₦airaland Forum

maxell: Anyone bundling the Yorubas as parasites as the Northerners needs to get examined.

Besides Oil and gas, cocoa is the biggest export for Nigeria
and 70% of the cocoa produced in Nigeria comes from the South West (with
Ondo state being the highest producer in the country)

Source: http://www.mbendi.com/indy/agff/coco/af/ng/p0005.htm

Nobody is bundling any ethnic group as parasites and it would be wrong for you to have that perception, it is more a thing thats levelled against individuals. However, certain ugly coincidences make others recoil, check where those hating on the ND on this thread are from (shocking ain't it?). Maybe that is why you perceive paratisim to have been levelled against an ethnic group.

honeric01: I am also from the ND, now shove that into your brain.. because i am from the ND does not mean i shouldn't frown at a system who pays criminals for doing nothing and also graduates roam about the streets without job. am i jealous to be pointing out the truth?

Funny shiit!
Even Tafawa Balewa and Akintola are from the ND these days.

You belong firmly in the association of phucking bigotted awuf luv'n losers and haters of the ND club.

Lol!

Whitmarsh is McLarens biggest problem. The guy makes some strategy calls that are just shockenly poor, there were strong rumours that he'd be replaced with Paddy Lowe at the end of last season. Maybe Ron Dennis will look to give that some reconsideration.

As for LH's race, it looked like wrong electronic setup to me, especially given his wheelspin at the start.

Aside from Kimi, the race is a bit of a damp squib.
I wonder who Massa will blame for crashing out this time?

@shymmex
Your description of yourself is very positive indeed. Many fathers and mothers would be proud to have such a son; I guess where you got it though, since you can speak Yoruba fluently after leaving at age 4-5. Your dad must be one hell of a guy! Same goes to your mum.

Keep being who you are. Don't allow any cretins get to you.

Marlboro1: No he is not and you cant be like his mom even if you wished. He would have disowned her if she looked anything like you. The only place you find anything that looks like you is the zoo. Sorryoooo. Just the truth and nothing but the truth.

Damn! Damn!! Damn!!!

Zulele: @Beaf..haha..it is so obvious you are depressed today and you are lashing members here...anyways,me dont have that time matey! I can imagine the blue-black vains that are standing out of your forehead as you think on how to pour out your depression! You can reply me cos i know you will...am signing out of here for the night tho.Am watching an intresting movie here... ''the skin i live in by antonio banderess''..you should watch it,its intresting!

It is obvious your "movie" watching was ruined with the sudden realisation that calling ND people lazy, only makes you a fool.
Keep watching the "movie" jare, it will teach you a lot about Nigeria and the awuf culture.

. . .Some friendly advice in the meantime, take panadol for any headache your bigotry, idiocy and dissapontment that the ND peeps are more hardworking than your fillage folk might have caused you.

https://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/105576042/panadol_night_tablets.jpg

^
You had to post the same thing thrice? Dude, you have admitted to being ignorant, many of us are not. Ok?
It also doesn't make you look clever when you accuse the victim of the crime. I guess you were on the side of the bigots until I gave the fools a black eye, Lolzz!

Please address the topic next time, bruv. Why do people distract the govt because of awuf?

Ufeolorun: You are irredeemably divisive.What Tv stations are you referring to ?,On AIT for example,how many ND programs are held on their network aprt from talks about oil.
The last time I checked i saw adverts for faaji tv on your AIT specially dedicated to you know? Don't underestimate the economic power of the 'parasites'.take Apple out of America and it becomes Ekor iya dauda:where a company is located matters.

Lol! Your claims of ND laziness have dried up. Init?

Dude, go and check every single thing around you and you will find that you are no more than an ungrateful loudmouthed parasite who thinks they can dump on the ND because they are minorities.
What have you done to develop your fillage na? Why allow lazy ND man to own almost all banks and other productive sectors of the ND? This is even with the gross marginalisation they have suffered.

Well, they contribute much more per capita than your rock filled, awuf luv'n fillage. If you look fery fery closely, you will find that it is much much more than just AIT, but ND peeps no de make noise.

Lazy, bigotted awuf luv'n phuck.

@dimwits like kobojunkie
I don't need google dude. Even the Worlds second greatest fool (you take number 1 spot) knows about commercial oil discoveries at Oloibiri in the 50's.
What a dimwit.

Marlboro1: Now, last time I checked no one hired you as lecturer on NL. Quit trying to be a smartalec jumping into everyone's post to show how smart or knowledgable you are for you are neither. You my friend have not proved to anyone here how closeness to oil has made the host communities lazy. As Beaf intimated here, ND controls the media, banking, entertainment and additionally has more than 90% of Nigeria's oil. If that makes them lazy, lady you are smoking igbo. Come back and respond when the thing don clear for your head. Speaking of suck, e be like say you get something for mouth wey make you no dey think well well now. I am done with you!!!

Don't waste time on that clown. He (yes, kobojunkie is a man) is one hell of a dumbo that claims oil was discovered in the 70's.
Why argue with such a loud clod? Lol!

The hateful bigot is not even qualified to discuss the current topic, but is only here to heal a bigotted itch to slander the ND. It is one of his habits you will soon get used to.

Ufeolorun: The debate about how this country is being governed right now should be allowed and any attempt at blackmailing others by intentionally muddling the discussion with his ethnicity and where he is from and what's sipping from the ground there has already failed.

Where you not the first to bring in ethnicity like fool? Now your trick of trying to derail the thread by calling ND people lazy has suffered a catastrophic failure you suddenly want to appear holy.
I am sure that it has been proven that ND people are more hardworking than people in your useless awuf luv'n fillage, so you wish to change direction.

This thread is all about the scramble for awuf and how it demeans you and people like you. Learn to have shame, it will straighten your muddled, bigotted mind.

bakila: Since you are dumb like me try another style you guy wants to start 2015 campaign with northern bashing true or false.

You started this thread hoping that you will have post abusing northerners but disappointed with the first post. T or F

shocked by the response but in your xtics style start to abuse, no be so?

Goodluck is bad sell tell him to forget next election. I Think you are the rusty dane gun here who tries to sell the unsalable you are the one collecting awuf money in Abuja as You lick and regurgitate the vomit from rotten meal off the mouth of politicians who have failed to do their job. Even a blind man will see that the air is not fresh. As promised by you master.

Hmmmm! A fool always thinks he can understand another mans thoughts. Dude, I am way ahead of you; I only start making an effort when your brain is frozen. You do not know what this thread is about, because you are too slow, otherwise you would have realised that you and your fellow bigots lost the plot long ago. Continuing down a path where you realise you will only get repeatedly slapped makes you look quite deranged.

Why are your people led by elites who are so intent on awuf that they are doing everything to distract the government? Don't you feel ashamed and embarrassed to be rooting for awuf luv'n phucks? Don't you feel demeaned at being perceived as a beggar?

Ufeolorun: Not that we are all lazy per se cos I have met/seen hard-working Nigerians who r very passionate about our country but just getting tired of the flipping sense of entitlement some people are just going on about with,calling others parasite or lazy as if they are doing anything out of the ordinary.
We all know massive sense of entitlement causes laziness.
Majority of the Ahmadus in Kaduna or baba wales in Akure do not feel any impact of oil in our country, they wake in the morning and head to their onion or cocoa farm everyday to manually till cos they know their lives depend on it.
'Their' oil doesn't feed them.

So how come SS people own the TV stations you watch, the newspapers and magazines you read, the production of nollywood movies you watch, the banks where your money is secured etc? These are all things outside of oil. No?
If you aren't a parasite, how exactly does anyone outside your crusty fillage benefit from your so-called cocoa farms?

You better get off your hairy arse and do a hard days job to get the nickels flowing, instead of wasting your health on jealousy of people who contribute way more per capita than you and your fellow awuf luv'n fillager's do.

ND? We are small, but mighty.

[size=14pt]Rewind. . . [/size]

dadicvila: stop displaying your large scale ignorance in public,Niger delta people are well educated,you have thousands of illiterates in the west dosnt make you guys illiterates

Tell them, abeg.

Most of the banks are owned by ND people, same for most of the press. By some strange coincidence, after the oil industry, banking is the next greatest contributor to GDP; therefore, in simple words, the ND does own the entire Nigerian economy, oil and non oil.

When it comes to nollywood, yet another great contributor to GDP, the headquarters is Asaba, again in the ND.

Of Nigeria's 10 richest men, 5 are from Delta state. Again, in the ND.

One has to ask the Ufeoloruns of this World just what they contribute to the nation outside noisemaking and stup!dity. It is natural for leeches to be jealous of those who are more productive; it is natural for bone-headed bullies to pick on the little guy with the big d.i.c.k that goes where they cannot go.

[quote author=Mr. Anthony Sanni - Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)][size=14pt]“These days, those who are beaten are the ones who are crying. How do you justify the fact that most of the banks are owned by the people from the South-South? How do you justify the situation where most of the media houses are owned by people from the South-South? You think that they are the hardest workers,”[/size][/quote]http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/acf-s-south-leaders-on-war-path-over-derivation/

Does that voice sound familiar? It is the voice of a parasite who thinks life and death exist only in Abuja and is ready to distract govt and die for awuf oil money.
Most people need a hard look in the mirror.

bakila: Gentleman you man is not ready for that job he is not doing it well and that statement that Abati wrote is a lie because the man is not concentrating on his job. Any day he opens his mouth he misyarn. Patience or something else is distracting him.

Is your skewed opinion reason why parasites and awuf luv'n phucks are trying to distract govt with their 2015 ambition to be closer to awuf?
Dude, you are misfiring like a rusty dane gun. Try to make sense, abeg.

bakila: Beaf you can see how difficult it is to sell GEJ. The attempt to embellish you discuss with North battaring suffered a huge blow by selling GEJ. We all as student of history know what happens when a leader begin to form commitees whose terms of Ref inculdes tenure adjustment.
If Goodluck has goodluck in delivering his mandate we would ask him to continue. Only the validity of his candidature will stop him from running.
You failed in selling that product. We know you guy thinks of rigging but ninty nine days for the thief one day for the citizen.

I don't know what you are rambling about, bruv.
This thread is about vultures, hyena's, lazy phucks and parasites who are intent on distracting the government with their never ending "born to rule" quest for awuf oil money. Please deal with it and stop rambling.

[size=14pt]Jonathan: Local Content Law Achieving Results[/size]
17 Mar 2012

[img]http://serving.thisdaylive.com/0bef99d6-acf5-4e2c-9779-8fa02ba3fcd4/assets/Goodluck-Jonathan-(L)1307.jpg?maxwidth=400&maxheight=540[/img]
President Goodluck Jonathan (L) with Governor Babatunde Fashola on Jonathan’s arrival at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja... Friday

By Ahamefula Ogbu

President Goodluck Jonathan Friday said the completion of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Mobil Producing Nigeria Satellite Fields Development Platforms locally was a proof the local content law was already yielding the expected transformational results.

Speaking while commissioning the locally fabricated Abang and Itut platforms in Nigerdock Compound, Snake Island, Lagos, Jonathan, who signed the Local Content bill into law, said since oil and gas account for over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s revenue, the locally fabricating jobs would have a lot of employment potentials when fully developed.

"What we have witnessed today is a demonstration of the rightness of the local content law. When you consider that oil and gas sector accounts for over 80 percent of the country’s income then you will appreciate the importance of what the law can do to transform our economy," he said.

He said the feat was a demonstration of the capacity of local companies to deliver and develop capacity. The President charged Nigerians to begin to patronise locally made goods.

He used the opportunity to also lay the foundation of a skill base in the company to reassure investors who add value to products and services in the country of the resolve of his administration to continue providing the enabling environment for them to thrive in business.

Jonathan said the feat recorded by Nigerdock would be more appreciated when the technological and infrastructural challenges being faced in the quest to attain capacity are taken into consideration.

Also speaking at the occasion, Chairman of Nigerdock Nigeria Plc, Mr. Anwar Jarmakani, said though the two platforms were the first fully integrated decks to be locally, fabricated, pre-commissioned and tested in Nigeria, his plan was that the integration of the next Floating, Processing, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) would be locally done to further contribute to the development of the sector.

He said the company’s safety record while fabricating the platforms of 2.5 million man hours had already won it awards from reputable oil companies and was a subject of commendation at the just-concluded Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.

"The construction of Abang and Itut Platforms cannot be overstated on this historic day. The project compromises the construction and load out. Of two offshore Well head Platforms complete with Jackets, Piles, Boat Landing platforms and subsea templates. They are the first fully integrated decks to be fabricated, Pre commissioned and tested entirely in Nigeria. For this astounding achievement, I wish to acknowledge our very talented workforce who had shown dedication from the very start of this project," he said.

Jarmakani said the event took the Nigerian content drive closer and faster to its objectives and assured that they will consistently strive to break more grounds until those jobs that use to be handled abroad were locally made.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezeani Allison-Madueke, said with Nigerdock’s achievement, the about $150 billion to be spent in the next five years would benefit local companies and fabrication yards.

She described the feat as a "small testimonial that local content law is delivering expected results and create employment," adding that it was a proof that partnership was working in Nigeria.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola said the progress recorded was a demonstration that with the right legislations and policies, development would follow. He pledged his support for any drive that will create wealth and employment.

President of Exxon Mobil, David Krugger, commended the safety record saying it marked a significant contribution to local content development.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/jonathan-local-content-law-achieving-results/111650/

Fresh Air!!!

dadicvila: stop displaying your large scale ignorance in public,Niger delta people are well educated,you have thousands of illiterates in the west dosnt make you guys illiterates

Tell them, abeg.

Most of the banks are owned by ND people, same for most of the press. By some strange coincidence, after the oil industry, banking is the next greatest contributor to GDP; therefore, in simple words, the ND does own the entire Nigerian economy, oil and non oil.

When it comes to nollywood, yet another great contributor to GDP, the headquarters is Asaba, again in the ND.

Of Nigeria's 10 richest men, 5 are from Delta state. Again, in the ND.

One has to ask the Ufeoloruns of this World just what they contribute to the nation outside noisemaking and stup!dity. It is natural for leeches to be jealous of those who are more productive; it is natural for bone-headed bullies to pick on the little guy with the big d.i.c.k that goes where they cannot go.

[quote author=Mr. Anthony Sanni - Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)][size=14pt]“These days, those who are beaten are the ones who are crying. How do you justify the fact that most of the banks are owned by the people from the South-South? How do you justify the situation where most of the media houses are owned by people from the South-South? You think that they are the hardest workers,”[/size][/quote]http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/acf-s-south-leaders-on-war-path-over-derivation/

Does that voice sound familiar? It is the voice of a parasite who thinks life and death exist only in Abuja and is ready to distract govt and die for awuf oil money.
Most people need a hard look in the mirror.

[quote author=Find Out!]In the ''spirit'' of thread derailment , i thinl those of u agitatin for ''resource control'' & justifyin the 13percent or even askin for more should ask the SS Governors, present & past, what they've done with the billions they've been gettin every month since 1999. Even if the SS states get 50 percent, unless we have proper leadership at the state & LG level, the money will only serve to enrich already fat accounts here & abroad & very little will trickle down to the people who really ''own'' the oil.[/quote]Why not ask all Nigerian states what they have done with their awuf for 51 years? I think that makes more sense.
The thread has been derailled by ethnic bigots who hate the ND, with you entry its hard to set you aside from the derailling bigots. Congrats, bro.

[size=14pt]Nigerdock: A Feat and Its Significance[/size]
17 Mar 2012
By Ejiofor Alike

[img]Nigerdock-1703.jpg - Nigerdock-1703.jpg[/img]

Nigerdock

The locally-fabricated Abang and Itut platforms by Nigerdock Nigeria Plc inaugurated Friday in Lagos by President Goodluck Jonathan is no doubt a major feat and a boost for the Local Content law as already indicated by the President. Many will, however, appreciate this accomplishment more when the milestones in the project are put in sharp focus.

In August 2008, Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) awarded Procurement and Fabrication (PF) contracts to Nigerdock Nigeria Plc FZE for the Satellite Fields Development Programme Phase-1 (SFD-1).

The NNPC/MPN Satellite Field Development Project Platforms – Abang and Itut-are the first fully integrated decks to be fabricated, pre-commissioned and tested entirely in Nigeria.

Abang and Itut fields are located in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 67 and 70, Offshore Nigeria.

The project is intended to develop the resources of over 20 discovered but undeveloped oilfields in the NNPC/MPN) Joint Venture acreage.

It seeks to recover more than 100 million barrels of oil and over 20 million barrels of oil equivalent of natural gas liquids.

The project involves the construction and load out of two offshore Wellhead Platforms complete with Jackets, Piles, Boat Landing Platforms and subsea templates.

It is a landmark achievement in the Nigerian Content development as the facilities are the largest fabrication contracts carried out in-country by Nigerian companies for the NNPC/MPN Joint Venture.

The construction involved over 2.5 million man-hours, without any Lost Time Incidents (LTI) and this impressive performance earned Nigerdock a prestigious safety award by Mobil.

The project aligns with President Jonathan’s vision of promoting Nigeria’s interest in the oil and gas sector, through an efficient industrial base and a highly skilled workforce that has substantial input of Nigerians.

Total steel tonnage fabricated by Nigerdock as the Procurement and Fabrication (PF) contractor is about 2,980 metric tonnes.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigerdock-a-feat-and-its-significance/111649/

[size=14pt]Qualifying analysis - McLaren the team to beat 17 Mar 2012[/size]

McLaren clinched the front row of the Melbourne grid with ease on Saturday, with Lewis Hamilton taking pole position ahead of team mate Jenson Button. Behind the McLaren duo, Lotus’s Romain Grosjean and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher impressed in their 2012 charges to make up the second row. Red Bull and Ferrari, meanwhile, were left disappointed. We take a team-by-team look at how all the runners performed…

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 24.922s, P1
Jenson Button, 1m 25.074s, P2
Hamilton got in the pluperfect lap to grab pole by a comfortable margin, and had no need of a second run when it became clear that Button’s smooth riposte was just going to fall short. The silver cars from Woking looked superbly balanced, and the air of optimism and delight within the team was tangible after a winter of maximum effort.

Lotus
Romain Grosjean, 1m 25.302s, P3
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 27.758s, P18, will start P17
Third place on the grid was a massive boost for Grosjean, and team principal Eric Boullier who had championed his cause. Grosjean made maximum use of the E20, which confirmed the promise it had shown in testing, and thoroughly deserved his position. Raikkonen, meanwhile, thought he had another lap after making a mistake on the medium Pirellis, but discovered that his maths was faulty and missed the Q1 cut.

Mercedes
Michael Schumacher, 1m 25.336s, P4
Nico Rosberg, 1m 25.686s, P7
Mercedes were a little disappointed to miss out on the pole that at one stage seemed within their reach, but Schumacher reminded everyone that the step in performance was significant compared to 2011. He was happy with fourth, while Rosberg had to make do with seventh after making a small error in Turn Three.

Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 25.651s, P5
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 25.668s, P6
This time there was no magic bullet in the locker as Red Bull struggled in qualifying and were unable to make their usual leap forwards in Q3. Webber said he was happy with his Q3 lap, especially as his KERS system wasn’t working, with a resultant negative effect on the rhythm of the lap. Vettel had lost time spinning off in FP3, and there was a hint of desperation in his driving which saw him make an error in Q3 which he suggested could have cost him a couple of grid positions.

Williams
Pastor Maldonado, 1m 25.908s, P8
Bruno Senna, 1m 26.663s, P14
This was a great boost for Williams after the winter of hard work to eradicate memories of 2011, Maldonado did a strong lap for eighth place, while Senna admitted that he didn’t get a great Q1 lap.

Force India
Nico Hulkenberg, 1m 26.451s, P9
Paul di Resta, 1m 27.086s, P15
Hulkenberg got his Force India racing career off to a strong start with ninth place, after some initial doubts about their ability to make Q3. Di Resta admitted that he never quite got things together in Q1, and never quite got his tyres up to optimum working temperature during his out lap.

Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo, No time, P10
Jean-Eric Vergne, 1m 26.429s, P11
Toro Rosso was one of the happy camps after qualifying, as Ricciardo achieved the aim of a top 10 grid place and Vergne missed one by a fraction. Neither driver had any real problems, and as the Australian took his best-ever grid place, the Frenchman was satisfied with 11th on his debut but also a tad disappointed to miss the top 10 by a tenth.

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, 1m 26.494s, P12
Felipe Massa, 1m 27.497s, P16
Ferrari had one of their most disastrous qualifying sessions. They expected to struggle in the dry, but their problems were compounded when Alonso spun early in Q2 and eventually ended up 12th, and Massa was unable to get within a second of his team mate’s time as he struggled all day with his F2012’s balance. The Spaniard got a wheel on the grass and went off backwards, and was angry that the marshals could not push him several miles out of the gravel as he’d kept the engine running.

Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, 1m 26.590s, P13
Sergio Perez, No time, P17, will start P22
Sauber ended Q1 first and fifth courtesy of Kobayashi and Perez, but in Q2 the Mexican’s gearbox started to play up on downshifts, so he was unable to record a time. To make matters worse, a subsequent change of gearbox resulted in a five-place grid penalty. Kobayashi, meanwhile, started to struggle for grip, and dropped down to 13th.

Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 28.679s, P19, will start P18
Vitaly Petrov, 1m 29.018s, P20, will start P19
This was a very disappointing day for Caterham as they ended up in their usual 2011 positions. Kovalainen nevertheless thought his CT-01 was better than it had been in FP3 and said an HRT cost him six-tenths of a second. Petrov lost time in FP3 with a hydraulic problem, and never really made it up.

Marussia
Timo Glock, 1m 30.923s, P21, will start P20
Charles Pic, 1m 31.670s, P22, will start P21
Glock worked hard on setting up his car throughout FP3, and said all the myriad changes proved to be the right ones. There is an air of optimism here as they work with a solid platform from which they can progress. Pic did well, especially on his first Q1 run which aced Glock.

HRT
Pedro de la Rosa, 1m 33.495s, P23
Narain Karthikeyan, 1m 33.643s, P24
HRT said that practice and qualifying were their pre-season tests, and struggled to learn the right things to do to the new F112. Both drivers received reprimands for hindering, and after failing to beat the 107 percent qualifying rule HRT applied to the FIA for permission to race. This was denied.

Pirelli
The tyre supplier expects drivers to make between two and three pit stops during Sunday’s 58-lap race. They believe the soft tyre will last for up to 20 laps and the medium tyre will perform for up to 25 laps.

http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2012/3/13120.html

[size=14pt]Final practice - Hamilton pips Grosjean 17 Mar 2012[/size]

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) McLaren MP4/27. Formula One World Championship, Rd1, Australian Grand Prix, Practice, Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia, Friday, 16 March 2012 Sebastian Vettel slides off the track and gets stuck in the gravel trap And Michael Schumacher becomes the second German world champion to end up beached just a few minutes later Ferrari continue to struggle as Fernando Alonso's car is way off the pace Aussie Daniel Ricciardo's view from the helmet camera on board his Toro Rosso

McLaren moved back to the top of the timesheets in Melbourne’s Albert Park on Saturday afternoon in the final free practice session, but not before the Mercedes duo had again shown the speed of their car.

€n a session which saw both Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher end their running in the gravel, Hamilton pushed to the front in the final quarter hour with a lap of 1m 25.681s, dislodging Romain Grosjean who began to demonstrate all the perceived potential of the Lotus E20. The Frenchman lapped in 1m 25.780s, just 0.077s off the fastest time.

Right behind them, Mark Webber showed that there isn’t much wrong with the Red Bull RB8 with 1m 25.900s, then came Jenson Button in the second McLaren on 1m 25.906s, and Nico Rosberg in the lead Mercedes on 1m 25.929s.

Schumacher ended up sixth on 1m 26.078s, having spun off in Turn 9, while seventh-fastest Vettel lapped in 1m 26.211s before going off backwards in Turn 6.

Besides Grosjean, whose pace had largely been expected, the next surprise was Pastor Maldonado in eighth for Williams on 1m 26.470s, then Sergio Perez on 1m 26.632s in the lead Sauber and Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne on 1m 26.723s and 1m 26.733s respectively. Kimi Raikkonen was 12th on 1m 26.737s, still unhappy with his car after steering problems yesterday. Kamui Kobayashi was 13th on 1m 26.755s, before the next time break saw Nico Hulkenberg 14th on 1m 27.029s in the lead Force €ndia from Bruno Senna on 1m 27.119s for Williams.

Doubtless you’re wondering where the Ferraris were. Well, Fernando Alonso was their lead runner in 16th on 1m 27.323s from Force €ndia’s Paul di Resta on 1m 27.428s, while Felipe Massa in the second red car survived another spin, this time in Turn 15, to post an 18th fastest 1m 28.023s.

The Caterhams were in the same relative positions as they used to be when the team was Lotus last year, with Heikki Kovalainen 19th on 1m 28.341s from Vitaly Petrov on 1m 28.702s.

Timo Glock continued to gather mileage in the Marussia and lapped his MR01 in 1m 30.728s, while rookie Charles Pic again showed good pace for 1m 31.225s.

At the back, Pedro de la Rosa battled steering problems on his way to 1m 33.114s for HRT, ahead of team mate Narain Karthikeyan on 1m 33.261s.

The weather was great, and will remain so for qualifying later this evening, and at last a pattern for the long awaited 2012 F1 season is beginning to emerge. As expected, the message so far is that things look very close, both at the front and in the midfield.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/3/13112.html

I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited! Can't wait for the race to kick off!
The season is finally starting! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Lol.

harakiri: @Beaf

The McLaren doesn't look that bad.

In terms of beauty, that cars the Beyonce among an ugly lot. In terms of raw speed. . . Fingers crossed. We will know in a few hours when the cars a driven in anger for the first time.

Meantime Lewis can enjoy his pole.

Iolo: The thing is that most states can do only little in the present state. The FG holds too much powers and because the constitution has done nothing to define the roles of citizens as residents and indigenes, this leaves the average person not caring about what's happening @ the State and LG levels.

Realistically I dare say that LGs in the North are much closer to the people than in the South (even if its only for sharing money purposes)cause Northerners dnt move around as much as the Southerners do.

The OccupyNigeria protests were a huge reminder that besides the FG, there's really no other level of Govt that the people are ready to hold accountable. Nobody asked questions on what the states and LGs wud do wiv their monies even tho they were collectively getting a larger share than the FG.

I for example don't knw the name of the LG chairman of my place of residence. I've never known this cause its not relevant to me.

What I'm saying is that we reaLly need to define the roles of residents and owners of the lands in the community. Once everyone begins to feel a sense of ownership in the states where they reside, you'd have people place more pressure on the States and LG.

The sad truth is that the elite will continue using ethnicity and tribal shinaginans to divide the average populace. The fact that your IGBO living in the SW for sometime should give u a sense of ownership in the SW, but that isn't the case today.

Brilliantly put, my guy. You are the first person to really begin hammering at the core of the Nigerian issue.
However, even if we need a constitution and a national architecture that guarantee a well defined contract between citizen and state, the citizen still needs to understand what that contract is or it would be a waste of time. Todays citizens have shown that they largely do not understand their place in the nation or the tiers of govt; I do not see anything that will change that tomorrow, even if we had something like the Chinese revolution.

What I am driving at, is that the person on the street needs to start getting creative with the little they have and applying themselves, getting a real "education" and knowing their terrain; forming focused pressure groups, grabbing the tools and opportunities to make real things happen around them. It is no longer enough to spectate and pray. There are ready tools today like twitter, facebook and youtube that can be used for philosophically backed and targetted actions.
#Occupy failed because it was not backed by any philosophy, rather it sought to entrench the status quo by playing on peoples natural selfishness and a host of false rumours. Today, it is a lesson in how not to do things.

lari03: I don't agree with the idea of comparing economies that have existed before the amalgamation of 1914,with our dear nation.
True we must task our political representatives on accountability,which is why a lot of people criticize the FG.
But then enterprise goes on in every locale,so some responses on this thread obviously portray the lack of understanding of the subject matter.
Internal generated revenue is poor in Nigeria because corrupt officials abound in every state and lg. The methods of tax collection are primitive and inimical to the very aim of such activity. The Nigerian nation only this year just liberalised the power sector,this and many other factors have been responsible for slow development.

The year we were amalgamted doesn't have much to do with our underdevelopment, rather our lack of drive does. It is the reasons why we lack drive that this thread is attempting to isolate. It surely isn't corruption, because Italy is corrupt as Satans hell, yet they are developed and one of the Worlds top economies.
Malaysia and Singapore attained independence at about the same time as us. They were as undeveloped as we were, but today are both developed countries. Malaysia even notably got their palm kernel seedlings from us at the time we were the Worlds foremost paim oil and palm products producer; today, that position has been taken over by the very same Malaysia. There is NO excuse.

[quote author=A-ZeD]Beaf puts up pictures of power stations owned by "lgs" in the uk but doesn't state that Lg's in Nigeria can't build power stations cos its against the law.
There are minerals in the north but they can't be mined cos only the FG is allowed to give mining license. So whenever people from the south south(me inclusive) claim people from the north are just feeding on their oil money, we should remember that a south south president has refused to develop the solid mineral sector of the north.[/quote]I hate it when people defend their laziness with lies.
Sinse GEJ's time, it has become lawful for states, LG's and even individuals to own power plants.

The rest crap about minerals is just another pack of silly lies to avoid doing a days job. Firstly, solid minirals are not governed by the laws that are applied to petroleum; the solid mineral sector has always been open for [b]individuals [/b]to apply for licenses and exploit. If a state is rich in solid minerals, yet they are not exploited, then it can be concluded that its governor is an awuf luv'n phuck whose greatest creative moments are about how fast he can get to Abuja for his monthly awuf. There is NO excuse.

A proactive governor (like Akpabio, Fashola, Lamido etc) would energise his people to invest and create wealth in his domain. A lazy awuf luv'n phuck would absolve themselves off all blame for the vomit in their backyard and point fingers at someone else. Such rubbish has to stop.

^
Lol! It looks like bityend has been banned.
It isn't impotant to this thread, but anybody who hasn't heard of Ughelli, Sapele and Warri is not worth listening to. Take your silly campaign of falsehood to derail the thread right back into your dusty pimpled arse.

Anyway's, oil is not the point of this discussion. What do YOU and your village make? Did you go to school for fun?

honeric01: LOL, keep ranting mr lazylazy oily na our own.

It is this parasitic attitude of Nigerians that caused the President to refer to the Northern elite (who are no different from you) as mischievous witches and sorcerers who lack commonsense and decency. Up Presido! Very apt description.

Instead of people to get creative, all they can do is strategise for oil money, while their own backyards rot away. If there was no oil in Nigeria, the hoards of political babalawo's and baboons hovering over Abuja like demented evil spirits would have been technologists, inventors and entrepreneurs instead.

Shame on you, lazy phuck.

He will need to dump Tinubu and ACN, then many like me will campaign for him.

Obviously, those unfortunate "professionals and businessmen" are bent on exposing what the ND has known for decades to the rest of Nigeria.
Cinema just de start o! Make unu sidon wella!

"Snake in the Monkey Shadow
Featuring Wam Ping and Bruce Lee
Guest Stars - Lee Kwon and the 5 Shaolin Masters. Assorted Ninja Warriors"

Egbe wan gas!

^
Thanks bruv.

Iolo: Well, GEJ could start by allowing the diFferent states pay whatever minimum wage they feel like, fixing power supply so the states would find different ways to take advantage through manufacturing, mechanized farming incentives etc. (The states should be encouraged to create their own power stations too or atleast come together in groups for this purpose).

He could also influence the NASS for constitutional reforms unchaining the LG chairmen from being mere puppet heads to the leaders of change @ the grassroots that they should be.

Lastly, he should sit down with the Governors Forum and they can have an SNC right there. Let them discuss what each state wants and how the Federal Govtment can come in. They can decide on developmental metrics (like the MDGs) to encourage GDP growth @ state level with incentives available for those who perform.

Ensure corruptiont cases are completed in 6- 8 months. Sing praises of the Fasholas, Lamido's and Akpabio's, let the rest lazy governors see how governance should be.

Allow states keep a larger portion of their IGR. Also let them develop their own solid minerals industries as a test run to finally allowing the SS control over the bureacracy of oil exploration and mining etc.

If he can do all these, then the vast majority of Nigerians would have little to complain about.

I don't see how GEJ has any part to play in the development of the states and LG's. Those things should be purely the business of the state governors and LG chairmen. It is not as if they have been tied down with marine rope; so why can't they be dynamic?

As for power, GEJ has already okayed it for states, LG's and even individual businesses to own power stations.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that GEJ as President has no part to play in the direction the country goes. No, I am asking a deeper question, which is: do we really understand the duties of governance that our state governors and LG bosses owe us? The thrust of the question is that, if a person does not understand how a machine should operate, then it doesn't make sense to give them a better version of that machine. In other words, for Nigeria to develop, we each need to understand the part every tier of govt plays from LG to FG and we need to vigorously demand our due from each of them. It is not ok to have two tiers of govt (state and LG) loafing about with the full permission of the citizenry.

I really like your pointing out that the LG should be the engine of development from the grassroots. Nothing could be truer, however we have the unfortunate situtaion where LG bosses are the equivalent of houseboys to the governors. This is because they collect allocations on behalf of the LG's and disburse them as they wish. The governors kicked very hard when GEJ got the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to work on disconnecting LG and state accounts, so that LG's can get their allocations directly and be truly independent. The problems we have are many and we only become more enslaved when we allow our states and LG's to operate like they have no civil, legal and moral responsibilities.

As for governors holding an SNC with GEJ, that will not happen. Most governors want Nigeria to continue just the way it is; they don't need to lift a finger because free money flows in from Abuja which they can divert into their personal accounts, because the peoples eyes are on Abuja instead of nearer home. The governors extreme aversion to an SNC is evident in the Northern governors seemingly ridiculous demands for 13% derivation; those demands stop being ridiculous as soon as you conclude that they are making an open threat to scuttle the SNC with impossible demands even before it takes off.

I hope you can see some of the reasons why we need to place more pressure on our governors and LG bosses.