₦airaland Forum

seguno2:
Thanks for the excellent analysis.
I hope the simpletons who are criticising without critical, rational deep thinking would pause and reflect on the above before striking at their keyboards again.

Thank you,

The feud on this thread seems to reflect what is happening on ground. The battle between the disconnected "assumers" and the involved "technocrats"!!!

Some just jump on their keyboard and post anything that comes out of it. Others have taken time to think critically and made brilliant contributions afterwards.

The Japan blame is completely invalid. It would have been acceptable if the disaster happened yesterday. Besides, INEC had enough time to know if the disaster will affect the process and therefore should have informed Nigerians on time.

Why start the election if we are not ready. It is like soldiers going to war before the weapons arrive saying "they will send the weapons to us in the battle field". By the time the weapons arrive, half (if not all) of the soldiers are dead.

2 Questions for the BB supporters who say there were no blackouts during the Buhari regime:

1. Did we have blackouts during OBJ's Military regime?
2. Did we have blackouts during IBB's Military regime?

Provide simple Yes/No answers to the above questions as a test of your ability to think logically.

I think we can but with a radically different ideology. We need to run the country the way a manager runs a corporate organization of international repute. We have a lot to learn.

I in INEC stands for Independent. It should be Independent even in the mistakes.

Exactly.

I will gladly support a Sanusi Lamido / Raji Fashola or Okonjo Iweala ticket on a stronger platform like ACN or whateva party they choose. Of the current opposition parties, the Ribadu / Adeola ticket is even far better than the BB ticket. If you look at the big picture, they have more to offer.

We need an opposition that is not just an "opposition" but a better alternative. BB has only promised probes, probes and probes for the next 4 years. A more serious candidate will promise probes AS WELL AS have detailed plans for addressing the key issues we face. It is like what happened to the Israelites when they left Egypt (Military Rule). It took them so much time to get to the promise land and that made them desire to go back to Egypt! Look at the topics discussed in the forum and see topics like:

"Was the military rule better?" or,
"Did the colonial masters leave us too early?"

Those questions sound very much like: "Should we bring back Buhari?" or "Should we bring back IBB?". These ideas are a result of frustration with the process of change. If we really need change, we should go for outright change and not try to recycle Something out of Nothing.

proproman:
nevertheless, i am really surprised at this. is mohammed abacha corrupt? most likely, yes. did buhari bring him to the cpc? no. does buhari support his candidature? no. what d'you want buhari to do, single handedly expel him from the cpc? even if he somehow manages to achieve that, what will you guys call him? a dictator and trampler of human rights, isn't it? now that he has publicly registered his displeasure at abacha's candidature, the best thing to do in this situation, you're calling him weak. what exactly do you want of him? let the matter just die, leta forget about it please.

Proproman, You have made some points here I would like to explore further. Those points highlight the fact that Buhari is not a superhero as people have tried to suggest. During his regime, he was able to achieve all he achieved by intimidation and by the koboko. As you have rightly pointed out, that strategy cannot work for him in a democratic setting! What then does he have to offer if his major tool of governance cannot function in today's Nigeria?

I respect Buhari as one of our those who has contributed to the building of our nation one way or the other. But that is as far as it goes. He should remain in the background and not at the fore front. We need a president who has the strength and skills necessary to pilot the affairs of the nation as it is today. Nigeria is about to enter into an era of economic and technological explosion, enough to set us amongst the world's leading economies. The world is waiting for Nigeria to break into the limelight and we need a president that can safely spearhead that effort. A look at the other aspirants will reveal that they have more to offer Nigeria as far as the key issues are concerned.

@ beloveed and others who have not decided,
2 simple reasons why some well meaning Nigerians do not want Buhari (in pictures)

* Hope does not exist in the past, it lies in the future.
* You cannot teach an old dog new tricks.

^ Welcome to the FRESH AIR CAMP. You made the right decision.

[size=21pt]Fresh Air 2011!!  [/size]

@Dav.e,
My brother, that is exactly what we have been drumming into the heads of Nigerians ooo. Especially the educated ones who should not easily be swayed by intangible and unmeasurable superhero abilities.

I made some suggestions on another thread but I think this one is more appropriate. Here are my thoughts:

1. They can make a special security bar code and attach / stamp it on each ballot paper. But 2 days will not be enough for this.
2. Modify the voting process by adopting a more open system. The ballot boxes will be displayed in the full glare of everybody and voting will be done in the open. Accreditation and voting should be done simultaneously. A clear radius could be created around the boxes and people can go one at a time (unaccompanied) to the box where they will thumb-print and drop the ballot paper in the box. No thumb-printing till you get to the ballot box. However, this will only be easily achieved in a very open space and with a lot of security. But again, 2 days is not enough to change the procedure and train officials.

Ultimately I guess if there are too many reports of compromised ballot papers, the election may have to be moved further.

Please any more suggestions should be contributed. The country needs us to think now.

hercules07:
Abeg we did not have blackouts during Buhari's time, it was from IBB's time that we started having those issues.

That is definitely not right. Why do people try to rewrite history all the time? Just in case you do not know, back in the days, there were even greater problems than blackouts. In addition to blackouts, SEVERAL COMMUNITIES DID NOT EVEN HAVE ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY!!! Just in case you have been outside Nigeria since you were born, call and ask the elders when electricity first came to your village. A lot of communities first got power in the 21st century. Sometime in the early 90's someone from the village visited my house and did not know what a television (black and white) was! They did not have access to electricity until the mid 90's. Up till now, there are still some communities that have no access to electricity.

Availability per capita (in terms of overall population) has definitely improved but availability per consumer (with access) is what has not improved much simply because of explosion of demand and expansion of access. We have witnessed huge increase in the economic activities of the country and we are becoming more dependent on electricity. Back in the 80's most of us were still cooking with wood, using kerosene lamps, etc. I don't have exact figures but I can confidently say consumption per capita has more than trippled in the last 20 years inspite of population growth.

Can we think of any quick controls they come up with in 2 days?

Some ideas for starters.

1. They can make a special security bar code and attach / stamp it on each ballot paper. But 2 days will not be enough for this.
2. Modify the voting process by adopting a more open system. The ballot boxes will be displayed in the full glare of everybody and voting will be done in the open. Accreditation and voting should be done simultaneously. A clear radius could be created around the boxes and people can go one at a time (unaccompanied) to the box where they will thumb-print and drop the ballot paper in the box. No thumb-printing till you get to the ballot box. However, this will only be easily achieved in a very open space and with a lot of security.

Ultimately I guess if there are too many reports of missing or compromised ballot papers, the election may have to be moved further.

Please any more suggestions should be contributed. The country needs us to think now.

[quote author=Abu-Maryam link=topic=637242.msg8038129#msg8038129 date=1301751055]whats the reason behind the postponement?[/quote]Check the first post.

Jega was trying really hard to do something that will make the election as free and fair as possible but he forgot to balance the other side of the equation (logistics). When you have more controls, you will need to have a more robust logistic system. His idea was to keep the ballot papers as controlled as possible. It ended up being a very costly mistake but, that is what happens when trying a new product in the market. Just like Toyota recalled so many vehicles due to problems it never anticipated. I guess we need to think of another way out now.

The man boxed himself in by trying some superhuman tactics. I hear the materials landed today! A good manager should know better. It's like we have to privatize everything in Nigeria including INEC! Pay a consortium of international/local organizations to do everything for us. Chei!!!

mikeansy:
Is'nt sacking the solution to all our problems?

Iwu was wuruwuru

Now Jega has become Jagajaga

When will we just grow up and realise that all of these failures have something to do with how our system works generally on day to day basis?

Keyword: SYSTEM.

You need to have seen the look on Jega's face. He felt really bad and it was like he wanted the ground to open and swallow him up. He needs all the support he can get now.

God help Jega. 

xtremeidea:
i cant even beliv someone is saying "remove him"

Those people saying that are the ones that think UP SIDE DOWN. There are quite a number of them around.

^ You're right. Removing him should not be considered at all.

This goes to show that corruption is not always the only object of blame. Poor systems and improper organization can also lead to massive failures. This is clearly a case of terrible planning. I have always had reserves about the process of the election where accreditation will be done from 8 to 12 and then voting. We are notorious for lateness and inefficiency in rendering service to the public. What stopped them from having these things land a week ahead of time with proper controls in place? What stopped the officials from reporting to the polling booths by 7am? They could have learnt from organizations like WAEC or JAMB with experience in things like these. We still have a long way to go.

When will this patient be discharged?

The only credible solution is to come up with totally different ballot papers! That will be a hell of an effort and a hell of a cost!!!

This is where Iwu's experience would have come in handy. He may have given some healthy advice ahead of time.

I think this may lead to another greater problem: CONTROL OF BALLOT PAPERS. The exam don leak already!

We couldn't control the DDC machines and I doubt if we can control these election materials let loose on the streets!

Jega has not confirmed if Monday will be declared a PUBLIC HOLIDAY or a WORK-FREE day! However, the usual restriction of movement will apply.

All na english, the summary is there will be no work on Monday!

Here is the INEC twitter page: https://twitter.com/inecnigeria

I repeat, in ALL STATES INCLUDING FCT!

Prof. Jega has announced the postponement of the entire NASS election till Monday April 4, 2011. The postponement is due to some serious logistics problems  in several states of the Federation. The most notable problem being the late arrival / unavailability of result sheets. Although some states have all the materials, INEC decided to postpone the entire election in order to maintain the integrity of the process.

Prof. Jega made this announcement at an emergency press conference aired on NTA.

More details: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201104021255428

The election has now been moved further to April 9 https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-637933.0.html

Ultimately, your vote remains your power and you still have the power to make your choice.

The idea is very smart and is a way of educating people on how to Vote PDP. Make it simple.

^ My good friend, that debate has long been concluded. It's stuffy in there. Come out, Relax and have a breath of FRESH AIR.

Presidential candidate remanded in prison for issuing dud cheques
By Agency Reporter
Saturday, 2 Apr 201


T he presidential candidate of the United National Party for Development, Mrs. Ebiti Ndok, may miss the presidential election as she has been remanded in the Maximum Security Prison, Keffi, Nasarawa State, for issuing dud cheques to two hotels in Abuja.


The court ordered that she should be remanded till April 19, 2011.


Ndok was arraigned by the police before a Chief Magistrate’s Court, Karu, Abuja on Thursday for issuing a N1,050,000 bounced cheque to Onnyx Hotel and Apartment, Abuja, where she lodged between November 20, 2010 and January 27, 2011 when she was evicted by the hotel management.


She allegedly issued another dud cheque to Hilton Suites, Abuja, for the sum of N500,000.


The candidate had lodged at the Onnyx Hotel and issued the cheque, which turned out to be dud, when the hotel took it to the bank.


A source at the hotel said that the police searched for Ndok for two months before they arrested her on Tuesday and arraigned her on Thursday.


The Federal Capital Territory Police Public Relations Officer, Moshood Jimoh, confirmed to SATURDAY PUNCH that Ndok was arrested and arraigned in court for issuing dud cheques, an action he said was a criminal offence in the Penal Code.


He said, “I can confirm that Ndok was arrested and charged to court for committing a criminal offence; that is, issuing dud cheques. The court has, however, remanded her in prison custody.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201104021374318