₦airaland Forum

alexleo:
Igbo people here stop responding to Eko ile, Rhino.5dm, zstranger and co. This people are a shame to the yoruba nation. There a lot of wonderful yoruba people here you can interact with and not this disgruntled ones. Their views doesn't represent that of the yorubas. When true yorubas talk u ll always see the difference between them and these disgruntled ones here. Ignore them.

We know the bunch of bigoted monkeys.
I'll add ekt_bear and alj harem.

Buncha crude beasts.

Lol! Even those from cassava ridden forests keep pretending they are from Lagos!

[quote author=dem_people link=topic=669806.msg8342839#msg8342839 date=1305700939]Guy, I never created this thread for such nonsense as tribalistic warfare. And u think I've not been congratulating ACN for the infrastructural plans they have for the SW? U want me to provide the link too as if what? Common man, chill. This thread wasn't opened for tribal fights. The least you would've done was to respect my thread since you don't see any of my posts having ethnocentric undertones.

Be positive here. We all want the best for the country. Why couldn't u say Amen to this article? I tire for u o.[/quote]I wouldn't bother if I were you. Eko Ile is one really sick mofo with really deep psychological issues; all you have to do is mention SE or SS and he appears like a vulture with his group of hangers on from forest states (all low self esteemed "belongers" pretending to come from Lagos).
Eko Ile is the king of lepers and depraved bigots, his followers are; alj harem, rhino.d5m, ekt_bear. A true pack of low lifes.

Those fools are so jealous, they want to derail all SE/SS threads.

Abeg, they should keep quiet jare!
Nobody is saying they will be arrested (but maybe they know something most don't), so what are they afraid of? Why filling the air with their victim syndrome and tears of fear?

[size=14pt]CPC: PDP’s Arrest of Our Leadership Imminent[/size]
By Adebiyi Adedapo
17 May 2011

Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has accused the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of planning to carry out a mass arrest on notable leaders of the party.
This is just as the former National Publicity Secretary of the Party, [size=14pt]Mr. Dennis Aghanya, threatened to drag the party’s national leadership before Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for misappropriation of funds during the general elections.[/size]

CPC in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary Rotimi Fashakin, maintained that the PDP-led government is trying to arrest and clamp the key leaders of the party into detention, this according to Fashakin is in an attempt to forestall the use of forensic evidence to justify allegations of electoral malpractices in the presidential election.

“The PDP-led Federal Government plans to arrest and clamp in indefinite detention, notable leaders of our great party, The ostensible reason would be to forestall a planned disruption of the inauguration ceremony on May 29, 2011 on the pretext of a spurious security report; but the real reason for the arrests is to scuttle the planned use of forensic evidence to buttress our petition of the massive manipulations of the April 16, 2011 presidential elections,” he said.

He stated further that the party is not unaware of the cash handouts to some former members of the party (CPC) who have compromised their loyalty, compelling them into making the infamous statement, denouncing in the media, the decision of the Party’s National leadership to file its petition against the conduct and results of the Presidential elections.

CPC however urged its members and loyalists to be calm in the face of what he described as PDP tribulations. “We hereby use this medium to appeal to our loyal party faithful and admirers, across the Nation’s geo-political divides and abroad, to remain calm in the midst of the ceaseless tribulation from the ruling PDP. Our petition at the elections tribunal shall be pursued with resoluteness and undiminished fervency.”

Meanwhile, the former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Dennis Aghanya has threatened to drag the party’s national leadership before Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for misappropriation of funds during the general elections.
Aghanja accused the CPC National Executive Council (NEC) of mismanaging funds meant for electoral process.
He also alleged that the leadership of the CPC in some states were chosen overnight without recourse to laid down rules and regulations of the party and the 2010 Electoral Act.

“They were accorded the status of state chairmen of the party overnight even when they do not have party membership cards, never participated in the state congresses and their names not with INEC as chairmen who emerged at the congresses. As party chairmen, they do not have offices and operate as man-alone. They were only seen at the party national secretariat when monies were shared,” he said.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/cpc-pdp-s-arrest-of-our-leadership-imminent/91497/

[size=14pt]Inauguration disruption plot: CPC abhors violence, say Bakare, Odumakin[/size]
On May 18, 2011 · In News

BY LEKE ADESERI, South West Regional Editor
LAGOS—KEY officials of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, including the Presidential running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare and General Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, yesterday, condemned the alleged plot to scuttle the May 29, 2011 inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Authoritative security sources last week said they were aware of a meeting allegedly held in Kaduna to plot how to scuttle the President’s inauguration at Eagle Square, on May 29.

Vanguard learnt that those who attended the parley in Kaduna, had sought to set off a conflict between their supporters and security agents towards portraying that Nigeria was engulfed in insecurity. CPC spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, who reacted to the development, told Vanguard that he was aware and would not be surprised by any move in that direction.

Odumakin said: “It is a tissue of lies. We have seen their kind of tactics before under Sanni Abacha and others where they do everything to justify a crackdown on their perceived enemies. For us at CPC, we don’t condone violence in any form.”

For Pastor Bakare, the CPC vice presidential candidate, who said he was speaking from a construction site, moves to link the plot to CPC should not be contemplated at all.

Bakare said: “Everything in the country is tense now, so we should not heat up the polity further. I am a patriot, I am not interested in taking lives or destruction. [size=14pt]Those who benefit in destruction of their country[/size], woe unto them.”

Government said last week that it uncovered plans to disrupt the May 29 inauguration. According to the security reports, the group was said to have planned to instigate riots in some northern states, in the hope that such action would precipitate reprisals from some southern states such that the security agencies would be fully engaged.

Extremist religious groups
The reports also said the group had intended to penetrate extremist religious groups to get them on board in the plot to undercut security and attract international attention.

It was further learnt that the group had considered circulating some false but sensitive information about the government through some foreign media outfits to cause disaffection. To which end, some northerners working with the Federal Government, particularly, Vice President Sambo, and the Principal Secretary to the President, were to be labelled anti-people and marked for attacks.

An online report quoted excerpts from the security report as saying the group had deliberated on circulating seditious messages, adding that the group had planned to circulate pictures of President Jonathan kneeling down before a renowned pastor in Lagos. The picture was to be circulated as evidence of religious bigotry by the leader.

The report stated: “In addition, the group planned to engage the services of some sympathetic media houses, with the hope of recruiting the youth in rural areas, to act as foot soldiers. It was also gathered that some top civil servants would be reached to sabotage projects of the administration and ensure that the government would not make any progress.”

“They had also planned a sustained campaign of calumny against the government, via social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. Text messages were to be utilized to show that the post_election violence was a sign of antagonism between Christians and Muslims.”

The group, it was learnt planned to clandestinely cause violence in institutions of higher learning which would eventually take ethno-religious dimensions.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/inauguration-disruption-plot-cpc-abhors-violence-say-bakare-odumakin/

John Campbell is a scumbag and a very dangerous person indeed. In any other country, we would have had the citizens up in arms over his many false and inflamatory statements, sadly we have a huge population of under-educated fools stricken with the deepest of inferiority complexes; d!ckless ninnies that can't stand their ground and intellectually knock-kneed bumblers and buffoons that somehow reach the wacky conclusion that the US will bomb us for expressing our sovereign right.

Damn!

Even worse than the above group, are those that feel that John Campbell, the tarry arsed Lucifer and all comers have the right to criticise Nigeria and its citizens. Who gave them that right? Surely not any right thinking Nigerian!
The weak idiots who lick every oyibo "critics" arse are so far gone in their affliction with low self esteem that they have become the veritable scion of beelzebub; a danger to themselves and the country.

Irritating.

NASS members will always feels threatened by moves to stop people carting huge ghana must go bags about town. I pray the new session won't be populated with the same old scumbags and moral fleabags.

According to the minister, "A total of 360 laptops have been set aside for Delta State for distribution to Federal Government Girls College, Ibusa; Oginibo Grammar School, Oginibo; Onicha Ugbo Girls Grammar School, Onicha Ugbo; Our Lady's High School, Effurun and Nana College, Warri. It is my hope that this programme will fast-track the achievement of Universal Basic Education and gender equality by attracting more girls to schools towards the attainment of the national vision and the MDGs," he stated.

I hope a sustainable policy can be rolled out for all schools in due time. Computers and the internet are a basic part of education in developed (and most developing) countries, all schools are equipped with the best, while in some countries (eg UK) poorer parents can get welfare computers for their kids to learn with at home.

As for blackboards! Lol! I don't believe those primitive tools are used anywhere else but in the developed World and in most developing countries, its all whiteboards and smartboards.

For every school in the country to be well equipped with computers and the internet, each local govt must have a means to generate their own money, because the FG cannot foot such a bill. Its yet another case for true federalism.

In the UK, Westminster Councils budget for 2009 was £993million (N251,697,762,913), yes thats about 252billion: http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/councilgovernmentanddemocracy/councils/counciltaxandfinance/accounts/council-budget-2008-2009/
Is it any surprise they can equip every single school with computers? For the love of the country, we need to find ways for each and every LG to generate money and stop leaving off FG handouts. Most LG's and states are just pieces of land that at worst, could be more productive as farms or govt cooperatives, instead they are all in a scramble to scrounge off Abuja.

[quote author=Rhino.5dm link=topic=669431.msg8339005#msg8339005 date=1305645918]That the fresh air they promise o!

@ Topic. The funny part is after paying that amount the satisfaction is very far to be met.
I used 15k/month. On my laptop with glo. Good speed, good download rate. Unlimited air time. Pay another 5k for my handheld device (this is not funny!)

Deposit 15k for post paid telephone which i normally balance like 5k.

Pay 5k/month for NEPA(public electricity which is not there) and fuel my gen with diesel of 25/month min.



But the sweet thing is all my income is almost TAX free![/quote]If its from thuggery, where does tax come in?

turboman:
whats the big deal if an American is denied entry right into Nigeria for some good reasons. John Campbell has been chanting anti Nigeria rhethorics for some time now including the fact that Federal Republic of Nigeria will disintergrate by 2015. It is normal for the government to declear him a personal-non-grata. Speak ill of a any nation and same will happen to you.
Ghadaffi advocated for a divided Nigeria sometime last year, and we all condemned his rhetorics, why are NL's now ranting about John campbells case!.
JC's comments are not constructive but destructive. Nigeria needs optimistic foreign diplomats not this type.
This JC of a man is on the board of Autiku's university which was setup with questionable funds. He is not a  foreign investor, but an ex-diplomat with a past which our government frowns at. He should stay away, other Americans are invited.

The simple reason is that the guilty ones are afflicted with a huge inferiority complex. To them, Nigeria must bow to and religiously lick foreign arse, as long as that arse is from the West. To this unfortunate group, it is even better if the arse in question is oyibo, it just makes that group of arseholes quiver like jelly.
To this group, oyibo is right, superior, almighty; while their own identity bestows a "dirtiness" on them.

Someone even voiced it out that Nigeria is unimportant! How inferior and gay does that sound? There are Nigerians who carry a large chip on their shoulder and view any flexing of govt muscle to be some sort of threat to their lowly subservient existence. Its like a man who has spent all his life being battered; on the day he is offered freedom, rather than robustly handle the situation, he cowers and turns to jelly when the nearest kid threatens him with (you guessed right) a kids tantrum.

Lets await the word of their leader, Kobojunkie.

olawalebab:
I dont blame him, he's on the paylist of the ruling party. A party that won a governorship, 8 senatorial slot, 50 honourable seat all within a year of formation. I believe it is one of those beer parlour talk. Beaf, why are you always interested in any anti CPC and buhari news. Atleast elections are over.

What is your proof? If the man was to sue you for defamation, what would be your defense? Rubbish.
I'm sure you'll soon be "questioning" his PhD as is common with Buhari's stark illiterate, youth corper murdering, stone throwing almajiri supporters.

Dotman01:
. . . gej can do without the sw? seriously why are u bringin dat up. . . is sw nt part of nigeria again? all because dey are nt in d same party wit d president?. . .so u dnt like d opposition as it is nw? and pls answer my initial questns.

My bad, I chose the wrong words.
What I mean is, GEJ can do without the political and financial cooperation of the SW, whereas the case for the SW is the exact opposite.

Abeg, no vex.

Asha80 is one cool customer. I'm hoping he's good too.

Same way he wanted CBN to build power stations. Can someone please define the term "central bank?" Cos I'm getting lost here.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[size=14pt]Nigeria denies ex-U.S. envoy, Campbell, visa[/size]
By Johnson Ayantunji (Lagos) and Chesa Chesa (Abuja)

Abuja has denied visa to former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, who was to be a guest at the third graduation of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, owned by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Sources at the AUN, where  Campbell is a member of the governing board, said his visa application was subjected to frustrating delays until it became impossible for him to come to Nigeria for the convocation.

Campbell, who left the country a few years ago after completing his tenure, has been in the news of recent over his critical views on Nigeria and what he described as its fragile political system, including the zoning of political offices, and the Presidential vote last month.

Before the election, Campbell never hid his disdain for the zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In one instance, he called Nigeria a failed state which would disintegrate by 2015.

After the poll, adjudged by the international observers as free and fair, Campbell wrote a damning report that it was not devoid of rigging which normally takes place at collation centres

Abuja often dismisses him as a prophet of doom.

Regardless, Damian Agwu, the Director of Public Communications at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, told Daily Independent on Monday Campbell “Did not meet the requirements for an entry visa. If he had met the requirements, he would have been granted a visa.”

President Goodluck Jonathan also on Monday directed a review of Nigeria’s foreign policy to reflect current realities.

He gave the directive at a meeting with the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations, chaired by former Commonwealth Secretary General, Emeka Anyaoku.

After 50 years of independence, he said, it is time to review Nigeria’s foreign policy, in line with modern realities and international developments. . .

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=33918

[quote author=alj_harem link=topic=668911.msg8335398#msg8335398 date=1305598900] u don start ha zstranger i really want to meet u for real

u must be a character, i tell ya [/quote]To get stuff to sniff or what?

[size=14pt]Proscribe CPC not NYSC – Omo-Omoruyi[/size]
On May 17, 2011 · In Interview
BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Following the successful conduct of the 2011 general election in most parts of the country, Professor Omo Omoruyi is today a happy man. The former Director General of the Centre for Democratic Studies, CDS, spoke to Vanguard last week in Benin City and urged Nigerians to commend President Goodluck Jonathan for the successful polls.

He frowned at the killing of NYSC members in some parts of the North and called for the proscription of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and not NYSC as being suggested by some Nigerians. He said Jonathan’s emergence as President was a dream come true for the minorities. He also spoke about his former boss, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), other national issues and Edo State politics. Excerpts:

WITH President Goodluck Jonathan’s emergence as President-elect, what do you expect from him now?
Jonathan now has a mandate and that mandate must be implemented to the fullest. He also has independent source of authority which is not dependent on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, because many Nigerians voted for him and those who voted for him are looking forward to a restructured political order.

They are looking forward to a restricted moral order, a restructured social order. The young people in this country need employment. It is not just a promise,  people want to see the jobs.


Omoruyi: Buhari should have no place in the Council of State meetings

People want to see something done to save lives and property. All he needs to do is to sit down and change the situation. He is a young man, educated and a scientist so he cannot afford to fail. This is what some of us, who are leaders in the minority areas have been fighting for a long to now.

I am happy that I am alive to witness this day. It is a dream come true and we believe that our struggle will propel Jonathan to prove to the world that the minorities can do better. That is why I am not too happy with IBB for joining the zonists because he was among those that have prayed for this day for the minorities. I am still wondering what happened on the way. However, we are happy and Jonathan must prove his worth now.

I heard you say something like restructuring his PDP?

Yes he should restructure the PDP and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN because these are the two parties that have the national spread today. Congress for Progressive Change, CPC should be proscribed, it is a sectarian party. It does not have a leader.

The man leading now called Buhari is finished because in what capacity will he lead them now?

Gradually, CPC will wither away and I want to quickly advise those who won in the Senate and House of Representatives through the CPC, to quickly sort their way out and join either the PDP or the ACN. ACN should be a viable alternative, it should expand itself. It should be able to expand beyond the South-West.

But if it decides to remain a South-West party, I don’t think that is in the interest of the ACN itself because I also see Edo State being in conflict. It has to make up its mind where it wants to go because the question is whether Edo State is a South-South state or a South-West state? I have been reading the papers, they have been raising that question. But that is for Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his people to answer.

But again, Edo and Delta, which we call the old Midwest, is the only democratically created region in Nigerian history. The creation of Midwest state was done through a referendum.

Military creations

All other states in the country today are military created. Therefore, we must value this thing we call our region, our state, very jealously. We cannot go back to serve the Yorubas, who when the region was created only sent us away with two or three law books. Up till today, there is still no sharing of the asset and liabilities within the old Western region.

We were sent away to come and start our lives. So, are we now walking back to go and join them? So that kind of thing is what reminds me that those who rule the state today must think very seriously that we cannot sell our birth right, we won our freedom. Therefore, Edo and Delta are two states out of the old Midwest that are part of the South-South. These are the oil producing states and that is what brought us together.

How would you assess the performance of Prof. Attahiru Jega-led INEC?

He was marvelous, the man did well. You know no matter how they perform politicians will always complain because they did not win. I was surprised at the day of the Presidential election, there was a long list of political parties and that created a lot of problem.

That is not the fault of INEC, it is the fault of politicians. INEC did a marvelous job, Jega gave a good leadership because the President gave him a free hand. But if you compare that with 1993, there is a a little problem. The polling booth contains so many people, the numbers should be reduced. What we should do is to reduce the number of people manning the polling units.

Edo State voted for President Jonathan and even most ACN states from the South West, don’t you think that was anti-party?

In political science where I belong, we call it split-voting, it is not anti-party. You can split your votes especially between arms of government and between levels of government. I can decide to support party A today and decide to support party B tomorrow by splitting my votes, it is not unusual. Election today is usually pursued by independent voters and it is very easy to say look, for presidential we want to be in the main stream. For the House of Assembly we can go this way.

But you have some confusion in some areas like in Anambra, where after they voted Jonathan, they could not deliver the National and State Assemblies to APGA. But it is still the same problem you find in the South-East. They have not been able to sort out themselves politically.

Some people are calling for the proscription of the NYSC scheme due to the killing of corps members in the Northern parts of the country. Do you think that the call was justifiable?

I think again, it is not NYSC that should be proscribed it is the CPC. NYSC is a good plan because I supported it in 1973 when I was a lecturer at the University of Ibadan. It is a good programme but reducing them to support the function which they did and killing them because that is the only way you can meet your political end is criminal.

Therefore, the judicial panel set up by the President, all the people that will be found guilty must pay the price, including the man who was weeping. Buhari was sending a message by that action.

If he is found guilty he should be killed. He must pay the price, he can’t claim that he is not involved. Buhari should have no place in the Council of State meetings. He should be banned from attending the meeting, he is not a democrat.

So NYSC should remain, but they can reform the scheme. For now, let them start serving in their states or their region. You can move people from Edo to Delta, or Bayelsa, certainly not from Edo to Maiduguri where they will face those Boko Haram people who do not believe in education. There must be some reform, these kids are too far away from home.

They should be kept near their homes so that they can run away quickly when there is problem. When you send somebody from Kebbi to Sokoto, they are the same people, from Sokoto to Niger, it is okay. But definitely, Sokoto to Benin or Bayelsa, no, no no.  We are very tolerant in the South here but there are areas that are not tolerant. So, I think they should reform the scheme now and keep these kids near their homes.

Your former boss Gen. Ibrahim Babangida recently said he would be retiring from active politics in 2015, what is you take on that statement?

I think IBB is not quitting politics. He did not say he is quitting politics. Which means today he is a politician and a zonist. So my advice is that he should resign from PDP today and distance himself from partisan politics and sit down to write his memoir. He should sit down and write his memoir and try to explain what Nigerians have been asking about him because it is not every time you will continue to make explanation. ‘Oh, I did not do this, oh June 12 somebody asked me to do it.’ He should write it down.

He is not quitting politics, he said he will be there and 2015 who knows the forces that propelled him to jettison his views about interplay of political forces that made him to buy zoning, may also make him to come up again at that time. From now to 2015, he will still remain a zonist.

Therefore, if he were to say today I am no more in partisan politics, I am going to commit the rest of my life to explaining what I did in the past, he will find me a good friend of his and I will help him to write those things.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/proscribe-cpc-not-nysc-omo-omoruyi-2/

.

[size=14pt]Jonathan orders review of foreign policy[/size]
•Pledges improved elections in 2015
• Says doing so is illegal
From JULIANA TAIWO, Abuja
Tuesday, May 17, 2011

President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered a review of Nigeria’s foreign policy to reflect current realities, after 50 years of independence. The President gave the directive during a breakfast meeting with the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations at State House, Abuja, yesterday.
According to the President, “after 50 years of independence, it is time to review the country’s foreign policy, in line with modern realities and international developments”.

He agreed with the Chairman of the advisory council, Ambassador Emeka Anyaoku, that the highly successful, transparent and credible elections conducted by Nigeria had elevated the country’s democratic credentials in the international community, adding that he would ensure even better elections in 2015.
“From 2007, we committed ourselves to credible elections by setting up the Mohammed Uwais Committee, and this is the result of those efforts’, he added.

The President thanked members of the advisory council for their consistent credible advice, and for congratulating him for his victory in the just-concluded general elections.
Anyaoku had congratulated President Jonathan for his success in the polls, and for delivering on his “promise to conduct credible elections”. The council offered suggestions on several areas of national and international interests to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan has said that his administration would pay special attention to the strengthening of economic relations with the international community.

He gave the assurance while speaking to five new ambassadors at the presentation of their Letters of Credence at the State House, yesterday.
The new ambassadors are Mr. Nyahuma Mentuhotep Obika of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Alvaro Castillo Aguilar of Spain, Mr. Ali Abdo Suleiman, Ethiopia, Mr. Alain Aime Nyamitwe, Burundi and Mr. Issa Ibrahim, Chad.
Jonathan said, “in the next four years, we will pay special attention to the improvement and strengthening of economic ties with our partners in the international community, as a foundation for stability and growth of our country’.
President Jonathan told Mr. Obika that Nigeria was interested in co-operation in the oil and gas sector, while he welcomed the proposal for energy deal by Mr. Aguilar.
All the new ambassadors congratulated President Jonathan for “winning a well-conducted national election” and assured him of the co-operation and support of their countries in the efforts to strengthen economic, social and cultural relations.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/17/national-17-05-2011-07.htm

[size=14pt]Fresh Air!!![/size]

[size=14pt]Educate the North[/size]
By Soji Bamidele
May 17, 2011 01:08AM

The chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), Samuila Makama, has painted a gloomy picture of the educational imbalance between the North and South.

Yesterday in Abuja at the launch of the Digest of Education Statistics 2006-2010 and the presentation of the 2010 Nigeria Education Data Survey Report, Mr Makama regretted the huge gap in the educational standard between the two regions.

According to him, while the "South-West parades 73.6 as the literate level among the guardians and parents as well as South-South with 71.9 and South-East displaying 74.1, the North-West boasts only of 33.8, North-East 33.8 and North-Central 54.9".

He said "absenteeism from schools is more pronounced in the northern parts of the country than in the south". The chairman stated that the percentage of children between the ages of 6-16 who never attended school at all was higher in the North-East and in the North-West while almost 72 percent never attempted school at all in Borno State, compared with less than 3 percent in most of the states in the southern zones.

Mr Makama added that the "less economically advantaged the household is, the more likely the child is malnourished, children in the lowest economic status around 33 percent were stunted than those in the highest economic status".

He appealed to policy makers to comprehensively consider the digest so that they could be properly guided in attacking the problems of education in some parts of the country.

Rising to the challenge

Earlier, President Goodluck Jonathan reiterated the federal government's resolve to tackle the rot in the educational sector with a view to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Represented at the event by the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, Mr Jonathan said that "education, education and education is our priority because without that nobody can make any headway in any area and Nigeria cannot afford to go and import foreigners from outside to come and manage our economy, educational institutions, hospitals, etc for us."

As a demonstration of his commitment to the educational sector, he said he personally conveyed an educational summit last year where he rolled out an "Educational Road map" for the country. Mr Jonathan also said the 6 newly established universities in each of the geo-political zones were "testimonies of their determination to give education the highest recognition it deserves".

The launch of the education digest between 2006-2010, he said had "exposed to the government steps that needs to be taken to halt certain trends before they become a big problem in future".

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5701495-147/story.csp

[size=14pt]Fresh Air!!![/size]

[size=14pt]Government arms girls with computers to boost education[/size]
by BEN DUNNO
May 17, 2011 12:55AM

The federal government yesterday vowed to salvage the country's educational system to prevent it from total collapse.

This assurance was given by the minister of state for education, Kenneth Gbagi, at the launching of the MDG-assisted Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) initiative for girls in JSS1 in selected schools at Woodridge Hotel, Effurun, Delta State.

Mr Gbagi noted that the present administration placed a high premium on the attainment of qualitative education by all Nigerians irrespective of age, gender, geographical and cultural settings.

He said that improvements in teaching, learning and educational administration were necessary for the attainment of qualitative education, adding that this in turn required the introduction of ICT into the educational system. According to the minister, the federal government recognised the critical role of ICT and had made it a priority.

"In order to demonstrate his commitment towards the attainment of the national vision and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), President Goodluck Jonathan approved the implementation of the ICT initiative for girls in JSS1 in selected schools nationwide, for which cause we are gathered here today.

"The programme involves the provision of JSS1 girls in selected schools nationwide with laptops and the training of teachers from the benefiting schools on the use of the technology. This was carried out through the MDG Debt Relief Fund."

According to the minister, "A total of 360 laptops have been set aside for Delta State for distribution to Federal Government Girls College, Ibusa; Oginibo Grammar School, Oginibo; Onicha Ugbo Girls Grammar School, Onicha Ugbo; Our Lady's High School, Effurun and Nana College, Warri. It is my hope that this programme will fast-track the achievement of Universal Basic Education and gender equality by attracting more girls to schools towards the attainment of the national vision and the MDGs," he stated.

Going ICT

According to Mr Gbagi, the goal of the federal government was to see that the entire education sector embraced the use of new technologies to meet the human resource requirements of the nation for attaining sustainable socio-economic development, global competitiveness as well as the individual's ability to survive in the contemporary world.

"The task ahead of us is enormous. The attainment of this goal must be the responsibility of all. I therefore urge all stakeholders in education to partner with us in implementing this programme in order to salvage the education system of our great country towards the attainment of sustainable development," the minister said.

The MDG-ICT project coordinator in the federal ministry of education, Umem Asomugha, in her address noted that, "If girls are trained, it is the society that benefits the most. This is the way to ensure that poverty is reduced, development sustained and good governance built."

"The distribution of laptops to girls in JSS1 in selected schools in Delta State is therefore very strategic as it would ensure that the girls are empowered from the onset to adapt to the rapidly changing knowledge requirements and skills necessary to function and contribute effectively in the society. In order to ensure the effective utilisation of the laptops, teachers from the benefiting schools nationwide will be trained from today on the use of the technology," she said.

The Delta State commissioner for education, Tony Nwaka, who was represented by Julie Young, lauded the federal government for the gesture and advised teachers to take the training seriously so as to be able to impart adequate ICT knowledge to their students.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5701439-147/story.csp

EPOMA:
My first question to Goodluck and his supporters, Is nigeria not running a capitalist econony? so how cement producers are  just be called up to reduce the price of their product in 1 month.

I thought Goodluck's government does not has a dictatorial tendency  as the said Buhari

Diesel    = Otedula  up after the election
Cement = Dangote up after the election
PDP      =Zoning  after the election


More to come

I was struck by the very same question too. However, it doesn't take vey long to conclude that Nigeria's economy knows no sane description (and its all due to our fake federalism).

How do you have a capitalist state that runs one of the highest scale welfarist systems in the World? I'm talking about the need to sahare money monthly from Abuja, cos the states can't produce zilch. Even at the peak of communism, the Soviet Union did not have such a centralised beggar bowl welfare system.

Until we grow strong institutions and address our constitutional, structural weaknesses and throw off the last vestiges of the premeval culture inherited from our unfortunate history of military regimes, we will be wasting time and decieving ourselves that Nigeria can be described as communist, capitalist, socialist, welfarist or any other sane description. Nigeria simply has no description, but there's the opportunity to begin building.

[quote author=Ileke-IdI link=topic=668911.msg8335179#msg8335179 date=1305594535]I see that GEJ is getting some things done.

Can he work on the North? I really really want to visit the Northern region without the possibility of losing my life because I look like a tasty Yoruba woman.[/quote]The North is a very beautiful place with really beautiful people (outside religion). There is also more sin in Sabongari, Kano than Lagos can aspire to!
. . .But, please I beg you in Gods Good Name; DON'T GO THERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE!