₦airaland Forum

[quote author=alj_harem link=topic=660974.msg8266987#msg8266987 date=1304633717]what works in other part of the world does not neccessary mean it would work for nigeria[/quote]There has to be at least one lower-income country in the world that is comparable wealth-wise to Nigeria, but has a good education system we can borrow from.

I dunno, I think people assume too much that their own problems are unique, and have never been seen/experienced before. This usually isn't true.

Just a very forgettable and unimpressive leader

There are plenty of good education systems already in the world. . . why not just use one of those? But most importantly, fund it properly and ensure accountability?

No need to reinvent the wheel

houvest:
[/b]

Why all these remarks about riverport? Does the Atlantic terminate at Lagos?

I don't see any movement towards developing a seaport, though. All i hear is about riverports being developed in the SS and SE.

So I'm not concerned. . . they won't be able to compete, most likely.

More informative article here: http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/05/05/lagos-attracts-n3-8tr-for-trade-zone/

Some GDP estimates in that article as well. Quite different from the #s that The Economist reported, though.

So Lagos = 21% of Nigeria's GDP or so.

Kind of amazing if you think about it.

WHEN Babatunde Fashola goes to the theatre in Lagos, his entrance usually sparks more applause than the cast’s final bow. He has been something of a hero in Nigeria’s business capital since becoming its governor in 2007. Last month he was reelected with 81% of the vote, having attempted to tame the unruly metropolis.

Lagos, which vies with Cairo for the title of Africa’s most populous city, exhausts even Nigerians, famed for their energy and entrepreneurial zeal. To ease their lives, Mr Fashola has cleared ad hoc markets that used to block streets and cause endless gridlock, limiting some businessmen to one meeting a day. Bus routes have been set up and kamikaze motorcycle-taxi riders forced to wear helmets. The governor has employed local toughs, known as “area boys”, as street sweepers and traffic cops. Lagosians say their coastal city seems safer, with fewer armed robbers zipping along in boats across its lagoons.

Of course Mr Fashola is simply doing his job. But that is quite rare among Nigerian governors, many of whom are bent on lining their pockets. “There has long been a disconnect between the people and their government,” says Mr Fashola, sporting a floppy blue hat popular among his fellow Yoruba. He stresses a rise in the tax take, which now accounts for 65% of the city-state’s revenues. If Lagos were a country, its GDP of $43 billion would make it the fifth-biggest economy in sub-Saharan Africa.

The governor can be hasty. He has banned okadas, frisky motorcycle-taxis, from major roads even though public transport remains limited. Some street traders were shooed away before markets to house them were ready. But Mr Fashola insists that restoring order ultimately benefits everyone. “The general consensus here is that the discomfort and the pain are well worth it.” Some worry that Bola Tinubu, Mr Fashola’s predecessor, a notorious political operator, still holds a lot of sway.

Starting his second four-year term, Mr Fashola hopes to complete promised commuter-rail lines and expressways and to launch an affordable-housing project. A term-limit rule prevents him from running again in the next round of elections, in 2015. Many Lagosians hope he will run for president instead. Smiling, he dismisses the idea as premature.

He certainly has enough work as it is. The UN predicts that Lagos, which may already contain 15m people, will grow by 2.7% a year until 2025, double the rate of Cairo. Only a tenth of the city has proper sewerage. Okada riders still ignore many rules. Traffic cops climb into people’s cars, demanding pay-offs. The beast has not yet been tamed.

http://www.economist.com/node/18652563?story_id=18652563&fsrc=rss

Police: Officer, child shot to death by sect in northeast Nigeria; 3 boys die in explosion


MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Police say members of a radical Islamic sect likely killed a high-ranking police officer and a child in northeast Nigeria.
Borno state Assistant Police Commissioner Usman Baba said Thursday that the police superintendent assigned to guard the state government headquarters died in the morning attack, as well as a child opening a garage door.
Baba said the three gunmen likely belonged to a radical sect known locally as Boko Haram, which is blamed for a series of targeted assassinations.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Gombe state, three boys died in an explosion Thursday apparently caused by a bomb left over from a bank robbery the day before. Police say the boys picked up the explosive while playing in a garbage dump without knowing what it was.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/police-officer-child-shot-to-death-by-sect-in-northeast-nigeria-3-boys-die-in-explosion-121326319.html

If true, wow. Kudos to Fashola, the ACN, and Lagos State!

I'd like to see more specific details though. . . article is too fluffy.

LAGOS State Government said yesterday that no fewer than 64 companies have indicated their intention to invest at least $25 billion (about N3.750 trillion) in the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ben Akabueze, who made the revelation at a press briefing in Lagos, said the companies include MasterCard, Guinness and a host of other companies, adding that they took interest in Lagos as a result of the series of Ehingbetti Economic Summits held to draw attention of the world to the huge economic potential in the state.
He said the 2010 edition was specifically targeted at marketing Lagos State as an enduring brand that offers would-be investors a safe haven.
He said: “Not only is the return on their investment guaranteed, but also a ready market is provided for their products with its estimated over 18 million residents.
“It featured talks and discussions on sectoral groups and exhibition of various projects being promoted by the state government.”
Akabueze stated that the focus was largely on infrastructure, institutions and operations across the six sectors; namely, power, water and sanitation, real estate, tourism, recreation and sports, agriculture and agro-allied industries as well as transportation.

http://www.compassnewspaper.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5485:-64-firms-to-invest-over-25b-in-lekki-free-trade-zone-&catid=37:general-news&Itemid=607

Wow. Really interesting thread.

I hope this vision for Okun State comes to pass.

(I'm from Ekiti btw, Okun's neighbor to the west)

Hehe. This should prove entertaining

dayokanu:
[img]http://chzgifs.files./2010/09/girlsfartp1.gif[/img]

lmao

I'm sure that he is right. Hopefully we'll come up with some good solutions to improve its current state.

vicenzo:
the economy of SW=economy of lagos,

Well, if one believes this Canback state GDP data, economy of the SW minus Lagos is larger than that of the SE zone. . .

the fact that sw is the region with the highest poverty rate in the south tells you who is running the economy of lagos.

This is probably just a function of immigration. Easy to have low poverty rates if all your people leave. Also, is the poverty rate in the SS truly lower than that of the SW?

Lagos has been triving on monopoly ie Lagos port and MMIA,wait till GEJ resuscitate Ph,calabar and warri ports and make calabar,ph,enugu airports fully functional international airports,then lagos will be returned to its rightful place.

*shrug* Build your airport. Build your RIVERports, see how well they'll compete business-wise against a SEAport (from my understanding of things, shipping companies can transport goods more profitably into seaports rather than riverports.)

There is a good reason the Brits choose Lagos as Nigeria's capital, and it wasn't out of fondness for Yoruba folk. Seaports are a nifty thing to have.

@PhysicsMHD:

I understand your perspective. For you, this looks purely like a land grab/colonization attempt. But I think there are some models that allow minority groups to retain local sovereignty despite being in the same country as a much larger group. It isn't every country in the world where minorities in ethnic enclaves are oppressed, or gradually forced to give up their culture.

There are lots of tools that can be used to preserve culture. Local language laws, a separate parliament, weak federal government, restriction on land sales, etc.

I still think we can make a more compelling offer than Hausaland can. Anyway, I guess I'll drop this issue for now.

hmm

Thanks for clearing that up, fstranger.

Basically, there are many different models. Not all of them have to be oppressive in nature. The UK model, Spanish model, Canadian model. . . all very good ones that I think keep the minority groups well-represented and happy. I think most of the above examples are win-win. Quebec for example is heavily subsidized by the rest of Canada, if I remember correctly  So they get to keep their own culture, while having someone else foot the bill (not saying I'd want to do that for someone else, but you get the idea.)

PhysicsMHD:
1. The pattern of settlement among Yorubas in the post-Oyo era is highly urbanized. In what way is their movement less "free" in an only Yoruba country when they're going to be concentrated around specific areas, rather than spread out? I don't really get this point.

I don't think that necessarily has to be the case going forward. There were historical reasons for urbanization in Yorubaland. And it doesn't even hold in all of Yorubaland. . . the Yoruba hinterland areas (like Ekiti State) aren't very urban.

Anyway, with good transportation networks, I don't see why the previous patterns of migration must go forward.

2. What investment advantages does having more land offer?

Err, tons. Farming is just one of them, like I said.

3. How could Yorubas acquire big swathes of farmland in another group's land?

Buy it? Or lease it?

4. I thought you said "I'm not trying to colonize Niger State" in your discussion with Katsumoto. But what you're describing here, isn't it basically just that?

Is the free trade and relatively open border between the US and Canada colonization?   Is the EU France and Germany colonizing the rest of Europe?

The main concern is avoiding a situation like the old Port Harcourt, where an educationally and economically superior group moves in with wealth, goals, ambition, and technical skill from the hinterland, and without even planning to, reduces formerly sovereign groups to tenants on their own land, with backing from the government. I don't think you have factored in the differences between Nupes and Yorubas in your scenario.

I'm not trying to steal away Nupe land, like the Igbos did to the Ijaw. I think that there could be a mutually beneficial relationship here.

Furthermore, the advantages for Niger State in this scenario are substantial. . .  after all, Yorubaland is probably 2X or 3X as rich (per capita) as Nupeland is right now. Not to mention access to the sea, investment opportunities, etc.

Anyway, even if you view this still as colonization. . . which group would one prefer to be colonized by? The poor, landlocked Hausa? Or your wealthier neighbors to the south, who actually stand a decent chance of building a pretty decent country?

@dem_people: Good question. I must confess, I don't know much about it. I just saw this picture online somewhere and liked the way it looked.

kcjazz:
My issue is with funding, I feel most schools, like states are too dependent on the FG and it limits creativity and ways to manage revenue.

So you'd suggest raising the money from the students, I guess? That is fine, but means that only those who can afford to pay (or who can borrow money, I guess) will be educated.

PhysicsMHD:
How would a true federation with local autonomy offer any advantage to the Yorubas such that they would make the proposal in the first place?

Freedom of movement and less constraints on investment I think are useful. Even in the short term. . . acquiring big swathes of farmland is sort of hard to do at least in my state within the SW. But as big and unpopulated as Niger State is, it would be very easy. And in the long term, just as it happened in the US, some of that farmland might end up as population centers (especially if road/transportation networks improve.)

I think that there are substantial advantages for both sides.

From the way you were talking about using their land in the future, I think you might have a different conception of autonomy than the standard meaning of the word.

Well, towns/cities can be founded without violating autonomy, right? If some guy decides to build a housing estate on some farmland he bought in Niger State, and eventually this turns into a town/city, does this violate autonomy?

^-- And what if said "stranger" offers a true federation, with local autonomy?

That way, nobody is ruling anyone else?

That seems preferable (at least to me) to what would likely be being ruled by an entirely different ethnic group (Hausa-Fulani).

I wish there were some Nupe posters here so I could get a sense of how they think. But I wonder about this assumption that your typical Nupe man views the Hausa-Fulani as his "brother."

Niger State is mostly Nupe. They aren't the same as Hausa-Fulani  

PhysicsMHD:
@ ekt bear,


Nupes are 100% Northerners. Gwari too.

Yes, they are considered part of the North now. But if naija scatters and they are offered the choice of joining a primarily Hausa nation or the republic to the direct south of them, which do you think they'll likely choose? At least, if they were thinking rationally.

Hehe. I'm going to bump this thread in a few months time, after we see how things play out.

It shall be very enjoyable to watch certain people have to eat crow

I honestly don't see what the North has done with this share of the national cake. . . their GDP/capita is half that of the south.

And as poorly managed as Yorubaland has been, we still have the second largest economy of any region in Nigeria (after the SS.) Imagine what things will look like with competent management?

manny4life:
This just don't make sense

?
What aspect?