₦airaland Forum

ThisisBuhari:
very very wrong choice, i tipped fayemi for ministries like Special duties, youth development or transport.

Why is that? Are you aware that Fayemi's doctorate from King'College was on War Studies, with specialization on civil-military relations. His research and policy interest includes; democratisation, constitutionalism, security sector governance, and regionalism in global context.

Please, tell me again why defense should not be the right portfolio for Fayemi?

kokoA:
Amaechi - SSG
Fayemi - Finance
Fashola - Works
Utomi - Economic adviser
Osinbajo - Vp and attorney general
Abike - women affairs
Ngige - senate president
Ezekwesili - National planing
Ogbahebon - information

Fayemi - Defense

Courageous

signz:
I know that 99.4% of these Nigerians in diaspora don't have pvc's. So them endorsing Gej or GMB is of no use.

The rational the likes of you fail to realize is the power of influence. These people have pvc's through their loved ones. You'll be surprise how they can influence their family, friends and everyone around them to vote for their candidate. Ignore their voice @ your own peril

Election will come and go. Nigeria will still remain our country; for Muslims, Christians and others. Let us stop the spreading of these religious hates.

I want to see these changes in my lifetime.

I want a government that leads from a doctrine of integrity, accountability and transparency.
Government that works from a philosophy and action to stampede corruption.
A government that works from a philosophy and actions to secure all citizens, and take responsibility for their actions.
Government that encourage and ensure patriotism becomes the mantra and slogan of our core society.
A government that unites Nigerians, not divide Nigerians.
A government that is ready to improve our middle class by ensuring the gap between the rich and the poor reduces. Why? Because the wealth of a nation lies in the growth of its middle class.

We can do it, we can get it right this time. The road to a prosperous Nigeria lies in getting the fundamentals right. With the right foundation comes a better structure that will stand the test of time.

I believe in people with proven characters, integrity and courage. That's why I believe their stories. I believe they will do their best to actualize their stories. Let's all support them for a prosperous Nigeria.

GMB/Osibanjo

Can we forget the messenger for a minute and tackle the message. I don't care about Malema or South Africa, what I care about is my country and how it is being managed. The ability and the capacity of the leadership to make the right decision. And if they mess up, we should be able to accommodate positive criticism in respective of where it is coming from.

How can a father/mother whose kids just passed away, fails to acknowledge and mourn their own pain and suffering, but sees it as a matter of necessity to mourn their neighbors loses. Very very shameful

Happy New Year to us all. May this new year bring us more joy, love, stability in the stock market and all of our heart desires.

1. Create an institution to fight corruption

Institute the office of accountability and transparency to create check and balances in all government functionalities . Empower the office with a credible leader. Strengthen FCC and ICPC to do their job

2. Security

3. Power

4. Education

5. Social development / Infrastructure

Promise to create an institution of accountability and transparency in all government functionaries.

Fashola

1. Power
2. Prayer without hardwork

I disagree with this article. Leadership is our problem.

I thought it is the job of a leader to state the problems clearly, analyze them and implement practical solutions within specific timeline. If your strategy and results fall short of expectations, admit your mistakes and move on.

This article clearly articulated that our problem did not just start today. The problem of corruption, power, regionalism, tribalism, religious intolerance, social infrastructure deficit, economic injustice and other regressive problems has always been around for more than 54 years.

I thought leaders create vision, mission and take initiative to solve problems. Leaders are elected to change status quo based on vision.
Lets take corruption for example; Having agreed that corruption is a cancer that needs to be eliminated completely, else the country is going no where. It is the job of the leader to understand the fundamental causes of corruption, effect of it on the nation, and to articulate vision, mission, strategy to eliminate it completely, resources needed (human, financial, and others) implementation, timeline and success/failure KPI's.
Now after implementation of blueprint/strategy within stipulated timeline (more than 2 years), and corruption is worst than ever before. Then, should we still call that person a leader and is that person worthy of the position?

Everything rises and fall on leadership; including direction of the economy, culture, corruption, standards, profligacy, incompetency, nepotism and others based on expected leadership influence cascading from the top. People elect their leader based on perceived strong ability (value addition), capacity, personality that deviate from status quo to improve moral, living and economy standards. Are we be better as a country, or are we regressing based on results? Is the leader still worthy of the position?

I thought leaders accept responsibilities for their actions and inactions. It is so easy to point fingers, or blame others for your responsibilities when things are not going well. Can the leader who blame others for problems they caused be trusted? Are we sure he's not going to do the same over and over?

I will choose integrity above any other character in this next coming election. "say what you mean and mean what you based on your history". I will choose courage over weakness "discipline to do what is right, and not what is popular" and lastly, I will vote to eliminate completely ordinary stealing and corruption from our society.

chukyjones:
hello House,
please why has NASCON been heading south since June?

Competition
PAT Reduction

obongproff:
Buhari will only reduce corruption and provide security, dats all. We have economic challenges dat Buhari cant handle. Besides he sounds to daft for my liking. Atiku has beta ideas abeg.

The question we should be asking ourselves as a nation is what is/are the economic cost of corruption and insecurity in our society? Are we happy with status quo? What do we do about it?

Why are we just getting by with fg's budget implementation of 25-35%?
Why do we have so many paid abandoned projects that would have improved the living conditions of our citizens?
Why are some people sabotaging power generation and distribution?
why are some people sabotaging building refineries that would have improved our dependent on petroleum imports?
Why are majority of us corrupt, and how do we change this?

While im not just supporting people with moral prowess ,discipline and courage in fighting corruption and security, their experience, ability and capacity in tackling economic issues, social injustice and foreign policies have to be rated highly as well.

I like personalities of Atiku, Kwankanso, Tambuwal, Nda-Isaiah and GEJ. I believe they'll all make a great president in their own way. But, looking at the problems confronting Nigeria today in the manner of corruption, security, moral decadence, regionalism, economic and social injustice and others, I think the best person for the job based on; courage, experience, character, patriotism, effectiveness, discipline, is General Muhammadu Buhari.

I endorse GMB

nationwide1:
SLS remains a man of explicit wisdom. What bothers me most times is how Buhari will fight corruption ( if at all he can) when those who assist him get there are themselves very corrupt. Is he going to bite the fingers that fed him?

What we need in this country is a courageous leader; who will build institutions of transparency and accountability, and stand by without interference for the law to prosecute people who goes contrary to the country's rules of engagement including corruption (no matter how highly placed, or your party affiliation). I'm convinced that based on Buhari's experience, his discipline, zero tolerance for profligacy, and his absolute stance on corruption; he will set these as objectives and push to achieve them.

I hope we still have some economists in government that are willing to stand against depreciation. I hope based on the history of depreciating naira, the effect it has had on our manufacturing system, they will not make the mistake to depreciate naira again. Because there will be dire consequences;

1. Reverse in manufacturing gains and benefits. Because manufacturers will not be able to compete with foreign products, due to high cost of raw materials based on foreign exchange.

2. We will pay more to import petroleum products. The inflationary effect of this.

3.We will pay more as Nigerians to get higher education overseas

4. We will pay more as Nigerians to get health care overseas

5. High unemployment due to closure of manufacturing facilities, because of their inability to compete.

I think for now, the cost benefit analysis favors defending the naira by all necessary means. I'm convinced spending $10 billion in the spate of 2 years to defend the naira is a better alternative than devaluing our currency by that much. When you go the route of devaluation, it will be much more difficult to reverse; hence further exposing our economy to major shock.

CORRUPTION

There had been widespread allegations of corruption against many members of Shagari’s government. For this reason, military tribunals were set up to try ministers in Shagari’s administration that had been accused of embezzling public funds. These tribunals were chaired by military officers and had the power to impose massive prison sentences. The only right of appeal from the tribunals was to the SMC which was also exclusively comprised of military officers (and the Inspector-General of police). The military were effectively acting as prosecutor, judge and jury. Unsurprisingly the Nigerian Bar Association barred its member lawyers from participating in the tribunals. Undeterred, Buhari and Idiagbon pressed on with the tribunals and several prominent politicians were convicted of various corruption charges and given massive prison sentences ranging from twenty to over two hundred years. Given that most of the convicted were already over fifty years old, it was obvious that those would die in prison if they served the rest of their sentences. Among those convicted were prominent politicians such as Anthony Enahoro and Jim Nwobodo. The tribunals effectively put Nigeria’s political elite in jail.

Although the harsh sentences and nature of the tribunals were criticised, it is arguable that Nigeria needed these Nuremberg style trials in order to free itself from its corrupt past. The era of Buhari and Idiagbon was the first, and only time that Nigerian public officials were tried, and held accountable for their actions in office. The trials would have had more legitimacy if they had been held in civilian courts, presided over by civilian legal officers, and open to the public. This way Nigerians would have seen justice in action and had a chance to scrutinise the actions of their leaders who had so badly let them down and misused their resources. By virtue of their centrally regimented military training and doctrines, Idiagbon and Buhari were fundamentally unable to grasp the niceties of, and the political legitimacy they could have derived from holding fair and open trials. The public fully backed their assault on the corrupt elite, if not their methods. The trials and WAI campaign also had a psychological impact on other “don’t know how he got rich” individuals in Nigeria. For the first time in Nigeria’s history it became unwise for those with ill gotten to flaunt their wealth – for fear of attracting the attention of Buhari’s anti-corruption drive.

THE PRESS

The press had a field day under the civilian Government of Shagari. Freed by the absence of criticism-sensitive soldiers in Government, the press launched constant vitriolic attacks against public officials and often published articles that would not be tolerated in even the most liberal western democracy. The press quite literally abused the freedom given to it and the stinging criticism directed by the press actually resulted in a couple of journalists being charged with sedition (inciting rebellion against the Government). As a reaction to this, on 1st January 1984 (day one of Buhari’s regime), the SMC promulgated Decree 4 of 1984: the Public Officers (Protection Against False Accusation) Decree. Decree 4 made it a criminal offence to publish any article that brought the Government or any public official into disrepute. Tunde Thompson and Nduka Iraboh of The Guardian Newspapers were unfortunate enough to fall foul of Decree 4 and were imprisoned. Decree 4 was no doubt an overreaction by Buhari’s regime and strained relations between the FMG and the press.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

While Buhari’s austere policies could be justified on the basis that he was battling against corruption and economic waste, his public relations machinery was poor. He made a number of strategic errors and failed to ingratiate himself with the mainly southern based print media. His regime was savaged by the press as a result (many of Nigeria’s print houses were then owned by the multi-billionaire businessman/politician: the late Moshood Abiola).

Loss of the South

There are several reasons for the Buhari’s loss of support in the south. Firstly, the governing National Party of Nigeria which Buhari replaced had a “zoning” system for key Government posts which provided that certain Government positions would be “zoned” or reserved to persons from certain geographic parts of the country. Since the presidency had been zoned to President Shagari (from the North), south-westerners logically thought that the presidency would be zoned to them when president Shagari completed his second and final term of office in 1987. They were wrong. One of those who hoped to benefit from the NPN’s zoning system was the multi-billionaire businessman, Moshood Abiola. Abiola assumed that when President Shagari’s term of office expired in 1987, the governing National Party of Nigeria (NPN) would “zone” the presidency to the south, and he would be allowed to run for president. How wrong he was. When Abiola articulated his presidential ambition, he was rebuffed by the powerful Transport Minister: Umaru Dikko, who told him that “the Presidency is not for sale to the highest bidder”. Abiola “retired” from politics soon after – totally exasperated with the NPN. Abiola was however to remerge from the shadows to play a key role in Nigeria’s political history.

The make up of Buhari’s SMC also troubled southerners. Virtually all of the senior positions in the SMC were occupied by northern Muslims: only five of the SMC’s fourteen members were from the south. Additionally, there has always been an unwritten rule that the Nigerian Head of State and his deputy cannot be from the same religion or part of the country. Buhari broke this unwritten rule when he appointed Tunde Idiagbon (who although Yoruba, was from the north and was also a Muslim). The other influential pro-Buhari figure in the regime was the Minister for Internal Affairs: Major-General Mohammed Magoro, who was a Muslim from Buhari’s home state of Sokoto. The lopsided ethno-religious composition of the SMC, coupled with the fact that Buhari’s ascension to power pre-empted the zoning of the presidency to the south prompted some mischievous southerners to claim that the New Year’s Eve coup was a deliberate plan to prevent the south from gaining political control of the country, and was nothing more than an orchestrated preservation of the north’s political control of Nigeria by transferring power from northern civilians to northern soldiers. I personally think that the personal ambition of the primary actors in the coup such as Babangida and Dogonyaro played the primary motivating role for the coup rather than any Machiavellian plot to thwart the south (or any altruistic motives to benefit Nigeria as a whole). Nevertheless, southerners were irked by the perceived northern bias of Buhari’s regime.

The Babangida Factor

With the civilian population powerless to terminate military rule, it was clear that only the military could do away with Buhari. From this perspective, the Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida was his greatest threat. Babangida was a contrast to Buhari. While Buhari was stern, serious and resolute, Babangida was deft, tactical and extremely devious. He had systematically cultivated a loyal following of sycophantic mid-ranking officers over the years by making grandiose gestures and buying lavish presents for officers junior to him. These officers now owed allegiance to him rather than to their nation, institution, or to the Head of State Buhari. Babangida had managed to create a mini-personality cult within the military. It is amazing that Buhari, knowing Babangida’s ambition and propensity for coup plotting allowed him to sit with his finger on the trigger as the Chief of Army Staff for so long.

As the net of Buhari’s anti-corruption drive widened, the trail of investigations led back to the Ministry of Defence. There were allegations that senior army officers were involved in drug dealing and rumours of some suspicious financial dealings at the Defence Ministry. Some accusatory fingers were pointed at Babangida. Nigerians never did get to find out the extent or nature of the allegations as a coup led by Babangida swept Buhari away before matters could proceed further. Not long after Buhari was replaced by Babangida, a senior and well respected journalist (Dele Giwa) was killed by a parcel bomb while he was working on a story that accused senior army officers of involvement in drug dealing. Giwa’s murderers have never been found, although attempts have been made to prosecute Babangida, and two military intelligence officers: Colonel Tunde Togun and Brigadier Halilu Akilu, for his murder.

THE END

Buhari and Idiagbon did not realise that Babangida loyalists had been pre-positioned in key positions, ready for when Babangida needed them. Buhari later spoke of certain elements within his regime who deliberately sanctioned unpopular moves which were disliked by the public so that they could create an atmosphere of political dissatisfaction great enough to justify another coup.

In early 1985, a military intelligence officer: Colonel Chris Alli, entered the office of Major-General Idiagbon and voiced his concerns about rumours of a pending coup. In characteristically taciturn manner, Idiagbon simply replied “let them try” (a thinly veiled invitation for any potential for any coup plotter to do his worst). Erroneously believing that Idiagbon had the security situation under control, Alli said no more about the coup rumours. On December 27th 1985 (while Idiagbon was out of the country on a religious visit to Saudi Arabia), Buhari was overthrown in a military coup led by the Chief of Army Staff: Major-General Ibrahim Babangida. On the evening of 26th August 1985, Buhari was joined in his official residence by Majors Dangiwa Umar (a Harvard University educated officer born into an aristocratic northern family), Lawan Gwadabe, Abdulmumuni Aminu and Sambo Dasuki. After the five men watched the evening news, the Majors arrested Buhari at gunpoint. Proving the old adage that “what goes around comes around”, a decade later Gwadabe and Dasuki were caught up in an alleged coup plot against General Sani Abacha for which Gwadabe was tortured and imprisoned, and Dasuki driven into exile.

If Buhari had taken a look at the past, he would have realised that in Nigerian politics, and in the Nigerian military, it is those to whom one entrusts his safety that need to be feared most. In January 1966, Prime Minister Balewa was abducted and murdered by soldiers from the Federal Guard: a unit whose primary responsibility was to protect and guarantee the safety of Balewa. Balewa’s successor as Head of State Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi was abducted, tortured and shot dead by soldiers in his own entourage only seven months after the death of Balewa. Aguiyi-Ironsi’s successor General Gowon was overthrown in July 1975, again with the connivance of officers from the Federal Guard – which as in Balewa’s case in 1966, was supposed to protect him. In a stunning act of betrayal, the commanding officer of the Federal Guards Colonel Joe Garba (who was also Gowon’s brother in law) actually made a nationwide television broadcast to announce Gowon’s overthrow. As mentioned above, the officers that overthrew President Shagari were pre-positioned around Nigeria’s nerve centre in Lagos. Had Buhari and Idiagbon paid greater attention to those in their midst, their regime may have survived and Nigeria may have been a different country today. Another factor that may have hastened Buhari and Idiagbon’s fall from power may have been their failure to award plum jobs to the officers who risked their necks in the 1983/4 coup that brought them to power. It was an understood but unwritten rule from the July 1975 coup onwards that soldiers that executed successful coup plots should be rewarded with the bounty of juicy Government postings. Buhari did not adhere to this rule. Although the coup plotters that brought him to power were active in his regime, they were not in the upper echelons. Many of these officers were middle grade officers, and perhaps in an attempt to maintain military hierarchy, Buhari did not want to appoint them to senior Government positions over the heads of more senior officers (who albeit had not played a part in the coup).

FOR BETTER OR WORSE?

Ironically, the same people who prematurely rejoiced at Buhari and Idiagbon’s downfall are the same people who today recall their tenure with nostalgia. If Buhari and Idiagbon had been allowed to stay in office for as long as Babangida did, they would have changed Nigeria forever – for the better. As usual, Nigerians have only themselves to blame for creating the circumstances that led to their downfall.

Journalists who thought that better times lay ahead post-Buhari need only recall the murder of Dele Giwa to see how wrong they were. The prisoners who thought that life would be less harsh under Babangida and Abacha should recall the consistent harassment and death of Gani Fawehinmi and Moshood Abiola respectively. People complained about the draconian Decree 2 of 1984 – the State security (Detention of Persons) Decree which permitted the Federal Military Government to detain any person considered by the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters to be a security threat, for up to three months without charge or trial. Civil liberties organisations fumed and breathed a sigh of relief when Babangida took over, expecting Babangida to repeal Decree 2. Babangida not only retained it, but extended the detention period under Decree 2 to six months and used it to detain those civil liberties and pro-democracy movements that had welcomed his assent to power.

Those that felt that Buhari and Idiagbon were too “harsh” for imprisoning corrupt public officials, executing convicted drug dealers and armed robbers, should ask themselves whether they are proud of the fact that the average European cannot point out Nigeria’s location on a map, does not know its capital city, but “knows” that Nigeria is a country where corrupt people, drug dealers and other criminals come from. Those that criticised the WAI for attempting to militarise civilian society need to ask themselves whether they prefer the undisciplined, corruption infested society that is Nigeria in 2003.

Nigeria missed a golden opportunity to change for the better.

http://www.dawodu.com/siollun3.htm

Buhari and Idiagbon:
A Missed Opportunity for Nigeria

By

Max Siollun
maxsiollun@yahoo.com

Speak to any Nigerian and you will hear the familiar complaints about Nigeria’s sorry plight. About the waste, mismanagement, corruption and lack of environmental sanitation. Nigerians yearn for a Government that will tackle these problems head on. Nigerians although supporting democracy believe that the institutional checks and balances it imposes would inhibit even a well intentioned government, and would prevent it from pushing through the punishing reforms and hard-line policies that are necessary to change Nigeria. As one acquaintance put it to me: “Nigeria missed its chance with the military”. The acquaintance is no apologist for military rule but his point was that Nigeria needs a tough, authoritarian regime to tackle its problems and implement the unpopular but corrective policies that a democratic government cannot afford to take for fear of being voted out of office. Yet while Nigerians complain about the problems all around them, they seem to have collective amnesia and never refer to the fact that almost two generations ago, they had a regime with a programme to tackle all of the problems they always complain about.

YET ANOTHER COUP

The stage was set for another military rescue operation. On the last day of 1983, the army abandoned the barracks in order to “save this nation from imminent collapse”. President Shehu Shagari was overthrown only three months after being re-elected for his second and final term of office in an election that was marred by accusations of electoral malpractice. Scarred by the memory of the mass the bloodshed that followed the bloody military coups of 1966, the coup plotters wisely did not harm any senior Government figures. The only casualty of the coup was Brigadier Ibrahim Bako who was killed while trying to arrest President Shagari in Abuja. Some have speculated that Bako was the leader of the coup.

If Shagari has taken a look at Nigeria’s history books, he would have noticed that the country’s military coups have almost always been carried out by the same group of soldiers. The young NCOs and Lieutenants that blasted Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi from power in 1966, became Colonels that overthrew his successor: General Gowon in 1975, and they became the Brigadiers and Major-Generals that overthrew Shagari. Had Shagari acted decisively early during his term and retired these men, his Government may have survived (the only notable senior officer retired by Shagari was Major-General Joe Garba – who had double crossed his own brother in law during a military coup in 1975). Oversight of history and military postings played a part in Shagari’s downfall. Had he, in his position as the Nigerian Armed Forces’ Commander-in-Chief, paid more attention to sensitive military postings he would have noticed that many of the officers who took part in the coup were stationed in or in close proximity to the country’s commercial nerve centre in Lagos. Among the plotters stationed in Lagos were the Army’s Director of Staff Duties and Plans: Major-General Ibrahim Babangida, the Military Secretary: Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, and a hitherto unknown brigade commander called Brigadier Sani Abacha.

THE NEW ORDER

As usual the Nigerian public welcomed news of a military coup d’etat and the overthrow of a Government they elected, with characteristic jubilation. The officers who led the coup installed Major-General Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State, and as the Chairman of a new Supreme Military Council (SMC). Up till the time of the coup, Buhari had been the General Officer Commanding the 3rd Armoured Division in Jos. The disciplined, tough and stoic Brigadier (later Major-General) Tunde Idiagbon, was appointed as the Chief of Staff at Supreme Headquarters. Having neutralised the incumbent Chief of Army Staff – Major General Mohammed Wushishi, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida became the new Chief of Army Staff and de facto number three in the new regime. Wushishi was a symbol of the remarkable reconciliation that had occurred in Nigeria after the civil war of 1967-1970. At the end of the war in early 1970, Wushishi had entertained Conrad Nwawo (a leading officer on the opposing side) as his “guest of honour” at Onitsha barracks.

The new military regime suspended several parts of the constitution (primarily those relating to freedom of assembly, association and political activity), banned party politics, declared all borders closed, and began to arrest and detain ministers and officials from Shagari’s Government on charges of corruption and embezzlement.

WAR AGAINST INDISCIPLINE

Buhari and Idiagbon correctly identified corruption and indiscipline as the main constraints on Nigeria’s development. These twin evils have in the view of many, become a way of life for many Nigerians. For this reason, they launched a nationwide campaign called “War Against Indiscipline” (“WAI”). The WAI campaign was aimed at tackling the most anti-social Nigerian characteristics such as indiscipline, corruption, and lack of environmental sanitation. Nigerians learned and grudgingly accepted social behaviour that was the norm in other countries around the world. Queuing suddenly became all the rage in Nigeria! Buhari and Idiagbon understood that the undisciplined Nigerian psyche was not going to change by persuasion and that their WAI campaign had to backed by the threat of force. Although they had always cried out for a Government that would root out the rampant indiscipline in Nigeria, white collar workers were irked when they learned that the WAI campaign would lead to them being punished and that it would apply to them as well as the rest of Nigeria.

If take back 31 years means;

1.Complete re-orientation about corruption, and reducing corruption to bare minimum
2. Improvement in budget implementation from 25% to atleast more than 80%
3. Transparency and accountability in running government functions
4. Improving our dependability on importation of petroleum products.
5.improvement in security and tackling boko haram issue head on
6.improvement in foreign policies, with high probability of retaining our top spot as giant of Africa
7. Having a principled, incorruptible, passionate and patriotic personality running Nigeria
8. System where merit, competency and hardwork becomes the norm, while we do away with nepotism and incompetence.

If that's what taking back 31 years will look like...then im all for it.
SAI GMB

Toluway: You people are just busy naming the proposed baby, without talking about the lucky guy who will 'enjoymently' download the baby's main raw material.

What do you think could be driving International Breweries and May Baker bulls now, if not Expectations of fantastic 3rd quater results. I happen to be in these two buses out of mistake; and they're my only bulls at the moment. That's the NSE for you. Common sense is not always right.

I doubt if it's the expectation of fantastic 3rd quarter results is what is driving May & Baker right now. Primary reason why they've been struggling to reach profitability in the past 2 years is because of their high leverage, high interest expense. This problem has not been solved yet, hence the reason why 3rd quarter result will not be that impressive.

The drive will have to be based on other reasons like; finalizing WHO certification, raising equity or cheap debt to enable them retire high interest debt expense, news of foreign partnership and positive news on national health insurance scheme.

Transcorp Hotels board approves IPO

The Board of Directors of Transcorp Hotels Plc (THP) held its Completion Board Meeting at the weekend, approving the company’s plans to conduct an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The THP will offer 800 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N10 per share for subscription. The proceeds of the offer will be used to part-finance its expansion projects specifically the construction of two new flagship hotels in Ikoyi, Lagos and Port Harcourt, as part of its broader expansion plans. The offer for subscription will open on September 24th and close on September 30.
THP is the hospitality subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc which owns and operates the Transcorp Hilton Abuja and the Transcorp Hotels Calabar.
Managing Director and CEO of THP, Valentine Ozigbo said Nigeria’s hospitality industry is experiencing significant growth, with major demand for expanded capacity and enhanced quality and service.
He said THP is ideally positioned, as the existing owner of the largest number of hotel rooms in Nigeria, and partnered with one of the world’s most prestigious hotel brands, Hilton Worldwide, to leverage this demand.
The proceeds of this offer will be used to fund the development of two new Transcorp Hilton hotels, one in Ikoyi, Lagos, and the second in Port Harcourt, with both due for completion in 2017.
We are delighted to be able to offer the Nigerian public the opportunity to participate in our future success. This offer reiterates our commitment to creating sustainable value for all stakeholders. “

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/transcorp-hotels-board-approves-ipo/

Is this an avenue to justify the $1 billion loan? Could this be the handy work of boko Haram, federal government, security personnel, international agency? Only God and the perpetrators know. In due time, God will unmask these evil people.

immanuello: Courtville released h1,2014 result!
2nd quarter eps is at 6.07kobo frm 3.14 in 1quarter 2014, though currently at 56kobo.perhaps 3rd quarter may be 10kobo and fye eps at 13kobo and a dividend of 6kobo only.Mercylicious what do u see to this!!!!

If my memory serves me correctly, I think Courtville paid 2kobo dividend and not 6 kobo. I think 6kobo was for 2012 fy

Bros,...why not kill the message instead of the messenger.

4dchairman: Total debt exposure of US$ 1.2 billion taking into consideration the recent debt conversion to stocks.

While I agree with you that Oando is undervalued, partly based on the strength of the cop acquisition, their industry's fundamentals, tax advantages and other local and international prospects. I think its too premature to be estimating the fair price of 1unit of the company. There are a lot of side dealings going on with the oxygen boys now, that its so diffdifficult to predict their number of outstanding shares, debt level or other under the table deals that might flaw reasonable analysis. I will wait till I see their fy result.

4dchairman: Oando is grossly undervalued. An in depth analysis of assets of oando and shares outstanding reveals gross undervaluation. Factoring in newly issued shares,debt and the multiplier effect of the COP deal ,I arrived at a valuation of 65-80 naira. Comments are welcome.

In your analysis, what's your assumption of total outstanding shares and debt?

Aks: I use Dominion trust Ltd @ Lagos Island, they are quite efficient but sometimes i feel the charge on my transaction. I've notified my acct officer who promised to notify their mgt

Oga Aks, I use Dominion Trust as well. Have you ever had any problem with them? Who is your account officer?

Anxiety as Kenya awaits commercial viability of oil find

A clearer picture of the oil resources in Kenya is expected in the course of this year. This is as oil exploration and production intensify activities as well as...

http://africanoilandgasnews.com/news/anxiety-as-kenya-awaits-commercial-viability-of-oil-find

World oil demand to grow in 2014: OPEC

With global economic growth in 2014 projected to increase to 3.5 per cent from 2.9 per cent in 2013, world oil demand is forecast to rise by one million barrels per day, according...

http://africanoilandgasnews.com/news/world-oil-demand-to-grow-in-2014-opec