₦airaland Forum

Osama10: Let it be quicker.

IJN, amen.

[quote author=ekt_bear]Summary?[/quote]I know i'm being somewhat lazy, but..

What do you mean "clean"?

Look, for me I can see myself being productive if I learn it well because:

a) There is a good, well-maintained library for almost ANYTHING you want to do in python. We were doing some stuff that required piecing together quite a few libraries and tools, and Ruby simply didn't have these things, at least at the same level of quality that I wanted.

b) Of course, the above is also true for Java or C++. There is bound to be a great Java/C++ library for any task you want to do. However, will it be easy to use? I find Java in particular very verbose.

Conciseness + excellent libraries is enough to convince me, personally.

I think if I'm ever hiring programmers for something, I'll try to get it done in python (unless it is just web development or text processing..for this PHP or Ruby are probably equal or superior choices.)

But anything algorithmic in nature? Gonna pick python.

Just finished up some group work this weekend in a mixed programming language team (Java, Python, Ruby [me using Ruby], we used text files for our programs to communicate with each other).

I'm thoroughly impressed by Python as a productivity tool, and want to find time to learn it.

Amazing libraries for anything you want to do (like Java, unlike Ruby, my favorite language), but actually easy and convenient APIs (unlike Java).

His kids/grandkids would no doubt excel at track and field

Summary?

OK, article doesn't make it clear.

Hopefully this is some sort of private arrangement between Lagos State and Siemens. That 1600 MW needs to go to Lagos State.

United Nigeria Textiles and other textile makers, once thriving foreign currency earners for Nigeria, have shut mills in the north amid competition from China and other Asian producers.

Hard to complete without electricity...

“The latest escalation of Boko Haram’s terror attacks is disturbing from a security perspective,” says Christian Mejrup, an emerging-market portfolio manager at Denmark-based Global Evolution, which holds Nigerian treasury bills. “From an economic perspective they are negligible, since they are still isolated to the northern part of Nigeria.” The 17 southern states, which cover one-fifth of Nigeria, produce about two-thirds of the growth. “All the sectors that are growing fastest are in the south,” says Jude Uzonwanne, head of the Nigeria office of Cambridge (Mass.) investment adviser Monitor Group. “The north’s economy is still geared towards subsistence agriculture.”

interesting.

Nice post.

Is the electricity meant for the national grid, or for Lagos State? (probably contained in the article, i'll read it thoroughly..)

The funny thing to me is, in almost any setting when you want to convince your team to pursue an opportunity, you are supposed to present quantitiative analysis, argue convincingly how this proposed idea will make your organization a lot of money.

But obviously this approach is useless. Instead sentiment alone should be enough to make decisions...not analysis.

If I decide to quit my job and open up a business in location X, rather than analyzing how profitable this business will be, I should instead make the decision purely on feel alone. Heh...that strategy typically leads to ruin.

Maybe we should arrange a meeting between the author of the article and Dangote where in lieu of facts and figures they can instead spin stories about Henry Ford

I am sure Dangote will do well even without your no doubt excellent advice. Let him focus on his strengths, while you focus instead on whatever it is that you are good at.

strangerf: I dont know why this is so difficult for you to comprehend. . . The writer is only asking Dangote to invest in his own people/land for two reasons; their dignity and growth of the Dangote empire. Both are interwoven and intricately connected. For Dangote to continue to grow, those people must be able to live well and afford his products. The more well off they are, the more of the commodities they can afford, which will definitely lead to Dangote's growth. Isnt that easy to understand? This is not socialism, it just makes sense. When will the largest private employer in Nigeria, Dangote, realize that he needs these people to grow?

Fine. The author and you seem to believe that Dangote's fate and that of his people are intertwined. That what is best for Dangote's longterm business success is the prosperity of Northern Nigeria.

You and the author are certainly entitled to have this opinion, though personally I think it is quite silly (for a variety of reasons which are somewhat obvious..)

But just as you are entitled to have your own opinion about how Dangote should allocate his money, Dangote too is allowed to have his own opinion. And at the end of the day, make the final decision, as the owner of that wealth.

Some decades ago, Henry Ford realized that his company would only prosper if his own workers/people earned enough to buy Fords. Surprisingly, Dangote never seemed to figure out that his lack of investment in his own people would eventually curtail the growth of his own company

Again, certainly a "cute" analysis of what may have been best during Henry Ford's day. However, not at all clear that that same analysis holds true today, in light of various other successful multinationals who aren't particularly obsessed with their "land of origin", so to speak (e.g. Apple.)

strangerf: ^^^

You are really confused you know?

On one hand you come here every night, sometime during the day, advocating unregulated capitalism as the ideal economic policy for Nigeria and at the same time you post tirelessly supporting the biggest socialist party in the country, ACN. Where do you actually belong Ekt Bear? Where exactly? . . . hmmmm, ;little wonder your ideas are so complicated, only retarrrds understand them.

See, this is what shows me that you don't get it. I am not a fan of completely unregulated capitalism. I realize that there is a tradeoff between high economic growth and ensuring that the growing wealth is distributed evenly...you cannot maximize both simultaneously.

Like, in general life is more about nuance and tradeoffs.

If all you've gained from this is "EKT_BEAR believes pure capitalism=GOOD", again, you probably need to broaden your mind a bit.

Regarding the ACN, you completely neglect the possibilities that:
1) One might like the ACN for many reasons unrelated to their stand on socialism. Many voters aren't single issue, but make their decision based upon a basket of issue.
2) Despite supposedly being socialist, perhaps the capitalist alternatives are undesirable.
3) Craploads of other reasons.

Not to mention that in this case:
1) I've pretty much showed limited interest in them over the past 6 months or so
2) To my knowledge, I've not supported any far left policies proposed by any parties in Nigeria, not to talk of the ACN
3) You've not even argued convincingly for your point that the ACN is the most socialist party. By what metric, standard have you come to this conclusion, anyway?

Like I said earlier...this is why having conversations with dull people like you can be a bit tiresome. Nuance and complication you want to boil down to black and white. In your simple yes/no mind, ACN supporter=socialist=person who believes that Dangote should not be free to do what he wants with his capital..

Forced investment in businesses you don't find attractive or which are outright money-losing...how is that different from charity?

In general, if you are having to beg someone to invest somewhere and rather than trying to persuade them based upon how much money they will make in the deal, but instead want to convince them through guilt or other emotions....well, my point should be clear.

Is this for real?

After the conversation with your cousin, why are you still even thinking about this?

You don't have a lot of common sense

Also..when the fvck did Dangote become the government? That he should be addressing "humanitarian emergencies" in Nigeria?

Did the governors all die in Northern Nigeria? What of the local government chairmen? Did someone take away the billions in funding they receive annually?

Mind you, this is a region that receives the highest allocations in all of Nigeria.

Why is there no talk of accountability, and only talk of another handout?

I think that this is why I absolutely hate socialism. Or at least the Africanist socialism espoused by fools like Fstranger.

It warps people's brains...destroys their ability to reason. Saps their will to provide for themselves. And eventually destroys society..

[quote author=Musiwa..]I think that person is not been fair to dangote. The factory closed down because of govt policy by Northerners who were in govt... Most of them made useless policy not good for the economy. And that was not dangote fault.[/quote]Right. The author of that article is looking for a scapegoat, rather than actually trying to deal with the fundamental issues.

Take textiles. You cannot manufacture things in general w/o electricity. Rather than asking Dangote to revive the textile industry for you, simply push those who control electricity to fix it. Once it again profitable to manufacture, then you won't even need to ask Dangote or anyone else to invest...they will all come.

This is a more sensible policy than the homeless-man-on-the-street-begging-for-a-handout mentality of Fstranger and this Chima fellow. At best, it is a short-term fix, not a real solution.

Well, certain types of "help" are not wanted.

Let me "help" you give your money away to people you don't care about and have only a cursory connection to.

Heh. The type of help that one would be very happy to never receive in life.

The culture determines what is obligatory for him, not he himself?

Heh. Free will, liberty, self-determination...clearly all fraudulent ideologies.

Are those who "gave a poo about him" these impoverished boko haram masses? Or his papa, uncles, and family?

What a sweet deal...some random guy from the same geopolitical region as you ends up rich, in fact making most of his wealth not even from/in your homeland, yet morons like this Chima and Fstranger will suggest that he donate his wealth to folk who had absolutely nothing to do with him even acquiring it.

Very sensible suggestions.

Then again, this big mannism/"superhero" culture is exactly what has crippled the north economically.

Rather than accountability for those actually who have mismanaged the assets of the north (governors, political leaders, etc), let us instead plunder some guy who had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Poverty mentality...

[quote author=Musiwa..]dangote have companies in the north.[/quote]Indeed, he does. But if hypothetically he didn't...that shouldn't be an issue. One presumably starts companies to make profit, not as charity...

You seem to have not understood the point, as evidenced by you not understanding the India/Iran comparisons.

In a nutshell, it is up to him to determine what is obligatory for him or not.

Nobody has a right to dictate to him whether he must give a sh1t about his homeland...he isn't the first man in history, and certainly won't be the last to have lost interest in his place of birth.

If he decides to care, good for him. If he doesn't, unfortunate. But that is life.

Your legion of flatterers, hypocrites, praise singing sycophants who are far away in their comfort zones while your motherland is on fire, smoking from suicide bombings and stinking from the acrid odours of charred bodies of corpses, burnt vehicles and razed houses in Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa, Kogi, Abuja, Plateau, Katsina, and other danger zones terrorized by the lunatic fringe of your own Islamic religion.

Haba Aliko! But while you are still cutting ribbons to open new industries in the safer southern and western regions and other countries in Africa, your own northern region is burning!
Burning in the catastrophic chaos of Islamic insurgency in the masquerade of Boko Haram.
But who is to blame?
You are not culpable?
You think you are innocent?

How many of you industries are located in Kano and other northern states?
Are you biggest factories located in the northern regions?

This Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima fellow is a lunatic

Maybe I should blame my Iranian buddy here in the US for the turmoil in his homeland...

May as well be complaining about some Indian guy who has left his native country and doesn't care about it any more, is just enjoying his life in the UK or whatever.

Just because you were born/grew up somewhere doesn't necessarily mean that you are responsible for that place's well-being.

It would be nice of course, but certainly isn't obligatory..

I have never understood the fascination some seem to have with who somebody else is boinking. Generally these things involve two people alone not three

So unless you get invited to a thr[i]e[/i]esome...

Asian man wants to know who white man is banging, oyinbo man wants to know who the black man is banging, igbo boy wants to know..

lol, I didn't know a street was named after hov.

Kanye and Drake deserve streets too then

How'd he become friends with him?

lwkmd

I find it kind of amazing that Rudy G and co traveled all the way to Abuja, then turned back. How unfortunate.

Oshiomhole has a point I suppose, but on the other hand you cannot blame them for heeding the words of their government (the travel advisory.)

Fri, 27/04/2012 - 7:04pm | OUR CORRESPODENT News Politics



Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo has expressed his dismay over the decision of a U.S. delegation to abort its trip to the South-South Economic summit, due to what the delegation perceived as the insecurity in the Niger Delta.

Oshiomhole made the expression in Asaba on Friday after it was announced at the summit that members of the American delegation who had already arrived in Abuja had to fly back home, based on a U.S. Embassy travel advisory.

Rudy Giuliani, a former New York Mayor and Adm. Mike Mullen, former Chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly aborted their mission after being advised to do so by the embassy.

Both men, billed to speak at the summit, which began in Asaba on April 26, were said to have arrived in Abuja but boarded the next flight back to the U.S., citing intelligence report on the retreat.

Mr Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman of Leaders and Company, Publishers of Thisday Newspapers, who is also Chairman of the Organising Committee of the summit, was the first to announce the development during proceedings at the forum on Friday in Asaba.

Obaigbena said that the two Americans were on arrival at Abuja, en route Asaba, advised by security officials at the U.S. embassy not to travel to the Delta State capital.

The U.S. embassy officials cited insecurity in the state as the reason for their travel advisory.

But in his reaction, Oshiomhole condemned the decision of the Americans to return home, describing the action as “unfortunate. ”

He wondered how U.S. citizens and other foreigners could have been feeling safe in the bushes and creeks in the Niger Delta, “drilling and exportation our oil but one or two of them felt unsafe to travel to a city in the region.

“If security is too bad in Nigeria to make the U.S. to advise its citizens against visiting parts of the country, why have their companies not packed out of the country?

``It is because the money they are making from oil cancels out the seeming security challenges they appear to be facing in the country that they have refused to leave,’’ the governor stated.

Also reacting, the National Security Adviser, retired Gen. Andrew Azazi, said that the fears expressed by the U.S. officials might not be unconnected with the bomb blast at newspaper houses in Abuja and Kaduna.

The NSA, who spoke while addressing issues of security at the summit, said that the military would continue to take part in ``policing’’ the country until the police were properly trained.

He said that Nigeria was second only to Somalia on the issue of insecurity on the waterways, adding that pirates were on the prowl and endangering maritime businesses in both nations.

The NSA disclosed that security challenges, especially terrorism in the country, would remain with Nigeria for some time before proper solution could be found.

He explained that getting to the root of problems often took time and took even longer time to fix, noting that Boko Haram and other security challenges would take a long while to be sorted out.

Azazi said that current security problems started brewing a long time ago but regretted that “authorities in government did nothing about the problems’’.

He recalled that Boko Haram started grouping about 20 years ago in Maiduguri but with a different concept and name at that time.

Azazi alleged that persons involved in the Boko Haram insurgency were highly educated and influential, saying that problems associated with terrorism as being unleashed on Nigerians, were sophisticated and beyond comprehension of most Nigerians.

He said that all security issues were related but were surmountable and could be addressed comprehensively to enable enduring goal to be achieved, tracing most of the security challenges in the country to politicians, whom he accused of politicising every issue they perceived as unfavourable to them.

The NSA blamed the PDP and its members in this regard, recalling that the party stirred much trouble in the country when it attempted to force its rules on zoning of the presidency on Nigerians.

“They even tried to make the party’s rules to supersede the Constitution of the country,” he said.

Azazi said that subsisting crisis and violence in parts of the country started after President Goodluck Jonathan had declared his intention to contest the 2011 presidential election.

He, however, disclosed that his office had started developing a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy as part of measures to tackle the problem, saying that the blueprint had been sent to relevant organisations for their inputs.


http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/23125/2012/04/27/oshiomhole_flays_us_delegation_aborting_nigeria_trip_over_insecurity.html

What could be, but isn't. Alas..

Nigeria economy could grow at 10 pct with power - BPE

* Population of over 160 mln major investment opportunity

* Corruption, vested interests stunt privatisation progress (Adds details, quote, background)

By Chijioke Ohuocha

LAGOS, April 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria needs $15-$20 billion of investment over the next three years to buy and develop electricity assets, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said on Friday, underlining the need to push forward with delayed power privatisation plans.

Nigeria plans to sell off 11 distribution and 6 generation companies by October as part of plans to privatise a power sector rife with inefficiency and corruption, the ministry of power told Reuters on Thursday.

Africa's second biggest economy could be growing three percent faster if it solved chronic power shortages, Friday's BPE statement said. Nigeria's GDP grew 7.68 percent in the fourth quarter last year.

"The country cannot allow power outages to stifle economic growth," Bolanle Onagoruwa, the director general of the privatisation agency, said in the statement.

"New and replacement generation capacity will need to be financed by both domestic and international financial markets," the statement said.

Nigeria holds the world's seventh largest natural gas reserves but decades of corrupt governments have chosen to cash in on crude oil rather than investing for domestic power needs.

Nigeria only provides its 167 million inhabitants with around a quarter of the amount of electricity used by New York city, leaving those who can afford it to use expensive diesel generators and those who can't to live without any power.

President Goodluck Jonathan laid out plans in 2010 to break up inefficient Power Holding Co of Nigeria (PHCN) and sell off generation and distribution units. But powerful vested interests, such as diesel generator and fuel importers, unions and power contractors, have delayed the sale.

The power ministry says it is confident privatisation will be complete by October and current power output of under 4,000 megawatts can be boosted to 6,000 by the end of the year and 10,000 by the end of 2013. Industry experts think this is optimistic based on the previous delays to plans.

The mobile phone sector provides an example of the potential returns that can be made from Nigeria's growing consumer market. South Africa's MTN and India's Bharti Airtel are two firms that have benefited from rapid growth in Nigeria.

Nigeria is MTN's biggest market and Bharti's biggest African market. (Writing by Joe Brock; editing by Tim Cocks and James Jukwey)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/27/nigeria-power-idUSL6E8FR5SV20120427