₦airaland Forum

Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) is presenting “Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN)” in Lagos today. Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU highlights elements of the road map for the region’s development.

Southwest is waking up from slumbers. Three weeks after its six governors, experts, professionals and other stakeholders revolved to pursue the region’s integration agenda, the Afenifere Renewal Group is lending support to the initiative with the public presentation of the "Development Agenda for Western Nigeria" today in Lagos. The cultural, socio-economic and political blue print is, perhaps, the first conscious attempt at evolving a development framework for the zone in the post-Awolowo era.

Expected at the Lagos City Hall, venue of the presentation, are traditional rulers, academics, captains of industry, leaders of commerce, politicians, government officials and other stakeholders.

ARG leader Olawale Oshun, who briefed reporters in Lagos at the weekend, observed that the region, which was widely acknowledged as a model for other zones in the country, had lost its glory and slipped in the march of development. The former Chief Whip of the House of Representatives doubted if the region could regain its towering stature and secure progress for the Yoruba under the current lopsided federal arrangement.

With Oshun at the briefing were other chieftains, including the National Secretary, Ayo Afolabi, Publicity Secretary Kunle Famoriyo, Planning Committee Chairman Dipo Famakinwa, Tokunbo Ajasin, Ademola Oyinlola, Ade Adeagbo and Toke Benson.

In his view, the gains of the past have been wiped out and the region is now a shadow of itself. "Today, our roads are bad. When our governors summoned the courage to resolve the power failure through private initiative, it was shot down by the federal government. Our young graduates are unemployed and quality of life is declining everyday", he lamented.

Oshun said, ARG had been inundated with bitter complaints and requests for a master plan that would prevent a repeat of the past holocaust in the region. In response to this demand, he said the organisation asked the Yoruba Academy to come up with a comprehensive development blue-print, which had been previously presented to five governors and legislative arm in the region.

However, contrary to critics of integration, the implementation of the blue-print would not herald the collapse of the six states into one administrative region. Rather, it is only meant to expose its rulers to the daunting challenges and opportunities for collaboration for progress and survival within the hostile federal climate.

The agenda is beautiful on paper. As it becomes a public document today, Southwest has thrown the challenge to other regions to thread the same path by looking inwards and building on collective effort. "We have the focus that at the end, the person that will benefit from development is the ordinary man", Oshun emphasised, advising Southwest to take its destiny in its hand because "no federalism thrives on sharing money without productive initiatives".

DAWN is an 80-paged book produced by Southwest egg heads. The extensive research, brainstorming sessions, and publication were not sponsored by any government. "We produced it through our sweat and blood for the progress of our region and posterity", said Afolabi, who expressed the hope that it would become a working tool for the governors.

ARG views the region as an economic bloc. Therefore, a regional approach to its development would be cost-effective and economically viable, especially in the areas of infrastructure, industrialisation, commerce and agriculture. In this vein, development is not an exclusive government affair. Private sector and civil societies should collaborate with government for success. As goals are set, time frames are also set. More importantly, ARG has suggested modalities for evaluating the implementation process.

Justifying the Southwest perspective on development within a federal Nigeria, ARG stated that "the concentration of legislative power and fiscal resources in the federal government sometimes at the expense of the states and regions allows the federal government to control the pace and nature of economic development of various regions".

In addition, the group cautioned against relying on federal allocation, pointing out that the spoils from the federal purse will always be sub-optimal and unfair. The non-implementation of the road map may be risky. Since the states are too small to attract international funding on a large scale, they can tap from the advantage of collective bargaining for national and international funds for development.

The six states; Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos; are not equally endowed. This underscores the import of comparative strength and advantage in productive activities. Development activities proposed for the states by ARG are as follows: Ekiti (Education and human capital, agriculture and Tourism), Lagos (Commerce, industries and services), Ogun(oil and gas, energy and industries), Ondo (Oil and gas, energy, agriculture (cocoa)), Osun (Tourism, agriculture (cocoa and animal husbandry) and Oyo (Agricultural vale-chain-processing, packaging and Small Scale Enterprises).

Key elements: The ARG submits that, if the framework is pursued to a logical conclusion, Southwest would migrate from "mainstreaming to region-streaming".

Budgetary re-direction

For the Southwest to be on the fast lane to development, ARG suggested a "shift emphasis of budgets towards capital expenditure". This has implications for governance in the region. To achieve this, there may also be the need to cut over-spending on recurrent expenditure, bloated political bureaucracy, extravagance in government, frivolous spending on unnecessary overseas travels, and adherence fo financial frugality.


Power self-sufficiency

The states can strategically tap from the privatisation process of the PHCN generation and distribution entities, especially at Ikeja, Benin, Ibadan and Lagos. Independent Power Projects can also be considered for the Southwest industrial estates, tertiary institutions, teaching and general hospitals, water works, airports, government secretariats, seaports, high income residential areas, major markets and commercial centres.

Agriculture

According to ARG, "policy framework should link agriculture with manufacturing, through extending agricultural value-chain to storage, processing and packaging". The group also believes that agriculture is meaningful, if it can boost food security and employment in the states. To accomplish these, it is recommended that states should increase budgetary allocations to the sector, first by five percent, and in another three years, by 10 per cent. The group also called for the establishment of Southwest Agricultural Market Information System.


Human capital development

The main thrust is that "education should be for sustainability and development". This, in ARG’s view, is achievable, only if it extends from mere knowledge acquisition to skill acquisition, and the skills should be relevant to industry, entrepreneurship, social values, justice and concern for the living environment.

ARG suggested that civics and basic science should be re-introduced in primary schools, adding that the civics syllabus, which should be based on Yoruba concept of Omoluabi, should promote the ideals of Yoruba heroes, including Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Fajuyi and others.

Other suggestions include a regional standard education inspectorate, computer education, elavation of polytechnics to degree awarding technical and technological tertiary institution, common data base for educational planning, and regional scholarship trust fund, collaborative research projects in education.


Health

ARG suggests preventive approach to medicare and a system of sanitary inspection, based on persuasion and incentives, rather than punishment and sanctions.

Transportation

Southwest governors should construct virgin roads, upgrade the existing ones and rehabilitate others linking them to the federal roads that leads to ports, since they have no control over the federal roads. Integrated rail transportation is also possible, if the hindrances are removed. ARG said the states can negotiate with the federal government to construct rail lines in the zone. It stressed: "A rail link from Benin City to Lekki Lagoon is a distance of 100-150 km. This will open up a tremendous amount of commercial activity with the eastern part of the country, reduce the pressure on the Lagos-Ore-Benin Road. Furthermore, it will open up the bitumen area of Ogun and Ondo States. This loop, to be completed by the development of inland waterways, through the Lekki Lagoon to Badagry, will turn the Epe axis to a major passenger and goods terminal with tremendous commercial benefits".


Housing and urban development

Southwest, says ARG, should establish a "Southwest Mortgage and urban Development Bank, which will be a secondary mortgage bank, to assist home owners, developers, primary mortgage companies and savings and loans operators to access funds for their housing development. The group also said that "the idea of the development of a "Rural Integrated Development Authority for the region is long overdue".


Security and law enforcement

ARG suggests that "community policing and neighbourhood watch capacity in the Southwest should be strengthened, beginning with raising of awareness in schools". It therefore, asked legislators to push for laws that would back state and community police.


Culture and Tourism

ARG advocates the establishment of Culture Board of Western Nigeria to coordinate the tourism activities and make the sector income yielding to respective states.

Governance reforms

Southwest government should shun avarice, graft, corruption and other vices. According to ARG, inclusive governance, accountability and focused policy with constant measurement would foster administrative efficiency in the region.


Conflict management



Four building blocks were suggested. They are the establishment or reactivation of the Public Complaints Commission/ Office of ombudsman, Regional Early Warning Centre, apolitical Council of Elders, and Peace Education at all educational levels. To ARG, these would encourage home-grown conflict management in the zone.

Ngodigha1:
How about the way he died, I mean all those contents he drank?.

Your legacy will be measured by what you've done to impact other peoples life and not really by how you died.

Lincoln is remembered today by being one of the best US president and not by how he died.
Steve Job will be remembered for his achievement as the "Father of Apple" and not by how he died

And same will go for all of us at the end of our era. Make sure you make a meaningful impact

Awolowo will always remain the greatest.

The man coined the blue-print for what is now progressive Yoruba land today.

manny4life:
PERFECT, YOU GOT THE ANSWER  --- You beat me to it

Good ok move for now but dangerous because anytime that China devalues their currency, what the f/uck do people think will happen to our reserve?

When I say SLS is clueless and needs to keep current on news, it will look as if I hate the fellow, but here he is, about to execute a not-so-good move (10x greater).

This is a welcome development and a great move.

1. Chinese Yuan economic fundamentals is at an all time high, considering their continuous growth in GDP, continuous Positive Balance of payment and Current Account Surplus.

2. The Chinese population is the highest in the world. Imagine what will happen to their currency when their middle class starts to consume more of their manufactured products, this has started already and will continue.  This scenario can only appreciate their currency will not depreciate it.

3. The political pressure from the West. The pressure is to force China to revalue its currency, so that Chinese economy can lose its competitive advantage. Eventually this is going to happen; it’s just a matter of time. When it does happen, the currency has only one direction to go which is up.

4. Floatation of Chinese Yuan and loosening economic policy and regulation. The general expectation is that for any economy to be considered a superpower, it has to abide by the floating currency mentality. In order for the Chinese government to continue to enjoy the benefits of Super Power; they have to float their currency and loosing the tightening grip they have on their economic policy. Also, considering the speculation that Yuan can/might replace $US as a reserve currency for global oil trading.  Eventually this is going to happen, and when it happens, it will appreciate the currency.

In my opinion, the conservative risk appetite for holding Chinese Yuan is in the band of - 5% to +30%. This is better than what you can say for $US, Euro, pounds, and other favourable currency considering their risk profile.

nice one

A pig bought on credit is forever grunting.

Don’t offer me advice:give me money.

If you think no-one cares whether you’re dead or alive, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.

If rich people could hire other people to die for them, poor people would make a wonderful living.

To be rich is not everything, but it certainly helps.

Money and the devil do not rest

The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket

Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have

The less you understand, the happier you will be

You can turn dollars into cents, or sense into dollars, but not dollars into sense

Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you don’t you will be wise

Both your friend and your enemy think you will never die

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity

Crafty advice is often got from a fool

He who laughs last laughs longest. And has probably only just got the joke.

Your own Stupid actions should not be confused with fate.

If there were no fools, there would be no wise men

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in big groups

It is easy to be brave from a distance

A coward will always think with his legs.

A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds

Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people

Minds are like parachutes: they only work when open

Onyeasi:
What a funny world!
If swimming is a good exercise
to stay
FIT, why are whales FAT??
Why is the place in a stadium
where
people SIT, called a STAND?
Why is that everyone wants to go
to
HEAVEN but nobody wants to
DIE?
Shall I say that there is racial
discrimination even in chess as
theWHITE piece is moved FIRST?
In our country, we have
FREEDOMof
SPEECH, then why do we have
TELEPHONE BILLS?
If money doesnt grow on TREES
then
why do banks have BRANCHES?
Why doesnt GLUE stick to its
BOTTLE?
Why do you still call it a
BUILDINGwhen
its already BUILT?
If its true that we are here to
HELP
others,what are others HEREfor?
Why round pizza come in square
box?
If you arent supposed to DRINK
and
DRIVE why do bars have PARKING
lots?
We all r Living in a seriously
funny
world, !!

Nice

May be you did not see this, I will repost

@ gen Buhari,

What would you say was the biggest achievement, or are achievements of Obasanjo's administrations?
I mean the guy must have gotten one or two things right.

If you want to die young, make your doctor your heir

A bad excuse is better than none.

A believable lie is better than a stupid fact

After all is said and done, more is said than done

Anger is the outcome of the tongue working faster than the brain

Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Then when you do criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.

Good advice is often annoying, bad advice never

He who gossips to you will gossip about you.

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits

Wisdom should not be like money, tied up and hidden

When you open a door, don’t forget to close it. Treat your mouth accordingly.

The tongue weighs relatively nothing, but so few people can hold it

You have two ears and one mouth. It is best to use them in that proportion.

Every ass loves to hear himself bray.

Everybody is ignorant, Only on different subjects.

@ gen Buhari,

What would you say was the biggest, or are achievements of Obasanjo's administration?

There’s no harm in the wine – it’s the drunkenness that is to blame

When the drink is inside, the sense is outside

Age is a high price to pay for maturity

Age is just mind over matter: if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter

Being young is a fault that diminishes daily.

Be nice to your children; they’ll be choosing the old folks’ home

By the time you are old enough to appreciate your parents you will have children of your own who take you for granted

The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life

The difference between adults and children is that adults don’t ask questions

It’s never too late to learn. But then if you’ve made it this far . . . why bother?

We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing

Youth wastes away, but immaturity often lasts a lifetime.

A cask of wine will work more miracles than a church full of saints

A drink precedes a story

A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts

Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy

He who drinks on credit will get drunk twice

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit about in a boat and guzzle beer all day.

One drink is enough, two drinks are too many, three drinks are not enough.

The wine is sweet but the payment sour

The church is close but the road is icy; the bar is far but I’ll walk carefully

The drunken man’s joy is usually the sober man’s regret

The first drink with water, the second without water, the third like water

Stretch your hands as far as they reach, and grab all you can grab
The eyes believe what they see; the ears what people tell them
A desk without paperwork is a sign of one born to delegate
A tidy desk is the sign of a disturbed mind
Hard work never hurt anyone. But then why risk it
Make sure you are not irreplaceable: if you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted
Multi-tasking: the art of screwing up everything all at once
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work
There are two kinds of people in life: people who like their jobs and people who don’t work here any more.
When you own your own business, you only have to work half a day. You can do anything you want with the other twelve hours

When the mouse laughs at the cat, there is a hole nearby

Too many cooks spoil the broth. Let someone else prepare dinner

You have three choices in life: give up, give in, or give it your all

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist

A bad compromise is better than a successful law suit

Diplomacy is the art of saying “nice doggie”, whilst looking for a bigger stick

Doctors clean the body, ministers the conscience, and lawyers the purse.

A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell and have you actually looking forward to the trip.

Politicians are like diapers and need to be changed for the same reason

New laws are followed by new tricks.

He who serves two masters has to lie to one.

He who laughs last hasn’t got all the facts.

He who smiles in a crisis has found someone to blame.

If we cannot get what we like, let us like what we get.

If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way; if you don’t, you’ll find an excuse

If you want to be heard, speak up. If you want to be seen, stand up. If you want to be appreciated, Just shut up.

Mediocrity has certain attractions; it’s much less demanding than success

Sex is like air:it’s not important unless you aren’t getting any

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a broken fan belt

There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.

Never underestimate the power of . . . termites.

People in glass houses shouldn’t . . .run around naked

Man who fight with wife all day get no piece at night.

Always remember: you’re unique. Just like everyone else

All good things come to whoever gets there first

A clean house is the sign of a misspent life.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Anything worth taking seriously is worth poking fun at.

Boredom is the price you pay for staying out of trouble.

Do not insult the mother alligator until after you have crossed the river

Experience is something you get just after you need it

This is a thread for funny, twisted, deep proverbs and quotes.


As you make your bed so, shall you . . . mess it up.

Better to be safe than . . .hit a teacher.

You can lead a horse to water but . . . how?

Don’t bite the hand that . . .looks dirty

An idle mind is . . .the best way to relax.

There’s no smoke without . . . pollution

Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and . . . you must blow your own nose.

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, said it plans to spend $100 billion with its joint- venture partners including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. in the next five years to explore for crude and gas onshore and in deepwater fields as it seeks to boost output and increase reserves.

“That’s our investment profile both in the production sharing contracts and joint ventures from now to 2016 and beyond,” Austen Oniwon, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., said today in an interview in Abuja, the capital. “Joint venture funds will come from both the government and the international oil companies, while the production sharing contracts will be from the contractor.”

The West Africa nation currently has 37 billion barrels in crude reserves and Africa’s largest gas reserves of 187 trillion standard cubic feet, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources, the country’s oil industry regulator. The government missed its targets to boost reserves to 40 billion barrels and output to 4 million barrels a day by 2010.

Nigeria is the fifth-biggest source of U.S. crude imports. Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Total SA and Eni SpA operate joint ventures with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. that pump about 90 percent of the country’s crude.

The development of deepwater oil fields is well below the country’s potential, Shell said today in an e-mailed statement. Nigeria needs to introduce better investment terms to encourage companies to explore in deep water, Mutiu Sunmonu, chairman of Shell’s Nigerian unit, said today at a conference in Abuja.

Oil exploration in Nigeria has slumped after producers backed away from investment until the country’s petroleum law is passed. The government will present a draft bill for the regulation of the oil industry to the parliament within six weeks, Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke said yesterday.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-22/nigeria-to-invest-100-billion-in-oil-and-gas-exploration.html

BlackPikiN:
See conspiracy.
Did you watch today's game?
Linsanity is no f0rking fluke. He's good.

Yes, i watched the game. Jeremy Lin is still living up to the hype.
The man is good, no doubt. The question is, He's the guy worth all the hype and attention?
Would the Nicks feature Lin and make him "face of New York Nicks" based on his antecedents alone, when they have other notable players that can easily take that spot. I doubt that. They are doing so because of their strategy. Its a business decision.

Let me use this analogy. Lets pretend you're being touted as the next president of the US, and you have the backing of the power brokers. Would you not perform with all the resources at your disposal? And even if your performance fall short of expectation, would you expect the power brokers to sing praises of you or fault you openly? Keep in mind, any attempt to castigate you and your effort would also hunt their decision making capabilities.

Common people, the guy is just a marketing strategy for the Nicks and people should see the situation for what it is. I think the guy is being over hyped to gain the attention and the funds of Asian customers. It looks like the strategy is paying off big time. I would not be surprise if our marketing academical world write a case just for this. Can you imagine the gains of this strategy alone; seat price increase by 25%, turn out increase by more than 25% for every home game, Jeremy Lin's jersey sale top NBA jersey sales.

All in all, nice strategy and result. People should not make the mistake of comparing a one hit wonder with all time favorite. "How can we compare death with sleep" They don't go together at all.   

Hakeem all the way

FROM THE DESK OF MR LAMIDO SANUSI
EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)
OUR REF: CBN/OHG/OXD1/2012
YOUR REF:,
TELEX: CENBANK.
PAYMENT FILE: CBN/BEN/010

CBN DEBT PAYMENT NOTICE OF YOUR FUNDS


Attn: Beneficiary,

My name is Mr Lamido Sanusi the Executive Governor Of The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Executive Chairman of "E.C.D.R".I discovered that your name and email address (in the Central Computer among the list of unpaid contractors, inheritance next of kin and lotto beneficiaries that was originated from Africa (Nigerian Government) Europe, Asia Plus Middle east,Americans) among the list of individuals and companies that your unpaid fund has been located to a suspense account.

Your name appeared among the beneficiaries who will receive a part-payment of $10 million and has been approved already for Payment. yesterday two foreigners (Mr. Tim Parker and Mr. Rowland Gulf) visited my office in your stead to inform me that they are your Representatives from United State,whom you send to collecting your Funds for you.

We in this Bank do not understand why you sent these men to come and Collect your Funds on your behalf. If actually you want them to help you Collect your Inheritance Bill Sum,at least you should have informed me as the Executive Governor of this Bank. They actually tendered some Vital Documents which Proved that you actually sent them for the Collection of this Funds. Honestly, it really baffles me that you took such decision without my consent.

Here are the Document which they tender to this Bank today:


1. LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION.
2. HIGH COURT INJUNCTION.
3. ORDER TO RELEASE.

Actually, these Documents which they tendered to this Noble Bank is a clear Proof that you sent them to Collect this Funds for you. Finally,I told them to come back tomorrow morning and they promised to come back.As the Governor of this Noble Bank, I was supposed to Release this Funds to them but I refused to do so because I wanted to hear from you first.

Due to the Nature of my job, I will not want to make any mistake in Releasing this Funds to anyone except you whom is the Recognized Bonafide Beneficiary to this Funds.Kindly clarify us on this issue before we make this Payment to these foreigners whom came on your behalf. In receipt of this confidential Letter, you are required to email this Bank immediately you receive this Confidential Letter.

OFFICIALLY SIGNED.
MR LAMIDO SANUSI.
GOVERNOR CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

These are the people that continue to give Honest Nigerians bad names. Can this kind of negativity be stopped, reduced in any way. How can Nigerians stop the widespread of similar negativity coming from lunatics like this?