₦airaland Forum

aribisala0: Let me try again . Perhaps you have heard of the Suez Canal ? Egypt OWNS the Suez canal. If Egypt was as strong militarily as Russia.Ownership of the Suez Canal would make it one of the richest nations on Earth because it can impose levies on whatever goods pass through it. Now it has to compromise and be "reasonable" with the powers that are

All along I argued that Lagos's position is because of its location and the unique nature of access and its ports which were there before 1900 when it was a colony.But Afam4eva claimed the ports were built from commonwealth or by FG

DaLover is here shouting it was built with NigerDelta rubber and Palm Oil .You Yust do not get it.Our people say it is the man with the Yam who looks for the man with the yam not the other way round.Why did they not move the oil and rubber out through Warri or Calabar since you have been shouting all along that all coasts are the same.
Is that argument just as ridiculous as saying the US was built with Nigerian slaves? or Britain by Jamaican Sugar?

Is it the mouth that tells the stomach it is hungry or the other way round?

Lagos's position in those days was a very solid monopoly.You want to export your goods you pass through us and we take our share which may be bigger than yours.Shouting it is Niger delta oil or rubber is like shouting it is African coffee or Cocoa . Is it Africans that make the money or Nestle and Starbucks.
London is the place where the greatest number of financial transactions are done.Will it not be foolish of Arabs to say London was built on Arab oil.Nay London was built on British diplomacy,trickery,colonial history etc.
Lagos is what it is because of where it is period.Those who invested in it had no choice if they wanted to trade in Nigeria or more correctly the choices were less PROFITABLE.
What the figures in this link tell you is how much money was being made from Lagos wharfs before 1900. Clearly it was a profitable investment for the British

To the extent that they established a telephone exchange IN LAGOS as far back as 1890 and street lights 1898.
.http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1898_lagos/3064634_1898_lagos_opt.pdf

So the port in lagos was the sole reason that Lagos is what it is abi?
Is lagos port better than those of Accra, Lome doula or Cotonou? The answer is no
So why is Lagos many times bigger than those cities, rubber, palm oil and crude oil, from the delta...

You claim the Niger delta need your ports to export their goods? Maybe for palm and rubber, which the British must have made possible but not crude oil, it is stated clearly in the Wikipedia link I sent you that lagos experienced rapid growth with the oil boom(or is that a British lie too),

If you still stick to ur argument that the port is the main reason for the development of Lagos, what is the main reason for the development of Abuja?

jason123: Please shut your mouth!!! Where they begged to invest in Lagos?! There is nothing more irritating than that statement!! Please SE, sell your investments and move back to the SE states!! As if they invested in Lagos to simply develop Lagos and not to make money! Waste men! What about all the "mama, we dey go Lagos"?! Is that to invest in Lagos?!!!


Guy, please SHUT THE EFF UP!

While cities and countries spend money to advertise on CNN for investors to patronize them, those who have them freely are feeling arrogant about it...
If you have mistakenly been to Abuja for any reason you will see Abuja developing exactly the same way lagos did.
FG uses oil money form the nigerdelta for infrastructural development and business development majorly from the SE..

www.nairaland.com/54751/el-rufai-igbos-own-73-abuja

I cant shut the eff up, the evidence is too glaring to see, the economy of lagos started with rubber and oil palm exportation from the Niger delta and SE, then later crude oil from the same nigerdelta and SE, then throw in the entrepreneurial drive from south east, special attention by the FG and British from 1860 to 1991 , and that pretty much sums things up, .....oh Yorubas were there too!

Please what is wrong with saying
Nigerdelta thank you for the development you brought to Lagos,
SE thank you for your investments in Lagos,
Without which Lagos would probably be like Cotonou or Lome,

Why much you brag to your benefactors? Smh

Eko Ile: There's nothing bright about saying Lagos suffered economically because some lng relocated.

For a long time you guys from SW have used this lagos issue to boast, instead of a humble appreciation we get talk downs,
See the link
businessworldng.com/web/articles/2178/1/NLNG-Relocation-Lagos-State-to-Lose-N30bn-/Page1.html

NLNG Relocation: Lagos State to Lose N30bn By Chris Uba Published October 10th, 2011 News Unrated Lagos State will be losing about N30 billion annually, as Nigeria Liquified
Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) relocates its head office from Lagos to Port
Harcourt in the next 40 days, in what observers and oil and gas industry
players describe as a major economic relocation in the last ten years. This
amount becomes real when the tax revenue that will flow from Lagos State to
Ogun State under a new tax payment arrangement being fashioned out by the two states comes under full implementation soon.
BusinessWorld can reveal that NLNG was crowned the best tax-paying
corporate body in Lagos State this year as it topped the tax revenue chart of
the state among all the big companies in the state. Every staff of NLNG
including all their contractors pay a minimum of 25 per cent of their income as
tax and this is paid full to the state. The company, which is the largest single industrial project in sub-Saharan Africa, is reputed for transparency and due
process in all its activities. The Ogun State government’s move to block tax
leakages with the planned implementation of what it calls “Personal Income
Tax Residency Rule for Employee” is also coming at a time that the NLNG
relocation seems to be a hard pill for the Fashola administration to swallow.
The Personal Income Tax Residency Rule for Employee initiative is part of the effort by Ogun State government to beef up the revenue base of the state
with a view to enabling it up the infrastructure stock int he state and expand
the existing ones which have been put under severe pressure by residents
who work and pay their taxes to other states, a situation, which it described
as unfair.
Following the high cost of rent and landed property in Lagos, workers in the state are relocating en mass to neighbouring Ogun State, where cost of
living is relatively less challenging while still retaining their employment in
Lagos State where their monthly income tax are deducted at source by their
employers, who remit them to Lagos State.
The Ogun State Government said it is losing about N2 billion every month as a
result of what it called wrongful remittance of taxes payable by people resident in the state but work for employers based in other states across the nation,
adding that the influx has put pressure on the utilities in the state, hence the
Residency Rule Initiative, which will soon kick-off.
Senator Ibikunle Amosun, governor of Ogun State said last week in Abeokuta,
the state’s capital that he has discussed the matter with Mr. Babatunde Raji
Fashola, his Lagos State counter, who he said has agreed to cooperate with Ogun State government’s new revenue generation initiative.
He said the demand that the tax rule be obeyed should not be interpreted to
mean waging war against Lagos, since both governments agree on the true
position of the law. The relation between both governments, he continued, is
indeed cordial and that Lagos has assured Ogun of its commitment and
support for the project. Amusun said his government had begun to put in place measures to ensure that employees’ personal income tax deductions due
to the state are henceforth remitted to the state’s coffers.
He stated that the violation and wrongful administration of the statutory tax
by companies and institutions is marginalising Ogun State, explaining that this
tax leakage is an obvious case of revenue erosion and the economic
strangulation of the state. The Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria states that an employee’s residence should be the
determinant factor in respect of where an employer remits the employee’s
personal income tax to.
The ‘Residency Rule’ implications of this tax law affects residents of border line
towns like Akute, Ibafo, Magboro, Mowe, Ojodu-Abiodun and Sango-Ota, just
to name a few of the locations where people commute to Lagos regularly. Ogun State government believes that compliance with this extant tax law
would go a long way in ensuring that the state delivers on its obligations to its
numerous stakeholders.
Amosun further said the state was taking the lead in ensuring that all
stakeholders including private and public sector employers, employees, the
business community, industry associations, professional bodies and employee unions “understand and comply with the residency rule” aspect of the tax
laws of the country.
Today, he said, the state has internally generated revenue of less than N1
billion, in addition to the N2.5 billion average from the Federation Accounts
Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursement, compared with a monthly wage
bill of between N6 and N7 billion, following which the state has to borrow to meet obligations.
Governor Amosun said there are several projects calling already for attention,
including a 32-kilometer Ojodu-Ota (six-lane) Road for which bids have already
been submitted, the least being N23.5 billion, in addition to about 50 new
schools and primary healthcare projects under construction across the state.
Wondering aloud, the governor asked: “How much do we generate, we are losing between N1.5 and N2 billion monthly. What are we going to use to do
all of that?
“We want to give Ogun State that befitting outlook for business to thrive,” he
said, listing sectors in need of attention in the state to include security,
healthcare, education, agriculture and employment generation.

Eko Ile: And this relocation did what to LAGOS ECONOMY? Nothing.

I suspect you are brighter than this!

infolekan: Oil itself is a bane of the nigerian economy..a lot of postulations on how nigeria will not survive without oil & people aren't trying look beyond their nose at other nations without oil. Gambling & hotels used to be one of the mainstay of Las Vegas & it will be fool hardy for someone to say that they'll shut down if not for the oil sheiks & chinese businessmen that come with their money bags.
No one really asks what the Niger Delta govs do with their huge federal allocation...money from the NDDC & the Ministry of Niger delta.
People make money from some place & take it to places where it can be well spent...& that place is Lagos.
You can't expect that because I make money from a village I must stay there to spend money there.
The federal presence in Lagos really did help in the devt of Lagos but oil wasn't a factor(not even a weak one) in the devt of Lagos.....And Lagos or Nigeria can't be compared to any state or country in Africa. The population of nigeria one is enough to make any business thrive
And for those shouting oil oil oil....check the 10 richest men in the men & get back to me if you see anything about oil there...and you can still go further.
The only place where they shout about oil is cause of the corruption at the federal level. Places like Switzerland are known for their banking industries...Norway & even SA here don't have it.
The average Niger delta man is a lazy man(sorry to use that word) who sits down & beleives that he's being cheated & the nation will not survive without him or his oil forgetting thatpeople & nations will survive with or without the oil as others have.
Lagos is far more than oil or Fed. The population alone will make any business thrive & even the security that you won't get in the Niger Delta or the North

What's all this noise and annoyance?
The other day ACN big wigs were demanding that the revenue sharing formula be reviewed in Favour of states, Yes Tinubu and fashola demanded that the federal share be reduced so that states can get more ....
Can you see your rants are at variance with this demands by the ACN leadership
www.nairaland.com/680173/acns-version-true-federalism
This is coming from a state that has benefitted so much from a resource not found there


We would rather you just shut up, acknowledging the rapid growth experienced by lagos after the discovery of oil, instead of boasting about how you single handily developed lagos, only an ingrate insults or looks down on his benefactors.

Yes every state or place can survive with out oil ultimately but not with the cowardly cap in hand parasitic behavior on display,
Lastly you know things have gone from gaga boom to haywire when a parasite calls its host lazy, as you are doing.

aribisala0: what are you talking about ?

You mean you haven't heard of the Nigerian local content law?

aribisala0: I suggest you get someone to read it and interpret it for you as you are obviously struggling

Omo, pls what did I not interprete well?
The document is not the written by the same british people you claim are lying about why the came to lagos?
Or the major exports from the colony were oil palm and rubber?
How does the British govt get import duties? Is it not the wealth generated from exports that enables people pay for imports?
Hence the import duties that accrue to government...

Or are you saying the British supplied info you used is genuine while the British supplied info I used is false ?

Stop hanging on to straws, our argument has been blown to shreads..

aribisala0: I think any intelligent person can read between the line. The British were active participants and benefactors in the slave trade and have tried to rewrite history to say they stopped the trade. That of course is the subject of a more advanced discussion .Tate and Lyle and many other sugar related businesses were all built on the back of slaves.Our people say until the lions have their own story tellers it is the hunter that will tell the story of the hunt.The Bristish write that they colonized Lagos to stop the slave trade and you are dutifully echoing that. They can then tell your black brothers in America it was you own people selling you and we are the ones that stopped. Well leave that for another place.After stopping the slave trave why stay on for 70 years creating a country Hmm.

Back to Lagos. Wikipedia is not a totally useless source of information but certainly not a refernce point when there is an argument or dispute.
http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1898_lagos/3064634_1898_lagos_opt.pdf

This link you have posted with states that rubber and palm oil were the main stay of the lagos economy....isn't it also British?

aribisala0: The bitterness plenty sha. A law to FORCE companies too....oga WHY??
I do not think you thought that one through very well other than a motivation to hurt Lagos. Any way point of correction

Mining companies do not pay corporate taxes based on where they are headquartered that is UNTRUE. The staff who work there may but the firm pays based on operational location and activity and that is why IGR is so high in RIVERS. If I have a hotel in Aba will I refuse to pay tax because my headquarters are in Lagos??

Do you know any where in the world they have such laws??.
In Nigeria though I believe we would neet to change the constitution to make such laws.It sounds like an attempt to achieve Biafra through the backdoor?

Still waiting your response on Calabar??

Local content law, forcing companies to use Nigerian goods, have their engineering, management and recruitment companies in nigeria instead of abroad.

aribisala0: Lagos is open to all Nigerians who are welcome to live in Lagos as long as they respect its ethnic identity and customs. It s has always been an open place so that argument does not work.

Yes it's open to any and everybody but he shouldn't become angry when the land owners lay claim....every city in southern nigeria is open to all...
If you for instance invest your hard earned money in warri, why should you be angry or feel slighted if I call warri an ijaw city?

0lumide: your "IF TO SAY" na wash!!

All your Niger Delta states have been collecting more money than Lagos since 1999. Wetin Happen?

When Capital was moved from Calabar, why didn't Calabar be like Lagos? Wait, why is Lagos better than Calabar? even before oil?

The money from the SEAPORT doesn't even go to Lagos state account. It goes to FG so building the seaport in Lagos is not a Lagos business and a Yoruba man didn't advice FG to build the seaport there.

Lagos is planning to build it's own SEAPORT why hasn't Calabar done the same?

When FG sweet una mouth with dredging river niger lol, y'all thought it would affect Lagos income no be so? We shall see. Lagos gets nothing from the port. And if majority of the product imported ends up in Lagos causing the buyers to pay taxes, is that Lagos' problem? or how does that mean that Lagos is chopping oil money?


One thing you people don't understand is that Lagos is not mineral resources based economy like Nigeria. Lagos is market based!!!!!!!

Read the following Wikipedia links for your own cure
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos_Colony
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lagos

Did you see where oil accelerated the growth of lagos in the 60s to 80s?
Did you see how he need o stop the slave trade forced the British to enter lagos in he first instance and how run away slaves settled in lagos from all oops and cranny rapidly increasing the population?
Do you now see that Lagos has been lucky to have gotten special treatment from day 1, not because its indigenes are exceptionally brilliant.
From the other links by aribisala0:
Do you see that oil and rubber from the Niger delta helped the British with the foundational development for lagos?

Do you see the need to stop arguing and be humble?

emmatok: Are you saying Cotonou is not triving.
Do you know the amount imports coming to Cotonou even Nigerians go there to import.
So how is Cotonou been sustained indirectly from Oil. What oil.

Nigerian businesses revolve around oil money, it is the oil money we spend when we go to Cotonou to buy cars...
Hope this cures you

aribisala0: It is talking of population growth

and it does not say ;

else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port those are your words

and wikipedia is NOT the Bible or Quran so I do not have to swallow wikipedia.If I like I can go to wikipedia and change that so leave that story please

So there was oil boom in he nigerdelta and people just started rushing to lagos? Na wa ooo, don't you think some arguments are not necessary.

aribisala0: It is talking of population growth

and it does not say ;

else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port those are your words

and wikipedia is NOT the Bible or Quran so I do not have to swallow wikipedia.If I like I can go to wikipedia and change that so leave that story please

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos_Colony

This link makes it very clear why the population of lagos grew rapidly in the early years,
The fight against slavery by the British, not even he sea port as you claimed..

This liks from Wikipedia clearly say lagos experienced rapid growth because of oil, else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lagos
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos

I hope his ends all arguments about how lagos came o be how it is?

Afam4eva: That's what i was trying to put to Aribisala that if indeed Lagos grew because of it's location, how come those cities on the west African coast will similar strategic location did not grow as much as Lagos.

In the link he posted, palm oil from the Niger delta and east was one of the major earners for lagos, even more than cocoa in 1905. Niger delta resources have been building lagos ....nor bi today matter!

Lagosians should doff their hats for Niger delta and the rest of nigeria that they are not like Cotonou today instead of bragging about how much hey have achieved..

0lumide: Jealousy go kill una!!!

Let us compare Lagos and Calabar.

Lagos was Capital before oil, Calabar was Capital before oil

Lagos has access to sea, Calabar has access to sea.

Lagos never got oil producing state fund, Calabar got oil producing state fund.

Lagos had allocation withheld by for 3 or 4yrs, Calabar never experienced this calamity.

What is stopping Calabar from being like Lagos? Cross River used to get the 13% allocation. What happened?

Una never start ooo!!!! Na wash una dey so lol...

My friend stop pretending to be daft

emmatok: Correct.
Some don't even know that Cotonou is triving without oil.
They also forgot that Lagos is sacrificing her natural resources(crude oil) for commerce.

Cotonou is not thriving without oil,
I meant lagos would have been like Cotonou without oil money spurring the developments in lagos today...after all Cotonou has a sea port, so why isn't it as big as lagos?

If oil had not been discovered in nigeria, the developments the British made in lagos would have remained as any normal sea port city on the west coast of Africa. The oil money made lagos grow differently, especially as the fG placed every hook line and sinker there...

But funny enuf, even he economy of Cotonou is sustained indirectly by oil money from nigeria

aribisala0: http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1905_lagos/3064634_1905_lagos_opt.pdf

This report on financial statement will give you an idea of where Lagos Colony was in 1905

From the link, one of the major exports tru lagos then was palm oil from the nigerdelta...
So first it was palm oil, the later crude oil...
Nigerdelta una tooooo muchhhhh

Wallie: I think you missed the bigger picture of my post. Yes, I did focus on ports but ports could have easily been replaced with consumers, mineral resources, or skilled workers.

Here are different development cycles that could spur economic development:

Cycle 1
Consumers in an area
Businesses go where the consumers are
Workers go where the businesses are
More businesses go where the workers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life

Cycle 2
Goods in an area due to access (ports, mineral resources)
Businesses go where the goods are
Workers go where the businesses are
More businesses go where the workers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life

Cycle 3
Skills in an area (college towns)
Businesses go where the skills are especially if the businesses do not need to directly interact with consumers
Workers go where the businesses are
Different type of businesses goes where the consumers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life


What differs between Cycle 1, Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 is the size and diversity of the market created.


To answer your question, I don’t know if other ports were given a level playing field or not but for one reason or another, the Lagos ports may be preferable to shippers.

Ports without adequate access (in or out) will be underutilized. Also, if an alternative port is friendlier (cheaper, more accessible to bigger ships, more organized, provides better roads inland, closer etc), shippers will tend to use that port.


The real problem with Nigeria and her states is that we have governments that fail to recognize a particular location’s potential. There’s no doubt that some states will be economically bigger than others and some will even find it easier than others to survive but the mere fact that the state is populated, it should be able to stand on its own to feet. It is only when people fail to come to your state even with availability of jobs that one has a major problem. (See Canada excluding Ontario some parts of QC).

For example, take a state in the US, Delaware, with land area smaller than Lagos. Delaware really has nothing going for it but do you know what they did?

1. They created business friendly corporate laws that made 50% of all traded companies in the US incorporate their businesses there. Mind you, the incorporation address is just an empty office with nothing in it and I’m not exaggerating. I have one and I registered the company over the internet with no hazzle!

2. The state sits on the major highway connecting the East Coast to the South. They set up a toll booth just before you enter their tiny state and another just before you exit – extorting exorbitant tolls from interstate travelers.

3. On that same stretch of interstate highway, they reduced the speed limit to 50 mph from 65 mph and then station aggressive cops on the road ticketing all the speeders.

4. They built a casino for gamblers when neighboring states didn’t allow gambling.

My point is that they do everything they can from the very little they have. The same cannot be said for almost any state in Nigeria!

You forgot to add the cycle that worked in the case of Lagos

Cycle 4
Govt invest heavily in infrastructure, siting all ministry and govt agencies HQs in a location
People flock into location looking for opportunities and population increases rapidly
Increased population creates opportunity for goods
Businesses go where the goods are
Workers go where the businesses are
More businesses go where the workers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life

This is also now working in Abuja

AjanleKoko: This is by no means a countering of my argument. Just some political jingoism.
Why don't you list the industries in Lagos that are not service-oriented. Industries that compare with Lafarge in Ogun State, Sugar in Kogi, Iron Ore processing in Kogi, aluminium smeltering in Akwa Ibom, etc, agriculture in Kogi, Nassarawa, Benue, etc?

I trust you're not referring to banks, telcos, administrative headquarters of oil companies, etc. What significant manufacturing is done in Lagos today? Pray tell.

What about juice industry , it's big in lagos lol

Afam4eva: By Lagos, i'm referring to the Colony, the former capital of Nigeria and Lagos the state and if More and Ibafo becomes Lagos tomorrow, i'm also referring to them.

The colony of Lagos ended when it was merged with the Southern colony and was further merged with other colonies to become what is today known as NIgeria. Lagos was the capital of Nigeria until when the capital was officially moved to Abuja. Mind you, the proposal was made in 1975 but the capital wasn't moved until the late 80s.

In fact, the major moves started after the Orkar coup, when babangida no longer felt safe in lagos, I think this was in 1991 or so.....now the natural environment of Abuja is making that city grow like crazy? The way some people argue blindly is baffling at times

Afam4eva: I'm not doubting that the location of Lagos did not play a part. But my point is that it's not worth mentioning because what Lagos experienced is not what i will call a natural growth. There was a concerted effort put in place whether by the British or federal government. Lagos had access to the sea which is a good thing, but did the access to the sea do the magic? Hell to the NO.

For examples of cities that had access to he sea but no oil money, check Cotonou lol

Demdem: The first step is for us to accept and admit the fact that we need it and things will fall in places afterwards. An all-emcompassin SNC that will involve all nationalities, leaders, traditional rulers even professional bodies etc whose final decision wont be debated on but actualized is needed. i admit that there will be challenges in determining who and who however they arent insurmountable.
U cant ask an ethnic group to join a union they arent interested in. left to me any ethnic group should be able to veto against any union that isnt in their interest even if the majority wants it.

Like i said earlier, we need to recognize the need and other ideas from Nigerians will flow in on how best representation can be made. A new constitution is needed that will reflect the wishes of the people it governs and not this current one which is highly flawed.

Honestly speaking, I desire a true federation but I suspect that convening an SNC will be a waste of time...
As I am heading to the conference with tots of true federalism, someone else is head there with tots of a unitary government where he can use his large population numbers to determine how revenues are appropriated in this country....

If we were initially divided countries like europe..it would make sence to say...ok, since I cant agree to your terms or you cant agree to mine, then lets call off the whole thing, or better still what compromises can we reach without giving too much...

But in this situation we are already one country, laziness and parasitic behaviour have taken over peoples reasoning abilities, if I dont agree to your terms, nothing can be done (remember the constitutional confab organised by OBJ)..the SE and SS walked when resource control could not be agreed on and nothing happened...except for increased militancy~!

aribisala0: THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR LAGOS'S PROSPERITY IS ITS LOCATION BY THE SEA.A lot more has been put in Abuja and much quickly but Abuja will always be a financial burden taking rather than giving.Lagos's location by the sea is UNIQUE in Nigeria everywhere else from Ogun,Ondo to Cross River is hostile to Large Vessels.Lagos pays its way in terms of VAT,duties and Ports revenues(sea and air) to the Nation and was a huge earner of revenue before Independence.
Aba and Onitsha more deserving of what?? How much money has Aba contributed to Nigerian Government accounts

Thanks God you attributed it to the sea and not the extraordinary intelligence of the SW people...because we have been bombarded with this phylosophy for a long time...happily with social media like nairaland the trend is begining to die down, even if slowly but surely...

Secondly the akwa ibom port comming up should free the Nigerdelta and the SE from the bondage of going through the Lagos ports....just hope it is not sabotaged.
http://www.nigerianports.org/news.aspx?id=251

Demdem: [b]Firstly Ffuck ACN. Dont give a damn about them

Secondly, i believe the current ongoing amendment going on in the NASS is simply a waste of time that wont truly reflect the desire of the the majority but privilege few.
When u talk about Amendment, there are some issues that are sacrosant and cant be tampered with especially as it pertains to the structure of this country. An appreciable number has been calling for restructuring as regards the type of government we run, roles and responsibilities etc.
Just like i dont see the NASS scrapping states, i also dont see the NASS giving new states.
I dont see the NASS destroying the present structure and moving us back to regional government.
I dont see the NASS ensuring regions have full control of their resources and making the center less juicy
I dont see the NASS even scrapping the house (o yes there have been calls for such) etc.

The way forward is to re-structure this fraudulent piece of arrangement we call a country. Tear it down and lets determine firstly if we really want to be together and on what terms exactly and how. Our foudation is faulty, we have done so much of patching for so long that its hunting us. Its time to re-build. Amendment to me is patching, it wont last

Ammending the constitution wont do this but the Re-writing of the constitution.

The number of other parties in the house is insufficient to make any impact. they will always be voted down. It lies in the hands of the killer mambers and generally Nigerians.[/b]

What is the proposed structure of the SNC, because if you use number of LGAs, the north has more LGAs and will vote against true federation...
if you say each ethnic group should have equal reps than Isoko will have the same number of reps as hausa and yoruba...
so whst is the structure that the SNC will use....
?

edo.girl:
Fashola's statement is not entirely wrong, though Lagos economy will be badly affected if the oil tap is turned off. But what is certain is that the Lagos economy has evolved beyond a total dependence on oil - there are just too many things going for Lagos, that not even Akwa Ibom will be able to compete.

The other thing is, why are people from oil producing states so prickly and sensitive about others championing the prospects of non-dependence on oil allocations. Why must folks from non oil producing states keep apologising or feel bad about receiving oil allocations?

As long as Nigeria exists as a country, then we need accept that there will be some form of revenue transfer (subsidy)from rich oil producing states to our countrymen from poorer states. After all, it is only by accident of birth that we happen to be from oil producing states. We can take pride in being our brother's keepers, whether they come from Gombe, Kogi, Osun etc, but rubbing it in their faces all the time and demanding their never-ending grovelling appreciation is unnecessary.

The only argument I will support is one for a fairer share of the proceeds that recognises and addresses a legacy of environmental, social, and economic devastation of our environments, and I believe most reasonable Nigerians will support such quest.

Finally, I admit that Fashola appears to say too much these days, and some of his recent utterances can come across as exhibiting arrogance, though I doubt that is his intention.

Edo.girl
For instance a boys father dies and leaves him a fortune,
His uncles take the money and use for their their family and give him want they feel is best for his upkeep...after many years
the uncles chldren start boasting that they are in a wealthy position because they are smart, educated etc...

Giving to maintain a balance is right but it should be done on your own terms, there should be a mutual agrement...
A lot of ldiots have come to this forum to say that the huge population in lagos is because the yoruba are the most accomodating...imagin that rubbish?
This are people who haven't gone to cities like enugu, benin, PH and warri..

We expect people who benifitted imensely for oil to just STFU instead of rubbing it into peoples faces that they are the most intelligent, or most accomodating or
the best state etc..

Sweetlemon: It's the gospel truth. Lagos CAN and WILL survive without oil money and we all know how and why so no need for explanation.
FYI, I'm a south-southerner from the 2nd or 3rd richest oil producing state in Nigeria so my comment is devoid of tribalism

Swizaland, luxumburd, austria are presently surviving without oil money...that a people can survive without oil money is not in contest, whats in contest is that with our present leaching -parasitic way of leaving...lagos cannot survive

aurenflani: :-

The North can survive and thrive with ascending development without the oil. Our agriculture and solid minerals will perform the magic even greater than what happened in the past. Our people are better educated and we will not have destabilising forces that are helping to create distrust and hatred amongst us. In fact, the North alone will be the true giant of Africa.

Boko Haram dont think so..

naja2: I laugh in spanish, you guys and ur oil sound like a babe with big br east and ass but without brains. If Nigeria splits today i can assure you that ND will be the worst region after sharia north. Your new country will be ruled Gej, tompolo, alamasegha,uduagan, asari dokubo and even you know that ur people are very lazy and love to enjoy unlike lagosians u guys only came in contact with civilisation in the 80s even at that most of ur "cities" are like villages. Do u know dat switzerland, sweden and south africa has no oil and yet are doin very well. The best thing any nation can pray for is the good human capital and u will agree with me that the SW has this in abundance. I have no doubt that if nigeria splits today SW will be the best in a few years after.

When people gather to discuss, leaches and parasites also want to be heard!!