₦airaland Forum

These hungry pastors should stop adding to the misery of the poor people who are at the receiving end of all the problems in Nigeria. Why don't they take their so called preachings to the looters at Abuja.

Who made this rat brain minister of information? Doesn't he know that most traditional press in Nigeria are owned and controlled by the same peopple who are bleeding the system dry. Social media are the only avenues left where you can get some elements of truth and express yourself freely. Moreover, social media are global in nature. Tell me, will he shut down the likes of facebook and twitter in Nigeria. This isthe type of people we have a sministers; shame! What is wrong about the revolutions going on in the arab states. Don't worry, your turn will soon come even if you close down all internet services in Nigeria.

Habib Oshin - Nigerian in US - Haberdashery Custom Apparel
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Haberdashery-Custom-Apparel/14053186181

This is still affordable compared to UK tuition fees which will be raised to £9000 (N2,300,000) from next year. Currently it stands at about £3400 (873000) a year for UK nationals. This is even more for international students.

Eye, yam, stew, peed.

Do you mean - beed wets may eye?

Ajibel:
mtschew. read dis before

So? Why don't you go jump in the lagoon, freaking coconut head!

The Federal Government recently announced to pay men with 5 children and above the sum of one million Naira monthly salaries. A man heard the news and said to his wife - 'Eunice I have a kid with my girlfriend I'm gonna bring him so we add him to our 4 kids to make 5!' 'Good, go get him' replied Eunice; so the man went. But when he came back, he saw only one of his kids remaining! 'Where are the others?' he asked his wife; His wife cooly replied - ' You are not the only one who heard the award news; Their fathers had come for them!' 

The poster is a dumb Ghananian

Nigeria is already in a state of anarchy! By definition anarchy means lawlessness

I will sue whoever violates my rights

chima ike:
Why are u guys making Jonathan the scape goat, abeg answer my question, na today Nija spoil, you guys will not blame our past leaders for the decay of this country, na man when succeed a dead leadr last year, and became the legitimate leader few months ago, that u guys are blaming . Please just come out & tell us that u hate Jonathan because he is not your kin man.

Oshomole no fit take care of his state, in as much as say Jonathan is slow, but we should not blame him for every negative things in this country, it is not fair.

chima ike:
Why are u guys making Jonathan the scape goat, abeg answer my question, na today Nija spoil, you guys will not blame our past leaders for the decay of this country, na man when succeed a dead leadr last year, and became the legitimate leader few months ago, that u guys are blaming . Please just come out & tell us that u hate Jonathan because he is not your kin man.

Oshomole no fit take care of his state, in as much as say Jonathan is slow, but we should not blame him for every negative things in this country, it is not fair.

This shows how ignorant you people are; don't you know that the security of lifes and properties is the business of the Federal Government. They are the one controlling all the Nigerian security services including the police and the army. Its a pity that most people are educated but don't even know who is responsible for their security.

The Nigerian Bar Association says it is alarmed that most Nigerians do not know their rights contained in sections 33 to 43 of the constitution. They include, among others, the rights to life, a fair hearing, freedom of expression, thought and religion, and freedom from discrimination.

Patrice Ukposi, who chairs the human rights committee of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, said ‘”Not many Nigerians are very aware of these fundamental human rights. Even some graduates from universities appear to be ignorant of a lot of [them].”

Ukposi blamed the problem on casual attitudes and on poverty.

He said security agencies, especially the police, do not react well to people want to assert their rights.

‘’There are circumstances where people are assaulted. You see police manhandling suspects. Rather than eliciting questions from suspects or people complained against, the police end up beating [them],” he says.

Ukposi says the bar association will help mount a campaign to educate the public.

‘’We are getting to the public, through the press. We will [ask] the public to call us each time their fundamental human rights are infringed on,” he says. “‘’We want the public to know that they have rights enshrined in the constitution, and that they can insist on [them].”

Source: http://247nigerianewsupdate.com/?p=3554

If these clueless so called ministers are truly ready to do their part in restoring the economic well being of the nation to what it should be, they should be ready to work with anybody made to lead them even their worst enemy. This should not be about power play or personal ego, this should be about contributing their individual expertise in fixing the economy. Anyway, most of them are there mainly for their own personal gains and to line their own pockets and they will be ready to do anything to resist anything that will prevent them from fulfilling their nefarious ambitions. Most of them are clueless i.d.i.o.t.s.

I got this piece from a friend and I think I should share it:


If you are a Nigerian born between 1930-1980 Congratulations!
To Those of us Born 1930-1980
No matter what the new Nigerian generation thinks about us, WE ARE AWESOME!!!! OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !!!!
Our Nigerian mothers took aspirin, ate garri and fufu, geisha from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets on our heads.
As infants & children, we would ride in family cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, no shock absorber, bald tires and sometimes no brakes. We drank water from the mouth of public taps and not from a bottle.
We shared one bottle of coke with four friends and no one actually died from this. (We also learnt the virtue of sharing which seems to be going extinct right now)
We ate cake made with Fat and Agege bread, with real butter. We drank TreeTop made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing, that' s why!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the evening lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. We had no mobile phones. And, we were OKAY!! (Those were peacefull days!)
We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's,
no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE ONLY HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them there! (where we could actually verify who they were unlike the case with the internet)
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. (These accidents actually made us strong)
We would get spankings with belts, roots, twigs, or just the raw bare hand with five fingers and no one would call child services to report abuse.
(OMG, those spankings have made us what we are today, with a healthy respect for authority)
We ate crickets, bush rats, grass cutters, squirrels and those insects that come after the rains . Mama always knew how to deal with them with a nice cup of Phillip Milk of Magnesia.
We wore Bata shoes. We made up our games with sticks, scraps and pebbles or just the bare sand.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them, shared their lunch or their mama would prepare our lunch.
Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! And will even punish us for breaking the law. (I shudder to think what my father would have said if I had even suggested that he gives me money to pay for scores, what?)
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. What can kids today do besides push buttons. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with them all.
If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up in this generation. While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were. It’s nice to know that God was watching over us.

Lies! A fabricated testimony to lure you to her church

In a truely civilised society, vehicular movements should not be restricted to certain period of time - day or night; the problem is purely that of insecurity and bad policing, That is why every state should have its own police force, There should also be a national police, FBI style. The present Nigerian Police Force should be disbanded. The Nigerian Police Force was originally created by the British Government as agents of oppression to foster their own interest. They were never meant to protect the interest of their colony. Its high time we created our own truly community oriented policing system with the sole objective of protecting the lives and properties of the public. The current police officers should be used as security officers and prison warders. The criteria of recrutement of officers should be raised to include minimum qualification of first degree and each state financing its own police force.

They eat as if the world is coming to an end; f*ck as if they are competing for a premier place in fuckology and sleep like a log of wood - The result being ballooing into a massive orobo kibo!

Abuja lowo wa!

He considered himself being persecuted and tortured because the EFCC failed to lodge him ina five-star accomodation while being detained. He should be given a VIP treatment, remember he was a honourable Speaker of the house and not a common thief!

@sun of god
Why giving herbalists 80% trust?

How far will you trust these professionals in terms of percentage? Which group is the worst and why?
1. Politicians
2. Lawyers
3. Policemen
4. Journalists
5. Accountants
6. Car salesmen
7. Herbalists
8. Pastors
9. Mechanics
10. Builders

.

Nothing has been said about what will happen to anybody caught with irregularities.

How on earth do you compare the two actresses? One is an opportunist made popular by media hypes and multi-million dollars publicity and promotions; the other is pure beauty and raw talent who still triumphs internationaly inspite of so many challenges and obstacles. Why can't we learn to cherish our very own? That is why we are always regarded as second class citizens everywhere we go. By the way, who is Julia Roberts? I love my African Queen to bits, my very own Genevieve, she is no damn Julia Robbot!

Nigeria - emerging power

Who the heck is Ileke-Idi and who cares?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Nigeria: Is the Country Broke?
Rotimi Durojaiye
19 February 2011




Lagos — Nigeria is reported to be facing crippling financial constraints that have already seen net aggregate expenditure for 2010 balloon to N900 billion as the Federal Government struggles to pay contractors and finance on-going capital projects.

It was reported that the recent 53 per cent increase in wages and the pending increased minimum wage, in addition to the 2009 and 2010 budget cuts, among other commitment constraints, compounded the financial pressure on government such that it was twice forced into reviewing civil servants' salaries between 2009 and 2010.

Minister of Works, Sanusi Daggash, was quoted as saying that under the circumstance, the Federal Government may not fully meet its obligation on capital projects, huge wage bills and other competing demands on its finances.

"The government is going through a very difficult period right now and that is due to one or two decisions that were made," he said in an interview with a national newspaper.

Other demands on government finances are the N78 billion released to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) for the April 2011 elections, the N200 billion monetisation arrears, and the N65 billion payments made to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers.

"The implication of this on the net aggregate expenditure for 2010 was an increase of almost N900 billion from the 2009 to the 2010 budget framework", Daggash said.

He added that this led to the unacceptable cut in the capital vote to fund the recurrent expenditure in the budget.

He said "that was the first shock."

Daggash reckoned that the second shock was the issue of cash flow.

He said that even as the Federal Government reviewed the budget for 2010, they were confronted with the issue of cash-backing contracts.

"We could not effectively cash-back the reviewed framework. Because of this, we could not carry out our operations, meet government's obligations, pay contractors and then deliver on essential and needed critical road projects, new investment, and even speed up maintenance.

"The inability to cash-back affects the Ministry of Works, because in the construction of road works, you need planning and programming. The contractors for the period 2010 to 2011 would have done their planning from 2010, but somewhere around May/June in 2010, we reviewed the budget downward by 40 per cent. That effectively suggested that every contractor had to slow down and in some cases, stop work."

The works minister said huge money had gone into recurrent expenditure and this has affected delivery on capital projects and payment of contractors for certified projects.

"The contractors are not ready to work on credit, and many of them have actually accumulated certified certificates for outstanding payments. They are just waiting for payment whenever there is cash release. For now, no magic could really be done because in the budget framework, what is first is the recurrent expenditure."

Another way to mitigate the problem and trigger more releases to the capital side, according to Daggash, would have been to resort to the oil revenue, which picked up following the rise in oil price.

Daggash said that did not happen because effectively, the budget was running on a major deficit, which was initially in the range of about N1.7 trillion to N1.8 trillion.

"The finance minister, after the 40 per cent cut, expected the budget deficit to be halved to about N800 to N900 billion. But even after the review, the budget was still reflecting a N1.3 trillion deficit profile. So, inasmuch as the Ministry of Finance had released over N900 billion or so in capital releases, they still had another funding gap of about between N400 billion and N500 billion. This adversely affected the major spending sectors of the economy", the minister stated.

Notable Nigerians have continued to raise concerns on the state of the economy.

The Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) led by former Defence Minister, Retired Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, recently expressed concern over the increasing high cost of governance in Nigeria, advising President Goodluck Jonathan to work towards reducing the number of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and the overheads incurred in running them.

Specifically, PAC drew attention to the size of government at all levels and called on the President to tackle these and other developments impacting the economy.

PAC, in its recommendation submitted to President Jonathan asked the Federal Government to begin the process of merging and reducing the number of federal ministries and other government agencies "to help cut down heavily on government unnecessary spending."

Minister of Finance, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, had in September last year set up a committee to review the bourgeoning current and overhead expenditure of the MDAs.

Danjuma told journalists at the end of the PAC meeting with the President that the cut down in overhead by government agencies would help direct government spending on infrastructure development.

Danjuma said one of the suggestions made to Jonathan at the meeting was "reducing the number of ministries is one of them and where there are functions they should be rationalised."

He stated that boosting the nation's economy was paramount to the Presidential Council.

According to him, the President assured the Council "that most of the points we raised are already being addressed by government. And we have been promised that we shall have a feedback from government. And even if necessary, we shall be involved in finding remedies to all the issues we have raised."

Consequently, the campaign organisation of the presidential standard-bearer of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Nuhu Ribadu, called on President Jonathan to resign following the revelation of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) that the financial recklessness of the government is threatening the economy.

Reacting to the development, the Nuhu Ribadu Campaign Organisation called for the President's resignation saying it is particularly worrisome that the damning verdict was given by the President's own advisers.

"The President, who seems to be helpless in the face of this national problem, should also resign on the grounds of the findings of the PAC," Ibrahim Miodibbo, the spokesperson of the organisation said in Abuja.

"It is even more compelling that it is the President's own advisers who are not only admitting this, but apparently chastising the government for its inactions by calling for the President and his administration to be more proactive in the fight against corruption."

However, despite the recommendation of the advisory committee that he should prune the number of ministries, departments and agencies, President Jonathan has not only kept a large cabinet but increased the number of aides with the appointment of three new advisers.

Human rights activists who spoke on the issue described Jonathan's activities in the light of the PAC's recommendations as an act of irresponsibility.

"We are complaining that the size of the government employees is too large and he is still enlarging it. That is irresponsible," Carol Ajie, a Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist said in a telephone interview.

Ms. Ajie also queried the depletion of the Excess Crude Account arguing that the government's expenditure has not translated into growth.

"Why is the excess crude account depleting? Why is he emptying the treasury? What about the future? Why does he want the country to stop moving? These activities are not translating into development. He owes the country an explanation," she said.

There have been concerns over the state of the Excess Crude Account.

Recently, the foreign media carried reports about the reluctance of foreign investors, who were worried about the unchecked depletion of the ECA, to invest in the $500m bond issue of the government.

"Mounting concern about a huge outflow of money from Nigeria's "rainy day" oil fund has prompted some big investors to shun the country's debut international bond issue," reported the Financial Times.

The report also said the Excess Crude Account had depleted from $20billion in 2007, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo who created it left office, to less than $400million in September 2010.

Financial Times Africa Editor, William Wallis, has been covering Nigeria's foreign investment since 2007. Wallis explained why foreign investors were reluctant to invest in the bond.

"You would not normally for example expect foreign reserves to be going down, and oil savings to be depleted, while debt levels are rising too, all in a year when oil production has recovered and prices are soaring," Wallis said.

"These more sceptical investors concluded, so they say, that the general direction of economic management looks worrying and the risks are too high, They may decide that any mismanagement is connected to the election process, in other words is short term and decide that fiscal prudence again will improve after April."

Indeed, a few days before the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held its presidential primary, the Federal Government drew $1billion from the Excess Crude Account.

The money was said to be shared among the federal, state and local governments but some media reports suggested that the money was disbursed to enable governors fund the Jonathan/Sambo campaign.

President Jonathan's critics wonder if money from the account is being used for development but the Presidency insists that the right steps are being taken to put economy on track and it is only a matter of time before Nigerians begin to see the fruits of the government's policies.

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, had challenged Aganga, to a televised debate over the state of the economy.

In a newspaper advert published on January 30, 2011, Soludo stood by his claims about the state of the economy and defended his record as CBN governor between 2004 and 2008.

However, Aganga declined the challenge, saying that he had more important economic issues to attend to.

Aganga, instead referred Soludo to investors, "who lost so much money in the capital market."

He said: "I'm not interested in responding. I made a first comment and he has responded. I'm not a politician; I'm a technocrat and I have work to do. Let Nigerians who have lost so much money in the capital market judge. Let taxpayers, whose over N2tn is being used to fund the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to bail out the banks judge."

The minister said his main assignment was to see the economy improve significantly, noting that the Federal Government was committed to seeing things work.

In the open letter to Aganga, Soludo said: "If you are convinced that you know what you are talking about in respect of the economy, and/or that you are sure of what you said about my regime, I challenge you to a two-three hour televised national debate on these issues. Indeed, within the month of February 2011, I will publish a synopsis of the highlights of my tenure at the CBN - just for the record - and I will challenge you to debate them live on national TV with me."

Aganga, while reacting to claims on the economy by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, had been quoted as insinuating that Soludo should be in jail for his role in the economy during his tenure as CBN governor.

Soludo accused the minister of trying to defend the indefensible on the economy, declaring "By trying to respond to the former Vice President (Atiku Abubakar), you ended up avoiding 90 per cent of the weighty issues raised in that letter; and by attempting to provide laughable excuses, you make people shudder in disbelief."

"On a positive note however, I must congratulate you, if what DG-DMO was quoted as saying is true that the Federal Government has now agreed to borrow or issue bonds only for specific projects. At least, you have taken the first step out of at least six components of what must constitute a sensible debt strategy for Nigeria instead of trying to defend useless debt-to-GDP ratios," he added.

Soludo chided the minister for defending debt accumulation "on the basis that countries like U.S., UK, and European countries undertook 'stimulus packages' and ran high deficits during the crisis.

"Hon. Minister, these countries you cite were all in recession and the Treasury had to bailout their banks by recapitalising them. Except if your figures are wrong, Nigeria was neither in recession nor did the Ministry of Finance spend a kobo to bailout banks."

He further wrote: "If the figures you bandy on GDP growth (at over 7.5 per cent) is right, then Nigerian economy must be 'booming' and the idea of a 'stimulus package' and hence high deficit is a contradiction in terms. This is Macroeconomics 101, sir! Please stop shocking Nigerians by trying to excuse the depletion of our foreign reserves at a time of export boom on the grounds that what is left would still meet more than three months of imports. This is new Economics by your Economic Team.

"Perhaps, you should become economic adviser to China and all other countries to fritter away their foreign reserves until it can finance three months of imports, and for Nigeria, when oil price crashes we can then use water to pay for imports. Nigerians expect you to sit down and find solutions to the other issues and stop the shadow boxing. Congrats also for setting up a Committee to review public finance. These are part of the issues we raised in our earlier article in September 2010. I can notice other feeble actions being taken. That is how it should be in a democracy.

"But you must get serious, Hon. Minister. When you look Nigerians in the face and point to flattering comments on Nigeria's prospects by some people in some conferences as your proof that Nigerian economy is doing well, it does not make you look well informed; especially in the face of hard evidence to the contrary. As you were busy blaming people for 'talking down the economy', the UNCTAD report released in Geneva on January 17, 2011 slammed you again with a red card: foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria dropped by 62 per cent in 2010 (from $6 billion in 2009 to $2.3 billion in 2010)-again the worst in many years, and even worse than during the global crisis. While developing and transition economies increased their FDI inflows by 10 per cent in 2010, Nigeria's FDI fell by a whopping 62 per cent. During our tenure, FDI was more than doubling every year and even at the peak of the global crisis in 2008, stood at about $8.5 billion. Do you get the point, sir? The international investors are sending a strong message to you, Sir. You need to get your act together."


http://allafrica.com/stories/201102210374.html

Read the story of Mohammed Bouazizi

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12120228

Africa's Sit-Tight Leaders

1. Ben Ali of Tunisia - 23 years – 1988 – 2011
2. Hosni Mubarak OF Egypt - 30 years  1981 -  2011              
3. Mbasago of Equatorial Guinea - 32 years - since 1979
4. Jose Santos of Angola - 32 years - since 1979
5. Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe - 31 years - since 1980
6. Moummar Ghaddfi of Libya - 42 years - since 1969
7. Paul Biya of Cameroon - 29 years - since 1982
8. Yoweri Museveni of Uganda - 25 years - since 1986
9. Blaise Campore of Burkina Fasso - 24 years since 1987
10. Omar Bashir of Sudan - 21 years - since 1989
11. Idrissu Deby of Chad - 21 years - since 1990
12. Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast - 11 years+ - since 2000

[size=16pt]Next, [/size]

A true revolution
Watch it on CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=1

Exercising undue influence on the state of turgidity of my manliness towards short dressed, pout lipped. Long legged female humanoid  

Following the growing security concern in the country, the Nigerian Army has vowed to rise up to the occasion by nipping the trend in the bud .
The military hierarchy has also expressed readiness in collaboration with other security agencies to avert security lapses during the forthcoming general elections.
Chief of Army Staff, (COAS), Lt Gen O. A. Ihejirika, gave this commitment Sunday in his address during the Nigerian Army Social Activities 2010 organused by the Nigerian Army Finance Corps in Apapa, Lagos.
"You are all aware of the spate of bomb blasts across the country especially the one that took place at the Mogadishu Barracks in Abuja in December last year. There is also an increasing spate of killings by armed bandits as well as the activities of the Boko Haram sect in Borno and Bauchi states. Therefore, these unfortunate crises including that of Jos have called for alertness on our part," he said.
He further stated that his vision for the Nigerian Army, saying he was determined "to transform them into a force better able to meet contemporary challenges designed to address issues such as these."
He added: "We therefore need to adopt proactive security measures in order to stem this trend."
The COAS who was represented by the 81 Division Commander, Maj. Gen Kenneth Minimah, also doused any fear that there may be breach of security in the country as elections draw closer, saying as long as the soldiers remain focused and adhere strictly to their statutory role, there will be no such occurrence.
He however warned military personnel to desist from being used as political tools by selfish politicians. "A lot of political activities are taking place all over the geo-political zones and these have implications on our security and consequently call for our vigilance.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201102070365.html