₦airaland Forum

Realman87:
Sorry. Truth hurts.

The only "truth" here is that you're a poisonous akpu-eating turd who needs to go back to your gully-infested region along with all your drug-pushing, fake-drug manufacturing "blodas", since you all clearly hate us so much.

Realman87:
When Jonathan lost, Yorubas on nairaland claimed that the 45% votes were rigged and that they didn't vote him. Now, you are here claiming that your chamelionic people voted him. You see why people now disregard yorubas. For the records, the 45% votes Jonathan got from the SW are Igbo votes and SS votes. Lagos is a typical example where all igbos voted pdp. Ibadan is another example where all igbos in Ibadan voted pdp. Stop claiming that your people voted the same man they were desperate to pull down. You should enjoy your change. Fool.

Wow, you're both a tribalistic bigot and an idiot! So much concentrated failure in one person! Aren't IPOD morons like you quick to claim that Lagos is the only place Igbos are to be found in the south-west? So now you admit your people full Ibadan too! Wetin bring you there if Yoruba people are so terrible? You for don sit jeje for your eastern paradise naw? Oloriburiku omo lai leko. Koni da fun e ati were to bi e.

2sex:
are you willing to tell me how? I got 200k to start with. If you would, am I permitted to send you PM?

I am aware of the opportunity but no one seem to tell anything. Everyone guiding the info like mother hen to he chicks

All you have to do is make friends with an Abuja politician or a highly-ranked civil servant in the CBN! That's what was left out: the only people who benefit from round-tripping are the same highly placed crooks who have always benefited from corruption in Nigeria.

PapaBrowne,

Thank you for taking the time to carefully explain how the current currency policies only create opportunities for arbitrage by the well-connected. Unfortunately, I doubt it will do much good: the state of Nigerian education is so poor that most respondents will just keep insisting that a "strong" Naira must be good, no matter how powerful your arguments to the contrary, or how weighty your evidence.

The folk belief in Nigeria seems to be that it's within a government's power to give the populace a level of purchasing power greater than what their productivity would actually merit. Right next to that in popularity is the fallacy that imports are by definition bad, and that simply restricting imports to "essentials" will magically make everybody more prosperous ...

Apart from the question of whether the senate even has the authority to rule on such matters, this is nothing more than populist pandering to financial illiterates - of which Nigeria has no shortage. You all complain endlessly about the lack of constant power supply, yet when the government tries to make it financially worthwhile for the DISCOs to invest in improving their infrastructure, you complain that you're being cheated!

Which one do you want, the "cheap" power supply that is almost never there, and which must be supplemented by dirty and expensive fuel for generators, or paying more for power that you can actually count on any hour of any day of the week? Those are really the only choices there are, as no one will extend funding to the DISCOs to improve their infrastructure if the DISCOs can't even demonstrate that they can charge enough to cover their current expenditure. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you a pipe dream.

sholalawal:
when the man salary has not been paid what do you expect.

It doesn't matter whether they've been paid salaries or not, there is simply no excuse for stealing from already malnourished and starving children.

Few things can be more heartless and greedy than stealing food out of the mouths of the poorest children. These teachers need to be punished beyond mere sacking - they need to be criminally prosecuted and sent to jail.

As for those who have jumped on this opportunity to bash northerners, can any of you can really say that there are no similarly greedy and heartless people in your part of the country? If you can, I would like to know what sainted part of Nigeria that is, as my experience is that the penchant for corruption is the one trait almost all Nigerians share regardless of origin.

desertboom:
Nigerians are paying too much, multiple taxation here and there. Currently, Nigeria is paying much more than any country in Africa because of the increment yet no light.

You will have to plant, nurture it before harvest. But here in Nigeria people want to ccount profit already without prior investment.

It is too early for Nigerians to pay above all other Africa countries without giving us even 12 hours of electricity everyday.

1. This is not a "tax": distribution companies have a right to charge for the services they provide, and an obligation to their shareholders to do so. They are not forcing anyone to sign up with them, and those who prefer to run generators all day are free to do so.

2. What "profit"? Can you point to a single earnings report showing a DISCO making huge profits from Nigerian investments? The reality is the exact opposite; the DISCOs haven't been able to charge enough to cover their costs, let alone earn the profits required in building up their infrastructure.

3. If you want anyone to believe that Nigerians "pay above all other Africa countries", then you need to provide some actual numbers and references to support this, as well as evidence that there are any African countries with cheaper electricity which actually enjoy more reliable power. Simply saying such things doesn't make them true, and what evidence I've seen suggests the direct opposite of your claims.

Oz4realsss:
Answer my question, Mr.

That you don't like my answer doesn't mean it wasn't one. Nigeria can't keep squandering scarce resources subsidizing immediate mass consumption at the expense of longer-term development; it's precisely that short-term pandering that has enabled Nigeria to be left in the dust by the likes of South Korea.

Better that a few indigent people lose out for now on cheap (but utterly unreliable) power, than that the entire nation be kept in poverty in the name of "caring for the masses". The right way to solve mass poverty is through higher economic growth, and that requires a massive investment in the power sector that will only happen if investors can cover their costs.

Oz4realsss:
What of those that cannot afford such? What should they do? This country belongs to all Nigerians.

You need to think about the longer term. Reliable power is essential for Nigeria's economy to grow quickly enough to provide better-paying jobs for the masses.

Nothing "went wrong" with Fashola. The people with whom something "went wrong" are those who expect to receive electricity without actually having to pay what it costs to distribute it. Apparently many Nigerians would rather sit in darkness and queue for hours to buy fuel for "I pass my neighbor", rather than pay a rate for stable, reliable electricity that covers the distribution costs.

Other commenters have already explained the financial and legal realities well enough, so I won't bother repeating all of that. The only thing I'll add is that it's really quite shameful that so many people are quick to slur Fashola's character simply because he dares to say things they don't want to hear. Would you all prefer that he behaved like another of the many lying Nigerian politicians who have promised you "awoof" over the years, only to deliver nothing but broken promises in the end? Isn't it good to see a Nigerian politician actually show the courage to tell the harsh truth for once?

By the way, I really wish there were a way to filter out certain commenters who add nothing to discussions but the same old tired, blatantly partisan pictures and cartoons, every single time ...

abbey621:
If anyone should talk about economic policies and the decline of the Naira it shouldn't be Sanusi. He still remains one of the worst economic policy makers in the history of Nigeria. I can't believe he's talking about devaluing the Naira. In the developed nations when currencies are devalued, it is to encourage exports, because the prices of local products serve as an incentive and a toast for foreign buyers. In the process, they earn foreign exchange, increase production and create additional jobs. Unfortunately, that is not the position with Nigeria. Oil is our major export and with the price of oil so low there are more supplies than demand. Can someone tell me how devaluation at this crucial stage will yield any positive effect for Nigeria? Unless we anticipate rise in oil prices and Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia decreasing oil production

One problem with the argument that devaluing isn't worthwhile because we export so little is that it exchanges cause and effect; it is precisely because of the historical over-valuation of the Naira that our non-oil exports have collapsed over the decades, and our domestic industries have been hollowed out. Look up "Dutch disease" for a more in-depth explanation of how this happens.

In any case, the effect or lack of effect of the Naira's value on exports still doesn't invalidate Sanusi's argument: that Buhari's currency policy is itself a major source of corruption. The gap between the official and black market rate is so large that anyone who can buy Dollars at the official price would make a greater return, with a lot less effort and risk, by simply reselling the dollars, rather than by actually producing anything.