Yeah, some douche bags will always trash talk!! Dats a sensible, articulate piece and pipl who can't string 2 complete sentences together will blab!!!

I only wish these imb. ecil.es in govt read and UNDERSTAND some of these pieces being written about them!

d country is forsaken!

God bless you my sister. I think asari said it should be sold for 300 becos the people of bayelsa pay so much for it.
bastard wont even hold their looting governors responsible. nigerians are the ones to suffer. may God increase your talent.

A truly brilliant piece.

@oyb dude u should watch it u are disrepectlng the ibos wao what a statement

9jafreak:

[size=16pt]I always ask myself the question:

"What is the role of INTELLECTUALS in Nation building, particularly in the African context?"

Achebe lives permanently in America and continues to give himself to the very people who engineer our doom. Soyinka is too withdrawn to his own intellectual magnanimity often he strikes me as disconnected from the real issues. By far the man FELA, appears to be more genuinely pro-people than our two most decorated intellectuals.

I am not always a fan of popular writers, because if the West sings your praise, it has to be that you are not dealing with the most important truths at the MOMENT.
Perhaps, like Chimamanda, Achebe and a host of other African intellectuals, you are reporting the past, and that's fine, since it's the past and we can "just move on."

But what about today?

"What is the role of INTELLECTUALS today?" other than attending endless conferences and book tours that offer little to no tangible benefit to the common man.

I am a poet and playwright only just forming, and this question cuts through my heart every day.

"Our Job is to make life worth living" pens Orwell.

[/size]

my friend, you are on point! you are on point.

thumbs up Chimamanda.

Coming from SE. Beautiful.

obowunmi:


my friend, you are on point! you are on point.

You see, the truth in this country is that we can not move forward with the type of attitude some commentators show on this platform. people do not take issues objectively; they always attack personality. Your pieceis the only one that catch my fancy. *sigh*. honestly, i'm confused.

I thank God for Chimamanda , I was starting to wonder if I was crazy to fight against the removal of the so called subsidy, while some of my kinsmen were in support of it. God bless this lady. These are the sort of people that our youths in igboland should aspire to be like

My brothers in the south-east did not join the protest because , accoding to them, they have been buying fuel for more than N100. But now that it is N97, how much would they now buy it.

The struggle is not about subsidy, it is about fighting corruption. The whole thing about subsidy from inception to where it is today is a fraud. We don't need it in the first place talkless of removing it.

Dear Chimamanda, you made my day with that piece. It gladdens my heart that our generation, bereft of all intellectual nutrients, have your breed as the last bastion of hope. The Almighty has given you the gift of literature to better the lots of humanity. And in doing so, you must expect more insolence, hatred & misunderstanding from the very people you have come to salvage. But i pray that you don't falter, given the very clanish disposition of our countrymen. Please Chi, please keep up the good works. The Almighty has reasons for all his gifts.

Nice one

Pukkah:

I'm waiting Ninapha.

I wish it turned out well but have you been following the House of Reps hearing on the investigation into the fuel subsidy?

And even if there was a subsidy that needed to be removed, have they not just simply moved it from one cabal (oil importers/NNPC/PPPRA, etc) to another (state governors, FG, etc) while I have to pay more for fuel?

I want Nigeria succeed under Jonathan but I tell you, the signs are ominous.

Ninapha brother, I am waiting and watching.  

Yes i have actually been following up the investigation when i can.  That is the beauty of the whole game, we are supposed to hold our Governors and LGACs accountable and thank God they are closer to us. 

You see we need one good shot to start the cleansing and i believe that shot is the fuel subsidy, dont be surprised if u see the govt regretting removing it cos they never envisaged it would open up closed wounds.


You need not pay more for fuel rather use less fuel that way Govt would also spend less on subsidy and more on infrastructure.  No more frivolities and till morning genset.


And Ninapha is a woman! not a bros

Well said my brother. I share that line of thinking too but we missed that opportunity the time we were only and adamantly pressing for reverting to status quo, ie N65 through a NLC/TUC that later betrayed us.

The strike and subsidy thing was an opportunity for us to call govt at all levels to accounting for thieir actions or inactions. But we missed the opportunity. And I think we have missed. May be GEJ wanted us to make us of that opportunity but we failed to see it as a chance

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, will you marry me?

Ninapha:


Yes i have actually been following up the investigation when i can.  That is the beauty of the whole game, we are supposed to hold our Governors and LGACs accountable and thank God they are closer to us. 

You are right.  The searchlight should also be on the state and local governments which are also cesspool of corruption.  In fact, the governors and local governments can make a greater impact on the lives of Nigerians than the FG.

Ninapha:


You see we need one good shot to start the cleansing and i believe that shot is the fuel subsidy, dont be surprised if u see the govt regretting removing it cos they never envisaged it would open up closed wounds.

If government really wants to work, they should have no qualms with the whiplash (unintended consequences ) of the fuel subsidy removal and the ensuing protests.  However, the government also needs to be more proactive and not reactive or wait until people start asking questions or protesting before taking action. 

I bet there are other Ministries that are currently as bad, if not worse, than the Petroleum Resources Ministry; is government also waiting for protests or questions before swinging into action?

Ninapha:


You need not pay more for fuel rather use less fuel that way Govt would also spend less on subsidy and more on infrastructure.  No more frivolities and till morning genset.

Ordinarily, the government should not attempt to lower the standard of living of the people by raising prices.  There is an inverse relationship between the cost of living and standard of living. I disagree your position that suggests that using a generator till morning is a frivolity.  Consider the fact that we are in a mosquito-infested part of the tropics and you'll realize that those who use generators at night do so for a reason. 

If there was a stable supply of electricity, I doubt there is anyone that would switch off the mains at night because he wants to save electricity consumption.  The problems I have with using generators at night are noise and air pollution.  I don't think that petrol is a luxury item when it's used to power a generator overnight. You may want to tax luxury items to make them more expensive or reduce their consumption, but a commodity that has become as basic as petrol?

Anyway, the point I was trying to make is still valid: if the savings from the partial removal of the subsidy is wasted on embezzled by the states and FG, then the citizens who now pay more for petrol would be the losers. Won't that be a case of shifting funds from one cabal (the oil importers) to the other (states and FG) while I now pay more?

Ninapha:


And Ninapha is a woman! not a bros

My error. Noted. I apologize. But in 'brotherhood' of Nigeria we stand.