₦airaland Forum

Can we have both ? National debate and town hall meetings? Why kind of advisers does GMB have? He's going to self destruct!

Cutehector4u:
Dat means ur teling God he doesn't knw anythn since he commands dat thou shall not sin against thy own body

Do you know another thing God said you should not do?
Lie, offer or take bribe, cheat, steal......etc

HouseOfBalloons:
www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/opinion/sunday/lights-out-in-nigeria.html

Succinctly put together!

9jatriot:
Eg.

Arrest and ban are different.. Arrest means assumption of wrongdoing while the court determines if any wrong has occurred. Ban is handed out after wrong doing is established. No Naija law allows for banning of journalist!! GMB doesn't get it!!

barcanista:
Amya is only emotional and probably partisan.

You are the emotional one here without facts on your side. Defamation or slander is a civil offense and a tort claim can be brought against the alleged offender. The case in court is going to read: Musa Vs Barcanista.. Compensatory damage is awarded and no JAIL time , if Musa wins the case. He needs to prove by preponderance of evidence (51% threshold ) that Barcanista indeed willfully committed slander.
State secret is a felony and the case is brought up by state ( Barcanista Vs state) . Jail time/fine/restitution could await you if the state proves its case - Beyond reasonable doubt ( 90% threshold) in some jurisdictions, a grand jury is convened to examine the case brought by the state, an indictment is handed out before the state can even charge the case to court for trial.
So publishing something against a public official doesn't fall under state secret. There is Espionage Act in the law books of Naija.

Washed-up C-list celebrity in the U.S. is a super-start in Naija.. As my dad would say" old style in England is a new style in Africa"

kaboninc:
The minimum wage in OBJ's time was 7,500. GEJ increased it to 18k and that's 140% increase. Across the Federal labour workforce, salaries were increased by 53%. That's a huge increase in the wage bill. Now, compare how many workers during OBJ's tenure to that of GEJ's. Just the NYSC scheme alone is enough proof to tell you that there have been an increase in labour force. Even some states are yet to implement the minimum wage bill.

Even with facts you choose to stand on your personal opinion. Go and find out oil price trend between 1999 and 2007. Ordinary common sense will tell you that for the fact OBJ saved up to $43 Billion crude oil will not be sold at $38 per barrel. If during Yar'adua's tenure, it shot up to $62 billion, still it cannot be at $38 per barrel.

Use your time to find information and not gloat in ignorance.

And when you say GEJ did not save, it means you're not current. Because if you are, you'd know that it is only in GEJ's administration that Governors exerted the most pressure for excess savings to be shared. And he has no option than to do so because the money belongs to the Federation.

Like I said, asked the governors what they did with their own share. The Federal Government is the most scrutinised tier of government. Even the Local Governments receive a share. These are the questions you should be asking.

In their wisdom, the Federal Government decided to set up a saving scheme, the Sovereign Wealth Fund. The purpose for this scheme is being threatened because the same Governors have taken the Federal Government to court.

Also, part of the Excess Crude Savings was used to finance NIPP power projects managed via the Niger Delta Power Holding Co (a Special Purpose Vehicle) and a gentleman agreement in which all three tiers of governments are shareholders with the shareholding as according to their percentage allocation in the Excess Crude Savings.

Today, State Governments exert a domineering pressure on the Local Governments. You should be pushing for complete autonomy for Local Governments and stop this blind argument and criticism against GEJ. Ask the right questions.

Lastly when you say increase in reserve, I hope you understand or know that the component that's of utmost important to us is the Excess Crude Savings which can actually be tampered and subsequently shared.

nigeriapowerreform.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74

OBJ increased minimum wage from N3000 to N7500, that's a 150% increment, even though he inherited a $5bn foreign reserves with over $40bn external debt.
http://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/download/114/119. Pg 24, par 2.
Btween 1999 and 2007, average price was $38/barrel. In fact, btw 2001/02, it sold for less than $22/barrel.
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=F000000__3&f=A
ECA was shared between FG and state governors during 2010/11 election season. GEJ shared what he didn't save. Main foreign reserve of about $43bn was not shared. Mind you Yar,dua/GEJ inherited $62bn. How much did GEJ save?
Sovereign wealth fund is only $1bn which was drawn from ECA. You depleted about $20bn in ECA and replaced it with SWF? It's like gambling away your Boeing 787 Dreamliner Jet and replacing with a bicycle.
The more I talk about this profligacy, the more I get convinced that Nigeria is irredeemably doomed!

themano:
When you guys were encouraging different labour groups and gangs to press for more pay and sustain fuel subsidy, where did u think the money will come from? From Jonathans personal savings account?

Blame galore Nig Ltd! OBJ implemented national minimum wage for the first time and still managed to save. Oil sold $38/barrel under OBJ while it sold $90/barrel under GEJ

U

kaboninc:
You are funny.

For the record, OBJ did not leave behind anything close to $62 billion in any reserve. Facts are sacred.

Secondly, since you claim to know much about U.A.E, Dubai and co, you should know that in 2010, there was a 53% increase in labour wages across Federal Civil Servants - remember one of ASUU's demands? And the government had to borrow to meet that obligation?

Thirdly, you should also know that we pay subsidy for products which we have in abundance. If the removal and subsequent liberalisation of the oil sector had been allowed to sail through when OBJ sold the refineries, we wouldn't be in this subsidy mess. Ironically, the same people who were against the removal of subsidy in 2012 are now championing its removal because there is a decrease in allocations to states.

You say we paid up $36 billion debt owed by us to creditors. That's a fat lie. Do your research again and find the truth.

Lastly you should ask these State Governors, what they did with their own share of the Excess Savings. That savings wasn't 'leaking'. Do a proper research and avoid beer parlour politics.

I don't believe-it doesn't win argument, facts do. Provide counter facts.. ObJ btw saved $43bn and Yar'dua saved $62bn.. NOI and her team have NEVER disputed these numbers! BTW, GEJ has saved nothing in the last 6 years!

kaboninc:
Nothing I say will make you see reasons. So let me reserve my resources.

Cos you either having nothing concrete to back up ur claim or don't believe in facts when they don't favour u.

kaboninc:
How about World Economic status in 2007 vs 2014. Please provide figures for your comparisons. We can start from there.

And why say Soludo never directed personal attacks on NOI? That piece was simply an indictment on her management of the economy. The truth is that they were laced with wrong facts and figures.

What's world economic status?

Profs Chinua Achebe and Soyinka do not have any PhD

Soludo directed no personal attack on NOI, but her response through her PA is laced with personal attacks. Let's discuss GDP in 2007 vs GDP in 2014; Debt profile in 2007 vs 2014; Foreign reserves in 2007 vs 2014; size of national budget in 2007 vs 2014; recurrent and capital budget in 2007 vs 2014. NB: NOI was the minister of finance under OBJ who took credit for all the good economic numbers, so why is she disavowing those same numbers? It's OK to say that OBJ govt, even though not saintly, outperformed GEJ in key economic areas.

scribble:
Opinion polls commissioned by ANAP Foundation and conducted by NOI Polls (using Gallup methodology) show that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) and his main challenger, Major-General Mohammadu Buhari (Buhari) are currently running neck-to-neck in the 2015 Presidential race. The difference between them in terms of potential votes nation wide is statistically insignificant because it is dwarfed considerably by the much larger percentage of voters who remain “Undecided” – and so the race is truly too close to call.

This election will therefore not be decided by the loyalists. It will be called by the large number of undecided voters (these are the swing voters) and they have one thing in common – they do not like GEJ, but then they do not like Buhari either (they want change but see Buhari as the type of change that is both alarming and worrisome).

In such circumstances, efforts by both candidates to sell themselves forcefully to their core constituencies may simultaneously alienate the swing voters. When Hausa/Fulani elders and/or retired Generals and Muslim leaders shout forcefully that Buhari must have it, the rest of the nation recoils in horror. The same thing happens when misguided elements from the South-South zone and Christian leaders insist that their zone (or a Christian) must have two full terms in Aso Rock. The truth is that the Presidency is not anyone’s birthright and so it is naive and downright foolish to go down that route. Indeed some of these bold declarations by core supporters are akin to a kiss of death with swing voters.

Buhari publicly declared in 2011 that he will not contest again. Jonathan is said to have privately declared in 2011 that he would only stay for a single term. Let us therefore assume that they have both broken their word by contesting in 2015 and so there is little to be gained with the swing voters by dwelling on this.

Swing voters are moved more by what they do not like about either candidate. At the end of the day therefore they will vote “against” the candidate that they dislike more and their collecive actions will determine who wins. That is why this article focuses on the ugly side of Buhari and GEJ and not on their strengths.

Many of the swing voters are upset. They feel that our two major political parties have “cheated” them by forcing them to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.

During the course of the 2014 National Conference, where I was a delegate, I made a contribution to the effect that past military rulers, who toppled democratically elected governments, should still be tried for treason so as to serve as a permanent detterent to young and ambitious military officers who will then understand that the long arm of the law may get them even in their old age and even after they claim to have repented. Buhari dethroned a democratically elected government in order to become a military head of state at the end of 1983. Many of the swing voters are true democrats who abhor authoritarianism. Buhari was not a benevolent dictator either. He was a vicious and wicked one who used retroactive decrees to sentence youths to death and to jail journalists who dared to publish the whole truth. Can the leopard shed it’s spots overnight as some would have us believe?

Wickedness and callousness are not matters of style and/or fashion they are a reflection of a real personae. Buhari’s unguarded utterances about him supporting the institution of sharia nationwide and his “famous” statement that Muslims should only vote for Muslims and his threat that the baboon and the dog will be soaked in blood if elections were rigged are all consistent with his unelectable personae, hence his persistent search for devout Christians (with little or no political clout) as Vice Presidential candidates while he is on the capaign trail. Is he simply hanging on to political lightweights that he knows he can devour the day after he gets elected?

On the economy, Buhari was a disaster first time around. He was clearly an economic illiterate and thought he could run the complex Nigerian economy by controlling rations as was done in a military cantonment. He placed everything under import licence and empowered some individuals under him to prescribe what quantity of every good Nigeria needed and also sought to prescribe which individuals would import the item and in what quantity. Ignorance was on display all around and it was exploited through massive racketeering by persons in his government who called the shots. That he was deemed to be personally honest became irrelevant and so many of us cheered when ‎soldiers (not known for honesty) put him out of his misery by kicking him out of office in less than 18 months and before he could torture the nation any further.

GEJ is unliked by many because he is seen as being weak and unable to control the excesses of some of his close aides and party chieftains. ‎YES, he eventually stood up to ex-President Obasanjo (who tries to dictate to every serving President), but then who wouldn’t? All future Presidents (including those unborn) now know to avoid Obasanjo like a plague. What manner of ex-President will divulge details of his one-on-one meeting with a serving President to the general public ( in a book), without getting the latter’s prior consent?

NO, GEJ’s vulnerabilities are from the party chieftains and a few dodgy aides that he accommodates and/or tolerates. He also believed too much in assurances from our Security Agencies, Defence Ministers, Chiefs of Defence Staff, National Security Advisers etc. This entire group have lost credibility in the fight against Boko Haram. His most recent utterances suggest that he has realised now, how deadly Boko Haram are, but it is rather late in the day as the elections are a little more than a couple of weeks away. My own position on Boko Haram (BH) has remained consistent. The entire Nigerian elite continue to under-estimate BH at our peril. I would love to wish them away, but history and my head tell me that, like Colombia’s Farc Rebels, BH will still be around in some form or the other for decades.

Presidents who aspire to have a second term in Nigeria face this paradox; ‎if they stand up to all the party Chieftains, over-bearing Governors and Security Chiefs, they will not get re-elected because the Party will throw up a Challenger. If they succumb to this motley/unholy lot, they will slow down economic reform, secure their Party nomination but alienate swing voters nationwide.

The only reason for the swing voters to vote for GEJ therefore is if he can convince them that he will be able to free himself from this motley crowd next time around. Afterall, a second Presidential term is a final term and nobody (except Obasanjo) will ever dream about a third term. ‎In effect, GEJ must convince swing voters that, if they give him a second term, he will be man enough to bite many of the grubby hands that lurk around the higher echelons of his party.

Further complexities in the Presidential race arise because some of the ambitious and highly ‎educated politicians from the North East (in particular) do not want an ageing and not so capable Buhari to ascend a throne which they aspire to occupy in 2019. Buhari was rejected consistently by some of his newer supporters when he was younger and more capable. Ironically, the older and less capable he becomes, the more he appeals to them because they hope to usurp his authority. He has agreed to be dressed up in sheep’s clothing now, but they should beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. They might be shut out of Aso Rock if he wins.

Ironically, if these power brokers (who are not known for honesty) come out now to publicly affirm that they will have continuing relevance if Buhari wins, then again the swing voters get turned off because they see corrupt persons surrounding an old and infirm “honest” man who is driven by a blind ambition to re-occupy a seat from which he was booted out prematurely in 1985, even though he recognises that he is not clever enough to understand 21st Century economic and financial transactions through which some of his new and unscrupulous friends hope to loot and/or corner the national treasury under his lazy and ineffective watch.

GEJ has also gathered all sorts of renegades unto his campaign ship. The enemies of his enemy have all become his friends overnight. They are strange bedfellows. In his second term (if he wins) he will need to cut off many of these hangers-on. If he does that they will try to resist, but a second term President is hard to bully. GEJ needs to convince the electorate that he can continue with his bold agricultural sector reforms, his power sector roadmap, overhaul and reform of the transportation sector (beyond the celebration of token and/or paltry railway services) etc.

So on point!

Intellectual debate matches facts with facts, but intellectuly hollow debate runs on name calling, abuses, and "I don't believe it" responses. Show us ur rebuttal with facts!!

I have been saying this for a while. Most southerners who are Christians disagree with GEJ on policy issues on how to move the country forward, but most northern Muslims disagree with him because he's not one of their own.. They would most likely hate another Xtian southerner if he were to swap presidential ticket with GEJ

bushdoc9919:
Interesting article....especially as it shows how many Nigerians hoped that IBB was a different type of leader. Unfortunately....IBB turned out to be the opposite of what Nigeria wanted.(SAP, Austerity, Devaluation, Deficits, etc...and the Gulf OIL windfall that flew away....)

Buhari may have been a dictator...but he never told Nigerians that he would hand over to a democratically elected government....and then fail to keep his promise.

IBB is no saint, but he's not on any ticket; Buhari is!

Brahms:
Cowards!!














It runs in thy blood!

They know the value and sanctity of life! They know that life begets success and accomplishments while FOLKs like u have nothing to live for cos life is hard and death is " rewarded" with 21 virgins.

We didn't save enough when we had plenty. We wasted what had been saved by past administrations. We paid off almost all our debts when had a lot of savings. Our budget increased by 60% from 2008 to 2014, but 75% of the budget was for chop-money-recurrent expenditure. BTW, oil dropped from $117 p/b to $37 p/b btw 2008-09, but we survived because we had saved a lot and had little or no debt.
Fast forward to 2015: ECA depleted, our external debt has grown by 60%- which was primarily used to fund-recurrent expenditure/chop money, External reserve going down, recurrent expenditure growing while capital expenditure is shrinking.
BTW, Russia had close to $500bn saved up- which is about 25% of its total GDP. While Naija had about $40bn saved up-- which is about 6% of its GDP. Russian invested in infrastructure while Naija didn't.. Power in Naija went from 4000MW down to 2900MW.. BTW, both FG& state governors are culpable-/ FG got about 55% while governors got about 45%.

Cluelessness of this administration knows no bound. If elections are postponed by 6months, GEJ would have been in power for more than 4 years, thereby violating the constitution and making his authority illegal. He also needs the constitution changed to accommodate a-4& 1/2 yr presidency.. Changing the constitution takes more time and resources than holding an election..

N

BokoHaramm:
A plane was about to crash and there were only four parachutes in the plane. Meanwhile there were five passengers in it .The first passenger was Cristiano Ronaldo and he said: I'm the best footballer, I cant die now". So he took one parachute and jumped out of the plane. The second passenger was Aliko Dangote and he said "I'm the richest man in Africa and I'm too young to die". So he took the second parachute and jumped out of the plane. The third passenger was General Buhari and. he said: " I'm the person with the highest integrity in Nigeria and I'm about to win presidency so I can't die now, my people still need me". So he took one and jumped out of the plane.Then the remaining two passengers left werePope Francis and a little school girl.The Pope said to the little girl "take the last parachute, I'll sacrifice my life for you".The little girl replied "No need for that. There are two parachutes left".The Pope asked "How come?"The little girl replied; "General Buhari took my school bag"

Lol

worry359:
It was said on a telivision program that the baggage handling eqipment was designed for NORMAL travellers around the world.
Most people have luggage of less than 30kg but Nigerians must have HUGE bags of over 100kg.
Then complain because conveyor breaks down.

Stupid Naija mentality and Blame game! Airlines have weight limit of 23kg per luggage AND can take up 100kg and most baggage carousels are designed to carry such load. It's either they used substandard product or "wanted" travellers to carry less load. Mind you this is an intl airport where all traveler from around the world land.

How about price of kerosene?

Nigerians manufacturing stupidity since 1000BC! How many clinical trials have been conducted with this "drug"? How many peer-reviewed researches have been carried out with this "drug"
Court is not the best place to get approval while there are other agencies like NAFDAC, NMA etc.

We have to be mindful of childhood obesity in this country. Why are some of the kids over-fed and fat?

fagbalex:
Bros never spit.....everybody get right yo their religion. until when we start to respect each other religion that's when peace will rain, why would they mock the great prophet of Islam...that's extremely bad. what of if someone mock the great Jesus which is the prophet of Christian how will you feel. Muslims love their religion and adore their prophet, we need to respect that for them. Proud to be a Muslim!!!

Terrorism will continue to thrive so long as we have we appeasers and apologists like u. Any religion that justifies destruction of lives and property because of a publication is spiritually dead and intellectually empty. Life is sacred!!

aresa:
[s][/s]


Why bother me with your made up rubbish story? The picture there depicts active fire service with the right equipment needed to fight fire just like we see in advanced countries and we can also see water coming out of their hoses so keep quiet with your silly hate and bad bele jare..

I doubt if your village get danfo fire engine sef..

You can claim Lagos all you want,but when it comes down to showing your tenement payment and C-of-O we know who's qualified.
My point is, I have personally suffered losses from the aforementioned incidents and known people who have suffered as well. I have nothing to gain if expensive machines show up and least expensive material-water- is not available. Good luck in ur political cheerleading!

olas24u:
Trash even the women in the Lagos market have kids studying in the same school.whats the big deal in studying in U.k and living there

Stupidity ingrained DNA

I'm

aresa:
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10277171_1551627095108290_3286961409046401737_n.jpg?oh=61bc8d568cbb28d037c1b3bdb128c4c1&oe=5535A007

Nna villager, na water dey comot from fire hose on top that extension lader....


I understand sha, na hate blind you and no make u see the water...

Keep trolling.. Last yr,Fire outbreak at Berger-Apapa, fire trucks showed no water, Capital Oil and Julius Berger fire team had to put out the fire. December last ur, fire outbreak at GE-Africa complex housing SAP some other multi-nationals- fire trucks showed up with no water.. Folks like u can believe whatever u want to believe, but u can say this prayer: If my house is on fire, may only LASG fire service be my last and only hope.

Cronies running inept govt agencies.. Spent millions on fire trucks but no water to put out fire.. Naija is blessed with bad leaders.

I'm

ArabianPrince:
How does forgetting the name of his VP make him a lesser person for Presidency. Most negative comments coming from people who can never achieve one-tenth of his life achievements. If you are not Ok with his candidacy, Why don't you come out of your hole, make yourself a public figure and lets see how many followers you may have. His over 73...Yes! and so. Like it's easy to attain the age. When average lifespan in Nigeria is just a little over 55 years. And he is still able to go for rallies contesting for Presidency, when some parents of those abusing him are couch potatoes who cannot even walk 0.05 mile radius.

If you agree he is not an ideal leader for Nigeria...Nothing stops you Buhari Player Haters from contesting.

Moral lesson: Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - And most fools do. Benjamin Franklin

Am not a fan of Buhari.....Neither am I a fan of Jonathan.

Please don't quote me.

You just made a fool of yourself. He forgot his VP's name- just like forgetting your wife's name. He mingled words; he mispronounced words.. He struggled with his ideas.. He clearly doesn't know how to articulate ideas. His command of simple grammar is soo elemtary school.. Jacob Zuma doesn't have any university degree, but he's a good communicator.. Why didn't GMB take public speaking class or hire a speech coach.. Naija is really blessed with bad leaders.