₦airaland Forum

It's as if Ibadan suddenly woke up from its slumber 4 or 5 years ago, and now it is growing fast.

I am aware of some projects in the pipeline that will take this genteel city to even greater heights.

Excellent.

China's trade with Nigeria will boom into the future, leaving the controlling, intrusive, colonialist EU and UK in the dust.

I don't care about China, but at least they don't interfere in Nigeria's internal affairs.

In another 20 years, China will dominate the global landscape leaving America consumed by its own grand delusion of global superiority.

Yet, and despite the billions NAFDAC receives in subvention annually, their website is not helpful.

Most of the required processes can be done online, but Nafdac will not move in that direction. No doubt because of the bribery that goes on in their offices.

The Director- General that moved most CAC processes online should be moved to an agency like Nafdac to do the same there, and this Nafdac woman should be kicked out.

We need people with a 'can do spirit'.

Another problem in this country is there are too many hangers on. Even billionaires become follow follow.

Once they smell any chance of success around you, they impose themselves as your new best friends and security.

To get rid of them is wahala.

I think it is greed and lack of self respect.

JungleJustice01:
T

I could easily leave the house in it's state and build mine but that's not a good legacy either.

I would advise you build your own house first.

May be you are in a good financial position now, but there's no guaranty that will always be the case.

So secure a habitat of your own first.

Guyman01:
Even the Minister of Aviation Sirika has also signed the concessionary agreements for the major airports despite the matter being in court by airline operators.
He used security agents to force staff of Federal Ministry of Justice to sign the concession agreements under duress.

I hope the incoming govt is taking notes

This is not entirely true. I believe only concessions for Abuja and Kano airports have reached advanced stage.

That of MMIA is currently in limbo due to court action.

And we are borrowing another $800 million from the World Bank to share to people.

Borrowing money to dash out is pure madness.

I barely sleep most nights as I fruitlessly consider all the various options to get the country out of the hole it has dug itself. And I am not even a politician.

And then I wake up one morning to news of another crook announcing that he has spent N200 billion printing papers and training fantom staff for a fictitious census

What kind of wahala have we got ourselves into in this country.

Awolowo built industrial estates in Lagos. Today, industrial activities in those estates contributes hundreds of billions to Nigeria 's GDP.

He built roads, residential estates, schools, hospitals etc. These are all infrastructure and they have contributed massively and some are still contributing to Nigeria 's economic development today.

Whether current generation know what to do with Cocoa House is a matter for them. And do you think all the tall buildings you see in New York, Hong Kong, London are utilised to their full potential. The answer is no. Yet, more are still being built in those locations.

I agree with your base proposition that the next government must slow down the spate of spending on new public infrastructure because the country is in
too much debt., but selecting Cocoa House as an example is nonsense, particularly given the countless number of completed and uncompleted white elephant projects that more recent generations of politicians have left littering the landscape across the country.

Chai, N12 trillion.

Throughout Buhari 's first term, 2015 - 2019, they told us subsidy was costing about N500 billion per year.

It wasn't until about 2 years ago that we started hearing N1 trillion per yer, and then in the last year, they gave a figure of about N2 trillion.

So, how did the total cost throughout Buhari's 8yrs suddenly jump to N12 trillion.

This people have killed Nigeria with corruption.

The sad truth is, even if Tinubu spends the whole of his 4 years chasing after stolen money, the government will not recover 5% from these cruel people.

Women are more likely to find financial elevation and independence quicker in these foreign countries.

The day your wife starts earning enough to not depend on you in any of these countries, the dynamics of the relationship is very quickly likely to change.

In Nigeria, however successful a wife is, she will think twice (may be 10 times) before summoning the courage to tell her husband, my dear please wash the plates in the kitchen, wash the clothes and spread them outside, and tidy up the room and the toilets.

But abroad, na so your prim, previously holier than thou (when in Nigeria) wife go call you from work one day and tell you she's going on a night out with colleagues from work and remind you to do those things I mentioned above. Fear no go gree you ask why she want go out for drinks.

Na then you go no say, levels have changed. You wey you be 'oga' for Nigeria, for London, na just House man you be o. You do anyhow, you see anyhow

By the way, your wife who used to say divorce is 'over her dead body' in Nigeria will be so happy divorcing you in the UK.

That's not to say married people should not relocate abroad, but just know that however tight you feel your marriage is in Nigeria, moving abroad immediately increases the likelihood of that marriage failing within the next 7 years by at least 50%.

Please don't make the mistake of saying it can never happen to your family o. The people divorcing abroad also believed it could never happen to them.

nymphomaniac:
Fingered?

Quite inelegant choice of word.

And the newspaper editors allowed it.

If you are flaunting N200m Rolls Royce, Bentley, Range Rover, G Wagon etc surely you can reach a quiet and respectable settlement with your child's mother.

N2m per month for the child's accommodation and general maintenance + school fees at a top school + 1 holiday per year to a foreign destination

All of this should cost around N30m per year.

If the man can pay N200 million for one car, and has several such cars, N30m for a child per year is not excessive.

If the lady goes to court, she will likely get it - may be minus the foreign holiday.

I've never found the need for a security man, house maid etc

I open my own gate, come rain or shine. I even wash my car whenever I can.

What security can someone who is untrained for the job provide?

Having total strangers in my space makes me very uncomfortable.

Being too close to people in this country has more downsides than upside.

EU

Totally irrelevant and pompous organisation only on the lookout for riches here to bolster their members' old, tired economies.

France is drowning in debt, can barely sustain itself yet goes around deluding itself that it has any power or influence globally. France and the rest are hiding behind the EU to push a neo-colonialist agenda.

If they want partnership, their companies should bring their money to invest here.

Like Buhari, Tinubu must not sign any EU-Nigeria trade pact that is not in our interest. I thank Buhari for refusing to sign that agreement. Ghana signed it - where are they now.

We should be looking east to China, India, Singapore, South Korea etc for trade and technological partnerships. Asia is the continent of tomorrow.

PDP are frustrated that the G5 did not and are not leaving the party, so the rest can have full control.

The worst outcome for PDP is for Wike to remain in PDP, continue to fraternise with APC, and yet want to exercise influence in PDP.

I doubt there is any amount of reconciliation that will make Wike to yield full control of PDP to Atiku and Tambuwal.

I think Wike must be allowed to share PDP power with those two, or he will continue to undermine them and the party.

I think Wike's grudge with Tambuwal is even deeper than with Atiku, and Wike will know that Tambuwal still nurses ambition to be president.

Didijiji:
Thunder go fire any stupid government wey go try remove subsidies without fixing the refineries or flooding the country with cheap transport systems

'...flooding the country with cheap transport systems'.

So, basically another subsidy.

Nigerian government doesn't produce buses, trains etc, so how is it going to 'flood' anywhere let alone the whole country with them.

By transferring hundreds of billions to Chinese manufacturers annually and effectively subsidising their economy?

Doesn't sound like a smart policy.

I am convinced Tinubu will remove fuel subsidy. I expect him to sanction removal of up to 50% of it within the first 12 months of his administration.


The country is nearly bankrupt, yet people want to hold on to this destructive policy.

MissOpe:
What about binance and kucoin who have big presences in Nigeria especially binance?

Binance is also Cinese-owned, though it too is in the firing line of the US right now.

However, it is a big company. Whether it is less likely to fail due to its size is another matter.

MissOpe:
As soon as I saw the post, I quickly rushed to check if gate.io ( a cryptocurrency exchange) was included so as not dash my hope of ever withdrawing my 50$ usdt from there...

To those who trade and use gate.io, please what's the status of the exchange, are they done with maintenance yet?

It's been 3 days now and we are not allowed to withdraw our coins ....

Gate.io is probably owned by the Chinese and I won't be surprised if its registered office is based in an offshore Island country somewhere.

As it is not based in Nigeria, it is not regulated by Nigerian authorities so you are basically on your own if anything happens.

I would not advise anybody to put too much of their monies into companies like these that avoid the prying eyes of regulators by registering in shady far flung Island countries.

Commissioning doesn't mean it is ready to start producing.

I assume they want Buhari to take some credit ahead of his departure from office.

Btw, from the date Dangote declares construction is complete, the refinery will go through several months of testing, may be up to six months.

Once testing is complete, production will be scaled up gradually and they may not reach full production for another 6 - 9 months.

In a massive production environment like this, you can't just press a button, and say, oya, produce at 100%.

babyfaceafrica:
Lmao.. You don't understand naija politics

This is not about Nigerian politics.

Trump, and even Obama pushed their own candidate for leadership of the Senate and House of rep.

I don't believe any APC Senator will insist on contesting against Tinubu's choice.

I expect Mr Orji Kalu will eventually withdraw. It will be political suicide to challenge the authority of this President elect.

Tinubu's 'I owe you nothing' and 'I will leave the banter to you and Sanwo Olu' comments in Port Harcourt will have sent a signal to even the most senior APC politicians that this man is going to be bold, decisive, and ruthless against things like party indiscipline.

Tinubu is not Buhari o.

chriskosherbal:
What we need for individuals who ply that route steady and lagosians in general is find lasting alternative route . It will go a long way

The challenge is alternative routes are few and they are often clogged too.

Before the Lekki to Epe axis became what it is today, Lagos state governments of about 15 to 20 years ago had the opportunity to properly plan that area, but they didn't.

Now the opportunity to create new arterial roads that those areas desperately need has slipped from the government's hands.

The few options left for the development of major new roads are going to be staggeringly expensive to execute, the government has no genuine answers to the traffic problem.

I know people who would not go beyond Lekki phase way for anything due to traffic.

emmaodet:
250% of 500 is 1,250. So the bread that cost 500 in Lebanon 3 years ago will cost 1,250 now

You are wrong. My statements about inflation and the price of bread in Lebanon are 2 separate facts.

1. Inflation (across their economy ) is currently above 250%.

2. The cost of bread is 50 times what it was 3 years ago. So, if the price was 10 Lebanese pounds 3 years ago, it is now 500 (10 x 50). In a Nigerian context, a N500 bread today would cost N25,000.

That's the Lebanese reality right now. Previously comfortable people are now scavenging for food.

That 40% salary increase was shocking. The questionable agreements the current government is rushing to sign are befuddling.

We need fiscal and monetary tightening to bring our debt profile to a sustainable level, not reckless spending.

Reckless spending = more debt, more debt = increased chance that we default on repayment, default will = crash of the naira to well over N1, 200 to $1. To put things in context, the Egyptian pound lost 50% of its value in 2022 alone. Don't think Naira cannot do the same.

Naira crash = hyper inflation which will finally turn the economy upside down and deliver us into the clutches of the IMF like Ghana, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Egypt, and Lebanon.

Inflation in Lebanon is over 250%. Today, bread in that country costs 50 times as much as it did 3 years ago.

That's the equivalent of buying a N500 loaf of bread for N25,000.

All because they failed to manage their economy properly. I hope Mr Tinubu and his advisers learn from what is happening in these countries.

He needs to declare a debt state of emergency as soon as he gets in and do the following:

1. Temporary ban on salary increases
2. Ban on certain infrastructural projects for 2 years - e.g no new major road construction should be approved. Let's do patching for now
3. Orasanye report or a revised version should be implemented. Many agencies should be abolished or merged
4. Sell off non performing refineries that are still gulping tens of billions annually
5. Get rid of the hundreds of APC hangers-on now swirling around him. If tolerated, these gluttons will be the ruin of this country.

In the mean time:

1. Channel resources into education - elevate university infrastructure, keep agreements made with lecturers, and help our schools produce graduates that can compete on a global level.

2. Increase import duty exponentially on non-essential reckless imports that are destroying the value of the naira. I don't understand why my local supermarket has 4 different types of almond milk. 10 years ago, nobody had heard of almond milk, and we survived. India, Singapore, China etc have these targeted taxes. Nigeria should double - down on high import taxes on certain goods.

3. Spend on improving efficiency in public service delivery.

A few years ago, registering a company was complicated and in many cases required bribing CAC staff. Today, the process is as smooth as butter because the entire process has been moved online and bribery has been eliminated. The efficiency gains are massive. This approach should be adopted across all government departments. It will significantly reduce if not eliminate certain types corruption, at very little cost.

4. Pay down our debt.

5. By the end of year 2, start loosening the purse strings again, but more responsibly than the current govt. Paying down the debt significantly will help to stabilise the Naira, and help Mr Tinubu to start investing in priority infrastructure again. New roads, better schools, well-equipped hospitals etc

Instead of immediate salary increases, he should consider removing all those earning N40, 000 or below from paying any income tax. This will help a large portion of struggling salaried people without causing as much inflationary spike as unrestrained salary increases will do.

We need to take a short term pain for long term prosperity. There are no short cuts.

I now fear for Tinubu's administration. Too many promises.

He must resist the urge to please everyone. Campaign is over. It is time to face the harsh reality of governing.

It is barely 2 weeks since we read that Buhari's administration is giving some workers 40% salary increase Unbelievable.

We desperately need to tighten fiscal and monetary policies for at least 2 years, so we can reduce out debts to sustainable levels. The last thing we need now is another government that is spending recklessly. This is not the time for massive wage increases, or indeed any wage increases. Otherwise, inflation will continue to rise exponentially, and the Naira will be destroyed. N1,000 to a dollar will come in no time

Do Nigerian politicians learn from what is happening in other countries.

Argentina - inflation 99.9%. Their currency has collapsed. Ordinary people cannot even afford food.

Egypt - inflation 32%. Their currency lost more than 50% of its value in 2022. The country is on its knees.

Lebanon - inflation 261%. Their currency has completely collapsed, most Lebanese don't even use it anymore. Bread now costs 50 times the price it costs 3 years ago. Just imagine if a regular loaf of bread that cost N400 last year now cost N20,000.

Please don't say this cannot happen in Nigeria.

With the level of indebtedness, Nigeria needs to tighten its belt, and watch every Naira it spends. There are no short cuts. The country must undergo short term pain in order to make long term gain.

Rather than increasing minimum wage and spurring more inflation, make all wages under N40,000 tax free to help low income earners.

There are 4 different brands of imported almond milk in a supermarket I shop at.

All over the country, supermarkets are full of non-essential imported products that we can survive without.

We need to cut back on the 'import anything' mentality to reduce the never-ending pressure on the naira.

Singapore imposes taxes of all sorts that increases the cost of buying a new car by over 400% in order to discourage purchase.

Why can't Nigeria impose similarly high import duty on many of the non-essential food imports?

There is an fx emergency now - the naira is heading for N1000 within 2 years.

Why is this news relevant to Nigeria.

We hear absolutely nothing about interesting countries in our region like Ivory Coast and Senegal, or even Ghana and others, yet you guys are fixated with meaningless news from a far away whose people don't care a zilch about you

Please report news from our neighbours.

[quote author=Pojomojo post=122792472][/quote]Your last paragraph is not correct. You can have a valid offer letter that does not cover some of the areas you listed.

I have not seen an offer letter from a Nigerian employer before, but in at least one country where I have worked for one of the world's leading companies, my offer letter was delightfully straightforward and only about a page and a half long. It contained only the most essential clauses. It did not contain many of the items you listed.

A non -compete clause is not routinely included in an offer letter for most jobs in the UK for example.

UK courts tend to take a dim view of non-compete clauses in employment contracts, and would only allow it in very limited and justifiable instances.

Unless your job will give you access to a highly secret commercial or research information, your employer should not impose a non compete provision.

Lionize:
One thing I suggest BAT should do as a president is to sponsor a bill that mandates all levels of government and its parqstatals and agencies to make their receipts and expenses public, to the last detail, on a monthly basis.

This will not work in practice.

Tinubu is a deal maker.

If your country or its investors want to invest here, Tinubu will say, o ya, put your cards on the table let me see.

If the deal is a win-win for all sides and will not harm Nigeria's long term intetest, Tinubu will cut a deal that will create jobs and prosperity for Nigerians.

Tinubu, a lagos man with street smartness will not be any foreign investor's mugu but he will be less hostile to foreign investors than some of the leaders Nigeria has had.

Also, as a super confident man, Tinubu will hold his own against any G20 leader. He will not timidly hide in the corner at such event like some of our past leaders were known to do

This can happen in any country. The head of that office will arrange for its repair. Life goes on.

You mock your country over every little thing and ask why it is not like Japan, Norway etc

Who told you roofs don't leak like this in those countries.

As I type, annual inflation is over 100% in Argentina. The value of their currency has fallen so much, it is a joke. Many people there cannot afford to buy bread. Homelessness is rampant in America. A high proportion of Japanese are miserable with life. Many British people can't afford food. South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Ask Ghanaians how it is going on their side. The list goes on.

There is no Eldorado anywhere.