₦airaland Forum

Lagos financial hub dream elusive as Nairobi, Johannesburg retain top spot
Lagos’ quest to become the financial hub of sub Sahara Africa will take a longer time to materialise, as a new report places Nairobi and Johannesburg ahead of the bulging megacity.

Data from consulting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) analysing cities in terms of their relative strengths, show Nairobi and Johannesburg as the region’s top destinations in terms of financial services, with Lagos coming behind.

Lagos’ underperformance in PwC’s indices is not unrelated to its dearth in infrastructure, as well as lingering difficulty in its business environment.

The report showed that Nairobi and Johannesburg are ahead of Lagos in the area of infrastructure development.

In terms of ease of doing business, Nairobi recorded 12 points out of a possible 20, Johannesburg scored 19 points, while Lagos scored 8.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) index based on the report, also showed Nairobi becoming an investors’ favourite, scoring the maximum 20 points, while both Johannesburg and Lagos were tied at 18 points.

Lagos however ranked as the top spot in culture, as the centre of music, as well as an essential venue for movies (Nollywood).

However, when gauging opportunities in the surveyed African cities, Lagos outperformed peers in the middle class growth category, as it scored 18 points, while Nairobi and Johannesburg scored 13 points and 6 points respectively.

Analysts say Lagos will become more attractive to investors if money is spent on infrastructure development, given the immense opportunities in its rising population and burgeoning middle class.

“Infrastructure investment needs to expand”, said the PWC report.

“Africa’s cities cannot maintain their current levels of growth without enhancing their infrastructure,” it said further.

Some constraints for Lagos, according to PWC include its clogged city centers and constraints on river crossings, citing that the inability to access central business districts over rivers is often a major cause of the congestion.

“Although Lagos has three bridges to the mainland, a journey to the airport that only takes 20 minutes on a Sunday morning, can easily take three hours or more on a weekday evening, especially in the rainy season, the report said.

The report sees rail infrastructure as the answer to the notorious conundrum of road building.

The World Bank has estimated that while sub-Saharan Africa needs infrastructure investment of nearly $100 billion annually, it currently gets less than half of that.

Lagos has accessed World Bank loans to part finance its light rail project estimated to cost N160 billion ($800 million) to complete, in order to meet the transportation needs of its 21 million people. The blue line light rail project however remains uncompleted seven years after construction began.


http://www.bullsnbearsng.com/2015/03/lagos-financial-hub-dream-elusive-as.html

CSTR:
This is what many people don't know.
obama is the elephant in the room.
I am certain that president bush would have gifted Nigeria enough lethal weapons to win this war without all these unwanted pontifications.
It will take a miracle for a black man to become a POTUS in the nearest future.

Obama has more in common with Mullah Omar, Hezbollah, ISIS than most leaders around the world. A President of the United States, that compares the crusades of centuries ago to Islamic terrorism in 2015, is nothing but a jihadist himself.

Chigold101:
well i hate it when someone talks down on me.
I think u should mind how u talk or respond to other people‘s opinion.

It doesnt matter how pained you are Nethanyahu has fought & won whatever battle that goes on between Israel & the USA. Republican Congress have told Obama that any agrement betwen him & Iran is a personal thing. That once he leaves office next year, the agreement will be forgoten.

Nethanyahu‘s victory is Obama‘s lose... If you dont like it, then go jump into the nearest Lagoon & die. Soon GEJ will be re elected too... PERIOD!!!

Love it.

The jihadist in the white house has been disgraced again.

Between Sanusi's $20B is missing and PWc $20B, is not missing reports, who is more credible? The likes of Sanusi will always be hailed in Nigeria, because they know the percentage of of non thinkers in this land are the majority.

Firefire:
APc END will be terrible.

I agree with you, unfortunately most of the monikers campaigning for APC on this medium are counterfeits. 99.9% will not log on after march 28th, so we can award them their prize of shame.

Controlled:
Rubbish post....so Israel Is now nigeria . and netenyahu is janadaft this pdp logic is hard o

Herzog won all the online polls and political polls. He was suppose to win by a 2-4 seat margin. He lost by 6 seats, in Israeli politics that is a landslide.

Bibi's victory is a slap to both social media and the western media houses. Propaganda can only go sofar, it comes do getting your people to the polls.

You try to overtake a military convoy in boko haram sensitive zone? Thank your God they did not kill you by mistake.

You try to overtake a military convoy in boko haram sensitive zone? Thank your God they did not kill you by mistake.

In three-day push, Netanyahu draws right-wing votes and captures Israel election

(Reuters) - As the dust settles on a dramatic election, the immediate questions are how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to stage such a fierce comeback, why the opposition fell short and what it means for Israel, the Palestinians and the world.

Four days before the vote, Netanyahu looked all but out for the count, with the last opinion polls giving the center-left Zionist Union a four-seat lead - enough not only to win but potentially to form a governing coalition.

Even Netanyahu, a veteran campaigner who has emerged victorious from three elections in the past, seemed to think his days were numbered, saying there was a "real danger" he would lose and calling on his right-wing base to turn out.

But in the final three days of campaigning - and on the day of the vote itself - "Bibi" went on a tear, giving more interviews than he has given in years and making a series of right-wing pledges designed to attract nationalist voters.

Visiting the Har Homa settlement in the West Bank, a development he authorized when he was first prime minister in 1997, he promised to go on building Jewish homes on occupied land the Palestinians want for a state, and acknowledged the settlement was designed to cut Palestinians off from Jerusalem.

In an interview the same day he promised that if he were re-elected he would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state, a statement that flew in the face of his own past commitments and decades of international efforts to find a two-state solution to the conflict.

At every opportunity he said his Likud party risked losing and sowed fears about what it would mean for Israelis' security and the spread of militant Islam if the center-left were allowed to secure victory.

And on Tuesday - as the vote was underway - he railed against what he called "left-wing organizations" that he said were busing Arab-Israelis to the polls in an effort to bolster the center-left and oust him from office.

While to many Israelis his comments sounded like the rantings of someone facing defeat after six straight years in power, they were carefully calibrated to prod the right- and far-right vote and close the gap with the center-left.

"Seats changed hands within the right and center-left blocs but otherwise not much really changed," said Gideon Rahat, a professor of political science at Hebrew University.

In effect, Netanyahu succeeded in robbing votes from his allies on the right - Naftali Bennett's pro-settler Jewish Home party and Avigdor Lieberman's ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu - to ensure that Likud ended up with the largest total.

Bennett's and Lieberman's support fell but they still won eight and six seats respectively, a tally that Netanyahu will be able to draw on as he tries to build a coalition.

And by not eating in to the center vote, Netanyahu ensured that Moshe Kahlon, the leader of the Kulanu party, a breakaway from Likud, emerged as the election's "kingmaker", someone "Bibi" will now try to entice back into the fold.

LEFT OUT

When it comes to the Zionist Union, it appears on the face of it that leader Isaac Herzog did most things right. His economic- and socially-focused campaign won traction with voters and his final tally of 24 seats was both in line with opinion poll predictions and up from the last election in 2013.

But he had nothing extra to draw supporters away from Likud and the security fears Netanyahu hammered on about may have left undecided centrist plumping for what they knew rather than someone new on the day.

Around 15 percent of Israeli voters were reckoned to be undecided going into the election, making the wide swing in the final tallies more understandable, even if it also suggests Israel's polling methods leave room for improvement.

Surveys showed that the dominant issue for most Israelis in the election was the cost of living and housing. The centrist and left parties that campaigned on that platform saw an overall increase in their support, winning around 50 seats this time, up from around 45 at the last election.

But the bulk of Israeli voters still skew to the right - whether nationalists, settlers or the ultra-Orthodox - and for them issues of security, support for settlements and protection of their interests eclipse standalone economic concerns.

"The politics of identity in Israel is very strong," said Rahat, explaining that religious or nationalist affiliation dominates in Israel rather than socio-economic class. "Support for Likud was based on identity, fear of change and the notion that overall Netanyahu is the only experienced person."

PALESTINIANS AND IRAN

While the election results may come down to the shuffling of allegiances within major blocs, the repercussions are large.

Netanyahu's pledge of no Palestinian state while he is in charge puts him on a collision course with the United States and the European Union at a time when both are desperate to breathe new life into the moribund peace process.

His commitment to settlement building will also add fuel to the fire, strengthening Palestinians' belief that Israel is engaged in a land grab and hardening their determination to seek redress via the International Criminal Court.

Palestine formally becomes a member of the court from April 1 and plans to file war crimes charges against Israel over its 48-year occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as deaths stemming from last year's war in Gaza.

In retaliation ahead of the ICC move, Israel has suspended the transfer of around $120 million a month in tax revenues it collects on the Palestinians' behalf, crippling the Palestinian budget and prompting deep cuts to state employees.

The threat of a return to conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is never far from Israeli or Palestinian minds, and violence aimed at Jewish settlers in the West Bank is likely to intensify if Netanyahu follows through on his commitments.

And hanging over the region is the question of what Israel does next on Iran. Netanyahu has made clear that he is determined to scupper the deal emerging between Tehran and the Obama administration on Iran's nuclear program.

Israel's earlier rhetoric about "going it alone" against Iran if it has to - a hint at possible bombing raids - has died down, but the tension between Netanyahu and Obama has not dissipated and if anything "Bibi" will now be feeling more energized to take Obama on in the last months of his presidency.

(Editing by Anna Willard)


http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/18/us-israel-election-fallout-idUSKBN0ME10120150318

(Reuters) - Gunmen attacked Tunisia's national museum near its parliament on Wednesday, killing at least seven tourists and taking others hostage inside the building, the government said.

Foreign tourists ran for shelter, covered by security forces aiming rifles into the air, live television footage showed.

Security forces were surrounding at least two militants in the Bardo museum, a venue in central Tunis on the parliament grounds that is a popular site for visiting foreigners, the interior ministry spokesman said.

The attack on such a high profile target is a huge blow for the small North African country that relies heavily on European tourism and has so far avoided major militant violence since its 2011 uprising to oust autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

Tunisian authorities did not release any details on the nationalities of the hostages. If any foreigners were killed, Wednesday's assault would the worst assault involving them since an al Qaeda suicide bombing on a synagogue killed 21 people on the tourist island of Djerba in 2002.

The spokesman for the interior ministry said seven tourists and one Tunisian had been killed.

An official at the Italian foreign ministry in Rome said two Italians had been wounded in the attack, but it was not clear whether they were among the hostages.

About another 100 Italians were in the area and had been taken to safety by Tunisian police, authorities added.

Tunisia uprising inspired "Arab Spring" revolts in neighboring Libya, Egypt, Syria and Yemen. But its adoption of a new constitution and staging of largely peaceful elections has won widespread praise and stood in stark contrast to the chaos that has plagued those countries.

Several militant groups have emerged in Tunisia since the uprising, including Ansar al Sharia which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States.

Authorities estimate 3,000 Tunisians have also joined militant groups in Iraq and Syria and some have returned home, increasing government fears of an attack on Tunisian soil.

Islamic State affiliates in Libya are gaining a foothold as two rival governments there battle for control. A senior Tunisian militant was killed while fighting for Islamic State in the Libyan city of Sirte over the past week, authorities said.

(Additional reporting by Mohamed Agoubi and Valentina Consiglio in Italy; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/18/us-tunisia-security-idUSKBN0ME18E20150318

SalC:
Exactly not just the western media. Listening to the iranian owned Press TV in the past few weeks, it was as if Netanyahu has already lost it especially after his speech to the republicans against iran's nuclear deal. I was surprised to know he still won at the polls.

Sorry, I don't read or listen to Iranian news. Bibi has done a good job defending his country, that's what the voters wanted. They have rewarded him with another term in office. All the western media should learn from this, Nigeria is next. Goodluck's landslide will be studied for years to come.

Bayswater:
They just don't get it, confirmed GEJ votes will be shepherded into their respective ballot boxes.

I have learned from the PDP why it is good to empower lots of party members/supporters, you stand to reap the benefits in times like this[b].

At the end of the day all politics is local.

Another loser is the jihadist in the White house, Obama has been disgraced once again.

sammyj:
If the OPs thinks the same thing will work out for GEJ, Na BIG LIE.

SAI GMB/PYO !!!

Just like Israel, the opposition won in the media, mostly the western media. But the people of Israel knew they were jokers. Please be prepared for your shock come March 28th.

What a great victory.

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu beat the odds on Wednesday to win a resounding election victory that will likely deepen tensions with the Palestinians and the West.


With nearly all of the votes counted, his right wing Likud party was seen taking 30 of the Knesset's 120 seats, with the centre-left Zionist Union a distant second on 24.

Exit polls had put the two parties neck-and-neck with 27 seats each but the picture changed dramatically through the night as the votes were counted.

"Against all odds we achieved a great victory for the Likud ... for the national camp ... for our people of Israel," the premier said in a victory speech in Tel Aviv.

Likud activists in Tel Aviv celebrated their victory by dancing late into the night.

Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog conceded defeat and congratulated Netanyahu on winning a third consecutive term.

"A few minutes ago, I spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I congratulated him on his achievement, and wished him luck," he said, brushing off questions about possible coalition alliances.

Netanyahu pledged to establish a new government within weeks and said he had already spoken with rightwing and religious party leaders whose support he will need to form a majority coalition.

"The prime minister intends to begin forming the government immediately in order to finish the task within two to three weeks," his party said.

Netanyahu had put security at the forefront of his campaign, arguing he is the only one capable of protecting Israel from an Iranian nuclear threat and vowing never to allow the Palestinians to establish a capital in east Jerusalem.

In response, the Palestinians vowed to step up their diplomatic campaign for statehood.


- 'Netanyahu has done it' -

In a last-minute appeal to the far-right just hours before the vote, Netanyahu ruled out the establishment of a Palestinian state if reelected, effectively reneging on his 2009 endorsement of a two-state solution.

Herzog has repeatedly called for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

And on election day itself, Netanyahu made a last-minute appeal to his supporters to go to the polls to counter a high turnout among Arab Israelis.

"The rule of the rightwing is in danger. Arab voters are going to the polls in droves!" he said in a video on Facebook. "Go to the polling stations! Vote Likud!"

The count showed the Joint List which groups Israel's main Arab parties taking third place with 14 seats.

Likud had been trailing the Zionist Union by up to four seats in surveys in the week leading up to the vote, which was seen as a referendum on his premiership.

Netanyahu is certain to be the party leader to be asked by President Reuven Rivlin to form a government after the official results are published -- likely on Thursday, election officials said.

"Netanyahu has done it. He has managed to catch up in the final lap," said Claude Klein, a specialist in constitutional law at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

"On paper, Isaac Herzog has no chance of putting together a majority which would depend on the support of the Arab List which includes openly anti-Zionist MPs."

Under Israel's electoral system, the prime minister is not the leader of the party that gains most seats but whoever can build a coalition commanding a majority of at least 61 seats in parliament.

Moshe Kahlon, a popular former Likud minister whose newly-formed Kulanu party won 10 seats, is now in the position of kingmaker.

A total of 4,017,235 people cast their ballots out of 5.8 million who were eligible to vote, election committee statistics showed.

That 71.8 percent turnout compared with 67.8 percent in the last election in 2013.

"Israel has serious problems, and only a rightwing leader can handle them," said a Jerusalem voter who gave his name only as Yehoshua.

"The only prime minister who can do this is Bibi."

But others had hoped to see the back of him.

"I'd like to see Netanyahu disappear for many, many years," said Shulamit Laron.

"I hope for change, of course, but I doubt things will change."

http://news.yahoo.com/israels-herzog-concedes-defeat-congratulates-netanyahu-073922625.html

[s]

ElFenomeno1:
Your father and your mother are bloody brainless vagabonds
you should have been aborted in a gold circle condom
Nigerians like you are the reason why this country is backward and illiteracy widespread
You come onto an online forum to come and praise and celebrate mediocrity ... you should be ashamed of yourself
Bloody gasbag. You, your rotten cun t faced mother and pizza faced father are a disgrace to the human race
Fu ck you and everything your entire generation stands for.

[/s]

Make your miserable life useful, for your poverty stricken family. Paupers like you, should acknowledge successful people in life rather than insult them. Mrs Jonathan is not the reason, you wasted your days on earth with nothing to show for it. Now go and mend your ways.

[s]

GeneralBosco:
Please if you intend deceiving yourself, do that solely without misleading the public. Patience Jonathan is only interested in her husband's reelection and not women empowerment. In her about 5 years of being First Lady what programmes has she created?? What empowerment has she provided for women in different parts of the country? That's the empowerment we're talking about not going around shouting and insulting opposition like a mad woman

Installing the First Lady seat is not woman empowerment, it is what is done with that seat afterwards that matters. One would expect Patience Jonathan to list out how she has empowered women during her and her husband's 5 year tenure but instead she goes about creating hate and encouraging disunity with her hate induced speeches.

[/s]

Who is this pretender, rubbish

[s]

ElFenomeno1:
You are a pathological liar
the nonsense you spewed above is untrue
Patience Jonathan is not a politician .... she is daft and a stark illiterate
reeling out non existent agendas .... Fu cking liar

[/s][s][/s]

Look at this maggot, deal with your miserable life and your poverty stricken family might see some hope in you.

[s]

ALISMILE:
Am nt surprised! Nigerians allowing themselves to be impressed by garbage and full blown clown! In sane climes this woman is a disgrace to the rulership class! But in my country anytin goes! Alws look at d mockery countenance of d woman standing behind her wenever she begins to deposit! Den u ll realise d lousyness off it all!

[/s]

Ilekeh:
You must be high.

You must be low

quixotic:
are you serious?most people who listen to her do so not because of the substance of her speech but because they they she will always make a blunder.and she never dissappoints.

You people make too much noise.

For every practical purpose, this woman has redefined the position of the Nigerian female politician. She is one great campaigner, speaking for 60 mins or more, day after day in different states without notes, reeling out PDP's agenda, programs and past works. She keeps the focus on PDP and her husband. I am quite impressed.

I hope he has truly won, Israel needs Bibi.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Twitter, claimed a "great victory" in Israel's election on Tuesday, after exit polls showed his right-wing Likud party even with its main opponent, the center-left Zionist Union.

"Against all odds: a great victory for Likud, a great victory for the national camp led by Likud, a great victory for the people of Israel," Netanyahu wrote on his official Twitter account.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Dan Williams)

http://news.yahoo.com/netanyahu-twitter-says-won-great-victory-israels-election-205056583.html

First smart decision by the judiciary, since the war on terror began.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the alleged mastermind of the April 14 Nyanya bomb blast, Aminu Ogwuche and five orders be tried in camera.



Justice Ahmed Mohammed, who gave the order, also allowed the prosecution to use aliases for the defence witnesses.

At the resumed trial of Aminu Oguwche and five others accused of carrying out the April 14 Nyanya bomb blast which claimed over 76 lives, the Prosecution applied to hold the trial in camera to protect the witnesses in the case.

The prosecutors also wanted the court to allow the witnesses be masked to prevent a breach of their personal safety.

The Director of Public Prosecution, Musa Din, told the court that the nature of the case for which the accused persons are standing trial is sensitive and there was the need to ensure witnesses’ protection so as not to expose them to danger.

The defence lawyers did not oppose a camera trial, they however opposed the application for the witnesses to be masked.

This was on the grounds that it is alien to Nigerian laws and masking the witnesses would deny the defence the opportunity to properly examine the witnesses.

They argued that this also violates the rights of the accused persons to fair hearing.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, while granting three of the prayers which bothered on witnesses protection, however, rejected an application requesting that the witnesses be masked.

He said that there would be no threat to the witnesses because members of the public have been excluded from the trial. He advised the prosecution to take other measures to protect the identity of the witnesses during trial.

Justice Mohammed ordered that the accused persons, their lawyers and selected journalists screened by the court be allowed access for the trial.

Ogwuche was extradited from Sudan with the help of Interpol on July 15, 2014 to answer charges of terrorism leveled against him in relation to the twin bombing in Nyanya motor park in the outskirts of Abuja which claimed 76 lives on April 14, 2014.


http://www.channelstv.com/2015/03/17/court-orders-that-alleged-nyanya-bombers-be-tried-in-camera/

By Karin Strohecker

LONDON (Reuters) - Foreign private security personnel from South Africa, Russia and South Korea are on the ground in northeast Nigeria to train Nigerian troops and are not engaged in frontline combat against Boko Haram, the government said on Tuesday.

According to security and diplomatic sources, Nigeria has brought in hundreds of mercenaries to give its offensive against the Islamist militant group a shot in the arm ahead of the March 28 presidential elections.

But government spokesman Mike Omeri said foreigners on the ground were only engaged in training Nigerian troops.

"There are trainers on the ground to assist in the handling of equipment," Omeri told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference in London. "They simulate, they teach. These are the things they do."

Asked if they were directly involved in fighting, he said: "I am not aware of that."

Africa's most populous nation and top energy producer has been plagued by the Boko Haram insurgency since 2009, when insurgents intensified efforts to establish an Islamic caliphate in the northeastern Borno state.

However, this year Nigeria and its neighbors have launched a series of offensives to recapture territory, turning the tide against Boko Haram in the run-up to the hotly contested presidential poll.

Omeri would not confirm how many foreigners were involved but said they had come from the same countries that had provided military equipment. He cited South Africa, Russia and South Korea.

"Acquisition of recruitment and military hardware is done through a number of processes. There are government-to-government exchanges and there are those who also come through contractors," he said.

The contractors' stay in Nigeria would end when local troops had become proficient at handling the equipment, he added.

"This is training on site and maybe this is why the people on the ground have been described as mercenaries."

He declined to predict how long it would take for the military to regain full control.

"We have started the final onslaught," he said. "This is the road to the finish and we are on it already."

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Giles Elgood)

http://news.yahoo.com/foreigners-train-nigerian-troops-final-onslaught-hits-boko-150912277.html

django1:
How so mr. Know all.

That's your assignment to investigate. I am sorry, you are not the only person interested in Oyo's state politics.

django1:
What do you know about oyo state? Lol! Stop deceiving yourself thinking you know us.

As much as you know about Nigeria. Sorry APC lost the election in Oyo, before a single voter entered a polling booth.