₦airaland Forum

Babapupa,

Pity, no substance. Read that reply again and THINK. Better still you can ask someone else that thinks, if you are not blinded by greed.

babapupa:
^^^^^

Though, I'm not calling you a foolish man, but only a foolish man concludes that one man is an island. Obviously, Fashola is not running the show all by himself, we have tons of aids, commissioners, agency leaders and lawmakers and even messengers. They are all dynamic leaders and the wonderful results of their great efforts is out there for all to see, they are receiving awards and recognition locally and internationally for the outstanding work they are doing.

As for you and the rest of your irrelevant argument, seems you have other issues beyond the topic at hand, I really can not help you with that, I don't even have the time to entertain silly and warped assertions.

Babapupa,

Lagos of today is blessed with dynamic and visionaries leaders, they are taking bold steps and making ground breaking and forward looking  decisions thats very unNigerian.

Mention one of them better than Jakande. I love Fashola for being a one eye man in the jungle of blind Nigerians.

Look, even if I agree, arquendo, with all the development projects. How many of it is wholly Nigerian executed. Your payer for who you are a PRO studied in Chicago. But how many engineers did he bring back to establish and live in Nigeria like those before him. Some of the African American and West Indians brought back are today indistinguisable from Nigerians in Law and medicine. That was what was needed then.

Today, we need according to you mega developments. So how many of these can be purchased in naira? Do we have enough US or British cashistics to prosecute our needs.

You claim to be a Lagosian telling others to go beck to their villages. You are a liar and no where from Lagos. Since I do not want to get involve in name calling, go find out from Lagosians, the name given to people like you. Always propagating your pockets and self interest in the name of Lagosians.

Anyone that dance to the tune of Iragbiji, has a name in Lagos. Even Fashola, your boss is now developing cold feet as a lawyer and SAN for that matter. Why do you think they keep on making peace between them? He knows the consequences of all these foreign projects that do not enrich Lagosians locally.

On the other hand, if you are a true Lagosian, THINK deep.

Some Nigerians still do not know that we have these dumps all over the Country and not only in Lagos.

Common brother, talk sense and stop insults. It will take you no where.

There are enough brains in Nigeria to stop financial leak outside the country. I am happy we contribute to African banks to help those less fortunate than us.

If other developing countries can use their resources to benefit themselves, so can we. They turn deserts into cities with infrastructure, Nigeria and Lagos can turn Olowogbowo, Isaleko, Agegunle etc areas into functioning target areas instead of going to Europe and America for foreign expert in Big Dig, air ports, Artlantic City etc. Projects that are foreign and hard currency intensive that we can never have enough of or even generate enough fund to buy. It is this foriegn mentality that is killing us, so we want to turn Lagos into New York and pay through our nose.

There is a difference between civilization and modernization. Only civilized living give you enough time to THINK and create yourself not what other people think and create for sale.

What is wrong with sound agriculture, fish ponds as done by poor people in Maroko, in all the suburbs of Lagos, manufacturing plants to upgrade and refine our raw materials instead of readymade from overseas with money we do not print in Nigeria? Those can not produce jobs?

Who told you we can buy our way through anything with money? That we can borrow against the future of our children and pay whatever interest and penalties which you think is not related to the topic. THINK my brother. Nigeria is a consumer of the best of everything and producer of none. Our house is not in order. We have too much leaking out faster than we can make, even with all the natural resources in the world.

THINK, no need for insults.

blaksmith:
You really are an absolute joke. and I really hoped you would take time out into researching the AfDB, then again, your aversion to engaging your mind in some research does not surprise me. And because Nigeria is the largest shareholder you think it is a case of Abu using his money to bail himself out. Until you understand how DFIs work, you would never see the standpoint of my argument. You would only continue passing comments based on the distance between your forehead and your nose. I would not help you cure your ignorance when the solution is right before you. You at least know how to operate a computer, use the internet wisely now. google AfDB and inform yourself on how it is funding development projects all across Africa.

You sabi pretend, na wa!

But thanks for making my point, see the bold in your reply.

Again using Abu's money to bail out Abu.

blaksmith:
And I am supposed to respond to what exactly in your comment which is hardly coherent. If you do not understand certain terms in my post, look them up on google. I assume you were trying to tell me the funders of AfDB and DFI (assuming you think this is the name of an institution), but you have still failed to say who these 'funders' are. Paris club, what does the Paris club have to do with any of this. If you do not know the structure of the Paris Club and what it did then don't mention it in a situation that does not warrant it. So I am still waiting for you to tell me the funders because you emphatically made reference to have this knowledge,

If you are still lacking in the knowledge I might be able to point you in the right direction (then again whether you can tell your left from your right is another issue entirely). visit www.afdb.org and search for member countries and you would realise that those who fund the AfDB are in fact regional African countries and other Western countries. Also be informed that Nigeria is the largest shareholder of the AfDB. If you do not understand, then don't criticize!!! 'My people perish for lack of knowledge', and to some Ignorance really is bliss.

'Mr Cool', hahaha. what a joke!!!

And I just read your post again, shame on me for even replying!

It is really interesting how people try to prove they are in the know.

Who are the funders of African Development Bank, DFI and Glo's Main One cable? Let me give you a hint if you do not know: like where Paris Club countries make most of their profits from. In 2010, these peole are making billions from no other country more than Nigeria by odious loans, penalties, interest, safe money keepers for looters, legal fees, taxes on humogous houses, school fees etc.

We now have Mr. Cool telling us more money is coming into Nigeria through PPP to help us develop than that used as special trust diverted govt money into private banks like Equitorial Bank, used to buy govt projectat at substaial loss and called PPP. Please take your knowledge back to your senders.

Gosh, yet we are all Africans and Nigerians.

blaksmith:


couldn't help but laugh at the above remark. I had hoped my first post would bridge the gap between the dissenters and the approvers, seems like those who dissent always have an convenient way of bringing up additional issues which are quite irrelevant to the post. For instance the issue of PPP was not mentioned in the first 7 pages of this topic and suddenly it appeared. so PPP, what really is it? A partnership between the public (govt and its parastatals) and the private sector (strictly for profit organisations) to fund projects that the govt is not financially capable of embarking on without disrupting the structure of the economy. this is my lay man definition.

Frankly, the Nigerian Private sector CANNOT handle the financial burden of an airport. It would take all our 24 (or 23) banks to form a syndicate in order to come close. 73billion, how many banks can handle that on their books as debt. I can categorically state that the Nigerian Private sector are not on top of this food chain with regards to provodong funds! Do you think the majority of funds for the Lekki road came from within Nigeria? Guess again, The African Development Bank and other DFIs (Development Finance Institution), or Glo's Main One cable, that is being funded by the African Financing Partnership, which is a group of DFIs and MFIs that are committed to funding infrastructure and development projects across Africa. The main focus of these organisations is not profit but economic development and bridging the infrastructure gap of Africa.

So those who think this is another opportunity for the govt to steal money, I laugh with undeniable scorn at your unintentional but expected display of ignorance. I can bet with you that the companies that have been presumably selected to run preliminary assessments on the entire project are SPV (special purpose vehicles) set up solely for the Project in question. the shareholders of these SPVs would obviously be technical experts within requisite field. How are the going to get funds for the projects? Need I say it for the nay sayers amongst you! International financial institutions like DFIs and MFIs, the only way the Nigerian Banking sector would smell this project is if they come under a 2nd tranche of the loan debt. They can in no way handle the responsibilities of a lead arranger or even co arranger, they are small boys in the scheme of things.

AND obviously the govt would be expected to drop some money in order to have something at risk. Private sector (international and not local champions like GTB or First Bank) investors would not fund a project where the risk is not adequately distributed.

Commenting on this thread is mentally draining simply because the majority of you guys (and you know yourselves) cannot contribute sound, concrete and intellectual arguments.The basis of many arguments lack coherent structure and understanding. But hey, we are entitled to our opinions no matter what it may be.

Common now, I can understand Soyinka and others staying away but not Tinubu and his friends in AC.

I want anyone to please tell me if Tinubu would not accept Vice-President position from IBB, Buhari, even Yaradua in his state. Don't forget that Tinubu formed alliance with Atiku until he needed Yaradua to tell EFCC to back off.

As long as IBB, Ibori and Tinubu have unlimited funds, Nigeria will never get off its but. Mark my word.

There are so many PRO from Iragbiji by way of Chicago, the windy city here. How many Nigerians who care about their fellow men and women is it going to take to stop these Chicago mafia?

They are the starters, planners, importers of "experts" and "consultants". The same ones that brought us Enron that defrauded all the developing countries from Africa to Asia. Well done o.

Are you a member of Tinubu Iragbiji Fan Club?

babapupa:
What else is new? We heard the same BS about the BRT, Metrol rail, Badagry express.

Go worry about your village and let Lagosians worry about Lagos state.

Watch out!

Tinubu boys are busy at work here on special assignment.

KnowAll:
[size=14pt]Donald Duke became a very wealthy man by embarking on a phantom project, common sense would have informed the most idiotic of men that the civil servant city of Calabar and its environ would not be able to sustain such a gigantum. But alas Mr Wise Governor went ahead with his own illusion plummeting the state into an irrevocable debt burden. Now Mr Wise Man wants to run for Preisdency, what does he hope to acheive by being the President of Nigeria build the biggest church in the world just like his mentor from Yammasokro see the Basilica the largest Churh in the world [/size]


http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/66/Basilique_de_Yamoussoukro.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/335454&usg=__C8zEt08SIpYhldGL1bEHaN_87tk=&h=1139&w=1800&sz=213&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid=ocgNwPnn80CnrM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBasilica%2BYamoussoukro%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DG%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1



[size=14pt]Lagos is presently wallowing in the delusional reasoning of another African despotic dreamer, instead of our Man to tackle the little problems facing the citizenry of the state, like getting rid of open sewages, which almost invariably leads to mass invasion of blood sucking vampire mosquitoes during the raining season. A task if embarked upon and accomplished by a visonary leader would put 100,000 Lagosians in direct labor of laying the pipes that would take all the sewages to the sea, Or better still tackle the perenial floods that overwhealmes the City re-enacting the travails of of Noah's Prophesy.

But what do get form Messers Fashola, the launching of the red and blue line light railroad for the 100th time in less than 3 years, now the delusional Governor's sight has changed focus yet again to even grandier things, something thought up at a whim, a brand new airport around Lekki.

When Questioned on who would use the Airport the Governor smiled  reassuringly to himself, his mind wonders and he remeniscent over the grand plan put together by the Asiwaju who, argued and insisted that the Airport would be ours just Like London Terminal 5, that has an exclusive contract with BRITISH AIRWAYS, Lekki would be an airport under the guise and acronynm of PPP but owned and operated by the real De facto King of Lagos.  Ladies and Gentlemen lest I forget watchout for a new airline operating from the SW(Lagos Specifically) in the weeks and months to come. Otherwise without Plan B on ground, the Lekki Airport Effigy would be yet another blue elephant monstrosity.  Fashola by then would have upstaged Donald Duke as the new King of Bling thus unlike his predecessor with a much more healtheir bank balance.   
[/size]

Voodo Ecomonomics the More u Look the less u see

Another Tinapa project!

We now have a newly discovered buzz word - PPP.

Who are you guys fooling. Please mention a single PPP project in the whole of Nigeria that is working recently since the days of private firms like UAC, PZ, Leventis, Dunlop, Michelin etc working with government of yester years. Do you know why all these companies are leaving? For the same reasons Nigerians are calling for. Simple water, roads, electricity, housing, schools to train workers and hospitals that can be patronized by those who run overseas for headaches. Those are the attractions that create jobs and more infrastructure leading to trade and decongestion of Lagos.

PPP today in disguise of Govt and private company is nothing more than sourcing govt money to Tinubu and co. who in turn invite foreign "experts" that have never cross university or college only to find out projects are bubcontrated again. We have seen OBJ/Atiku show already how govt. money went from trust funds to private banks, then to buy govt. biz!

Using Abu's money to entertain Abu. All the PPP projects in Lagos today belongs to Tinubu just as they claim half of Lagos belong to him.

Simple agricultural projects, Lagos have none except on paper and presentation or plan of what they are going to do. If cattle rearers go on strike again, Lagos will starve.

What we need is IMPLEMENTASTION. Jakande was popular because he implemented during his tenure. All this talk of railway, light rail and subway in the works, we will believe it when we see it.

Now the airport. For whose benefit? Who comes to Lagos on plane except Nigerians and your foreign "experts" who either launder money away or hold their breath while laundering money from Lagos.

BTW how much of all the money looted stay in Lagos or in Nigeria?

Ignoramus call poor people slowpoke. Cut out the insults and give sound reasons for airport that will be used by Tinubu and his like.

ziga:
And what do you propose we do about the megaslums

Destroy them?

We can learn from Maroko and turn it into mix housing, local stores, mum and pap bisiness enterprises.

Rich people do need working and middle class to enjoy their environment, otherwise they will continue to live under barbwire and iron with no exit in case of fire. Once they step out of their humogous prison homes, they step right into gutter.

No need to divert into name calling here but use your brains.

Between Airport and Subway, which create more jobs and businesses? Does mix income housing create jobs?

Have you ever heard about urban renewal? I bet not, your only convenience is what matters and these are people calling others fools. Go to anywhere in the world you copy blindly and see how they renew their cities block by block. All you guys want is megacity when you have not done anything about megaslums.

What type of local jobs and how many are crated from airports compared to mini buses, railways and yes Marva cars provided by the same Fashola. Do you realize that instead of independents drivers benefiting from rapid system, most have gone to cronies? But still a good step in the right direction.

Before anyone get offended by those who see themselves in the mirror only for their selfish and convenient ends only because votes do not count in Nigeria, we must look at their motives.

Afterall, these are the same people who are offended by people making the best they can out of dumps all over Nigeria as minority of you laugh to the banks on fat benefits.

Pure case of 80% percent dey work, 20 percent dey chop. But then you yahoo guys do not know any better. The poor are not begging for food, they want work to care for themselves and their families.

We hardly put things in perpective and sometimes argue like blind men.

What percentage of people is the airport going to benefit, what percentage of Nigerians travel by plane?

A government is suppose to take care of the majority of its people and consentrate on big projects that will benefit marjority instead of the loud minority that can easily take care of themselves.

What percentage of people live in Ikoyi-VI-Aja axis?

We spend so much of our time looking around the world for projects that benefit most of their people or even minority only after majority have basic services. As good as Fashola is or may try, majority of Lagosians still lack basic services and still live in crowded slums with dwindling recreational activities. Sad to admit but true.

candylips:
Common electicity they can provide . but they are building Satellites . rubbish

Bad belle ke?

If we can wait for UN to supply us water so close, we can wait for satellites to provide us electricity from space

Chidichris,

My state governor is as guilty as hell but we need  an accomplice whose evidence can stand up and corroborate it non-corrupt prosecutors and judges findings to lock him up in jail. So that young people will not glorify him and wish one day that they can afford his life style. Why do you think 419, contract schemers and pimps are walking free with their heads high while graduates are jobless? 

chidichris:
@banku,
u are just a political comedian.
they are all criminals and these state criminals are less dangerious than the federal actors like obasanjo, tony annenih, ibb etc.
we had 36 govs and why are u not asking after the other 35 or was your your state gov clean?

We can not throw up our hands and say all of them are rogues so forget it. We have to use the lesser rogues to catch the bigger ones. Squeeze Fashola well as chief of staff that did the dirty work for Tinubu and as Governor who became hesitant a bit but still facilitates and continue to tolerate Tinubu.

Credit him for his work and punish him for complicity, never spare Tinubu. That type of wealth is dangerous for Nigeria like that of Babangida.

YOU CANNOT FIND IBORI EH, HERE IS TINUBU BEFORE HE RUNS

Farouk Martins Aresa

It has come to our attention that the Police and EFCC are looking for Ibori, one of the two richest former governors that never gave account of their wealth after losing immunity. This guy was in the public view until recently. We saw him at the University of Benin, in Abuja with Yardua and today enjoying apetesi, mosquitoes and his supplied arms to the Niger Delta creeks. He also has a bosom brother in loot called Bola Tinubu. They have challenged anyone to either prove they are corrupt or stop the vicious rumor.

They have different goals for now. While Ibori wants to be the next President, Tinubu only wants to be the next Vice-President. For all we know they are pursuing both goal ferociously with more money in their possession than god. They both have landed properties all over the world to bribe any obstacle in their way. As the owner of over half of the most prominent properties in Lagos, Tinubu can hardly be touched by EEFC. Actually, he is tired of bribing one after the other and wants to be left alone to enjoy.

Ibori caused Tinubu some discomfort but not intentionally. He boldly stated how Ribadu was going to be removed and disgraced out of EEFC. The problem with that foolish Ribadu was that he could not keep his bloody mouth shut. He even swore that many of the former governors will be probed and sent to jail as soon as they lost immunities. Well, they are still sitting pretty using their loot to do and undo Nigeria.

So we have jealous poor people planting stories all over the place about Ibori and Tinubu. In the first place, Police and EEFC are running after Ibori while other former governors like Tinubu are roaming the street freely without any action against them. We sense discrimination in this matter especially from the Acting President Ebele. He left his brother Tinubu alone and starts giving orders that Ibori must be caught dead or alive. This same Ibori has been let go by London courts, Asaba courts and even Abuja courts yet they will not leave him alone. Na your papa money he steal?

Ok, welcome to Nigeria. The problem with some people is that they do not listen very well. Nigeria is working beautifully. But some disgruntled individuals are bad mouthing the Country. Never mind that the poor folks make up about eighty percent of the population. They are poor because they are slow learners. Majority of them refused to dance to the whims and wishes of people like Ibori and Tinubu. It is a matter of carrot and stick, apologies to my man IBB. Poor people are too stubborn and jealous.

Majority of these poor Nigerians cannot learn how to get a contract, perfect 419, oblige their butts to money bags and when they hear that rich people like Ibori and Tinubu are spending money, they throw temper-tantrums like children. How anyone in Nigeria can be poor beats many Africans. They wonder about so many billions they hear about every day, every year with no end in sight and some people lie through their teeth claiming they are poor. Yet foreigners can’t wait to get into the same Country.

The poor cry that they are not connected to some privileged few to get a piece of the action. There you go, admissions that poor people are not industrious! All they have to do is visit IBB, OBJ, Atiku, Adenuga or Alamsco to name a few if Ibori and Tinubu are busy. Poor people are also suffering from very short memories. We had ring side seats during OBJ and Atiku Show. We witnessed how Federal money leaves statutory funds into banks set up by cronies and how those millions and billions are used to buy government parastatals, telecommunication companies and other private businesses. Please stay tuned with popcorn and nuts for Tinubu/Fashola Show next.

Instead of doing the right thing, they start rumor mongering. Case in point, they claimed that Adenuga benefited from IBB and Atiku. It is how he may spray 2 million dollars on Beyonce to sing at daughter’s wedding. Nothing can be further from the truth but then he can spend “his” money any way he chooses. Who cares about the poor people that never cared about him while driving cab in New York. Rich men must entertain their daughters. Since Nigeria’s who and who will be invited, please add Faruq Mutalab.

Another case was where new money challenged old money. Tinubu, with all his wealth and more than half of Lagos choicest properties at his disposal was turned down by IBB as the running mate. If Tinubu can sponsor his own gubernatorial candidates in the Southwest and win in the next election, IBB will deeply regret not taking money made from acquiescent Lagos people for his campaign. IBB has made money still generating royalties, going for restock by coming back but Tinubu is still making money right now. Unless, Ibori comes to IBB as Vice-President, old and new loots may miss the opportunity to tango.

This is what many of our African brothers and sisters need to be educated about on poor people in Nigeria. They do not take advantage of opportunities open to them but are always whining and complaining about money not going to the best brains and the best business minds in the Country. One has to wonder if people like Ibori, Tinubu, Atiku, OBJ, IBB, Adenuga and all the names on Halliburton’s lists are not good business men employing thousands of people, what are they.

Poor Nigerians lie too much, even against professional bankers too. As soon as teachers, bus drivers, okada drivers and civil servants are denied loans for want of adequate collaterals, they start rumors about bankers giving loans to their babysitters, houseboys, girlfriends, relatives, business partners and cronies. Everyone will agree that houseboys and babysitters are not rich people. If they can strive and make it into business venture because of a little help, how on earth can anyone be poor in Nigeria?

In Nigeria, the rules are very clear if you want to borrow money from the banks. You must come up with collaterals. The farmers must show cocoa, groundnuts, yam or cattle farms in order to borrow money from banks. This is an international standard practiced all over the world, as we say in Nigeria. Some of us fail to understand why many people do not understand this. Instead of presenting what they are asked for. They start lying on managers that want half of the loan as bribes. Oh, no humorous demands.

Without collateral, those who have visited Ibori, Tinubu, IBB, OBJ, Atiku etc will confess to you how many people come in for one request or the other leaving with lots of naira. No need to go to banks. They do this on a daily basis and beggars are not discriminated against. If you think about the amount of money these people part with in a day, multiply by the month or a year, many reasonable people will understand why they keep government money in government houses.

Consequently, there is no reason for anyone to be poor in Nigeria. They are wasting their time trying to catch Ibori or Tinubu as none of those complaining can produce evidence that their names are on Halliburton lists, or they are corrupt and must be prosecuted. Unless you think Halliburton’s lists outside Nigeria are good evidence in our court under due process of the rule of law. If IBB can claim that Okigbo report which OBJ could not find exonerated him, why pick on Ibori and tinubu? They are just creating jobs for defense lawyers to exclude judges from their percentage of the loot taken as retainer fees.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com//index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15313&Itemid=46

EFCC Arrestshttp Lagos Contractor
By Godwin Ifijeh and Yemi Akinsuyi in Abuja, 04.24.2010

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php

The probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission into allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement by the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has ensnared its first casualty with the arrest of one of the state’s major contractors, Dr. Tunji Olowolafe by the commission.

Confirming Olowolafe’s arrest yesterday, EFCC spokesman, Femi Babafemi said he was being held in connection with the investigation by the commission following the petition submitted by the True Face of Lagos, a group which has been at the vanguard of exposing corruption in the state.

Olowolafe, it was learnt, was arrested at about 5.00pm yesterday in connection with a N20 billion contract, and was subsequently detained in Abuja.
Olowolafe, through his company, Deux Project, is said to have had his hand on the pulse in Lagos State for several years dating back to the administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in 2005.

His Deux international company was said to have got contracts for the supply of health facilities, rehabilitation of hospitals and was known to be currently working at the Gbagada General Hospital.
The company was alleged to have supplied the hospital with medical equipment and furnished its Cardiac Centre at a cost of 14 million pounds. He was similarly said to have constructed roads and drainages within the hospital.

Fondly called Lafe in Lagos government circles, Olowolafe has also worked for the Federal Government and some other state governments for over 20 years. Sources in government circles said last night that he handled major contracts for the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).

On Thursday this week while addressing a group of protesters that calls itself the True Face of Lagos at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, the Commission’s Chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri, had said the EFCC was working on the series of petitions by the group to it on allegations of corruption against the Fashola administration.

Meanwhile, Pro-Ibori and EFCC protesters yesterday stormed the headquarters of the EFCC in Abuja to drum up support for both sides.The protesters, who had stormed the commission, were said to have held sway in the place for several hours to present their cases.

While the Pro-Ibori protester demanded that the EFCC hands-off the Ibori case, claiming that it was politically motivated and that the commission could not go after Ibori with a subsisting Federal High Court Order in place, the Pro-EFCC group demanded that the commission goes ahead and arrest Ibori at all cost. The group canvassed support for the commission, asking all Nigerians to give it the desired support as it has been doing its best to stem corruption in the country in the recent time.

Getukudo,

Your mind dey void and derek completely. What makes Beyounce so beautiful to you? She is American which you inspire to be. She has funny getto accent which you inspire touse. She is a striper which you love. She makes colored green with pig foot, fried chicken and macaroni.

Comapared to village Nigeria girl. She talks with bush accent white you hate. She plait her hair, you prefer burning it. She walks gracefully, you prefer cat walk. She cooks egusi and okasi you prefer french fries on a hamburger or fish and chips.

Don't you see that you are totally messed up.

As for Adenuga: none of the brains from Nigerian universities waiting and begging for loans, grants for projects that will compete with foreign contracts of your brothers, has been diverted to him(Adenuga). No collateral, no sureties and no brains needed. Oh, his backside may help. The same money that can be used for jobless graduates to creat jobs and expand middleclass.

It is only people like you that spend their money and Nigeria's money that way. And the reason you do not mind spending it on Beyounce. With your 2 million, dare touch her, u hia. Oh you can peep like Thisday owner. Even that can get you killed in the getto.

Barawo!

getukudo:
@Banku

Yet another foolish comment. Go to the village and inspire this girl that is prettier and well educated than Beyonce. Get A Life dude! If you don't have something better to say, go to the next group. Mscheew!!!

Richfella,

Fools do not realize that. Inspiration, examples and candor lift the poor, the children and the young more than any money you can give them because they wonder - if he can, so can I.

But then, these fools inspire 419, drug trafficking and prostitution to make that jackpot.

But fools and their money never last. What is it about Beyounce that a prettier girl from the village can not do. Have you guys listen to Beyounce talk, with an uneducated accent that never moved beyound her neck of the hood until ,

Richfella:
The poor do not need charity. . .they need Inspiration! What is more inspiring than a dude spending $2m on some frivolity?? That really got my blood boiling.

Gbegapro,

Don't be surprised that I agree with you. Nigeria is probably one of the last place we get an ideal candidate. My candidate was Jimmy Agbaje and most voters knew he was a better candidate. Until you can come up with a way Nigeria and even USA can elect the best candidate, pray that Fashola stop worshiping the devil Tinubu and turn to God of the masses. Did you think Reagan was a better candidate than Mondale in the US then?

gbengapro:
Your post is arrant nonsense

Fashola is as corrupt as Tinubu. He has skeletons in his cupboard evidenced by the various revelations published in recent times. Aside from the True Face of Lagos, Fashola is involved in various land scams, the Lekki road scams, the Tejuosho market scams etc. Dont forget he was Tinubu's chief of staff and errand boy. A lion cannot give birth to a lizard. Fashola is an off spring of Tinubu tutored in the act of thievery and corruption

Fashola's acclaimed performance is highly questionable and a product of media hype. We all live in Lagos and slums have not dissapeared. The schools are still dilapidated, quality of education still very low, the roads in many areas are still unmotorable. When it rains, flood takes over Lagos, traffic jam is the order of the day. There is massive corruption at alausa. The local govts are cesspool of corruption. There is no accountability of the huge tax revenue. Tinubu is still the de facto governor and still despoiling Lagos under the watch of fashola

How in the world can you say Fashola is a good governor. In fact, he is pleasing the devil!

GOV. FASHOLA CAN NOT PLEASE GOD AND DEVIL

Farouk Martins Aresa

Governor Fashola is probably the best governor we have in Nigeria today. He actually works his butt off by providing essential services neglected by most of his predecessors. A lawyer born and bred with generations of family ties in Lagos finds a dilemma in the continued use of his God-given, acquired management skill in a state whose aspiration he can easily identify with; in conflict with the loyalty he pledged to his godfather whose only goal is to milk the State.

Fashola was recently invited to give an account of how he became the Governor of Lagos State to African students at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He spoke passionately about his godfather Tinubu that convinced him to join the government since he made up his mind never to, after a NYSC experience. His lack of ambition to become a governor made him an ideal Tinubu candidate, to use for one term.

Our empathy with Fashola could be selfish because we want him to continue to serve Lagos State. The fire and dedication within him when he spoke to the students at Harvard University is backed up by the work he accomplished. He was humble, simple with self-deprecating humor. It was his reputation and political capital that got him invited to Harvard, not the amount of money he looted to buy an honorary degree.

In order to lump everyone together, even looters call clean people crooks so that the polity can be easily confused by who is a real or bigger thief. Fashola cannot say that though; at Harvard they know corruption is endemic in Nigeria. Painfully but surely, he has to disengage from Tinubu that will blackmail him no matter what he does and become more daring and transparent than he has ever been. Lagosians are not naïve and may be willing to forgive the lesser crooks in order to expose the bigger crooks.

Whatever deal they have with each other, Fashola has to understand that the reputation of his family in Lagos is worthier than gold. Nevertheless, Tinubu woke up a man dedicated to duty, more concerned about delivering dividends of democracy to his state than blind loyalty to a godfather. It became a dilemma to walk the invisible line of a skillful manager and politics. It is impossible to separate the two. You have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

The arrangement of separation of power between Fashola as the skilful manager and Tinubu as the politician is a farce. Political goodwill is built on selling sound management to the masses. That is what Fashola earned and what the people of Lagos State base their trust on. Indeed, if Fashola was not seen as a good politician, there would be no political capital to rely on. That goodwill capital must not be spent by anyone else but Fashola. Tinubu’s only role is magomago politics on the side of chop and quench.

Sure, if Tinubu had never backed him as a candidate, he would not have won. If he did not win, he would not be in a position to render the services Lagosians now enjoy. More than anyone else, Fashola struggles with whatever deal he made with Tinubu. That is why he did not want to run for second term and he is obliged to comply with most of Tinubu’s demands through the series of peace meeting between them

Let us be fair, it is a difficult position for anyone to be but at the end of the day, Lagos State comes first. The elders that are trying to patch matters up between them must realize that Fashola is a lawyer and it will be difficult for him to claim that he was only following Tinubu’s orders. Both of them will be probed at some point and Tinubu will save his neck first and will not care how Fashola ends up.

As soon as elders of the State let Tinubu know the consequences of his recklessness on the State’s coffer and the implication for the seating Governor, he lets go his area boys within whom he feels accepted, the pressure group tactics, to call for the head of Fashola. These cynics went as far as claiming that Fashola displaced the poor so that the rich can drive their cars freely.

The incessant calls for probe by Tinubu’s messengers is hypocritical as they know very well who the devil is. It is not the first time Tinubu manipulated those he could not control out of the way. We know what happened to Akerele-Bucknor, Pedro, Obanikoro, Atiku and a host of others that have generations of family ties to the State. Nobody gets elected in Lagos without the ascent of this cunning son of Iragbiji in Osun State.

In spite of the warnings by economist and other politicians during the reign of Tinubu that he was stealing Lagos State blind, none of these area boys and politicians initiated or call for a probe by the Lagos House because they were sprayed with naira or gripped by the fear of losing their seats. Their problem, Fashola that can’t be cloned, outshines Tinubu.

We cannot wave off some of their allegation against Fashola because the buck stops with him and will bear the consequences no matter what percentage Tinubu’s company collects at the other end. The facts remain that they do not have the interest of Lagos State in mind but that of their senders. That is why they become the accusers and judges exonerating their senders before an independent body look into their allegations.

Tinubu has nothing to lose. He has thrown his mother under the bus and his village under the train for now until he could elect the Governor of Osun State or makes presidency. He has become the banker at the National level to clinch the Vice-President by hook or crook on his way to becoming President. These are the type of materials Nigeria encourages as politicians and Fashola will be sacrificed on Tinubu’s way up.

It should not be surprising that Tinubu is still walking free as a former governor because like Ibori, they have accumulated and still accumulating money to buy their way out of jail. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones. There lies the strength of unscrupulous politicians that rule us and still trying to come back and rule us again. They live above their means and dare call for proof that they stole!

PROFILING NIGERIANS MISDIRECTED VITAL RESOURCES
Farouk Martins Aresa
Ngex.com

The problem with racial profiling is that it satisfies the chaos of the day but disproportionably deprives hard target of resources and focus it where there is hardly any threat. The best case in point is the profiling of Nigerians who are more obsessed with the problems within their own Country than any other. The misdistribution of wealth in that Country is internationally known and the agitation for justice and fair play vigorously portrayed by Nigerian Press and Internet.

If charity begins at home, Nigeria is it. We want a Country where charity, milk and honey flow at it natural level to all the people, not just the very connected few. At the risk of using absolute terms, Nigerians are survivals not suicide club members. Any idle fool willing to die as a dummy is a product of foreign indoctrination. Foreign indoctrination and malediction that are totally alien to our culture used to take advantage of the poor at home, has been embraced by an idle rich boy who ignored the anguish in the poorest part of Nigeria to debase us in foreign lands.

One would think that in Nigeria where the oppressed feel the daily yoke of injustice, structural adjustment of some years ago and daily celebration of opulence by praise singers of the very few, a Moses will rise up demanding freedom for his people. Oh no, no. It is in foreign lands where two elephants are fighting that the grass wants to rise to the occasion.

In spite of our past reputation Nigerians are not known for violence. This is not the time to give up on good character as demonstrated by most Nigerians, it is time to be reposeful and shame the bad apples. If anything, our silence and tolerance for crumbs have encouraged them. It is time to end indifference and make life sour for crooks inside and outside Nigeria. The harder it is for them, the more difficult it becomes for their children. Nigerians hold up your heads, our good character will prevail.

We must hasten to applaud a father who is willing to bring his son to face the scrutiny of international justice on realizing that he has lost control. That is the way we were brought up, if you do not learn at home, you learn the hard way from outside. Parents would report the children for bad behavior, not hide them from the force of law. But some countries will swear for their children no matter what the offence. Any justice is a kangaroo court in the same western world, if they don’t get favorable acquittal.

There is no country in the world that does not have its mafia and 419s but Nigeria is one of the countries with so much potential that fail to turn into paradise for the majority of its people. We always look up to the “civilized” world. All the crimes committed there are mastered and imported into Nigeria. The brain it takes to master and redirect these crimes are needed to improve Nigeria. The first time some of us were fooled that we have become millionaires was outside Nigeria by people using 419 to sell magazines and other products.

Instead of making Nigeria a suitable place to study for most of our children, we send them out to foreign countries alone or at best with a single parent while marveling and absorbing alien cultures. Then we wonder why they value other cultures more than our own, why they become religious fanatics, drug pushers or drug mules. It is hard enough to control extremists’ influence on young men at home, formative years alone in an unfamiliar environment is even worse. A mind that is idle and blank becomes a fertile ground for mischief.

Religion is supposed to civilize and instill the fear of God in us, except that some of us have “chop craze with religion”. It is not that God never gave us our own or that we never have enough religious problems that need to be sanitized; nevertheless, we swallow other culture’s religion and their ancient heroes, whole without questions. This was the foreign religion that blessed us as slaves and promised us eternal life in heaven for accepting the injustices on earth.

Every human need the fear of God, retribution or our chi to dissuade us from evil ways but looking for sokoto in Sokoto is nothing short of insanity. Since the time of World Wars, Africans were recruited to fight for freedom they were denied at home. Our young children, with all the virgins in Nigeria, are still promised forty virgins in heaven as a distraction from noble causes at home. Yet, nobody has come back to confirm that either virgins or eternal life in heaven is true.

It gets to a point when self hatred becomes devious mind that gives in to unstable mentality. The act of this crazy mind, while funny to a crowd, none of them wants to call him a child: says a Yoruba proverb. It may be funny to a crowd when a guy that was paid to ram a petrol tanker into a building in Abuja conveniently used a brick on the accelerator instead! The tanker got stuck before the hit. Which of these elephants cares about the grass that suffers?

Realistically, we have called for individual sacrifice, including from this writer to tackle the problem of Nigeria. Since we know that every individual is created to make a contribution to our society, we must continue to hold ourselves responsible until that debt is paid. If children are not held responsible early in life and reminded of their contributions, even as chores at home, they will make the type of contribution we detect outside. A child that never suffers at home will look for a place to pay dearly. There is so much money amongst these filthy rich Nigerians, there is more left with their children to go to schools of radicalism where they learn to inflict pain and disgrace the rest of us.

Until we fix our problems in Nigeria, no country will respect us. Even South Americans are preaching to us to wake up. We have what is necessary to make Nigeria great but we continue to wallow in abject poverty. Our level of poverty in the Country as a whole and in the North in particular is a breeding place for religious riot with the promise of salvation. Outside Nigeria, they see us as one, so no amount of denunciation of one another will solve our problem. We need more of our young educated brothers in the North to join hands with us in the South to close germinating spots of indoctrination. All the Sharia in the North only for the poor, Catechism, gospel and Holy Ghost in the South will not do it.

Our reputation may be damaged temporarily by the misadventure of an individual, but as we have other character and desired markets to offer the world, we will rebound. If God does not want Nigeria to exist, we have already done enough with our own hands to squander the Country. But the most Nigerians outside the scattered developed jungles called cities have held Nigeria together and have held Africa in place. So there is still hope for Nigeria in children coming out of those places. The only barriers are the few overfed crooks that steal and pay themselves the highest salary in the world and the rest, peanuts.

rhymz:
i thought the facking strike waz over? Was in the market ydaz and I bought everything for the normal price. . . The strike is nonsense and wont achieve anything. no1 is even talking about it except NLanderz.They need our cash just as we need their cash crops. . .

People will never learn. This is why birds never tell one another that a stone is coming. If they do, instead of taking off, they will argue with, and blame one another because one has red and the other green feathers. What the hell, the strike is over, so forget it. Then we deserve to staff!

AjanleKoko:
Problem is, apart from Lagos, very little economic activity goes on in the entire South of Nigeria.
In fact, apart from Lagos, where else do you have that kind of food demand?
The rulers of most of the states (except Lagos!) are all PDP surrogates, stuck on the lucre of federal money, available to loot and share.
State governments need to invest in mechanised farming, create co-operatives to grow the domestic farming activity. But do they know or care? They're slaves of Abuja.

You may be wrong. The scacity of meat was felt as far as Owerri. Since the price went up, every thing else was in higher demand raising price of frozen chick, fish etc. It only takes one or two items.

But why depend on Togo or Benin when we can grow and raise our own food as we used to with enough to feef the rest of West Africa. We are just encouraging blackmail pure and simple by being complacent.

There are two realities here: love and sex.

After a frustating relationship anyone may want a break to recollect. That does not mean she will not be getting sex from some unpresentable fellow. It is called sex without love. or maybe a vibrator friend.

The danger is you are in college, the best place to try future relationships. You do not have to be intimate but keep your options open in case you find one that may turn out to be real love later, even after school. Many girls find out the boy they casually like may be it. It is not wise to close all your options and eyes closed. It just means you are not in a rush. College is the best place and time to get a man. Exams are beside the point. You will have exams throughout your life.

http://ngex.com/news/public/article.php?ArticleID=1590
 
Nigeria: South Will Starve To Death Or Bow Like Their Kin To Arabs
Author: Farouk Martins | March 22, 2010

There are three main issues involved here: Farming, Bribe as taxes and Oil sector. They are so interwoven, it takes more than a short article to sort them out. But try we must. We have been sensitized to the dangerous dependence on oil money to solve all our problem including the most important, which is food from our backyards. We made a choice to rely on money from oil farms and abandon food production with the notion that money can buy it all. It’s our downfall.

The fact is Southerners are neither in full control of food production nor oil industry. As for bribe takers, they are made up of all Nigerians but the forceful takers in the Armed Forces are eventually controlled by the very powerful. Traders who go into business must make a little profit after transport, imported petrol and all bribes or taxes expenses, no matter who collect them. So if they have to bring food all the way from the North to people who are too proud and lame to farm in the South, it does not make any sense then for a “lame” man to blame suppliers. Without them, he will starve to death. Variety of meat and yams can be from both North South.

Blame people all the time for our indiscretion, greed and outright indifference to our poor folks who share no part in the misery we lead them into; nobody listens. How anyone can blame the North for starving the South out of daily suya beats some of our wildest imagination unless we know of any reason why cows and cattle cannot be grazed by Southerners in the South. But a logical reason, why Northerners can graze same cows and cattle anywhere, including the South.

When we were growing up, most of our parents had a little shed in the backyards where crops and chickens were within reach. Indeed, those bad boys are known for stealing chickens from the neighbors’ yard. Many of us who left major cities for secondary schools in the deep West or East were surprised that there were agric classes that sent students to cultivate farms. Now, nobody has come up yet and make a case where anyone from any part of Nigeria forced them to stop feeding themselves from their more productive green backyards.

It seems that our great grandparents that never saw this modernization were more civilized than us. They taught us to be prudent about food and make sure it is within reach. Some of us even remember that folk song:

Iwe kiko lai si oko ati ada, kio pe o, koi pe o. Ise agbe ni ise ile wa, eni ko sise ama jale.

It simply translates into "education without means of food production is incomplete and will lead to looting. They were right on!

What we see today in many of the backyards are extensions of the main houses rented out. We also see oil farms or bunkering from Port-Harcourt to Lagos. On good faith, Lateef Jakande gave Lagos’ share of agricultural subsidies in the 80s, to the North. We missed meat, tomatoes and peppers for a week and we are crying as if Biafra did not miss much more for a couple of years. If we made do in Biafra for that long, improvise for food, survived and become healthier years after that; a week cannot kill us but make us think again about the future of food in our Country.

When a former head of state in Nigeria elevated dash to family support, we should have known as some predicted that we were in for tough time for the rest of our life unless we reversed the downward trend of abysmal leaders. Despite the apparent warnings from some chief of police to the men to stop illegal checks on our road for no other reason than to collect family support and maintenance of their vehicle, no appreciable progress has been made. Actually the order was contradictory, and reversed after some brave policemen’s grievances besieged the House.

The soldiers saw it as lucrative check points and mounted their own and so are the joint patrol forces. It used to be the area boys that demanded commission from traders. Well, no more. The armed robbers have learned some lucrative business also. Consequently, bribes and taxes are now competing for limited returns on food that should be tax-free compared to other goods and services. Governor Obi had to put his foot down in Anambra at one point when militants demanded that he kept Federal money while local taxes were their jurisdiction.

If there is anything to learn from precedent about oil; in the early 70s Pierre Trudeau refused to pay Alberta’s demand for oil price from the rest of Canada. They would rather sell to USA for world price. Trudeau labeled their Premier, “Sheik” Lougheed. Albertans were furious about the price the rest of Canada paid, so they said: Let the Eastern naughty person Freeze to Death. Today, the argument has changed because world price reduce local consumption. Alberta got a negotiated price then and saved into Heritage Fund; part of which was later used to cushion recession.

We are not sure if there is any reasonable person in Nigeria today that can vouch for the money that will be saved if oil deregulation comes to Nigeria. So the farmers, any middle class left and the Nigerians that need, not want, petroleum for their daily activities have nothing to gain from a fund that would be saved if deregulation is implemented in Nigeria. The fund like others will suddenly disappear into pockets, instead of ameliorating environmental damage done in the Niger Delta and other oil producing areas that have lost fish farming. As a result, no matter how much sense it makes, like every theory that has worked elsewhere, it is fruitless at home.

The expectation is if Northerners get natural resource like oil blocks, there must be a reciprocal benefit to the South. Nomads eking out on arid land for greener pastures southwards are not the oil beneficiaries. They are let loose by license to graze any land at others’ expense. Nomads are groomed to prevent revolts at home or become Trojan horses for their mission southwards. Well, they head the Arm Forces to keep us united, stole our Hausa kin and Middle Belt is next.

Bribes, taxes, farming and oil deregulation on killer roads are volatile mix in our Country. Since we have been begging God to come down and save us and there is no relief in sight yet, we may as well help save ourselves. We do not need to wait for the North to feed us in the South.

by: Farouk Martins Aresa

Nigeria: Ma Hajia Dada Yar'Ardua Our Hearts Aches In your Shoes
Author: Farouk Martins | March 09, 2010

There is no mother that will not feel the pain of Grandma Yar’Adua, just as men with blood flowing through their veins will. One of her children was taken away through the cold hands of Abacha and now, another is fighting for his life. Forget the politics, forget the regions and all disagreements, most of us feel the pain in her shoes.

One of the joys of life is to see our children make it good in our lifetime, it is un-African to witness the death or pain of our children without sorrow. This is the time we want to get closer to relatives and authentic friends. Politics have no permanent foes or friends. In difficult time, many obsequious friends desert us for better pastures. All the praises, gift and visits dwindle. That is life.

We are the talikawa that get and expect nothing no matter who you are. Our friendship is genuine and it has no price. Since we have no connection and seek none, our empathy with her is free of any expectation in return. In time of sorrow, we always bind together because that is all we have. Whenever we see people in need we share the little we possess, if anything. If that little is to share in your sorrow, Hajia, that is what we do.

The same way we are worried about the poor the weak and the gentle, so do we care about the sick. Those of us who have people to care for us are considered lucky in this blessed Country of ours. There are millions more who are sick, may be able to see a doctor but die because they cannot afford prescriptions. So are many others without the opportunity to see a doctor in the face of diseases, ethnic and religious riots.

Somehow, she must be a very strong woman who has instilled certain discipline in her children. That was reflected in Shehu Yar’Adua who died in prison fighting on principle. There was another display of this principle when we heard that she traveled all the way from the North to thank Obasanjo. It is not Obasanjo we appreciate, but a woman who thought she had to satisfy her gut feelings.

There must have been many people including relatives who told her not to make that journey. Even the President must have been embarrassed at that point because he was trying to demonstrate to everyone that he was his own man. Yet, she defied all of them and with the support of those around her also, traveled to Ota. So it is not who she visited, but the demonstration of her own independent conscience.

The glory of our state and blood are flowers like shadows that wither away, nothing substantial. No matter who we are, we are less so in the eyes of the Allah. The same fortitude that carried you through the travail of a son strong like steel in the face of death in prison will see you through the illness of another. We understand the joy and celebration in Katsina when your son came back home. He needs his peace of mind away from politics, talking heads like us and sanctuary within his family.

We will continue our political debate about how to move the Country forward. Please do not mind us or take it personally. Understand the need to steer the Country through political and economic sustenance for the future of our children. The time of your son and that of others will be compared to that of Ebele. Shonekan spent less time than either of them. Please remember Ebele in your prayers as well so that he can lead Nigeria better than those before him.

It is the prayers of our fathers and mothers that those coming after us must supersede us in their achievement. As we pray for those children so that they can see better future than we did, so must we pray for Nigeria and Ebele that lead us today. Nigeria needs more than prayers, the Country need benevolent contribution from each of us.

The ways forward are solid strides in economic, political and social achievements. Since we have failed in the past, our destinies which are our children, have been abandoning our Country, chasing ghosts crossing the desert to the unknown hoping against hope. This does not bear well for a Country as ours that has enough to take care of its needs.

In a Country where the rich are indifferent to the suffering of almajiri, we call our leaders as we see them. If it is any relief, you son has shown sincere fortitude to solve the problem of the militia in Niger Delta. It is up to Ebele to follow up on the blue print laid down by Yar’Adua. But you need not pay attention to politics. It is rough, mean, dirty and selfish. It is just like swimming with the shacks.

Therefore, you will hear and see people, including this writer, express their frustration at all past administrations including that of your son. It has nothing to do with you as a grandmother, it has to do with the job your son took on. They say: uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Continue to hold your own and be strong for your grand and great grand children.

We can turn our loss into gain and our sorrow into strength by dedicating whatever we have in cash or kind to those who are less privileged than we are. Feeding the poor and the homeless during Christian, Muslim or traditional festivals are not enough, Shehu Musa Foundation programs must be well supported to continue the ideals we care for in our communities.

In the pursuit of the comfort of liberty for all Nigerians where ever they are, whatever the work and contributions of the sons of Yar’Adua will be remembered in our history. In the end, it is not how much wealth we accumulate in our lifetimes that can be easily squandered by prodigal sons, it is the principle we leave behind that lives forever.

Grandma Hajia Dada Yar’Adua must remain strong even in the most trying times such as this so that other mothers and grandmothers going through similar situations can learn.

Farouk Martins Aresa

The first thing Jonathan needs is to stabilize his gov. You can not find a better person than Danjuma. The only down side is that like all others he is greedy and will demand the oil block Obasanjo took away from him. But so are others.

The best thing about him is that he is pro South while respected in the North. Do not forget that while he was respected by Abacha, he was also funding NADECO.

He will also reassure those against OBJ influence. But he can not kill OBJ influence. People like Ribadu and El-Rufai will be welcomed back.

Keep your finger crossed. Jonathan is on the move.

This is one of the best articles on career and family. Thanks for posting it.
As for those who can not understand the tittle, did you read the article?