₦airaland Forum

It seriously needed to moderate the political section of Nairaland especially on Ethnic threads....

Pukkah: This says it all.

There was a thread on which I questioned the average sum of about N144million which Peter Obi of Anambra planned to spend on some roads.

Many posters said that the cost was reasonable.

I left the thread because I didn't have the facts to support my feelings.

It's as simple as that.

The next level which our people should move to is to ask the government (state, local and federal) for the cost components or material/labour/overhead sheets of all public works. Or why do we have the FOI? Then the experts in each work area can analyze the information and compare to what's on ground in order to confirm value for money.

I like the way people are querying the cost of the bridge but we should rely on facts and not subjective judgement.

Thank for your positive contribution and just to add my 2 cents people should stop the idea of supporting an over bloated cost contract just because they seem to belong to a political party or are supporters of a political party..

Pukkah: Do you have the cost components? Do you have the BOQ?

What if it can actually support trucks but they've barred trucks for reasons other than structural strength?

Do you know that heavy duty trucks are also banned from plying 3rd Mainland Bridge?

The ban on Heavy duty trucks on 3rd mainland bridge came into effect on 01/03/07, years after it was built and this was due to the neglect of the bridge by the authorities up until the vibrations on the bridge became noticeable by motorists plying the bridge..The ban affects only heavy-duty vehicles like trailers and tankers above 10 tonnes...

agbameta: Sounds like you are inferring that this bridge is sub standard simply because trucks are not allowed on this bridge, but shouldn't common sense tell you that the best way to increase the life of this bridge is to prevent trucks and heavy load vehicles from plying the bridge and also due to the fact that trucks can not safely climb and maneuver around on this bridge.

If you are going to argue and criticize, feel free to do so, but not with bogus and layman reasonings..

I still repeat the fact that 3 billion Naira cannot be spent to build a bridge that trucks cannot safely climb and heavy duty trucks cannot ply....Now using the life span to justify the ban of trucks on the bridge is just ridiculous when you and I know that it is the continuous maintenance of the bridge that will prolong its life span and not the plying of the trucks on it, if at all 3 billion was spent on it..

Pukkah: I would be happy if informed people could prove that the cost of the flyover is too high. Ajimobi is doing well and the people are generally happy with him but that should not be a reason for inflation of contracts. Like an average person, I prefer more to less. If the cost of 1 flyover can build 1 and a half, why not?

In as much as I want Ajimobi and other governors to be scrutinized, we should do so on the basis of facts and not emotions.

By the way, what's your definition of a sub-standard flyover?

When a purported and concocted 3 billion naira is spent on building a bridge that trucks are barred from its usage then it is sub-standard and what is your definition of a standard bridge?

Nigeria cannot divide it is just a conspiracy theory properly calculated and executed by Nigeria politicians from all ethnic group to score cheap political goal to hold on to power,unfortunately the poor,uneducated and gullible people have been deceived and they keep killing themselves and hating each other while their rulers smiles to the bank, calling them fools.....Like an elder statesman said "Nigeria cannot divide because the poor cannot instigate the division but the rich and the rich is too busy with their loot to instigate the division..Let us not be fooled... #Enoughsaid

Abok1:
There's a painful trend that is noticeable on Nairaland based on the replies posted so far. Rather than facing the issue and calling out people who should be cautioned against breaking the laws, majority of Nigerians would rather capitalize on the issue to score cheap political points.

If we call ourselves adults, I wonder what we would be teaching our children by supporting acts of lawlessness. We should learn to separate issues from personalities.

In saner climes, no one in his right senses would drive on a restricted road, and the process of limiting vehicular activities on bridges doesn't necessarily depict that the structure is sub-standard, there are specifications for different infrastructures (this is what the layman would call the lifespan), although we don't respect this in Nigeria hence the persistent breakdown of machineries and infrastructures. While the governor was sensible enough to stick with the plan and specifications of the designer of the bridge, some illiterate politicians are playing politics with the bridge.

The salient questions remains:
Are the politicians more informed than the civil engineers responsible for the evaluation of the project?
Do they know if the foundations of the said bridge is wide enough to support a wider bridge which would in turn enable the bridge to conveniently support heavy duty vehicles?

I weep for Nigeria's future leaders if these replies represents the mindset of Nigerians.

My friend with all the parameters you have stated for a standard bridge 3 billion Naira is more than enough to meet all the standard for a heavy duty truck to ply the bridge.....Simple...the bridge is substandard and what evidence does the government have to prove that the barrier was intentionally destroyed by the opposition other than there unverifiable security report claim.

wellmax: You have learnt how to read, next learn how to comprehend.
Where did you hear them say the barrier cost N3B?
The barrier was meant to prevent heavy duty vehicles from using the flyover since there is an alternative route for them (a common practice all over Nigeria).
Its a pity how we politicize everything.

The question is why claim you spent 3 billion Naira on a bridge that cannot be plied by heave duty trucks....the fund spent does not justify the standard of the bridge and that is a good point the opposition raised....Creating an alternative route for the trucks is a waste of public fund....Stop believing the conspiracy theory of Nigeria politicians, do some home work yourself.

We struck at two banks in that state and I got about N500,000 as my share and life began to become normal for me again. Godogodo also brought a bullion van job for us again at Ijebu-ode and we succeeded in carting away all the money in the bullion van which included foreign currencies. My share in that job was N150,000. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/how-we-stole-n700m-at-ikeja-airport-k-money/#sthash.1j4FJIKF.dpuf

Could this be the robbery that led to dismissal of the police officers?

Ikpediarukevwe: Abeg make una like my post. Thanks

When i learn how to pronounce your monicker

Inspector General of police Abubakar recently claimed that the force is IT compliant after the dismissal of Sgt. Chris Omeleze who was caught on tape demanding for bribe. We want to know why the IG has refused to obey the court order to reinstate this police officers who have served this country meritoriously but wrongly dismissed as they claim. The IG must stop the impunity of disobeying court orders and the misuse of power by those who are vested with the responsibility to lead must be condemned and rejected by Nigerians.

Why has the Nigeria Police, which is charged by law with the maintenance of law and order in the country, refused to obey the order of a court concerning its own officers who were illegally sacked in 2010?

According to an account obtained by SaharaReporters, the men, who were attached to B’Ops of the Imo State Police Command, were ambushed by about 40 armed bandits on February 3, 2010 while they were on escort duty with First Bank.

“They were armed with sophisticated weapons including sub-machine guns and rocket launchers,” a letter to SaharaReporters by one of the affected officers said. “We were armed with two smoke guns with two canisters each, k2 riffle, pump action and some AK47 with twenty five rounds maximum.”

He stated that during the attack the police vehicle in which they were driving somersaulted and was damaged beyond repair. Six of the officers were shot and wounded.

“We disembarked and returned fire for fire wounding some of the robbers but when we saw that the bandits will over power us, we called for re-enforcement but non-came for over two hours of operation, as a result they went away with the money.”

The officers said they were then detained under the orders of the Inspector General of Police at that time, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo. A few days after being released from detention, but with some of the injured officers still receiving treatment for their wounds, they received instructions they had been dismissed.

The officers said that since they had not been given neither fair hearing nor time to appeal, they had no option other than to go to court which eventually ruled their dismissal to be unlawful, wrongful and without due process and ordered that they be re-instated with their entitlements.

“The judgement was sent to the legal department of the Inspector General of police and the Police Service Commission on the 3rd of May, 2011. [The] police acknowledged the receipt of the judgement and promised to comply. Seven months after without any action from the police, we sent reminder on the 4th of December 2011. But up till this moment we have not heard from either the police or the Police Service Commission.”

In an interesting twist, the affected officers noted that Assistant Commissioner of Police B’Ops in Imo State, John Achuam, who had taken the matter before the IGP in the first place, accusing the men of failing to protect the money from the robbers, was eventually ordered by the Commissioner of Police to mobilize a team to arrest the same armed robbers that had attacked the First Bank escort team in February 2010.

That development followed intelligence available to the commissioner as to where the robbers were hiding and that they were planning another attack.

“The assistant commissioner mobilized 82 policemen well-armed [but] even with the advantage of a surprise attack [under] cover of darkness they were completely overwhelmed by these robbers and a policeman, one sergeant Emmanuel Onwunanim, was shot and killed by the robbers. Police vehicle [was] destroyed and a rifle and a police walkie-talkie [was] snatched from them by the robbers.”

Stressing the refusal of the police to implement the judgement of the court, the complainants noted that prior to the incident, none of the men had a bad record. Indeed:

Inspector Ubi at the time of the incident had only two years to retire; he had served Nigeria meritoriously for 33yrs with his life at stake without a single dent in his record;
Inspector Kufre was a cadet inspector who joined the force only in 2007, and had no dent on his record.
“We were not on illegal duty, we were not on road block,” the complaint said. “Our only offence is that we [were] supposed to have died in the operation but we refused.”

They further pointed out as follows:



The monitoring unit of the IGP’s office which investigated the case as ordered by the IGP also took the cell phones of the officers for analysis but nothing incriminating was found.
The Imo State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigated the case and nothing was found which implicated the officers.


They said the Abuja provost were just acting on the instructions of Mr. Onovo and that the men did not receive a fair trial; they did not sign their statements as they were supposed to, and their punishment was not read to them.

“This is almost four years since this incident happened and we cannot keep waiting again,” they said, calling on Nigerians to come to their aid.

“We are suffering. Our children have stopped going to school as we hardly can give them food, not to talk of school fees. We are just being unjust and inhumanely treated, we are Nigerians citizens, we were on official duty to protect Nigerians, we don’t deserve this treatment,” they pleaded.

The office of the IGP has not responded to the invitation to respond to this complaint.

Just yesterday, while ordering the redeployment of 14 police commissioners to various formations in Nigeria, the IGP, Mr. MD Abubakar, said it was aimed at greater efficiency and better performance in the fight against crime and criminality.

An official statement said, “The affected CPs have been urged to vigorously step up the fight against all forms of criminality in their new Commands and Formations. They are enjoined to leverage on the cordial relationship among sister security agencies in their respective beats, to ensure that criminal activities are reduced to the barest minimum. They have also been charged to ensure that officers and men under their supervision are mindful of the rights of the citizenry, while cultivating the trust and confidence of the public in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities.”

Source: Saharareporters.com

It's very simple. Babies, especially newborns, have brains which aren't developed enough to even entertain the idea of beliefs. They have no concept of gods because their brains aren't capable of processing that information. Since this is the case, all babies are atheists, until their brains develop enough to understand language and process god concepts and until that information is actually given to them........... As a side note, the fact that children need to be taught about god is still more evidence that god is not, as many theists claim, self evident in the universe........RRS Feed.

Fadelex: kai...dis guy don play fast on me...well, Condoleezza rice is still available

Bro...did I hear you very well? Please that's my woman Condoleezza Rice Deeptesting......send me your email for our wedding invitation which has been fixed for December btw HML to Leif and Sesay

Just keep hoping,working and believing u don't get caught on the wrong side.......

From the security to the bank MD of UBA in my business operational area are my friends, I give when I feel like putting a smile on their face....

ladenz: you can be so insensitive at times. how do you think a Kogi indigene will feel when he reads this post. its not right for people to hide behind social media to insult others. NL moderators have to be very careful. We have seen how Social media led to the revolution in the middle east. we should not take for granted what our insulting comments can generate outside. we are all free to have our various opinions but we should be state them like mature people

I think inciting one tribe against the other has become the best political ideology used by politicians to gain cheap political goal, the disturbing fact is that the Nigerian people swallow it with pride when it is thrown to them and most unfortunate it has been bought by the younger generation as shown by the post of ACIDOSIS......I expected him to attack the government and not the people of a particular tribe who by history are his brothers and Sisters.

My concern everyday is how the President copes with this woman.........Probably the reason for his cold smiles..

seedord247: The igbo's are fighting PH fellas in another thread and lokoja ppple are fighting the igalas here. Yet these inglorious ingrate will always blamed fashola for porting them back to their Origin.

PDP... Keep giving them fresh air.

Please give me the link to PH-Igbo people......
Back to the topic: The people of Kogi should stand up and demand for good governance, Acid what are you doing to bring in APC or PDM to Kogi state since PDP has failed you or is it the Igala people that failed you? Well, that I doubt...

The receiver is culpable as the giver.......If the police are corrupt free the people cannot give them bribe in place of carrying out their constitutional job....#Noexcuses

Quite sad to lose a child..However the father should accept his fate...it is just one of the numerous accidental discharge from NPF AK-47 although accidentally discharged by a 10yr old amateur gun handler and yet to be recruited into the NPF.

My annoyance is that the more people talk about the disintegration of Nigeria the farther their heart is far away from it..

They should free the old woman and look for dishonorable Ogundu Kingsley Chinda to kidnap...What has the Mum got to do with his dishonorable activities as a politician..

Chei!!! that concept is badt but poverty why?

naijababe: No 2 and 4 is all anyone needs.

I was brought up to be kind than be right but paid a very big price for it especially with Nigerians,however,no 4 has kept me going....Sometimes i just feel people are not worth the kindness you show them, you have to establish your right.

“Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed. Results like these do not belong on the résumé of a Supreme Being. This is the kind of shit you'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude. And just between you and me, in any decently-run universe, this guy would've been out on his all-powerful ass a long time ago. And by the way, I say "this guy", because I firmly believe, looking at these results, that if there is a God, it has to be a man. No woman could or would ever Bleep things up like this. So, if there is a God, I think most reasonable people might agree that he's at least incompetent, and maybe, just maybe, doesn't give a shit. Doesn't give a shit, which I admire in a person, and which would explain a lot of these bad results.”
― George Carlin

I am neither bitter nor cynical but I do wish there was less immaturity in political thinking.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

@OP why is Jesus Christ a white man and the Devil a black man? I will be back just sneaked in to see what is going on NL. It is called MENTAL SLAVERY...

Unscrupulous thie********f

Living in fear or judgement is not how I will spend my life. Realizing that this life is all I get and your life is all you get, brings a need to make the best of all possible. Michael Stanton.

An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.......John Buchan.

Sloganz: Okay i am starting to adjust to my life as an atheist.
So far nothing is different in my life, just the fact that my Sundays are free.
I no longer have that burden of waking up and going to church, fortunately!

Am i the only atheist here?

Atheism is more than just the knowledge that gods do not exist, and that religion is either a mistake or a fraud. Atheism is an attitude, a frame of mind that looks at the world objectively, fearlessly, always trying to understand all things as a part of nature....Carl Sagan

Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man -- living in the sky -- who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do.. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time! ..But He loves you........George Carlin

@Slogan you are not alone....

The existence of religion makes a great deal of sense : It has been the best way to earn money from idiots .....Carlos Mora