Fhemmmy: That is why I wish there are better option, but for sure GEJ really disappointed mecos: 1. He is the most educated leader we ever had. 2. He had an humble beginning and thought he would fight for the masses. Anyhow, I pray the best candidate win
Education is not just about acquiring certificates. Education is about having a vision and long term goal and plan for your nation. GEJ fails on both counts. In my opinion GEJ is nothing more than a puppet of western imperialists who made it possible for him to win the last rigged elections, this time around I think they will throw him to the wolves as he is now becoming a liability to them. We are yet to produce a leader who is prepared to fight for the masses. This is why a grass roots revolution is now necessary , we need someone like Castro of Cuba, however I am very sceptical of such a leader emerging given the level of ignorance, tribalism and illiteracy that continues to exist in the country.
Fhemmmy: Inasmuch as I do agree with you, I am yet to read or heard opposition parties use this to campaign that they wont do it either and that made me see it as a consensus for all the ogas at the top
There is no viable opposition party in NIgeria, APC and PDP are two sides of the same coin, in other words there are currently no electable parties in NIgeria vying for election, therefore NIgerians are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
If APC get into office they will simply continue the mass looting of whatever will be left of the treasury. Nigerians need to unite at grass roots level and get rid of the elite who are intent on reducing Nigeria to ashes.
Fhemmmy: Implementation has been in phases, the first implementation of the 35% was done when price of oil was still oner 100$ per barrel. ... please note I am against the increase as well oh till right measures are put in place for the success of the policy and plan..... but I am just Fhemmmy and omly with my opinion that dont count YET
You are giving the benefit of the doubt to a govt that has done nothing but fail you for decades , they don't give a damn about domestic trade, they have no vision, no viable economic policies because they are only interested in looting. They will not be affected b y the levy as they don't buy second hand cars, only the masses will be affected. This is a slap in the face of the Nigerian masses by a brutal and cruel gang of looters who are only concerned about perpetuating themselves in power.
Interesting article on the levy, apparently the levy is 70% not 35%:
[b]Import Duty on Tokunbo Cars To Increase to 70% April 30th 2015 (Updated)
December 31, 2014
Updated Jan 1, 2015: The Federal Government has now moved the date of Increase in Tokunbo cars importation to 70% (additional 35%) to April 30th 2015. This is now the third time they are moving this date and I am betting the impending elections in 2015 must have been factored in. Below is the article we wrote when December 31st just before the date was moved.
The Federal Government is set to increase import duty on second-hand cars by another 35% from Thursday January 1,2015 in fulfillment of its so-called National Automotive Policy. This increase is the second phase after it increased by 35% in February 2014. This now brings to tariff to 70% in a little under one year for poor Nigerians who cannot afford to buy brand new cars.
The guys who seem set to benefit from this are the local manufacturers of vehicles such as Innoson, Nissan etc. and the Minister of Trade who for some inexplicable reasons believes the timing of the policy is right. You wonder if the conditions are actually right to implement such a policy and why no incentives are available for local car buyers. The economic outlook for 2015 also look grim for most people with the effects of the falling oil price on the horizon, exchange rate now at N190 at the black market and likely to hit N200 in the near future. Just how does the government introduce such a controversial policy at this time? How many locally produced cars are available in the market? Is it enough to cater for the rising demand? What models of vehicles are available and do we have cars that are absolutely made for the middle class?
The government and the rich will obviously not be affected as much as the poor considering that they already are used to buying brand new vehicles. It is the poor looking to step up who now have to face up with the choice of buying untested locally made vehicles or stump out extra 70% cash to buy second-hand vehicles. Sure, locally produced vehicles does bring some pride to a country but that’s pretty much where it gets to. The purported jobs that will be created is still medium to long-term and can’t be guaranteed to be sustained. Can the cars compete with their foreign counterparts? How long can they face up to the harsh economic realities of manufacturing in Nigeria? With poor power supply, bad roads, poor quality of labour and huge need for importing parts required to assemble these cars, can the industry survive? Will pricing be controlled or allowed to be set by manufacturers just the way Cement has worked? These are all questions left to be answered!
[b]How low will oil fall? $30 is possible By Matt Egan @mattmegan5 December 31, 2014: 1:56 PM ET
Look out below! The plunge in oil prices may not be over just yet.
Oil took another hit Wednesday, sinking below $53 to a level last seen during the Great Recession. It's hard to recall that crude oil traded for over $100 a barrel as recently as July.
Few saw the energy meltdown coming. Now that it's here, industry analysts warn another move lower is possible as the momentum remains firmly to the downside.
"If this doesn't hold, we could go back to price levels in late 2008 and early 2009 -- down in the $30s. There's no reason why it couldn't happen," said Darin Newsom, senior analyst at Telvent DTN.
That would be good news for the overall U.S. economy, especially consumers who are saving money each time they fill up their gas tanks. If oil fell to around $40 a barrel, that would translate to a national gas average of roughly $1.80 a gallon.
[b]After Dangote, the second biggest loser among Nigeria’s ultra-rich is Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, an investment company. Heirs Holdings, which is wholly-owned by Elumelu, is the controlling shareholder in Transcorp, a publicly-listed conglomerate with interests in power production, hotels and agriculture. Transcorp’s current market capitalization is now $700 million, down from $1.4 billion at the beginning of November. Heirs Holdings has lost an estimated $345 million in paper value on Transcorp, and its stake in the company as at Monday is now worth roughly $400 million, down from $700 million. Elumelu’s investments in other listed companies like UBA, Africa Prudential PLC and UBA Capital have shed a little over $27 million in value.
Other big losers include Nigerian multi-millionaire banker Jim Ovia, a co-founder of Zenith Bank. The value of his stake in the financial services provider is $240 million as of late Monday, down from more than $350 million last month. He owns a 9% stake in the bank.
[b]Africa's Richest Man Aliko Dangote Loses $7.8 Billion As Naira, Stocks Plunge
12/23/2014 @ 1:23PM A few weeks ago, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, announced a nearly 10% devaluation of the Naira, Nigeria’s currency, after admitting that a plunge in world oil prices and dwindling dollar reserves were making it difficult to defend the value of the currency. The Naira is now trading at N187 to $1, compared to N165 in November. In dollar terms, the devaluation has knocked more than $40 billion off the value of Nigeria’s economy.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, is the biggest loser among Nigeria’s richest people as the Naira’s slump, coupled with falling stock prices, has erased more than $7.8 billion of his fortune since February, when FORBES locked in the values for its annual ranking of the World’s Billionaires. Dangote was worth $25 billion at the time; as of market close on Tuesday, he’s worth $17.2 billion. More than half of the drop in his fortune has happened since early November. As of Nov. 7, Dangote was worth $21.6 billion, $4.4 billion more than now.
Here’s why: The last few weeks have been a bit of a disaster for many companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Several blue-chip stocks such as Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Transcorp and United Bank of Africa among several others have hit one-year-lows as a result of the fall in oil prices, a general uncertainty regarding the 2015 general elections, Central Bank regulatory headwinds, and weak earnings from large cap companies. These have all contributed toward putting naira-denominated assets including equities at risk.
Nigerians, forever worshipping people who contribute zero to their lives.
When was the last time you went on to an American or british website and saw anyone worshipping millionaires, especially millionaires who made their money by stealing from their own people? We have a long way to go.
[quote author=sammhi post=29399319][/quote]So you actually think that the imposition of this levy has anything to do with encouraging the domestic auto industry? Let me ask you a question don't you find it coincidental that its being introduced when the govt is haemorrhaging oil revenue?
[b]Jonathan to Nigerians: Endure hardship that comes with fallen oil price
December 28, 2014Talatu Usman
President Goodluck Jonathan has asked Nigerians to endure the effects of the current drop in global oil prices, saying the nation will survive it.
Mr. Jonathan, while speaking at the Christ Apostolic Church in Abuja on Sunday, said the oil price drop is nothing compared to 2008 to 2009 when oil was sold for $40 per barrel.
“Of course, if there is a drop in oil price, it will affect us in one way or the other. We tell our people to bear with us. It has happened before in 2008, 2009 that was almost about $40, we survived as a nation.
“This time, by all predictions, it will not even go as low as that, we will surely survive it. The economic team is working very hard to stabilise it and we believe that although there may be temporary inconveniences, it will definitely not bring the economy down” he said.
The President told the congregation that he decided to go round churches in Abuja to thank them for their prayers. He said even as the challenges facing the country increased during his tenure, Nigeria’s current woes would have been worse but for prayers.
“With the prayers you continue to offer to God, God will see us through” he said, adding that it was worse in the bible days.
The President said 2015 “is a tempting year for us” since election year in third world countries is always turbulent.
“All that I will request of you is to continue to pray for us politicians, myself and other politicians from all political parties, for God to guide us in our utterances and what we do so that we will not sacrifice the lives of Nigerians because of our ambitions.
“Nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian. Pray to God to give us that wisdom and mind to make sure we conduct ourselves in a way that will not set the country ablaze because of our own personal ambition.
“There are so many good Nigerians that can hold the offices we are occupying or aspiring to occupy, it is by privilege of God that we are here in positions to ask for the mandates of Nigerians.
Only in Nigeria can a useless looter steal from his people and then turn around and have the guts to ask the same people to take responsibility for the mess that he caused. Only in Nigeria will the people sit back and still give such a person the benefit of the doubt.
If many Nigerians were to apply common sense they would insist that the people who mismanaged Nigeria's oil revenue should be the people to pay for the shortfall in revenue that the country is experiencing not the masses who have never enjoyed one drop of the oil revenue for one day of their lives, but NIgerians continue to put their faith in a govt of looters who have abused and exploited them for the past 16 years. Why is no-one up in arms against Okonjo Iweala, Deizani Alison Madueke and other members of GEJ's bandwagon of looters, how can you believe that a theif that has never given a damn about you will suddenly start caring about growing the domestic automobile industry all of a sudden?
It beats my imagination at how easy it is to bamboozle Nigerians.
The looters have to ensure that they secure themselves in power before they unleash more misery on the docile Nigerian masses.
Since when did the Nigerian looters give a damn about boosting the domestic automobile industry? These are people who are looking for alternative income streams to boost their rapidly falling oil revenue and they are determined to ensure that they get the docile Nigerian masses to make up the difference so that they continue to reap where they did not sew.
The Nigerian masses are going to pay through their noses for PDP's 16 years of industrial scale economic mismanagement by way of massive tax increases, non payment of salaries, even more massive unemployment and removal of the so called subsidy. I pity Nigerians who actually believe that these scumbags care about the welfare of the people, the truth is they have no positive vision for Nigeria. Now that the main source of their looting is now in a state of freefall they are desperately looking for other ways to suck the NIgerian people dry and they will make you pay severely for their terrible incompetence.
Imagine imposing more hardship on a people who don't even have access to basic requirements such as stable electricity, water, health care and education. What a joke! Tiny countries like Cuba have all of the above in place and they have been subject to an economic embargo from the US for over 50 years!
[b]2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS: None of the existing political parties represent the change working masses and youth desire
By Segun Sango, National Chairperson, Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN)
Nigeria's 2015 general elections, from all key indications, promises to be the most beleaguered since post colonial rule in 1960. Politically and economically, the capitalist institutions and all their political parties are locked in an intractable crisis. This is manifested in their complete failure to meet the socio-economic and political needs of Nigeria and particularly that of its overwhelming citizens. Now the country is on the verge of plunging downwards as the export price of oil plummets, not only does this undermine much of Nigeria's income, it also means even more vicious infighting within the ruling class as they fight to loot a smaller cake.
Given the failure of governance and attendant debilitating socio-economic situation faced daily by the working masses, the prevailing mood suggests a mass apathy towards the 2015 elections. This indicates that the elections will be characterized by massive vote buying and electoral rigging. Most unfortunately, for the vast majority of Nigerians that are and will continue to bear the brunt of the unfolding capitalist nightmare, the trade unions and the mis-named Labour Party lack the vision and capacity to proffer a working peoples alternative that can bring permanent respite.
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND
If it is held, the elections will be taking place against the background of unprecedented economic and political crisis and destabilization. Since the return to civil rule in 1999, the socio-economic infrastructures of the country at both federal and state levels are currently in the worst possible conditions. The ruling capitalist elites across board have virtually left the roads and highways within the states and interstate levels in the most horrific conditions possible. This partly is of course a reflection of the fact that most important government officials and private business elites no longer usually travel on these roads and highways.
Usually, at the approach of elections, some of these roads particularly those in the central cities are usually "repainted" and merely patched. As we write, the elections are less than 90 days away and most of the inter-state and states roads across the country are in horrific condition without any visible plans or indications that this can get the usual cosmetic repairs before the impending elections. These despicable conditions were what prevailed when Nigeria's main source of incomes crude oil export was selling at between $100 and $125 per barrel. Working class and youth activists need not to wonder too much to contemplate the prodigious deterioration of the presently feeble level of infrastructures which Nigeria's rapacious capitalist looters will inflict on Nigeria and its people in the wake of the unfolding fall in crude oil price.
The education sector remains in conditions of massive under-development and primitivity with inadequate decent, well funded education institutions to cater for the needs of the overwhelming proportion of Nigerians. Nigeria though, Africa's top oil producer, has an estimated 64million of the adult population as illiterates. In the 2014 West African School Certificate Examinations, only 31.5% of the pupils that wrote the exams passed five subjects including English and Mathematics. Over 10 million school age children are completely out of schools and at the same time not learning any vocation. Education commercialization has reached an abominable peak with federal and state governments imposing outrageous school fees beyond the earnings of most Nigerians. Despite this, hundreds of thousands of graduates of different levels of education are permanently without jobs.
The ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) at federal level with the acquiescence of all the so-called opposition parties and the leaderships of the trade unions, completely privatized public electricity services. The story sold to the public was that privatization of this service would bring the fastest means of developing the sector. One year after privatization, electricity generation and distribution remains as terrible as they were before privatization. Recently, one of President Jonathan's ministers stated that Nigeria's households need an estimated 60,000 megawatts for regular supply of estimated 29million households at average consumption of one megawatt for 500 homes.
Meanwhile, government propagandists recently celebrated the fact that Nigeria has re-attained the production level of 4,000 megawatts. This miserable figure compared with estimated needs - was claimed after the federal government has just handed over additional sum of N213billion to the private electricity company out of which about N36.9billion was meant to settle gas debt. At the same time, agitations among the ruling capitalist elites within and outside government is currently at a peak to totally hand over Nigeria's oil resources to capitalist corporations allegedly to guarantee gas supply needed to fast drive generation of electricity. This plot is expected to be consummated with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which is supported by all the capitalist parties and politicians together with their coattails the Trade Unions hierarchy.
As recent analysts claimed, 43.3% of Nigerians live in dire poverty while 2.7millions of Nigerian children were not immunized against measles in 2013. All these horrific features prevail despite the fact that Nigeria earns a huge sum of $40billion from oil exports within a period of 6 months this year.
The post elections era cannot be expected to produce a better socio-economic climate. As a matter of fact, Okonjo Iweala, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, recently announced that Nigerians should expect tougher times ahead. About this same time, states commissioners of finance across the country i.e. of both the PDP and so-called opposition parties, recently told the media that "We have agreed subsidy should go so that we can have the money and each of the states can plan more on how best to apply the subsidy". No one needs to be an expert in economics to know that these statements from Okonjo Iweala and states Finance Commissioners portend greater hardship for the overwhelming majority of Nigerians in form of more vicious anti-poor policies including possible fuel price hike.
Obviously timed until after the election when they will unleash more starvation economic policies on the masses who will be expected to pay for the shortfall in oil revenues.
We need a govt that will invest millions on people like this, because Nigerians are very competent when encouraged and placed in the right environment. Can you imagine the technological advancement that we could make as a nation if we had a govt that actively funded people like this.
Fulaman198: I really like this, I'm very proud of you my brother. I think Senegal is doing it the right way. They are starting to ban French in favour of Wolof even though they are also a multi-ethnic nation. They are proud to be Africans, not wannabes
thanks bros and merry xmas, hope you had a good one.
musicwriter: That lecturer is absolutely correct!. But, not only will our languages go into extiction, Africa risks being re-colonized in the next 100 years, if something is not done now to reverse this urgly trend. I told someone here already.
Africa has already been re-colonised - read up about USAFRICOM
CSTR: What has oprah done in Nigeria? All her investments and charity foundations are in SA. Yes alakija is a corrupt fool, but oprah is not Nigeria's friend either.
Alakija is a Nigerian and should be held to account by fellow Nigerians for her ill-gotten wealth, Oprah on the other hand is an American and owes Nigerians nothing.
Just to add - the wealth of South Africa is owned by white owned corporations and the black politicians are given crumbs so I can understand Oprah helping out there, the wealth of Nigeria is also owned by white owned corporations but the corrupt Nigerian politicians have greater access to oil revenues than their black counterparts in South Africa.
korexdodo: It is good for nigerian languages to die, because language is the main cause of our problems as a nation. True it is a heritage from our fathers, but it only butreses our differences as anation and tends to divide us and make us see each other as different from us. It was the cause of the civil war,cos if Ironsi had been overthrown by another Ibo man their would have been no war,but being overthrown by the hausas, the Ibos saw them as different from themselves. Lets copy the Americans, they are from all corners of the earth with different languages, but chose to speak only 1 language ,which is English. Thats why Americans unit more than other countries in the world.
Language is what gives people their identity without a common language you have no sense of cultural identity or oneness. I'm not going to bother responding to what you said about Ironsi because it is pure trash but your comments about the US are a complete joke.
Are you aware of how the US came into existence? Are you aware of the fact that the American settlers are originally from England? Are you aware that they (the settlers) fought a bitter war of independence with their former colonial masters the british? Are you aware that the settlers in the north then went on to fight a civil war with the settlers in the south ?
KazukiIto: That's because it is niqqah! Wole Soyinka didn't win a Nobel with pej. Our languages are inferior. Ur post is clearly written in English abi?
No, you are inferior because you look down on yourself, your culture and your language.
What is the big deal about the NObel prize, does it put food on your table?
How many white people read Wole Soyinka's books? Come to think of it how many Nigerians read and understand Wole Soyinka's books?
My post is written in English not because I love to speak the language but because I am a victim of colonialism.
If I had my way English language would be banned in Nigeria and I would overhaul the educational system so that the young ones coming up would start learning to develop pride in being African.
shilees: Some parents even wants their children to speak multiple languages but with the exception of our local languages, they would rather go for French,German,Spanish,Manderin etc.. It Is so sad.
The indigenous people of those countries can not stand black people. So if those misguided Nigerian parents like they can continue setting up their children for rejection from those groups of people.
How many white people speak African languages, how many white people give their children African names?
who concluded that African children are being educated to feel inferior to other races. Refusing to teach Africans in their native language is the major reason why African languages are dying. According greater status to the language of your slave master than your own native language is a clear cut sign that you feel inferior to other races and majority of Nigerians believe that their native language is inferior to the language of their slave master. Also African culture is dying courtesy of our media which continues to allow western culture to infiltrate and overtake our own culture. Many Nigerians worship anything that comes from the west and despise their own culture, if we do not reverse this situation our languages and culture will be dead by the next century.
extremelygolden: Comon man, read between lines and stop being so abusive. We're in 21st Century, so don't behave as if you were left behind in 19th Century. Be a gentleman in your approach. You can still make your opinion known in a courtegous way.
Yes, we're in the 21st century where nations invest millions in educating their populace, making great technological advancements and propelling their nations to greater and greater heights but in backward primitive Nigeria fools like you applaud a common who.re who has made zero contribution to the upliftment of her nation and people - shame on you!
Chukwugekwu: shut up and appreciate something good for once in your life
Fck off you dumb sycophant.
what is good about a woman who has made zero contribution to the economic growth of NIgeria, a woman who became a multi millionaire simply from lying on her back and servicing your politicians?
A prosti.tute could rule over you dingbats and you would still be licking her ar.se as long as she is rich, you people are a disgrace to the black race.
Can you imagine what the US would look like if former presidents had handed out big chunks of oil rich land in Texas to their mistresses and sycophants?
To answer your questions. She was a very good fashion designer when someone introduced her to Mariam Babangida of blessed memory. Mariam Babangida has always being a very beautiful woman, but her fashion designer helped brought out all the beauties out of her. It was natural that she introduced her fashion designer to her husband who was then the Head of State because IBB would have been so impressed with the appearance of his wife anytime she steps out in those beautiful well-tailored wears. And in appreciation, IBB (who ran a chop-I-chop government), generously gave her an Oil Bloc (which she later registered as Famfa Oil) as he gave to others and because God has decided to favour Alakija, her Oil Bloc turned out to be the best among the others.
She didn't acquire her wealth as any rich man's mistress, she acquired it from God's divine favour. She simply met the right people at the right time, my dear.
So you think its normal for a president to give out an oil bloc as a present to a seamstress simply because she made nice clothes for his wife? You need to be checked into a psychiatric institution asap. With people like you in abundance in Nigeria there is simply no hope for Nigeria.
How did she get to this position, through hard work? CAPITAL NO.
She was a who.re for the Nigerian cabal of looters, she deserves zero respect or accolades but knowing s.tupid sycophantic wanna be Nigerians many of you will kiss the ground she walks on - fools! Many of you will remain fools till you enter the grave.
Politics › Re: President Jonathan Leaves Airplane Behind His Wife (Photo) by cap28: 8:57pm On Jan 01, 2015
