₦airaland Forum

I need someone to design a logo for me.contact me at frankgod02@gmail.com

I believe that we can overcome that in few years to come.It is now glaring to the Igbos that political power is necessary for economic success and prowess in a polarized state like Nigeria

Why is the rest of Nigeria always skeptical about an Igbo President? Why can't they be given a chance to turn things around? The other tribes have tried for 50 years with no result.

Cross River seems to be the sanest people living in Nigeria.They gave Nigeria a soon to emerge Abu Dhabi in the name of Tinapa.This is really good news.Unlike like Lagos that is evacuating baggers as if they are not Nigerians.I have always argued that when you stop Okada which I loathe,provide alternatives for the unemployed youths.Empowering 5,000 Okada men with taxes and buses is the best news I have heard from Nigeria since this present administration.

Igbo people are Hypocrites REALLY
It seems you people support PDP rigging, thuggery and forceful leadership as LONG AS ITS FOR AN IGBO PRESIDENT.

Every sane Nigerian is calling for full implementation of the UWAIS report for credible elections but the man in power thinks otherwise.So when an Igbo man gets there,we know how fearless we are we will implement it.

What if an igboman isnt voted for president in a free and fair election will it still explode?

Free and fair election? How? Are you not seeing with your inner eye that sick Yar'Adua is not interested in free and fair elections?
Nigeria must explode without Igbo Presidency in 2015.It is about identity as part and parcel of the republic.An Igbo man will implement true federation,grant the Niger Delta their wish and develop Nigeria.

I think that most people who are on nairaland maybe students who live on transfered payments and the few who can afford a laptop and internet connection.You need to live in the wider society and interact with hawkers,labourers and the unemployed so that you realize that Nigeria is a poor country.this is not western propaganda.it is real.

One of the major determinants of poverty is purchasing power. How many nigerians can afford brand new products if not the cheap junks china floods here. We are poor.accept it.In a population of 150million,say 10million are doing well is that progress.is it not stagnation.You want to know the parameter.There was a recent job test where 4000 where required,45,000 unemployed graduates wrote the exam whereas over 50,000 missed it.are these youths who are unemployed not poor.the thousands of criminals and militants we have today would not have existed.Do you live in Lagos take time and tour the nook and crannies of Lagos state.Plz if we will reject western figures,provide authentic ones from within not in the manner of INEC

This is unacceptable and not feasible.You are simply asking the nation to disunite.Nigeria will explode in 2015 if their is no Igbo presidency.Quote me.The militants have brought our leaders to their senses concerning the Niger Delta.A reconsideration of the membership of the Nigerian Federation by the Igbos in 2015 will be something else.

Dubai is in $60bn debt,what we want is Abu Dhabi

@bluetooth

In your comfortable country of over 150million population only about 10million are connected to the internet whats the percentage? less than 5%.Bluetooth,do you live in Mars.So you don't know that those who are eating the whole money are less than 1 percent of the population?

Delete the West from your submission! If you suggest that,you are insinuating that we are inferior.

@bluetooth

When Ojukwu went and greeted Saro wiwa good morning.He did not get the massage.Instead of praying for Yar'Adua demise or resignation,You want to stand up against a moving train.It will crush you.

Random sampling

If we talk about the small towns and villages,there will be problem

@kosovo

Travel to Lagos,Kaduna,Port harcourt.

Stand at the bustop and take a survey.2/3 of all those 18 million people living in lagos live in slums.Do you need more?

You may even arrive at more than 70%.This figure is official.Imagine official unemployment rate of Nigeria to be 5.something officially?

Who is the best man.Nigeria has been looking for that best man since 1960 and he has proved elusive.I am not saying that the present government should as a factor of rotational presidency not develop and advance this country for good.Just look at Yar'Adua,Sickness cut up with him while he was basking in the euphoria that he solved the Niger Delta problem.Albeit this solution is relative and temporary.Some problems of Nigeria do not need recommendation if they are done.When you are employed,do you expect your boss to thank you for the job he pays you for? Instead giving Nigerians a credible elections which is the basis of good governance,they are at the mischief again.Given Nigerians why they cannot full implement the UWAIS report.Let him conduct a referendum and find out the opinion of Nigerians.

Let me say this,however US was developed,the blacks did not have a sense of belonging until the assumed the presidency of the United States in the person of Obama. So is the plight of Ndi Igbo,one of the tripods of Nigeria,Is wazobia no more existent.

@ndu_chucks

Read this news from Daily Independent today.

Succession Intrigues : Don’t Count On Us, M’Belt Tells North

•President’s Absence Stalls Deregulation, PIB

By Terna Doki (Makurdi) and Adeola Yusuf (Lagos)

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole (right); and Igbinedion University Chancellor, Gabriel Igbinedion; at the convocation of the university in Okada, Edo State , at the weekend.

Northern hawks were told on Sunday not to count on the support of the Middle Belt in their quest to subvert the Constitution if it turns out that President Umaru Yar’Adua cannot continue in office.

Second Republic Communications Minister, Isaac Shaahu, who is the President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), described as insincere Northerners seeking the resignation of Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, in anticipation of Yar’Adua’s incapacitation by ill health.

He stated in an interview in Gboko that those who want to circumvent the Constitution are vultures and scavengers who should mind their scheming because Niger Delta militants are watching their steps.

“If the vultures and scavengers of the North stir any fight with any part of the country, the Middle Belt will not come in to fight for them. The Middle Belt will not be part of any trouble they start. We fought for them in the past, but we shall not do it again,’’ Shaahu warned.

He advised them to allow wise counsel to prevail by abiding with the law on succession.

However, he maintained that Yar’Adua’s sickness does not warrant his resignation, because Nigeria is not the first country to have a sick President.

Shaahu blamed the country’s predicament on former President Olusegun Obasanjo, “Who knew that Yar’Adua was sick yet imposed him on the people, so as to create room for a Southerner to take over.

“It was Obasanjo’s design that a President of Northern extraction should not last more than six months on the seat. But since he did not consult with God first, Yar’Adua is still moving, to his very surprise.”

Shaahu said if Nigerians are not courageous enough to jail Obasanjo “for the atrocities he committed while in Aso Rock, God will unfailingly take Obasanjo back to prison.”

He argued that the only way Nigeria can be free from trouble is to imprison Obasanjo, expressing fears that the country is heading towards full destruction as everything has gone bad.

Yar’Adua’s ill heath may compel Abuja to shift the dates for the deregulation of the oil industry and the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Both were anticipated before the end of the year, but a source said at the weekend that “his ill health has halted progress on them.”

Although the National Assembly (NASS) has concluded plans to pass the PIB into law, it has to be delayed until Yar’Adua returns from Saudi Arabia, the source explained, because his assent cannot be obtained at the moment.

The Petroleum Ministry is also nervous about announcing deregulation behind his back, with the source noting that Labour “has threatened a show down with the government over deregulation, and everybody is being careful not to cause anything that could destabilise the country in the absence of the President.”

Oil marketers have, however, alerted that Abuja plans to announce deregulation at a time Nigerians least expect.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, disclosed last month that the refineries in Warri and Kaduna could resume operations this month, which analysts speculate could mean deregulation before December 31.

“The assurance we have from various meetings with government representatives is that deregulation will come before the end of this year, and it will come when it is least expected,” warned Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Mosimi Depot Chairman, Adebisi Bada.

He asked IPMAN members to prepare for deregulation “any moment from now,” and cautioned them against fuel hoarding because Abuja is “looking for scapegoats for the policy.”

Bada said the IPMAN will not defend any member caught hoarding.

The Warri Refinery refines 125,000 barrels per day (bpd), and the Kaduna Refinery 110,000 bpd.

Though the government hopes to finish repairs on the two refineries this month, their combined refining capacity cannot satisfy domestic consumption of 30 million litres per day.

“The Chanomi creek pipelines are still bad. Once they are repaired, we are told that by the middle of December crude will go to Warri and Kaduna,” Ajumogobia told reporters on November 18.

In the mean time, Mosimi depot is running short of fuel and this has shifted major loading operation to private depots in Apapa, Lagos.

Bada confirmed the shortage at Mosimi, which he said plays a vital role in fuel distribution nationwide.

His words: “The Mosimi depot, which is under system 2B is the most strategic because it serves the depots in Ibadan, Ilorin, Ore, and others. But at the moment, loading at the depot is very tight.

“We were getting about three million litres on daily basis before; now, our members load in Apapa due to the fact that we get insufficient volume from Mosimi.

“Out of the little that Mosimi can serve is being given to the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) mega stations, while part of that is also being used for bridging.”

He blamed the uncertainty of the date of deregulation for the panic buying of fuel, which has led to shortage in some states.

However, the lull in violence in the Niger Delta has enabled workers to begin repairs on the Chanomi pipeline, which has been attacked by militants in the past.

The two refineries in Port Harcourt are currently in operation with a capacity of about 210,000 bpd.

Nigeria’s four refineries have a nameplate capacity of 445,000 bpd but have never operated at that level.

And even if they operate at full capacity, they would produce only a fraction of the needs of Africa’s most populous country of 140 million people.

Refinery outages caused mainly by mismanagement and sabotage force the country to depend on fuel imports for domestic consumption.

“Once the refineries are working we will reduce our importation by about 40 per cent,” Ajumogobia said.

Despite vying with Angola as Africa’s top oil producer, Nigeria imports 18 million litres of petrol a day or some 85 per cent of its needs.

Fuel subsidy, which Yar’Adua has promised to abolish, costs Abuja N45 billion each month, Ajumogobia added.

@paddy_lo

nigerians are happy,let them live their lives

Your profile says that you are in Philadelphia. Why are you there?
Come back and live in your country.You need to come to Lagos and realize that everyone wakes up enraged before hitting the streets!

@paddy_lo

What is the per capita income of US and Nigeria?
Do you have middle class in Nigeria?

@citizenY

The Igbos are more democartic than all other tribes in Nigeria.All that will not emerge.

@ndu_chucks

We need John Nash(the maths professor of games theory portrayed in the movie the beautiful mind) to come and solve the present political equation.How I wish TB Joshua will seeinto our future! We are not sure that Yar'Adua will finish his tenure.It is only providence that will see him thru.Surely Nigerians will be the greatest foolish people to have ever inhibited this planet to elect him for a second tenure if he survives this one.If he eventually serves out his tenure,another president of Northern origin will emerge and that will be dangerous for Ndi Igbo.If he is strong he will perpetuate himself for eight years as the norm of 2nd tenure in democratic nations for consolidation of his policies. that is one premise.If Yar'Adua resigns,Goodluck takes over and,

poor is performing below expectation.living below standard.

Its funny to hear that the some elements in the North want to subvert the constitution.They are putting pressure on VP to resign.If I talk about rotational presidency,critics will quickly resort to the fact that it is not enshrined in the constitution.Why not tell it to the north now.I for see the north being the one to disunite this nation,whereas they are the one that needs the republic more than any other member of this republic.I will continue to shout and scream to Nigerians and the whole world that 2015 is the time of Ndi Igbo to occupy the exalted seat in Aso Rock provided Nigeria remains united till then.Their is no reason why it should not be so.Some will say that 2015 is five years away,yes.Its not a crime to start early to get this massage into the medulla obulagata of all Nigerians.It is enough time to warn all those pundits of other ethnic tribe and all those coward sellout of Igbo extraction.Any deviation from this will amount to the unthinkable.1966 was a preamble.2015 will be decisive.

I vote for 21 years imprisonment without option of fine and ban to participate in future elections for electoral offences. Nigerian citizens will be scared of disrupting elections. Full implementation of UWAIS report so that we can evolve a better society.

Why are over 70% of Nigerians poor?

A plan by the doctors treating President Umaru Yar‘Adua to transfer him to a hospital in the United States of America when his condition did not improve after nine days in the hospital‘s Intensive Care Unit has been shelved.

A staff of the hospital who spoke to our source, a journalist with a newspaper in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, described the condition of the President at the time as ”extremely serious.”

”He was in intensive care all day yesterday (Monday) and plans were being made to fly him to the best cardiologists in the United States.

”His condition was extremely serious yesterday. He was given several types of medication to decrease the swelling. He was not able to speak and his wife was the only one permitted to see him,” the source said.

The information, which Saturday Punch, received during the week put a lie to the claim by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aandoakaa, that they had been communicating with the President

The source said though the President‘s condition was not as critical as it was earlier, he had been transferred from the ICU to the VIP suite where his doctors were monitoring him in order to decide what to do.

”Today he is in the VIP unit of the Cardiac Care Ward in King Faisal Hospital in Jeddah. He is in the VIP suite in stable condition under heavy security,” he said.

The source, who confirmed that the President was being treated for acute pericarditis, added that securing information about the President‘s condition was difficult as the hospital authorities had removed every information on his medical history from the hospital‘s computer system.

The source was however silent on whether the President had undergone surgery or not.

Meanwhile, a pressure group in the country, The Patriots, led by Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has challenged the Northern Union led by Dr. Olusola Saraki not to sacrifice constitutionalism for political expediency on the current sickness of President Umaru Yar‘Adua.

In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by the Chairman of the Northern Union, Chief Patrick Adaba, the group had warned that the stability of the country depended on the rotation of the office of the president.

It added that every nation had its own peculiarities, saying, ”It should be understood by those who love this country that one of such peculiarities upon which the unity and stability of our country is hinged is power rotation between the North and the South.”

But reacting to the statement on Friday, The Patriots said that all Nigerians should give the deserved respect to the express stipulations of the 1999 Constitution on serious national questions and issues like the current illness of President Umaru Yar‘Adua and the possibility of power succession in the country.

Secretary General of the Patriots and prominent Lagos-based lawyer, Chief Ladi Williams, SAN, also said in an exclusive interview with Saturday Punch in Abuja on Friday that the issue of succession in the country must be guided by the provisions of the constitution.

He said that it would be inappropriate for anybody to tend to sacrifice the constitution in preference for ethnic considerations.

Williams, who is a son of the late legal luminary, Chief FRA Williams, challenged those calling for power rotation in the country on the basis of an unwritten agreement of the Peoples Democratic Party to strive to include the concept of power rotation in the constitution in consonance with the position of President Yar‘Adua on the Rule of Law.

Williams said it was not proper for any group, be it from the North or South, to be canvassing power rotation along ethnic lines since the constitution was clear on the issue of succession.

He said that while the Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians, had joined others to pray for the President so that he could recover from the sickness to assume his responsibilities it would not encourage acts that negate the sanctity of the constitution.

He argued that the claim being made by the Northern Union and others on the issue of power rotation was unacceptable as it could not be preferred to the constitution whose position is supreme on any issue in the society.

He said, ”First of all let me say straight away that the Patriot wish Mr. President well and we wish him speedy recovery so that he can come back and continue with his mandate. However, any succession of power in this country must be guided by the provisions of the constitution.

“I would say that the major legacy that President Yar‘Adua has given this country is the strict adherence and implementation of the rule of law. Constitutionalism must not be sacrificed on the altar of ethnicity. If we want to amend the constitution to include rotation, we can do so at a later day. But at this point in time, the succession mechanism is already well-defined in the constitution.

“So there is no point whether it is northern union, southern union, eastern union, western union. Nigeria is bigger than all these groups. The constitution is supreme. We must learn to respect the provisions of our constitution.”

Williams said that Nigerians did not vote for the Northern Union but a joint presidential ticket of Yar‘Adua and Goodluck Jonathan which was offered by the ruling PDP.

“Remember, it is a joint PDP ticket. It is not a joint PDP/Northern Union ticket; the mandate we gave was for the party to govern. The Supreme Court itself has said that when we vote, we are voting for the party.

“We voted for the PDP, we did not vote for any Northern Union. And when I say we I don‘t mean I in particular, I mean Nigerians voted for the PDP, the joint ticket they presented to us is Yar‘ Adua and Jonathan,” he added

Similarly, Chief Olu Falae, a former Presidential Candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in the 1999 election said that those clamouring for power rotation between the North and South had missed the point.

He said there was no agreement between the North and South on the issue of power rotation and political succession that was binding on the Nigerian citizenry.

The politician who spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent also on Friday, said the issue of power rotation between the North and South might be an arrangement of the PDP which could not be said to be binding on Nigerians.

He warned that those clamouring for power rotation outside of the stipulations of the constitution were only committing acts inimical to the unity of the country.

You name sounds ibo and you dare say that you don't know soludo.I bet you are from haiti or antartica.where are you from? you prefer a difficult life.the best options have been presented to you and you want to waste peoples time.

Who says names don't have effect on the lives of individuals, Try bearing Goodluck Jonathan.

As a realist and pragmatic individual,Yar'Adua incapacitation is a good omen for the South South and Ndi Igbo. It is unfortunate that Nigeria is and has remained a mismatch. Those who contribute most to the republic are denied the opportunity to occupy the highest position of the country. This has been the lot of the south south and indeed the south-east who have at sometime in history reconsidered their membership of the union which ended up in a devastating civil war.

In the past 15 years we have indeed relied on the unseen to bring about positive changes in the life of this republic. We woke up one morning to hear that the bespectacled man was dead. They said he eat apple,but only God knows what he did eat that very day. In the manner of African leaders,Baba OBJ told the world that Nigerians wanted him for a third tenure,if it were possible,he would have said that we wanted him as a king for life but one way or the other,that dream did not come to past. He foisted a sick man on us who even though he has a good heart and good intentions lacks the needed energy and health to lead us. God is at work again. The cowards who inhibit Nigeria where only able to call for the resignation of this man when his health deteriorated so much whereas individuals like us made this call much earlier in the beginning of the month of November. Nigeria being the rogue state that it is, such voices cannot be heard.

One man's misfortune is another's fortune. Who says names don't have effect on the lives of individuals,Dr Goodluck Jonathan,the Vice-president is now the president in waiting. If it were possible to devise a political theory or constitution that will deny the VP the office of the president,power brokers would have quickly resorted to it. In the last few days,the uncertainty and power play of those individuals who believe that it is their inalienable right to occupy Aso Rock have been performing their roles. But it will amount to the unthinkable to get the VP president to resign. Thank God for recent developments. The presence of militant groups in the Niger Delta have made it virtual madness to insinuate or force the VP to resign. The attendant consequence would be disastrous and unprecedented,quote me.

The hand of God is at work again. The South south will not only contribute over 70% of our national budget since 1970,they are poised to produce the president in few days to come. This is why I consider it good news. I will also state that this will indeed be a wonderful opportunity for the south-south to make a paradigm shift in the way the development of our country has followed in the last 49 years by reviewing the structures and terms of our unity towards the rapid lifting our nation out of doldrums. Undoubtedly the north will want to return to power in 2011 but the political prowess of the south-south people will determine the direction the 2011 elections will follow. It is then I expect the MEND,JRC and all militant groups in the Niger Delta to realize that the presidency of this nation is the only key to the demands and aspiration as it obvious that they cannot get what they want which is their right without a violent struggle. The north will not want to plunge the country unto a civil war but will want a peaceful union given that they contribute almost nothing to the treasury. Ascendancy to the presidency by a south-south president in 2011 and rapid development of the nation will provide a very good chance for Ndi Igbo whose turn remains emphatically the year 2015 to lead the country. I will continue to state that 2015 is the strongest test of the unity of this nation. Some of us will not hesitate to take to insurgence if Ndi Igbo are denied the opportunity in 2015.We have nothing to lose. We have not gained either.

Recently Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has been preoccupied with defending the north on the notion that they are more to blame for the decay in Nigeria. It is glaring and not political and given the fact that the north has been in power more than two-third of the the period of our nationhood. I wonder if we have to put the blame on other countries,our colonial masters or the Nigerian people. A poll conducted by the Daily Independent recently has over 70% of the opinion suggesting that our leaders are responsible for the decay in our nation. So invariably those who have occupied the exalted seat are the cause of our problems and they are all northerners. Should we count them? Unless Sanusi can prove otherwise.

However,suffix me to say that the north is still contributing to that decay. How? Through Yar'Adua's obstinacy to lead Nigeria even from the state of coma.

@chidichris

you really have a sense of humour.i can't stop laughing.

In the past 15 years we have indeed relied on the unseen to bring about positive changes in the life of this republic. We woke up one morning to hear that the bespectacled man was dead. They said he eat apple,but only God knows what he did eat that very day. In the manner of African leaders,Baba OBJ told the world that Nigerians wanted him for a third tenure,if it were possible,he would have said that we wanted him as a king for life but one way or the other,that dream did not come to past. He foisted a sick man on us who even though he has a good heart and good intentions lacks the needed energy and health to lead us. God is at work again. The cowards who inhibit Nigeria where only able to call for the resignation of this man when his health deteriorated so much whereas individuals like us made this call much earlier in the beginning of the month of November. Nigeria being the rogue state that it is, such voices cannot be heard

@ jimmysho

yes i want to echo what Nigerians want to hear.let him rule us from coma.he is the thai king.we love him.Aso rock is his birthright.he should not resign.on the 9th of nov i advised him to resign. he proved stubborn and obstinate until the forces that are above him intervened.in ibo we use to say that if the ear does not hear,when the head is cut off it goes with it.let him stay there.nigeria is good at entering the world records in evil doing.this might just be another of those nigerian madness.

my problem? amidst wealth Nigerians are suffering.the sole cause is the leadership(Daily Independent polls confirmed this).My friend use to joke that Nigeria is a place where the rich suffers. if any reasonable Nigerian calls for change.he is vilified and asked to shot up.we prefer to suffer in silence.