₦airaland Forum

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panafrican:
How many military bases does Portugal have in its former African colonies ?
How many military bases does the UK have in former British colonies in Africa ?
Can you now ask the "innocent " French the same question ?

The question is irrelevant to the discussion. It wouldn't prove they were forced to use CFA frank as proof other countries leaving and joining freely.

urahara:
Before the cfa franc, French colonies used the French franc , but when France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement, the French franc had to be devalued.France didn't want it's colonies to suffer the consequences of the devaluation so it created a new currency for them called the cfa franc.

P.s using the cfa franc is not by force , any country is free to leave at any point in time.Guinea left , Madagascar left.

It is important to note that even Equitorial guinea ( ex Spanish colony ) joined the use of cfa franc.

The cult of victimhood dont read. Cape verde pegs its currency to the Euro and nobody claiming Portugal is forcing them. It's simply wrong to make every little issue frances fault.

On the 21-storey building project, is the state getting positive response or interest from the IOCs to relocate on completion?

Definitely, shortly after the state anniversary of the state creation, the management team of ExxonMobil led by the Chairman and Vice Chairman were in Akwa Ibom State with some investors. One of the things they did after interfacing with government was to inspect facilities at the 21-storey building and obtain first-hand information preparatory to activating their decision to come here. Those are very good signs and we are also encouraged at the speed at which we are putting the building to completion. The IOCs have been saying that there are no good and decent accommodation. Today, with the 21-storey building, they don’t have that excuse. I can tell you for sure within the South-south part of the Nigeria there is no building more modern in terms of having Information Technology (IT) infrastructure than that building. It matches the best we can get anywhere, no IOC can claim they don’t have the best of what they need within that complex.

What is the thinking of government in developing  some of the signature projects of the state that looks abandoned like the Four Point By Sheraton Hotel, the Ibom Tropicana Complex, the Ibom Science Park among others?

Government has made it clear that it has no business managing entertainment and the science park. The attitude of this government has always been to find investors. We took over the Four Point by Sheraton Hotel when the state government then had no discussion with the owner of the brand name as at the time it was named the Four Point by Sheraton Hotel. The present government inherited that burden. There was legal threat then over illegal use of the brand. We had to go into lengthy renegotiation. Firstly, to acquire the right to use the brand name because the name Four Point by Sheraton was illegally written on the hotel. With contact and dialogue with the owner of the brand it cost the present government $7.2million to acquire the brand name and considering that there was no furnishing and even the design we had to change a lot of things. On the Ibom Tropicana, you may not know how challenging it is to keep the Ibom Hotel running and profitable. So it is not economic and profitable that the state government will invest in a third hotel and entertainment centre without having the market. What government is doing is to find investors to take over the business and run it. On the Ibom Science Park, what government has done is to call experts to look into the concept. Again government is not going to put funds there. Government is realying on investors. Right now, the Secretary to the State Government being an IT expert is talking to series of investors who have shown interest in reactivating the science park within the context of modern environment.

On erosion, it appears the state is handicapped to address erosion problems threatening the environment; and so far, what form of assistance has come from the federal government and donor agencies in tackling that problem in the state?

To the best of my knowledge and from records available, the federal government has not given a helping hand to check erosion menace in Akwa Ibom. If you remember the issue of Calabar-Itu road, first the state government tried in its small way to contain that gully erosion to keep the road intact. The thing has come back. We have zero assistance from the federal government in tackling the menace. Erosion, flood and other natural disasters are not things that only state governments should handle, it comes under the national pulse emergency. We expect the federal government to also help us especially being the goose that lays the golden egg, but we are not getting that. What we have done is to move ahead to see how we can look at the global agencies for help. World Bank has been very supportive. The Edet Akpan Avenue erosion control is World Bank assisted. We are talking to the World Bank to assess the IBB Way erosion issue. The IBB erosion issue is not an issue the state government can deal with because it runs into over N30 billion as at last estimate. World Bank has been here, seen the design and made consultation. World Bank is passionate about assisting and we will put down our counterpart funding. The good news is that World Bank has shown interest and is willing to partner the state to solve the problem.

Full story @: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/12/19/it-cost-akwa-ibom-7-2-million-to-acquire-a-hotel-brand/

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fulaniHERDSman:
Question is how characters like that found their way into power. Flawed electoral process, poverty and illiteracy in Nigeria is of more damaging effect than corruption.

The electoral process has nothing to do with it. Did he cheat his way into office? You think poor and illiterate dont know it's wrong to assault people. They're just dont care. That's why he can cry for forgiveness one minute and accountability the next.

Lol this clown is funny. If youth did that wouldn't you be in jail for assault? Even that police officer present should be punished.

[img]https://media./images/ccf189d42e8d883fe864fadbd124bfaf/tenor.gif[/img]

The Adamawa State Senator representing the Northern Senatorial zone, Mr Ishaku Elisha Abbo has called on Youths in the state to hold their leaders accountable because they made them be what they are and where they are.

The Senator made this known while receiving the achievers’ award of excellence by Adamawa celebrity in its 2019 Achiever’s Award that held at Lelewal Hotel in Yola.

Given a brief account of his life, Abbo recounted how he was a man of a very humble beginning, but induced himself with the mindset of greatness, saying it was all from “a scratch, cradle and to greatness.”

Mr Abbo encouraged them to use their talents wisely because they are the deposits raw materials God has given them to succeed and cannot be found elsewhere except in them, reminding them that Entertainment is a multi-billion dollars investment that government and peoples must consciously invest on.

Mr Abbo assured them of sustainable partnership that can further bring out the best because they have all it takes to be international recognised and celebrated.

The Youths who are most talented musicians, comedians, actors and actresses cutting across the 21 LGAs area of Adamawa State celebrate Cliff as the icon of their hope.

The convener and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adamawa Celebrity, Mr Michael Bolgent said the organisation is an entertaining film that is bringing out the unharnessed talents of the youths in Adamawa state.

He said his effort is to promote Adamawa youths to the outside world knowing the fact that the Land is truly endowed with a lot of human resources whose God-given gifts remain untapped and exploited.

According to him the nomination of Senator Cliff for the Award is to thank him for helping the youths to succeed, most especially in education and those pursuing other secular careers like music and modelling.

He called on the state government to invest so much on entertainment because of the potentialities in it to make not only a state to be self-reliance but nations generate high income, thereby rising their internally generated revenue in an unprecedented way.

Source: https://tribuneonlineng.com/hold-your-leaders-accountable-sen-abbo-tells-adamawa-youths/

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Godhatesodomy:
Stop trolling

Stop lying then unless your god loves it.

Godhatesodomy:
Talk is what you would like to be good at yet even then you are sub standard. When you doubt yourself, how high can you rise?


Wake up out your slumber

Lol when your lies get exposed you start rambling. What clowns your royal fathers must be to condone your lying ways.

On April 20, 2000, in Accra, Ghana, the leaders of six West African countries declared their intention to proceed to monetary union among the non-CFA2 franc countries of the region by January 2003, as a first step toward a wider monetary union including all the ECOWAS3countries in 2004.

source

The meeting was attended by three heads of state, Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, and Lansana Conté of Guinea, as well as representatives from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. Cape Verde, the remaining non-CFA ECOWAS member, has a currency peg to the euro with the support of Portugal, and was not a signatory of the "Accra Declaration on a Second Monetary Zone."

source

Godhatesodomy:
You are the only one talking the holy fathers of the land have started the change.

Wake up out your slumber

The idea of monetary union came before then. Dont start lying fallen man. The idea is almost 2 decades old. All Nigeria done is talk. It hasn't even met fiscal requirements to spear head it.

They monarchs have nothing to with this. If they do explain why they failed to achieve their goal after decades.

On April 20, 2000, in Accra, Ghana, the leaders of six West African countries declared their intention to proceed to monetary union among the non-CFA2 franc countries of the region by January 2003, as a first step toward a wider monetary union including all the ECOWAS3countries in 2004.

source

The meeting was attended by three heads of state, Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, and Lansana Conté of Guinea, as well as representatives from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. Cape Verde, the remaining non-CFA ECOWAS member, has a currency peg to the euro with the support of Portugal, and was not a signatory of the "Accra Declaration on a Second Monetary Zone."

source

Godhatesodomy:
When riding a bike for the first time one feels foolish yet only a dead man wouldn't attempt it believing its impossible.


Wake up out your slumber

Lol tell Nigeria to lead by example instead of just talking. Actions speak louder than words. Maybe you'll understand one day.

According to Ahmed, the 2020 implementation deadline set for the adoption of single currency by ECOWAS member states is constrained by the continuing macroeconomic vulnerabilities in the respective economies.

She stated that till date, only Togo out of the 15 ECOWAS member countries has been able to fulfil all four convergence criteria required for a smooth transition by the target date.

ibietela2:
Burkina Faso president (i can't remember his name) tried this and France sponsored a coup which got him killed.

Thomas something

Thomas Sankara did get overthrown but its no excuse. Freedom not free. Besides countries like Eritrea have weaned themselves from foreign aid.

Godhatesodomy:
Wake up out your slumber

Lol start with yourself fallen man. You shouldn't be living in democracy anymore. Live under a monarchy. Nigeria isnt leading anything but talks. They haven't got their fiscal house in order.

According to Ahmed, the 2020 implementation deadline set for the adoption of single currency by ECOWAS member states is constrained by the continuing macroeconomic vulnerabilities in the respective economies.

She stated that till date, only Togo out of the 15 ECOWAS member countries has been able to fulfil all four convergence criteria required for a smooth transition by the target date.

Source

The four primary criteria to be achieved by each member country are: a single-digit inflation rate at the end of each year; a fiscal deficit of no more than four per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP); a central bank deficit-financing of no more than 10 per cent of the previous year's tax revenue, and gross external reserves that can give import cover for a minimum of three months.

On the other hand, the six secondary criteria to be achieved by each member country are: Prohibition of new domestic default payments and liquidation of existing ones; tax revenue should be equal to or greater than 20 percent of the GDP; wage bill to tax revenue equal to or less than 35 per cent; public investment to tax revenue equal to or greater than 20 per cent; a stable real exchange rate, and positive real interest rate.
Source

Aladegba:
Wat of Cameroon

There in central African CFA franc. The status quo remains with them.

panpan:
This appears to be a subtle way by France to frustrate an independent joint West African currency.

France and Ivory Coast have cunningly changed the name "CFA" to "Eco", with currency links to France, but without the input of non-CFA West African countries.

What this means is that CFA countries in West Africa will now say that they have adopted the Eco, and it is left for non-CFA countries to join the now France-backed Eco or stay on their own.

BabaRamota1980:
Very true!

ibietela2:
SPOT ON

France doesn't care. The CFA board has always opperated without non CFA countries input. The official ECOWAS monetary union cant be done anyway because only Benin Republic meets requirements. Nigeria's finance minister made this known weeks ago.

Lol the French boogieman isn't holding you back. Tell Nigeria to gets it's fiscal house in order then lead the charge.

According to Ahmed, the 2020 implementation deadline set for the adoption of single currency by ECOWAS member states is constrained by the continuing macroeconomic vulnerabilities in the respective economies.

She stated that till date, only Togo out of the 15 ECOWAS member countries has been able to fulfil all four convergence criteria required for a smooth transition by the target date.

Source

The four primary criteria to be achieved by each member country are: a single-digit inflation rate at the end of each year; a fiscal deficit of no more than four per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP); a central bank deficit-financing of no more than 10 per cent of the previous year's tax revenue, and gross external reserves that can give import cover for a minimum of three months.

On the other hand, the six secondary criteria to be achieved by each member country are: Prohibition of new domestic default payments and liquidation of existing ones; tax revenue should be equal to or greater than 20 percent of the GDP; wage bill to tax revenue equal to or less than 35 per cent; public investment to tax revenue equal to or greater than 20 per cent; a stable real exchange rate, and positive real interest rate.

Source

AreaFada2:
Stability of CFA due to pegging has helped reduce devaluation that stupid dictators could have caused to individual currencies over the years.

Compare value of Naira in 1999 to CFA with today. Naira has lost much value. Naira lost value and we still have more poverty. Our flexibility has not helped us. Disastrous fiscal policies after another.

Even our monetary reserve that we control fully, do we know how they draw the money and what they use it for?

I hope these Francophone people know what they are doing. They risk serious inflation.

Oh well let's hope they're responsible. Now that France's treasury no longer backs currency they're on their own. They only have to be for a few years if the ECO currency union happens in all of ECOWAS. Then a new monetary policy will probably come out it.

At least they know for better or worse they had it their way. I think its better that way. You can't blame France but some will find a way.

madridsta007:
I’m very sure that the French still have strong ties to the CFA Francs. Colonialists never completely give up their conquests. For the French to have allowed Francophone African countries to come up with this arrangement, trust that they have devised another way to economically milk these countries.

I remember when Libyan Ghaddafi was posing and smiling with various Western leaders as they allowed him access to Libya’s wealth which were under sanctions. A short while after that, NATO bombed democracy into Libya. Today western proxies control Libya’s wealth.

It will be the same with Francophone Africa.

Fine start by rejecting all their foreign aid. If they're not ready to do that they're just talking at the end of the day. Even knows the money buys political favors.

urahara:
Blue3k2 , why do they have to keep half of their reserves with France ?

Required for them to get support or french treasury. The other reason in my opinion was for France to borrow against. Central banks use fractional reserves banking afterall.

BabaRamota1980:
Give us a list of all French speaking countries in the world, minus their African dependencies. List only where French is official language.

Out of about twenty or so only six are outside Africa.

Canada
Luxembourg
Switzerland
Belgium
Haiti
Monaco

When have you seen Renault or Peugeot on the streets in Canada or Monaco?

Monaco's principal economy is tourism, nothing else. So is Luxembourg.

Beside cars what else does France have? Chocolate. Cocoa does not grow in Europe. Coffee does not grow in Europe. Tobacco does not grow in Europe. There is no gold, diamond, titanium in Europe.

What can France be without its tie to Africa? It will become an orphan, and become wretched.

So the principal income earner for France are Francophones in Africa. Automobiles, processed food beverage, cigarrettes, wine, weapons....and so on.

Canada, Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium....France brings in more revenue from Niger alone thant it does from the combination of these five.

Any country looking for nuclear technology go through France to access the resource in Niger.

So think about what i said earlier.

Lol your arguement is wrong. France's exports are based on secondary products they manufacture. They not like these 3rd world countries dependent on raw resources they hardly commands premium. You're arguement is crazy as saying Japan will collapse without Africa. You're pretending all trade in these commodities will stop.

Even ur baseless assertion about countries needing France and Niger for uranium is laughable. Canada and Australia both export more than them.

What can France be without its tie to Africa?.

A first world industrialized economy with power nuclear armed millitary.

Beside cars what else does France have?

Compared to these dirt poor countries plenty. Check their top exports.

grandstar:
The combined GDP of the 150m CFA countries $235b. That is barely 10% of the size of France's GDP. How exactly is France dependent on them?

Lol he's overating their importance in the French economy. You can just glance at France's imports and exports to these former colonies for proof. If they really want be free reject their foreign aid stand on your own. They're not ready to take action on that yet.

1st pic: export
2nd pic: imports

BabaRamota1980:
France is relevant in world politics today because of its Francophone countries, particularly in North and West Africa.

France economy subsists on African wealth. France will be broke if these African countries disintegrate,

darkwan:
bite me....!!

Im glad your mental disorder isnt contagious. It's too bad it's genetic. Best of luck to you.

darkwan:
stfu....you piss me off....

Or what loser?

Dasuks:
he did not even spell 'amateurish' correctly bro. Why waste your time ?

Lol these internet experts are funny.

healthserve:
Sorry revere psych doesn't work on moi. Ciao amigo

I was just stating facts dont stress yourself. I know you have nothing to contribute but that rant.

healthserve:
Like you're in my I.Q-Rank. I've stop dishing out private hard learned strategies.


Enjoy your ignorance

Lol so you have none after ranting and raving? I thought so. Useless arm chair experts.

healthserve:
Armateurish

Dont just rant Mr. expert give your suggestions. What should they do with their currency?

healthserve:
Why do we have to peg it to the Euro. Francophone sha and the idocy of Anglophones

Directly pegging the currency against another bloc implies zero control. Given the Complexities surrounding Brexit, common sense would imply we tred carefully yoming ourselves with the Euro bloc as pulling out of arrangements isn't anything the Europeans take lightly. Fullish unthinking Francophones..spits

What are you suggesting they do. Do you want them to have floating exchange rates or peg it basket of currencies? Maybe they should consider a weaker currency for cheaper exports but that's up to them.

The Euro is pretty stable with or without UK being in the block. Their monetary policy can be altered later. They're not the only country that pegs their currency to anyway.

I guess france has decided to wash their hands of W. African CFA franc. The french treasury will no longer back the currency. They no longer have seat on board or reserves afterall. Congratulations and good luck to the Africans who control their currency.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - The West African Economic and Monetary Union has reached an agreement with France to make changes to the CFA franc, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said on Saturday, in a shift away from the former colonial power.

Under the agreement, the currency remains pegged to the euro and will be renamed the ECO. It scraps a requirement for countries to keep 50% of reserves in the French Treasury and the need for a French representative on the currency union’s board.

“This is a historic day for West Africa,” Ouattara said in a statement during a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Ivory Coast’s main city Abidjan.

The future of the currency has been long-debated with critics pointing to its links to “Francafrique”, the loose web of influence Paris retains in its former colonies.

Proponents have argued that the 74-year-old currency has brought welcome monetary stability to the countries that use it, though Macron said in 2017 it was up to African governments to decide what to do with the currency.

The CFA covers 14 African countries with a combined 150 million people and $235 billion of gross domestic product.

The changes will only affect the West African form of the currency used by Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ivorycoast-france-macron-idUSKBN1YP0JR

TUANKU:
I hope the remodeling will not contain elements of RUGA else its dead on arrival.

Which elements are talking about?

nedekid:
Oga why are you talking like this?
You are only forced to eat desease, mad cow and now charcoal cow based on a hidden agender to promote Fulani headers. Nigeria is the only country in the world beef is not sold per kg! Import proper beef from Brazil, USA, Argentina etc and see it will be quality but by far cheaper! Beef you can use for steak. Beef you do not have to boil for hours to get soft.

There's nothing hidden about it. It's just the usual protectionist policies that Nigeria always does. Nigeria could import beef like we do fish and eat as much you want. Even after Nigeria does Ruga/Nltp few are going to say lets lift beef import ban.

All this grear but how much would the rancher in question pay? They should have to pay a land lease and service fee. If not it's just tax payers subsidizing another industry. Lastly will the beed import ban be lifted after all this?

The federal government will soon begin remodelling grazing reserves into ranches in seven states in Nigeria as it moves towards implementing its controversial National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).

The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE), Bashir Usman, disclosed this on Tuesday, at a training workshop on the remodelling exercise held in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Mr Usman said this is part of the government’s efforts to transform and modernise the country’s livestock industry through the NLTP.

This newspaper reported how the Nigerian government announced the (Rural Grazing Area (Ruga) programme for willing states to contribute large areas of land for the construction of animal husbandry settlements.

The presidency at the time said 12 states had indicated willingness to be part of Ruga, despite many Nigerians criticising the programme and many state governors opposing it.

Against the backdrop of the strident criticism of Ruga in parts of the country, the federal government in July suspended it and announced the NLTP in its place.

The NLTP includes programmes for rehabilitation of displaced IDPs resulting from the conflict between farmers and herders, and the development of ranches in any willing state of the federation.

The Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, who chaired a committee that played a role in the design of the NLTP, said it is a voluntary programme.

“It is not compulsory, it is for any state that is willing, will key into the programme,” he said

He said any state interested was required to bring up a development plan in line with the programme.

There are several game reserves (national parks) in the country with the Nigeria National Park Service (NNPS) responsible for preserving, enhancing, protecting and managing vegetation and wild animals in the parks.

The NNPS is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of the Environment and is headed by a Conservator General. It works closely with the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation.

According to the Punch Newspaper, the training in Zaria was organised by NCNE for 120 nomadic education extension agents and other officers of the commission.

Speaking through the Director, Social Mobilisation and Women Development in the commission, Mohammed El-Nafaty, Mr Usman listed Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, Kaduna and Zamfara as the selected states.

He said the existing grazing reserves had already been carved out, demarcated and gazetted.

The director said 141 out of the 416 grazing reserves, spread across the six geo-political zones of the country with a total of 3.4 million hectares of land have been gazetted.

He stressed that the idea behind developing the grazing reserves into ranches was to provide state-of-the-art grazing resources for livestock herders in the country.

This, according to him, will curtail the persistent farmer-herder conflicts that are threatening peace and security in the country.

He noted that transformation and modernisation of Nigeria’s livestock industry would cause a paradigm shift from a predominantly traditional, informal and uncoordinated industry, to a more formal and organised one.

“This can be achieved through the transformation of grazing reserves into ranches, otherwise known as Intensive Livestock Production Systems,” he said

“This entails training and re-training of front line staff and other key stakeholders, effective community mobilisation and sensitisation through extension services.

“It also involves the identification, mapping and clustering of pastoralist and their communities in the existing grazing reserves as evidence-based data preparatory for the full implementation of ranching concept in the country,”.

“It equally entails the provision of the requisite resources and infrastructure to serve as a window of opportunities for livestock producers to have access to improved production facilities and social amenities.”

Mr Usman said basic amenities and processing infrastructure along the value chain will be provided.

The NCNE boss disclosed that the commission had established 17 Model Nomadic Education Centers in the gazetted grazing reserves.

They would work closely with the Coordinating Office of the National Livestock Transformation Plan.

Earlier, Director, Department of Extension Education and Skills Development, NCNE, Abdu Ardo, said the training was organised to build the capacity of participants to mobilise and sensitise pastoralists on the remodelling process.

On his part, the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Agriculture, Andrew Kwasari, said the measure would end the protracted farmers-herders clashes over scarce land and water.

Mr Kwasari, who is also the Coordinator of NLTP, said the extension agents would demonstrate to farmers and pastoralists how to promote livestock production in the country.

“I hope in the next six months, we will begin to have success stories that would help the full implementation of the livestock transformation plan,” he said.

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/366605-updated-nltp-nigerian-government-turning-grazing-reserves-into-ranches.html

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