₦airaland Forum

^It is even difficult to vouch for the story above, cos Jonathan is declaring in two and a half weeks time. So nobody knows his campaign team yet.
What do you expect from useless journalists when IBB gave them 10 million Naira each last week?

The Sun has taken to printing shameless rubbish these days.

Others are speculating entirely differently. . .

[size=14pt]Sambo, Anenih to head Jonathan’s campaign[/size]
Headlines Aug 24, 2010 Share |
By Jide Ajani & Dayo Benson, Political Editor
LAGOS—AHEAD of formal declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan to contest 2011 presidential election, a campaign team headed by Vice-President Namadi Sambo and former Chairman of Board of Trustees, BoT, of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, is already in place.
. . .

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/08/24/sambo-anenih-to-head-jonathan%E2%80%99s-campaign/

The Sun has taken to printing shameless rubbish these days.

Others are speculating entirely differently. . .

[size=27pt]Sambo, Anenih to head Jonathan’s campaign[/size]
Headlines Aug 24, 2010 Share |
By Jide Ajani & Dayo Benson, Political Editor
LAGOS—AHEAD of formal declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan to contest 2011 presidential election, a campaign team headed by Vice-President Namadi Sambo and former Chairman of Board of Trustees, BoT, of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, is already in place.
. . .

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/08/24/sambo-anenih-to-head-jonathan%E2%80%99s-campaign/

The Sun has taken to printing shameless rubbish these days.

Others are speculating entirely differently. . .

[size=14pt]Sambo, Anenih to head Jonathan’s campaign[/size]
Headlines Aug 24, 2010 Share |
By Jide Ajani & Dayo Benson, Political Editor
LAGOS—AHEAD of formal declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan to contest 2011 presidential election, a campaign team headed by Vice-President Namadi Sambo and former Chairman of Board of Trustees, BoT, of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, is already in place.
. . .

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/08/24/sambo-anenih-to-head-jonathan%E2%80%99s-campaign/

asha 80:
AGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH Beaf. . . Thanx man. You have made my day!

No probs.

^
Exactly, until the day we tear down our current system, national wealth and development will be a dream. The other day I posted a list of single cities with higher GDP's than the whole of Nigeria combined (it was ignored, maybe out of shame; I don't know).
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=500596.msg6609562#msg6609562

The only reason mere cities can make more money than a whole country, is because they have got their national structure right; ticking along like a clock.

The Nigerian system on the other hand, seems like it was deliberately set up to encourage corruption and kingmaking. As you have said, it is a system that encourages the worst in society to run for office, its what we get from our "winner takes all" structure.
The state financial structure is set up in such a way that the governors are beholden to the President who can whip them in line like little boys when he chooses.
The legislators are by far the highest paid in the World, ostensibly to either do nothing or pass bad laws and turn a blind eye. Their high wages buy their silence and for the mega freebies, they want to continue in the law making chambers for life (in fact several governors strive to become senators).
Of course, the main conduits of largesse (President and governors) have immunity from prosecution while in office. How?
Local govts in turn, are beholden to state governors, because that is where meals their come from; they generate nada. Whereas as you have said, the LGA should really be the bedrock of revenue generation. . .

The whole thing is so wacky, it just can never work.

The only reason I can fathom for this structure is that it was built so that ex-gov officials, now turned kingmakers by the power of patronage they enjoyed in office, can sip oil through long straws from afar and maintain a stranglehold over the country with ther immense wealth. No country is built like ours.

.

Sky Blue:
All well and good but I really can't wait for the whole darn thing to be deregulated and put in private hands with different companies fighting for costumers (same with the petroleum sector too).

The deregulation has already started, lets hope the whole of PHCN can be disposed off pretty sharpish. This is surely going to be several times the size of the telecoms explosion.

[size=14pt]PHCN: NCP Approves Sale of 11 Distribution Firms to Core Investors[/size]From Kunle Aderinokun and James Emejo in Abuja, 08.24.2010

The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has approved “core investor” sale strategy for the privatisation of the 11 distribution companies created out of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN.)
The decision was taken at the third meeting of the council for 2010 chaired by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo last Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. . .

More here http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=181391

Ikengawo:
so the east isnt the only part of nigeria with bad roads. is it not the igbo eastern governors that are responsible for building roads anyways? the east is no worst off then the west and is nowhere a close to as messed up as the north.

nigerians just want to complain about the lot. they dont care if the complaints make sense. everywhere there's nigerians there's complaints. UNTIL the thing being complained about is gone

nigerians are now calling for a return to military rule
a return to colonialism
and OBJ is now a 'good president'

smfh. you people are so ignorant its exhausting.

And you are so fcked up its like talking to a donkey, maybe you actually need a lamp to look for your brain. Damn!
First you tell us you are an American that can observe Nigerians from afar, then you end it with "you people".

You say you are an American. Have you ever witnessed US governors trooping to the White House for monthly wages to run their states?
You see that in Nigeria and you don't think it is strange for governors to run to Abuja every month. No, instead in your massive foolishness, you conclude that corruption is the reason Nigerians are poor? Have you ever heard of "chain of responsibly?" If the governors get free money from Abuja, they don't have to do nada and they are responsible Abuja, rather than to the people.

Our false federal structure is the reason the country is under developed. And it is because the country is under developed that the people are poor. It is as easy as two plus two for Christ sake!
Corruption is a bad thing, but it doesn't make countries poor, otherwise Italy would not be in the G8. Poor state structures, lack of organisation and the lack of developmental institutions are what make countries like Nigeria poor.

PS: I bet you you just searched google for those pics and you have never been to those places (you don't talk like someone that has set foot in Nigeria). Olodo. American donkey.

^
One wise proverb says, "small, small catch monkey."

It is only a few months since the country was tittering on the brink of disaster and wanton bloodshed and Jonathans first duty was to stabilise the country. . . Peace and security first, tackling corruption will come at the right time, in fact (grapevine) a few silent moves toward blocking money laundering should commence soon.
In order to keep the country from falling into a spiral of bloodshed from the Yar Adua imbroglio, Jonathan had to inherit and work with Yar Adua's cabinet (75% of his ministers) and other power brokers from across the spectrum, all from different backgrounds and moralities, some with shaky loyalties. A fair price to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

After he gains his own mandate in 2011; without baggage from Yar Adua's time, the true man will emerge.
He will sit firmly in position and choose every single one of his people; unlike now, nobody will will inherited. To fight our deep rooted corruption in Nigeria, you need loyalty across the board.

It would be impossible for anybody to uproot corruption in just 3 months and in an election year, it has to be a very deliberate and thorough project.

Solomon227:
I dont like OBJ, GEJ has never inspired me but there is 1 thing I cant live wit: A Demon on the throne of my fatherland again. I will fight him and claw him if I can get close to him make sure I I fill the gap in his tooth with alradite, who knows may be he will stop sucking blood?

You de crase e!
Kai! NL peeps go kill pesin wit laf!

[quote author=High_Chief link=topic=501536.msg6627836#msg6627836 date=1282605556]^^^^^And you rate his government as a success? one thing you have to know is that Jonathan has not done anything, yes nothing to get the support of nigerians, talking about the fuel crisis is like treating the symptons and not the disease, hw do you expect him to achieve a lasting solution to the seemingly intractable fuel scarcity problem when our refineries are not working? Does that sound ideal to you that we depend on the products imported to the country when we can set up our own refineries that will provide enough fuel to the nation. That guy knows the solution to all these, but obviously wants to profer temporal solution just to win votes, we will know when he is serious.[/quote]Last I heard, 3 new refineries are being built and the current ones are being devested from the corrupt grip of NNPC and privatised.
NNPC itself is being thoroughly reorganised (that is why there is suddenly an abundance of fuel). For the first time in its history, its books have been audited (something that was impossible in the past), every loophole through which private pockets were diverting our national oil wealth. That is why you find a lot of people so angry, its because their corrupt bucks have come to a sudden end.

NNPC is Nigeria's backbone, so that alongside power, has been Jonathans first focus and it has been a hell of a success so far. NNPC is a very big beast indeed. Other things will follow in due course.

Bids are already out for the electricity super grid and the privatisation of the various sections of PHCN. Jonathans actions in the energy sector will energise the economy with the release of several billions of dollars worth of offshore and onshore investments. It is for every Nigerian to study the electricity situation, cos there's a killing to be made. Jonathan is going to enrich everyday Nigerians with ideas in ways no other govt has; electricity is one of these ways, it will be several times bigger than the telecoms market.

The best minds have been harnessed in the financial sector, as well as other fields. Dude, big things are happening.

The man is quiet, otherwise what he has achieved in 3+ months is staggering. The story just hasn't been told, but I guess we will hear it when he starts campaigning.

The reason that Nigerians are poor is our politicians. ]After Murtala Moh'd decided to fire older politicians, who discovered that upon their retirement, they received very little through pension money, the next generation of politicians and military men decided that the only way to get enough 'bread' to feed themselves was through hoarding as much money as they could when they would rise to power

No, the reason we are poor is because of our false federalism. You cannot build a firm foundation in sandy soil.

Nigerians nag a lot. They can nag about almost anything. Because of their excessive complaining, they begin looking for solutions to non-existant problems. Igbos are a prime example. Poorer Igbo people still continue to complain about their people as a marginalized nation within Nigeria, convinced that Biafra is the only solution to their problems. The truth is that the problems Igbos see are present nationwide. Igbos believe that they are poor because the west and north rob them of their money and resources, when, in fact

There is no federal presence in Igbo land. So, there is legitimacy in their complaints.

I once went for a burial in Abia state in the 90's. I have never been as shocked at what I witnessed on the journey.
We went by luxurious bus. At one point, we peeled of the major road and headed down a path to hell.

Up till now, I still cannot understand how it is possible to negotiate that "road" on foot. The luxurious buses practically had to be physically carried over section of road. If I didn't personally witness luxurious buses passing through that place, I would have sworn that nothing like that existed in Nigeria, maybe even on Earth!

And make no mistake, I am well conversant with every part of Nigeria (my only weakness is knowledge of the East). Even in Onitsha, the roads are like fck. I don't know if anything has been done about Upper Iweka, but that road used to be like the devils backyard.

When people sit tight, its usualy because they've not finished covering up tell tale signs of corruption.

Onlytruth:
The south east governors said they're waiting until all candidates have declared before deciding who to support. I'll tow same line.
A lot can still happen. I can only say that if Jonathan wins the PDP primaries, it'll be hard for Ndigbo not to support him.

I believe the whole thing is high wire politics, but one can't be certain. The governors position doen't make sense, because they will be voting at the PDP primaries to decide the parties candidate; maybe, they are bargaining for their own selfish ends too.

By the time the primaries are done, there will be only one person to vote for, cos PDP is 99% certain to win the elections; at that time, it will be too late to swing behind any candidate, cos bargaining power will be long gone.
But let's see which way things go, there is maybe, a one week window (max two weeks), after which it will rapidly start getting too dicey to withold support one way or the other.

^
There is a tremendous amount of motion in the power generation field already. In the next few months, there will be billions of dollars to be made (align yourself ). That is on the business scene, outside of oil (further billions with the reorg of NNPC).
Anything to with national structure has to wait until he has a four year mandate. Its ok for mere aspirants to promise heaven and earth, reality (or deception) will set in when they are on the hot seat.

For now, Jonathan is doing the right thing by being quiet, after but September 10 when he has declared and the machine swings into full activity, una go hear from Johnny!
No rush.

[quote author=High_Chief link=topic=501536.msg6627350#msg6627350 date=1282600134]So why dont we say OBJ is the best president or supported his 3rd term cos he solved the problem of Tele communication that previous govts b4 him could not achieve, I think d problem with nigeria from the look of things is not Leadership but Followership.[/quote]Cos it is against the constitution, which gives a maximum of two terms.

Onlytruth:
^^

Interesting cartoon.

Yeah, cos the SW has swung to Uncle Joe, so the cartoon is a lie.
It should be SW, Middle Belt and Kaduna PDP helping Jonathan up to the apple with SE only undecided.

[quote author=High_Chief link=topic=501536.msg6627182#msg6627182 date=1282598685]Jonathan if rigged into the presidency will surely be a failure, the guy is so corrupt and has served under so many corrupt govts(Alams and Yaradua). He is very weak and deceitful(Nigeria needs somone with radical mind and vision driven force). His romance with the former failed politicians is only an insight that he will never do better, we keep going in circles and not moving any forward. I dnt know when provision of steady fuel qualifies someone as the best candidate. OBJ failed as a president, but he did so many things while in office, but there are so much that come with democracy, until we have a government that is accountable to Nigerians the trend will never end.[/quote]Funny. Other govts spent years trying to sort the very same fuel problem and failed.
Uncle Joe has done it in just 3+ months as President, because he attacked the problem from the root. Get rid of corrupt NNPC officials, make the place accountable and fuel will flow. Its a simple formula that has worked wonders.

Onlytruth:
@na_so and Beaf

Your points are well understood about a joint development program for the south east and south south. That is why I originally supported Jonathan until I found out that he lacks the backbone to do big things.

Believe me, if Jonathan had demonstrated some balls prior to now, he would have already wrapped up Igbo votes. He has not, instead he keeps listening to Clarke and OBJ. I want the man to demonstrate balls.

I support IBB for now because only he has demonstrated balls to do big things in the past, and he is from the north, the region designated through PDP zoning to produce the president. He is also the most open-minded northerner in this race so far. Jonathan has to convince all stakeholders that zoning is irrelevant for now.
This race is Jonathans to lose, and if he wins the PDP primaries, Ndigbo will likely support him in the general elections.

This is not about south east not supporting south south. This is about Ndigbo claiming their rightful position in Nigeria. We are focused on the 2015 presidency. Period.

Anyone who undermines that right be he from north, west , east or south, is an enemy of Ndigbo.

Even the famed Obj walked on tiptoe for the better part of his first term. It takes time for anyone to settle down, by his second term, he became the Obj we know. How long did it take Obj to tackle the army, even though he is ex-army?

Anyway, if the right of the SS is undermined by the SE, pay back will come in 2015 (if maradona has not performed according to his decieving type).

naijaking1:
Privatization is the key to sufficient power supply in Nigeria. We're all witness to telephone deregulation.

This promises to be several times bigger than telecoms. I hope Nigerian companies are prepared.

On June 21, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed a team to look into implementing the “rapid improvement of power generation, transmission and distribution.”

Nigeria’s electricity-generation capacity is expected to rise to 6,939 megawatts by April and 14,019 megawatts by December 2013, the presidency said on Aug. 10, without specifying the current output.

Jonathan will present a “road map” on the reorganization of Nigeria’s power industry from government control to private businesses on Aug. 26, according to the statement. The event will provide companies with “fresh investment opportunities,” the government said without elaborating.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-23/nigeria-approves-sale-of-11-state-power-distributors-in-bid-to-cut-losses.html

Fingers crossed, better times are on the way. Lets pray it all goes smoothly.

[size=14pt]Nigeria seeks bidders for power distribution firms[/size]
Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:45pm GMT 
Camillus Eboh

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria is seeking bidders for 11 electricity distribution firms in deals that could unlock billions of dollars of foreign investment and help end chronic power shortages, the privatisation agency said on Monday.

The Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) said the country's privatisation council last week approved the search for core investors for the firms, which currently operate under the umbrella of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Nigeria is Africa's biggest crude oil and gas producer but is plagued by chronic power shortages, leaving its 140 million people without reliable mains electricity and its businesses reliant on expensive diesel generators.

"Under the proposed privatisation strategy for distribution companies, a private sector operator will acquire controlling equity interest in any of the distribution companies with a view to rapidly improving its operational efficiency," the BPE said.

Bidders will have to submit estimates of how much they could improve efficiency over a five-year period, it said.

Successive governments including that of President Goodluck Jonathan have made resolution of the power crisis a priority, but progress has been painfully slow, hampered partly by vested interests including generator companies and diesel distributors.

The crisis has been a major brake on growth in sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy.

Solving the problems at PHCN are key to attracting independent power producers to Nigeria.

PHCN is not regarded as a creditworthy buyer of power partly because it fails to collect its own bills efficiently from consumers and partly because it sells power at government-subsidised rather than market rates.
That means private companies wanting to build power plants in Nigeria and sell electricity to PHCN for distribution struggle to find the funding to do so, because they cannot guarantee that PHCN will have the capacity to repay them.

Solving the power problem in such a large country could yield massive returns for utility companies. Infrastructure financiers say foreign investors are ready to pump billions of dollars into the power sector if the regulatory framework can be resolved.

It could also boost the popularity of President Jonathan, who has not yet said whether he will contest polls due in less than six months' time.

Access to electricity is one of the main demands of many ordinary Nigerians, who dub PHCN "Please Have Candle Nearby".

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE67M0I520100823?sp=true

This is too funny. I can't stop laughing!
How can organisers be stranded?!

[quote author=na_so link=topic=500758.msg6625610#msg6625610 date=1282580892]@Beaf

Lets be realistic here the SE 2015 dream is unrealistic. Jonathan will not be able to handover to SE, even if he wants to. However the SS and SE can form an alliances where even in the GEJ years the goodies will go to both the SE and SS massively. The SE will also reciprocate when their term comes, after the north.

However if this alliance works, the old fence would have been rebuilt and the SE and SS will now henceforth be negotiating as one bloc. In the end everyone is happy.

But it will be utter foolishness for the SE to scuttle GEJ chances now and expect the SS to lie low and support their bid in 2015.[/quote]I tend to agree with your assessment.

EzeUche22:
The Igbo language will not be going extinct anytime soon when the language if the lingua franca of the East. He needs to worry about Ijaw and the other minority languages that will be going extinct. If Igbos goes extinct, the minority languages in the East will also go extinct faster.

And why should we negotiate with him? I'll rather negotiate with IBB who has not been an enemy to the Igbo.

No problems Charlie, there is only one way to find out why he is called maradona.
. . .Negotiating with serial mr promise and fail.

I'm almost falling on the floor in laughter!

chyz:
There will be a break up of nigeria possibly as projected by the U.S. Hoowever, didnt the niger delta say they are going to break off if GJ is pushed out of office and didnt they threaten war?

Being pushed out of a legitimately held office, because of minority status is totally different from a political parties zoning intricacies.
The threat from militants was against forcing Jonathan out of office to be replaced by a Northerner, against the dictate of the constitution.

EzeUche22:
War, because my people who are the majority in the East continue to be treated like 2nd class citizens in this nation. You think an Igbo man will support some minority from the East to be given a chance to lead before us? You must be kidding.

Numbers matter and we have the numbers. When we talk, people listen.

In a democracy, minority voices (like yours) are allowed.
War ke! Negotiate with Jonathan so that the federal presence can be felt in the SE, cos what is going on there is a disgrace. But the only way out is to negotiate and join the political mainstream. Jonathan, you call a minority is almost certain to be victorious in 2011, he is the same person that worried about Igbo language going into extinction. Abi no be so? Why should anybody think they can't do deals with the guy? Talk of shooting yourself in the foot.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/07/20/jonathan-charges-ndigbo-on-threat-to-igbo-language/

chyz:
I feel you, there's no way the SS can receive pain without the SE feeling it and vise versa, thats a fact. however, do u think the SE can get its hit at presidency in 2015 if this happens?

The SE can only get the presidency by forming alliances. Nobody is going to zone anything to anybody.
So, yes, the SE can get its presidency in 2015. I am not sure of what the constitution says about Jonathan doing two more terms tho.

Happy birthday Jarus!

EzeUche22:
If the Igbos do not do not get the presidency zoned to usby 2015, it will surely lead to break up of this nation.

Are we not the only people who are able to disintegrate this nation? When the Igbos are on the war path, all the other groups have to unite to defeat us.

Discontent is rising in the East. We do not wish to play 2nd fiddle to anyone.

Go and sleep! War because the presidency isn't zoned?
Be wise, zoning is dead and buried. It was only brought in to apease the Yoruba for the the loss of MKO.

Gbawe:
Very reasonable and logical conclusion. It is mainly diasproran Nigerians and kinsmen of Jonathan who will support a man who has totally abandoned the running or Nigeria for the sake of parochial pursuit.

. . .

You are simply a lost cause.

Thank you. Can you now rationally counter these points or give (because, clearly, so far you no get points )?

God bless Jonathan in "Totality!"
No to charlatans, yes to the cool, quiet achiever!

Fuel yanfun yanfun!
Light is constantly improving!
Super grid has been signed and immediately kicked off! Mutallab and the terror blacklist have been forgotten!
NNPC has seen quantum changes in productivity!
There are now several positive political realignments all over the country and attempts to heal long running ethnic grievances.
[size=14pt]All in 3 short months, up Joe![/size]