₦airaland Forum

Jiah011:
I still think Nigeria should consider solar. It is expensive, but in the future it will be a cleaner and more sustainable form of energy. I don't think "green" or environmentally conscious initiatives are being considered, but I think they should be. Green initiatives could be implemented in combination with the finite natural resources (i.e. natural gas), which over time could be phased out. It would be so forward if Nigeria could lead Africa in environmentally conscious and efficient production of energy. Natural gas is a strong contender though, better than coal.

For me, the goal over the next 50-100 years for Nigeria is rapid economic growth. 100 years from now, we can worry about going green. Let the USA and China which pollute the most focus on going green, since they are most responsible for the damage to the environment.

As for us, we need to catch up economically as quickly as possible. So we cannot really afford expensive energy sources like solar on a large scale.

interesting

HOUSTON – A grand jury Wednesday indicted Jessica Tata on four counts of felony murder in connection with a deadly day care center fire in February. Seven children were trapped in the burning day care and four of them died.
Tata was also indicted on four counts each of injury to a child, endangering a child and abandoning a child.
Authorities believe Tata left seven children alone at the day care while she went shopping on Feb. 24. While she was gone, a fire was ignited by a stovetop burner.
Eighteen-month-old Elias Castillo, 3-year-old Shomari Dickerson, 20-month-old Elizabeth Kajoh and 20-month-old Kendyll Stradford perished in the blaze. Three other children, ages 3 and under, were injured.
Two days after the fire, Tata caught a flight to Nigeria as investigators scrambled to convince prosecutors to file charges.
Eventually, she was put on the U.S. marshals’ list of the 15 most wanted fugitives, and the agency offered a reward of up to $25,000.
Tata was later captured and returned to Houston on March 21. She pleaded not guilty to the initial charges against her.
Family members of the victims have said they hope the case spurs changes in how the state regulates day cares and the people who run them.
"Although it’s not going to bring all the children back it’s definitely going to set a new standard for day cares," Tiffany Dickerson, the mother of a fire victim and survivor, said. "Anyone who’s following the same patterns as her, anyone that’s sneaking off for moments at a time and leaving children unattended, will know that this is a wake-up call that this is not OK and there are consequences for these actions."
Dickerson has filed a lawsuit against Tata, her parents and the state, claiming negligence.
Meanwhile, Tata remains in the Harris County Jail on $1 million bond, separated from the other inmates for her protection. A judge refused her attorneys' request last week to lower the bond to $50,000.
In a jailhouse interview last month, Tata said she was struggling to express her remorse to the victims’ families.
"Sorry is not enough," Tata said. "You can only say sorry so many times."

http://www.khou.com/news/cnn/Sources-Grand-jury-indicts-Tata-on-felony-murder--122952348.html

Doesn't really look like left-handed folk have a shorter life expectancy: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_it_true_that_left-handed_people_have_a_shorter_life_expectancy_than_right-handed_people

Though some research here seems to indicate that they might: http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/05/01/us-left-handed-idUSCOL14739020070501


Anyway, it is what it is. Better to live a shorter, more impactful life than a long but meaningless one

Making the civil service deliver more value for the money is a laudable goal.

A few steps one would take in a perfect world:
1) Eliminating all ghost workers
2) Retrenchment or cutting down the hours of real workers
3) Mandatory retirements at certain ages
4) Several other things to boost productivity

However, political realities might make some of these steps difficult to do.

Fashola looks good in a suit

^-- I don't mind coal. But the NG infrastructure is already up, for the most part. Are the coal mines in Enugu and Kogi still functioning?

Also, pollution is a factor to consider with coal.

NG is pretty awesome. Cheap source of energy and not as bad on the environment

Congrats man

Another good choice would have been ChinenyeN, imo. Keep him in mind if you later on down the line need an additional mod.

Two words: magic stick

jungle007:
States do not use all their monthly allocation to pay salary. Niger State get N2.5 billion monthly from the Federal Government. Out of this, they would also have to plan for capital expenditure which include building good roads, schools,hospitals, housing e.t.c This should take the larger portion of their monthly revenue.

Ah, maybe I misread. I thought the 4.5 billion was what he believes he'd need to spend on salary.

Good choice on OAM4J. Evenhanded, no secret second account under which he talks crap to people, etc.

All I know is that if GEJ delivers on electricity, the we'll be able to move mountains. I don't even care if in 10 years they take away oil allocations; that is how important electricity is to me.

Not going to lie, there is a chance I'd have taken the money (or made very half-hearted attempts to return it)

Kudos to this boy.

on JUNE 1, 2011 · in NEWS

By Dayo Johnson

AKURE— A 13 year old Junior Secondary School JSS 1 Student Yusuff Ibrahim in Ondo State was, yesterday, offered scholarship to the University level by the state government for his honesty by returning a bag containing the sum of N180,000 he found on his way to school. This came after eight students were expelled by the state government few weeks ago for defrauding the government and were prevented from sitting for their final examination.

But government has promised to reabsorb the expelled students after they might have forfeited a year as punishment for their fraudulent behaviour. Speaking with newsmen in Akure, the Education Commissioner Dr Pius Osunyikanmi said that Yusuf is a student of CAC Grammar school in Akure metropolis.

Osunyinkanmi said that Yusuf found the bag containing the amount belonging to someone and returned the bag and the money intact. He added that the owner of the bag mistakenly left the bag containing the amount on top of her car but later forgot the bag there and later drove off.

The bag, however, fell off the car and Yusuf picked it up and decided to wait at the same spot where he found the bag believing that the owner would return to the scene. After over forty-five minutes, the commissioner said the owner of the bag put a call across to her mobile phone which was inside the bag and it was later picked by Yusuf who asked her to come back to the spot.

Osunyikanmi pointed out that Yusuf by his behaviour has exhibited high quality of integrity despite his poor background and felt that he should be appreciated. The commissioner equally announced a personal donation of N50, 000. Answering question Yusuf said he decided to return the bag and the money because he had been trained by his parent to be content and not to steal.

He commended the state government for the good gestures and said that his joy was that his home training that stealing is ungodly has finally paid off with the offer of the Scholarship by the state government. Yusuf was accompanied to the ceremony held at the NUJ Press Center by him Mother and the Principal of his School

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/06/ondo-rewards-jss-student-for-honesty/

Good for Edo State.

on MAY 31, 2011 · in NEWS

Abuja – An indigenous company, BUA Group, has embarked on the building of a $500 million cement plant at Okpella community in Edo.

The plant, when completed, would produce 2.5 million tonnes of cement annually.

The Executive Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, announced at the contract signing ceremony for the building of the plant on Tuesday in Abuja that the building of the “Edo Cement Plant’’ would be completed in August, 2013.

“The building of the Edo Cement will take 28 months to be completed and it is expected to offer jobs to 4,000 skilled workers and over 20,000 indirect jobs to Nigerians,’’ Rabiu stated.

He explained that the management of BUA Group settled for a Danish company known as FLSmidth to build the plant, saying that the establishment of the facility was to assist the country to attain self-sufficiency in cement production.

The industrialist said that the company expected that the plant would generate mass employment for teeming Nigerians.

It was learnt that the financing of the project is to be provided by FLSmidth and a consortium of banks led by EcoBank, which has since provided an initial 50 million dollars for the take off of the plant’s construction.

Other banks in the consortium are First Bank, Diamond Bank, Fin Bank and Bank PHB.

The President of the Cement Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, Mr Joseph Makoju, lauded the management of BUA Group for the investment, saying that the plant would contribute significantly to the quest of the Federal Government to make Nigeria a cement-exporting nation.

He lauded the government for its back-integration policy in the cement sector, saying that the policy would assist in the effort to reduce the high cost of cement and other building materials in the country.

Makoju expressed delight at the involvement of the Danish firm to build the plant, recalling that the company had been involved in the building of many thriving cement plants in Nigeria.

The Vice President of FLSmidth, Mr Per Mejnert Kristensen, gave an assurance that his company would complete the building of the plant on schedule while commending the Federal Government for providing the atmosphere for foreign direct investment.

He said that his firm had been involved in the building of many cement plants in Nigeria, assuring that the company would build a facility Nigerians would be proud of.

The price of cement has continued to rise in the country, making it difficult for many Nigerians to own their own houses. (NAN)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/bua-group-builds-500m-cement-plant-at-okpella/

What exactly does he mean by this? I'd think that growing the private sector is the key to restoring Oyo. And increasing the amount of money spent on infrastructure projects relative to recurrent expenditure (like civil servant salaries, etc, etc.)

I don't understand his intentions, I guess.

Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has described the civil service as the focal point of the state’s journey of restoration and transformation under his leadership.


He said his government would depend largely on the service, which he described as the hub of activities of any administration and the engine room of progress of any state, to execute and achieve its agenda of restoration and transformation.


Ajimobi made the submission at the inter-faith service marking his assumption of office held at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan, the state capital, on Tuesday.


He said his administration could only achieve its set goals of restoration with the support of the civil service.


He said, “We recognise that no government can make headway if it belittles or looks down on the civil service.


“Not only will this government consciously refrain from being at the gathering of anyone who has no regard for the civil service, this administration will pursue the restoration of its lost glory.


“We are, however, aware that our civil service is bedevilled with challenges. One of the first steps we will take as a government is to restore the sagging confidence that the Oyo civil servant has been forced to contend with in recent years.


“On the heels of this is a task that this government will undertake to expose our civil servants to appropriate in-service training programmes that will hone their skills and prepare them for efficient service delivery.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201106013312528

weird

Lame

Good question, I'm not sure. Both of them are great.

If I had to pick I'd probably pick the rock though

@Odunnu: Please don't suggest me, for a variety of reasons I'd be a bad choice.

Anyway, if (A) Odunnu doesn't want to mod, (B) KoboJ is seen as biased in a particular direction, (C) the idea is to have relatively unbiased mods, then probably a good idea to widen your search a bit.

Eh. . . while I'm a fan of free primary and secondary school, I don't think the state's obligation to its citizens includes free or massively subsidized college/university.

Hrm, we'll see how Ajimobi resolves this

@debosky: I understand that. I'm just questioning how he gets this # of 4.5 billion. . . It seems too high to me.

Let's guesstimate average wage of civil servant is double minimum? That is 125K people.

Does Niger State even have up to 50k civil servants? Seems doubtful.

So if implementing this minimum wage would lead to spending N4.5 billion/month ($30 million) on payroll, then something is deeply, deeply wrong with the administration of Niger State.

The governors forum is also in support of this. Including Peter Obi of Anambra. So isn't really just the ACN alone calling for this

Odunnu and Kobojunkie should probably be at the top of that list. They both seem pretty fair-handed and non-partisan (at least, from my interactions with them.)

These two qualities are pretty important, imo.

^-- In some places that is true. But consider this Eko Disco: http://www.nigeriaelectricityprivatisation.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/01/Eko_Disco_2011_01_11.pdf

99% collection rate, still losing a ton of money.

We have no choice but to increase tariffs to reflect the true cost of providing electricity.

The new electricity tariffs for the country, currently being consulted on, are to come into effect on the first day of January 2012, Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Sam Amadi has said.

The new tariffs were formerly to be announced in June this year following the working out of all parameters associated with generation, transmission and distribution; however, Amadi, making this disclosure Tuesday at a stakeholder consultation workshop in Abuja on the major review of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) noted that President Goodluck Jonathan had granted approval for a 2012 implementation to enable further stakeholder consultations.

He said that the Commission was sparing no effort in verifying data supplied by operators to ensure final tariff is fair to all stakeholders, “In this vein, operators will be required to defend the veracity of data submitted. In this way the Commission will promote transparency in the tariff determination process,” the Chairman explained.

Amadi said, “In recognition of the enormous challenge and in furtherance to his commitment to address the challenge of power supply in the country, President Goodluck Jonathan has granted approval that the revised electricity tariffs we expect to emerge from this consultative process take effect on 1st January 2012.

“This will amongst other things enable the Commission engage further with all relevant stakeholders for their understanding and also align the review dates with calendar of most business especially in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and the gas supply sector,” he added.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/22385-new-electricity-tariffs-to-take-effect-january-2012

^- http://www.cenbank.org/documents/annualreports.asp

"Annual Report 2009" is what you want.

Wait a second though. . . I don't believe this N4.5 billion/month figure he says. That is 250K workers. And I highly doubt that Niger State has anywhere near that # of workers on its payroll.

His point is a good one.

I've never been a fan of this minimum wage idea.

And in this case especially. . . how can the FG mandate a minimum wage w/o taking into account the funds of each state? Makes no sense for states like Niger and Ekiti to have the same minimum wage as Lagos or Rivers, for example. . . cost of living is way lower in the former than the latter.

Or is the FG going to pay the salaries of these folks? 

I thought in a federalism, states should be able to design their own policies that are a better fit for their states. Cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all government doesn't make any sense.