₦airaland Forum

All Hail the First Lady!
She has done it again. Directives has been given and its been announced over the Radio and TV station that all shops and businesses on Warri Sapele road be shut down simply because the Queen of Nigeria (Dame Patience Jonah) is coming to open a shop most probably, belonging to one of her friends. Not a shopping mall, but just one shop. Forgetting that Warri Sapele is a strong business part of the town with about 20 banks on its way.

This is not right, this madness should be stopped. Please re-broadcast to let the world know we are not happy with this actions coming from the Office of the First Lady each time she goes out.

God Bless Warri,
God Bless Delta,
God Bless Nigeria.

Crappy United

This topic has over spent its time on top of the front page, it seems seun and mukina re busy with extra NL affairs.

How will insulting fashola and Mr Globe's place of birth (you mentioned orphanage) going to help your cause.

texazzpete: You jealous?

All the doctors have asked is a reasonable payment scheme. Is it REALLY absurd to pay a Doctor 200k monthly in Lagos State? A doctor that sees an average of 50 patients daily? A doctor that spends his day immersed in disease, death, HIV patients, TB etc? Someone who spent 6 years in School + 1 year housemanship?

Is it so BAD for a doctor to expect to recieve some tax breaks for his service to humanity?

You folks are quick to insist that doctors owe a service to humanity. What do Nigerians owe them in return? Can you point to any landlord who has voluntarily given someone a discount upon producing his medical license?


Greedy Nigerians always want to TAKE, nothing in you to GIVE. I blame the rise of the new generation churches for this mindset.

Nobody is saying these doctors doesn't deserve a better working condition, but using the life of sick patients as bargaining chip amounts to taking their gross to a dangerous end.

texazzpete: You jealous?

All the doctors have asked is a reasonable payment scheme. Is it REALLY absurd to pay a Doctor 200k monthly in Lagos State? A doctor that sees an average of 50 patients daily? A doctor that spends his day immersed in disease, death, HIV patients, TB etc? Someone who spent 6 years in School + 1 year housemanship?

Is it so BAD for a doctor to expect to recieve some tax breaks for his service to humanity?

You folks are quick to insist that doctors owe a service to humanity. What do Nigerians owe them in return? Can you point to any landlord who has voluntarily given someone a discount upon producing his medical license?


Greedy Nigerians always want to TAKE, nothing in you to GIVE. I blame the rise of the new generation churches for this mindset.

Nobody is saying these doctors doesn't deserve a better working condition, but using the life of sick patients as bargaining chip amounts to taking their gross to a dangerous end.

This crises is far from over.

nakedall: where this man get 300+ doctors right away? or na those sabo among dem?

Not all doctors accepts the methods used by their egg heads in pursuing their cause.

12 inches!:
God bless you....You spoke like a true professional...KNOWLEDGE IS PASSED DOWN BY HANDS not thru books...If it is right to sack all consultants and residents and replace them with new doctors, God will judge. That is why it's called a teaching hospital...A hospital where doctors work and learn... Illiteracy is not good ooo... You sack a doctor with 30 yrs experience and replace with a new doctor....That is a big joke...Rather than sack the doctors he should av negotiated...That is bad leadership. Who suffers...The patient... I cn remember wen I wanted to do an operation. My dad with over 30 years of experience took me to a more senior colleague to do the operation because he thot that person could do it better...That is experience...You don't read experience inside textbook...I'm sorry to say that this will not work because professionalism thrives on continuity.

Its wrong to conclude that these newly recruited Doctors are incompetent without seeing their credentials.

12 inches!:
God bless you....You spoke like a true professional...KNOWLEDGE IS PASSED DOWN BY HANDS not thru books...If it is right to sack all consultants and residents and replace them with new doctors, God will judge. That is why it's called a teaching hospital...A hospital where doctors work and learn... Illiteracy is not good ooo... You sack a doctor with 30 yrs experience and replace with a new doctor....That is a big joke...Rather than sack the doctors he should av negotiated...That is bad leadership. Who suffers...The patient... I cn remember wen I wanted to do an operation. My dad with over 30 years of experience took me to a more senior colleague to do the operation because he thot that person could do it better...That is experience...You don't read experience inside textbook...I'm sorry to say that this will not work because professionalism thrives on continuity.

Its wrong to conclude that these newly recruited Doctors are incompetent without seeing their credentials.

allycat: Oh and for those asking what will happen if the new doctors go on strike ? The answer is foreign docs whom they will pay higher salaries and them justify privatising the health sector. Already they have started The BT diagnostic lab( BT stands for Bola Tinubu) inside LASUTH is a 'state of the art' laboratory/ diagnostic centre in the hospital. The prices for investigations there more than double those in the hospital labs. The staff of the centre are paid almost double what other staff in the hospital are paid. And while that place thrives, the hospitals labs and Xrays department have been left to rot.
From January this year the theatre in LASUTH has had problems with electricity so surgeries have been cancelled or postponed and most surgeons there were frustrated. Not so for the CCU, a private ward with it's own theatre and ICU run by a certain Dr Tinubu. If you have the cash you can get any surgery done there for a minimum of about 300k. Presnsently while the rest of the hospital is groaning under the lack of bed space they are building a 3 storey structure for CCU. This is where government officials are usually admitted when they have problems before being flown out of the country.
That will be the fate of LAGOS state health services.

Had the Doctors gone on strike to protest these issues you raised they would have garnered enough public sympathy and the storey today would have been different, instead they rather sacrifice their sick patients in the alter of negotiation.

ayox2003: May His soul Rest in Peace.
But blame not the Doctors. Its because of Govt's insincerity.

You think the govt is solely responsible for the problems in the society?

gregg2: Fashola just demonstrated gross incompetence in Crisis Management.

I beg to disagree, credit should be given to fashola for bringing to an end strike called upon by radical union leaders by not succumbing to blackmail.

ayox2003: Whats normalcy in this situation?
You sacked 788 and replaced them with 373....is this normalcy/normal??
Is it because he and his children doesnt receive medical attention in any of these hospitals?? 788-373= 405. So how would 373 fill the space of 788? Even 373 x 2 = 746...thats if its in ratio 1:2.
Fashola is crazy!
And some NLers are speaking trash here. Fashola didnt implement the agreement and your saying s:h:i:t. Well, the people will ALWAYS suffer and God knows the number of the same NLers in those hospitals rightnow. Not the Doctors; Not Fashola.
For The Nation newspaper, no wonder their workers are always man-handled. Normalcy my foot.

Forget the arithmetic of the sacked and replaced doctors cos the recruitment is ongoing, that Govt didn't completely implement the agreement it reached with Doctors is not enough reason for them to abandon their sick patients in their time of need.

Ekwy Omalicha: So what happens if tomorrow these ones threaten Lagos state with strike action? May be Fashola and co ‘ll then recruit student doctors……..very soon our Lagos hospitals will be flooded with quacks.

Wings don't grow overnight, be rest assured that when LASG is done with this restructuring, there won't be strike in Lagos State by medical practitioners in the next 5yrs or more.

The victim here are the sick patients abandoned by their supposed care givers, and this should serve as a lesson to members of trade unions that wouldn't want to join their union in embarking on senseless strikes called by their ever radical union leaders.

gregg2: I'm very surprise at the reaction of some folks here.

If GEJ ever tried doing what Fashola just did, these same ACN
and their cronies including expired analyst seeking relevance
will manipulate the media to chew him raw.

We should put ourselves in the shoes of those Doctors. How does one
rationalise broken agreement on the part of the Lagos State government.
For God's sake, these Dictors are not more greedy than our University lecturers (ASUU)
and the Federal Govt has been managing them over the years.

Funny still how The Nation Newspaper applies every logic to rationalise
evil actions of South West governors except Ondo.

This just confirms the believe that no individual or group is indispensable.

LAGOS – The Federal Government’s inability to pay suppliers of the 2,500 high capacity buses it ordered as a palliative measure to cushion the effect of the January increment in fuel pump price may soon cause untold hardship for commuters nationwide as the automobile companies have threatened to withdraw their vehicles from the operators of the government mass assisted scheme.
Six automobile companies including National Truck Manufacturers, (NTM); Tata Motors, VON Automobiles (Ashok Leyland); ANAMMCO (Mercedes) Globe Motors (Hyundai and Toyota) and Elizade Motors (Toyota) were contracted by the government to supply the high capacity vehicles valued at over N15 billion through a letter by the Urban Development Bank on January 8, 2012.
But five months after, the automobile company were yet to be paid for the first batch of the supply of 1250 units of buses valued at N8.9 billion, a development which has necessitated the suppliers to threaten to withdraw all the buses pending when the government shall pay.
A source told Vanguard, that the suppliers had perfected plans to retrieve the vehicle from operators of the government mass assisted scheme soon to recover the huge debt.
According to the source, the suppliers planned to withdraw the vehicles and park them in the bank warehouses pending the payment by the government.
It further stated that the next batch of supply of 1250 units has been put on hold as a result of the huge debt.
He said: “As I speak with you now, we are groaning under high bank interest rate and may close shops as a result of government’s refusal to pay the debt. We have discontinued further supply of the remaining 1250 units and may consider the option of suing the government to recover our money.
“When government invited us to supply the buses they gave us only two days to do so and we borrowed at a very high bank interest rate thinking thatthe government would live up to its promise to pay in good time. But five months down theline, the ministries of Finance and Investment are yet to contact us.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/auto-firms-threaten-to-withdraw-palliatives-buses-over-huge-debt/

The quest for potable water by an NYSC member, Miss Chibuzor Azubuike, during an assignment at Bigi village, Bauchi State, has spurred her into drilling the first bore hole in the village.
Azubuike said at the inauguration of the bore hole onTuesday that she was touched by the plight of the community and therefore decided to do something.
"We went in search of news in the village when I started feeling thirsty. I tried to quench my thirst, unfortunately, the only sources of water in the village were wells. I immediately made up my mind to do something about their plight."
The corps member who served at the Bauchi State Television, said that helping the rural community had made her to feel fulfilled.
The Village Head of Bigi, Mr Wakili Boyi , commended her initiative, adding that the people would remember her fora long time to come.
According to him, her foresight has provided a lasting solution to the problem of water scarcityin the village.
Boyi, however, appealed to the state government to provide the people with additional sources of potable water, as well as maternity clinic and access road.
The General Manager, Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RUWASSA) Alhaji Babaji Magaji, said that the current administration in the state was determined to improve the living condition of the rural populace.
"The present administration is highly committed to reducing by 50 per cent, the proportion of people in the state without access to potable water supply by the year 2015 in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals.’’
Magaji commended the corps member for her initiative, adding that it marked a turning point in the lives of the people.
Azubuike also donated 20 sets of school uniforms to some primary school pupils in the village.

http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161814:nysc-member-drills-bore-hole-for-bauchi-community&catid=1:news&Itemid=2

Its safe as long as your system is not compromised.

Wallie: Doctors cannot just go on strike and if they do, then they should be fired!

If they want to go on strike, they should have taken adequate measures to take care of the critically ill. Doctors are not like most other employees because some of them literally hold lives in their hands! Once a life is lost, it can never be regained!

If the doctors have grievances, they should find a way of protesting without putting patients life at risk. For example, they could decline to provide any non-emergency care but they all can’t just take off their coats knowing fully well that some people will die!

If Lagos State is not paying them what they want, why can’t they just quit and go somewhere else that pays better? It’s not like their movement is being restricted. If nobody else would pay them better, then the supply of doctors must be more than demand.

What do you think I would do if my loved one that had an emergency surgery scheduled died because the doctor to perform the surgery decided to join the strike? The doctor better run!

Unions do serve a purpose but I think they’ve outlived their usefulness in the 21st century because they cause more harm than good. They will twist your arm into agreeing to pay something you cannot afford. See the US auto workers if you have any doubt! When the whole industry collapsed, didn’t they forgo all the benefits, healthcare, pension and salary wages that they bargained for over the last few decades?

By the way, I’m not arguing that doctors are being paid enough but merely stating that they just cannot stop coming to work! Period.

God bless you, the drs failed to apply common sense while embarking on their incessant strike. It would have been more appropriate if they had withdrawn their services partially without abandoning patients in critical condition.

BENIN — TWO medical personnel attached to the Federal Government’s Irrua Specialist Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, have been arraigned before an Ekpoma Magistrate Court for allegedly raping a 25-year-old woman, after allegedly injecting her with a substance.
The accused persons, Dr. Ndukwe Kalu, a Pharmacist and Eriyo Omoregie, a medical doctor, were accused of raping and assaulting the woman, at Ebhokhuala Quarters of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.
Police prosecutor, Mr. Nicholas Ogbadu, told the court that theaccused persons conspired among themselves to rape, raped and assaulted the woman in breach of section 355 of the Criminal Code of thedefunct Bendel State, also applicable in Edo State.
The victim while narrating her ordeal before the court, alleged that Dr. Omoregie lured her to his abode at Ebhoakhuala on February 29, 2012 with a promise to help her secure a job at the teaching hospital.
Oblivious of his intention, she told the court that she went to his house with an application letter as requested by the medical doctor, whom she had worked for in the past.
She added that in the process of delivering the letter, Dr. Kaluemerged from one of the rooms in the house and held her hands, during which time Dr. Omoregie injected her with a substance, adding that having succeeded in weakening her, Dr. Kalu allegedly raped her.
She also alleged that she sustain bruises on her face during the initial struggle, as they tried to cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge, while the trial magistrate adjourned the case till May 30, 2012 for further hearing.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/doctor-pharmacist-docked-for-rape-in-edo/

I don't attend pity parties.

God forsaken nation

@al boko harem, go hug transformer

Great move

Written by Mohammad QaddamSidq Isa

The sustained call for conveningsovereign national conference SNC, by a growing number of particularly southern Nigerian elites seems to have created a crack on the hitherto uncompromising opposition from their northern Nigerian counterparts. This is quite evident in the statement/warning issued by The Arewa Elders Forum which clearly maintains that “The North shall no longer shy away from any dialogue or conference to negotiate the future of a united Nigeria, or even a divided Nigeria if that is the wish of its various component parts.”
This statement/warning effectively implies northern Nigeria’s readiness to renegotiate the terms of Nigeria’s corporate existence with the other components of the federation, as it also confirms its readiness to go on its own if need be.
Interestingly enough, I have never heard such a “bold” statement from an influential northern elite’s forum before. Ordinarily one would expect that, by issuing such statement,the north has finally found a panacea to all its predicaments,hence does not necessarily need Nigeria anymore in order to survive or thrive. After all, a Hausa proverb says “In kaji makaho yace ayi wasan jifa, to dutse ya taka” which means “whenever a blind dares to engage you in stone-pelting he must have stepped on one.
This is particularly interesting considering its introductory assertion maintaining that, the decision was taken upon the receipt of what it called “harmonized reports of its committees on the state of insecurity and socio-political issues in Northern Nigeria”, which presumably means it wasarrived upon after due consultation and deliberation.
Though, the statement may not necessarily represent the voice of the north, it nonetheless represents a considerable voicein view of the calibre of the 194 eminent elders who issued it. Even though, I admit that, despite being a northerner; a core northerner for that matter,I don’t precisely know which forum, amongst the many forums claiming to be championing the northern interests, exactly represents the voice of the north.
Anyway, notwithstanding whether northern Nigeria wouldbe better off or not under a divided Nigeria, I would love to know the yardsticks used by such committees whose harmonized reports informed the decision taken by the elders. This is even though I should have firstly questioned the moral right of the majority of the forum members in issuing such statement in the name of the north, in the first place, in view of their previous roles in creating and sustaining the very predicament that has metamorphosed into such a terrible mess and indeed warns of an overwhelming doom, if care is not taken.
Likewise, I doubt the competence and/or the objectivity of the so-called committees’ members whose reports were harmonized by theelders to issue such statement. They hardly if at all employed scientific methods to generate necessary socio-economic figures and other relevant political, demographic and territorial factors while preparing their reports.
I am sure if they had followed that method properly, they would have concluded that, the region is (notwithstanding its potentials) presently too poor economically to sustain itself, too disharmonious socially to coexist peacefully, too divergent politically to adopt a generally acceptable political framework, yet ironically too interwoven territorially to allow for definite territorial demarcation.
Also, I really wonder if they had considered the simple fact that, without the monthly allocations for the federal government, even Kano state which is probably the richest state in theregion, can’t presently generatesufficient revenue to cover evenhalf of its recurrent expenditure, let alone deliver any developmental project. Thisis even though its expenditure does not include funding of security agencies, which are obviously under the federal government.
This by implication means that, under the current circumstances, should Nigeria disintegrate, Kano would not only grind to a halt, but would probably slide into chaos, and itis obvious the same scenario applies to the entire region indeed.
It is therefore quite obvious that, those northern elders were motivated by sheer emotion borne out of frustrationover their southern counterparts’ persistent accusation against them that they are mere parasites feedingoff the sweat of others. And though in as much as such accusation is indeed frustrating,it should not elicit such miscalculated reaction, which will definitely affect millions of people.
Having said that, I am not necessarily advocating for the continuation of the status-quo under any circumstances, instead I simply insist that, sucha statement is too important to be adopted that way, because after all its implication is capable of affecting the strategic interests of the whole region.
I therefore implore our northernelders to be realistic when addressing an issue as important as renegotiating Nigeria’s terms of corporate existence under the current circumstances. First of all, let them provide a tangible fallbackin the region i.e. instantly exploitable resources and othersustainable developmental potentials capable of filling up the economic vacuum to be inevitably created when the country is divided.
This is particularly important considering the fact that, they would be the least affected people (if ever they would be affected) in the aftermath of thecountry’s premature disintegration, because they have the necessary exposure and means to seek and secure asylum for themselves and theirimmediate families in any country of their wish, thereby abandoning their people to theirfate.
I would love to believe that, such statement/warning was anApril fool joke, which they mighthave forgotten to release earlier in the month. Because after all, the whole issue of convening sovereign national conference has always been exploited by southern Nigerian elites to blackmail their northern Nigerian counterparts hence achieve their individual interests and indeed score cheap political goals, as I wrote in this column some weeks ago under the title of “The Hypocrisy in calls for Sovereign National Conference” (Daily Trust, Friday, February 24, 2012).
The reality is that, north is presently not ready for renegotiating Nigeria’s terms ofcorporate existence. As a matter of fact, it was ironically better off hence readier five decades ago than now. Incidentally, if the northern elites had maintained and developed Sardauna’s initiatives and projects e.g. the ultra ambitious, multifaceted sustainable developmental project of Northern Nigerian Development Corporation NNDC, the region would have by now been perhaps as industrial as South Korea, as peaceful as Singapore and as urban developed as Dubai.

http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=160844:norths-readiness-for-a-division-&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6

The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr.Mohammed Abubakar has said that the regular assault riffles being used by the force will soon be replaced with rubber bullets to fight crime.
Abubakar, who stated this during stakeholders meeting with representatives of variousstrata of the society including religious groups at the Police Zone 6 Command headquarters in Calabar, CrossRiver State, Thursday, also said the police and other security agencies will continue to work hard to arrest the activities of terrorist groups and other criminal elements in the country.
The IGP in the meeting attended by representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Muslim communities, the business community and youth groups from Cross River,Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Ebonyi states, said in order to make the police people friendly, it was imperative to introduce reforms that are in line with developments of the 21st century.
Abubakar said the proposed measure of using withdrawing assault rifles from roads and use of rubber bullets to fight crime was in line with world-best-practices, adding that the ban on road blocks across the country would continue all through his tenure.
“Very soon, the use of assault rifles will be off the roads. We would now be using rubber bullets if we are to fight crime and this is meant to disable criminals. The Police and the environment where they work should be people-friendly and Nigerians should feel comfortable when they approach a policeman or walk into the station.
“Road blocks are gone for good and what we will have now are patrol teams. The mounting of road blocks did a lot of damage to the image of the country and we must correct that. Road blocks had always been when armed robbers and kidnappers were operating freely and will be bribing them. This is the only country in the world where police mount check points using heavy drums and woods among others to block the road,” he said.
Abubakar also said that the Police had recently unveiled anInformation and Communication Technology centre in Abuja manned by 15 assistant inspector-generals that will be monitoring activities through cameras in major cities including Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna.
While stressing, however, that crime fighting could not be completely erased from the society, Abubakar said the Nigeria Police will continue to do all within its limit to reduce crime to the barest minimum.
He urged members of the public to always divulge sensitise information to the Police in order to nip the activities of criminals at the bud.
The acting IGP also said that reforming the Force had already commenced with the retraining of 20, 000 officers and men, pointing out that those identified as dead-wood would be shown the way out.
“The intention of the present administration in the Police is to build a Force that will protect Nigeria, provide safety her citizens and guaranty the unity of the country. I want to have the police that will not harass the citizens, a force thatNigeria will be proud of in the 21st century,” he said.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/police-to-withdraw-assault-rifles-introduce-rubber-bullets/

hercules07: Buhari will not serve under GEJ, he does not respect him enough for him to do that, also, BH is a PDP thing, how do you think GEJ will react when Buhari starts clamping those who supported him to jail?

Deliberate ignorance

Rot in jail