₦airaland Forum

The Deputy Governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, who is a strong member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday urged Northerners to vote enmaess for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in his second term bid as President in 2015. Doing this, he said, would instill fairness, justice and equity in the fabric of the country’s polity.

The former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, premised his argument on the fact that everyone who had the opportunity to become president of Nigeria, were given the opportunity to go for second term, adding that former Presidents Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, were given the same opportunity.

“If the former late President, Umaru Shehu Yar’Adua were still alive, he also, would have been given the same opportunity. Why not Jonathan?”, the deputy governor asked.

Shagari who granted THISDAY an interview in Abuja, said Jonathan, who is from the South-south and the people of that region have been supportive of the Northern political agenda for almost 50 years.

On why he maintains such declaration, even though some elite opposed Jonathan’s second term bid, he said: “If now, the opportunity has come for us as northerners, to support the candidacy of the South-south, because one good turn deserves another, and I knew at that point in time, when I made that pronouncement, politically, it was not a popular thing to say.

“We should not just vote based on popularity, we should in this country imbibe this idea of fairness, justice and equity and allow others to have opportunity when that opportunity comes around, and I still maintain that position, in that Jonathan should be given all the support that he needs to have a second term, because as far as I’m concerned there are challenges, yes, but he is doing the best that he can to make this country a better place for us.”

According to him, any President, could be in the same shoe with him, regarding all the security problems, adding that Nigerians should not ask him to go based on those challenges. He said Jonathan should be given all the support that he deserves.

Shagari said: “We should also understand that the problem of this country was not created by him. He inherited most of them, including the security problem. What we have to do as a nation is to come out boldly and support him to fight the insecurity that we have, and also to give the people of the South-south the opportunity to have a second term.”

GEJ '2015!!!

President Goodluck Jonathan

*Jonathan calls for more investment in Nigeria


The bilateral trade between the United States of America and Nigeria has risen to $36 billion annually, President Goodluck Jonathan has said.
The president, who disclosed this late Wednesday in Washington DC., also called for more US investment in Nigeria.

According to him, the bilateral trade would continue to appreciate with greater cooperation between Nigeria and its allies in the United States government, as well as the private sector.

In a statement by Jonathan’s spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, the president spoke at a dinner held in his honour by the United States Chambers of Commerce and the Corporate Council on Africa.


Jonathan said his administration welcomed the support of the Obama’s administration as well as other organisations in the ongoing efforts to positively transform the Nigerian economy and ensure it becomes one of the twenty largest economies in the world by year 2020.
Jonathan also called for greater direct investment in Nigeria from the United States.


The president added that recent developments had shown that Obama was right, when he spoke in September last year of increasing international recognition of Nigeria's role in the global economy.

He added: "Our economy has since been rebased and it is now the largest in Africa. We are the 26th largest economy in the world and the largest trading partner of the United States in Africa. Latest figures show the volume of trade between Nigeria and the US to be $36 billion and still counting.

"Between last year and now, we hosted the World Economic Forum on Africa which was attended by 1,000 participants from 70 countries. The forum attracted over $68 billion in investment to the African continent in the form of FDI as well as private and public investments targeted at projects that would foster the agriculture sector, improve infrastructure such as roads, railways, hospitals, education, skill development and ICT across African countries.”

Continuing, the president told the gathering: "We remain the largest source of natural gas and have large areas of unexploited fertile lands for agriculture. We have a huge stock of untapped solid minerals and we continue to make Nigeria an attractive destination for foreign investors through the constant implementation of our policy of creating an attractive and conducive climate for investors."

He equally explained to his audience at the dinner that while the oil and gas industry remains Nigeria's main source of revenue and foreign exchange earner, his administration was working very hard to fully diversify the economy, saying that he would welcome greater support from the United States for its efforts to make other sectors of the Nigerian economy more productive.


He assured American investors that his administration was taking all necessary action to overcome the Boko Haram insurgency and achieve greater security of lives and property in all parts of Nigeria.

Between late 2013 and early 2014, the political fortunes of the People Democratic Party (PDP) appeared to be on a rapid decline, following the wave of defections from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC). First, it was 5 out of the 7 aggrieved PDP Governors who, on 26th November,2013, defected to the APC; and, in less than a month, they were joined by 37 members of the House of Representatives. Suddenly, the APC membership in the House had grown to 172 while that of the PDP had declined to 171.

By mid-January of 2014, the APC had grown so much in confidence that the party’s Minority Leader in the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, addressed the Deputy Majority Leader, Leo Ogor, as “Deputy Minority Leader.” It wasn’t a joke! The APC was bent on effecting leadership change in the House, before it was restrained on 31st March, 2014, by a Federal High Court in Abuja. That, as it turned out, was the end of a tortuous hallucination for the PDP. To say that the party’s leadership was not shaken by that experience would be denying the obvious.

Ironically, however, the man at the centre, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, was unperturbed, confidently assuring his supporters that the PDP crisis was a temporary phase that would soon come to pass. He was dead right in his reading of the character and temperament of Nigerian politics. As far back as 27th August, 2012, just over a year after his election, President Jonathan had wondered at the impatience of some Nigerians, when he declared that he was “the most criticised President in the world.”

President Jonathan, however, assured that he would, before leaving office, become “the most praised President.” What was the source of this confidence, the open sesame or Magic wand, which would radically transform “the most criticised President” into “the most praised President”? The President’s answer, then and now, is “performance.” He believes strongly that, no matter the negative perceptions from some quarters, it is his performance in office that will, in the end, speak for him, defend him and campaign for him.

With performance as the main criterion for assessing President Jonathan, in relation to 2015, it means that his supporters will transcend partisan boundaries. Not surprisingly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Monguno of the opposition APC from Borno State, recently did the unusual by praising President Jonathan for his unprecedented performance in the agriculture sector. According to him, “We must learn to give credit where credit is due and I’m doing exactly that” (Daily Independent of Thursday, July 17, 2014). Monguno is just one among millions of opposition leaders who, in spite of their political persuasions, still acknowledge the achievements of the Jonathan administration.

In a similar vein, the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, who occupies his position on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has thrown his weight behind Jonathan and called on his people, Ndi Anambra, to vote for the President in the 2015 elections. Within the PDP, the support has been overwhelming, and almost without challenge. Day in day out, individuals and groups, civil society organisations, private and public institutions, are expressing their support and calling on President Jonathan to declare his intention to contest the 2015 Presidential elections. It is all in recognition of his outstanding performance.

Naturally, in a country where political jobbers and sycophants are never in short supply, endorsements of this kind should, honestly, not be taken as evidence of real political support. But, not when such an endorsement is openly expressed by a group as powerful as the Governors and Members of the House of Representatives, elected on the platform of the PDP. That, precisely, was what happened on Monday, 14th July, 2014, when this powerful group of politicians met and came out with a resolution, calling on President Jonathan “to officially declare to run for a second term in office after the Muslim fasting period, specifically anytime in August.”

Anybody who understands the power structure of the PDP and the political strength of the Governors and Members of the National Assembly cannot but conclude that Jonathan is home and dry, as far as the issue of who becomes President in 2015 is concerned. These politicians are not doing the President any favour; they are merely asking Nigerians to give him what he has worked for and what he deserves, having discharged the mandate to the people during his first tenure.

During President Jonathan’s electioneering campaigns for the 2011 presidential elections, he promised a lot. First, he promised to reform the nation’s electoral system. Are elections in Nigeria conducted today the same way they were in 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011? Think of the incidents of imposition of candidates, rigging and ballot box-snatching, etc.

Second, President Jonathan promised massive road construction/rehabilitation. Has he failed to confront the Benin-Ore-Shagamu Highway, the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway, Kano-Maiduguri and Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Vom Manchok, Mokwa-Bida Road, Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega Road, the construction of bridges, and many more?

Third, the President also promised to reform the power sector. Has he not taken the bold step of privatising and restructuring the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)? Has the power situation not improved from what it was when President Jonathan assumed office?

Fourth, when President Jonathan came to power in 2011, crude oil production was as low as 700,000 barrels a day. Today, has production not moved up to as much as 2.5 million barrels a day?

Are there still unending queues in the nation’s petrol stations? Has Nigeria, under President Jonathan, not become a major player in the international gas market through the implementation of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan: Compressed Natural Gas?

In other sectors, Agriculture, Communication, Security, Aviation, Women empowerment, Job creation, the Jonathan Administration has been remarkably successful. To cap it all, the nation’s economy has been growing at an average rate of 6.5 per cent, with an unprecedented inflow of foreign investments. Under Jonathan, Nigeria’s economy has been rebased at $509.9 billion, thus, becoming the 26th largest economy in the world and 1st in Africa.

“Performance” is thus the Open sesame of President Jonathan as he moves triumphantly towards 2015. His monumental successes have been recognised by millions of Nigerians who are now inviting him to continue his good works.

UNFORTUNATELY, most Nigerians are nothing if not servile in the face of money, and pitilessly weak, in the face of force; and even indulgent before crimes committed in the name of ethnicity. But the greatest danger comes from the complacency and a lack of any profound sense of moral outrage, by the vast majority of the working classes, against those who are actively undermining the economic and political wellbeing of the nation, as long as they are their kith and kin. This is not maligning anyone, but this is saying exactly who we are. It is clear that such a bleak character trait, is hardly uplifting or conducive to the moral exertions required of all of us, in order to wrest our democracy from the fangs of the money-bags, who have demonized and monetized (Nigerianized) it. It is our collective responsibility to do so, not President Jonathan’s alone.

But uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, and therefore, he must bear vicarious responsibility for all the crimes that are tearing Nigeria apart, including those committed at State and Local Government levels of government. The perception is widespread that these negate most of the gains and development advances of his Transformation Agenda. For the sake of preserving his legacy, he should learn that his natural goodnaturedness notwithstanding, crime and punishment must go hand in hand. Government is not a tea party, and among a people generally corrupt, liberty, uncircumscribed by vigilance, cannot long endure. Government to be effectual, needs both “shepherd and butchers.” And more importantly, he must take on board, Hazlitt’s advice that, all reforms except a moral one, will prove unavailing to the true ends of government. In other words, his Transformation Agenda must go hand-in-hand with the moral transformation of the nation.

This means that laws must be vigorously and impartially enforced and crimes must be punished, and seen by the public to be punished. If not, powerful hedonistic oligarchs and hydra-headed crime syndicates in the society will spring-up to challenge the government, with the ability to control and influence governance, whenever it is in their interest to do so. In short, to quote John Calhum, “A power has risen up in the government, greater than the people themselves; consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the collective power of their vast surplus in the banks.” This is the monster, “crime without punishment” has bred in our society. People who levy economic war against this country, through massive corruption, capable of undermining the nation’s ability to cater for all its citizens, should be regarded as having committed treason against the state, and therefore deserving of the severest punishment, including mandatory imprisonment for life.

In China, where official corruption is equally rife, such crimes attract the penalty of mandatory, summary execution. Unless such a draconian deterrent is put in place, and impartially enforced, this nation is doomed and on its way to becoming a failed state. That is why, despite the plethora of progressive initiatives by the President to better the lives of Nigerians, these have not meaningfully impacted on the life of the ordinary Nigerian. Consequently, a large section of the populace feel they have been wrongfully treated and made to feel like outsiders or supplicants, who don’t belong, have no ancestral tombs to protect, and no heritage or myths to defend, against predatory usurpers, who have combined to afflict the tyranny of wealth and power on the populace. It is this feeling of alienation and condemnation to the ghetto of the disenfranchised and oppressed that has given birth to the upsurge of violence and mindless lawlessness, manifested in acts of terrorism, kidnapping etc, a scourge to which the nation has been subjected for upwards of five years now.

To be truthful, for people quarantined in this ghetto, it will take a prodigious leap of faith for them to be patriotic. Nevertheless, no one in his right mind, can condone these crimes against the Nigerian state, even though the immediate focus and aim of those behind them, is to undermine President Jonathan’s administration and ipso facto, the Nigerian State. The point is, nobody is asked, or compelled to love President Jonathan, or approve of his style of governance, which is presently defined by the barren criticism of faults by those opposed to him, covering all spectrum of our national life. Indeed, there may be much to criticize, based on each individual’s expectations, but this does not give anyone the mandate to diminish his many laudable achievements, or to disrespect the Office of the President, or indeed run him out of office before the appointed time.

Jonathan’s ascendancy of the Presidency of this nation is a mystery – a mystery known only to God. But we are sufficiently forewarned in Scriptures, that God uses the foolish to confound the wisdom of the wise. Only a fool will dare to question or challenge God’s sovereign prerogative in the matter of the choice of those He wished to honour. So, let our focus, devotion or loyalty, not be directed to President Jonathan, whose moment of glory and power is inevitably fleeting and temporary. Rather, let our patriotism be towards the preservation and glory of the fatherland, whose enduring symbol of national unity is the Nigerian Flag. The Nigerian Flag, even more than the Supreme Court of the land, or the Constitution, exudes exemplastic power – the power that has the attribute or potency to fashion all things into one, and cannot whimsically be suspended, or annulled by either the orderly transfer of democratic power, or an illegal military junta.

It is vital that Nigerians should have a proper appreciation of the significance of the National Flag. Indeed, we should each carry a miniature Nigerian Flag fluttering deep in our hearts, and a full-sized one, hanging from the balconies of our home or roof tops on festive occasions, including particularly on Independence Anniversary days. And it should be noted that the Nigerian Flag is not for the exclusive use of government. Every Nigerian should feel able to use it, when appropriate, so as to develop a devotional attachment to the Flag, in the same way that Americans feel a sacred and loving attachment to their National Flag.

The Nigerian Flag is the iconic symbol of our sovereignty. It is there to comfort and unite us in times of national tragedy or joyful national celebration. It embodies the immanent, indestructible soul of the nation. Wherever it flies or flutters majestically in the wind, there our liberty resides. It is irreplaceable as the centripetal element of national identity and unity. The Flag is the only idol we can venerate and worship, without displeasing God in heaven, or incurring the wrath of clay-footed human gods on earth. It is a desecration and an abomination, for officials, who drape themselves with the flag in their exalted offices, to negotiate bribes and indulge in other corrupt practices. By the same token, it gives legitimacy to those who govern, righteously, under its banner.

The President, as the First citizen of this country, is the guardian and incontestable flag bearer, charged with the responsibility of holding it aloft. And as long as he remains the Flag bearer, we, for our own sakes, have a moral obligation and the imperatives of the “Necessity of State”, to stand four-square behind him, until the tenure of his Presidency comes to an end. And we owe the same obligation, to whoever succeeds him as President. To do otherwise, would be to cut our nose, to spite our face.

Even as I write, vultures, (external and internal) are hovering over what they envision will soon become the carcass of a failed Nigerian state, come post-election 2015. Nigeria expects each of us to do his duty, and rally round the Nigerian Flag. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “A Nation never fails, but by suicide.” You and I can prevent Nigeria from becoming a failed state. Even as our mortal enemies close in to dismember our nation, let us not supinely go gentle into the night of national oblivion the enemy is planning for us. Let us, before doom comes, and a curtain of darkness descends on our land, rage and fight against the dying light of freedom, and claim the rebirth of our nation. This is not a favour to President Jonathan, rather it is for the benefit of future generations of Nigerians, whose lives we have compromised, by our collective failures. In the words of Robert Burns, “We will drain our dearest veins, But we shall be free”.

To be a citizen-patriot is easy, because as Martin Luther King Jnr., has observed, “Everybody can be great, because everyone can serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love” – “The Community of Man”.

And so, as 2015 doomsday forecast beckons, let us with hearts full of patriotic zeal, to the Glory of God, join Cecil Spring Rice, in taking the Vow of Patriots:

I vow to thee my country – all earthly things above.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

God bless Nigeria!!!

Asiwaju Bola Hamed Tinubu ruled Lagos State for good eight (years without interruption, successfully planting his family members in key posts across the country. Various business of his spread across the axis of Lagos as if that was not enough, he went ahead mounting a stooge in power he could always manipulate at will which later caused one disagreement or the other. Having known all these, special blackmail were not raised against and all he thought was good enough for his thirst of power under APC was to blackmail the President as being behind the Chibok Girls abduction.

President Jonathan's administration is one that protects and sees to the welfare of the citizens.The traitors behind the abductions of the girls will surely be revealed. I strongly detest Tinubu's allegation against President Jonath, am not sure he knows the gravity of the baseless accusation he made.Am not surprised,he is at it again,Basket mouth don come again!!!

In the run up to his gubernatorial election Ogbeni Rauf has claimed that there are strong suspicions the PDP used scientific rigging in Ekiti resounding defeat of the incumbent Dr Kayode Fayemi, of the APC in Ekiti State.

But then, has Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola forgotten Dr Kayode Fayemi’s speech shortly after INEC officially announced Mr Peter Fayose (PDP Contestant) as the winner of the election? Fayemi said: ‘If indeed this is the will of the Ekiti People, I stand in deference to your will.’ The fate of elections lies in the hands of the people that’s what makes it a democracy: government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Who do we believe? The involved player or the far-away spectator?

MR. Anaere Emmanuel, Zonal Coordinator, Goodluck Jonathan Mass Mobilization Movement Campaign South West zone, in this interview explains why President Goodluck Jonathan should be encouraged to seek re-election in 2015.
Has President Jonathan done well these past years?
He has done so well in the area of education and he has succeeded where his predecessors failed. Take the alamajiri school scheme in the northern part of the country, previous leaders failed to realise the importance of education in that area. They neglected it, but this is the man that came and said no, these people need education. And made it compulsory for everyone in that region to enable the less privilege have access to education.
In the agricultural sector he is there, he has provided so many incentives for farmers, in the power sector the president has been able to take it to the next level, he has made sure that there is electricity in every city, maybe not up to expectation, but at least to a certain level. And he has promised to continue with that.
Do you think it is fair that President Jonathan still wants to vie for a second term in office, considering the fact that there are so many issues threatening the unity of the country?
Well in the first place nobody will say that it is as a result of Jonathan’s ambition come 2015 that Boko-Haram sprung up. Boko–Haram has said what they don’t want is western education, they have not said that what they don’t want is President Jonathan come 2015. So the issue of Jonathan coming to power in 2015 or his ambition to run for second term has nothing to do with the security situation of the country.
Do you think the south east is marginalized?
No we are not looking at the issue of marginalisation because we are not marginalised in any way, marginalisation is a political statement that can lead to division of the country. The Jonathan administration has been so fair to the south east region, he is one of our own and he is our own and if you don’t know President Goodluck Jonathan is the Azikwe of our time.
What is your word to Nigerians?
My advice to all Nigerians is to irrespective of age, status, religion, and party affiliations; where ever they are they should register, vote and protect your vote. Don’t get involved in anything that will cause trouble or insecurity. Wherever you are be your brother’s keeper. Keep your eyes on the ball which is President Jonathan, who is taking Nigeria to the next level.

The National leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, said Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan was behind the abduction of the over 200 Chibok Secondary School girls in Borno State. Tinubu, who spoke at the final Mega Rally for Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola at Osogbo, said since Jonathan had told the world that he knew where the girls were kept, he knew about their abduction.

He challenged the President to tell the world why they were yet to rescue the female students despite the huge support he had gotten from international communities. Tinubu, who ruled Lagos State for eight years said Jonathan was incompetent to rule Nigeria. He urged members of the party not to be intimidated by the large numbers of security operatives on the streets of Osun, saying they were only there to protect them.
He sounded a note of warning to the security operatives that anyone who failed to fulfill its constitutional responsibility would be exposed by the electorate.

While faulting the President on governance, Tinubu said, Jonathan could not send troops to Northern region where killings have taken over governance, but he had always enjoyed militarizing states controlled by APC during election period.He said “on Saturday, our President said he had decided to send troops to Osun in order to prevent killing and rigging and he noted that during the last general elections, some corps members were killed because of poor policing, we want to tell him that we know his plan; they must not send a fake corper to Osun”.

Amidst the myriad man-made challenges currently bedeviling the socio-political scene in Nigeria, perhaps not many have noticed the definite and sustained progress that is being made on all fronts-socio-economic and political. That is what politics of negative propaganda and acrimony has wrought in the polity, making it difficult, if not impossible, for Nigerians to appreciate what the government they elected into office has achieved so far. But in a way, the Jonathan administration should be blamed, too, having been shy to blow its own trumpet where none does so for them. It was Abraham Lincoln in recognition of the potency of sentiment who said “with public sentiment nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.” For the same reason, Lincoln believed strongly that “he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who only enacts statutes or pronounces decision.” When will Dr. Jonathan and his team begin to blow their trumpet so that many Nigerians may get to see or know about the numerous positive changes that have steadily occurred even in the face of all the odds placed in his way?

Take a few examples. On the economic scene, an on-going agricultural revolution which has seen a revitalization of the fertilizer distribution system that resulted in 4.2million farmers receiving subsided inputs, an additional production of nearly 8million metric tonnes of food and the consequent reduction in the food import bill from N1.1 trillion in 2011 to N648 billion in 2012 has already garnered international praise, with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina receiving global recognition for his efforts. This too has not been sufficiently brought to the knowledge of Nigerians.

One promising sub-plot of this unfolding vista of economic and political rejuvenation is the Automotive Industry Development Plan which has the stated objective of reviving local vehicle-assembly plants in order to boost local production of vehicles. The benefits of such a vibrant automotive sector to the Nigerian economy are strategic, as it could play a catalytic role in the economic development of a nation.

In South Africa for instance, the auto industry alone contributes about 7 percent of GDP and 12 percent of exports, and is the second largest employer of labour. Worldwide, the International Organization of the Motor vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) estimates that the auto industry directly employs over 9 million people. But going down the value chain beyond those directly employed, the automotive industry can stimulate the growth of thousands of small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SME) which would be involved in the development of numerous automotive parts, components and services. An automotive industry will create significant good quality employment and a wide range of technology advanced manufacture opportunities. Such an industrial base could form the foundation of the other modern advanced manufacturing activities for example in agricultural, mining and railway equipment production.

This is because vehicle assembly is actually the final end step in a long process involving designing and manufacturing thousands of parts, components and sub-systems. Major materials like chemicals, rubber, plastic, glass steel and electronics will have to be sourced locally and the suppliers are likely to be scattered all over the country, not just concentrated in the assembly plant. Such raw-materials and sub-component suppliers will constitute the upstream sector. According to the National Automotive Council (NAC), the Nigerian Automotive Industry currently assembles only commercial vehicles as they are easier to produce, whereas Nigeria need car assembly/production to fully benefit from the industry’s potential. The NAC has pointed out that Nigeria is well positioned to be a major assembly hub for international auto companies due to the country’s existing installed capacity, large labour force, significant local demand, and strategic location for exports. Data from Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), indicate that a total of about 400,000 vehicles (100,000 new and 300, 000 used valued at over N550 billion or $3.451 billion) were imported in 2012.

NAC stated that potential value added, if imports were locally assembled today will be N100 billion, with additional value incidental if local content programmes are vigorously pursued and that at full capacity the Nigerian Automotive industry has the potential to create 70, 000 skilled and semi-skilled jobs along with 210, 000 indirect jobs in the SMEs that will supply the assembly plants.

The downstream sector comprising of hundreds of distributors, dealerships and services centre across the country will further boost the economic impact of local vehicle manufacturing.

Other potential benefits from the local manufacture of vehicles include enabling Nigeria to acquire the technologies of mass production, quality control, lean manufacturing, computer aided design, and manufacturing engineering, all of which can be used to develop other sectors of the economy and hasten industrialization. The new Auto Policy announced in September last year, which took effect on July 1 this year, raised the import tariff on fully built cars from 20 percent to 70 percent for companies without assembly plants in the country, with a zero percent duty on imported completely Knocked Down Vehicles. This was done ostensibly to shift the advantage to local manufacturers and the new automotive policy is already attracting interest from major vehicle manufacturers.

Only last week it was revealed that Toyota Motor Corporation, the world’s biggest vehicle-maker had after completing a feasibility study finally given in to pressure from its Nigerian representative to start a local assembly plant which is expected to take off July next year. The Japanese automaker is reportedly keen to retain its number one position in the local auto market. Toyota is currently estimated to sell between 18, 000 and 20, 000 new vehicles in Nigeria annually through seven accredited dealers. The cheaper cost of local production as against full importation is expected to drive down the unit costs of some of their best-selling vehicles.

Kia Moto Corporation, a Korean auto firm with large local visibility has also commenced preparation towards setting up assembly plants in the country. They have confirmed plans to roll out their first set of made-in-Nigeria vehicles from their Lagos plant in September this year. Recall that about three months ago, another auto giant from Japan, Nissan Motor Company, unveiled the first set of Patrol Jeeps assembled in its Lagos-based assembly plant, which were presented to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja. In Spite of all the security problems, Nigeria has never had it so good. When will GEJ begin to blow his own trumpet?

A vehicle purchase scheme is already being mooted to ensure that Nigerians can acquire these new cars which will shortly be rolling off our assembly plants. The NAC is understood to be liaising with financial institutions and vehicle manufacturers on establishing a consumer credit framework which will enable Nigerians purchase brand new locally-built cars without having to pay in full in the first instance. This is a win-win scenario for everyone concerned, except perhaps for those who rather have Nigeria bled dry of foreign exchange by remaining dependent on the importation of fairly sub-standard vehicles. GEJ should begin to blow his own trumpet.

Emir Sanusi obviously fooled himself and should be charged as the law is above no one irrespective of position