOVERNMENT TO DO THE FOLLOWING OR ELSE WE WOULD PROTEST. IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE BEGINNING.

1. Reduce the cost of governance from 70 % of our revenue to about 10 %

2. Build our refinaries

3. The remove the gaddamn subsidy and let the cost of petrol reach 1000 naira per liter we don't care

Beaf:

Water is also a "gift of nature/the Almighty," should we not be out there protesting for it to be subsidised? Should we not do the same for sand? Both these things cost the average Nigerian a pretty penny.
The fact that some of the protesters are in jobs or run businesses does not mean they are not mentally lazy and unimaginative. Even Palestine, locked down as it is, is making strides in science and tech through private companies. Whereas, our fellow Nigerians are demonstrating for freebies! Yet, for all their suits and ties, have no enterprises worth showing to the outside World. The demonstration is almost like blackmail or armed robbery.
Something drastic needs to be done to jerk their dormant brains into action.

More than anything, politicians from sections of the country have seized on the mental laziness of the average person to move the country to the brink. It is not surprising that few of these freebie loving troublemakers have never suffered oil polluted foul smelling tap water. They are only there for the freebies, leading their blind people to the precipice.

So, we are back to the FG doing every little thing for us? Like I said earlier, in our skewed thinking, our governors and LG chairmen were elected for nothing. In other countries, representatives of the people go crazy to ensure that their electorate gets every benefit accruing to them. Our 100% reliance on the FG is a sorry hangover from military dictatorship times, we have been so traumatised that the average Nigerian cannot differenciate between left and right; a confused people, living in chaos.

Beaf:

The FG has no business building refineries. Get used to it.

Katsumoto:

The system of government in Nigeria is centralised and as such, Nigerians, regardless of region of origin, have a right to protest with regards to the resources that are found within the country. That can only change with Nigeria being broken into different countries or the implementation of federalism or confederationism. Looking at the price of petrol in other producing countries, one would observe that the price in Nigeria is very high.
Nigeria - 95 cents, Kuwait - 23 cents, Saudi - 16, Ecuador - 53 cents, Algeria - 32 cents, Venezuela - 2 cents, Iran - 10 cents

Katsumoto:

It is the function of governments to create enabling environments. Take a look at what the governments of the tiger economies did. Do you think Singapore, Korea, Vietnam became transformed without government intervention? So far, Nigerian governments have done nada and people have to make do with the current uninspiring environment. I myself have issues with the get rich at all cost mentality of Nigerians but that is for another debate. As far as this debate is concerned, people are demonstrating not because they are lazy but because they know the government can do better. For one, the govt can trim the useless fat it carries. Why should a senator be earning $1.2m when the president of the US earns approx $400k? The government is complicit in the smuggling of products through its incompetence and greed. The government is not doing anything to reduce the cost of government not tackle corruption but it is willing to increase the cost of living of the average Nigerian.

Nigerians don't need the government to give them handouts, they need the government to provide the necessary infrastructure to enable wealth creation. It is not a coincidence that the richest Nigerians are those who have served Nigeria in one capacity or their friends and proxies. How can people be creative when there is no light, when they have no food in the belly, when they spend a high amount of their time chasing basic necesities?

With all these debates with regards to the subsidy, I am yet to read of the economic effects of the removal. When I have some time on my hands, I will start a thread on that very subject.

alj_harem:

funny man

Then what is the FG doing sef. I want to know

the FG does not repair or build roads

the Fg does not build hospitals or give free health services

the fg does not build schools or give free education

the fg does not subsidise our food

the fg does not subsidise our clothing, transportation, etc you name it

Now the question is what is the FG for ? since we pay 70 % of our yearly revenue to FG, government officials and legislators.  

What is the FG meant for please I would like to know.

Beaf:

The FG has no business building refineries. Get used to it.

Katsumoto:

The FG is either supposed to build infrastructure or provide an enabling climate where investors can step in. In any case this decision is based on the political ideology of the ruling government. It is either capitalistic, socialist, state capitalistic, liberal, communist, or centrist. Regardless of what form of ideology is in existence, it the the function of governments to provide basic amenities. At the point, what is the political ideology of Nigeria's PDP-led government? It appears to be indeterminate.

Katsumoto:

The FG is either supposed to build infrastructure or provide an enabling climate where investors can step in. In any case this decision is based on the political ideology of the ruling government. It is either capitalistic, socialist, state capitalistic, liberal, communist, or centrist. Regardless of what form of ideology is in existence, it the the function of governments to provide basic amenities. At the point, what is the political ideology of Nigeria's PDP-led government? It appears to be indeterminate.

Beaf:

^
If you don't know, then you really shouldn't be in the politics section. That question is foolish.

Your arguments don't wash. We have always clamoured for decentralised govt, which is what GEJ is bent on delivering, so why don't we support him? For us to become a productive country, govt must be decentralised and letting go of huge chunks of the petroleum sector is a major part of that. NNPC is also slated for demolishing, I would expect all thinkers and progressives to shout hurrah. Instead, we have protests driven by sectional interests; they will falter and fail.
Why would anybody fight a govt that is intent on decentralicing and fulfilling our dreams, if not for ulterior motives?

As for the countries you listed, isn't it glaring that exactly NONE is developed and most are crackpot? Those are not countries Nigeria should look up to; we should compare ourselves to oil producers in the developed World, all of whom tax fuel for consumption; China, UK, USA, Norway etc.

Beaf:

^
I agree with most of what you have said above. One important aspect you lefft out is that govt also needs to create an enabling environment for itself before it can even begin to hit the lower echelons of any perormance index.
In the Nigerian context, govt needs to rid itself of concentrations of revenue for distribution. Such concentrations of wealth, lead only to ugliness, the consequences of ingraned corruption, lack of creativity and inefficiency which you and I are all to aware of. The most obvious candidate for disposal, is the petroleum sector. The process of the FG's deregulation of of that sector is bound to be painful, but the long term benefits are too good to lose sight off.

Another aspect you have neglected, is the place of the LG and state in creating enabling environments, creating wealth and opportunity and hope for future generations. There is nothing whatsoever stopping them from doing this and they are directly responsible for the people, so why are we not we carrying out revolutions against them, if not a total ignorance of national governmental hierachy?

Beaf:

It is an anomaly for govt to build refineries, that is strictly a task for the private sector. What govt should do is give tax breaks and other incentives to refinery builders for a number of years. Govt can also part finance the construction of private refineries or purchase non-controlling shares.

Govt should only take over refineries in times of war or other crisis.

Beaf:

^
If you don't know, then you really shouldn't be in the politics section. That question is foolish.

ilugunboy:

Make una no kill this Beaf ke!

Katsumoto:

I repeat, government expenditure is based on ideology. State capitalist countries such as China and Brazil are building refineries; liberal countries such as Canada and Argentina are giving incentives for private investment. Socialist countries such as Venezuela are taking over refineries. Most refineries in middle east kingdoms are built by the countries. There is no rule on who should build a refinery. I ask again, what is the political ideology of the PDP that is influencing the shape and structure of its policies? Apart from paying the fat salaries of legislators and elected officials, what happened to the $60 billion Nigeria earned last year?

Beaf:

First of all, no political party in Nigeria has an ideology, whether ACN. APGA, ANPP, CPC or PDP; they all ol boy institutions for grabbing power at the centre and stealing our eyes blue. And that is the lamentable state of things the current govt has inherited.

However, GEJ does have an ideology. It is one which drives both himself and his govt; it is that ideology that influenced the selection of Okonjo Iweala.
GEJ is a capitalist to the core. For the first time in our history, all govt policies are focussed on enterprise, from foreign policy to the way the oil sector is shaped. Every last part of govt is set to be streamlined for efficiency.
After this subsidy brouhaha, comes intensive public service reform, the death of NNPC, the death of PHCN, the death of the land use decree etc (all of this should happen this year); we are in for a ride on the path to productivity, instead of the current indolence. It is a future of progress.

ilugunboy:

Haj, . . . , haba the barrage of attacks and questions is getting rather too much on the poor dude