₦airaland Forum

ashjay001:
At least, they'll be cheaper than Caucasians

That's insensitive and racist mhan!

spartan117:
But still the best in Nigeria

And where is UI placed?

spartan117:
But still the best in Nigeria

And where is UI placed?

NOC1:
After Osibanjo Lecture on Restructuring so many people in my Department who are against PMB agreed with Osibanjo's submission.
Most of them asked why did Osibanjo refused to grant press conferences throughout their tenure, they said had it been he was doing things like that people would have understood where the administration is driving to. Poor communication is one of the spanners this administration threw into the wheels of their reign.

God bless you bro. The same question crossed my mind. Why keep mute. Perhaps, it was an Instruction from his principal. I hope ppl can nw discern clearly. It appears ppl are jst too emotional to nderstnd. It's painful.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has replied to former VP Atiku Abubakar comments criticising his comments at at a Town Hall meeting in the United States. Atiku Abubakar had earlier been critical of Osinbajo's views stating “It is a surprise that the Vice President would take such a position and, in particular, fail to appreciate the connection between Nigeria’s defective structure and its underperformance,” he said.


The vice president has now replied in a very interesting and eye opening letter [b][/b]addressed to the editor of PREMIUM TIMES.



Read the full letter below.

Dear Editor,



Kindly permit me a response to a piece in your publication, titled “Osinbajo got it wrong on Restructuring,” written, we are told, by my illustrious predecessor in office, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

First, let me say that I really would have expected Alhaji Abubakar to at least get the full text of my comments before his public refutal of my views. But I understand; we are in that season where everything is seen as fair game! He quoted me as saying that “the problem with our country is not a matter of restructuring… and we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into the argument that our problems stem from some geographic re-structuring”.

Yes, I said so.

As the quote shows, I rejected the notion that geographical restructuring was a solution to our national problems. Geographical restructuring is either taking us back to regional governments or increasing the number of States that make up the Nigerian federation.

As we all may recall, the 2014 National Conference actually recommended the creation of 18 more States. And I argued that, with several States struggling or unable to pay salaries, any further tinkering with our geographical structure would not benefit us.

We should rather ask ourselves why the States are underperforming, revenue and development wise. I gave the example of the Western Region (comprising even more than what is now known as the South West Zone), where, without oil money, and using capitation tax and revenues from agriculture and mining, the government funded free education for over 800,000 pupils in 1955, built several roads, farm settlements, industrial estates, the first TV station in Africa, and the tallest building in Nigeria, while still giving up fifty percent of its earnings from mining and minerals for allocation to the Federal Government and other regions.

I then argued that what we required now was not geographical restructuring but good governance, honest management of public resources, deeper fiscal Federalism, and a clear vision for development.

On the issue of deeper fiscal Federalism or restructuring, I explained how the then Lagos State Government, led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, decided to fight for greater autonomy of States.

As Attorney-General at the time, it was my duty and privilege to lead the legal team against the then Federal government, in our arguments at the Supreme Court. I am sure that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would remember these cases on greater autonomy for States that I cite below, as he was Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the time.

At the Supreme Court, we won several landmark decisions on restructuring Nigeria through deeper fiscal federalism, some of which our late converts to the concept, now wish to score political points on.

It was our counter-claims alongside those of other littoral States, that first addressed so comprehensively the issue of resource control. We agreed with the oil producing States that they had a right to control their resources. We argued, though unsuccessfully, that the Ports of Lagos were also a resource, which should enable Lagos State, in the worst case, to be paid the derivation percentage for proceeds of its natural resources. Years later, we also filed an action at the Supreme Court arguing that the Value Added Tax, being a consumption tax, should exclusively belong to the States.



On the issue of who, between the Federal and State governments, should have authority to grant building permits and other development control permits, the Supreme Court, by a slim majority, ruled in our favour. It held that, even with respect to federal land, States had exclusive authority to grant building or other developments control permits.

In 2004, we created 37 new local governments in Lagos State. We believed that we had a Constitutional right to do so and that in any event, a State should have a right to create its own administrative units. Several other States joined us and created theirs.

The Federal government’s response was to seize the funds meant for our local governments, thus strangulating States like Lagos, which had created new local governments. We challenged this at the Supreme Court. The court held that the President had no right under the Constitution to withhold or seize funds meant for the States. The allocations were not a gift of the Federal Government to the States. They were the Constitutional right of the States and local governments.

The court also agreed that States had a Constitutional right to create local governments, pursuant to section 8 of the Constitution, but that the creation remained inchoate until the National Assembly, by resolution, amended the existing list of local governments to capture the newly created LGs.

In response, we created by State Law, Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), to accommodate the newly created Local Government Councils until such a time as the National Assembly would complete the process. But the Lagos State Government took up the challenge to re-engineer its revenue service, making it autonomous. With innovative management, tax collection in Lagos became more efficient, and tax revenues continued to grow geometrically. Today, the State earns more IGR than 30 States of Nigeria put together!

Further, we contested the attempts of the then Federal Government to create supervisory authority over the Finances of Local Governments by the signing into law of the Monitoring of Revenue Allocation to Local Governments Act, 2005. The Supreme Court also ruled in our favour, striking down many provisions of the law that sought to give the Federal government control over local government funding.

I have been an advocate, both in court and outside, of fiscal Federalism and stronger State Governments. I have argued in favour of State Police, for the simple reason that policing is a local function. You simply cannot effectively police Nigeria from Abuja. Only recently, in my speech at the Anniversary of the Lagos State House of Assembly, I made the point that stronger, more autonomous States would more efficiently eradicate poverty. So I do not believe that geographical restructuring is an answer to Nigeria’s socio economic circumstances. That would only result in greater administrative costs. But there can be no doubt that we need deeper fiscal Federalism and good governance.

Alhaji Atiku’s concept of restructuring is understandably vague, because he seeks to cover every aspect of human existence in that definition. He says it means a “cultural revolution”. Of course, he does not bother to unravel this concept. He says we need a structure that gives everyone an opportunity to work, a private sector driven economy. Yes, I agree. These are critical pillars of our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), including our Ease of Doing Business Programme.

If, however, this is what he describes as restructuring, then it is clear that he has mixed up all the issues of good governance and diversification of the economy with the argument on restructuring.

Good governance involves, inter alia, transparency and prudence in public finance. It involves social justice, investing in the poor, and jobs for young people; which explains our School Feeding Programme, providing a meal a day to over 9 million public school children in 25 States as of today. Our NPower is now employing 500,000 graduates; our TraderMoni that will be giving microcredit to 2 million petty traders; our Conditional Cash Transfers giving monthly grants to over 400,000 of the poorest in Nigeria. The plan is to cover a million households.

Surprisingly, Alhaji Atiku leaves out the elephant in the room – corruption. And how grand corruption, fueled by a rentier economic structure that benefits those who can use political positions or access to either loot the treasury or get favorable concessions to enrich themselves. This was a main part of my presentations the Minnesota Town Hall meeting.



In arguing for good governance, I made the point that our greatest problem was corruption. I pointed out that grand corruption, namely the unbelievable looting of the treasury by simply making huge cash withdrawals in local and foreign currency, was the first travesty that President Buhari stopped.

I showed the OPEC figures from oil revenues since 1990. In four years from 2010 to 2014 the PDP government earned the highest oil revenues in Nigeria’s history, USD381.9billion. By contrast the Buhari Administration has earned USD121 billion from May 2015 to June 2018, less than 1/3 of what Jonathan Administration earned at the same period in that administration’s life. Despite earning so much less, we are still able to invest more in infrastructure than any government in Nigeria’s history. The difference is good governance, and fiscal prudence.

In the final analysis, restructuring in whatever shape or form, will not mean much if our political leaders see public resources as an extension of their bank This, I believe, is the real issue.[b][/b]

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has replied to former VP Atiku Abubakar comments criticising his comments at at a Town Hall meeting in the United States. A tiki Abubakar had said earlier been critical of Osinbajo views stating “It is a surprise that the Vice President would take such a position and, in particular, fail to appreciate the connection between Nigeria’s defective structure and its underperformance,” he said.


The vice president has now replied Abubakar in a signed letter addressed to the editor of PREMIUM TIMES.



Read the full letter below.

Dear Editor,



Kindly permit me a response to a piece in your publication, titled “Osinbajo got it wrong on Restructuring,” written, we are told, by my illustrious predecessor in office, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

First, let me say that I really would have expected Alhaji Abubakar to at least get the full text of my comments before his public refutal of my views. But I understand; we are in that season where everything is seen as fair game! He quoted me as saying that “the problem with our country is not a matter of restructuring… and we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into the argument that our problems stem from some geographic re-structuring”.

Yes, I said so.

As the quote shows, I rejected the notion that geographical restructuring was a solution to our national problems. Geographical restructuring is either taking us back to regional governments or increasing the number of States that make up the Nigerian federation.

As we all may recall, the 2014 National Conference actually recommended the creation of 18 more States. And I argued that, with several States struggling or unable to pay salaries, any further tinkering with our geographical structure would not benefit us.

We should rather ask ourselves why the States are underperforming, revenue and development wise. I gave the example of the Western Region (comprising even more than what is now known as the South West Zone), where, without oil money, and using capitation tax and revenues from agriculture and mining, the government funded free education for over 800,000 pupils in 1955, built several roads, farm settlements, industrial estates, the first TV station in Africa, and the tallest building in Nigeria, while still giving up fifty percent of its earnings from mining and minerals for allocation to the Federal Government and other regions.

I then argued that what we required now was not geographical restructuring but good governance, honest management of public resources, deeper fiscal Federalism, and a clear vision for development.

On the issue of deeper fiscal Federalism or restructuring, I explained how the then Lagos State Government, led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, decided to fight for greater autonomy of States.

As Attorney-General at the time, it was my duty and privilege to lead the legal team against the then Federal government, in our arguments at the Supreme Court. I am sure that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would remember these cases on greater autonomy for States that I cite below, as he was Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the time.

At the Supreme Court, we won several landmark decisions on restructuring Nigeria through deeper fiscal federalism, some of which our late converts to the concept, now wish to score political points on.

It was our counter-claims alongside those of other littoral States, that first addressed so comprehensively the issue of resource control. We agreed with the oil producing States that they had a right to control their resources. We argued, though unsuccessfully, that the Ports of Lagos were also a resource, which should enable Lagos State, in the worst case, to be paid the derivation percentage for proceeds of its natural resources. Years later, we also filed an action at the Supreme Court arguing that the Value Added Tax, being a consumption tax, should exclusively belong to the States.



On the issue of who, between the Federal and State governments, should have authority to grant building permits and other development control permits, the Supreme Court, by a slim majority, ruled in our favour. It held that, even with respect to federal land, States had exclusive authority to grant building or other developments control permits.

In 2004, we created 37 new local governments in Lagos State. We believed that we had a Constitutional right to do so and that in any event, a State should have a right to create its own administrative units. Several other States joined us and created theirs.

The Federal government’s response was to seize the funds meant for our local governments, thus strangulating States like Lagos, which had created new local governments. We challenged this at the Supreme Court. The court held that the President had no right under the Constitution to withhold or seize funds meant for the States. The allocations were not a gift of the Federal Government to the States. They were the Constitutional right of the States and local governments.

The court also agreed that States had a Constitutional right to create local governments, pursuant to section 8 of the Constitution, but that the creation remained inchoate until the National Assembly, by resolution, amended the existing list of local governments to capture the newly created LGs.

In response, we created by State Law, Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), to accommodate the newly created Local Government Councils until such a time as the National Assembly would complete the process. But the Lagos State Government took up the challenge to re-engineer its revenue service, making it autonomous. With innovative management, tax collection in Lagos became more efficient, and tax revenues continued to grow geometrically. Today, the State earns more IGR than 30 States of Nigeria put together!

Further, we contested the attempts of the then Federal Government to create supervisory authority over the Finances of Local Governments by the signing into law of the Monitoring of Revenue Allocation to Local Governments Act, 2005. The Supreme Court also ruled in our favour, striking down many provisions of the law that sought to give the Federal government control over local government funding.

I have been an advocate, both in court and outside, of fiscal Federalism and stronger State Governments. I have argued in favour of State Police, for the simple reason that policing is a local function. You simply cannot effectively police Nigeria from Abuja. Only recently, in my speech at the Anniversary of the Lagos State House of Assembly, I made the point that stronger, more autonomous States would more efficiently eradicate poverty. So I do not believe that geographical restructuring is an answer to Nigeria’s socio economic circumstances. That would only result in greater administrative costs. But there can be no doubt that we need deeper fiscal Federalism and good governance.

Alhaji Atiku’s concept of restructuring is understandably vague, because he seeks to cover every aspect of human existence in that definition. He says it means a “cultural revolution”. Of course, he does not bother to unravel this concept. He says we need a structure that gives everyone an opportunity to work, a private sector driven economy. Yes, I agree. These are critical pillars of our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), including our Ease of Doing Business Programme.

If, however, this is what he describes as restructuring, then it is clear that he has mixed up all the issues of good governance and diversification of the economy with the argument on restructuring.

Good governance involves, inter alia, transparency and prudence in public finance. It involves social justice, investing in the poor, and jobs for young people; which explains our School Feeding Programme, providing a meal a day to over 9 million public school children in 25 States as of today. Our NPower is now employing 500,000 graduates; our TraderMoni that will be giving microcredit to 2 million petty traders; our Conditional Cash Transfers giving monthly grants to over 400,000 of the poorest in Nigeria. The plan is to cover a million households.

Surprisingly, Alhaji Atiku leaves out the elephant in the room – corruption. And how grand corruption, fueled by a rentier economic structure that benefits those who can use political positions or access to either loot the treasury or get favorable concessions to enrich themselves. This was a main part of my presentations the Minnesota Town Hall meeting.



In arguing for good governance, I made the point that our greatest problem was corruption. I pointed out that grand corruption, namely the unbelievable looting of the treasury by simply making huge cash withdrawals in local and foreign currency, was the first travesty that President Buhari stopped.

I showed the OPEC figures from oil revenues since 1990. In four years from 2010 to 2014 the PDP government earned the highest oil revenues in Nigeria’s history, USD381.9billion. By contrast the Buhari Administration has earned USD121 billion from May 2015 to June 2018, less than 1/3 of what Jonathan Administration earned at the same period in that administration’s life. Despite earning so much less, we are still able to invest more in infrastructure than any government in Nigeria’s history. The difference is good governance, and fiscal prudence.

In the final analysis, restructuring in whatever shape or form, will not mean much if our political leaders see public resources as an extension of their bank This, I believe, is the real issue.

vedaxcool:
[s][/s]


Educate yourself should not be interpreted as a attack There is no crime learning the meaning of words you see on the internet. Happy time learning

Lol...Basically, education is in three parts, at least in the institution I attended. It's in knowledge and CHARACTER and Sound judgement. You haven't presented ursef in good light, descending to the level of labelling someone with a derogatory term because u sense he's from a different tribe. Be free to learn what u lack. M unto the next!

vedaxcool:
Update your knowledge on what ethnic bigotry really is, thanks.

Lol. I really expected to elicit a reaction of sorts. Anyway, I know exactly why I referenced bigotry. I don't need an interview, ur words have done the talkn. You can check ur statement again. Have a gr8 evening

vedaxcool:
A Nnamdi Cownu shitty HQ

Pls, Shun ethnic bigotry or u wont be any different from the guy. Thanks

Sharpshooota:
What is there to hate?
A lifeless grandpa

That's probably why he occupies the presidency and you occupy.... ? .

Shikena:
Please stop quoting those useless online rankings. Nobody takes them serious outside the third world. Have you ever seen their ranking criteria? Can any of them tell you which Engineering program is better between OAU and Unilorin, for example? Can they give you the ranking of UI medicine vs UNILAG medicine? There is no university ranking in Nigeria. Universities are not high schools and ranking them goes far beyond searching for research publications on the web or checking quality of their websites.

Well, Times higher rankings is the most reputable higher education ranking body in the world.you may like to cross check that fact again. You can also take a bit of time to check its ranking criteria b4 u just conclude.The ranking criteria is diverse and consistent
The only controversial one is webometrics because it's believed it considers only online presence but it has also greatly widened it's scope. Thank you

Ugosample:
That's a fact that no one can argue

But saying Unlilag na wash is a ridiculous statement

I didn't say that. To be honest, UNILAG retains its reputation in post graduate education but in my personal opinion,there is a need to rediscover that magic wand that helped it rank consistently in the top 3. Same goes for OAU, I think.

tijehi:
Heard so much about unilag, was so happy when I got admitted to study for a master degree......alas, the best lecturers that taught me there, were the ones on sabbatical from UI and OAU. The real unilag lecturer....hiann, let me not start...anyways was so disappointed at the end of the day......the school wasn't what I expected.


So that school of first choice....na massive wash.

Lol. I don't know why ppl argue with the fact that UI is by far the best Uni in Nigeria. It is the only Nigerian Uni in the top 1000 in the world. There is more than 800 unis between UI and the next uni on any of the world uni rankings including Time Uni and webometrics rankings. Please, try to crosscheck my figures first before coming to nairaland to argue. Thank u

papalsbuIl:
[s][/s]
apc
party of terrorists and criminals

kiss the truth

ala gbachie Buhari nti

Thunder fire aisha the shameless corrupt prostitute

Yea man....Sense will not kill u.....
And Patience is the least corrupt first lady in the history of the world. All the plaques in her office can testify

IMPORTANCE OF THIS POST

This post is very important for those who wrote the 2018 UTME because it gives you knowledge on the number of candidates that applied to your school and also the number of candidates that you will be competing with.

source :https://findschoolnews..com/2018/07/top-10-ten-highest-first-choice-chosen.html?m=1[/quote]Nice job OP but please try to let prospective candidates know that in some cases, the competition is more intense even with fewer number of applicants. Particularly University of Ibadan, it admitted about 3500 out of over 47000 students who applied and this represents the least percentage of students admitted for any University in Nigeria. It remains the most competitive University to gain admission to in Nigeria so be extra prepared to fight for a place!

wickyyolo:
I'm ashamed that I supported PDP. This is a very shameful reasoning.

Direct Primary is a way to remove unwanted politicians within a party. INEC is not a part of this process. It's an internal affair.

From today I cease to support any party. Very shameless fools

Those who are jst 2 emotiinal to reason independently like u have done will end up getting disappointed if these ppl ever emerge. This is not to say APC is any better. I was really suprised when ppl suddenly started shouting pdp when APC started struggling. I was expecting ppl to advocate a totally different alternative rather than going back to the vomit which has caused us unimaginable pain and suffering for so many years. People should know that the PDP is just a conglomeration of those who are desperate to return to the positions of economic privilege they have lost. I really just pity ppl wh believe their propaganda. I will vote for a candidate outside of these two parties and have a clear conscience!!

divineappo:
APC News na APC scam

what about the MOU signed with same company in 2016?

Am sure Buhari will sign another MOU with same company before the election day

Useless and lifeless president

I'm not suprised ppl will remain displeased. I mean, same people were praising Paul Kagame and hauling insults at PMB in the same breath here on nairaland after it was posted that President kagame signed the same deal earlier this year. It's pitiable when you let emotions of hate cloud ur sense of judgement.

divineappo:
APC News na APC scam

what about the MOU signed with same company in 2016?

Am sure Buhari will sign another MOU with same company before the election day

Useless and lifeless president

I'm not suprised ppl will remain displeased. I mean, same people were praising Paul Kagame and hauling insults at PMB in the same breath here on nairaland after it was posted that President kagame signed the same deal earlier this year. It's pitiable when you let emotions of hate be cloud ut sense of judgement.

BlackSpanner:
Even if she spoke English, Bubu still needs certain things to be interpreted to him for easy comprehension.

Lol. No wonder its been said that a Country's leadership is a reflection of its people (s). ....Joseph de Maistre
It's better I ignore the literal translation.

Donald95:
Without your brainless and lifeless Economic policies, The number of people trying to leave would have been minimal.

I know the dullard with NEPA certificate ain't understanding what Merkel is saying that's why he is wearing head piece to get interpretation .
Nigerians never know what fell on them if it is Curse from devil or Punishment from God.(Two separate time of leadership and both where characterized with poverty)

Lol...... honestly, do you people expect them to get presidential dinner and a guard of honour upon their return? P.S Germans speak German nd not English. Hence, the need for intepretation, hence the need for Buhari's headset. Besides, m nt a Buhari advocate, I just get annoyed with hypocritical statements. Have a good nyts rest.

ifiokjohn:
it is impossible for APC to win rivers state where wike is governor and he is doing quite well. so they is no vacancy in rivers State govt house.
I can bet this senators will lose their senatorial seats

Well.....similar to the way we were all told Fayose has done well and no vacancy until the election laid everytn bare.

SolutionMee:


Assuming America is a business and Trump is her merchant

By now, Trump should have been out of business and America should have been shutdown

What am saying is that America has never have it this bad before

Trump is not just a magnified comic politician but an indigent leader

I expect the President of the world superpower country to be bold, courageous, disciplined and full of charismatic actions

Ever since this American albino became President, the great America has been humbled and the small Putin now looks like a Goliath

Everyone wants to see the aspect of the news they are interested in. However, while I don't totally like this man, being made to look like he's clueless is a lie.
The American economy has not boomed as well as it is currently doing for several decades. His policy of America first is not because he is weak, it is because he feels other countries have been taking advantage of American liberalism at the detriment of his Country. He wants American companies back home to provide more jobs, he is making it difficult for immigrants to come and occupy the job market while citizens are unemployed. You might not like him, but it doesn't stop the fact that he's very very smart!!

You just avoided a ticking time bomb! Your parents should be thankful. Love is whats blinding u, think rationally. If u end up marrying him, it cud be a journey to a miserable married life orchestrated by ur in laws.
Don't worry, dnt mention.

Juliusmalema:
What happened was that politics of counter defections took place.

Lol....If u interact with Kwarans, u will understand better. Saraki is to Kwara what late Adelabu was to Oyo State, anyway.

SenorFax:
Good looking but poor quality I must say

It's much better than most dressing rooms in Nigerian stadiums.

It's just unfortunate ppl are too paranoid to see the good that could come out of this. Do u knw The no of ppl freight vehicles most notably dangote have killed?

Buharimustgo:
Another opportunity to loot and settle boys.

APC and Buhari it can never be well with you people.

Please, try to give credit where it's due. Not everytn should be politicised. You know in ur hearts of heart that its an innovative plan that has never been practised b4 nw and It solves a major problem. Let's be fair!

Primusinterpares:
I think Mrs Buhari kind of distance herself from Mr. Buhari...

They are rarely seen together...

This indicates something is not right...

+

Can he still satisfy her in za orza room??

Well, admitting that u "think" and not that u "know" for a fact kinda drives your conclusion away from logic.
Someone else could read what you typed and take it as fact. Bravo!

Juliusmalema:
Kwarans love saraki so much....

But they hate that lying mantis lai mohammed.

Lol...... u must be really far away from contemporary Kwara politics to make that assertion. Perhaps, you unaware the chairman of the PDP and several stakeholders left the party as soon as they knew saraki had joined. Why do u think that happened?

In UI, undergraduates write term paper. I can remember I wrote my first one in my 2nd year

I often wonder if the available literature which more times than not portrays the West as being complicit in the seeming perpetual underdevelopment of the global south is a wee bit too biased especially when you put the development of the Asian Tiger states in spite OF Bretton woods as well as strides made by BRIc member States into perspective. Therefore, while writing this term paper, I tried to keep an open mind allowing my findings to direct the course of the work. The essay is my contribution to a wider Msc class term paper. My aim Is not to find a conclusion. Please, do not forget to critique.

Body
The civil war in Yemen started on the 22nd of March, 2015. It emerged out of the complexities of the Arab spring which impacted much of the Arab world. The Yemeni revolution sought political changes and resulted in the stepping down of long term authoritarian leader, Ali Abdulah Saleh who was replaced by his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
However, a revolution intended to bring about political and economic transformation ultimately boomeranged into a full blown civil war and a favourable habitat for terrorist activities. President Mansour Hadi's administration has had to contend with Al-Qaeda, pervasive corruption, grapple with issues bordering on food security as well as the continued loyalty of military officers to former president Saleh. The war has resulted in a massive humanitarian situation with the break out of the largest ever cholera epidemic which has led to around a million suspected cases (Ericskon, 2017).According to the BBC, at least 5, 558 and 9,065 have been killed or injured respectively as at 14 December, 2017. Aljazeera emphasises the difficculty in getting accurate figures but puts the death toll at 10,000 for Yemeni citizens and 40, 000 deaths in all as of March 26, 2018.

Foreign Involvement[b][/b]

Aside from tribal disputes and secessionist campaigns in the North and South, Yemen is the poorest nation in the so called Arab world. However, the aforementioned factors have not dissuaded deep and diverse foreign interests particularly from regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as that of Western powers. This involvements has further complicated the nature of the war. While Iran has continuously denied involvement in the Yemeni war, there have been evidences highlighting the contrary. According to the CNN, US warships intercepted 5 shipments of weaponry between April 2015 and October 2016 which originated from Iran and was Yemen bound for Houthi rebels. Aljazeera also reports that Iranian officials have also implied they may provide support in the form of military advisers to support the Houthi rebels. Houthi rebels are adherents of Shia Islam, same as Iran. The rebels have controlled large portions of the Country including the capital Sana'a which they captured in 2015 forcing Mr Hadi to flee abroad.


Saudi Arabia shares a long porous border with Yemen as well as an opposite form of Islam (Sunni) from that of the Houthis. Therefore, the Houthis are considered to be proxies of Iran by Saudi Arabia and therefore the government believes there is an urgent need to halt their advance which will ultimately check Iranian Shia expansionism. It initiated aerial bombing campaigns of Houthi rebel controlled areas and led efforts which reinstated the fleeing Mr Hadi albeit to the Southern City of Aden (not Sana'a). Indeed, Reardon (2015) suggests that the rivalry being played out in Yemen by Iran and Saudi Arabia is reminiscent of the "Great Game played out between Great Britain and Russia more than a hundred years ago".



Intervention of the Western World
The war in Yemen has pushed an already poor citezenry even deeper into penury and disease. The dire situation has been further complicated by the existence of famine which has resulted in hunger and severe malnutrition in children.In fact, more than 50, 000 children were expected to die as a result of malnutrition and disease by the end of the year 2017 according to Save the Children as reported by Lydia Smith in the Independent of 15 November, 2017. The United Nations estimates that a quarter of the 28 million population are starving (Zeyad, 2017).
Since the war in Yemen broke out, the West has provided humanitarian aid amounting to billions of dolars. The European Union says it has allocated €233.7 million in humanitarian aid to the Yemen crisis. The latest addition of €37 million was announced in April 2018. According to Matt Dathan in the Daily Mail of 22 September 2016, the UK had donated a hundred million pounds in aid to ease the humanitarian situation as of September 2016 alone. USAID reports that total United States Government assistance to Yemen and neighbouring Countries amounts to $854,223,722, close to a billion dollars.


Nevertheless, Western involvement in Yemen may be best explained as a chain of contradictions. Indeed, while the most visible direct foreign influences in the Yemeni war are Riyadh and Tehran, Saudi Arabia's military efforts have been buoyed significantly by assistance from the West especially from the United States and Britain. The Campaign Against Arms Trade as reported in the Guardian editorial of Sunday March 11, 2018 says the UK has licensed £4.6bn of arms sales to Riyadh since the bombing of Yemen by Saudi forces started in 2015. While the United States stops short of direct involvement in the Yemeni war, it does offer intelligence, military advice as well as logistical support to Saudi forces. The United States military has been providing aerial targeting assistance as well as mid-flight refuelling of Saudi war planes. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS, 2018), the United States has provided Saudi Arabian military with assistance in updating it's patriotic missile Defence System.


Perhaps, the following headline by the Daily Mail on 22 September 2016 succinctly captures the role of the West in Yemen. It reads "Another £37MILLION in UK aid is to be spent in Yemen while Saudi Arabia bombs the country with BRITISH-made weapons".

This is the moment the Ajekun iya hit maker met the dancing enthusiast
Credit -Time will tell whether they will be able to make a song together
Source- lindaikejisblog